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M):

”EARY

IV}; I ate
University

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

PERCEPTIONS OF ECONOMIC PROBLEMS FACED BY
GRADUATES OF ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOLS

presented by

JOSEPHINE SAWAIA

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Doctor of Ph.ilosoph¥_degreein_s_e§_oudazy Education
and Curriculum
(Business & Distr. Education)

Major professor

0-7639

 

PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF GRADUATES IN
ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOLS WHO WERE UNMARRIED

FOUR YEARS AFTER GRADUATION

by

Josephine Julia Sawaia

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to Michigan State University in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum
College of Education

1977

ABSTRACT

PERCEPTION OF CONSUMER-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF GRADUATES IN
ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOLS WHO WERE UNMARRIED

FOUR YEARS AFTER GRADUATION

by Josephine Julia Sawaia

Most individuals in the United States are participants in the
economy, both as a consumer and as a worker. Knowledges and skills in
consumer decision-making have become more important to school curricula.
This is because of the enactment into law in many states of an earlier,
legal age of majority, which is eighteen or nineteen years in most cases.
However, consumer education for all students is not a requirement in most
secondary schools.

The purpose of this study was (1) to determine the economic
problems which high school graduates, who were unmarried four years after
graduation, had faced within six months after graduation, and (2) to
determine the degree of difficulty those problems caused the graduates.

The population was three schools chosen as being representative of
the types of high schools in Arizona. Instrumentation used was a question-
naire sent to high school graduates of three types of Arizona schools:

a rural school (Superior High School), an inner-city school (Phoenix
South Mountain High School), and a suburban school (Scottsdale High

School). It was assumed that the respondents were accurate in the

descriptions of their economic experiences and that the four-year time
span following high school graduation was sufficient to illuminate
economic problems encountered by the graduate.

There were four major research questions addressed. They were:

1. What are the economic experiences of high school graduates
prior to graduation?

2. Are the economic experiences of high school graduates related
to type of high school: suburban, inner-city, and rural?

3. What are the economic problems encountered within the first
six months after high school by unmarried graduates four years after
high school graduation?

4. Are the economic problems related to the type of high school
from which graduated: suburban, inner-city, and rural?

The findings of this study revealed certain personal date concern-
ing marital status; sex; occupations of both parents and graduates in
three types of schools; employment information; vehicle ownership. Major
economic problems listed were finding a job, decisions regarding further
education and making money stretch from one payday to another.

On the basis of the data in this study it can be concluded that
(1) while in school, students from the three types of schools have differ-
ent economic experiences; (2) since respondents of the selected Arizona
high schools do not indicate any severity of consumer education problems,
the question should be asked as to whether they are receiving now in their
courses adequate economic education or whether they have learned to solve
these problems through their economic experiences while being employed or

by being members of a family; (3) experiences with a wide variety of

financial transactions is lacking at the high school level; (4) employ-
ment experiences for students in the rural and inner-city schools are not
extensive; (5) there are few differences among graduates in the three
different types of school settings; graduates do not face many major
economic problems within six months after graduation; however, the
economic difficulties encountered by the respondents are, for the most
part, similar; the exceptions are that borrowing money, buying a vehicle,
buying on the installment plan, and deciding whether to buy on credit or
pay cash is more difficult for graduates from the rural and inner-city
schools.

Recommendations were that (1) the instrument used in this study
should be used by schools to determine what experiences students have
had so that learning activities can be based on their need; (2) this
study be replicated in other states to include a Northern and urban state;
a Midwestern and primarily a small town and rural state, a Western state
that resembles Arizona with two central population bases and numerous
small towns; (3) a study be made of what economic problems graduates have
experienced 2-3 years after graduation. Similar studies should be made
on economic experiences of those who are married (or are widowed or
divorced). Curriculum patterns and syllabi should be reviewed to
determine if the objectives are consistent with what graduates encounter;
(4) studies in the area of this study might well attempt to gather data
on students such as rank in class and type of work experiences; (5)
curriculum administrators and teachers should cooperate in a program to
develop experiences involving financial transactions for high school

students in the rural, inner-city, and suburban school districts; and

(6) school districts should consistently collect follow-up data on
students and make names and addresses easily available to qualified
researchers; school districts should be charged with responsibility for
maintaining a follow-up system of their graduates (and former students
who did not graduate) and be provided with state funds for this purpose;
school districts must assume responsibility for those who have been in

resident attendance.

To my parents,
Salim A. and Genevieve A. Sawaia
for their deep love, their encouragement, value

of educational and civic pursuits, and beautiful
heritage they left our family.

and

to my sisters and brothers
Edward J., Victoria, Phillip K., and Genevieve A.
for their unending love and help, and for their many
contributions that have helped shape my life and

career .

All of them taught me the art of love for caring,
living and giving.

"It is well to give when asked, but it is better to
give unasked, through understanding. . . ."

Kahlil Gibran

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to express appreciation and gratitude to the
many people who have given encouragement and cooperation during my
professional career and the doctoral program. The faculty at Michigan
State University gave me support as did those in the profession in my
state to whom I have turned at times for help. These persons at MSU are:
Dr. Peter G. Haines, Chairman of my Guidance Committee, for his advice,
his many valuable and constructive suggestions, counsel, guidance, and
encouragement, during the process of this research. Professors J.
Franklin Bobbitt, William W. Farquhar, Robert Poland, and Zane Quible for
their guidance, assistance, and time as members of the guidance committee.

My district and high school administrators gave their support of
my professional endeavors and permission to conduct this study. George
Dunn and Lloyd W. Colvin of the Phoenix Union High School System and Milton
Dubsky of the Superior School District also were of assistance and to
them go my thanks for their assistance and encouragement, and as impor-
tantly, thanks go to the 1972 graduates of Scottsdale High School;
Phoenix, South Mountain High School and Superior High School for their
contributions for the study.

A special thank-you goes to Mrs. Rose Lowenstein, a long-time
teacher of English who, as a favor to a colleague, checked this manuscript
for correct English usage and made sure it conformed to Campbell's form
book for thesis writing.

My brother and sisters gave over many years their love, encourage-
ment, and help. My sister Genny gave many hours of tireless effort in

coding the data.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter

1. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l
NEED FOR THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
EXPECTED OUTCOMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ASSUMPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
LIMITATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
THE HISTORY OF CONSUMER EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
CURRENT NEED FOR CONSUMER—ECONOMIC EDUCATION . . . . . . 23
OBJECTIVES OF CONSUMER-ECONOMIC EDUCATION . . . . . . . . 25
SUMMARY OF REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3. PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
POPULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
INSTRUMENTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

DATA COLLECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

DATA TABULATION AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

iv

Chapter
4. FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS BY TYPE OF SCHOOL . . . .
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS . . . . . .
Sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marital Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current Employment . . . . . . . . . . .
Place of Current Residence . . . . . . . . .
Occupation of Parents . . . . . . . . . . . .
PRIOR ECONOMIC EXPERIENCES . . . . . . . . . .
Economic Experiences . . . . . . . . . .
Prior Economic Experiences Classified
By Type of School . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AFTER GRADUATION
Extent of Economic Problems . . . . . . . .

Problems Classified by Type of School Attended

5. SUMMARY OF THE STUDY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page
41
41
42
42
43
44
45
46
47
47

51
56
56
63
73
73
73
74
74
74
75
76

76

Chapter Page

The Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
APPENDICES

A. INSTRUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

B. COVER LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

3.01 Size of 1971-72 Graduating Class, Number of New Addresses
Found, and Response Returns 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 37

3.02 Mailings Returned by the Post Office for "Improper
Address" or "Address Unknown" Classified by Type
of SChOOl O C C O C C O C O C C O O I C O O . C O C O C C 38

4.01 Number of Graduates Responding and Not Responding
Classified by Type of High School . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

4.02 Distribution of Respondents by Sex and Type of School . . . 43

4.03 Marital Status of Respondents Four Years After
Graduation Classified by Type of School . . . . . . . . . 44

4.04 Employment and Student Status of Unmarrieds Classified
by Type of School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

4.05 Present Residence of Unmarried Graduates Four Years
After Graduation Classified by Type of High School . . . . 46

4.06 Occupation of Parents of Unmarried Respondents
Classified by Type of High School . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4.07A Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High SChOOl“Part A, Employment. 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o ‘59

4.07B Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High School--Part B, Financial Transactions . . . . . . . 50

4.07C Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High SCh001‘-Part C, TraVEI o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 52

4.08A Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High School by Type of School Attended--Part A,
Employment 0 I I O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O 54

4.08B Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High School by Type of School Attended--Part B,

Financial Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

4.08C Economic Experiences of Unmarried Graduates While in
High School by Type of School Attended--Part C, Travel . . 57

vii

Table

4.09A

4.09B

4.09C

4.10A

4.10B

4.10C

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months
After Graduation--Part A, Financial Transactions . .

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months
After Graduation--Part B, Values and Life Style . .

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months
After Graduation-~Part C, Buying and Professional
serViceS O O I O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O O C 0

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months
After Graduation by Type of School Attended--Part A,
Financial Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months
After Graduation by Type of School Attended--Part B,
Values and Life-Style Decisions . . . . . . . . . .

Economic Problems Encountered by Unmarrieds Six Months

After Graduation by Type of School Attended--Part C,
Buying and Professional Services Decisions . . . . .

viii

Page

59

62

64

67

70

71

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Our society is changing as it always does in a democracy. The
economy of the United States of America flexes, expands, and contracts.
Most individuals in our economy are consumers; most are employed although
some are retired. Young peOple, even as early as the age of three to
five, are consumers of television advertisements and of a few products
such as those sold by the "Dairy Queen" or "McDonalds." In a consumer
market, the necessity for young adults to develop consumer competence is
most important.

If individuals are to be effective citizens in the society in
which they live, they require knowledges and skills in consumer decision-
making. As American consumers, individuals are engulfed in our age of
sales promotion--radio, television, newspaper, and magazine advertising.
It is not easy to select the best product, the most economical cash or
credit plan, or the best place or time to buy. Nor is it easy to make
other economic decisions such as obtaining a lease, purchasing insurance,
borrowing money, and buying on the installment plan.

In the early 19708 many states enacted into law a new age of
majority--eighteen or nineteen in most cases. These laws meant that the
18-19 Year-old was legally liable for his/her decisions in such situations as
signing installment contracts, borrowing money, renting or leasing apart-
ments, voting in local elections and obtaining a credit card. As a result,
schools in many states have instituted new courses with titles such as

"economics," "bachelor survival," "consumer education, consumer

' and "family living." Such courses deal with some of the

economics,‘
following areas of instruction: values, life-styles, economic-
understanding, taxes, income tax forms, income--deductions and fringes,
money management, consumer mathematics, savings and investments,
advertising, information sources, shopping skills, buying decisions,
insurance, professional services, credit, contracts, warranties, deception
and fraud, complaints, legislation, organizations and community services,

health and safety, continuing education, recreation and leisure, energy

and environment, and consumer issues.

NEED FOR THE STUDY

In our economy, the necessity for young adults to develop consumer
competence is very important. Citizens and family members require greater
knowledges and skills in consumer decision-making to perform effectively
in the market place. If education is to serve the graduating youth
adequately in consumer-economic education, there is a need to know more
about the kinds of problems they will encounter after leaving high school.

The following definition of consumer education is used by the
State staff in Home Economics in the State of Arizona:

Consumer education is the preparation of the individual in the
skills, concepts, and understandings that are required for everyday
living to achieve, within the framework of his own values, maximum
satisfaction in utilization of his resources.1

Despite the needs and demands of our society for effective consumerism,

enrollment or offerings in consumer-economic education have generally been

low. This leads the writer of this study to the conclusion that necessary

 

1Curriculum Guide for Consumer Economics (Phoenix, Arizona: Ariz-
ona State Department of Education, 1975), p. 2.

 

consumer-economic education units of instruction or courses for all
students are not emphasized or not available in many schools.

Many educators have indicated their concern for the high school
student to be economically literate. Although education for consumer-
ship was not the focus of this study, the concerns of these educational
leaders relate to the problems which teenagers will face within a few
years after graduation. For example, James E. Mendenhall, educational
director of Consumers Union, pointed out:

One reason why we need consumer education in our schools is
that teen-agers are a large component of our nation's population
and account for a significant share of our national consumer economy.
On July 1, 1966 according to the Bureau of the Census, persons aged
13 through 19 numbered 26.4 million. Today nearly 13 of every 100
Americans are teen-agers.

And these youth are sizable spenders. Our teen-agers, it was
estimated last year, were paying out some $15 billion--or about $625
per teen--annually on goods and services. These figures, it should
be noted, do not include what parents normally spend on necessities
such as food and shelter for their children's support.

