ONLINE Survey for Business Leaders (and Phone Survey Script for Business Leaders)

Date: 10/13//2006

Contract No.: ED-06-CO-0017

Establishing a Baseline for REL Southwest Performance and Identifying Customer Needs: Survey v.1.1.1 and 1.1.2

<ONLINE SURVEY FOR BUSINESS LEADERS>

<Introduction script for online survey>

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey. This survey has been developed by Edvance Research, Inc., a national research organization. Information collected through this survey will be used to assist the United States Department of Education in learning more about your education research needs.

We greatly value the opinion of educators, parents and business/community leaders such as yourself and are interested in obtaining your feedback. It should not take you more than 15 minutes to complete this survey.

Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

Please click on “Next” to begin the survey.

QA. Are you currently employed in Pre-K/Kindergarten, Elementary, Secondary or Higher Education in your state? (Select only one)

1. Yes, I am a professional educator employed in Pre-K, elementary, secondary or higher education.

2. No, I am not a professional educator, but I do have a child (or children) currently obtaining Pre-K, elementary, secondary, or higher education. <SKIP TO “SURVEY FOR PARENTS”>

3. No, I am a business/community leader and not a professional educator. <SKIP TO “SURVEY FOR BUSINESS LEADERS”>

4. Don’t know <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q1. Specify your industry of primary employment:

1. Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical

2. Construction

3. Education

4. Energy/Utilities

5. Engineering

6. Financial Services

7. Government and Policy

8. Healthcare

9. Hospitality/Tourism

10. Legal

11. Manufacturing

12. Military

13. Non-Profit

14. Real Estate

15. Retail/Wholesale

16. Other (specify)

Q2. At which level(s) of education are you, in conjunction with your business, currently involved? (Select all that apply)

1. Elementary/Secondary Education

   1. Pre-K/Kindergarten

   2. Elementary

   3. Middle/Junior

   4. High

2. Higher Education

   1. Two Year College

   2. Four Year College

   3. Graduate School

3. Other/Don’t know <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q3. Select your primary state of employment: <Participants who do not select at least one of the 5 REL SOUTHWEST states will be terminated from the survey process>

1. Arkansas

2. Louisiana

3. New Mexico

4. Oklahoma

5. Texas

6. Other <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q4. Specify your sex:

1. Male

2. Female

Q5. Specify your race/ethnicity: (Select all that apply)

1. American Indian or Alaska Native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Hispanic or Latino

5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

6. White

Q6. How would you best describe the geographic location of your business? (Select all that apply)

1. Rural

2. Suburban

3. Urban

4. Don’t know

Q7. Prior to this survey, how aware were you of the Regional Educational Laboratories, also referred to as the REL Network?

1. Very aware

2. Somewhat aware

3. Neither aware nor unaware

4. Somewhat unaware

5. Very unaware

Q8. How aware are you of SEDL (also referred to as the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory)?

1. Very aware

2. Somewhat aware

3. Neither aware nor unaware

4. Somewhat unaware

5. Very unaware

Q9. How aware are you of REL Southwest or SWREL (also referred to as the Southwestern Regional Educational Laboratory)?

1. Very aware

2. Somewhat aware

3. Neither aware nor unaware

4. Somewhat unaware

5. Very unaware

Q10. Do you use/refer to educational research?

1. Yes <SKIP TO Q12>

2. No

Q11. Specify your reasons for not using/referring to educational research: (Select all that apply)

1. I have trouble finding research.

2. Research available is not relevant to my job.

3. I doubt the quality of research that is available.

4. Research available is difficult to understand.

5. Available research is relevant but I don’t know how to apply to my job.

6. Other (Specify)

<SKIP TO Q19>

Q12. What type of educational research do you use currently (or have used in the past)? (Select all that apply)

1. Programs (e.g., Reading Recovery, Accelerated Schools, etc.)

2. Products (e.g., A particular math textbook or a reading curriculum)

3. Practices (e.g., Phonics, Whole Language, etc.)

4. Policies (e.g., No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB))

5. Testing/Assessment

6. Social issues affecting education (e.g., Teenage pregnancy, child obesity, etc.)

7. Other (Specify)

Q13. Why do you use/refer to educational research? (Select all that apply)

1. To better perform my job functions

2. To stay informed of education issues in which I am interested

3. To make decisions

4. To ensure that educational products/curriculum that are implemented (or are being implemented) are research based

5. Other (Specify)

Q14. Complete the following by selecting one of the following choices. “When I come across any educational research, I generally …

1. assume it to be of the highest quality.”

