MSU LIBRARIES “ RETURNING MATERIALS: P1ace in book drop to remove this checkout from your record. FINES wil] be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. 7739' .‘Tllllly .II'I'! ll ‘ nail: IDENTIFICATION OF SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTINUED STUDENT EN- ROLLMENT IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE by Richard Hummel Bittner AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1962 Page 1 of 4 ABSTRACT IDENTIFICATION OF SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTINUED STUDENT EN- ROLLMENT IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE by Richard Hummel Bittner Purpose.--To determine whether selected personal characteristics of students and those of their family environ~ ments are associated with continued enrollment in vocational agriculture. Method.--Selected characteristics of a sample of AAA students enrolled in vocational agriculture in grades nine, ten, and eleven in the school year 1960-61 who con- tinued vocational agriculture in grades ten, eleven, and twelve in the 1961-62 school year were compared with the characteristics of 111 students enrolled in vocational agri- culture in the same grades during 1960-61 but who transferred to other high school subjects the next school year. The 39 schools from which the sample was selected were located' wdthin two Michigan farming areas. Data were obtained from iadministrations of a questionnaire and the Wert-Myster Farming Attitude Scale, and from school records. Fisher's t-test and chi-square were used to treat the data. .Findings and Interpretations.--An analysis of the total Student loss from the 39 departments revealed that: (l) 209 Students, or 15.25 per cent of the total enrollment of 1370, Richard Hummel Bittner Page 2 of 4 left vocational agriculture at the end of the 1960-61 school year; (2) of the total student loss, h3.06 per cent, 35.83 per cent, and 21.11 per cent were freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, respectively; and (3) of the total student loss, 75.60 per cent chose other high school subjects, 11.00 per cent moved away, 12.92 per cent left school, and .h8 per cent died. Students who continued vocational agriculture (re- enrollees) differed significantly at the one per cent level from students who transferred to other courses in that: (l) more re-enrollees lived on farms; (2) re-enrollees had more 'favorable attitudes toward farming as a vocation and as a way of life, planned to obtain less post-high school educa- tion, and named occupational choices in lower aspiration levels and in different occupational fields; (3) more re- enrollees stated occupational choices related to agriculture, and more named farming as their first or second occupational choice; and (A) the occupational choices of re-enrollees were more consistent within aspiration levels. Re-enrollees differed significantly at the five per cent level from transfer students in that re-enrollees dis- Played less academic ability and that re-enrollees expressed reasons for re-enrolling in vocational agriculture which displayed less consideration of long—term educational and/or Occupational objectives. When the following characteristics of re-enrollees Were compared with those of transfer students, no significant Richard Hummel Bittner Page 3 of h differences were found with respect to: (1) sizes of the students' home farms; (2) extent of parental farm ownership; (3) the farm work status of the students' fathers; (A) the ages of the students' fathers; (5) the number of students who expressed at least one occupational choice; (6) the degrees of initiative displayed in seeking guidance assistance and the amounts of guidance assistance received when students selected high school subjects, formulated post-high school plans, and when they decided upon their occupational choices; (7) the consistency of occupational choices within occupa- tional fields; and (8) the degrees of certainty expressed for following their present post-high school plans or en- gaging in first choice occupations. Four of the more important interpretations of the findings were: (1) The significant factors which apparently influ- ence the decisions of farm boys to discontinue vocational agriculture are not the relative opportunities they have to enter farming; but, a less favorable attitude toward farming and a lesser desire to capitalize upon a farming background as an aid to becoming established in an agricultural occupation. (2) Although the mean grade point average of transfer students was significantly higher statistically, it was not much.higher in a practical sense; consequently, the academic Caliber of transfer students does not differ markedly from that of re-enrollees. Richard Hummel Bittner Page 4 of 4 (3) A significantly large number of both re-enrollees and transfer students are not receiving any guidance assist- ance with their problems of selecting high school subjects, formulating post-high school plans, or making occupational choices. (a) Many re-enrollees do not relate their study of agriculture to long-term plans and.objectives to the same extent as do many transfer students. IDENTIFICATION OF SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTINUED STUDENT EN- ROLLMENT IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE by Richard Hummel Bittner A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1962 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many persons were involved in the completion of this investigation and the author wishes to express his sincere appreciation to all who gave encouragement, guidance, and assistance. First, the author is indebted to the instructors who provided data for the study. It is the author's hope that they will benefit from the findings of the study. Sincere appreciation is also extended to members of the author's guidance committee, Dr. Paul Sweany, Dr. Harold M. Byram, Dr. Merle L. Esmay, and Dr. walter F. Johnson for their suggestions and guidance; to Dr. Raymond Clark in whose seminar the preliminary plans for the study were developed; and to Mr. John Patterson for help with the statistical analysis. A special word of gratitude is expressed to Dr. Sweany who supervised the investigation and the writing of the dis- sertation. The many hours he spent with the author discuss- ing the various facets of the study and the assistance he gave were appreciated. The author is humbly grateful to his parents for the many hours they spent tabulating data, for their support, and for their sympathetic understanding of the problems the author encountered. A great disappointment it is to the author that his father, who passed away March 1, 1962, was unable to see this dissertation completed. Finally, a word of appreciation is due Mrs. Doris L. Kollmeyer for typing an accurate and attractive manuscript. ii Chapter I. II. III. IV. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ThePrOblemoooooooooooooo Background and Importance of the Problem Development of the Hypotheses . . . . . Assumptions 00000000000000 Definitions of Terms Used . . . . . . . REVIEW OF LITERATURE O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Characteristics of Former Students Who Have Entered Farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . Students' Academic Abilities and Their Edu- cational and Occupational Aspirations . . Characteristics of Students' Plan Making and TheirF‘uturePlans............ Summary of the Literature Reviewed . . . . . SOURCES OF DATA AND SCORING SYSTEMS USED IN THE STUDY 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O The Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Use of High School Records . . . . . . . The Wert-Myster Attitude Toward Farming Scale ChapterSummary.............. THE PROCEDURE FOLLOWED O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Selection of the Vocational Agriculture De- partments................ Administration of the Questionnaires and Farming Attitudes Scales . . . . . . . . . Determination of Student Loss from the De- partments surveyed o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Analysis of the Student Population Preceed- ing Selection of the Sample . . . . . . seleCtion Of the sample 0 o o o o o o o Obtaining Students' Grade Point Averages Tabulation and Treatment of the Data . . Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . iii 1h 28 LO #8 52 53 6h 66 67 67 69 71 72 78 79 80 Chapter Page V. FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FORMER STUDENTS WHO HAVE ENTERED FARMING . 82 Classification of Students' Residences: Farm and Non-farm o o o o o o o o o o o 84 Farm werk Status of the Fathers of Students LiVing On Farms 0 o o o o o o o o 86 Sizes of the Home Farms of Students Living on Farms 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 87 Extent of Parental Farm Ownership . . . . 89 Ages of Fathers of the Students Living on Farms 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 92 The Total Numbers of Brothers of Students Who Live on Farms 0 o o o o o o o o o 0 9h Students' Attitudes Toward Farming as a Vocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Students' Attitudes Toward Farming as a Way Of Life 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 96 Students' Occupational Preferences for Agri- culturally-Related Occupations . . . . . 98 Students' Occupational Preferences for Farming o o o o o o o o o o o 0‘. o o o 101 Chapter Summary 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 103 VI. FINDINGS RELATED TO THE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ABILITIES, AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL AND OCCU- PAT ION AL PLAN S C O O O O O O O O C O O O O 1 01+ Academic Ability Displayed by Students . . 105 Extent of Post-High School Education Planned for by StUdentS o o o o o o o o o o o o 107 Aspiration Levels and Occupational Fields Represented by Students' First Occupational ChOiceS O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O 109 Chapter Summary 0 o o o o o o o o o o o 0 11h VII. FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENTS' PLAN MAKING AND THEIR FUTURE PLANS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 116 Student Initiative in Obtaining Guidance IASSiStance o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 117 Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to StUdentS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 123 Maturity of Reasons Expressed by Students Concerning Their Continuance in Vocational AgfiCUlture o o o o. o o o o o o o o o o 129 Consistency of the Students' Occupational ChOiceS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 132 Certainty of Students' Future Plans . . . 136 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A2 iv . - 6 2r ‘~.~'v I 7”? 81”.”! A D’yv '.“. Video as-’ n OF T54 The Pu Prose: The F1 Implic- Recomx this SuggeS‘ OOQT:-m"c‘? ”Tan“ _ ice-«fi‘OU:~ [V‘*ULI '::j\"\7n*xn m-mla'v' . DD 0 o o Chapter . Page VIII. SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 'The Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . 144 Procedure Of the Stlldy o o o o o o o o o o 145 The Findings 0f the StUdy o o o o o o o 0 11+? Implications of the Study . . . . . . . . 151 Recommendations Based on the Findings of this St‘ldy O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 159 Suggestions for Further Study . . . . . 164 LITERATURECITEDOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.00 168 APPENDICESOOOOO0000.00.00.00...17L.- Table l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. LIST OF TABLES Net Student Losses from the Michigan Vocational Agriculture Program, Freshman Classes 1953-58 Number of Students Who Returned Scorable Farm- ing Attitude Answer Sheets from the 39 De- ‘par‘bmentSSurveyed............. Student Re-enrollment and Loss by Grades from Vocational Agriculture in the 39 Departments Surveyed.................. Reasons for Student Loss from the 39 Michi an Departments at End of School Year, 1960- l . Maturity Scores for Reasons Expressed by 1,161 Students in the 39 Departments Surveyed for Re-enrolling in Vocational Agriculture the NemSChOOlYearooooooooooooo‘o The Sample Selected for the Study from the 39 Departments Surveyed o o o o o‘ o o o o o o 0 Classification of Students' Residences: Farm andNon-fam‘oooooooooooooooo Farm work Status of the Fathers of Students LiVingonFamSoooooooooooooo Sizes of Home Farms of Students Living on Farms Farm Ownership Classification of Students Who LivedonFamSooooooooooooooo Number of Acres Owned by Parents of Students WhOLivedonFarmSooooooooooooo' Ages of Fathers of Students Living on Farms . Number of Brothers of Students Living on Farms Students' Attitudes Toward Farming as a Voca- tion.................... vi Page 3 73 7A 75 77 78 85 87 88 9O 92 93 9A 96 Table Page 15. Students' Attitudes Toward Farming as a Way Of Life 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O , O O O 97 16. Agricultural Relatedness Scores of Students' Occupational Choices for Those Who Expressed at LeaSt One ChOice o o o o o o o o o o o o 99 17. Students' Occupational Preferences for Farm- ing 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O 102 18. Students' High School Grade Point Averages . 106 19. Years of Post—High School Education Planned by Stadents o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 108 20. Numbers of Students th Did and Did Not Ex- press an Occupational Choice . . . . . . . 110 21. Aspiration Levels of Students' First Occupa- 'tiona1 ChOiceS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 111 22. Fields Represented by the First Occupational Choices of Students Who Expressed at Least One Chaice o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 11h 23. Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in - Obtaining Assistance with the Selection of High School Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . 120 24. Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students . in Obtaining Assistance with the Formulation of Post-High School Plans . . . . . . . . 121 25. Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Choice of an Occupation a o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 123 26. Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Selected High SChOOl SUbjeCtS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 125 27. Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Formulated Post- High School Plans . . . . .-. . . . . . . . 127 vii Table Page 28. Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Made Occupa- tional ChOiCBS o o o o o 0.0 o o o o o m o o 129 29. ‘Maturity Ratings of the Reasons Expressed by Students for Re-enrolling In and Transferring From Vocational Agriculture . . . . . . . . 131 30. Consistency of Occupational Choices Within As- piration Levels for Students Who Expressed at LeaSt One ChOice o o o o o o o o o o o o 133 31. Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Fields for Students Who Expressed at Least One Chaice o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 135 32. Immediate Post-High School Plans of Students . 137 33. Degrees of Certainty Expressed by Graduates Concerning Their Post High School Plans . . 139 34. Degrees of Certainty Expressed by Students Concerning Engagement in the Work of Their First Occupational Choices . . . . .'. . . . 140 .35. Degrees of Certainty of Entering Farming Ex- pressed by Students Who Chose Farming as One occupational ChOiCe o o o o o o o o o o o o 1&2 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 B. Report of High School Student Grades . . . . 180 C. First Letter Sent to Participating Superinten- dSDtSOfSChOOlSooooooooooooo 181 D. A Note to the Schools Participating in the St“dYuoooooooooooooooooo 182 E. Instructions (Administering the Questionnaires) 183 F0 AttitUde Toward Farming o o o o o o o o o o 0 1815 G. Attitude Toward Farming (Answer Sheet) . . . 185 H. Supplementary Guide to the Questionnaire and Attit‘ldescaleoooooooooooooo 186 Io Report or Farming AttitUde Scores 0 o o o o o 192 J. werteMyster Farming Attitude Scores of’Michigan Vocational Agriculture Students, Report to Participating 80110015 0 o o o o o o o o o o 193 K. Letter Requesting Grade Point Averages . . . 196 L. .Maturity Ratings Assigned to Reasons Expressed by Students for Re-enrolling in or Transferring from Vocational Agriculture . . . . . . . . 197 M. List of Participating Vocational Agriculture Departments..oaooooo.o..... 198 No Letter Sent to Determine Which Students Re- enrolled in and Transferred From Vocational Agriculture................ 199 ix The resee attezpt to ident: agriculture stud- :::tinuously in 1 Prtgress through suients who he 351, Add eleven : I ‘:“ v"i' . A review 592tives and the 311. the student are 3uggest e d ‘ :72) 3“: cw ’3 from tho selected f0 1333‘,“ I'I$ . y,“ a N “1° erlr‘oll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Problem The research reported in this dissertation was an attempt to identify certain characteristics of vocational agriculture students which differentiate those who enroll continuously in the vocational agriculture program as they progress through the four years of high school from those students who leave the program at the end of grades nine, ten, and eleven in order to study other high school sub- jects. A review of literature was undertaken before the ob- jectives and the procedure for the study were developed; and, the student characteristics which this review of liter— ature suggested might differentiate the students who con- tinue to enroll each year in the vocational agriculture program from those who transfer to other high school subjects were selected for the study. For ease in manipulation of the data, three general - hypotheses were developed which stated that, with reference to the characteristics studied, the characteristics of stu- dents who enroll continuously in the vocational agriculture -1- ‘ "new" f‘ '1‘in 1“ u I" v c A :o’vflgf" D uinuvlnv ~-.Hm:11,: 'y rfiAv v A C In . I 5:.3dt101 1 cl...‘ “"~ u'u h“ .- "79 inst: V :3.