Because all students are consumers and can benefit from education
in this area, there is good reason why all should have the opportunity
to do so. Whether students will eventually be high school graduates
or college graduates, they have in common many consumer interests and
problems that they can deal with more successfully and more effectively
if they have had consumer education while in high school. Consumer
education, after all, is something that a youth can use now and take
with him and use later, whether he gets a job or goes on to college
after graduating from high school.

A senior editor of Seventeen, Jean Baer, stated that manufacturers
should look not only at the present but also to the future:
Catch a teen-age girl and put her in your pocket now

and you'll keep her forever. Now's the time to sew her up--before
the rice is in her hair, before the stork is on the roof, before the

 

2James E. Mendenhall, "Youth Needs and School Responsibilities,"
The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals,
51:14-20, October, 1967.

 

lfilu

-.. AC
ngs X

7 H}
w 1‘

wolf is at the door. Set her textured stockings on the path to your
product now--and she'll come back blindfolded, baby-strollered and
one day bifocaled.3
As a group, teenagers form a powerful consumer bloc. In 1974
there were over 28 million teenagers in the United States and they Spent
an estimated $23 billion.4 This means that each of them spent an average
of $800 a year on records, tapes, cosmetics, and so forth. It is not
surprising that advertising agencies have increasingly focused their
attention on the teenage market. According to Louis A. Thayer, Special
Services Director of Scholastic Magazines:
Last year, more than 50% of people filing bankruptcy were under
thirty years of age. For many of these people, proper exposure to
the realities of personal money management and some experience in

dealing with the practicalities of money matters before they left
school might have helped them avoid this regrettable action.

In Arizona, professional personnel as well as local citizens have
also been concerned with the development of a course in economic aware-
ness which is offered to all seniors. But, to make such a course effective,
there is a need to determine which economic problems high school graduates
have faced after graduation so the course and instructional materials can

be relevant to needs.

 

3Jean Baer, "The Teenage Consumer," quoted by James E. Mendenhall
in "Youth Needs and School Responsibilities," The Bulletin of the
National Association of Secondary School Principals, 51:16, October,
1967.

4Robert Leroy Miller, Economic Issues for Consumers (New York:
West Publishing Co., 1975), p. 83.

5Letter from Louis A. Thayer, Special Services Director of
Scholastic Magazines Inc., to Mrs. Evelyn Caskey, Principal, Scottsdale
High School, November, 1976.

 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of this study was to determine the economic experi-
ences of high school graduates and to relate those experiences with the
economic problems which unmarried high school graduates four years after
graduation face within six months after graduation and to attempt to
determine the degree of difficulty of those problems. The broad
research questions of concern were:

1. What are the economic experiences of high school graduates

prior to graduation?

2. Are the economic experiences of high school graduates

related to type of high school: suburban, inner-city, and

rural?

3. What are the economic problems encountered within the first

six months after high school by unmarried graduates four years

after high school graduation?

4. Are the economic problems related to the type of high school

from which graduated: suburban, inner-city, and rural?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES

The following were the research questions to be answered. Each
question is supported by one or more null hypotheses:

Question: What are the economic experiences of high school

 

ggaduatesgprior to graduation?

 

Hl.l. The number of high school graduates who have employment

 

experiences prior to graduation is not different from

H1.2.

H1.3.

the number of high school graduates who do not have

employment experiences prior to graduation.

 

The number of high school graduates who have formal

financial transactions prior to graduation is not

 

different from the number of high school graduates who

do not have formal financial transactions prior to
graduation.

The number of high school graduates who have economically

meaningful travel experiences prior to graduation is not

 

different from the number of high school graduates who
do not have economically meaningful travel experiences

prior to graduation.

Question 2: Are the economic experiences of high school graduates

related to pypg of high school: suburbapliinner-city,gand rural?

H2.1.

H2.2.

H203.

The employment experiences of prospective high school

 

graduates do not differ when classified by type of high
school, namely: suburban, inner-city, and rural.

The formal financial transactions of prospective high
school graduates do not differ when classified by type
of high school, namely: suburban, inner-city, and rural.
The economically meaningful travel experiences of

high school graduates do not differ when classified by
type of high school namely: suburban, inner-city, and

rural.

Question 3: What are the economic problems encountered within

the first six months after high school by unmarried graduates

four years after high school graduation?

H3.1.

H302.

H3.3.

The number of unmarried high school graduates who
encounter difficulties in financial situations within

six months after graduation is not different from the
number of unmarried high school graduates who do not
encounter difficulties in financial situations within

six months after graduation.

The number of unmarried high school graduates who
encounter difficulties in values and life style situations
within six months after graduation is not different from
the number of unmarried high school graduates who do not
encounter difficulties in values and life style situations
within six months after graduation.

The number of unmarried high school graduates who

encounter difficulties in buying and professional

 

services situations within six months after graduation

is not different from the number of unmarried high school

graduates who do not encounter difficulties in buyipg and

 

professional services situations within six months after

 

graduation.

Question 4: Are the economic problems related to the type of

high school from which graduated, namely: suburban, inner-city,

and rural?

H4.1.

The financial difficulties of unmarried high school
graduates do not differ when classified by type of high

school, namely: suburban, inner-city, and rural.

H4.2. The values and life style difficulties of unmarried high

school graduates do not differ when classified by type of

high school, namely: suburban, inner-city, rural.

H4.3. The buying and professional services difficulties of

unmarried high school graduates do not differ when
classified by type of high school, namely: suburban,

inner-city, and rural.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

As a result of this study, it was expected that:

1.

Those who devised courses in economic and consumer education
for the eleventh and twelfth grades should be able to deter-
mine what problem areas are important to students and,
therefore determine the relevant objectives. This would
also help those in the State of Arizona who are concerned
about economic awareness as one of the thrusts of career
education.

The instrumentation used in the study could be used as a
model for research on the same topic for schools in other
states.

Textbooks and other instructional materials could be revised
and up-dated to ensure that economic and consumer education
knowledges, skills, and understandings are relevant and
beneficial for the graduates.

ASSUMPTIONS

Underlying this study were several assumptions. These include the

following:

1.

That descriptions by the respondents of their economic
experiences were accurate with regard to their personal
recollections. Although they may be accompanied by a memory
bias.

That schools selected were representative of suburban, inner-
city, and rural schools in Arizona as described by the
State Department of Education.

sources:

3.

9

That former students and state and local administrators were
an appropriate jury to evaluate a questionnaire to which the
sample responded.

LIMITATIONS

In this study there were several limitations. These were:

1.

The study was limited to one region of one state and is not
generalizable to any other state nor to the entire State of
Arizona. The pr0portion of married graduates was not deter-
minable because Arizona high schools do not possess such
data. The United States census provides data on heads of
households who reside in the State; but some of such individ-
uals may have migrated to the state and would, therefore,

not be representative of graduates of Arizona high schools.

The study did not try to assess whether one high school
course was more important than another in the offerings
of various departmental areas for the development of
consumer-economic competence.

The moral, political, and religious values of students were
not determinants of the economic awareness they had, and
therefore, were not studied.

The study was not intended to determine the effectiveness
of courses being taught which have as objectives the

development of consumer competence.

A four-year time span after high school graduation was
sufficient to illuminate economic problems of the graduate.

The responses were subject to recall bias, the memory of
the respondent.

DEFINITIONS

The definitions which follow were derived from a variety of

Competencies. Having requisite abilities or qualities.

 

Curriculum structure. Courses offered by an educational institu-

 

tion and made up of interdependent parts in a definite pattern
of organization.

10

Description. An act of describing, to give an account in words.

 

Economic awareness. Perception of the processes of production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

 

Economic education. A program of study relating to, or based on
the individual's understanding of the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services.

 

Employment experiences. Number of hours employed during high
school.

 

Formal financial transactions. Includes checking account,
savings account, credit card, ownership of a motor vehicle,
ownership of stock, keeping a budget, allowance, and check
cashing.

 

Life patterns. Attitudes and behaviors in the areas of consumption
patterns and family relationships.

 

Low income. The income of the household is $5,000 or less.6

 

Low to Middle Income. The income of the household ranges from
$5,000 to $10,500[7

 

Representative. A typical example of a group or class.

 

Unmarrieds. Separate individual persons, not married at the time
of the study.

 

Three types of schools:

 

Inner-city school. A school that includes grades 9-12 which
is located in a large city and which has a population of over
500,000 persons; one that is eligible for Title I funds and
where there is a disproportionate number of students who are
economically, socially, and educationally disadvantaged.

 

 

6Inside Phoenix,yl974. (Phoenix, Arizona: The Arizona Republic
and the Phoenix Gazette Marketing and Research Department, Phoenix
Newspapers Inc., 1974) pp. 26-27.

7

 

Ibid.

8Parphrased from materials written for the Arizona State Department
of Education.

11

Rural High School. A school that includes grades 9-12 which
is located in a town whose population is less than 5,000
persons.9

Suburban High School. A school that includes grades 9-12
which is located in a community with relatively few places
of employment and whose population is between 50,000-100,000
persons.10

Upper-middle income. The income of the household ranging from
$10,500 to $25,000.11

 

91bid.

1Orbid.

11Inside Phoenix, 1974, op. cit.

Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Pertinent research studies and current literature related to
consumer economic needs of high school graduates were reviewed; namely,
the history of consumer education, current need for consumer economic

education, and objectives of consumer academic education.
THE HISTORY OF CONSUMER EDUCATION

If one is to understand the implications of consumer education in
the curriculum and to make suggestions on the role of consumer education
in the high school curriculum, it is necessary first to review the
emphases and the instructional strategies which educators have emphasized
during the past two decades. The early history of consumer education
began almost forty years ago. For example, of the 308, it was said that,

The first surge toward teaching consumer education began in the
308 and 403 and was a product of a powerful "consumer movement" in
adult society. This had roots far back before the depression. The
Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was one of the dramatic triumphs. But
the Depression and the New Deal brought it to a climax.

Women's organizations plunged into the reform agitation with
special energy. Sometimes they teamed up with businesses, as in the
National Consumer-Retailer Council, with its great emphasis on infor-
mative labeling and selling. Sometimes the two groups fought
mercilessly. One business magazine called the consumer movement "the
number one problem" of the business.12

Two periodicals, Consumers Research and Consumers Union, came

into being as publications of organizations designed to test products

 

12Fred T. Wilhelms, "Key to Many Doors," Bulletin of the National
Association of Secondary School Principals, 51:9-10, October, 1967.

r‘f

('7‘
W

E

CC

up

13
and publish facts. It was a time of exposing the falseness of advertising
and many business practices and of giving consumers facts.

As Wilhelms has said, the consumer education program acquired
much of the flavor of the time. Anti-business feeling and intense
criticism of specific business practices were widespread. Often the
consumer was pictured as the underdog, one who was exploited and helpless.
There was an evangelistic fervor to create a better order of things.
Incomes were so low that they had to be stretched to cover basic needs.
Consequently, there was tremendous emphasis on finding the best buy at the
lowest price. Along with this there was an emphasis on frugality:

"Wear it out, use it up, make it do."13

Wilhelms also went on to say that young consumers were taught that
they really did not need all those nice things-at least not the more
expensive versions.14 They were taught that they just thought they did,
or advertisers had deceived them into thinking so. Many consumer education
classes were busy making tooth powder and face cream with the implication
that they could also make other goods instead of buying them. They were
taught that budgeting meant holding down expenditures. At that time,
consumer education encouraged people to develop frugal habits.

As Edward Prehn has pointed out, the controversial policies of the

O O I O O C 1
"New Deal" intensified interest in the study of economics. 5 The hope was

 

131bid., p. 11.

14Ibid., p. 12.

15Edward C. Prehn, "Varied Approaches to Consumer Economics,"
Epiletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals,
51:25, October, 1967.

14
that, if all citizens understood how our economic system works, then
rnajor economic collapse would not happen again. But more children of
varying ability levels came to high school and remained to graduate. The
traditional liberal arts approach to economic education came into question.
The change in size and composition of the school population brought changes
in curricula, methodology, and materials in economics. Prehn emphasized
this in his writings.

The advocates of the life adjustment approach to economic under-
standing in the late 308 began to disagree vigorously with the preponents of
the liberal arts approach on what type of economics study would be most
useful to high school students. For example, Erling M. Hunt, felt that
the classical economic theories of the 19308 were too complex and too
abstract for most high school students. Mr. Hunt believed if economic
illiteracy was to be reduced, study materials would have to be modified
and simplified. The student must first be taught the A, B, Cs of economics;
that is, his/her role as a consumer producer, voter, taxpayer, and potential
union member. Hunt was joined by George Derwood Baker of New York
University, another pioneer in economic education and a founder of the
Joint Council on Economic Education who said:

How to get a job, how to budget income, how to use credit, labor-

management relations, social security, farm price supports, the role
of profits in our economy, the hazards of inflation-~these are some
of the tepics that affect and puzzle the teen-agar, the teacher, the

farmer and the banker. They are typical of the problems which must
be dealt with in school.16

 

16G. Derwood Baker, Summary Report of the Joipt Council on
Economic Education, 1948-1951 (New York: The Council, 1952), p. 6.

