Date of Graduation

1989

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purposes of the present investigation were to (1) analyze and compare the views of selected management competencies held by athletic directors of public high schools in Pennsylvania and (2) develop useful descriptive statistics from the demographic data to assess athletic director response, profile and scope differences; and program/school differences. A stratified random sample n of 292 (one half the total number of public high schools in the state) was selected based on school size. Two hundred and three completed sampling packages were returned from the total mailout sample (70% response rate). Two questionnaires were included in each sampling package: (1) A profile sheet and (2) a list of 39 statements representing five management competency dimensions which included: Leading, planning/organizing, evaluating, communicating, and budgeting. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to statistically verify the questionnaire's predefined structure. General linear models (GLM) procedure runs were carried out to assess categorical subgroup differences. Chi-square contingency tables were developed from the descriptive data to accommodate user needs. The management competency dimensions were perceived as being highly important to overall administrative effectiveness, but results did not support the predefined, five dimension structure. Four of the five management competency dimensions (excluding budgeting): Communicating, evaluating, planning/organizing, and leading were highly interrelated. There existed a distinct association among each of the first three dimensions and specific elements of the leadership dimension. Assuming no prior knowledge as to the questionnaire's structure, a post hoc exploratory factor analysis was carried out to eliminate unimportant statements and to develop a short-scale management competency model. Twenty statements from the first three factors of the 11 factor solution, found to be the most important, were grouped into three basic skill areas: Conceptual, communication and technical. GLM findings indicated that athletic directors whose primary additional responsibility was administrative were more concerned with management competency than athletic directors who taught full-time or coached. The size of program had no significant effect on response differences. Many key statistics possessed the reliability level or CV {dollar}<{dollar} 10% needed to be statistically acceptable estimates of the population. Findings can be used to assist those responsible for developing curriculum and training packages. As demonstrated in this research study, the author encourages the use of probability sampling theory in future athletic research. This type of approach is an invaluable statistical vehicle for selecting a well-representative sample, while simultaneously considering costs; and for making valid conclusions which can be mathematically quantified.

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