2. do not make any assumptions until I have reviewed it.”

Q15. Generally, after reviewing a research report on education, how comfortable do you feel in deciding on its quality?

1. Very comfortable

2. Somewhat comfortable

3. Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable

4. Somewhat uncomfortable

5. Very uncomfortable

Q16. Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of education research that is currently available on topics that are important to you?

1. Very satisfied

2. Somewhat satisfied

3. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

4. Somewhat dissatisfied (specify desired improvements)

5. Very dissatisfied (specify desired improvements)

6. Don’t know

Q17. How satisfied are you with the relevancy/applicability of education research that is currently available?

1. Very satisfied

2. Somewhat satisfied

3. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

4. Somewhat dissatisfied (specify desired improvements)

5. Very dissatisfied (specify desired improvements)

6. Don’t know

Q18. How do you become aware of educational research? (Select all that apply.)

1. Internet

2. Colleague(s)

3. Friends who are educators

4. Direct mail/Email

5. Professional organization(s)

6. Research provided by educational institution/school district of involvement

7. Library

8. Academic publications/journals

9. Newspapers

10. Conferences

11. Education publisher(s)

12. US Department of Education website/Institute of Education Sciences (IES) website

13. National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) publications

14. State Department of Education website

15. Regional Educational Laboratory website/publications

16. What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

17. Local education agency (LEA)

18. Comprehensive Assistance Centers

19. Other (Specify)

Q19. How important are the following education issues/research topics to you, as they relate to improved academic performance? After selecting “importance ratings” for each item, please assign a rank of “1” to the one item that you find to be the most important.

Assign Rank of "1" to only one item which is most important for you	Education Issues / Research Topics	Very imp.	Somewhat imp.	Neither imp. nor unimp.	Somewhat unimp.	Very unimp.
	Assessment and Standards (e.g., diagnostic, formative, state and NAEP standards)
	Early Childhood/Early Intervention & Prevention
	Education Infrastructure (e.g., leadership, cost-studies, teacher retention, organization development, & service coordination)
	Education Research (e.g., evaluating effectiveness of programs)
	English Language Learners (ELL), English as a Second Language (ESL), Bilingual Education
	Equity & Diversity (e.g., urban, rural, & special populations)
	Family & Community (e.g., parent involvement, substance abuse prevention in schools, obesity, after school programs, mentoring, worker training, & volunteer leadership)
	K-12 School & District Reform
	Legal Issues for Teachers/Administrators/Students (e.g., liability, teacher/student rights, harassment)
	Mathematics
	Policy & Legislation (e.g., NCLB, IDEA)
	Post-Secondary (e.g., P-16, college readiness, & teacher preparation)
	Professional Development
	Reading & Writing
	Response to Intervention (RTI)
	Safety (e.g. bullying, school violence)
	Science
	Special Education & Disabilities
	Teacher Incentive Pay
	Technology in Learning (e.g., use in professional development, instruction, & infrastructure)

Q20. Please specify any other education issues/research topics that relate to improved academic performance and are important for you: ____________________

Q21. You are almost at the end of this survey. If there are any other comments that you would like us to receive (regarding the education research needs of your region), please enter them in the space provided below. ______________________________________

Q22. Would you like to receive educational research/research notifications through email?

1. Yes (“Please enter your professional email”)

2. No

Q23. Please provide your professional contact information (optional). (Note: Please provide your professional information.):

• Name:

• Name of employer:

• State:

• Zip:

• Phone:

<Closing Statement>

Thank you for your time. Your responses will aid in the development and implementation of research that will be used to make evidence-based decisions and to positively impact student performance in your state.

<Only those respondents being offered a $10 gift card will be shown following statement>

Please enter the email address where you would like us to send your $10 gift card for completing the survey. The email address you provide will be used only to send your gift card__________

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX. The time required to complete this form is estimated to average 15 minutes per respondent, including the time to review instructions and complete the survey. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4651. If you have any comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Edvance Research, Inc., Market Research Director, 9901 IH-10 West, Suite 700, San Antonio, TX, 78230.

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