Work Attitudes and Values Among Students of a Michigan Area Vocational High School.

Abstract

The study was conducted during the school year 1971-1972 at the Northeast Oakl and Vocational Education Center (NEOVEC), a two year area vocational high school opened in 1970, to test the effectiveness of a five week program designed to influence students' work attitudes and values. A treatment process designed to influence student work attitudes required two one hour sessions per week for five weeks totaling ten hours. The treatment process occurred in a counseling group format in a meeting room away from NEOVEC classrooms. Treatment included viewing and discussing film strips presenting work attitudes and values, hearing and reacting to presentations by employers and union representatives, and visiting employment settings and agencies. An experimental group of thirty students and a closely matched control group of twenty-five students were formed. Both groups received pre and post assessments of a work values instrument, a self-concept instrument, and a pre-post rating of classroom performance completed by their teachers. The students' NEOVEC grades for the first and second semesters of the year were compared. A follow-up survey was sent in 1975 to both groups. Analysis of the pre-post measures and the follow-up survey produced only isolated evidences of significance. The major conclusion of the study was that to change work-related behaviors among vocational students, the treatment should be designed to address students who exhibit problem behaviors and be connected with classroom activities.