“ Ahlt' s y‘ ‘Uu P “ o Isg AA “LOO “mil 8 ‘ I o“ ‘ .I’Vt‘h. ‘ -2- program do not differ from the same characteristics of the students who transfer from vocational agriculture in order to pursue other high school subjects. After the characteristics had been selected and the hypotheses formulated, the study consisted of testing these hypotheses to determine which could be accepted and which could be rejected in terms of the data available from the sample of students studied. Background and Importance of the Problem It is recognized by persons who work in the field of education that students enrolled in any course of instruction should wish to be enrolled and should be able to profit from the instruction given. This holds true for the vocational agriculture program as it does for any other program of in- struction offered to high school students. Apparently, many of the students who once enroll in vocational agriculture in high school no longer wish to re- main enrolled and leave the program in favor of other high school studies which promise to be of more benefit to them. Typically, the extent of total student loss from the voca- tional agriculture program is substantial as any one group of beginning grade nine students progresses through grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. In Michigan, for example, and as the data in Table 1 indicate, the surviving senior classes enrolled in the Michigan vocational agriculture I .-I .n.e 10' w G G ‘3“, 717:," ‘ ' .5 Ugo: 'C:1.( "II I". u. I: . t ‘4 1“: I / '::§.KC -‘ “ up 5‘ ,- u$urJ$‘:: ML, 01 “.’ ,.>) ."‘. v I U‘ ~. l:..~-+‘ uuv‘mv! Bit. of O/ 1"} ‘flV‘. -3- Table 1.--Net Student Losses from the Michigan Vocational Agriculture Program, Freshmen Classes 1953-58a Fgrifiiggtélgss Segggziglggs Net Student Loss m m Num er er Cent 1953-54 3.769 1956-57 2.17A 1,595 42.32 195A-55 3,729 1957-58 2.159 1,570 42-10 1955-56 3,881 1958-59 2,305 1,576 40.60 ' 1956-57 3,904 1959-60 2.455 1.449 37.12 1957-58 3,774 1960-61 2,528 1,246- 33.01 1958-59 3,620 1961-62 2,361.b 1,256 34.70 aEnrollment data obtained personally from the State Depart- megt of Public Instruction, Lansing, Michigan, April l4, l9 1. bEstimated final end-of-year enrollment by the State Depart- megt of Public Instruction, Lansing, Michigan, April 14, 9 1. program for the years 1956 to 1961, inclusive, ranged from 33.01 per cent to 42.32 per cent smaller than each of the freshman classes had enrolled four years previously. A large percentage of this loss was caused by students who remained in high school, but who selected other high school subjects to study in lieu of vocational agriculture. ’ The problem tackled in this research project, that - of attempting to identify the characteristics of students who remain enrolled in vocational agriculture and those of students who transfer from the program to pursue other high stool stu: ..... 5‘ oiaae «:69 E “=59 c! u but exactlve < manual .I ~.Sttient m Au! it will pl‘l :QSCI‘ibe t‘ -g- school studies, seems a significant problem to approach be- cause the student loss i; quite substantial, and because very little research has been directed toward the identification of these characteristics. This lack of research so directed leaves educators in the field of agricultural education with little evidence with which to judge whether the present attrition rate is indicative of good or poor guidance, effective or ineffective enrollment procedures, and whether vocational agriculture is meeting a broad enough spectrum of student needs. The contribution that this study will make is that it will provide information concerning which characteristics describe those who remain enrolled in vocational agricul- ture and whether these characteristics are significantly different from the characteristics of students who do not, but who transfer to other high school courses. With these characteristics so differentiated, information will be available which should help, at least to some extent, with the evaluation and improvement of student selection proce- dures, student guidance, and of instruction itself within the vocational agriculture program by educators in the field Of.agricultural education. Development of the Hypotheses The review of literature reported in the next chapter raised three general questions in the mind of the investigator w_ {A’Qew‘ .v’u v 6 I“ waaztiov O .unvo V ti a-a-A a»: U‘ F P .1'Vh.U\ :H" - H- ung-A OO.‘ Wrrzr I'- V‘co use I V " Nun v \ . nwuu (L- D i (It) -5- concerning the characteristics of students enrolled in the vocational agriculture program and which of these might best describe the students who continue to enroll in the program and which might best describe the students who leave the program to pursue other high school subjects. These ques- tions were: A. B. C. Do the youth who leave the vocational agriculture program have less opportunity to enter farming, and do they have greater aspirations to engage in occupations which are not related to agriculture than do the students who en- roll each year in vocational agriculture? Are the youth who leave the vocational agriculture pro- gram academically superior to the students who enroll continuously in vocational agriculture each year, and do these transfer students aspire to enter occupations which require higher levels of training than do the students who enroll each year in vocational agriculture? Do the youth who leave the vocational agriculture program display a greater concern about their future; have a greater self-understanding, and a wider orientation to the world of work; and, do they possess more maturity in that they consider long-term objectives to a greater extent when making present-day decisions than do the students who re-enroll in the vocational agriculture program? These quest izvestigator as he this study. As the, eazh of these quest :‘ree general hypo‘ 3113’. Astatemen: : u . .GnOlM A. General Hypothe Students who tr differ from the the characteris farmers. ueneral Hypothe lI‘aRSIOP studs: vocational agr levels of acai -6- These questions became the major concerns of the investigator as he proceeded to outline the procedure for this study. As the procedure for the study was developed, each of these questions became the basis for each of the three general hypotheses formulated to be tested in the study. A statement of each of these three general hypotheses follows: A. B. C. General Hypothesis Number One Students who transfer from vocational agriculture do not differ from the students who re-enroll with respect to the characteristics of former students who have become farmers. General Hypothesis Number Two Transfer students and the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the levels of academic ability they display, the amounts of post-high school education they plan to obtain, and the aspiration levels and occupational fields of their occupational choices. General Hypothesis Number Three Transfer students and the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the degrees of initiative they display in seeking guidance assistance when formulating plans, the amounts of un- solicited guidance assistance they receive from others H- Me gar)” "60V 0 A. For H. ‘ Us. 1. Tue -7- when formulating plans, the degrees of maturity they display when expressing reasons concerning continuance in vocational agriculture, the degrees of consistency of occupational choices they achieve, and the certainty of their future plans. The student characteristics studied in relation with the general hypotheses were: A. B. C. For the first general hypothesis of the study: 1. The extent of farm residency 2. The farm work status of the students' fathers 3. The sizes of the students' home farms 4. The extent of parental farm ownership 5. The ages of the students' fathers 6. The numbers of brothers of the students 7. Attitudes toward farming 8. Aspirations to enter farming and agriculturally- related occupations For the second general hypothesis of the study: 1. High school grade point averages 2. Amount of post-high school education anticipated 3. Aspiration levels of occupational choices 4. Classification of occupational choices by fields For the third general hypothesis of the study: 1. Student initiative in seeking guidance assistance when making plans for the future 2. The amounts c by students 3. The degrees c tional and 0 for and agai: agriculture L Consistency _ levels 5 Consistency 6. Certainty of When thi 3 “023 were Ede. p" ugh sM1001 stx Presented On a tmthfully, j. 3' lgh SChoOl SL‘ f fitting and Ill. The academic a. “PpraiSed Witt- u evaluatmn 0 r :J "c 0 All a n -8- 2. The amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance received by students 3. The degrees of consideration given long-range educa- tional and occupational plans when students decided for and against continuing their study of vocational agriculture 4. Consistency;of occupational choices within aspiration levels _ 5. Consistency of occupational choices within fields 6. Certainty of future plans Assumptions When this study was developed, the following assump- tions were made. A. B. C. High school students will be able to answer the questions presented on the questionnaire and that they will do so truthfully. High school students have developed an attitude toward farming and that they will reveal this attitude truthfully. The academic ability of high school students can be appraised with an acceptable degree of validity by an evaluation of their grade point averages. High sbhool students who actively seek information and assistance to aid them in making educational and occupational E. F. G. H. -9- plans display more concern about their future than do ethose who do not. Occupations can be classified as being or not being agri- culturally-related using the criterion whether or not knowledge of agriculture or of farming is of value to those persons engaged in the respective occupations. High school students can express with an acceptable degree of validity whether or not a knowledge of agriculture would be of value to them in occupations of their choice. Reasons given by students for either re-enrolling in or transferring from vocational agriculture will be truthful, and that these reasons may be rightfully classified as mature reasons, neutral reasons, and immature reasons. A higher degree of maturity is displayed by students who clearly establish a relationship between the choice of high school courses and long-term educational or occupa- tional plane than is displayed by students who do not establish this relationship. A11 sources of occupational and educational information ”which assist students with the formulation of future jplans may be treated as of equal importance in this study ‘because there is no method available to determine what relative impact each source of information or assistance -10- may have on the educational and occupational plans of each student. Definitions of Terms Used Certain terms are used in this dissertation, and the definitions of these terms are given in this section so that the meaning of the text may at all times be clear to the reader. Vocational Agriculture.--This term applies to the high school program of instruction in agriculture, estab- lished by the Smith-Hughes Act} which is conducted for youth who are preparing for the work of the farm. Re-enrollees.--This term designates those students who were enrolled in vocational agriculture during the 1960-61 school year and continued their study of vocational agriculture during the 1961-62 school year. ‘ When, in the text, a grade level is associated with the term "re-enrollee," it means that the student was en- rolled in that grade level and that the student continued his study of vocational agriculture the next school year. FOr example, a grade nine re-enrollee is one who was enrolled ‘_ 1United States Congress, Public Laws of the United States of America Passed b the Sixto-Fourth Con ess, 12%EZI917, VoI. XIIIX, Part I (washington: Government Pr.nting Office, Washington, 1917), pp. 929-936. 35:.“31 veg [:0 :3’3 if: '1:..~" - | .f“ AH‘ § ‘y‘l‘i‘J-vu 'M. I‘M“ l "*6 . If: -. -11- in vocational agriculture in grade nine in 1960-61 and con- tinued his study of vocational agriculture in the 1961-62 school year in grade ten. Re-enroll.--The term."re-enroll" is used to indicate that students already enrolled in the vocational agriculture' program during the 1960-61 school year continued their study of vocational agriculture during the 1961-62 school year. This term was used because students late in the spring semester each year usually "sign-up" again for vocational agriculture for the next school year. Transfer Students.--The term "transfer students" is used in the study to designate those students who were en- rolled in the vocational agriculture program during the 1960-61 school year and substituted another high school course for vocational agriculture during the 1961-62 school year. When a grade level is associated with the term "trans- fer student," it means that the student was enrolled in vo- cational agriculture in that grade level, but transferred to another high school subject the next school year in the next higher grade level. For example, a grade ten transfer Student is one who was enrolled in vocational agriculture in grade ten, but one who substituted another course for voca- tiOnal agriculture in grade eleven. Agriculturally-Related Occupations.--This term is used to designate those occupations which individual students iasignated as thos find it necessary true or of farming It should been designated as students, and as r.' , I .:e desire was not fanatior. concerni related to agricul terion. The posit osmstional ch01: -§Ti”ulture or 0 f °~~¢Pation3 then, :E'iculture , -12- . designated as those occupations in which workers would either find it necessary or helpful to have a knowledge of agricul- ture or of farming. It should be noted that any one occupation may have been designated as being related to agriculture by some students, and as not being related to agriculture by others. The desire was not to penalize students for incorrect in- fbrmation concerning whether or not occupations were really related to agriculture as determined by some external cri- terion. The position was taken that if a student had an occupational choice, if he thought that a knowledge of agriculture or of farming would be of value to him in that occupation; then, tg_hig, the occupation Egg related to agriculture 0 The ”Vie" characteristics 51 I A 'g'nn I. . ..e the hypoth- For prese: Eeen organized an and the literaturt stuients who have related to the st 15110231 and occu 1: the characteri mm Plans, jua Ci literature is It should ”i ”his I‘eView o ““133 which show ILC pe.enroll in who leave t ““1933 and. the w e Chara Ct ‘Cme‘lata V 0 r d for th CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE The review of literature was completed before the characteristics studied in this project were selected and before the hypotheses of the study were developed. For presentation here, the review of literature has been organized around each of the three general hypotheses, and the literature related to the characteristics of former students who have entered farming is presented first; that related to the students' academic abilities, and their edu- cational and occupational aspirations, next; and that related to the characteristics of students? plan making and their future plans, just before the summary of the entire review of literature is presented at the chapter's end. It should be remembered that the purpose of conduct- ing thisreview of literature was to select those character- istics which showed promise of differentiating the students who re-enroll in the vocational agriculture program from those who leave the program to pursue other high school studies; and, that now, the review of literature is presented after the characteristics so discovered had been organized into areas related as they were to the three general hypotheses formulated for the study. -13... "Stude i: not differ tith respect t tare become fa cf the study, i istics describ' 33”,; Fur Gra .3, _-1‘Slty «no or 1' Hip 301‘ Educa fixation V e ‘4‘ f , 0L! -14- Characteristics of Former Students Who Have Entered Farming "Students who transfer from vocational agriculture do not differ significantly frOm the students who re-enroll with respect to the characteristics of former students who have become farmers." This, the first general hypothesis of the study, was tested by examining the student character- istics described in the following sub-sections. Extent of Farm Residency and Sizes of Students' Home Farms All studies reviewed indicated that more of the former vocational agriculture students who later became established in farming had grown up on farms, and on farms larger in size, than did the students who had not become established in farming. Only two studies,l’ 2 were located which definitely mentioned that "being the son of a farmer." was a significant __— lFloyd c. McCormick, "Status of Former Vocational Agriculture Graduates" (unpublished Master's report, The University of’Minnesota, St. Paul, 1959), cited in U. S. Office of Education, Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Edu ation, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 251 {Oavernment printing Office, Washington, 1961), p. 33. ' 2Harry W. Kitts, "A Resume of Studies on Occu ational Status of Former Students of Vocational Agriculture" unpub- lished non-thesis study, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1957), cited in U. 3. Office of Education Summaries of Studies l? Agricultural Education, Vocational Division EEIIetin No. 2 Government rinting Office, washington,.l958), p. #2. -15- factor correlated with establishment in farming. However, many studies have found that farm size is significantly re- lated to establishment in farming and this indicates that farm residency itself is a significant factor related to establishment in farming. All studies reviewed indicated that more youth from larger farms have become fanmers than have youth'from the smaller farms. Typical statements from the concluding state- nmnts of some of the studies reviewed include: "Boys from small farms seldom became established in farming."1 As the size of farm increased, the likelihood of the respondents' entrance into farming increased,"2 and "From the data col- lected, it was concluded that: size of the home farm . . . -exercised a positive influence on the graduates' entry into RMichael T. Cullen, "A Follow-up Study of Vocational Agriculture Graduates of Willmar High School fer Period 1943- SA" (unpublished.Master's thesis, The University of Minne- sota, St. Paul, 1955), cited in U. S. Office of Education, 3 arie of Studies in A ricultural Education, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 255 (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1957). Po 24° 2Don Erickson, "Factors Affecting Establishment in Farming of Former High School Graduates" (unpublished Master's rePOrt, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College, Fort Collins, 1955), cited in U. S. Office of Education, Summaries 0f Studies in A ricultural Education, Vocational Division BEIletin No. 265 {Eavernment Frinting Office, washington, 1957), p. 33. V -16- the occupation of farming."1 Other studies reviewed, those of Patterson,2 Kitts,3 and Stephens“ all indicated that the larger the home farm of the student, the more likely he is to engage in the occupa- tion of farming. In addition to these findings, a Wisconsin study con- ducted in 1952 by Bjoraker to identify factors associated with vocational agriculture students' levels of desire to remain on the farm found that there was a significant rela- tionship between the sizes of the home farms of the students studied and their levels of desire to remain on the farm.5 lVernon W. Bachmann "Factors Influencing Occupa- tional Choices of Vocational Agriculture Graduates of Holdrege High School" (unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1957), cited in U. S. Office of Education, Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 232 (Government Rrinting Office, wash- ington, 1960), p. 3. 