 

 

 

ft

in

15

Hunt and Baker both stated that in order to make the high school
course meaningful, teachers must also develop an understanding of how
economic forces influence prices and production policies. Furthermore,
both professors advocated that knowledge which can help consumers spend
or save their money more wisely is valid economic education at the
secondary school level.

Before World War II three major trends were apparent in economic
education at the secondary level. The first, and perhaps the most
persuasive, was the growth in consumer economics, which influenced not
only the economics courses but also courses in civics, problems of
American democracy, home economics, and business subjects.

The second trend which was not universal was the attempt to place
economics in its social setting. Over the years, the field of secondary
economics has steadily been broadened to include related sociology,
economic history, and political science.

The third trend, which was closely related to integrating
economics in its social setting, was the attempt to make economics study
more functional and more realistic by emphasizing problems which students
encountered or were not familiar with. This trend was responsible for
the challenging end-of—chapter materials in textbooks (problems for
further study, readings, things to do) which attempted to involve students.
Learning activities were broadened to include audiovisual presentations,
practical investigations, field trips and the use of mass media. Prehn
pointed out that after World War II, these trends were reversed. The
heavy emphasis on consumer economics and the personal-problems approach

in the one-semester high school course in economics came under heavy

16
attack. The economics profession became appalled by the lack of attention
given in the high school course to models, structure, and the analytical
tools of the economist.1

After the 308, The Consumer Education Study (1942-48)18 which was

 

financed by the National Better Business Bureau and sponsored by the
National Association of Secondary School Principals, moved to create a
more positive mindset. This study did not pull punches about specific
malpractices in the commercial world, nor did it recognize that whatever
problems the consumer had were springing primarily from exploitation by

businessmen. The Consumer Education Study was not overly preoccupied by

 

that aspect of the problem. This study did not assume that the modern
American consumer was beset by difficulties but it did say:

There had been a tendency to bewail the fate of the poor consumer
"surrounded by hundreds of brands of thousands of products." That can
be a bit bewildering, to be sure, but the other side of the coin is
that he has unprecedented opportunity to tell what he needs. He lives
in the most abundant economy the world has ever seen, and with
reasonable competence he can make it serve him well. . . .

I do not mean to dismiss too lightly the real problems of the
consumer in the marketplace. But there is a world of differences
between helping him understand and neutralize the pressures of the
market and causing him to feel like an alien in a hostile world.
There is a world of difference between equipping him to avoid the
pitfalls of economic life and turning him into a querulous, half-
neurotic worrier.

The fundamental problems of the consumer lie more at the choice-
making level than in buymanship. It is terribly hard to decide what
one wants his resources to buy him. . . . The ability to think
straight about what one wants--on the basis of a developed sense of
values--and to translate that thought into reasonably consistent
action is the highest goal for the consumer.19

17Prehn, op. cit., p. 36.

18Wilhelms, op. cit., p. 11

19Wilhelms, op. cit., p. 11

17

The foregoing statement was the line of logic that The Consumer

 

Education Study sought in order to help young people become skillful and
calmly confident consumers, sure of themselves and happily attuned to the
best in a modern world that has a wealth of opportunity.

As Wilhelms has pointed out, the style of thought during this
period (1942-1948), in the United States concerning secondary education
entered a period of radical shift. The United States Office of Education
endorsed a Life Adjustment Education Program as well as all other forms
of life-problems-centered curriculum. These were not accepted by the
advocates of a more purely intellectual education, which was centered upon
"the disciplines." Consumer education was considered too practical and
too earthy. The shift endorsed by some educators was to a more nearly
"pure" economics, taught as a science with major emphasis on generaliza-
tions and principles. As Wilhelms has said, some consumer education pro-
grams survived, but most of the great advances that had been made were
lost.20

In 1960, the textbook committee of the American Economic Associa-
tion stated that while high school textbooks in general attempted to
portray economics as a part of life and to make it appealing to teenagers
on personal grounds, the space given to consumer economics was out of

balance. As Olson pointed out, the committee felt that personal economic

problems were stressed at the expense of analysis, studies in depth,

 

20Ibid., p. 12.

l8
macroeconomics, nonprice competition, the role of technology, urbaniza-
tion, and the concept of welfare.21

Consumer economics received another setback in 1961 with the
publishing of Economic Education in the Schools22 by the National Task
Force on Economic Education. This report emphasized study of the
economic principles which a consumer should know for wise decision-making
as a voter. However, M. L. Frankel, President of the Joint Council on
Economic Education, said that the report did not spell out in detail the
principles of economics needed for wise decision-making by the consumer
acting independently as a householder.23 Nor, as Frankel reported, did
it underscore the intimate relationship and frequent identity of
economic principles that must be understood by the consumer as he acts
collectively through the ballot box, and independently as a buyer, saver,
borrower, and investor.

President Kennedy, in March of 1962, sent to Congress a special
message on consumers in which he discussed the complex and changing
nature of consumer problems. The President's message called upon the
federal government to take additional action to help consumers solve

these problems. He recognized certain basic consumer rights and asked

 

21Paul R. Olson, "This is Economics in the Schools, Paper and
Proceedings, The American Economic Review, 51(2):264-267, May, 1961.

 

22National Task Force on Economic Education, Economic Education
in the Schools (New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1961).

23National Commission on Economics and the Consumer, Economics
and the Consumer (New York: Joint Council on Economic Education,
1966).

 

 

 

19
his Council of Economic Advisors to organize a Consumer Advisory Council.
With this action, the consumer had a voice at the highest level of
government.24

Former Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford reaffirmed the
consumer rights stated by President Kennedy, and as Miller said, the strong
tide of consumer legislation at the federal level continued.25 In 1964,
President Jehnson appointed the first Special Presidential Assistant for
Consumer Affairs. This person was a member of the staff of the Office
of the President but had no direct authority for decision-making. The
fact that such a position was created emphasized the fact that consumer
interests would have some representation at the federal policy level.

Myers and Clemmensen pointed out that the Vocational Education
Act of 1963 provided federal funding for consumer education through home
economics areas.26 This funding was again authorized in the 1968, 1970,
1972 and 1976 amendments. Some schools throughout the country began to
use an interdisciplinary approach to teaching consumer education. For
example, the Home Economics Department of Wausau (Wisconsin) West High

School used this approach in a one-semester Consumer Education Course to

provide students with a background in basic economics and business

 

24Herbert M. Jelley, "Economic Literacy and Consumer Education,"
Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 51:21,
OEEBber, 1967.

25Roger Leroy Miller, Economic Issues for Consumers (New York:
West Publishing Co., 1975), p. 419.

26John Myers and Darrell R. Clemmensen, "Consumer Ed--Shared
Leadership," The Balance Sheet, 58(2):74, 90, October, 1975.

 

 

20
organizations, with emphasis on effective money management, and consumer
. . . . . 27

rights and responSibilities.

A Consumer Education "Catch-up" Conference was sponsored by the
Office of Consumer Affairs in 1975. In a speech delivered by Virginia
Knauer, the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs, she
made the following comments concerning consumer rights in which she
stated President Ford's point of View:

In the last decade the Buyer's Bill of Rights has become a way
of life in our country. These rights include information, choice,
safety, and the right to have complaints satisfactorily resolved.

The time has now come to recognize a fifth right--one without
which consumers cannot gain the full benefit of the other four. This
is the right to consumer education.

President Ford went on to point out that only if consumer education
is made an integral part of regular school instruction, community
services, and adult education programs, can consumers learn to plan
and use their resources to their maximum potential and greatest
personal satisfaction.28

Today, pressures are intensifying for the nation's schools to help

young people cope with the perplexities of modern life. Such acute
observers as Peter Drucker and Alvin Toffler have stressed the difficulties
of making choices in a society in whhxivalues are shifting and standards

are changing. Drucker, writing about the rebellious youths of the 19608

in The Age of Discontinuity,29 saw their real difficluty as being the

 

"burden of decision." Toffler in Future Shock.30 also singles out the

 

 

27Ibid., pp. 74, 90.

28Joseph G. Bonnice, "The Consumer's Fifth Right: Consumer
Education," Business Education World, 56(4):29, March-April, 1976.

29Peter F. Drucker, The Age of Discontinuity (Scranton,
Pennsylvania: Harper-Rowe, 1969).

 

30Alvin Toffler, Future Shock (New York: Random House, 1970).

 

21
multiplicity of the decisions called for today as a major cause for concern.
Young people, he asserts, are victims of a peculiarly super industrial
dilemma called "overchoice." Drucker and Toffler have stressed the
difficulties of making choices in a society in which values are shifting
and standards are changing. Reinforcing this argument, John C. Roman
stated that consumer education has been largely ignored or passed over
lightly. Roman said, "Circumstances are such that educators can no longer
avoid facing the fact that providing instruction that will assist students
to become economically literate is one of the most urgent needs in educa-
tion."31

A few years ago an active state or local non-profit consumer
association stood out as an unusual phenomenon, but the consumer movement
has expanded noticeably in 8 short period of time. At present, virtually
every community of any size in the country has some kind of non-profit
consumer organization. In recent years Ralph Nader, a consumer critic,
and his associates have created many consumer—action projects and
established throughout the country Public Interest Research Groups
(PIRGIM). In addition, the Consumer Federation of America was formed
about a decade ago. The National Consumer Congress was founded as an out-
growth of the national meat boycott. The National Consumers League has
been recently reorganized and revitalized. There are many such consumer
organizations formed on a regional and local as well as national basis in
some cases. Examples of consumer-type organizations are the Committee for

Improved Food and Drugs; the Council on Children, Media and Merchandising;

 

31John C. Roman, "Business Education in 1984," American Vocational
Journal, 51(2):42, February, 1976.

 

22

Action for Children's Television; the Environment Action Foundation.
Most recently, the Conference on Consumer Organizations, a national
organization of non-profit community and state associations and agencies
devoted to consumer information, protection, representation, and service,
was established by representatives of state and local consumer groups.

State and local consumer associations have exerted pressure for
the creation of state and local government agencies with consumer pro-
tection functions. A few years ago there were less than a dozen state and
local governments with consumer protection offices. Now many new agencies
are being created. Specialized consumer-type organizations, such as the
Committee for Improved Food and Drugs; the Council on Children, Media and
Merchandising; Action for Children's Television; the Environmental
Action Foundation, have been formed on a regional and local basis.32 In
addition, long-time state and local agencies, like insurance commissions
and weights and measures offices have acquired a consumer stance'not
present a decade ago. Parallel to what has happened in government,
companies and trade associations have developed consumer affairs programs.
Several years ago persons in business and industry with consumer affairs
responsibilities formed the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in
Business.

Elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and
universities, have responded to the growing consumer movement. More and

more courses and cirricula with the word "consumer" in the title are being

 

32COC Intercom (Tucson, Arizona: Conference of Consumer Organiza-
tions, Box 4277, 1976), p. 1.

23

offered at all levels of American education. Some states and a number of
school systems have mandated "consumer education" in the schools.

. . . though many academics now offer instruction in something
called "consumer education", what they teach bears little if any
relation to marketplace problems as consumer activists perceive them.
And not just consumer activists but government and industry consumer
affairs personnel as well.

Consumer education instruction is within a disciplinary framework,
and from textbooks whose authors likewise write from an academic
point of view, with little understanding or appreciation of consumer
activity or issues of consumer concern in the marketplace. The
instruction, as a result, is often sterile and irrelevant to what is
actually happening in consumer affairs.33

CURRENT NEED FOR CONSUMER-ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Much of the current need for consumer education and competence in
money management skills may be attributed to prevailing economic conditions,
including inflation, and to changing family life styles. For better or
worse, consumers are products of the "age of affluence" with all its bene-
fits and problems. A brief examination of some current conditions will
emphasize the point.

During the past 10 years the median family income in the United
States has risen some 70 percent to nearly $10,000 a year. With
growing incomes, families who once had little left after meeting their
needs for food, clothing, and shelter now enjoy incomes beyond what
is necessary for life's basic requirements. Increase in discretionary
spending power have enabled consumers to buy homes and furnish them
with expensive appliances and furniture, to have vacations in foreign
countries, and to afford a multitude of things that [fichuse to be
classified as luxuries rather than necessities.3

 

33Ibid., p. 2.

34Larry D. Coleman, "Consumer Education Needed in Business Teacher
Programs," Business Education Forum, 26(3):32, December, 1971.

 

24

The inability of many persons to handle their personal finances in

a satisfactory manner is constantly reported by a major metropolitan
newspaper.

Of the 194,000 bankruptcies in 1970, some 92 percent were non-
business cases. While some personal bankruptcies are related to stock
market losses, many of these appear to have resulted from excessive
credit buying, lack of financial knowledge and management tax
liabilities, divorces, accidents, and serious illnesses.35

All of the preceding reasons for bankruptcies, in some way, are directly
or indirectly related to consumer and family financial relationships.

