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A STUDY OF THE ACCEPTABILITY OF SELECTED PROCEDURAL CHANGES TO CONSERVE ENERGY IN NEBRASKA SCHOOL DISTRICTS

WOLFGANG KURT KOEHLE, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to compare the opinions of superintendents and their perceptions of community attitudes in Nebraska's K-12 school districts concerning procedural changes designed to conserve energy and to relate selected variables to the assessment values. On the basis of the literature review, a questionnaire was developed. Participants were superintendents in Nebraska school districts who were asked to identify their own attitudes and also to estimate community attitudes toward selected procedural changes. Data were analyzed primarily through crosstabulation procedures. Findings from the literature review suggested that communities objected less to operational changes than school administrators; energy conservation through mid-winter school closing found widest acceptance among administrators. Data from the study indicated that there was little support for the suggested procedural changes. Conclusions from the study were as follows: (1) Superintendents believed that communities were very concerned about energy costs but were reluctant to individually provide transportation for after-school activities. (2) Superintendents from school districts with fewer than 500 students were more inclined to accept the four-day week than superintendents from schools with higher enrollments. (3) Superintendents felt that the community would prefer a seasonal adjustment in the start of the school day rather than other alternatives, whereas the superintendents accorded this calendar option only a fourth place ranking. (4) Superintendents favored the mid-winter closing; their second choice was the calendar with the four- or five-day school week dependent on the season of the year. (5) Superintendents believed that nearly 21 percent of the community or parents supporting after-school activities would be willing to provide after-school transportation in order to conserve energy. (6) Superintendents who agreed that a change in the existing school calendar would lead to a reduction in energy consumption preferred the mid-winter closing; their second choice was the seasonal change in the start of the school day.

Subject Area

School administration

Recommended Citation

KOEHLE, WOLFGANG KURT, "A STUDY OF THE ACCEPTABILITY OF SELECTED PROCEDURAL CHANGES TO CONSERVE ENERGY IN NEBRASKA SCHOOL DISTRICTS" (1982). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8217537.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8217537

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