2GeorgeM. Patterson, "An Occupational Study of Cer- tain Former Vocational Agriculture Students Who Attended the Banks County High School,Homer GeorgEtDuring the Years 19A?- 52" (unpublished Master's problem, The University of Georgia, Athens, 1955), cited in U. S. Office of Education, Summaries of Studie in A ricultural Education, Vocational Division fifilletin No. 26% (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1957), p. 67. 3Kitts, op. cit., p. #2. itTommie N. Stephens, "Factors Associated with the Choice of Occupations of Former Students of Vocational Agri- culture" (unpublished Master's problem, North Carolina State College, Raleigh, 1957), p. 32. Swelter T. Bjoraker, "A Study of Upper Classmen in Vocational Agriculture to Identify Certain Factors with levels of Desire to Remain on the Farm" (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1952), p. 82. -17- In summary, it appears that living on a farm and living on a comparatively large farm are characteristics definitely associated with a boy's probable establishment in the occupation of farming. Parental Farm Ownership and Farm WOrk Status of Fathers That the extent of parental farm ownership is re- lated to establishment in farming by the sons of farmers was shown in all of the studies reviewed. No studies, how- ever, were located which related directly the farm work status of students' fathers to establishment in farming; but several did provide evidence in an indirect way that the farm.work status of students' fathers is related to estab- lishment in farming by their sons. Kitts, in 1957, reviewed 66 studies conducted‘in 25 states to determine whether former students of vocational agriculture were engaged in farming in smaller numbers than in earlier periods. Among his findings was the fact that being the son of a farm owner was correlated with the son's establishment in farming, and that being the son of a tenant farmer was associated with the son's leaving the farm.1 The employment status of each former vocational agriculture student who had been graduated from the Sturgis F lKitts, op. cit., p. 42. -13- High School in Kentucky from 19A3 until 1953 was studied by Alexander in 1955. He found that most of the graduates who were farming or who were working in related occupations came from farms which were owner-operated.1 Hinton2 and Couch3 were once interested in determin- ing the farm and home conditions which affected the quality and success of supervised farming programs carried on by vocational agriculture students. Couch discovered that 55 per cent of the students who came from owner families were rated by their teachers as having a fair opportunity to become 1Ralph Alexander, "Employment Status of Former Stu- dents in Vocational A riculture Who Have Graduated from the Sturgis High School" unpublished special problem, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 1955), cited in U. 3. Office of Edu- cation, Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education, Vo- cational Division Ruiietin No. 265 (Government Printing Office, washington, 1957). p. h. 2Bruce M. Hinton, ”Significant Factors-Influencing the Quality and Success of Supervised Farming Programs of Vocational Agriculture in Seven Schools of East Tennessee" '(unpublished Master's thesis, University of Tennessee, Knox- ville, 1958), cited in U. 3. Office of Education, Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education, Vocational Division BEIletin No. 275 (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1959), po 23. 3Kenneth O. Couch, "A Study of the Effect of Home and Farm Conditions upon the Supervised Farming Program of Thizwd'Year Vocational Agriculture Students in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, July 1, 1955 - June 30, 1956" (un- Published Master's thesis, Clemson College, Clemson, South Carolina, 1958), cited in U. S. Office of Education, Summaries 01' Studies in A ricultural Education, Vocational Divis on BUlIetin No. 28% (GEvernment Printing Office, Washington, 1960), p. 13. -19- established in farming and that only A5 per cent of those from tenant families received the same rating.1 Hinton con- cluded that students whose parents were owner-operators had better Opportunities to become established in farming than did students whose parents were not owner-operators.2 Not only do the studies show that the extent of parental farm ownership is related to establishment of the parents' sons in farming, it appears that the influence of the extent of parental farm ownership is felt by students while they are in high school deciding whether to continue to study vocational agriculture and whether to become farmers. Alexander found in his study that there was a definite relationship between the extent of parental farm ownership and the number of years of vocational agriculture students had completed. Of the vocational agriculture stu- dents in his study who completed four years of vocational agriculture, over 50 per cent were sons of farm owners; and of the students who had completed only one year of voca- tional agriculture, he found that only four per cent were from owner-operated farms.3 1Couch, loc. cit. 2Hinton, loc. cit. 3Alexander, op. cit., p. 4. 1! -20- With reference to the occupational choice of be- coming or not becoming a farmer, two studies were found; and the results of these studies conflicted. Bjoraker found in Wisconsin that there was no correlation between the ex- tent of parental farm ownership and the sons' levels of desire to remain on the farm.1 Burchinal's study, conducted in 1960, of 103 tenth and twelfth grade boys in Iowa indi- cated that their levels of desire to remain on the farm were related to parental farm ownership. He found that of the students who planned to farm, 68 per cent were the sons of owner-operators.2 No studies were located which definitely related the farm work status of fathers with establishment of sons in farming. Couch, however, found that the teachers in his study rated 86 per cent of students from full-time farms as having an average or better chance to have satisfactory supervised farming programs compared with 57 per cent of the 'StUdents from part-time operated farms.3 The importance of deVeloping good supervised farming programs in getting young men established in farming is stressed by Byram: \ l Bjoraker, OE. Cite, p. 91+. Sc' 2Lee G. Burchinal, "Who's Going to Farm?" Iowa Farm M, Vol. 14, No. 10, April, 1960, p. 12. m 3 Couch, op. cit., p. 13. _,.- new lf—‘n ‘,..-_, r _. ”I - -21- Of all the activities contributing to advancement in farming none yields greater dividends than that of assisting youth to develop good farming programs. All evidence points to the positive relationship of farming programs to eventual success in attaining the status of farm operator.l From Couch's study and from Byram‘s statement, the evidence is that youth living on full-time operated farms have better chances to develop good farming programs than do youth living on part-time operated farms, and that the development of a good farming program aids materially in getting youth established in farming. Another study reviewed, that of Knight's, reveals that students from other than full-time farms tend not to continue their study of vocational agriculture. Knight re- ported that 28.5 per cent of the freshmen students in his study were from full-time farms, but that the percentage of students from full-time farms enrolled in grade 12 was 41.0 I Per cent.2 Knight's opinion was that this difference was the result of selection on the part of the teachers, and thatr‘teachers may have guided the student without a full- time :farm situation out of vocational agriculture.3 \ (D lHarold M. Byram, Guidance In A ricultural Education Inanxfillle Illinois: The nterstate r nters and is ers, °-a 195 ), p. 167. Voc 2William H. Knight, "Factors Associated with the cugtional Choices of High School Students of Vocational Agri- Uufie" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State Uni- versity, East Lansing, 1958), p. 1.6. 3Knight, loc. cit. -22- -In summary, the evidence obtained from the studies reviewed indicated: (1) that a greater extent of parental farm ownership is related to a greater rate of establishment of sons in farming and in related occupations, (2) that stu- dents who are the sons of full-farm owners are judged by others to have better chances for becoming established in farming than sons of non-owners, and (3) that a greater ex- ‘tent of parental farm ownership is related to more years of ‘vocational agriculture studied by students in high school. Conflicting evidence was found which related the extent of parental farm ownership to students' levels of de- sire to become farmers. With reference to the farm work status of students' fathers, evidence from the review of literature indicated: (1) that students from full-time farms are rated to have better chances of becoming established in farming than are students frompart-time farms, (2) that students from full tinue farms develop better farming programs, and (3) that Stnldents from full-time farms continue their study of vo- cational agriculture more years than do students from part t‘ei-Ine farms. Ages of Students' Fathers The ages of the fathers of former vocational agri- cultmxre students who have become established in farming were not tnentioned specifically in the studies reviewed. Consequently, -23- the review of literature did not reveal that any particular range of fathers' ages was a characteristic of the students who later became established in farming. One study did discuss the ages of a group of farmers in relation with the retirement plans of these farmers and the disposition of these men's farms. This study was con- ducted by Brake, McKee, and Bonnen in Central and Southern Michigan in 1960.1 These investigators found that a large proportion of farmers over 55 Years of age did not have apparent suc- cessors to their farms. Of those who planned to transfer their farms to heirs, only half had apparent successor- operators within their immediate families. The other half apparently planned to pass the farm on to a wife, a non- faming child, or to a distant relative.2 The investigators pointed out that even though approximately half of the farmers interviewed had apparent successor-operators, even the farms of these men might not be passed on to sons who will farm on them. In the first Place, in many instances the farms were too small for ——_ 1J. R. Brake, D. E. McKee, and J. T. Bonnen, "The Ages and Future Plans of Michigan Farmers as Related to Agri- cultural Adjustment ," Quarterly Bulletin of the Michigan .ggars't;cu1tural Eéperiment Stat on, Mic igan State Un varsity, ans ng, o . A3, No. , November, 1960, pp. h21-h34. 2 Ibid., p. A31. W1 -24- economical operation and especially would they not permit a farmer to begin farming on the home farm before the parents retire.. Secondly, the investigators pointed out that only a relatively small proportion of older farmers planned to actually retire. Of the 38 operators who were over 65 years of age, only 11 planned to retire. The remainder of the farmers planned to farm for an indefinite period. Of the 106 farmers in their study who were over 55 years old, only 17 were considering retirement. It was concluded that these older Michigan farmers evidently desired to continue farming as long as they were able to do so.1 Number of Student Brothers All evidence found concerning the relationship be- tween establishment of former vocational agriculture students in farming and the numbers of brothers of these students was that a small number of brothers was associated with estab- lishment and a comparatively larger number of brothers, with' non-establishment. 1 . Ipid., p. A32. -25- Kitts,l Allison,2 Deyoe,3 Hoopes,4 and Bartley5 were among the investigators who came to this conclusion from each of their independent studies. ‘ Hinton, another investigator, found that students tended to decrease the sizes of productive projects as the number in the family increased. He found, however, that the i ages of the brothers at home had little effect on the stu- ’ f 6 dent's farming programs. 1Kitts, op. cit., p. 12. 2Howard D. Allison, "Relationship Between Occupa- tional Status and Certain Environmental Factors Revealed by a Study of Former Vocational Agriculture Students in Illi- nois" (unpublished Master's thesis, Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Fort Collins, 1938), cited in American Vocational Association, Summaries of Studies in Agricultural Education, Supplement No. 1 (Interstate Printers and is ers, nc., Danville, Illinois, l9h3), p. 24. 3GeorgetP. Deyoe, Ybun Men from Michi an Farms-~A Stud of Farm-reared Men 0 Atten e ertain ichi an i h Schoois Whichfiwaintain De artments of VocationaI A ricuiture, Bulietin No. 256 (The State Board of Controi for Vocational Education, Lansing, Michigan, 1939), p. 10. “Lindley B. Hoopes, "Factors Affecting the Estab- lishment of Farming of Former Students of Vocational Agricul- ture Department at Muscative, Iowa" (unpublished Master's thesis, Iowa State College, Ames, 1937), cited in Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education, Supplement No. I (In- terstate Printers and PEEIishers, Inc., Danville, Illinois, 1943), p. 81. 5Hugh J. Bartley. "A Follow-up Study of Pupils En- POlled in Vocational Agriculture in High Sc 001 at Mason, AfiChigan" (unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State Col- egeo, East Lansing, 1942). P- 52- 6 Hinton, op. cit., p. 23. -26- p In the Bartley study, it was concluded that compe- tition of brothers was more of a retarding influence for establishment in farming than was the total size of the family farm. 1 Attitude Toward Farming It was not surprising to find that all studies re- viewed indicated that a favorable attitude toward farming, ageneral liking for farm work, the desire for.country life, .and the appeal of outdoor life were all factors associated not only with student desire to become a farmer, but also with actual establishment of young men in farming. Burchinal found that farm-oriented boys strongly asserted the superiority of rural life and that none of the boys in his study who planned to farm felt that the farm life was inferior to city life.2 Bjoraker found a significant positive relationship between measured attitude toward farming and the level of desire to remain on the farm.3 -—.‘ 1Bartley, op. cit., p. 52. 2Lee G. Burchinal, "Who's Going To Farm?" Iowa Farm mange, Vol. 11., No. 10, April, 1960, p. 13. .._____._ 3Bjoraker, op. cit., p. 81. -27- Lindenmuth, who surveyed 260 former vocational agri- culture students in Ohio in 1956, found that one of the most important reasons expressed by students for wanting to farm.was "a desire for country life."1 McCormick stated that one of the factors which had influenced farmers to become so established was a "high interest in farming."2 In a study conducted in six Pennsylvania high schools, Wilson discovered that one of the five factors which had contributed most to the establishment of young men in farming was "satisfaction with farming as a way of life."3 Ahalt and.Murray listed the major reasons why estab- lished farmers in three counties in Maryland decided to farm. Among these, and that most frequently expressed by these lWard A. Lindenmuth, "The Occupational Patterns and Plans of 160 Former Students of Vocational Agriculture" (un- published Master's thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 1956), cited in U. S. Office of Educatibn, Summaries of S dies in A icultural Education, Vocationai Division Bul- letin No. 272 (Government Printing Office, washington, 1958), p. 46. . aMcCormick, o cit., p. 33. 