Teenagers, as consumers continue to capture an ever-growing share

of the nation's market. Recent estimates of the spending power of
America's 23 million teenagers range from $15 billion to $18 billion
annually. Aside from the teenagers' importance as spending and consuming
units, teens and subteens are commonly credited with considerable
influence on the selection of some $35 billion on goods and services in
overall family spending patterns.36 It becomes increasingly apparent
that an important part of the education of all students is a solid,
meaningful understanding of their roles as economically literate citizens,
earning and spending in a democratic society. Today's consumers are
faced with the most difficult buying and credit decisions they have ever
had to make. There are literally thousands of products and services in
competition for their dollars. Constantly bombarded with advertising
both in the market place and in the home, the consumer must be able to

select the best product and the most economical cash or credit plan,

neither of which is an easy task.

 

35"Bankruptcy Filings, Steadily Rise as Americans Seek a Fresh

Start," Phoenix Gazette, (Arizona), June 3, 1976, p. 3E.

 

6Coleman, op. cit., p. 33.

n)

“(1

jar

’
s

25
There are other observations which could be made about the
American consumer to emphasize the need for consumer-economic education;

perhaps Business Week in quoting from "Aspirations and Affluence," by

 

George Katona and two of his colleagues provides the best summary.
For the first time in history masses of consumers wield great
economic power, and many of them are free to wield it at their own

discretion, in accordance with their wishes, attitudes, aspirations
and expectations.37

OBJECTIVES OF CONSUMER-ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Consumer education serves an essential function by moving right
into real work-a-day concerns of youths and adults. For most peOple it is
a "dollars—and-sense" business. At the same time, it Opens avenues to a
meaningful weighing of personal and social values and an informal study
of the economic system.

Recently, increased attention has been given to providing
economic and consumer education at the secondary level in order to better
prepare students for their roles as consumers and workers (producers).

A statement on consumer education prepared by the Policies Commission
for Business and Economic Education states that:

Individuals play three important economic roles. They contribute

to the production of goods and services as workers, use the results of
production as consumers, and make economic decisions as voting citizens.

Business education is concerned with the preparation for all three
roles.38

37George Katona, "Why Consumers Buy--or Hoard," Business Week,
2178:54, February 13, 1971.

38Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education, "This
We Believe About the Role.of Business Education in Consumer Education"
(A Statement) (Washington, D.C.: National Business Education Association,
1973).

V.

Q
a
3.

ft

9 2.0
I DIS
1 . v

hi8 .J

26

It is the opinion of the writer of this study that the challenge
facing educators today is to provide students with the consumer under-
standings and skills which will serve them personally. Consumer educa-
tion is more than just "buymanship" and goes beyond coping with market-
place problems. Consumer education should help students to clarify
values, to develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, and to
understand their consumer role. Consumer educators should teach students
how to evaluate their behavior as both consumers and business persons,
for themselves and for society. In line with this opinion, the following
objectives of consumer education are offered. These have been described
by leaders as being consistent with those of general education.

1. Every consumer should develop the ability to make rational
decisions and intelligent choices.

2. Every consumer should develop the art of skillful buying.
After deciding to buy, making the actual purchase requires
the buyer to consider such diverse problems as where, how,
and when to buy, evaluation of merchandise, and use of
advertising.

3. Every consumer should learn the importance of being efficient
in the use of goods and services. Choosing and buying wisely
are of scant value if, as consumers, we do not show intelli-
gence and concern for the way in which we use and care for
goods and services.

4. Every consumer should learn to manage his personal financial
affairs. The proper utilization of income is essential for
maximum satisfaction of needs and wants and attainment of a
higher level of living.

5. Every consumer should be conscious of his wider social and
economic responsibilities as a citizen in our democracy.

6. Every consumer should have perspective, a sense of values,
and a healthy respect for the Golden Rule.39

 

39David Schoenfeld, "The Way and How of Consumer Education,"
‘figlletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals,
51:28-29, October, 19671.

27

Whether the consumer course is a separate course or integrated

into other courses, a number of basic objectives need to be considered:

1.

10.

Students should learn how to distinguish between their own
needs and wants. They should realize that their buying
affects not only their own pocketbooks but the economy and
environment as well.

Students should understand the internal influences (family
income, life-style, goals, and values) and external influences
(advertising, other communications media, friends) that affect
their consumer behavior.

Students should learn how to manage their own finances and
understand the various types of expenses for which they
must budget.

Students should be made aware of the alternatives open to
them in the marketplace, such as c00perative buying. They
should also realize that not buying is one important
alternative.

Students should know how to get information before they
purchase goods and services; and they should learn to
discriminate among the various sources of information avail-
able--salespeop1e, labels, advertisements, consumer magazines,
trade associations, government agencies, consumer groups.

Students should learn how to shop wisely, comparing prices,
quality, services offered, and the environmental effects of
their purchases.

Students should become aware of the various avenues of
consumer complaint redress and be able to evaluate their
effectiveness.

Students should gain an understanding of lobbying and other
influences that ultimately contribute to the drafting and
passage of laws.

Students should have a general knowledge of our legal system
and understand ways in which they can activate or improve the
laws that affect individuals' rights.

Students should have a chance to explore some of the contro-
versies in the consumer field, to analyze these problems, and
then to make their own decisions based on thoughtful research
and critical inquiry. Such topics include addivites in our

uHIu
t

E

NO
1.4.!“

28

food, the pros and cons of buying on credit, and the future
course of energy consumption. 0

Nader also stated that in addition to all of the above, consumer education

should afford students the Opportunities to encounter the consumer

situations of their daily lives in a new way.

A comprehensive Career Education Matrix was presented in Arizona

by the State Department of Education. This matrix presents eight basic

objectives of Career Education: Career Awareness, Self Awareness, Appre-

ciations and Attitudes, Decision-making Skills, Economic Awareness, Skill

Awareness, Employability Skills, and Educational Awareness. One of the

elements of Career Education is economic awareness in which four elements

are emphasized.

l.

40

The student will understand the relationship between various
occupational roles and related personal economics and life
style.

The student will understand the range of social and economic
benefits, associated with various occupational roles and
careers, that are acquired in addition to one's actual
salary or pay.

The student will understand how economic wealth is
accumulated by means other than those related directly to
most occupations or careers (i.e., investments, interests,
insurance, savings, etc.) and how these may influence his
career and life style.

The student will be able to effectively relate his present
and anticipated economic status to the economic status of
the Nation, his State and the community and understand the
possible effects various trends and changes may have on his
status.41

Ralph Nader, Neglect of Consumer Education is Shortchangipg

 

Both Students and the Nation (Washington, D.C.: NatiOnal Education

 

Associatian of'the UnIted States, 1975), pp. 6-7.

41

Peter G. Haines, "Does Business Eduacation Fit the Career

Education Model?" (paper presented at the Southern Business Education
Association Regional Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1974).

29

The literature reviewed revealed that there are a number of ways
in which consumer education can be introduced into the curriculum. Regard-
less of the method employed, consumer education should not be treated as a
"How to" subject. It should lay the foundation for understanding one's
role as a consumer and relating the basic concept to individual actions.
For example, Clarence Maze, Jr., stated that education for economic
literacy from a personal or consumer viewpoint, is concerned with the wise
personal uses of goods and services made available through the economic
system. In the 1968 Business Education Yearbook, Maze divides the aims of
education for economic literacy into two categories--personal objectives and
social objectives.42 They are:

Personal Objectives:

 

1. An understanding of the need for keeping adequate records of
income and expenditures for budget and tax purposes

2. An understanding of the nature of credit, its sources, its
costs; and a knowledge of the appropriate time to use it

3. An understanding of the legal aspects of personal business
transaction

4. An understanding of the nature of risk and insurance, the
different types of insurance, and their various costs

5. A knowledge of the various agencies for consumer protection,
their services, and information available through them

6. An understanding of advertising and the various sales techni-
ques that are competing for the consumer's dollar

7. A knowledge of the services provided by banks and other
financial institutions

8. An appreciation of the need to provide income for nonworking
years through insurance, social security, pensions, other
retirement plans, and estate planning in general

42Clarence Maze, Jr., "Education for Economic Literacy: Strengths
of the Past and Present," Business Education Yearbook No. 6 (Washington,
D.C.: National Business Education Association, 1968), pp. 166-67.

9.

10.

30

A knowledge of the role of savings and investment in wise
personal money management

A knowledge of the legal aspects and financial responsibili-
ties involved in home ownership

Social Objectives

 

l.

10.

ll.

12.

An understanding of the American enterprise system and an
appreciation of its strengths and weaknesses

A knowledge of the distribution of the national income and an
appreciation of the need for an equitable distribution of it
among the factors of production

An appreciation of the importance of a continually increasing
productivity as a base for over-all economic growth

A knowledge of the role of government in the economy

A knowledge of the fluctuations in economic activity, their
causes and consequences

An understanding of the price system in the American market

An appreciation of the role of the individual citizen in
preserving the private enterprise system

A knowledge of the labor movement and an understanding of
the rights and responsibilities of labor and management toward
one another

An understanding of the prevailing practice of the divorce-
ment of ownership and management and the consequent responsi-
bilities of one to the other

An appreciation of the moral and ethical responsibilities of
business toward the public, many of which have been enacted
into law

A knowledge of the competing economic systems in the world and
an appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of each as
they exist in practice as well as in theory

An understanding of the types of business organizations
that constitute the economic institutions in our society

31

SUMMARY OF REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Several salient points with implications for the present study
‘were revealed in the review of literature on the history of economic
consumer education, need for economic consumer education, and objectives
of economic consumer education.

1. Consumer education historically suffered from conflicting
groups promoting functionality (everyday use) on one hand and structural
analytical tools (economic analysis) on the other hand. Today, however,
the emphasis in the high school curriculum, supported by federal funds, is
on functionality.

2. The proliferation of products, services, and advertising pro-
moting products and services places a profound demand upon the consumer.

3. Consumer education, in its present context, lays the founda-
tion for understanding one's role as a consumer.

4. Consumer education is becoming a discipline in its own right,
as the thrust to provide every student with basic consumer education
knowledge gains nationwide acceptance. A substantial number of states
have adopted consumer education as a "major goal" through state board or
state department policy; a few states, in fact, now even require some form
of consumer education before high school graduation.

5. Educators, governmental agencies, and citizens have recognized
that students need to be provided with the economic understandings necessary
for them to function effectively as consumers, workers, and citizens in a
mixed economy. The effects of recession, unemployment, and inflation have
awakened the entire nation to the consequences of unwise, uninformed

actions in the marketplace, at the polls, and on the job.

32

6. The concept of a broadened, modern scope for courses dealing
‘with consumer-economic awareness has not been universally embraced. All
over the country educators can be found who have different ideas as to
what should be taught in the courses dealing with consumer-economics.
Consumer education is not a new subject in the classroom; it has for many
years been presented to some students under the guise of home economics,
family living, business or other vocationally oriented courses. Presently
consumer-economic education is being defined on its own. Some school
systems are responding in one of several ways: by covering the subject in
existing courses, by organizing separate courses, by integrating consumer
education into other courses, or by an interdisciplinary approach utilizing
courses in various departments such as home economics, social studies, or

business.

Chapter 3

PROCEDURES

The basic design of this study was a survey of students who had
graduated from three types of high schools in Arizona at the end of
the 1971-72 school year. Procedures were formulated to provide a sample
from the population, reliable and valid instrumentation, replicable data

collection techniques, and appropriate data analysis methods.

POPULATION

The population consisted of three high schools in Arizona. Three
schools in Arizona were chosen after consultation with personnel from the
Arizona State Department of Education as being representative of the basic
sizes of schools and community areas within the state.

1. Urban, low income--Typical of such schools are those in
Phoenix and Tucson where 44 percent of the state's popula-
tion resides.

The school used in the study was South Mountain High School
in the Phoenix Union High School District. This school had
an enrollment of 2,800 students in grades 9-12 in the 1971-72
school year. The minority groups, primarily Spanish speaking
and Black accounted for about 64.5 percent of the enrollment.
The family income levels are very low, with 16 percent of the
households earning an income of $3,000 or less.43 The
drop-out rate of those entering the ninth grade until
graduation was 18 percent in 1975-76.

20 Suburban, upper-middle income--Schools which are typical
of this sector are in the suburban areas of Phoenix and
Tucson where 44 percent of the state's population resides.

43Statement by Lloyd W. Colvin, Director of Research and Planning,

Phoenix Union High School District during a personal interview on March
4, 1976.

