Perceptions and Attitudes of Selected Adventist and Non-Adventist Parents of School- Age Children Toward Adventist Schools in Canada" (2005)
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Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2005 Perceptions and Attitudes of Selected Adventist and non- Adventist Parents of School-Age Children Toward Adventist Schools in Canada Mike Mile Lekic Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Lekic, Mike Mile, "Perceptions and Attitudes of Selected Adventist and non-Adventist Parents of School- Age Children Toward Adventist Schools in Canada" (2005). Dissertations. 518. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/518 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University School of Education PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SELECTED ADVENTIST AND NON-ADVENTIST PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN TOWARD ADVENTIST SCHOOLS IN CANADA A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Mike Mile Lekic February 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3164590 Copyright 2005 by Lekic, Mike Mile All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3164590 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright by Mike Mile Lekic 2005 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SELECTED ADVENTIST AND NON-ADVENTIST PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN TOWARD ADVENTIST SCHOOLS IN CANADA A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Mike Mile Lekic APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE -chafy/: Jimmyimmy Kijaifujai Dean, School of Education it: John Matthews Member* lames Jeffery n External: Lyndon G. Furst Date approved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SELECTED ADVENTIST AND NON-ADVENTIST PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN TOWARD ADVENTIST SCHOOLS IN CANADA by Mike Mile Lekic Co-chairs: Jimmy Kijai, John Matthews Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University School of Education Title: PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES OF SELECTED ADVENTIST AND NON-ADVENTIST PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN TOWARD ADVENTIST SCHOOLS IN CANADA Name of researcher: Mike Mile Lekic Name and degree of faculty co-chairs: Jimmy Kijai, Ph.D.; John Matthews, Ph.D. Date completed: February 2005 Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes toward Adventist schools in Canada of Adventist parents with children in Adventist schools, of Adventist parents without children in Adventist schools, and of non-Adventist parents who at the time of this study had children in Adventist schools, and to look for reasons why these parents send or do not send their children to Adventist schools in Canada. Method The Adventist Education in Canada Parents’ Attitude Survey was developed and used to gather information about spiritual focus, academic excellence, school Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. accessibility, administrators and teachers, interpersonal relationships and student personal development, and safe learning environment, and to discover why certain parents send or do not send their children to Adventist schools. The population surveyed provided 1,389 usable responses, which were analyzed by descriptive statistics, /-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and test of correlation coefficient. Each of the 12 hypotheses was tested at an alpha level of .05, except for school accessibility (.008). Results Non-Adventist parents, especially mothers, had more positive attitudes toward Adventist schools than did both Adventist parents with or without children in Adventist schools. Furthermore, younger, single parents, earning less than CAD$30,000 a year and unemployed, were more positive than older, married parents, earning more and employed. Spiritual focus was perceived as the most positive aspect of Adventist schools, followed closely by interpersonal relationships and student personal development. For Adventist parents, three main reasons for sending children to Adventist schools were: spiritual focus, safe and caring environment, and dedicated school personnel; for non-Adventist parents, safe and caring environment, high-quality academics, and spiritual focus. Adventist parents not sending children to Adventist schools gave the following reasons: distance from home, high tuition cost, and lack of high-quality academics. Conclusions Parents perceived Adventist schools in Canada as places where spiritual focus, interpersonal relationships and student personal development are strong; where safe Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. learning environments exist; and where school administrators and teachers are fair and committed to the principles of Adventist education. Areas of concern were: affordability, bullying, extracurricular activities, facilities, variety of resources, and provisions for special education students. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In loving memory of my mother, Cveta, and my father, Stojan Lekic ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................ vil ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................. xii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ............................ 1 Background of the Study .............................. 1 Purpose of the Study .......... 7 Research Objectives and Hypotheses .......... 8 Conceptual Framework ................................................ 11 Significance of the Study ..................................... 18 Delimitation ....................................... 19 Limitation ....................................... 19 Definition of Terms ......................................... 19 Organization of the Study .................................. 21 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................. 22 Educational Context and Historical Background of Adventist Schools in Canada ........... 22 Relationships Among and Distinctions Between Attitudes and Opinions, Beliefs and Values .................. 26 Formation and Structure, Function, Measurement, and Change of Attitudes ............. 29 Formation and Structure of Attitudes ........................ 29 Function of Attitudes 31 Measurement of Attitudes .......................... 31 Change of Attitudes .......................... 33 Attitudes Toward Spiritual Focus .......... 37 Generic Spirituality ............. 37 Definitions of Spirituality ............... 38 Spirituality in Education ............. 39 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Attitudes Toward Academic Excellence ............. 45 Attitudes Toward School Accessibility ............... 48 Attitudes Toward School Administrators and Teachers ........... 53 Attitudes Toward Interpersonal Relationship and Student Personal Development ............... .............................................................. .. 55 Attitudes Toward Safe Learning Environment .................. 57 Selected Adventist and Non-Adventist Parental Attitude Studies About Sending or Not Sending Children to Church Schools ..... 65 Summary..................................................................................................... 72 III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 74 Introduction .......................... 74 Nature and Design of the Research ............................... 74 Description of Population ................................ 75 Instrumentation ..................... 77 Description .................................... 77 V alid ity.................................. 79 Reliability