A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF IMPORTANT ENERGY CONSERVATION CONTENT FOR INDUSTRIAL ARTS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONTEN

The purpose of this study was to determine the important energy conservation content for industrial arts in North Carolina. The continuing purpose was to identify constraints to implementation of the identified important content.;Fifty-three energy conservation content items were identified from the literature. This content was rated on importance by seven industrial arts/energy conservation specialists in North Carolina. An analysis of the specialists' scores resulted in the identification of the 20 most important energy conservation content items for industrial arts in North Carolina.;Identification of possible constraints to the implementation of the important content was accomplished by surveying the certified industrial arts teachers in North Carolina. On the survey, teachers rated each content item in relation to their instructional practices, knowledge level, and perception of content appropriateness. Almost 67% of the industrial arts teachers in North Carolina responded to the survey.;Five null hypotheses were structured to guide the analysis concerning constraints to content implementation. Data were analyzed utilizing Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and multiple regression.;The study revealed that overall, industrial arts teachers believed energy conservation was moderately to highly appropriate for industrial arts. Knowledge of energy conservation was at a comparatively lower level, and was considered a possible constraint to content implementation. Although energy conservation instructional practices were at a low level, 88% of the teachers in the survey sample included at least one of the energy conservation content items in their curriculum. In addition, the seven content items consistently rated highest by teachers were in the categories: (1) Buildings and homes; (2) Science; (3) Occupations; and (4) Ecology.;Based on the fact that energy conservation knowledge and attitude were significantly correlated with instructional practice, it was concluded, based on cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957), that instructional commitment could be responsible for a knowledge and attitudinal barrier to implementation of energy conservation subject matter not already being taught.;Since North Carolina industrial arts/energy conservation subject specialists and industrial arts teachers agreed to a moderate extent on the appropriateness of energy conservation content for industrial arts, disagreement on content priorities was not considered to be a major constraint to content implementation.;There was a slight tendency for younger, less experienced teachers to believe energy occupations, alternative energy sources, and environmental impact of energy alternatives were more appropriate for industrial arts. In addition, older, more experienced teachers were more knowledgeable in safety and health issues related to energy conservation, and conserving energy in lighting and electrical appliances.