3Eddie K. Wilson, "Student Selection for Classes of ‘Vocational Agriculture in North Carolina" (unpublished rob- lem option, North Carolina State College, Raleigh, 1957?, Cited in U. 3. Office of Education, Summaries of Studies in A icultural Education, Vocational Division Buiietin No._ 2%; (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1959). Po 50. lull. .I -28- farmers, was that "they liked farming."1 Bachman found that "the appeal of outdoor life" and "the independence of farm life" exercised a positive influ- ence on vocational agriculture graduates' entry into farm- ing.2 Students' Academic Abilities and Their EducationaI and Occupationai Aspirations This section deals with that part of the review of literature directly related to the second general hypothesis of the study: "Transfer students and the students who re- enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the levels of academic ability they display, the amounts of‘post-high school education they plan to obtain, and the taspiration levels and occupational fields represented by ‘their occupational choices." Academic Ability The studies reviewed indicated that more academic ability is displayed by high school students who do not take — 1Arthur M. Ahalt and Ray A. Murray, How Ybung Fagmers Become Established, Agricultural Experiment Station 063 aneous cation No. 271 (College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland. 1956), P0 4° 2Bachman, o . cit., p. 3- "F 1‘ . r 4 -29- 'vocational agriculture in high school than is displayed by those who do, and that the students who choose farming as an occupation display less academic ability than do those who do not aspire to become farmers. Christensenl conducted a study at the University of Minnesota in 1959 of A51 high school graduates to determine what differences existed between those who did and did not choose vocational agriculture as an elective when they were in high school, and to determine what differences existed between graduates who did and did not become farmers with respect to scholastic aptitude and academic achievement. Scholastic aptitude was measured by The Henmon-Nelson Test of.Menta1 Abilities, The Kuhlman-Anderson Intelligence Test, and The American Council on Education Psychological Exami- nation. Academic achievement was measured by high school class rank. He reported the following results: The analysis of the data indicated the following: (1) No significant difference between rural farm and rural nonfarm students. (2) The male students taking vocational agriculture ranked significantly lower in mean intelligence on all three scholastic aptitude 'tests when compared with the boys not so enrolled. 1Virgil E. Christensen, "A Study to Determine How ”84316 Students Selecting Vocational Agriculture Compare in Ciholastic Aptitude and High School Rank With Their Male Miassmates (unpublished Master's problem, University of nnesota, St. Paul, 1959), cited in U. S. Office of Educa- gioxla Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education, Voca- 0:321 Dim-3 on etin o. vernment rlntlng e: , washington, 1960), p. 3A. -30- (3) The IQ scores as well as high school ranks were significantly lower for rural farm boys who elected“ to take vocational agriculture than for rural farm boys who did not. (A) The graduates who became farmers ranked significantly lower in both IQ and high school rank than did their fellow graduates who entered vo- cations of a professional, business, or clerical na- ture. (5) The graduates who became farmers were not significantly different from graduates who became skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled workers as to mean intelligence or high school rank. (6) No significant difference in mean intelligence or high school rank was found between graduates who became farm operators and those who became farmhands. Significance in all cases was figured at the l per cent level.1 The reading ability of 386 high school vocational ‘ agriculture graduates in six departments in Tennessee was studied by Cardozier. To determine reading ability, the Survey Section of the Diagnostic Reading Tests are given and it was found that vocational agriculture students read at levels considerably below the levels at which they were expected to read. Ninth grade vocational agriculture stu- dents read at the seventh grade level. Tenth grade voca- tional agriculture students read at the seventh grade level. 8150, but slightly better than grade nine students. Grade eleven and twelve vocational agriculture students were found t0 be reading at the grade eight level.2 X lIbid. 2V. R. Cardozier, "Reading Ability of High School Sgrdents of Vocational Agriculture" (unpublished staff study, velcsity of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1958), cited in U. S. ggfiice of Education, mmaries of Studies in A ricultural cat. ion, Vocational Di—viWsio—Wn B'Tu etanW—RWNO. 2 2 TGoneWrnment P . rintlng Office, Washington. 1960). P- 32- -31- Bluemke's study of the guidance activities influ— encing vocational agriculture students in 113 Wisconsin de- partments fOund that over A0 per cent of the teachers felt that their departments were "a dumping ground" for low abil- ity students, and that 30 per cent of the teachers estimated that college bound students were discouraged by guidance counselors from electing vocational agriculture.1 Burchinal reported that in Iowa of the 103 farm boys in his study, 27 per cent planned to farm. Those boys who planned to farm were found by him to have lower grades in high school than did the boys with definite non-farm plans. Of the boys who planned to farm, 18 per cent reported they generally received A's and B's, 6A per cent reported they generally received 0'5, and 18 per cent reported they gen- erally received D's and F's. Of the boys with definite non- :fiarm plans, A2 per cent reported they generally received A's and B's, 50 per cent reported they generally received C's, axui eight per cent reported they generally received D's and Fv3.2 —_‘ lArnold A. Bluemke, "A Study of High School Guidance Activities Influencing Vocational Agriculture Students" (un- published Master's seminar report, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1960), p. 52. 2Lee G. Burchinal, "Who's Going To Farm?" Iowa Farm Science, Vol. 11,, No. 10, April, 1960, p. 13- -32- In 1960, Eldridge studied the relation of occupa- tional plans of Iowa farm boys to agricultural adjustment. His purposes in so doing were, among others, to determine the patterns of occupational plans of Iowa farm youth about to enter the labor market, to develop an explanation of the occupational plan patterns exhibited, and to identify major factors influencing the formation of these plans. A11 farm boys in the senior classes in Iowa high schools which were located in communities of less than 25,000 were included in his study. He discovered that boys who did not plan to farm made significantly higher scores on the Iowa Educational Development Achievement Test than did the boys who did plan 'to farm.1 Haller, a year earlier, also reported the same general type of finding in a study of his of farm boys in Wisconsin. Haller reported that boys who planned to farm had lower IQ scores on the average than did the boys who Planned not to farm.2 The studies reported here indicated that more academic ability is displayed by high school students who do not take Vocational agriculture than is displayed by those who do, ‘ 1Eber Eldridge, "Relation of Occupational Plans of 10% Farm Boys to Agricultural Adjustment" (unpublished Do<3130r's dissertation, Iowa State University of Science and Teehnclogy, Ames, 1960), p. 8A. P 2Archie O. Heller, "Planning to Farm: A Social sychological Interpretation," Social Forces, Vol. 37, No. 3, rch,' 1959, p. 267. -33- . and that the students who choose farming as an occupation display less academic ability than do those who do not ' aspire to become farmers. Educational Aspirations Five studies are reported here which were concerned with the educational aspirations of farm youth compared with non-farm youth, and with the aspirations of boys who did and did not plan to enter the occupation of farming.» These studies indicated that farm youth, compared with non-farm youth; and that youth who plan to enter the occupation of farming, compared with those who do not aspire to be farmers, plan to obtain less post-high school education. In 1960, Burchinal reported a study concerning the educational plans of 323 Iowa school boys enrolled in the tenth and twelfth grades.l One hundred and three boys lived on farms, 118 boys lived in small towns; and, the remainder, 102 boys, lived'in a central Iowa metropolitan area. He fOund: (1) that farm parents provided less encouragement fod‘ their son's education beyond high school than did the ur'ban and small town parents; and (2) that urban and small town parents were more likely to definitely encourage their 30113 to consider post-high school education; (3) that a full I 1Lee G. Burchinal, "What's Your Son Going To Do?" Wags. Vol. 11., No. 9, March, 1960), pp. 16-18. -34- 30 per cent of the farm boys, compared with 12 per cent of the urban boys and 18 per cent of the small town boys, re- ported that they had pp educational plans after high school; and (A) that only A7 per cent of the farm boys planned a col- lege education, compared with 62 per cent of the small town boys and 81 per cent of the urban boys.1 In another study, Burchinal found that 61 per cent of the boys who planned to become farmers had no plans for training beyond high school, and that only ten per cent of the boys who chose non-farm occupations had no plans for additional education.2 Haller and Sewell tested the hypothesis that "the ‘farm youth aspires to relatively low occupations and is not ambitious for the further education he will need if he is to .rise in urban society."3 For their study, they selected 5,000 Wisconsin high school seniors well distributed through- out the economic areas of the state from both public and Private schools. Their conclusion was that "farm boys are apparently less likely to have higher educational aspira- tions than are other boys. Independent of intelligence, __ 1Ibid., p. 16. 2Lee G. Burchinal, "Who's Going To Farm?" Iowa Farm §sésngpg, Vol. 1A, No. 10, April, 1960, p. 14. d 3Archie O. Haller and William H. Sewell, "Farm Resi- ence and Levels of Educational and, Occupational Aspirations," W? Pican Journal of Sociology, Vol. 62, No. A. January, 1957: -35- farm residence may inhibit a boy's desire for higher educa- tion."1 Sledge was interested in the vocational and educa- tional plans of the 1956-57 graduating seniors from Wisconsin high schools. His sample consisted of 76A seniors from 31 schools located in five selected Wisconsin counties. He found that a larger number of non-farm students planned to attend college than did students with farm residence.2 In Kentucky, Youmans discovered that 3A per cent of the non-farm.boys in his study planned to attend college compared with 15 per cent of the farm boys.3 In Iowa, Eldridge found in his study that only 23.9 per cent of the youth who planned to farm planned to obtain any education after high school graduation; but, that 68 per cent of the youth who did not plan to farm planned to obtain post—high school education. Eldridge concluded his analysis of the educational aspirations of the youth who did ___¥ 1Ibid., p. A10. 2George W. Sledge, "Vocational and Educational Plans of’High School Graduates of 1957 in Five Wisconsin Counties Y"1th Special Reference to Higher Education" (Madison, Wis- cOnsin: University of Wisconsin, Department of Agricultural 3“"1 Extension Education, College of Agriculture, October 1, 1957), p. 1A. (Mimeographed.) 3Grant E. Youmans, The Educational Attainment_and guinlre Plans of Kentuck Rural Youth, Kentucky Agricultural “xperiment Station Bulletin, No. 6618. (Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky State College, 1959). Po‘ 3 -36- and did not plan to enter farming by saying: It seems clear that more of the boys planning non- farm jobs recognize the need for additional training. On the other hand, the boys planning to farm apparently feel that additional training is not necessary for suc- cess in their occupations. In Iowa the percentage of the non-farm plan group planning additional education is approximately three times the percentage of the farm plan group.1 Aspiration Levels of Occupational Choices The decision to consider in this study the aspira- tion levels of the occupational choices of the students who re-enroll in and the students who transfer from vocational agriculture did not come from the wealth of information con- cerning the general classifications of the occupational choices of vocational agriculture students; but, it came fronttwo specific studies which were found in the literature, those of Burchinal2 and Salmela.3 Both of these studies utilized the North-Hatt Scale of Occupational Prestige. This scale had its origin in 19A? when the National Opinion Research Center interviewed a ——_ 1 Eldridge, OE. Cite, Po 91+. 2Lee G. Burchinal, "What's Your Son Going To Do?" Mum Science, Vol. 11., No. 9, March, 1960, pp. 16-18. 1 3Melvin R. Salmela, "Relation Between Home Character- St'j-CS of Farm-Reared Senior Boys and Their Occupational ghgiCQS," A ricultural Education Ma azinp, Vol. 31, No. 10, P l. 1959. pp. 233-235. -37- nation-wide cross section of the United States with a battery designed to explore some of the basic attitudes regarding occupations. Two thousand, nine hundred persons were asked to evaluate each of the occupations the scale contained as being excellent, good, average, somewhat below average, or poor. ' Burchinal's study was concerned with the educational and occupational plans of 323 high school boys in the tenth and twelfth grades. Of the total sample, 103 were farm boys, 118 were small town boys, and 102 boys lived in a central Iowa metropolitan area. Burchinal reported that farm boys, as a total group, planned to enter occupations with probable lower income and prestige North-Hatt ratings than did the small town and ur- ban boys. He found that A3 per cent of the farm boys planned in: enter occupations of'low prestige compared with 39 per cent of the small town and 28 per cent of the urban boys. These occupations were ones which generally did not require much training. Plans to enter the high income and prestige occupations, on the other hand, were those of only 19 per cent of the farm boys, compared with 30 per cent of the Small town boys and A6 per cent of the urban boys.l ¥ 1 Burchinal, o . cit., p. 17. -38- It was also reported by Burchinal that the farm boys who didn't plan to farm more frequently planned to enter low prestige occupations. Approximately 72 per cent of the farm boys didn't plan to farm or they were undecided about farming. Of these, 26 per cent planned to enter high in- come and prestige occupations, 28 per cent planned to enter middle range occupations, and 31 per cent planned to enter low prestige and income occupations. About 15 per cent of the boys who didn't plan to farm had not yet decided what other occupations they might enter.1 Salmela studied the relation between certain home characteristics of Iowa farm-reared senior high school boys and their occupational choices. One half of his sample of students, 108 students, had studied vocational agriclture for three or more years, and the other half of his sample had.never been enrolled in vocational agriculture. The find- ings of his of interest here are that no significant dif- ferences were found in the occupational choices of farm- reared seniors with and without vocational agriculture train- ing when these choices were given Nort-Hatt occupational Prestige ratings.2 The findings of these two studies suggest that farm reSidency is a significant factor which affects the levels K lIbid. 2 Salmela, op. cit., p. 233. -39- of the vocational aspirations of high school students in that Burchinal found that farm boys chose occupations with lower income and prestige ratings, but that the study of vo- cational agriculture in itself does not seem to affect the occupational aspiration levels of the occupational choices of farm boys. Classification of Occupational Choices by Fields After much consideration, the investigator decided not to report any studies which were concerned with general classifications of the occupational choices of vocational agriculture students. For several reasons, it was felt that no purpose would be served in so doing. First,no studies could be found which utilized Roe's Occupational Classifi- cation System which was used to classify the occupational choices of students in this study. Second, no studies could 'be found which compared the occupational choices of students ‘mho transferred from vocational agriculture and those who remained in the program. The one study1 located which re- lated occupational plans with student drOp-out from the vocational agriculture program did not differentiate those StUdents who transferred to another course from those who lef“lithe school. The results of this study could only be ‘ lOwen E. Kiser, "Holding Power of Vocational Agri- §U1tture" (unpublished non-thesis study, Rutgers University, ew Brunswick, n. J., 1955), 10 pp. (Mimeographed.) -g0- found in outlined, mimeographed form. study could not be interpreted clearly, and when efforts were made to contact the investigator for clarification of The results of the the findings it was discovered that the investigator died Characteristics of Students' Plan Makin and Their Future Pians This-section deals with that part of the review of literature directly related to the third general hypothesis. in 1958. of’the study: "Transfer students and the students who re- enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect ‘to>the degrees of initiative they display in seeking guidance eassistance when formulating plans, the amounts of unsolicited gnnidance assistance they receive from others when formulating plans, the degrees of maturity they display when expressing reasons concerning continuance in vocational agriculture, the degrees of consistency of occupational choices they aohieve, and the certainty of their future plans." (huidance Assistance Asked For and Received by Students The amounts of guidance assistance which students asked for and received became an item of concern in this Study because several studies in the literature suggested that boys who planned to farm had not considered carefully alternate vocational choices, and that the guidance given it , ° Students was not adequate to meet their needs. -g1- Burchinal presented the situation in a precise manner when he stated: Farmin B Default? A person may enter an occupa- tionai fieid after carefully considering his interests and abilities and the relative opportunities, rewards and training needed for one occupation in relation to others. Or a person may enter an occupation because it's the on y one with which he's reasonably familiar. Some of the findings indicate that the last situ- ation may apply to some of the boys who planned to farm. The boys who definitely planned to seek non- farm employment had considered jobs other than