REPORT RESUMES E) 015 231 VT 000 457 JOB PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG WORKERS IN RELATION TO SCHOOL BACKGROUND, A TILOT APPROACH TOWARD USING THE JOB ENVIRONMENT IN EVALUATING BOTH GENERAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. BY. BERGSTROM, HOWARD E. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEV. COUNC.OF TWIN CITIES PUB DATE 20 APR 66 EDRS PRICE MF.41.00 HC -$O.76 217P. DESCRIPTORS- *VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, *HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, *GENERAL EDUCATION, *PERSONNEL EVALUATION, PROGRAM EVALUATION, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, MALES, GRADES (SCHOLASTIC), EMPLOYMENT LEVEL, PILOT PROJECTS, INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE WAYS OF USING THE WORK ENVIRONMENT TO APPRAISE THE EFFECTS OF PREEMPLOYMENT EDUCATION BOTH GENERAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ON SUBSEQUENT JOB SUCCESS. DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM AUGUST 1964 TO MAY 1965, AND CAME FROM THREE PRIMARY SOURCES (1) TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS WITH 150 BOYS WHO GRADUATED FROM THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HIGH SCHOOLS IN 1963 BUT HAD OBTAINED FULL-TIME WORK INSTEAD OF CONTINUING THEIR FORMAL EDUCATION, (2) THEIR OFFICIAL SCHOOL RECORDS (CLASS RANK, GRADES IN ENGLISH AND VOCATIONALLY - ORIENTED SUBJECTS, ATTENDANCE RECORDS, AND SCORES IN INTELLIGENCE AND THE DIFFERENTIAL APTITUDE TEST), AND (3) THE EMPLOYERS OF THE 150 BOYS WHO WERE INTERVIEWED BY THE INVESTIGATOR AT 123 PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT. EACH EMPLOYER DEFINED THE JOB AS BEING ON ONE OF FOUR LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY, AND INDICATED THE ORDER OF IMPORTANCE OF THREE CLUSTERS OF CHARACTERISTICS (1) COMMUNICATION COMPETENCY (VALUED MOST IN 42 CASES), (2) PERSONAL ADEQUACY (VALUED MOST IN 91 CASES), AND (3) SKILLS UNIQUE TO THE JOB (VALUED MOST IN 17 CASES). BOYS FROM ALL THREE SCHOOLS WERE EQUALLY SUCCESSFUL IN OBTAINING JOBS RELATED TO THEIR TRAINING. ALTHOUGH NO SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP EXISTED BETWEEN CLASS RANK IN SCHOOL AND RANK ON THE JOE, THE POOREST FOURTH OF GRADUATES HAD SIGNIFICANTLY POORER EVALUATIONS ON EVERY MEASURE OF JOB SUCCESS. (SL). JOB PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG WORKERS IN RELATION TO SCHOOL BACKGROUND A PILOT APPROACH TOWARD USING THE JOBENVIRONMENT IN EVALUATING BOTH GENERAL AND VOCATIONALEDUCATION A Study Sponsored by the EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Ins. College of Education, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota55455 HOWARD E. BERGSTROM The research report herein was financed through the research program of the Office of Manpower, Automation.) and Training, United States Department of Labor. Contract No. 81-22-30 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. JOB PERFORMANCE OFYOUNG WORKERS IN RELATION TO SCHOOL BACKGROUND A PILOT APPROACH TOWARD USING THE JOB ENVIRONMENT IN EVALUATING BOTH GENERAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION A Study Sponsored by the EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Inca College of Education, University of Minnesota Minneapolii, Minnesota55455 . HOWARD E. BERGSTROM The material in this report was prepared under a contract with the Office of Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research, U. S. Department of Labor, under the authority of Title I of the Manpower Development and Training Act 'of 1962, as amended. Researchers undertaking such projects under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment. Therefore, points of .view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of the Department of Labor. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL of the Twin Cities liketr,..0,p..plitan Area, Inc. .tr :7 College of Education University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota 1111111011111=, April 30, 1966 Director :,111 Office of Manpower, Automationand Trainingin U.S. Department of Labor Washington, D.C. RE: Contract No. 81-22-30 Sir: Reported herein are the results ofa study initiated and conducted by Howard E. Bergstrom, Project Codtdinatorwith the Educational Research and Development Council. Data were collected from August 1964 through May 1965, and the analysis and follow-up studywere completed under contract with OMAT since June 1, 1965. The purpose of the study has been to exploreways of using the work environment to appraise the effects of pre-employment education--1,,, both general and vocational education--on subsequentsuccess of perforr: mance in the world of work. The field of the study would more accurately be personnel psychology than vocational education, although theseare interwoven and interdependent fields. The careful