34

The school used in this study was Scottsdale High School
which is one of five high schools in the Scottsdale Unified
School District No. 48. This school had an enrollment of
1,921 students in grades 9-12 in the 1971-72 school year.
The upper-middle income group accounts for about 89 percent
of the enrollment. The family income levels are above
average. The drop-out rate of those entering the ninth
grade until graduation was 5.9 percent in the 1975-76 school
year.

Rural, lower to middle income--Arizona has many small
communities of which Superior, Bisbee, Florence, Miami,
and Globe are typical. Approximately 10 percent of the
p0pulation of the state is in such areas.

The school used in this study was Superior High School in the
Superior High School District. This school had an enroll-
ment of 474 students in grades 9-12 in the 1971—72 school
year. A minority group, primarily Spanish speaking, accounts
for about 69 percent of the enrollment. The family incomes
are from low middle to middle. The drop-out rate of those
entering the ninth grade until graduation was about 4.5
percent in the 1975-76 school year.

The first procedural problem was to determine the appropriate

elapsed time after graduation when graduates should be surveyed. It

could have been argued that six months, one year, two years, three years,

four years, five years, or ten years would have been appropriate. How-

ever, the period of four years was chosen to assist in accuracy of data

for the following reasons:

1.

For those who immediately enter a baccalaureate program,
four years would be the normal graduation time. For those
who undertook less than a baccalaureate education or who
dropped out, four years would provide time for completion of
a one or two year post-secondary program, either on a part-
time or full-time basis.

Evidence exists that the occupational choice of the former
student begins to crystalize by the time a person is
twenty—two.

If a course was taught in the twelfth grade, a student
probably could envision himself as an adult four years later
and, therefore, the teaching-learning problems could be

seen as real by the student.

35

INSTRUMENTATION

The instrument used in the study progressed through a develop-
mental process which started with a search of the literature. The
researcher read through textbooks on Consumer Economics and the literature
in the professional journals. Also reviewed were the curriculum guides
developed at Scottsdale High School and the guidelines of the Arizona
State Department of Education for the mandated senior course in Economics.

The original draft of the instrument, whidi was part of the
dissertation proposal, was sent to the researcher's doctoral Committee.
Then, the revised draft was reviewed by the chairpersons of the English
and Social Studies Departments at Scottsdale High School because of their
involvement in concerns with Economic Education. The draft was also
given an intensive review by the Supervisor of Business Education in the
Phoenix Union High School District, Mr. George Dunn. In addition, the
draft of the instrument was reviewed by research personnel in two local
districts in Arizona. Following these reviews by professionals, the
draft was given to four high school graduates as a means of testing its
appropriateness. Finally, the instrument was reviewed by Eugene Dorr,
Deputy Superintendent of Career and Vocational Education, State Department
of Public Instruction, Arizona.

After an extensive review of the instrument was conducted by the
persons listed in the preceding paragraph for face validity, a second
draft of the instrument was produced and submitted to professional
educators and students. The reviewers consisted of former students from

Scottsdale High School, chairpersons of Home Economics and Social Studies

36
Departments in local schools, a director of research and planning in a
metropolitan district, and business teachers in several districts in

Arizona.

DATA COLLECTION

The initial procedure for securing the list of names of graduates
and their addresses was to contact the school's administrators. In the
rural school (Superior), the principal supplied a list of the graduates
but addresses of the graduates were not available. The services of a
parent, 8 high school student, two graduates, and a business woman were
used to secure the addresses by using the local telephone directory and
by calling friends or relatives of the graduates.

In the suburban high school (Scottsdale), a list of graduates and
their former addresses were obtained from the secretary of the registrar.
The telephone directory was used to determine if those addresses were the
same as those submitted by the secretary. This posed somewhat of a
problem because of the high mobility rate of the people within the
community. With the help of high school graduates, addresses were
updated for some who had moved within the area.

In the inner-city school (Phoenix, South Mountain), a list of grad-
uates and their former addresses were obtained from the Director of System
Research Division. Three sets of printed address labels were made available
by the director. All graduates for the 1971-72 school year from Scottsdale
High School, Phoenix South Mountain, and Superior High School were sent a

first mailing on June 8, 1976. The mailing included a cover letter,

 

'
.44

37
a survey instrument, and an addressed, stamped-return envelope. (See
Appendix A for samples of these materials). Records were kept of those
letters that were returned by the post office for "improper address" or
"address unknown." Graduates and teachers of the three schools researched
helped secure proper addresses for some of those letters not deliverable.
A reminder letter (Appendix B) was sent ten days after the first mailing
to those graduates who had not returned the questionnaire and to the
graduates for whom new addresses were secured. The number of new

addresses located for graduates is indicated in Table 3.01.

TABLE 3.01
SIZE OF 1971-72 GRADUATING CLASS, NUMBER OF NEW ADDRESSES

FOUND, AND RESPONSE RETURNS

 

Number in Number of
Graduating New Addresses Response Z
Class Found
1. Superior (Rural) 79 14 38 48
2. Phoenix, South Mountain
(Inner City) 272 3 99 36
3. Scottsdale (Suburban) 425 29 164 39

 

Twenty days after the second mailing a third mailing was sent to
those graduates who had not reSponded and to those for whom new addresses
were located. This mailing consisted of another letter (Appendix C),

a questionnaire, and an addressed, stamped envelope. The procedure used
in the first mailing was used for the second mailing. Table 3.02 shows

the nlnnber of letters returned for "improper address" or "address unknown"

38
for each mailing. For the second and third mailing, followbup materials
were not sent to students for whom the post office could not deliver the
materials due to "Improper Address" or "Address Unknown" unless new
addresses were located. For example, for the first mailing on June 8,
the post office returned 45 of the letters sent to inner-school graduates
and 100 of the leters sent to suburban school graduates. None of the
letters sent to the rural school graduates were returned for "Improper

Address" or "Address Unknown."

TABLE 3.02

MAILING RETURNED BY THE POST OFFICE FOR "IMPROPER
ADDRESS" OR "ADDRESS UNKNOWN" CLASSIFIED BY
TYPE OF SCHOOL

 

 

Mailing and Date Rural Inner-City Suburban
June 8 Mailing 0 45 100
June 28 Mailing 0 13 34
July 17 Mailing 0 9 9

 

DATA TABULATION AND ANALYSIS

A l6-column accounting worksheet was used for the tabulation of
the returned questionnaires. A hand-tab was used because the limited
number of re8ponses and hand-written comments raised questions about the
usefulness of a key-punch operation. A research assistant read each

questionnaire to a person acting as a "coder." The "coder" read back

39
the tallies, and the assistant marked with a red pencil those which were
verified as being correctly recorded. In this way all responses were
double-checked.

Chi-square statistics were computed for demographic tabulations
to ascertain whether distribution of respondents by marital status, sex,
employed student status, residence, and occupation of parents were
significantly different at the 0.05 level. Furthermore, Chi-square
statistics were computed to test the null hypotheses listed in Chapter 1.
For example, the null hypothesis:

Hl.1 The number of high school graduates who have employment

experiences prior to graduation is not different from the

number of high school graduates who do not have employment
experiences prior to graduation from high sch001.

 

 

was tested by tabulating the number of respondents replying ygp and pp

to each employment experience listed in the instrument, and then computing
the chi-square with these observed values compared to expected values of
equal numbers of ygp and pp reSponses. This computed chi-square was

tested for significance at the 0.05 level.

SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES

After consultation with the Arizona Department of Education on
the basis of representativeness, one high school from each of three
categories--rural, inner-city, and suburban--was selected for this study.
A questionnaire was formulated using standard procedures of validity for
measuring variables of employment experience, financial transaction, and
travel experiences during high school, and economic problems after

graduation. High school graduates of four years were mailed the

4O
opinionnaire. Returns were tabulated and data analyzed using chi-square
statistics at the 0.05 level of significance, and the findings are

presented in Chapter 4.

Chapter 4

FINDINGS

This chapter reports initially the characteristics of the
respondents including current employment, present county and state of
residence, marital status, and occupation of the parents. The chapter
also indicates which economic experiences the graduates had while in

high school.

NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS BY TYPE OF SCHOOL

The number of graduates reported by the three high schools was
776 as shown in Table 4.01. Of this number, 300 responded to the
questionnaire, resulting in the response of 38.7 percent. Of the 300
returns, 10 were not usable because the individuals said, "No, thank
you. I do not wish to respond." The percentage of response was far
less than desired. However, this study indicated the problem of trying
to follow up students when schools do not provide adequate followeup
records. The findings and conclusions must be viewed with caution
because of this limited response. According to the chi-square measure
of 4.62, the response rate for the rural school although greater than
for either the inner-city or suburban school, was not significantly

different from the inner-city and suburban schools.

42

TABLE 4.01

NUMBER OF GRADUATES RESPONDING AND NOT RESPONDING
CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF HIGH SCHOOL

 

 

 

(N=776)
Rural Inner-City Suburban Total
ReSponse (N=79) (N=272) (N=425) (N=776)
Category N Z N % N % N %
Responding 38 48.1 98 36.0 164 38.6 300* 38.7

Not Responding 41 51.9 174 64.0 261 61.4 476 61.3

 

Total 79 100.0 272 100.0 425 100.0 776 100.0

 

Chi-square = 4.62 DF = 2 P>0.05

 

*Of the 300 returns, 10 were classified as not usable since they con-
tained insufficient data.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS

The respondents were classified by the following demographic
characteristics: Sex, marital status four years after graduation, current
employment, present county and state of residence, and occupations of

parents.

Egg

In Table 4.02, the chi-square measure of 1.58, which was not
significant at the 0.05 level, indicates that the percentages of male and
female respondents in the three types of schools were not significantly

different from that distribution of 42.4 percent male and 57.6 percent

female in the three types of schools.

43

 

 

 

 

TABLE 4.02
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY SEX AND TYPE OF SCHOOL
(N=290)
Rural Inner-City Suburban Total
(N=38) (N=93) (N=159) (N=290)
Sex N 1 N 1 N % N 1
Male 15 39.5 44 47.3 64 40.3 123 42.4
Female 23 60.5 49 53.7 95 59.7 167 57.6
Total 38 100.0 93 100.0 159 100.0 290 100.0
Chi-square = 1.58 DF = 2 P>0.05

 

Marital Status

 

Inspection of Table 4.03 reveals the respondents' marital status
four years after graduation. 0f the 290 responses which were usable,
68.6 percent were unmarried and 31.4 percent were married. The chi-
square of 11.09 was significant at the 0.05 level, indicating that the
distribution of respondents was significantly different when classified
by type of school. Inspection of Table 4.03 shows that married and
unmarried respondents were about equally distributed in the rural
schools, but there were more unmarried than married respondents in the

inner-city and urban schools.

44

TABLE 4.03

MARITAL STATUS OF RESPONDENTS FOUR YEARS AFTER GRADUATION
CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF SCHOOL

 

 

 

 

(N=290)

Rural Inner-City Suburban Total

(N=38) (N=93) (N=159) (N=290)
Marital Status N I N Z N Z N %
Unmarried 18 4.74 62 66.7 119 74.8 199 68.6
Married 20 52.6 31 33.3 40 25.2 91 31.4
Total 38 100.0 93 100.0 159 100.0 290 100.0

Chi-square = 11.09 DF = 2 P<:0.05

 

Current Employment

 

Each respondent indicated that he/she was either employed or
was a student four years after graduation.

Table 4.04 illustrates the employment and student status of
the unmarried respondents. The chi-square of 3.91, which was not
significant at the 0.05 level, indicates that the distribution of
respondents who were employed or were students did not differ signifi-
cantly from the sample where 78.9 percent were employed and 21.1 percent

were students.

TABLE 4.04

EMPLOYMENT AND STUDENT STATUS OF UNMARRIEDS
CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF SCHOOL

45

 

 

 

 

(N=l99)

Rural Inner-City Suburban Total

(N=l8) (N=62) (N=119) (N=l99)
Employment Status N Z N Z N Z N Z
Employed 11 61.1 51 82.3 95 79.8 157 78.9
Student 7 38.9 11 17.7 24 20.2 42 21.1
Total 18 100.0 62 100.0 119 100.0 199 100.0

Chi-square = 3.91 DF = P>0.05

 

Place of Current Residence

 

Graduates were asked where they resided.

As Table 4.05 reveals,

the mobility within the State of Arizona was low because 64.8 percent

lived in the same county in which they attended high school and 28.1

percent lived in another county within the state.

The chi-square of

2.28 shows that this distribution was not different regardless of type

of school.

46

TABLE 4.05

PRESENT RESIDENCE OF UNMARRIED GRADUATES FOUR YEARS AFTER
GRADUATION CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF HIGH SCHOOL

 

 

 

 

(N=l99)

Rural Inner City Suburban Total

(N=l8) (N=62) (N=ll9) (N=l99)
Present Residence N Z N Z N Z N Z
Same County 10 55.6 37 59.7 82 68.9 129 64.8
Other County 6 33.3 22 35.3 28 23.5 56 28.1
Other State or

Countrya 2 11.1 3 5.0 9 7.6 14 7.1
Total 18 100.0 62 100.0 119 100.0 199 100.0
Chi-square = 2.28 DF = 2 P>0.05

 

8The number of graduates in other state or country were combined because
the number is negligible.