farm- ing; bo 3 who planned to farm may or may not have serious y considered other occupations. Our findings suggest that at least some of them hadn't. The boys planning to farm, for example, less fre- quently discussed occupation selection or job plans with teachers or counselors than did the other boys. They much more often indicated that their fathers, whose occupational knowledge may have been limited to farming, had the greatest influence on their decision. And the boys who planned to farm were much less in— terested than the other boys in having more information about nonfarm jobs. One interpretation of these findings is that many of the boys who planned to farm made up their minds without much consideration of other job alternatives. This is fine when a young man has the interest, knowl- edge, ability and resources for successful farming. But premature commitment to any occupation can have unfavorable consequences--if the boy later finds he's not equipped to successfully carry out his chosen occu- pation. The point here isn't a question of whether or not farming is a right or wrong choice for these boys. The question is whether they did in fact choose among other alternatives in line with their interests and abilities. Or did they more or less accept it without such con- siderations? If so, is this the best way to decide on «any occupation? Both schools and parents have an im- portant role in this respect, and, as some clubs are now showing, the A-H vocational or career programs can be helpful in this area.1 1Lee G. Burchinal, "Who's Going To Farm?" Iowa Farm icésaa‘cg, Vol. 11., No. 10, April, 1960, p. 15. ”""‘"" -42- Burchinal's study which he was discussing in the foregoing quotation found that boys who planned to farm less often consulted teachers or counselors about their vocational plans than did the boys who planned non-farm occupations. He found that 57 per cent of the students who planned to farm compared with 36 per cent of the boys who had planned to enter occupations other than farming reported that they had not talked with a (A-H) leader or counselor about their plans during the past year. He also found that only seven per cent of the boys who planned to farm had three or more dis- cussions about farm plans, whereas 30 per cent of the boys who planned non-farm occupations had three or more discussions about their occupational plans.l Strauss learned that AA per cent of the youth in his study who planned to farm had never considered entering any Job other than farming.2 Eldridge attempted to measure the amount of knowledge farnn youth had concerning occupations other than farming. FOI‘ several common occupations, he asked the students in his 8EUllple questions concerning the money needed for training and getting started in the job, the steadiness of income, \ 1Ibid., p. 13. Fu 2Murray A. Strauss, "Personal Characteristics and nctional Needs in the Choice of Farming As An Occupation," a1 Sociolo , Vol. 21, 1956, p. 261.. -43- the Opportunity there was for self-direction, and the social standing of the job. In addition, the boys were asked to estimate the income per year the average American worker re- ceived. With the exception of one question, that concerning the opportunity to be your own boss, the boys who planned to farm gave significantly fewer accurate answers than did the boys who did not plan to farm.1 These studies by Burchinal, Strauss, and Eldridge leave doubt as to whether boys who plan to farm are carefully considering the various occupational alternatives which are in line with all of the interests and abilities they may have. With reference to the guidance offered and avail- able to students, many studies indicated that it is in- sufficient to meet the student's need for such guidance. Several studies will be mentioned to support this view. Cantrell, in 1959, received questionnaires from 64‘vocational agriculture teachers concerning their guidance Practices. He concluded that students were not being pro- ViGled with enough guidance in the areas of occupational choice, orientation of new students, follow-up of graduates, ccupational plans were associated with the time decisions vvere made. He found that the greater certainty was corre- ‘lated with earlier decisions, made before grade twelve, and true greater uncertainty correlated with later decision, made in grade twelve.3 The data from these studies suggest that farm boys, conmpared with boys with non-farm residence, may be more un- decided about their future plans. But, of the farm boys, thOSe who plan to farm may be more certain of their future plans than do the farm boys who do not plan to farm. -~p__ . I ‘ lLee G. Burchinal, "What's Your Son Going To Do?" -22£e-Ee£s-§sisass. Vol. 1a, No. 9, March, 1960, p. 17, 2Eldridge, op. cit., p. 48. 31b1d., pp. 49-51. ~48- Summapy of the Literature Reviewed Characteristics of Former Students Who Have Entered Farming All studies reviewed indicated that more of the former vocational agriculture students who later became estab- lished in farming had grown up on farms, and on farms larger in size, than had the students who did not become established in farming. That the extent of parental farm ownership is related to establishment in farming by the sons of farmers was shown in all of the studies reviewed. Studies were not located, however, which related directly the farm work status of stu- dents' fathers to establishment in farming. However, several provided evidence in an indirect way that the farm work status of students’ fathers is related to establishment in farming by their sons. The ages of the fathers of former vocational agri- CUIture students who have become established in farming were IMTt mentioned specifically in the studies reviewed. Con- 39quently, the review of literature did not reveal that any Particular range of fathers' ages was a characteristic of high school students who later became established in farming. All evidence found concerning the relationship be- t"Ween establishment of former vocational agriculture students in fanning and the number of brothers of these students was -49- that a small number of brothers was associated with estab- lishment and a comparatively larger number of brothers, with non-establishment. Every study reviewed which dealt with attitudes and interests indicated that favorable student attitudes toward farming and student expressions of high interest in the occupation of farming were positively and significantly re- lated with these same students' later establishment in the occupation of farming. Students' Academic Abilities, and Their Edu- cational and Occupational Aspirations The studies reviewed indicated that more academic . abiJlity is displayed by high school students who do not take vocational agriculture than is displayed by those who do study vocational agriculture. The studies also indicated thai: the vocational agriculture students who choose farming as an occupation display less academic ability than do those students who choose other occupations. Five studies were reviewed which were concerned with the eunounts of education students planned to obtain after high School graduation. These studies indicated that farm ”nth. compared with non—farm youth, plan to obtain less pOSP‘Irigh school education; and, that those who plan to enter the Occupation of farming plan less education after high SChOol than do those students who do not plan to become ¥ -50- The findings of one study reviewed suggested that farm residency is a significant factor which affects the levels of the vocational aspirations of high school students. It was reported in the studies reviewed that farm boys choose occupations with lower income and prestige rat'- ings than do non-farm boys. Another study indicated that the study of vocational agriculture itself does not appear to affect the occupational aspiration levels of the occupational choices of farm boys. No studies were reported in the review of literature which were concerned with the classification of students' occupational choices by occupational fields because results 01' studies could not be located which could be compared directly with the results of this study. Characteristics of Students' Plan Making and Their Future Plans The studies reviewed left doubt in the investigator's Inind whether or not boys who planned to engage in farming Were considering the various occupational alternatives which they should be considering along with their choices of farm- ing in order to arrive at their wisest choice of an occupa- tion. The studies reviewed indicated that the amounts of guidélnce offered and available to students were insufficient t0 meet the needs of the students for such guidance. -51- A search of the literature related to vocational agriculture students, or to farm boys, failed to bring to light any studies which were concerned with the relation- ship of the choice of high school subjects and the degrees of consideration students gave to long-term educational plans and/or occupational goals when students chose the sub- jects they would take in high school. Research evidence could not be located which gave information concerning the consistency of occupational choices of farm boys or of boys studying vocational agri- criltmueu It appeared from the limited studies reported con- celr'ning the certainty of students' future plans, that farm boys may be more uncertainabout their future plans than boys are who do not live on farms; but, Of farm boys, those W1'10 do wiSh to farm are more certain of occupational plans than are the boys who do not wish to become farmers. CHAPTER III SOURCES OF DATA AND SCORING SYSTEMS USED IN THE STUDY After the review of literature had been completed and the hypotheses for the study had been established, the attention of the investigator was directed toward the prob- lem of how the data needed to test the hypotheses could be obtained. An examination of the hypotheses after they had been established led the investigator to the conclusion that a questionnaire could be utilized to obtain most of the data, that the Wert-Myster Farming Attitude Scale could be used t3O determine the students' attitudes toward farming, and ‘ that high school records could be used to obtain evidence of the academic abilities of the students. These sources of information were used; and this chapter describes the development of the questionnaire and the scoring systems developed and borrowed elsewhere for Summarizing many of the questionnaire responses, the Wert- MYster Attitude Toward Farming Scale, and'the use of high School records to obtain evidence of the academic abilities 01' t he students . -52- -53... The Qpestionnaire The questionnaire (see Appendix A)1 was developed by the investigator during the winter months of 1960. Sug- 'gestions for its improvement were received from staff mem- bers and fellow graduate students of the College of Education, Michigan State University. Further refinements resulted from improvements suggested by a trial administration of the ques- tionnaire in two vocational agriculture departments not in- cluded» in the sample of Michigan departments used in the study . Various scoring systems were developed or borrowed from others in order to summarize many of the responses on the questionnaire into meaningful concepts in terms of the hypotheses that were to be tested. These scoring systems are discussed in the following sections. Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Guidance Assistance The score .devised to measure the degrees of initi- ative :Itudents displayed in obtaining assistance or informa- tion when high school subjects were selected, when post-high school lilans were formulated, and when vocational choices ¥ 1.1%! P. 1750 -54- were made consisted of the total number of different guidance resources students either checked or wrote on the question- naire themselves for each period of decision as having been consulted by them Without anyone asking or requesting them to do 30. From the students' points of view, these were solicited guidance resources they had utilized. No attempt was made to give weighted ratings to the ‘warious guidance resources in terms of what relative effects each guidance resource may have had on each student's plans. Amounts of Guidance Assistance Received by Students The score devised to measure the extent to which students were given assistance for each period of decision consisted of the total number of different guidance resources they listed or wrote themselves on the questionnaires as haviJig given them assistance without their asking or looking for it. From the students' points of view, these were pp; solicited guidance resources that they had utilized. No attempt was made to give weighted ratings to the various guidance resources in terms of ‘what relative effect each gnnidanpe resource may have had on each student's plans. Agricultural Relatedness of Occupational Aspirations Tflie sole criterion used in this study to determine Whether or not an occupation was related to agriculture was the Opinion of each student. On the questionnaire, each -55- student was asked whether some knowledge of agriculture or of farming would be helpful or necessary for him to have if he pursued each of his occupational choices. The scores de- veloped, therefore, were measures of student opinion as to which occupations were agriculturally related and not what the actual degree of agricultural relatedness might have been had external criteria been applied. It was felt that scores based upon each student's own frame of reference would serve better as measures of the meaningfulness of vo- cational agriculture to each student than scores would serve had external criteria for judging the agricultural related- ness of occupations been utilized. . The questionnaire provided for as many as three occupational choices and a scoring system was developed by following the procedure listed below: A. A value of three points was assigned to the first occupa- tional choice, a value of two points to the second choice, and a value of one point to the third choice for those Choices which were agriculturally related. Any choice not related was given a value of zero. B. The value assigned to the choices were added to obtain a 30128.1, and this total was divided by the sum of the values ChOices would have received if all choices had been agri- culturally related. -56- 0. Procedure "B" was followed for all possible combinations of first, second, and third choices being agriculturally related. Answers were converted to decimals and these constituted the agricultural relatedness scores. If all occupations named by a certain student were agriculturally related, the agricultural-relatedness score of his choices equalled one; if none were related, the score was zero, and for combinations, the scores ranged from 0.1 to 009. Aspiration Levels of Occupational Choices The occupational choices of re-enrolling vocational agriculture students were classified by aspiration level using Roe's "Two-Way Classification of Occupations."l This system of classification provided a means for the classifi- cation of occupations on six levels dependent upon the level 0f responsibility assumed, or the capacity and skill needed by workers in each level. A brief description of each level follows: Level.ll Professional and Mana erial 1 contains the occupa- tions of the creators, the innovators, and the top-ranking managersand.administrators. Policy-making is an important ——___ Joh 1Ann Roe, The Ps cholo of Occu ations (New York: n W1ley'&.Sons, nc., 95 , pp. 43-152, -57- function at this level, and if formal education is required, it is at the doctoral level. Level 2 (Professional and Managerial 21 contains the occupa- tions which have narrow or less significant responsibilities than those in Level 1. Policy is interpreted at this level and if education is relevant, it is at the bachelor level or above, but below the doctoral level. Level 3 (Semi-Professional and Small Business) contains occupations which involve either a low level of responsibility for others, the application of policy, or a determination for self only. If education is required, it is high school plus technical school training, or the equivalent. Level It; (Skilled) contains those occupations which require apprenticeship, special training or experience. Level 5 (Semi-skilled) contains occupations which require some training but much less than is required in Level A. Level 6 (Unskilledl contains occupations which involve the ability to follow simple instructions or perform repetitive tasks. No difficulty was encountered in classifying occupa- t'5-01'18 chosen by the students in the study. In spite of the fact that only a limited number of occupations have been classified by Roe, the students chose, almost without exception, .-58- only the most common occupations universally known to high school students. Most of these same occupations had been previously classified by Roe. Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Aspiration Levels The scoring system used to measure the consistency of occupational choices within aspiration levels was the same as Super and Overstreet utilized in their research titfiled The Vocational Maturipy of Nipth Gradeggpy_.1 The aspxiration level of the highest-level vocational choice was subtracted from the level number of the lowest-level occu- pational choice in order to obtain a discrepancy score. If a student expressed only one occupational choice, his dis- crepancy score was zero. .Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Fields To obtain a score indicative of the consistency of occupational choices within fields, Roe's "Two-Way Classi- fication of Occupations"2 was used to classify the students' g 1 , Donald B. Super and Phoebe L. Overstreet, The Voca- Bional Maturit of Ninth Grade Bo s (New York: Teachers OIIege, ColumUIa University, I96U1, p. 188. 