A STUDY OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS OF PUPIL TRANSPORTATION SUPERVISORS IN SELECTED SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

The Problem. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the perceived importance of identified management function statements related to the position of pupil transportation supervisor in selected school districts in the State of Minnesota. A parallel purpose was to determine if significant differences existed in the level of perceived importance for each statement based on the type of school bus system supervised. The third purpose was to determine significant differences in the level of perceived importance of the management function statements based on the supervisor's training in pupil transportation program management.;A comprehensive questionnaire was designed around eight clusters of pupil transportation management skills, and contained 145 management function statements.;Responses to each statement were analyzed with analysis of variance. Post hoc analyses (Scheffe Test) were conducted on those statements which resulted in significant F ratios (p (LESSTHEQ) .01).;Conclusions. An analysis of the data collected in the process of conducting this investigation suggest the following conclusions: (1) Transportation supervisors of school owned and operated bus systems are in general agreement with supervisors from combination school/contract owned and operated bus systems in their perceptions of the importance of the management functions. (2) Pupil transportation supervisors of contract owned and operated bus systems perceive specific management functions related to personnel, vehicles and special transportation significantly different from supervisors of school owned and operated bus systems. (3) In general, pupil transportation supervisors of contract owned and operated bus systems demonstrate no significant difference in the level of perceived importance of management functions from supervisors of combination school/contract owned and operated bus systems. (4) The perceived level of importance of the management function statements are not significantly different from supervisors who have had training in pupil transportation program management from either a professional organization or on the job when compared to supervisors who have not had similar training.;The Research Procedure. The sample of this study consisted of one hundred four (104) pupil transportation supervisors employed by school districts in the State of Minnesota. Forty (40) were from districts which owned and operated the bus system, thirty two (32) from districts which contracted for their bus service, and thirty two (32) represented supervisors from districts with combination school/contract owned and operated bus systems.;Recommendations. It is recommended that: (1) A review of the management functions identified in this study be included in the process of determining minimum requirements for certification of pupil transportation supervisors in Minnesota. (2) The management functions of this study should be used as a basis for determining program objectives and course offerings when establishing and conducting pre-service and in-service training programs for pupil transportation supervisors. (3) School district officials should incorporate the applicable management functions into their selection procedure when evaluating the qualifications of candidates for pupil transportation supervisor and as guides for improvement. (4) A series of studies should be conducted in other states using the same research design and similar respondents.