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Perceptions of Graduate Courses and Competencies Associated with High School and Junior College Athletic Administration
Texas 5A high school and junior college athletic directors' perceptions concerning graduate courses and competencies relating to athletic director performance were investigated. Graduate courses needing emphasis for prospective directors, most and least beneficial graduate courses, perceptions of values of graduate courses, and selected skills necessary for performance of duties were ranked. Significant differences of perceptions of values of graduate courses between 5A high school and junior college athletic directors were found using chi square. Significant differences between graduate course areas and competency areas in Communications, Technical, Business and Public Relations were found utilizing a t-test. 5A athletic directors receive adequate preparation in Communications. Junior college athletic directors receive adequate preparation in Business and Public Relations.
A Field Test of Garland's Cognitive Mediation Theory of Goal Setting
The present study examined Garland's cognitive mediation theory of goal setting in a three-minute basketball shooting task. The effects of different goal conditions were also investigated along with achievement motivation and self-motivation as mediating constructs of performance. Subjects (N=150) were males and females, assigned to one of five goal conditions: "do your best", easy, moderate, hard, and improbable. Results indicated no performance differences between the different goal conditions, with subjects in the "do your best" condition performing as well as subjects in the other goal conditions. Results also yielded partial support for Garland's cognitive mediation theory with task goals influencing performance through its influence on performance expectancy. Furthermore, a negative correlation between achievement motivation and performance was found for females in the improbable goal condition and a positive correlation was found between self-motivation and performance for females in the easy goal condition.
Personality Enhancement and the Summer Camp Experience
The study was undertaken to discover if the summer camp experience enhanced personality traits of participants in the camp program. The study was implemented at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, during the summer of 1985. Utilized were analyses of variance and two types of factor analyses: principal-components analysis with varimax rotation and principal axis factoring with oblique rotation of factor matrices elicited. Five personality areas were analyzed--sociability, independence, achievement, environmental awareness, and spirituality. Spirituality emerged so strongly that it was removed from further analyses. Remaining personality areas emerged, but groupings of variables, especially those relating to achievement and independence, suggest an inherent commonality among the complex facets of personality. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends further investigation and careful replication.
The Effects of Mastery, Competitive and Cooperative Goals on Performance in Simple and Complex Sport Skills
The present study investigated the effects of different goal and feedback conditions on performance of a basketball field goal shooting task and a more complex one-on-one offensive basketball task. Subjects (N = 100) were matched, based on pre-test performance, into one of five conditions: competitive goal, cooperative goal, mastery goal, "do your best" with feedback, and "do your best" without feedback. Results indicated the competitive group was significantly better than the "do your best" without feedback group in one-on-one performance. No other between group differences were significant, although some consistent group trends were present. Subjects' goal orientations were not related to performance in specific goal conditions, with the exception of mastery oriented subjects in the mastery goal condition.
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