2 R06, 020 Cite, pp. 143-1520 -59- occupational choices according to the field they represented, and then, discrepancy scores were computed. Roe's system classifies occupations into eight occu- pational fields according to the primary activities engaged in by workers in each field. Briefly: Group 1 (Service Occupations! are concerned primarily with attending to the personal wishes, needs and welfare of ‘other persons 0 Group 2 (Business Contact Occupations) are concerned pri- marily with the face-to-face selling of goods and services where personal inter-action is important between buyer and seller. Group 3 (Organization Occupations) contains the managerial jobs in business, government, and industry in which the major concern is with organization and efficient organization of work. Group 5 (Technological Occupations) contains occupations con- cerned with the production, maintenance, and transportation Of goods and services. Grou Outdoor Occupations} includes the occupations of farm-111g, fishing, forestry, conservation, among others, Roe ClaSSifie s . _-60- Group 6 (Science Occugtions) includes the occupations'of workers concerned with the application of scientific theory to specific problems. ‘ Grou General Cultural contains occupations concerned with preserving and transmitting the general cultural herit- age. Teachers, journalists, and ministers belong in this group 0 Grou 8 Arts and Entertainment contains occupations con- cerned with the use of special skills found in the fields of the creative arts and entertainment. The system of scoring used in this study to obtain a measure of the discrepancy of students' occupational choices was the same used by Super in his study titled 1112 Vocational Maturity of Ninth Grade 8013.1 The total number of different occupational fields for each student was deter- mined and this total minus one was used to represent the amount of discrepancy that existed within occupational fields. A student with only one occupational choice received a discrepancy score of zero. 1 Super and Overstreet, op. cit., p. 187. -6l- Maturity of Reasons Expressed by Students Concerning Their Continuance in Vocational Agriculture Early in the planning stages of this study, a system of maturity scores was developed by which the reasons ex- pressed by students for re-enrolling in and transferring from vocational agriculture could be evaluated in terms of the amount of consideration being given by students to future educational and occupational plans. The development of these maturity scores is described in the next several paragraphs. Two lists of reasons were developed from a review of literature and from the investigator's past experience which were thought to be not only those commonly expressed by students when they gave reasons for re-enrolling in or transferring from vocational agriculture, but also those which were indicative of the amount of consideration given by students to future educational and occupational plans. The two lists of reasons were submitted for evaluation to six staff members in the Agricultural Education Service and to six staff members of the Guidance and Counseling Depart- ment in the College of Education at Michigan State University. These twelve staff members rated each reason according to the following directions: Listed below are statements a high school student cmuld give as reasons for continuing his enrollment in vocational agriculture; or in the second list, reasons he could give for transferring from the vocational agriculture program to another high school course. -62.. Please read the following statements and rate each on a three point maturity scale: 2 = a mature reason, 1 = a neutral reason, and O = an immature reason. A mature reason is one which indicates the student himself has established a definite relationship between either his re-enrolling in or transferring from voca- tional agriculture and long-term educational or occupa- tional objectives. A neutral reason is one from which it is impossible to determine whether the student himself has established a definite relationship between his either re-enrolling in or transferring from vocational agriculture and his long-term educational or occupational objectives. An immature reason is one which indicates the stu- dent has based either his decision concerning re-enrolling in or transferring from vocational agriculture without his own consideration of long-term educational or occu— pational objectives. Reasons for Re-enrolling in Vocationgl Agriculture A. Need knowledge of farming in my future job. B. I like the agriculture instructor better than other teachers. C. I'm interested in agriculture. D. There are good jobs for people trained in agriculture. E. My friends are taking vocational agriculture. F. I've been advised to take agriculture. - G. Agriculture meets reguirements for getting into college. .H. It's easy to get goo grades in agriculture. I.-I want to make the most out of my farm background for getting a job. ' .1. I like practical subjects. I(. Activities like field trips are lots of fun. L. I like farm shOp work. Reasons for Transferring from Vocational Agriculture A. I don't need knowledge of farming in my future job. B. I like other teachers better than the agriculture instructor. 0.. Continuing in agriculture would limit my choice of future jobs. D. .I don't like farm shop work. E. II'm.not interested in agriculture. F. My friends are transferring to other courses. G. It '3 hard to get good grades in agriculture. H. Need other courses for college entrance. -63- I. I've been advised to take other courses. J. want to explore other subjects to help me choose an occupation. , K. I like subjects more academic than agriculture. L. Activities like field trips are a waste of school time. A maturity score for each reason was obtained by averaging the numerical values assigned to each reason by each staff member. When students filled out the question- naires, they checked the reasons they wanted to express for either transferring from or re-enrolling in vocational agri- culture. Two blank spaces were left in each set of reasons for students to write in reasons not listed. In a few cases they did so, but in all instances they were found to be re- Wording of reasons checked previously. Each student was given a composite score, called his "maturity score," for all the reasons he checked. This was Obtained by adding up the values assigned to the reasons Che cked and dividing the sum of the values by the number of reasons checked. The closer the maturity score was to two, the more mature the reasons expressed. The closer the maturity score was to O, the more immature were'the reasons expressed. This method of deriving the maturity scores penalized students for stating reasons judged to be immature even though they checked the more mature reasons listed. It was intended that this be done. The mean rating assigned to each reason is found in Appendix L . 1 ll-nite. p- 197. -64- The Use of High School Records The academic ability of the students was evaluated in terms of their accumulated high school grade point averages. After students were selected for inclusion in the sample, a data sheet (See Appendix B) was forwarded to the schools requesting the grades of each student. School officials were asked to supply the number of A's, B's, C's, D's, and F's earned by each student for all courses completed by the end of the 1960-61 school year. To arrive at each student's grade average, Grades of A, B, C, D, and F were assigned a value of four, three, two, one, and zero, re- spectively. The summation of the values assigned each grade was divided by the number of grades given. This resulted in a numerical grade average for all high school courses com- pleted. Schools were not to be requested to supply a list 01' grades for each student by subjects. They were requested only to supply the total number of A's, B's, C's, D's and F'3 earned by each student. The Wart-Myster Attipude Toward Farming Scale The Wart-Myster Attitude Toward Farming Scale was constructed and validated by Myster in 19A3 at Iowa State -65- University.1 The scale measures two aspects of farming atti- tudes: (l) attitude toward farming as a vocation, and ( 2) attitude toward farming as a way of life. The instrument consists of 45 statements which repre- sent attitudes both favorable and unfavorable toward farming. Twenty-two statements refer to farming as an occupation and comprise the Vocational scale, and the remaining 23 state- ments refer to farming as a way of life and comprise the Way of Life scale. After students read each of these statements, they are asked to indicate whether they strongly agree, agree, are undecided, disagree, or strongly disagree with each one. Each student response is evaluated by scoring it as highly favorable, favorable, neutral, unfavorable, or highly un- favorable to farming by assigning numerical values of 5, A, 3, 2, or 1, respectively. Scores for the Vocational scale and the Way of Life scale are obtained by adding together the values assigned to each of the statements within each scale. The total score consists of the Vocational score plus 4 the Way of Life score. Myster demonstrated the validity of the instrument by demonstrating its ability to differentiate between six groups consisting of 2,970 persons with known different .k ‘ fl ' . Scale 1‘ Alonzo Myster, Construction and Validation of a or Measurement of Attitude Toward Farming" (unpublished 126 épdissertation, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, 1943), ~66- farming attitudes.1 The author reports reliability co- efficients obtained by using the split-half method with these six groups as ranging from 0.833 to 0.942.2 Chapter Summapz This chapter has described the questionnaire and the Wert-Myster Attitude Toward Farming Scale which were the instruments utilized to gather data for the study. Several scoring systems were developed or borrowed from other sources for use in summarizing many of the questionnaire responses. These scoring systems, along with the scoring system used to measure the academic abilities of the students, were also described. 1 Ibid., p. 123. CHAPTER IV THE PROCEDURE FOLLOWED This chapter outlines the procedure followed as the , study was conducted. Organized on the basis of the chronology of events as they took place, the chapter describes, in the following order, the selection of the vocational agriculture departments, the administration of the questionnaires and farming attitude scale, the determination of student loss from the participating departments, the analysis of the stu- , dent population preceeding the selection of the sample, the selection of the sample, the procurement of student grades, and the tabulation and treatment of the data. Selection of the Vocational Agriculture Demrtments During the months of February to April, 1961, the number and locations of the departments to be included in the study were determined. Three criteria were used to determine the locations of the departments: 1- The departments had to be within close driving distance from Lansing. This criterion was stipulated so that, if follow-up work had to be done in order to clarify data ' obtained from any school, driving to the school could be done fairly easily. -67- -68- 2. The departments had to be located within the same type of farming district so that all farm data utilized for.com- paring the farm characteristics of re-enrollees and transfer students would represent the same general types of farms. 3. The departments had to offer instruction in vocational agriculture to freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior high school students. When the selection of departments began in February, 1961, the most obvious group of departments with which to work were those located within the dairy and general farming area. Lansing was located in this farming area, 1.1 depart- ments were offering four year high school programs of voca- tional agriculture, and the types of general farming con- ducted in the area seemed more conducive to the objectives 01‘ the study than the types of farming would have been in other farming areas where a high degree of crop specializa- tion prevailed; for example, in the southwestern fruit, dairy and truck farming area; or in the dairy, potato, part- time, and forestry area in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There- fore, it was decided to utilize the departments within the dairy and general farming area. These departments were contacted by letter during April, 1961 (see 'Appendix C)1 and were requested to M lining. p. 181. ~69- participate in the study. Six departments indicated that they could not do so. It was considered at this time that at least 1.0 departments had to be the minimum number for .the study in .order to obtain a sufficient number of transfer students . for making statistical analyses. Because the number of vocational agriculture departments needed was deficient by five, this number of departments was selected from the dairy and cash crop farming area, an area which joins the dairy and.- general farming area on the northeast. The five depart- ments selected from the dairy and cash crop farming area to complete the sample of schools needed for the study were serving the same general types of farms as were the 35 de- Partments within the general and dairy farming area. The listing of the vocational agriculture depart- ments which participated in the study is shown in Appendix Administration of the agestionnaires and Farming tt tn e cg es After the selection of the vocational agriculture 14.1 departments had been made, materials were made ready to send to each department. These materials included: __ 1 m. p. 198. A. -70- "A Note to the Schools Participating in the Study," (See. Appendix D).1 ' .8. "Instructions for Administering the Questionnaires," (See Appendix E).2 C. One copy of ”The Attitude Toward Farming Scale," (See l). 13. 1?. ciepartment. Do 182. p. 183. p. 18A. p. 185. p. 186. Po 175- Appendix F)3 for each grade nine, ten, and eleven student enrolled in the department.‘ One cepy of "The Attitude Toward Farming Scale Answer Sheet," (See Appendix G)“ for each grade nine, ten, and eleven student enrolled in the department. A "Supplementary Guide to the Questionnaire and Attitude Scale," (See Appendix H).5 One copy\ of the "Questionnaire"- (See Appendix A)6 for each grade nine, ten, and eleven student enrolled in the -71- During the last week of April, 1961, these materials were mailed to the departments. Questionnaires and attitude answer sheets were returned by all departments except one, and this reduced the number of departments participating in the study to 39. During the sunmer of 1961, all farming attitude answer sheets received from the departments participating in the study were scored and the maturity scores were computed for the reasons expressed by all students who re-enrolled in vocational agriculture for. so doing. Dete n t on of tudent Loss from the rtments m During the month of September, 1961, duplicate copies of, a dual-purpose report form (See Appendix I)1 were sent to each of the participating schools. On this report form was listed each student's name and the farming attitude scores each student obtained on the farming‘attitude scale. This was! one purpose of the report, that of reporting to the departments the attitude scores of each student. An exI>3l.«'==‘tnato:ry report (See Appendix J)2 which summarized briefly the findings of an analysis of these scores and which indicated how instructors could interpret individual __ 1 M3 Po 1920 2 Inf a, p. 193. -72- student attitude scores was also sent to the departments at this time. The other purpose of the report sent to the partici- pating departments was to obtain the names of the students who had re-enrolled in vocational agriculture that fall in the next highest grade level, and the names of those who had Anot. Instructors indicated on the duplicate copy of the report this information, and returned the duplicate report sheets to the investigator. Anal sis of the Student Po ulation Preceedin Selection of the Sample ’ Certain analyses were made before the sample utilized in this study was selected. These analyses consisted of (l) a‘ determination of the extent of student loss from vocational agriculture in the 39 departments surveyed, (2) a determina- tion of the disposition of the students who left the voca- tional agriculture program, and (3) a determination of the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent of the re-enrollees based upon the maturity scores Of the reasons these students expressed for re-enrolling in vocational agriculture. The results of these analyses were the bases for the selection of the sample, and discussions °f these are presented next so that the procedure followed When the sample was selected can be understood readily. TPhese analyses are based upon the total number of Students Who returned scorable farming attitude answer sheets. -73- The numbers of these students from each grade level are shown in Table 2. Because 28 answer sheets were discarded as unscorable, and because undoubtedly some students were absent from school when the attitude scale was administered, the analyses, percentagewise, probably exaggerate slightly the extent or the student loss. Table 2.--Number of Students Who Returned Scorable Farming Attitude Answer Sheets from the 39 Departments Surveyed* W Grade Level Numbers of Students Grade 9 516 Grade 10 431 Grade 11 423 Total 1,370 *Twenty-eight students returned answer sheets in- completely filled out and are not included in this table. Extent of Student Loss in the 39 Departments Surveyed The numbers of students who re-enrolled in vocational agricrulture and who left the program are shown in Table 3. From this table, it can be seen that 209 students left the PrOgram and reduced the number of students who continued the Program during the 1961-1962 school year by 15.25 per cent. The percentage of grade nine students who did not continue vocational agriculture was 17.1.1»; the percentage of grade ten -74- Table 3.--Students lie-enrollment and Loss by Grades from Vocational Agriculture in the 39 Departments Sur- veyed* From Grad 9 10 II Total Left program, Spring 1962 Number 90 7h 45 209 Per Cent 17.“ 17.16 10.63 15.25 In Grade 2 Continued Program, Fall, 1962 Number 1.26 357 378 1,161 Per Cent 82.56 82.81. 