Master's Theses

Department

Education

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather material pertaining to the teaching of basic English fundamentals in the schools of Norton, Phillips, Smith, and Rooks counties in Kansas. From the results of this survey the writer attempted to establish recommended levels of mastery of various English fundamentals upon which teachers might continue to advance the student toward a better mastery of the fundamentals of written and oral communications. The material used in this thesis was collected by the use of the questionnaire method. The questionnaire consisted of eight questions pertaining to the teacher and his or her qualifications. The major part of the questionnaire consisted of thirty-one basic English skills with four levels of mastery which the teacher might check. The questionnaires were sent to all listed English teachers and administrators. The names of other teachers who received questionnaires were drawn from a card file for each of the suggested levels of mastery. Each of these teachers or administrators was asked to check the level of mastery of each of the listed skills. Forsyth Library of Fort Hays Kansas State College was searched for information concerning this subject. Many courses of study in the language arts field were found. Six of these were chosen to be used as base authorities in this study. Other states were contacted asking for their recommendations. Two replied and were added to the above authorities. The recommendations of four city departments of education and the recommendations of the English faculty of Fort Hays Kansas State College were also added to the list of authorities. An analysis of the questionnaires received from the teachers of the above mentioned counties indicated a very wide set of recommendations as to the level of mastery of the basic fundamentals of English. An analysis of the material used as base authorities indicated agreement to a great extent concerning the level of mastery of these skills. The extent to which the writer was able to establish recommended levels of mastery from the results of the above mentioned material was limited because of the limitations of the area and number of teachers actually involved. Bearing this in mind, the writer made the following statement: the larger part of the fundamentals of English or basic grammar should be mastered to a degree of competency by the end of the eighth or ninth grades with periodic reviews to follow as refresher courses.

Keywords

Teacher effectiveness, Teaching methods, Norton County (Kan.), Phillips County (Kan.), Smith County (Kan.), Rooks County (Kan.), English, Education

Advisor

Orin Gladman

Date of Award

Summer 1965

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

For questions contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu

Download

Off Campus FHSU Users Click Here

Share

COinS