Occppation of Parents

 

One of the factors for classifying respondents was that of the
occupation of the parent or guardian. It was thought that certain
economic experiences might have been obtained by the young person
because of parental occupation. As Table 4.06 shows, the chi-square of
55.67 was significant at the 0.05 level, an indication that the distri-
bution of parents' OCCUpations was irregularly distributed in the 25235

category of occupations for inner-city and suburban parents.

47

TABLE 4.06

OCCUPATION OF PARENTS OF UNMARRIED RESPONDENTS
CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF HIGH SCHOOL

 

 

 

 

(N=l99)
Rural Inner-City Suburban Total
(N=l8) (N=62) (N=ll9) (N=l99)
Occupation N Z N Z N Z N Z
1. Business/
Marketing 2 11.1 11 17.7 31 16.1 44 22.1
2. Transportation/
Mechanic/Fac-
tory/Mining 13 72.2 11 17.7 6 5.0 30 15.1
3. Other 3 16.7 40 64.6 82 68.9 125 62.8
Total 18 100.0 62 100.0 119 100.0 199 100.0
Chi-square = 55.67 DF = 4 P<0.05

 

PRIOR ECONOMIC EXPERIENCES

A basis for the study was that the nature of the economic
experiences the graduates had had while in high school could be used as
a base upon which learning activities could be devised. The learning
eXperiences were classified as employment experience, financial trans-

actions, and travel experience.

Economic Experiences

 

Employment experience. Table 4.07A shows the employment that

 

graduates had while in high school. Inspection of the table reveals that

a third of the students worked irregularly, i.e., up to 300 hours a year.

48

Mbre than half worked regularly, meaning 10-20 hours a week or approxi-
mately 1000 hours per year. Only one out of five (19.3Z) were employed
as part of a high school credit program.

Employment experiences of unmarried respondents while in high
school were then tested against the following null hypothesis:

H1.l The number of high school graduates who had employment

experiences prior to graduation is not different from the

number of high school graduates who did not have employment
experience prior to graduation.

 

 

As shown in Table 4.07A, the chi-square measures were 11.94 for
Item 1, 19.68 for Item 3, and 70.72 for Item 4. These were significant
at the 0.05 level. Consequently, the percentages of respondents that
replied pp to those items were significantly greater than the percentages
of respondents that replied ygg. For this reason Null Hypothesis Hl.1
was rejected because significantly more respondents had employment
experiences before high school graduation than respondents who had no

employment experience before high school graduation.

Financial transactions. Respondents were asked what financial
transactions they had made before high school graduation. As Table 4.07B
shows, 64.3 percent did not have a checking account while in high school.
Likewise, a large majority, 73.6 percent had not used a credit card, and
80.5 percent had not owned stock. More than two-thirds (69.4Z) did not
have a regular allowance from their family, and 59.1 percent did not
keep a budget and a record of their expenditures. On the other hand,
88.9 percent had cashed a check, 84.3 percent had had a savings account,
and 53.8 percent had owned a vehicle and taken care of expenses for it.

As shown in Table 4.07B, percentages of respondents that made

financial transactions before high school graduation was significantly

49

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50

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51
greater than the percentages of respondents that made pp financial trans-
actions before high school graduation on Items 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6,
2.7, and 2.8 as shown by chi-square measures 16.00, 93.42, 43.90, 62.78,
6.54, 29.46 and 114.34 respectively. Therefore, the following null
hypothesis was rejected:

Hl.2 The number of high school graduates who have formal
financial transactions prior to graduation is not different
from the number of high school graduates who do not have
formal financial transactions prior to graduation.

Travel experiences. Only 14.4 percent of the respondents had
traveled to a country other than Mexico. On the other hand, 69.2 percent
had traveled to at least three other states. This travel may have been
a result of vacation trips to adjacent states such as California, New
Mexico, and Nevada. The travel to other states as reported may also have
been a result of the fact that Arizona is an in-migration state, and
respondents may have lived with their families in several states prior
to moving to Arizona. As Table 4.07C demonstrates, the following null
hypothesis was rejected:

H1.3. The number of high school graduates who had economically
meanipgful travel experiences prior to graduation is not

different from the number of high school graduates who do
not have economically meaningful travel experiences prior
to graduation.

The reason for rejection is the significant chi-square measures
of 98.16 for Item 3.1 and 29.18 for Item 3.2 recorded in Table 4.07C.
Prior Economic Experiences Classified
By Type of School

Prior economic eXperiences classified as employment experience,

financial transactions, and travel were cross-classified by type

52

mo.o V as.

.uCoesuumafl ozu mo weaponeso ecu ou noommonuoo mEoufi ona mo weaponeac one
.mEoufi Ham xomno Doc can mucmosum oEomn

 

 

 

 

 

m
«wH.om w.om Ho N.oo mma H moa monoum mounu
momma um ou cmam>owe N.m
soH.wo o.mm 00H ¢.¢H mm n «ma oofixoz
coco omnuo zuucsoo moo
Samoa as ou vofio>oue H.m
o>ow .
H e no m
.cmuwzu N oz N mo» oncoammm mmucwwooamom moonwumaxm mo maze
oz
Aaaznzv

om><me .o em<m--aoo:om moH:
zH maozz mme<oo<mo omomm<zzs so mmozmHmmmxm

Umo.q mqm<9

UHZOZOUM

53
of school in order to ascertain whether experiences were influenced by

having attended rural, inner-city, or suburban schools.

Employment experience. Employment was defined as paid experience

 

outside of the home. Inspection of Table 4.08A shows that the percentage
of reSpondents who worked irregularly was approximately the same for all
three schools. 0n the other hand, a major difference showed up regarding
the number of students who worked regularly; the percentage of students
in the inner-city school was 62.9 and was 53.8 in the suburban school in
contrast to 24.8 for the rural school. This difference shows up in the
chi-square of 6.96 which indicates a significant difference. It is not
surprising that more than half of the respondents from a relatively
affluent suburban high school worked regularly. One reason may be that
58.8 percent owned a car or cycle (See item 2.4 on Table 4.083). None
of the rural school students worked part-time for high school credit
probably because such schools often do not offer such programs. The
chi-square measures in Table 4.08A shows that the following null hypothe-
sis was rejected:

H2.1 The employment experiences of prospective high school

graduates do not differ when classified by type of high
school, namely: suburban, inner-city and rural.

 

Financial transactions. Inspection of the data in Table 4.08B

 

demonstrates that respondents in the suburban high school had a signifi-
cantly greater number of economic experiences in financial matters such
as maintaining a savings account, using a credit card, owning a car or

cycle, and owning stock.

54

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ucoeonmEm mo.H

 

.om are

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55

 

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cocoon mam umwwsn m umoM 0.N

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one oHo%o\Hoo o 00:30 q.N

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mooHuommcmHH HmHoamch mo.N

 

 

.cm HLU N z N z N z mocoHHmme no make
AoHHuzv z~0uzv AmHuzv
cannonsm zuHUuuoccH Hounm
HooHuzv

monHU<mz<MB H<Hoz<sz .m Bm<munamazmefi< Hoozom
mo mm»? Wm Hoomom :OH: ZH mHHIB mMH<DQ<MU QmHmm<ZZb mo mmuzmHmmmxm UHZOZOUM

mmo.¢ mHm<B

56
These differences are supported by the chi-square measures.
The chi-square measures in Table 4.08B results in the rejection
of the following null hypothesis:
H2.2. The formal financial transactions of prOSpective high
school graduates do not differ significantly when

classified by type of high school, namely: suburban,
inner-city, and rural.

 

Travel. Inspection of Table 4.08C shows that only 33.4 percent
of the respondents from rural schools traveled to at least three other
states compared to 62.9 percent for the inner-city and 77.3 percent for
the suburban schools. It could not be determined from the responses
whether these differences are attributable to vacation type of travel
or whether they had migrated from state to state with their families.

The chi-square measures in Table 4.08C shows that the following
null hypothesis was rejected:

H2.3. The economically meaningful travel experiences of prospec-

tive high school graduates do not differ when classified
by type of high school.

 

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AFTER GRADUATION

Extent of Economic Problems

Tables 4.09A, 4.09B, and 4.09C contain a list of economic
situations which the respondents could have encountered within six
months after graduation. They are classified as financial, values and
life style, and buying and professional services. Respondents were asked
to indicate whether they had encountered such a situation and the degree
to which the situation caused them difficulty. The reSponses for the

columns YesL A Problem, and Yes, A Little Problem were combined to

 

-1‘.

 

1n

57

no.0“v m
an

.ucmEDHHmcH ecu mo onuonssc 050 cu mccommmuuoo mEouH ozu mo wcHuonEac 0:98

 

 

 

¥N0.nH N.NN No o.N0 on «.mm 0 mmumum moan»
umme um cu von>mHB N.m
qm.¢ 0.NH HN 0.0 q n.0H m oonoz can» umauo >uucsoo
moo ummmH as ou ooHo>mHe H.m
Hw>mne mo.m
.cmuHcv N z N z N z mocoHHmmxm mo cozy
AoHHuzv ANOuzv HwHuzv
cannonsm zuHUuuoacH Hmuam

 

Hm><me .o em<m--omozmea< Hoozom so mm>e em
ooomom :oH: zH monz mme<oo<mo omHmm<zzo mo mmozmHmmmxm oszozoom

uwo.¢ MHm<B

58
compute the chi-square measures. These columns were combined because
the number of responses in each category was considered too low for the

computation of the chi-square measures.

Financial. Table 4.09A contains data regarding those economic
situations which primarily would involve making a financial decision.
An example of such a situation would be to get a credit card or borrow
money. Inspection of the table reveals that some financial situations
were seldom encountered by the majority of respondents. For example,
60.8 percent did not get a credit card, 54.3 percent did not borrow
money, 87.4 percent did not use unemployment insurance, 92.0 percent
did not use workmen's compensation, and 55.8 percent did not borrow
money from their family.

Observation of chi-square measures in Table 4.09A reveals that
the financial situations described in Items 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10-17, and
19 were not problems or difficulties, because the chi-square measures
were significant at the 0.05 level and the majority 6f respondents

replied either Np, No Responsg, or Yes, No Hassle. For this reason

 

the following null hypothesis was rejected:

H3.l. The number of unmarried high school graduates who
encounter difficulties in financial situations within
six months after graduation is not different from the number
of unmarried high school graduates who do not encounter
difficulties in financial sutations within six months
after graduation.

Although the rejection of the null hypothesis indicates that
respondents do not generally have difficulties with financial decisions,

those items where the chi-square measures were not significant suggest

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<0 fly 0 «V ”£43155

59

 

 

 

 

 

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mumavmuHsu mo :oHuou:QEoo How nmoHnEou

mumsvmuHsu mo :oHumusmaoo pom cmcHnEoum

 

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00 000 000 moo Scum

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.00 00o N .oz N .02 N .02 N .oz N .02 000000000 00500000
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0 o n . o . m o
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0 .00»

 

AvmscHucoov n <00.q mHm<B

61
some uncertainty in financial decisions particularly regarding making

money stretch from payday to payday (Item 35).

Values and life-style. The economic situations identified in

 

Table 4.09B are those in which an individual had to make a decision
regarding the values he/she placed on his/her choice and how it might
affect his/her economic life style. An example of such a situation would
be that of finding a place to live. Inspection of the table reveals
that some financial and life-style situations were seldom encountered by
a majority of the respondents; i.e., 57.3 percent did not get a telephone
for housing, 65.8 percent did not sign a lease, and 82.4 percent did
not break a lease.

With the exception of Item 33, the majority of respondents

replied either Np, No Response, or Yes, No Hassle to items indicating

 

 

values and life-style difficulties, as shown in Table 4.09B. Because
the chi-square measures for Items 4, 5, 9, 18, 28, 29, and 34 were
significant at the 0.05 level, the following null hypothesis was rejected:

H3.2. The number of unmarried high school graduates who encounter
difficulties in values and life style situations within
six months after graduation is not different from the number
of unmarried high school graduates who do not encounter
difficulties in values and life style situations within six
months after graduation.

 

Because the chi-square measure for Item 33, (decide how to

 

continue my education) was not significant, respondents were considered

undecided with regard to this letter value and life style situation.

Buying and professional services. Table 4.09C contains data

regarding those economic situations which involve decisions on what, when,

 

:- turn .\ rvh.hv— <.H.

62

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mumscmanu mo :oHuwuamaoo How cmaNnEoo

n
m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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63
and where to buy goods or services. An example is that of comparing
prices, quality, and services offered by stores and professionals.