reader of Dr. Bergstromss report will find thatsome fundamental challenges have been made tocertain widely-accepted beliefs. These challenges would require large-scale research andprogram develop- ment to determine their worth. What has been established in the present study, we believe, is that the challengesare shown to have grounds for presentation. The more tangible outcome of the study is the development ofsome techniques for evaluatingyoung workers which might reflect on the school curriculum. As is approOriate in a pilot study, these methods: are not finished instruments but may be useful to other researchers in developing refined techniques in specific occupational fields. The colored-page section of this report presentsan overview in non- technical terms, followed by the detailed technicalreport on white pages. We present this study in the hope that itmay make a contribution,toward current thinking and toward additional studies with Similarobjectiy.qs. Sincerely yours, Van D. Mueller Executive Secretary ACKNOWLEDGMENTS' Research in human affairs is always a joint effort, even when one individual actually carries out a project. The following organizations and individuals must be specifically mentioned in connection with the study reported in this volume, at the risk of omitting some whose contributions were'also very valuable. Administrators and counselors in more than 15 schools and school districts provided information, with most data obtained from Roosevelt and Vocational senior high schools in'the Minnea- polis Public Schools, and from the Robbinsdale Senior High SchOol, Robbinsdale, Minnesota... Counselors Michael Davies, Donald Hanson, and Douglas Haneon conducted the telephone interviews with the graduates. One hundred and sixty-one employed former students who graduated from the named high schools in 1963 were interviewed; the cooperation of these young men is greatly appreciated. Executive and superliisory personnel in .123 places of em- ployment in Minneapolis and surrounding areaa_granted interviews and provided information. Several members of the Graduate School faculty of the ,University of,Minnesota, ProfesSors Gordon M. A: Mork ,and Cyril J. Hoyt in. particular, have been consulted on the design of the study and the writing of the report herein. The Educational Research and Development Council, through its Board of Directors, Commissions, and staff, has been the primary sponsor.of the research..Executive Secretary Van D.. Mueller and. Associate Exetutive Secretary Donald E.' Davis have been especially helpfUl, and Linda Kabrick typed. the entire report. The Office of Manpower, AutomatiOn, and Training, U.S. Department of Labor, has supported the study since June 1, 1965. The writer could'nothave completed the project without the cooperation of his wife Jane C. Bergstrom, to whom this volume is gratefully'dediCated. Howard E. Bergstrom Minneapoliso.Minnesota April, 1966 iv OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT The Overview of the Project, presented on the coloredpages preceding the study proper, has been prepared to provide the reader with a setting from which to view the problem and procedure of the study. Some of the insights and findings gained by the investigator are included as they seemed to bear on comprehension of the problem. An attempt has been made.to write this section in non-technical terms. TABLE OF CONTENTS (abbreviated) Page Overview of the Project Problem and Purpose. vii Design and Procedures x Findings and Interpretations xiii Detailed Table of Contents. 0 xviii Chapter It Introduction to the Complete Report. 1 Chapter II: Review of Literature. 15 Chapter III: Design and Procedures . 33 Chapter IVs Findings and Interpretations. 77 Chapter V: Concluding Statement. 131 Bibliography . 135 Appendix A- Supplementary Tables 139 Appendix B- Forms for Gathering Data 0 178 ,441, }14144 1.144 4oe ,14447. , 41,,444,174 '1,0+ 1 -44 e44, , 4 OVERVIEN OF THE PROJECT 1414011EPUIJImalata The approach of this studymay be of more significance than the findings. While the findings appear to have validity related to high school graduateswho work after leaving grade 12 in the Minneapolisarea, it is not known that the conclusions would apply to other metropolitanareas onto graduates of post-high school educational programs. Somewhat different findings would be expected especially ifa similar study were to be conducted on graduates of post-high schoolprograms involving rigorous technical training and selected students. Therefore, the reader is invited to 'considerthe approach of the study--to the development ofa generalizable technique for defining the essential elementsof job perforMance, to the evalua- tion of individualson these essentials, and to the relationship of jobs to school background--asbeing the aspect which may have value in acquiring insights and inplanning for