Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Publication Date

5-11-1970

Abstract

Pupil personnel services in elementary schools are comparatively new but expanding. As more groups of specialists work in the same schools, their role and functions need to be clear to themselves and others if teamwork is to be translated from a concept into practice. The purpose of this study was to determine how three pupil personnel services are viewed by the staff in forty-one elementary schools in terms of importance of functions performed, perceptions of who performs the functions and whether or not aides might appropriately perform some of the functions. Counselors, nurses, and speech therapists were the pupil personnel specialists in the schools. Principals and teachers were the other two groups participating in the study. Staff members in the participating schools were asked to respond to a 100-item questionnaire. Each item stated a pupil personnel function and respondents were asked to (1) give a priority rating to each function, (2) indicate who usually performs the function, and (3) indicate if the function could be assigned to an aide. Frequency distributions, means, and percentages were used to analyze the responses. Analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences among the five responding groups as to priority rating and assignment of function. The .05 level of significance was used. A 60 per cent response by group was selected a priori as indication of a majority response on any item. A total of 17 counselors, 19 nurses, and 9 speech therapists responded for a return of 100 per cent. Principals responding numbered 35 for 85.3 per cent return, and 571 teachers responded for a return of 83 per cent. It was found that the three pupil personnel specialist groups differed significantly from the principal-teacher groups in priority assigned to functions, but all groups viewed the 100 functions as important to include in the elementary school program. A core of 12 functions was identified as common to all three specialist groups. A majority (67) of functions was viewed by at least one group as being functions shared among the specialists. Only 23 functions were perceived as unique to one of the specialists. Areas of difference were examined and found to indicate potential sources of conflict among the specialists. Only one function was accepted by all groups as being appropriate for assignment to an aide. It was concluded that: pupil personnel services are regarded as important to the elementary school program; there are identifiable differences of opinion among counselors, nurses, speech therapists, principals, and teachers as to priority which should be given to pupil service functions; there are identifiable interrelated and overlapping functions as well as some functions unique to each service; there are potential sources of conflict indicated by differences of opinion as to who performs a pupil service; and the concept of using auxiliary workers in pupil personnel services is not yet generally accepted by elementary school staff members.

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Counseling

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Individual, Family, and Community Education

First Committee Member (Chair)

George Leonard Keppers

Second Committee Member

Ella May Small

Third Committee Member

Tom Wiley

Fourth Committee Member

Robert Oseasohn

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