Inspection of the table reveals that some of the buying and

professional services were not encountered by a majority of the respon-
dents; i.e., buying on the installment plan (61.3Z), getting the
services of an attorney (83.4%), getting emergency medical services
(75.4Z), and signing a service agreement for TV or other appliance
(79.9Z).

As shown in Table 4.09C, chi-square measures for the entire
group of thirteen items involving buying and professional services were
significant at the 0.05 level. Consequently, the following null
hypothesis was rejected:

H3.3. The number of unmarried high school graduates who encounter
difficulties in buying and professional services situations
within six months after graduation is not different from
the number of unmarried high school graduates who do not

encounter difficulties in buying and professional services
situations within six months after graduation.

 

Inspection of the percentages in Table 4.09C shows further that the
majority of respondents replied N3, N0 Response, or Yes, No Hassle,
indicating that respondents generally do not have difficulties in

decisions regarding buying and professional services.

Problems Classified by Type of
School Attended

A list of problems which were shown in Tables 4.09A, 4.09B, and
4.09C are restated in Tables 4.1OA, 4.10B and 4.10C but are classified
by the type of school which the respondent attended. The data in these
tables reflect those economic situations which the respondents rejected

as being either a major problem or a problem of lesser difficulty.

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64

 

 

 

 

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65

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66
Some situations contain substantive proportions of students who
reported that a problem had been encountered. An example is that of
knowing how to find a job. Inspection of the data has implications for
curriculum development, instruction, selection of learning activities,
and acquisition of instructional materials. Teachers and administrators
in each type of school might well use such data to determine the adequacy

of instruction in courses dealing with consumer economics.

Financial. Table 4.10A contains data regarding the financial
difficulties that unmarried graduates faced within six months after
graduation. Inspection of the table shows that chi-square measures for
Items 1, 8-11, 15-17, 19, and 35 were not significant at the 0.05 level.
Chi-square measures for Items 2, 3, and 12-14 could not be computed
because the number of responses were negligibly low for the three types
of schools. Only the chi-square for Item 7 was significant. Therefore,
the evidence supports the acceptance of the following null hypothesis:

H4.4. The financial difficulties of unmarried high school

graduates do not differ when classified by type of

high school, namely: suburban, inner-city and rural.
Accordingly, the respondents from the three types of school--rural,
inner-city, and suburban--could not be considered significantly different
in the frequency of financial difficulties encountered six months after
graduation from high school.

However, the one item, borrowing money, was considered more of a
problem by respondents from the rural and inner-city schools with 33.3
percent and 33.9 percent, respectively, than by respondents from the

suburban school with 12.6 percent.

67

 

 

 

 

 

 

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68

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8.0 vs.

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AconcHucouv I <Oa.q mqm<9

69

Values and life-style. Table 4.10B shows the values and life-

 

style difficulties that unmarried graduates faced within six months after
graduation. Respondents from rural, inner-city, and suburban schools
did not respond significantly different to items of values and life-
style as shown by the chi-square measures recorded in Table 4.103 which
were not significant for any of the eight items. Therefore, the
following null hypothesis could not be rejected:

H4.2. The values and life style difficulties of unmarried high

school graduates do not differ when classified by type of
high school, namely: suburban, inner-city, and rural.

 

Buyingiand professional services. Table 4.10C demonstrates the

 

buying and professional services difficulties that unmarried graduates
faced within six months after graduation. Observation of Table 4.10C
shows that chi-square measures were not significant at the 0.05 level for
Items 20, 22-27, and 30-32. Because chi-square measures for ten out of
thirteen items were not significant, the following null hypothesis could
not be rejected:

H4.3. The buying_and professional services difficulties of
unmarried high school graduates do not differ when
classified by type of high school, namely: suburban,
inner-city, and rural.

For those items where chi—square measures were significant, rural
and inner-city respondents had more difficulties than suburban respon-
dents in buying a car or cycle (22.2%, rural; 35.5%, inner-city; and
17.6%, suburban), buying on the installment plan (16.7%, rural; 17.7%,

inner-city; and 5.0%, suburban), and deciding whether to buy on credit

or pay cash (22.2%, rural, 35.5%, inner-city; and 17.6%, suburban).

7O

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71

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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72

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‘1

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter includes a summary of the study including the
problem, expected outcomes, assumptions, limitations, procedures, and
hypotheses. The major findings follow as well as the conclusions and

recommendations.

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

The Problem

 

The problem of this study was to determine the economic problems
which high school graduates, who were unmarried four years after
graduation, had faced six months after graduation and to determine the
degree of difficulty of those problems. The broad research questions
were:

1. What are the economic experiences of high school graduates
prior to graduation?

2. Are the economic experiences of prospective high school
graduates related to the type of high school: rural,
inner-city, and suburban?

3. What are the economic problems encountered within the
first six months after high school by unmarried graduates
four years after high school graduation?

4. Are the economic problems related to the type of high
school from which graduated: rural, inner-city,
suburban?

74
Outcomes
It was expected that:
1. this study would help educators devise courses in economics
and consumer education based on problem areas which are

relevant to the student's prior experiences and future needs.

2. this study in its design and instrumentation would be a pilot
which could be used as a research procedure in other states.

Assumptions

 

The assumptions of this study were:

1. That descriptions by the respondents of their economic
experiences were accurate with regard to their personal
recollections although they may be accompanied by a memory
bias.

2. That schools selected were representative of suburban,
inner-city, and rural schools in Arizona as described by
the State Department of Education.

3. That former students and state and local administrators were

an appropriate jury to evaluate a questionnaire to which
the sample responded.

Limitations

 

In this study there were a number of limitations, including the
following: The findings were limited to unmarried graduates of rural,
inner-city, and suburban Arizona high schools and are not generalizable
to all schools in Arizona or to those in other states. The reSponse
rate was only 38.7 percent; therefore, the findings must be interpreted
accordingly. No attempt was made to determine whether or not courses
in various high school departments were more significant in developing
consumer-economic competence. The effectiveness of courses being
taught was not a determiner nor were the moral, political, and religious

values of students used as criteria.

75

Procedures

 

Three high schools were selected to represent rural, inner-city,
and suburban high schools in Arizona. The suburban, upper-middle class
school chosen was Scottsdale High School. The number in the graduating
class in l97l-72 was 425--the return was 164 (39 percent); the inner-
city school chosen was South Mountain High School in Phoenix, with a
graduating class of 272 and the response was 98 (36 percent); represent-
ing the small, rural school was Superior High School with a graduating
class of 79 and the returns were 38 (48 percent). A list of graduates
was obtained through the c00peration of the three administrators of the
three high schools. A problem experienced by the researcher in the study
was that high schools had insufficient data including addresses on former
students.

The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire which was
sent to high school graduates. It was developed from curriculum guides,
textbooks in consumer education and literature in professional journals.
The initial draft of the instrument was reviewed by the Advisory Committee,
by high school departmental chairpersons in English and social studies,
by a city supervisor in Business Education, by research personnelha two
high school districts, and by the State Superintendent of Career and
Vocational Education. The instrument was pilot tested for face validity
with students, former students, and educators from severél school
districts. Questionnaires returned were tabulated by hand. Chi-square
statistics were computed for demographic tabulations and to test the

null hypotheses listed in Chapter 1.

76

Research Questions

 

The research questions were as follows:

Question 1: What are the economic experiences of high school

graduates prior to graduation?

Question 2: Are the economic experiences of high school

graduates related to type of high school: suburban,

inner-city and rural?

Question 3: What are the economic problems encountered within

the first six months after high school by unmarried

graduates four years after high school graduation?

Question 4: Are the economic problems related to the type of

Hypotheses

 

high school from which graduated, namely: suburban,

inner-city, and rural?

The null hypotheses of this study which were rejected were:

H1.l.

H1.2.

H1.3.

H2.1.

The number of high school graduates who have employment
experiences prior to graduation is not significantly
different from the number of high school graduates who do
not have employment experiences prior to graduation.

 

 

The number of high school graduates who have formal
financial transactions prior to graduation is not

 

significantly different from the number of high school
graduates who do not have formal financial transactions
prior to graduation.

 

The number of high school graduates who have economically
meaningful travel experiences prior to graduation is not

 

significantly different from the number of high school
graduates who do not have economically meaningful travel
experiences prior to graduation.

 

The employment experiences of high school graduates do not
differ significantly when classified by type of high
school, namely: rural, inner-city, and suburban.

 

77

H2.2. The formal financial transactions of high school graduates
do not differ significantly when classified by type of
high school, namely: rural, inner-city, suburban.

 

H2.3. The economically meaningful travel experiences of pros-
pective high school graduates do not differ significantly
when classified by type of high school, namely: rural,
inner-city, and suburban.

 

H3.l. The number of unmarried high school graduates who encounter
difficulties in financial situations within six months w
after graduation is not different from the number of ‘
unmarried high school graduates who do not encounter f
difficulties in financial situations within six months
after graduation.

H3.2. The number of unmarried high school graduates who
encounter difficulties in values and life style situations
within six months after graduation is not different from F
the number of unmarried high school graduates who do not
encounter difficulties in values and life style situations
within six months after graduation.

 

 

 

H3.3. The number of unmarried high school graduates who encounter
difficulties in buying;and professional services situations
within six months after graduation is not different from
the number of unmarried high school graduates who do not
encounter difficulties in buying and professional services
situations within six months after graduation.

The null hypotheses of this study which were not rejected were:

H4.1. The financial difficulties of unmarried high school
graduates do not differ significantly when classified
by type of high school, namely: rural, inner-city, and
suburban.

H4.2. The values and life style difficulties of unmarried high
school graduates do not differ when classified by type
of high school, namely: suburban, inner-city, and rural.

 

H4.3. The buying and professional services difficulties of
unmarried high school graduates do not differ when
classified by type of high school, namely: suburban,
inner-city, and rural.

78

The Findings

 

The findings of the study should be interpreted with caution
because of the relatively low response rate.

1. Slightly more females, 57.6 percent, responded than males,
42.4 percent. Approximately two-thirds, 68.6 percent, of
the respondents were unmarried. The number of married and
unmarried respondents were about the same in the rural
school, but the unmarried reSpondents outnumbered the married
respondents at least two to one in the inner-city and suburban
schools.

The occupations of respondents' parents from the inner-city
and suburban school were distributed over many occupational
areas, but most, 72.2 percent, of the respondents from the
rural school were in the occupational areas of transportation/
mechanics/factory/ mining.

2. Employment experiences of unmarried respondents while in
high school were varied with about as many working regularly
from 10-20 hours per week or working irregularly or not at
all.

3. The major financial transactions experienced by unmarried
respondents while in high school were having a savings
account and cashing a check. In addition, approximately
equal numbers owned a vehicle. The majority of unmarried
respondents did not have a checking account, use a credit
card, own stock, keep a budget and record of expenses, or
have a regular allowance from the family.

4. With regard to travel, most unmarried respondents had not
traveled to at least one country other than Mexico while
in high school, but over two-thirds had traveled to at
least three states.

5. Unmarried respondents from rural schools were less likely
to have worked regularly while in high school than ummarried
respondents from the inner-city and suburban schools.

6. The unmarried graduates from the rural school who reSponded
were less likely to have owned a vehicle while in high
school than were unmarried respondents from the inner-city
and suburban schools.

7. Unmarried respondents from the rural schools were less
likely to have traveled to at least three other states than
were unmarried respondents from the inner-city and suburban
schools while in high school.

79

The major problems encountered by unmarried respondents six
months after graduation from high school were how to continue
education and making money stretch from one payday to another.

Problems encountered six-months after graduation which were
more severe to unmarried reSpondents from rural and inner-
city schools than for unmarried respondents from suburban
schools were borrowing money, buying a car or cycle, buying
on the installment plan, and deciding whether to buy on
credit or pay cash.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no data base to conclude whether courses in the
three schools are relevant to the consumer-economic problems
of students. However, it is apparent from the responses from
three types of schools, that students while in schools have
different economic experiences; it is concluded that each
school should develop its own curricula based on local needs.

Since respondents of the selected rural, inner-city and
suburban Arizona high schools did not indicate any severity

of consumer education problems, the question should be asked
as to whether they are receiving now in their courses adequate
economic education or whether they have learned to solve

these problems through their economic experiences while

being employed or by being members of a family.

Experiences with a wide variety of financial transactions
is lacking in the rural, inner-city and suburban hugh school.
There is no indication that this is part of the curriculum.

Employment experiences for students in rural and inner-city
high schools are not as extensive as for students in suburban
high schools.

The economic difficulties encountered by unmarried high
school graduates within six months after graduation are few
with regard to decisions concerned with financial situations,
values and life style situations, and buying and professional
services.

