AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTITUDE OF COLLEGE FACULTY MEMBERS TOWARD TEACHING INTRODUCTION TO BUSINES

Scope and Study. This dissertation explores the attitude of college faculty members toward teaching introduction to business as well as the attitude of college faculty members toward their preparation for teaching introduction to business. This was accomplished by analyzing data received from responses to a questionnaire and a pair of bi-polar semantic scales mailed to current members of the National Association of Business Teacher Education (NABTE) and the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The questionnaire was used to gather background information about the respondents and the semantic scales were used to determine the attitude of the respondents. An original and follow-up mailing of the study instrument, cover letter, and addressed postage-paid return envelope resulted in a return rate of 81.4%. Responses to the questionnaire and semantic scales were analyzed using the t-test procedure for significance and Duncan's multiple range analysis of variance.;Findings and Conclusions. The attitude of business faculty members at NABTE and AACSB institutions is generally positive toward an introduction to business course. The attitude for teaching an introduction to business course is somewhat more positive than the attitude toward the preparation for teaching the course. Faculty members with the most teaching experience (eight years or more) have a more positive attitude toward teaching introduction to business as well as toward their preparation for teaching introduction to business. The rank of individual faculty does not impact upon their attitude toward introduction to business. The attitude of business majors is somewhat more positive than non-business majors, both toward teaching introduction to business and toward the preparation for teaching introduction to business. The attitude of teachers who had a business education methods course that dealt specifically with introduction to business is much more positive than those teachers who have not been enrolled in such a course. Teachers who have non-teaching work experiences generally have a more positive attitude toward teaching introduction to business as well as the preparation for teaching introduction to business than those who do not have such non-teaching work experiences. Faculty involvement with research and publication plays no part in forming a positive or a negative attitude toward introduction to business. The attitude of those faculty whose courses are designed for sophomores are more positive toward the teaching of the course than those whose courses are designed for freshman, juniors, and seniors.