89.37 81..75 Total Number 516 1.31 1.23 ' l 370 Per Cent 100.00 100.00 100.00 106.00 IIkIncludes only those students who supplied scorable attitude scale answer sheets. students, 17.16; and the percentage of grade eleven students, 10.63. or the 209 students who left the program, 1.3.06 per cent were freshmen, 35.83 per cent were sophomores, and 21.11 per cent were juniors. Disposition of Students Lost from the 39 Participating Departments Most of the student loss that occurred in the 39 departments surveyed was accounted for by students who trans- ferred to other courses. This is shown clearly in Table 1.. -75- Table 4.--Reasons for Student Loss from the 39 Michigan Departments at End of School Year, 1960-61 W Loss from Grade Reason Total if — Changed Courses Number 64 57 37 158 Per Cent 71.12 77.03 82.23 75.60 Moved ‘Number 12 11 O 23 Per Cent 1303‘} M087 0000 11000 Left School Number 13 6 8 - 27 Per Cent 11.0105 801]. 17078 12092 Deceased Number 1 O O 1 Per Cent 1011 0000 0000 elf8 Total Loss - Number 90 74 45 209 Per Cent 100.00 100.00 100.00 ' 100.00 From grades nine, ten, and eleven, 71.12 per cent, 77.03 per cent, and 82.23 per cent, respectively, of those who left vocational agriculture did so to pursue another course in" high school. It is interesting to note that although 13.34 . per cent of the grade nine class and 14.87 per cent of the grade 10 class moved away, none of the juniors did so. The table reveals that of all students who left vocational agri- culture from.a11 three grade levels, 75.60 per cent trans- ferred to other courses, 11.00 per cent moved away from the school district, 12.92 per cent left school, and .48 per cent -75- had died. (This .48 per cent represents the life of one boy who drowned while swimming during the summer of 1961.) Maturity of Reasons Expressed by Re-Enrolling Students The purpose of analyzing the maturity scores prior to the selection of the sample from the student population in the 39 departments surveyed was to determine the scores which would separate the most mature students from the least mature. In order to do this, the 25th and the 75th percen- tiles were determined for each grade level. After this had been done, the re-enrollees in each grade level were classi- fied into three groups: the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent. The sample of re- enrollees was selected from the population so stratified. The scores within each grade level which separated the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent are shown in Table 5. A comparison of the ranges of scores found among grades nine, ten, and eleven reveals that the limits of these ranges were almost identical. Ap- parently, as re-enrollees continue to re-enroll in vocational agriculture each year, the extent of consideration given to future educational and occupational plans which these maturity scores purport to measures does not change. Selection of the Sample All students who remained in school but transferred from vocational agriculture at the end of the 1960-61 school -77- Table 5.-éMaturity Scores for Reasons Expressed by 1,161 Students in the 39 Departments Surveyed for Re- enrolling in Vocational Agriculture the Next School Year ' Ran e of Maturit Scores Class Grouping Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade ll Upper 25% 1.43-2.00 1.41-2.00 1.41-2.00 Middle 50% 1003’10h2 1005'10h0 1005-1040 Lower 25% 0-1.02 0-l.04 0-1.04 year in order to pursue another high school course were selected as the transfer students to be included in the sample. There were 64 students from grade nine, 57 from grade ten, and 37 from grade eleven. Because incomplete data had been obtained from some of these students (ques- tionnaires not completed, or not accurately filled out, etc.), the final number of transfer students included in the sample was 54 grade nine students, 37 grade ten students, and 20 grade eleven students. To obtain the sample of re-enrollees, the strati- fied random sampling technique was used. At the grade nine level, all re-enrollees from whom complete data had been obtained were numbered consecutively’ within each maturity score group: the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent. With the use of a table of random numbers, the investigator chose from the upper 25 per cent of -73.. re-enrollees a number equal to the number of grade nine transfer students (54); from the middle 50 per cent of re- enrollees, he chose twice the number of grade nine transfer students (108): and, from the lower 25 per cent, a number equal to the number of grade nine transfer students (54). Thus, from grade nine, 216 re-enrollees were selected, and the resulting number of re-enrollees was four times the number of grade nine transfer students. The same procedure was used for selecting the re- enrollees from grades ten and eleven. The number of grade ten re-enrollees which resulted from the selection process was 148; the number of grade eleven re-enrollees, 80. The sample selected is shown in Table 6. Table 6.--The Sample Selected for the Study from the 39 Departments Surveyed . 'Students Who Students Who Grade Level — Re-enrolled Transferred From grade 9 216 54 From grade 10 148 37 From grade 11 8O 20 Total 444 111 Obpaining Students' Grade Point Averages After the sample had been selected, a letter requesting -79- student grades (See Appendix K),1 and a report form for the listing of student grades (See Appendix B)2 were mailed to the participating departments. Three schools were unable to provide the grades of students by the time the analysis of the data had to be started. Consequently, infermation was obtained from only 394 re-enrollees and 78 transfer students. Tabplation and Treatment of the Data The tabulation of the data began with the scoring of the farming attitude answer sheets and the computation of the maturity scores for the students who reéenrolled in vocational agriculture in the 39 participating departments. The scoring of the farming attitude answer sheets and the computation of the maturity scores were done by the investi- gator's father.3 A The next step in the tabulation of the data was the summarization of many of the questionnaire responses according to the scoring systems described in Chapter III.h In reference to this, when each of the students' occupational choices were classified by maturity level and occupational lInfra, p. 196. 2Infra, p. 180. 3The late Dr. Christopher John Bittner. ASH ra. Ppo 54—66. .ih Ji -80.. field, the investigator's father, an economist and sociologist whose speciality was employment and labor problems, and the investigator's brother,1 who has had wide experience in the training and supervising of skilled workers and technicians, gave assistance. After the various summarization scores had been ob- tained for each student in the sample, all data were trans- ferred to IBM cards and frequency counts were made. Chi square2 and the t-test3 were used to treat the data statistically. The lowest level of significance of differences accepted in the study was at the five per cent level, and those differences found to be significant at the one per cent level were so designated. Chapter Summary This chapter has discussed the procedure followed. as the study was undertaken. In addition to the description of the selection of the departments surveyed and the methods utilized to select the sample studies, information was pre- sented concerning the extent of student loss from the 39 departments included in the study and the nature of these \ lDr. John William Bittner c 2James E. Wert and others, Statistical Methods in Edu- \cational and Psychological Research ew ork: App eton- entury-Cro t3, C0, 5 ' Pp. [46-1570 3Ibid., pp. 135-137. -31- losses. Also presented were the ranges of the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent of the maturity scores of the vocational agriculture re- enrollees' reasons for re-enrolling in the vocational agri- culture program. These scores purport to measure the ex- tent to which the re-enrollees considered long-range educa- tional and/or occupational plans when they expressed reasons for re-enrolling in vocational agriculture the next school year. CHAPTER V FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FORMER STUDENTS WHO HAVE ENTERED FARMING In this chapter are presented the analyses which were required to test the specific hypotheses needed to either accept or reject the first general hypothesis of the study: "Students who transfer from vocational agriculture do not differ from the students who re-enroll with respect to the characteristics of former students who have become farmers." Chi-squares and t-tests were used to either accept or reject the following specific hypotheses which were related to the first general hypothesis: A. B. The extent of farm residency among students who transfer from vocational agriculture does not differ from that among students who re-enroll. 'The data from the total sample of 444 re-enrollees and 111 transfer students were used for the statistical treatment. The farm work status of the fathers of transfer students does not differ from that of the fathers of the re4 enrollees. The data from the number of students who lived on farms were used for the statistical treatment; but, excluded from the data of the re-enrollees were four -82- C. D. E. F. -33- deceased fathers and four hired men; and from the data of the transfer students, one deceased father. The average size of the home farms of transfer students does not differ from that of the home farms of students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. The data from the 364 re-enrollees and the 73 transfer students who lived on farms were used for the statistical treatment. The extent of parental farm ownership of the transfer students does not differ from that of the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. The data from the 364 re-enrollees and the 73 transfer students who lived on farms were used for the statistical treatment. The ages of the fathers of students who transfer from vocational agriculture do not differ from the ages of the 'fathers of students who re-enroll. The data from the 364 re-enrollees and the 73 transfer students who lived on farms were used for the statistical treatment. The number of brothers of the students who transfer from vocational agriculture does not differ from the number of brothers of the students who continue to re-enroll. The data from the 364 re-enrollees and the 73 transfer stu- dents who lived on farms were used for the statistical treatment 0 -34- 0. Transfer students' attitudes toward farming as a way of life do not differ from those of the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. The data from the total sample of 444 re-enrollees and 111 transfer students were used for the statistical treatment. H. Transfer students' attitudes toward farming as a vocation do not differ from those of students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. The data from the total sample of 444 re-enrollees and the 111 transfer students were used for the statistical treatment. I. Transfer students' aspirations to enter farming and agri- culturally-related occupations do not differ from those of the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. The data from the total sample of 444 re-enrollees and the 111 transfer students were used for the statistical treat- ment 0 A discussion of the findings after the data Were analyzed follows in the remaining sections of this chapter. Classification of Students' Residences: Farm an Non- arm As shown in Table 7, it can be seen that approxi- mately three quarters of the students enrolled in vocational agriculture during the 1960-61 school year in the 39 depart- ments surveyed lived on farms. It is evident, then, that -35- Table 7.—-Classification of Students' Residences: Farm and Non-farm m A Transfer ’ Farm Re-enrollees Students Total Residence No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent Yes 364* 81.98 73 ’65.76 137 78.74 No 80 18.02 38 34.24 118 21.26 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 *Includes the sons of four hired men. Chi-square 8 15.65, significant at the .01 level) the large majority of boys enrolled in vocational agriculture were farm boys. Of those who re-enrolled in vocational agriculture, 81.98 per cent lived on farms and 18.02 per cent did not. Of those who transferred from vocational agriculture to pursue other high school courses, 65.76 per cent lived on farms and 34.24 per cent did not live on farms. Chi-square was significant at the .01 level. Evidence was found, therefore, to refute the null hypothesis that the extent of farm residency found among students who transfer from vo- cational agriculture does not differ from that found among students who re-enroll. Significantly more farm boys re- enrolled in vocational agriculture than did non-farm boys. -86- Farm werk Status of the Fathers of tu ants v n on arms The relative percentages of the fathers of both re-enrollees and transfer students who fell into each of the "Farm Work Status" classifications shown in Table 8 were relatively the same. Of the fathers of the re-enrollees, 34.83 per cent were full-time farmers, 12.08 per cent were. part-time farmers who devoted less than 100 days per year to off-farm work, 35.96 per cent were part-time farmers who de- voted more than 100 days per year to off-farm work, and 17.13 per cent devoted none of their working time to farming.. Re- spective percentages for the fathers of the transfer students were found to be 37.50 per cent, 15.28 per cent, 37.50 per cent, and 9.72 per cent. The difference between the distri- butions of these percentages for re-enrollees and transfer students was non-significant at the .05 level as determined by chi-square. Evidence was not found, therefore, from the analysis of‘the data which would justify the rejection of the null hypothesis: "The farm work status of the fathers of transfer students does not differ from that of the fathers of the students who re-enroll in vocational agricuture." -87- Table 8.--Farm Work Status of the Fathers of Students Living on Farms Fathers of Fathers of Transfer Farm werk Re-enrollees Students Total Status No. Fer Cent No. Per Cent No. Fer Cent None 61a 17.13 7b 9.72 68 15.79 Part-time more than 100 days off-farm work 128 35.96 27 37.50 155 36.21 Part-time less than 100 days off-farm Full-time 124 34.83 27 37.50 151 35.28 Total 356 100.00 72 100.00 428 100.00 _ ‘7 3Does not include four deceased fathers and four hired men. bDoes not include 1 father deceased. (Chi-square = 2.71, non-significant) Sizes of‘the Home Farms of Students Living on Farms In Table 9 are shown the sizes of the home farms of the students living on farms. Inspection of the table ‘reveals that the three largest groups of both transfer students and re-enrollees lived on farms which fell within the ranges of 70 to 139 acres, 140 to 219 acres, and 220 to -33- Table 9.--Sizes of Home Farms of Students Living on Farms W Transfer Total Acres Re-Enrollees Students Total in Farm No. Per Cent No. Fer Cent No. Fer Cent 9 or less 7 1.92 2 - 2.73 . 9' 2.05 10-69 65 17.86 12 16.44 ' 77 17.62 70-139 108 29.68 20 27.10 128 29.30 110.219 80 21.98 22 30.11 102 23.31 . 220-199 91 25.82 16 21.92 110 25.17 500 or more 10 2.71 1 1.37 11 2.52 Total 364 100.00 73 100.00 . #37 100.00 (t = .82, non-significant) 499 acres. The percentages of transfer students who lived on farms which fell which these ranges were 27.40 per cent, 30.14 per cent, and 21.92 per cent, respectively; and the percentages of re-enrollees who lived on farms which fell within these ranges were 29.68 per cent, 21.98 per cent, and 25.82 per cent, respectively. Included within the 10 to 69 acre range were 17.86 per cent of the re-enrollees and 16.44 per cent of the transfer students; and, within the nine or less range, 1.92 per cent of the re-enrollees and 2.73 Per cent of the transfer students. The mean farm size for the transfer students was -89- 164.2 acres, and the mean farm size for the re-enrollees was 170.54 acres. A t-value of .82 was obtained which was non- significant. For this reason, from the sample of students included in this study, it was impossible to provide evi- dence to show that the average farm size of the re-enrollees differed significantly from the average farm size of the transfer students. Extent of Parental Farm Ownership Two tests for significant differences were made to determine if the extent of parental farm ownership differed between the two groups of students. First, the attempt was made to show that the extent of farm ownership differed by classifying the parents of the transfer students and the re-enrollees as being full-owners, part-owners, and non- owners of farm land. Secondly, the attempt was made to show that the extent of farm ownership differed between the two groups of students by classifying parents according to the number of acres of farm land they owned. The classification of the parents according to whether they were full-owners, part-owners, or non—owners is shown in Table 10. This table reveals that very little difference existed in the proportions of the transfer stu- dents' parents and the parents of the re—enrollees which were included within the various classifications. In the full- owner classification were the parents of 62.09 per cent of -90- Table 10.