Date of Award

7-1-1993

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Donald Grandgenett

Second Advisor

Dr. Neal Grandgenett

Third Advisor

Dr. Blaine Ward

Abstract

The basic concern of this study was an analysis of the attitudes and a measurement of any change in attitudes that the Metropolitan Omaha area language art teachers in the senior high schools have towards the use of writing portfolios in the classroom. In this study, the subjects consisted of 134 public high school language art teachers in the Metropolitan Omaha area. A survey written by Johns and VanLeirsburg in 1991 was adapted for this study. The questionnaire focused on three areas: knowledge of portfolios, contents of portfolios, and practical problems of portfolios. The questionnaires were hand-delivered to the subjects during a one week period in May of 1993. After dividing the returned questionnaires into two categories, portfolio users and non-portfolio users, the data were analyzed. The total frequencies and percentages were figured for each question. The survey results were compared to the 1991 Johns and VanLeirsburg study. The results of this study show that portfolios appear to be gaining further acceptance by language art teachers for their use in the classroom. More teachers are growing with their familiarity and knowledge of portfolios and are increasing the use of writing portfolios in the classroom. Educators continue to be in agreement of what items could be included in the portfolios. Finally, as teachers begin to identify and come to consensus over some of the problems associated with the portfolios, they are likely to begin working at solving those areas of concern.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the College of Education and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright Kara L. Bacon July, 1993

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