The economic difficulties encountered by unmarried high
school graduates within six months after graduation are,

for the most part, similar for graduates in rural, inner-city,
and suburban schools; the exceptions are that borrowing
mOney, buying a vehicle, buying on the installment plan,

and deciding whether to buy on credit or pay cash is more
difficult for graduates from rural and inner-city schools

On

80

than for graduates from suburban schools. However, the
instrument did not ask about problems of welfare and state-
federal support. Perhaps this is an area of more concern to
some graduates without work from the questions asked in the
instrument.

RECOMMENDATIONS

the basis of the data in this study, it is recommended that:

The instrument used in this study should be used by schools
to determine what experiences students have had so that
learning activities can be based on their needs.

This study be replicated in other states to include a
Northern and urban state; a Mid-Western and primarily

a small-town and rural state; a Western state that resembles
Arizona with two central population bases and numerous small
towns .

A study should be made of what economic problems graduates
have experienced 2-3 years after graduation. Similar
studies should be made on economic experiences of those who
are married (or are widowed and divorced). Curriculum
patterns and syllabi should be reviewed to determine if the
objectives are consistent with what graduates encounter.

Studies in the area of this study might well attempt to
gather data on students such as rank in class and type of
work experience. '

Curriculum administrators and teachers should cooperate in
a program to develop experiences involving financial
transactions for high school students in rural, inner-city,
and suburban school districts.

It is the belief of the writer that school districts should
consistently collect follow-up data on students and make
names and addresses easily available to qualified researchers.~

Also that school districts should be charged with responsi-
bility for maintaining a followeup system of their graduates
(and former students who did not graduate) and be provided
with state funds for this purpose. School districts must
assume responsibility for those who have been in resident
attendance.

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Upon Opinions of Home Economics Professors, Business Professors,
and Other Professionals Who Are Members of the American Council on
Consumer Interests." Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, The Univer-
sity of Wisconsin (Madison), 1971. f

Roman, John C. "Business Education in 1984," American Vocational
Journal, 51:42, February, 1976. i

 

Rowse, Arthur E. "The Government and Consumer Education," The Bulletin ?
of the National Association of SecondarypSchool Principals, 51:69-75, '
October, 1967.

 

 

 

Schoenfeld, David. "The Why and How of Consumer Education," Bulletin of
the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 51:28-29,
October, 1967.

 

 

, and Arthur A. Natella. The Consumer and His Dollars. New York:
Oceana Publications, Inc., 1966.

 

Sluder, L. I. "An Analysis and Synthesis of Research Findings Pertaining
to General Business." Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Indiana
University (Bloomington), 1965.

Taylor, Jack L., Jr., and Arch W. Troelstrup. The Consumer in American
Society: Additional Dimensions, Selections from the Literature.
New York: McGraweHill Book Co., 1974.

 

 

Teaching Personal Economics in the Business Curriculum. New York:
Joint Council on Economic Education, 1971.

Teaching Personal Economics in the Home Economics Curriculum. New York:
Joint Council on Economic Education, 1971.

 

Teachipg Personal Economics in the Social Studies Curriculum. New York:
Joint Council on Economic Education, 1971.

Thayer, Louis A. Special Services Director, Scholastic Magazines, Inc.,
to Mrs. Evelyn Caskey, November, 1976.

 

Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock. New York: Random House, 1970.

 

Udell, Gerald G. "The Consumer's Right to Consumer Education: A
Rejoiner," Journal of Consumer Affairs, 8:86-92, Summer, 1974.

 

89

Units of Study for Economics and the Consumer. ESEA, Title III, Project.
Flint, Michigan: Flint Community Schools, (undated).

Van Til, William. "The Nine Crucial Issues in Secondary Education,"
The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School
Principals, 60:97-105, May, 1976.

 

Wall, Carlton D. "In-service Training for Consumer Education," Journal
of Business Education, 49:159-160, January, 1974.

Warmke, Roman F. "The Conceptual Strand Approach in Economic Education,"
Business Education Forum, 22:8-11, January, 1968.

. "Consumer Education: Goals and Realities," Education Leader-
ship, 31:607-610, April, 1974.

Wilhelms, Fred T. "Key to Many Doors," The Bulletin of the National
Association of Secondary School Principals, 51:3-13, October, 1967.

, and Ramon P. Heimerl. Consumer Education. 3d ed. New York:
McGraw—Hill Book Co., 1966.

APPENDICES

 

APPENDIX A

INSTRUMENT

 

92

ECONOMIC AWARENESS STUDY

am: (Ihisnuberneansthatlknovvhoyouereandvhatsohoolyensent

to. leansetbackintouthvithyonifyoutilliant; throughé-g.
You will r-ain a Code amber unless you give as your nane, address, and phone
masher. Youcenquitnovandjustsay'ho, than'syou" oryoucenproceedand
fill out the questionnaire. If you fill this out. your answers will remain
confidential. No one but as will see your answers.)

m. First, who are you? (PLEASE rem)

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3-2

am: (Optional)

 

Last First )1. I.
ADDRESS:

 

(Optional) Street or Post Office Huber City State ZIP

b3
H

b5

m m: (Optional)

 

PRESENT STATUS: Married Single' Divorced Separated Widoeed___
PMS/mm occurmouswamrouwmmmscmou (Try tobel‘pe-
citic. beagle: "elder, Assembly Line Barker. Autonotiye Mechanic, Layer,
Shoe Salesnen, Medical Secretary, Proprietor of Drug Store. etc.)
Father/Guardian Mother/Guardian

 

m. Itwuldhelpifyouoouldtellneehontyour'orkhistoryatterleevinz

3-1
3-2
3-3
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3-5
3-6

hishechool. PLEASE MORE 03m:

iii—.N0“ W
hployed Pull tine .
Pitt-Cm J» a e
Pitt-tin. sm‘e
Bow neny nonths approximately) have you been employed since graduation?

flow-w different jobs (different enployers) have you had since graduation?

m. nomineedtoknorvhatkindotexperiencesyouhadvhileinhuheohool.

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Traveled to at least/one country other than hence m &

traveled to at least three states. . . . .
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led a regular allowance fra Iy {anily . .
Worked irregularly (5-10 hours a seek. up to hours total).
Worked pretty regularly (lo-20 hours a week, up to 1000 hrs. total)
Workedpart-tineallthetinevhileinhixhschool........
Worked part-tine in eone progr-‘tor high school credit. . . . . .
Watkindofpeyinajohsdidyouhavewhileinhighschool?

C O O O I O O O O

O O O O O O O I O O

O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O

O O C O C O O O O O

O O I O O O O O 0 O
O O O O O O O O C

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913
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school. Thisneensvithinsixnonthsorso. mammmm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mar.
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Prgblg m1, 1

D-O (Eagle) Keep track of fanily birthdays __
D-lGetacreditcsrd. . . . . .
D-Z Start a bank checkina account
. D-3 Start a bank' savings account.
D-4Pindsplacetolive. . . .
D-S Make a choice of roouates.
D-Gbuyscsrorcycle. . . . .
D-7mm........
D-8 Get insurance for a vehicle
D-9 Get a telephone for housing
D—lD Prepare intone tax return .
D—ll Figure payroll earnings and deductions
D—12 Get a social security card. .
D-l3 Use unuployaent insursnc . .
D-llo Use sorben's conpensation. .
D-ls Borrow noney tron tanily. . .
D'l‘t‘mout‘b‘lds.t e e e e e e
D-17 Keep financial records or menses
D-lBKnovhovtofindajob. . . . . . .
D-19 Reconcile a checkbook with bank statusent
D-20 Conpare prices, quality, and services
offered at stores . . . . . .
D-213uyoninstsllnentplan. . .
D-22 Obtain doctor’s services. . .

l

IIIII I III II IIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

D-23 Obtain dentist’s services .
D-24 Get services of an attorney
D-ZS Get emergency medical services. .
D-26Make travel reservations. . . . .
D-27 Obtain an airlines or bus ticket.
D-ZBSignelaase...........
D-29Braske1ease..........
D-30 Sign a service agreuant for TV or other
applim..............o.
D-3l Reed labels for food and other products
D-32 Decide when to use the services or dry
cleanersandlaundries.........
D-33 Decide how to continue try education . .
D-34 Keep in touch with family and relatives
D-35 Make ny money stretch tron one pay day
COMM...............
D-36 Decide whether to buy on credit or pay
Cube 0 O I O O O O O O O O O O O O I O
D-37 Other
D-38 Other
D-39 Other
NO Other

eeeeeeeeee

IIIII I III II IIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIII I III II IIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B

COVER LETTERS

SCOTTSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

 

SCOTTSDALE HIGH SCHOOL
74lO 3. Indian School Road Scottsdale. Arizona 85251 Telephone 949-6527

June, 1976

Dear High School Graduate of 1972

I am a teacher and have taught for quite a number of years. People like
no need to know more about people like you so that we can create new
courses and instructional materials which relate to you. I grew up in a
small mining town in Arizona and began my teaching career in a small
farming community. Presently, I am a Business Education teacher in a
large suburban high school in Scottsdale, Arizona and am working towards
a doctorate degree at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

One of my continuous goals as a teacher has been to strive to implement
programs in high school curriculums that best meet the needs of all
youth. 1 have been actively involved at the local, state, and national
levels trying to improve curriculum programs, and instructional materials
that will meet the needs of all youth in our ever changing society.

I need to know'about you. now that you have been out of school for {our
years. The attached questionnaire asks you to reveal yoursel£--in fact,
it gives you the opportunity to express yourself. Naturally, your
responses will be kept confidential and will remain in my personal files.
Your parents, your former high school teachers and administrators will
not know'what you have said.

After you return your questionnaire, i will analyze what you have said.
After that, you may receive a telephone call from me asking for a
personal interview or a telephone interview which will be anonymous.

I certainly would appreciate you filling out the enclosed questionnaire
and returning it at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely yours,

Josephine Sawaia, Chairman and Teacher
Business Education Department

96

Phoenix Union High School System

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
2526 West Osborn Road
Phoenix Arizona 85017

TeIeaheeeu ODD-1674131
“‘mum

 

 

June 2, 1976

Dear Graduates,

Josephine J. Sawaia, doctoral studeht at Michigan State University
is interested in determining the economic problems students face
after high school graduation. Your responses to the enclosed
survey will help Mrs. Sawaia in the development of a course in
economic awareness which would be offered to seniors.

The Phoenix Union High School System Research and Planning Department
has approved this survey and supplied the names and addresses for

Ms. Sawaia. we feel the development of this consumer economics
awareness course and subsequent implementation will be of great
benefit to future high school graduates. We hope you will take

time to respond to this survey.

Sincerely,

Lloyd W. Calvin, Director
Research and Planning

LSCIgg

97

SCOTTSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

 

SCOTTSDALE HIGH SCHOOL .
1410 1:. Indian School Road Scottsdale. Arizona 35251 Telephone 949-6527

June, 1976

Dear High School Graduate of 1972
I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

A few weeks ago you should have received a questionnaire entitled,
Economic Awareness, which you were asked to fill out and return to me.

Many of the l972 graduates from your high school have completed and
returned their questionnaire. If you have already mailed yours, please
accept my "Thank You" for assisting in this worthy effort. If you have
not returned the questionnaire, I would be most appreciative if you
would complete it at your earliest convenience and return it to me so
that I may be assured of a 100% return.

\

REMEMBER:
I. This study is completely CONFIDENTIAL.

2. YOUR ANSWER IS IMPORTANT if the results are to show the
true facts.

3. This is a PRACTICAL STUDY being made in order to help
develop meaningful and relevant curriculum at the high
school level. '

4. I am asking for something that is very important and that
HONEY can't buy.

Please answer the questionnaire and mail it today. I would be most
appreciative of your help in this worthy effort.

Sincerely yours,

Josephine Sawaia, Chairman and Teacher
Business Education Department

P. S. If you have misplaced the questionnaire, please call me at
947-9037 and I will be most happy to send you a copy.

€98

SCOTTSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

 

SCOTTSDALE HIGH SCHOOL
7410 E. Indian School Road ' Scottsdale. Arizona 85251

Telephone 949-6527

July, l976

Dear High School Graduate of I972

About six weeks ago I mailed you a questionnaire entitled "Economic
Awareness Study." This study is concerned with determining the consumer
economic problems you have encountered after graduation.

I NEED YOUR HELP IN THIS STUDY! Please know that this study is
completely CONPIDEHTIAL. Your answer is very important if the results

are to show the true facts. This study is a practical study I am making
in order to help improve curriculum, programs, and instructional materials
that will meet the needs of all youth in our every changing society.

I AM COUNTING ON YOU! Your responses are important to future high
school graduates, to me. to your school, and to bther educators. Please
take a few minutes to fill out the questionnaire and return it to no at
your earliest convenience. If for some reason you do-not wish to
complete the questionnaire, please write "Ho Thank You" across the front
of the questionnaire and return it in the enclosed envelope.

Sincerely,

Josephine Sawaia, Chairman
Business Education Department

Enclosures: Questionnaire
Stamped, addressed envelope