Selected strategies and supporting tactics to encourage students to enroll in post-high school vocational education programs

Abstract

Purpose: The two-fold purpose for this study was (1) develop sets of selected planned change strategies and supporting tactics that could be used in recruiting students in different situational settings and (2) determine the effectiveness of these selected supporting tactics in encouraging individuals to enroll in vocational education programs at the post-high school level as perceived by deans and directors of comprehensive public community and junior colleges in Texas. This dual purpose was to be accomplished by (1) having an eleven member jury assign the 20 tactics for effecting change identified by Havelock (1971) to the seven strategies proposed by Guba (1968), (2) having 50 deans and directors determine the effectiveness of these 20 tactics in encouraging students to enroll in vocational education programs, and (3) conjoining the information from both sources to form sets of strategies with prioritized supporting tactics for different situational settings. Research Questions: A review of the literature relative to opinions in decision making, tactics for planned change, and strategies for planned change resulted in the formulation of a theoretical base. From the theoretical base, the following two research questions with subquestions developed:..