Description:
This study was conducted to discover whether two elementary
school districts, one committed to career education and the other not
committed, would show a significant difference in their response to
60 statements about career education and its practice. The study
was also designed to determine to what degree students and teachers
would differ in their response.
Other important objectives were to ascertain whether the integration
of academic and vocational education is perceived as a viable
career education method of instruction. Additional aims were discerning
the characteristics which identify career education generally
and career awareness specifically as well as identifying the various
methodologies used for career awareness education.
A questionnaire, refined by a jury panel of career educators and
two field tests, was administered to 140 sixth grade students and 12
sixth grade teachers from each district. Responses were given on
a five-point Likert type of scale. The readability level was set at
early fifth grade using the Fry graph. Means and standard deviations
were computed for each item and the data were analyzed to test three
hypotheses: H₁ There is no school effect, H₂ There is no personal
effect, and H₃ There is no interaction effect. The F statistic was
the basis for computing the analysis of variance. The critical significance
level was set at α = . 05.
Five H₁ hypotheses were rejected, twenty H₂ hypotheses were
rejected, and four H₃ hypotheses were rejected. The data showed
that the career education district teachers were much more in agreement
with identified career education concepts and practices than
were the teachers in the non-career district. However, little congruity
was indicated between all students and all teachers concerning
career education concepts and practices, while considerable agreement
between students was indicated. Both teacher groups showed
less variability of response on their answers than did students.
The literature indicated a broad definition for career education.
Career awareness is defined with more agreement. Work preparedness
was presented by most career education authors as central to
the career education movement. An integration of various school
disciplines was seen as an essential teaching method as was the
assimilation of career education into all levels of the existing curriculum. In a total school articulation career awareness is presented
as the time to become aware of the variety and value of work
and the awareness of self within the knowledge of the possibilities in
the world of work.
It was recommended that this or similar studies be made on
the elementary, junior and senior high levels to determine to what
extent the findings of this study might be duplicated. The study also
points out the need for teacher training institutions to provide more
extensive pre- and in-service career education instruction dealing
with both the concepts and practices (methodology) of career education.
Subject:
Vocational education -- Oregon
Raw Url:
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu?metadataPrefix=&verb=GetRecord&identifier=ir.library.oregonstate.edu:d217qt295
Repository Record Id:
ir.library.oregonstate.edu:d217qt295
Record Title:
Concepts and practices of career education in two elementary school districts in Oregon
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/d217qt295