--Farm Ownership Classification of Students Who Lived on Farms Transfer Ownership Re-enrollees Stugents Total Classification No. Per Cent No. or Cent No. Fer Cent Full-owner 226 62.09 46 63.14 272 62.24 Part-owner 106 29.12 25 34.25 131 29.98 Non-Owner 32 _8.79 2 2.61 34 7.78 Total 364 100.00 73 100.00 437 100.00 (Chi-square = 3.62, non-significant) the re-enrollees and 63.14 per cent of the transfer students. In the part-owner classification were the parents of 29.12 per cent of the re-enrollees and 34.25 per cent of the trans- fer students. In the non-owner classification, were the parents of 8.79 per cent of the re-enrollees and only 2.61 per cent of the transfer students. The chi-square value of 73.62 was non-significant at the .05 level. Evidence was in- sufficient, therefore, to justify the rejection of the hypothesis that the extent of farm ownership of the parents of transfer students does not differ from that of the parents of the re-enrollees when the parents were classified as being full-owners, part-owners, and non-owners of farm land. Calm!!! wflfimflu -91- The number of acres owned by the parents in both student groups are shown in Table 11. The three largest groups of both the parents of the transfer students and the re-enrollees appeared in the acreage ranges of 10 to 69 acres, 70 to 139 acres, and 140 to 214 acres. The percentages of the parents of the transfer students which were included 'within each of these ranges were 21.92 per cent, 41.09 per cent, and 21.92 per cent, respectively. The percentages of the re-enrollees' parents included within each of these acreages ranges were 21.43 per cent, 34.08 per cent, and 19.51 per cent, respectively. These percentages were very similar. It is interesting to note that there was an approximate six per cent difference in the number of stu- dents who came from farms entirely non-owned: 8.79 per cent 'of the re~enrollees reported no parental farm ownership, and 2.74 per cent of the transfer students reported no parental farm ownership. The mean number of acres owned by re-enrollees' parents was 122.64 acres, and the mean number of acres owned by parents of transfer students was 120.96 acres. The t— value of 1.04 indicated, however, that this difference in the mean number of acres owned was non-significant at the .05 level. Therefore, it was concluded that the comparison of the mean number of acres owned by the parents of the transfer students and of the re-enrollees failed to provide evidence that the extent of farm ownership was significantly different for these two groups. -92- Table ll.--Number of Acres Owned by Parents of Students Who Lived on Farms Parents of Parents of Transfer Number of Re-enrollees Students Total Acres Owned No. Fer Cent No. Per Cent No. Fer Cent None 32 8.79 2 2.74 34 7.78 1-9 7 1.92 2 2.74 9 2.05 10-69 78 21.43 16 21.92 94 21.51 70-139 124 34.08 30 41.09 154 35.25 140-219 71 19.51 16 21.92 87 19.92 7 220-499 48 13.18 7 9.59 55 12.53 500 or .more' 4 1.09 0 .00 4 .91 Total 364 100.00 73 100.00 437 100.00 (t = 1.04, non-significant) Ages of Fathers of the Students Living on Farms Mbst of the fathers of the students who lived on farms fell within the age ranges of from 35 to 44 Years and from.45 to 54 years. This can be seen from an examination of Table 12 which shows that 40.04 per cent of the fathers of both groups of students were classified as being 35 to 44 years of age, and that 45.09 per cent of all fathers were classified as being 45 to 54 years of age. The other fathers of both groups of students were classified as follows: 2.29 per cent being from 25 to 34 Years old, 10.75 per cent being -93- Table 12.--Ages of Fathers of Students Living on Farms Fathers of Fathers of Transfer Ages of Re—enrollees Students Total Fathers 0. er ent No. Per Cent No. Per ent 25-34 10 2.75 0 0.00 10 2.29 3 5 ~44 142 39.01 33 45.20 175. 40.04 '5 5—64 41 11.26 6 8.22 47 10.75 65 or over, or not living 7 1.93 l 1.38 8 1.82 Total 364 100.00 73 100.00 437 , 100.00 (t =- .43, non-significant at the five per cent level) from 55 to 64 years old, and 1.83 per cent being over 65 years old or deceased. The mean age of the fathers of the 're-enrollees was 41.6 years, and that‘of the transfer students, 41.1 years. Thus , the re-enrollees' fathers were slightly older on the average. This difference between the mean ages of the fathers of the transfer students and the fathers of the re-enrollees was non-significant at the .05 level (t =5 .43). From the sample Studied, evidence was not found with which to reject the null hypothesis that the ages of the fathers of the two groups 01' students do not differ. -94- The Total Numbers of Brothers of Students Who ve on arms Table 13 shows the numbers of the brothers transfer students and re-enrollees had at the time the data were col- lected. The model numbers of brothers for both the re- enrollees and the transfer students fell within the same range of from one to two brothers. 0f the transfer students, 59.27 fe11 within the classification as did 53.31 per cent of the re-enrollees. Table 13.--Number of Brothers of Students Living on Farms Transfer ~ Number of Re-enrollees Students Total Brothers No. Fer Cent No. Fer Eent No. Fer Cent “iv—— ‘— w— T None 69 18.96 1h 19.18 83 19.00 1-2 19h 53.31 ’ hh 59.27 238 5h.48 3-4 75 20.3h 13 17.81 88 20.1h 5-6 21 6.03 2 2.7h 2a 5.48 . 7-8 - a 1.36 o 0.00 a .90 Total 364 100.00 73 100.00 A37 100.00 (t = .9A, non-significant) The mean number of brothers of the re-enrollees was 1.86, and the mean number of brothers of the transfer stu- dents was 1.55. A t-value of .9h was obtained which was -95- non-significant at the .05 level. Therefore, it was con- cluded that the number of brothers re-enrol1ees had was not significantly different from the number of brothers of the transfer students. Students' Attitudes Toward Farming As a Vacation The classification of students' attitudes toward farming as a vocation is shown in Table 14. An examination of the table reveals that transfer students and re-enrollees held quite different attitudes toward the occupation of farming. In the highly favorable classification were 6.08 per cent of the re-enrollees, but only .90 per cent of the transfer students. In the favorable classification were 55.63 per cent of the re-enrollees, but only 29.7h per cent; of the transfer students. Mere of the transfer students were classified in the neutral range than were re-enrollees. These percentages were 62.16 and 36.9h per cent, respecitvely. Classified in the unfavorable range were 7.20 per cent of the transfer students compared with 1.13 per cent of the re— enrollees. Only one re-enrollee had an attitude highly unfavorable toward farming. None of the transfer students had highly unfavorable attitudes toward farming as a vo- cation. The proportions of the re-enrollees classified within the different attitude classifications were significantly different from the proportions of the transfer students -96- Table 1L.--Students' Attitudes Toward Farming as a Vocation W Classifi- Transfer cation of Re-enrollees Students Total Attitude No. Per Cent No. Fer Cent No. Fer Cent Higgtgrable 27 6.08 1 .90 28 500h Favorable 2A7 55.63 33 29.7h 280 50.45 Neutral 16h 36.9h 69 62.16 233 h2.00 unfavorable 5 1.13 8 7.20 13 2.33 Highly . . unfavorable 1 .22 0 0.00 1 .18 Total hkh 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (Chi-square = hh.3l, significant at the one per cent level) so classified. Chi-square equalled hh.31 which was signifi- cant at the .01 level. Thus, the hypothesis that the atti- ‘tudes of re-enrollees toward farming as a vocation do not I differ from those of the transfer students could not be sub- " stantiated from the evidence obtained in this study. Re- enrollees had significantly more favorable attitudes toward farming as a vocation than did the transfer students. Students' Attitudes Toward Farming As a Way of Life The classification of students' attitudes toward farming as a way of life is shown in Table 15. An examination -97- Table 15.--§:gdents' Attitudes Toward Farming as a way of e ‘Tv Classifi- Transfer cation of Re-enrollees Students Total Attitude No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent H1%::grable 55 13.38 3 2.70 58 10.h5 Favorable 297 66.92 61 5h-97 358 6h.50 Neutral 88 19.81 #2 37.83 130 23.h3 Unfavorable 3 .67 A 3.60 7 1.26 Highly Unfavorable 1 .22 l .90 2 .36 Total ALA 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (Chi-square - 27.15, significant at the one per cent level) of the table reveals that transfer students and re-enrollees held quite different attitudes toward the occupation of farming. In the highly favorable classification were 13.38 per cent of the re-enrollees, but only 2.70 per cent of the' transfer students. In the favorable classification were 66.92 per cent of the re-enrollees, but only 5h.97 per cent of the transfer students. Mere of the transfer students were classi- fied in the neutral range than were re-enrollees. These percentages were 37.83 per cent and 19.81 per cent, respec- tively. In the unfavorable range, 3.60 per cent of the transfer students were classified compared with .67 per cent -93- of the re-enrollees. In the highly unfavorable range, there were .22 per cent of the re-enrollees and .90 per cent of the transfer students. The proportions of the re-enrollees classified within the different attitude groups were significantly different from the proportions of the transfer students so classified. Chi-square equalled 27.15 which was significant at the .01 level. Thus, the hypothesis that the attitudes of the re— enrollees toward farming as a way of life do not differ from those of the transfer students could not be substantiated from the evidence obtained in this study. Re-enrollees had significantly more favorable attitudes toward farming as a ‘way of life than did the transfer students. St dents'Occu tional Preferences for A riculturall - ‘ Belated Occupations It was found when the data were analyzed, that 332 re-enrollees, or 7h.77 per cent, had expressed at least one occupational choice; and, that 112 re-enrollees, or 25.23 per cent, did.not have any occupational choices. Likewise, ‘the number of transfer students who expressed at least one occupational choice was found to be 90, or 81.08 per cent; and, that 21 transfer students, or 18.92 per cent, did not have any occupational choices. These differences were not significant at the .05 level (1; = 1.93). The degrees of relatedness to agriculture of the occupational choices of students are shown in Table 16 for -99- Table 16.--Agricu1tural Relatedness Scores of Students' Occupational Choices for Those Who Expressed at Least One Choice Transfer Relatedness Re-enrollees S udents Total Score m m m .90-1.00 191 57.53 22' 2h.h5 213 50.51 .70-.80 27 8.13 14 15.55 #1 9.72 .50—.60 57 17.18 16 17.76 73 17.29 .30-.A0 35 10.5h 8 8.89 #3 10.18 .10-.20 12 3.61 20 22.23 32 7.58 .00 10 3.01 10 11.12 20 A.73 Total 332 100.00 90 100.00 #22 100.00 ‘A (t - 6.13, significant at the one per cent level) those-students who had at least one occupational choice. In Table 16, students' occupational choices were classified according to the scoring system devised to measure the agri- cultural-relatedness of studentsf occupational choices. This scoring system.was described in Chapter 111:1 and, as indi- cated there, a score of ".00" indicates that none of any particular student's choices were related to agriculture and l ' Su ra. pp. 54-56. -100- a score of 1.00 indicates that all of any particular student's occupational choices were related to agriculture. It should be recalled that the definition of an agri- ‘culturally-related occupation as used in this study was based upon each student's opinion as to whether or not knowledge of agriculture or of farming would be helpful to him if he pursued the occupation in question. When Table 16 is examined, it can be seen that the agricultural relatedness scores of the re-enrollees differed widely from those of the transfer students. The most obvious differences between the two groups of students occurred within the ranges of .90 and 1.00; .10 to .20; and, in the ".00" score classification. The number of students classi- fied in the .90 to 1.00 range were 57.53 per cent of the re- enrollees and only 24-h5 per cent of the transfer students. In the .10 to .20 range, 22.23 per cent of the transfer stu- dents were classified, but only 3.61 per cent of the re- enrollees. In the ".00" classification, where none of the students' occupational choices were related to farming, 73.01 per cent of the re-enrollees and 11.12 per cent of the 'transfer students were classified. The mean agricultural relatedness score for the re- enrollees' occupational choices was .59, and that for the 'transfer’students was .38. The t-value obtained was 6.13 which was significant at the .01 level. Thus evidence was found with which to reject the hypothesis that transfer -101- students' aspirations to enter agriculturally-related occupa- tions donot differ significantly from those of students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. Re-enrollees aspired to enter agriculturally-related occupations to a significantly greater’extent than did the transfer students. . Students' Occupational Preferences for Farming The desire to become farmers feund among the re- enrollees differed quite widely from.that found among the transfer students. Table 17 shows the numbers of re—enrollees and transfer students who chose farming as their first, second, and third occupational choices. Included in the "was Not Chosen" category were those students who either had no occu- pational choices, or who had occupational choices other than farming. ' Expressing farming as their first occupational choice were 38.53 Per cent of the re-enrollees and 11.72 per cent of the transfer students. Expressing farming as their second occupational choice were 13.06 per cent of the re-enrollees and9.90 per cent of the transfer students. Expressing farming as their third occupational choice were 6.08 per cent of the re-enrollees and 17.12 per cent of the transfer stu- dents. Those students who either did not choose farming as any of their occupational choices or had no occupational choices accounted for 42.33 per cent of the re-enrollees and 61.26 per cent of the transfer students. -lO2- Table 17.--Students' Occupational Preferences for Farming ‘— A * Transfer Re-enrollees Students Total Preference No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent First choice 171 38.53 13 11.72 184 33.15 Second . ' choice 58 13.06 11 9.90 69 12.4.3 Third choice 27 6 . 08 19 17 . 12 L6 ' 8 . 28 was not I chosen* 188 1.2 . 33 68 61. 26 2 56 1.6. 11. TPOtal huh 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 *Includes those students who did not have any occupational ghoices plus those who had occupational choices other than - armdng. ' (Chi—square = 60.17, significant at the one per cent level) These data indicated that the students' preferences of farming differed. Chi—square which equalled 60.17 was significant at the .01 level. Thus, evidence was found from the sample studied that the preferences for farming expressed by the students who re-enrolled in vocational agriculture differed significantly from similar preferences expressed by ‘the transfer students. Re-enrollees expressed preferences for farming to a significantly greater extent than did the transfer students. -103 .. W From the findings presented in this chapter, the first general hypothesis of the study could neither be en- tirely accepted nor rejected. The home farm and family characteristics of the re-enrollees did not differ signifi- cantly from those of the transfer students. These findings, therefbre, supported the general hypothesis of "no differ- ences" between_re-enrollees and transfer students. However, the re-enrollees' attitudes toward farming as a vocation and as a way of life, and.the agricultural relatedness of their occupational choices differed significantly from those of the transfer students. Re-enrollees had more favorable attitudes toward farming and as a group had a higher degree of agricultural relatedness displayed in their occupaional choices than did the transfer students. As a result, the conclusion concerning the first general hypothesis was this: Home farm and family character- istics do not differentiate the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture from those who do not: but, the attitudes toward farming students do have, and the extent of the agricultural relatedness of their occupational choices do differentiate those who re-enroll in vocational agriculture from those who transfer to other subjects. CHAPTER VI FINDINGS RELATED TO THE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ABILITIES, AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL PLANS This chapter deals with the findings directly re- lated to the second general hypothesis of the study: "Trans- fer'students and the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the levels of academic ability they display, the amounts of post-high school education they plan to obtain, and the aspiration levels and occupational fields represented by their occupa- tional choices. The specific hypotheses which were used to test the second general hypothesis of the study were as follows: A. The high school grade point averages of the transfer stu- dents do not differ from the grade point averages of the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. B. The number of years transfer students plan to attend an- other school after high school graduation does not differ from that of the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. C. The aspiration levels and the occupational fields of the transfer students' first occupational choices do not -1og- -105- differ from.those of the re-enrollees' first occupational choices. With two exceptions, the data from the total number of the AAA re-enrollees and the 111 transfer students were used for statistical treatment. First, when the students' occupational choices were analyzed, only those students who had expressed at least one occupational choice could be used. Second, high school grade point averages were obtained fer only 394 re-enrollees and 98 transfer students. The remaining sections of this chapter present the findings which relate to the specific hypotheses just de- scribed. Acadepic Agility Displayed by Students Student grade point averages were computed for stu- - dents according to the method described in Chapter 111.1 IPt will be recalled that a grade of A was given four points,, 13 was given three points, C was given two points, D was given one point, and the grade of F was given zero points when 'the grade point averages were determined. The grade point averages of the transfer students and re-enrollees are shown in Table 18. An examination of this table reveals that all except 8.3 per cent of the students in the sample enrolled 1 Su re, p. 6A. -106- Table l8.--Students' High School Grade Point Averages Transfer . Grade Point Re-enrollees Students Total Average No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent 3.01-h.00 28 7.11 13 13.26 A1 8.3A Total 394 100.00 98 100.00 A92 100.00 (t = 1.98, significant at the five per cent level) in vocational agriculture during the 1960-61 year had grade point averages of 3.00 or less. Of the total number enrolled, 39.02 received a grade point average which ranged from 2.01 to 3.00, A6.5A per cent received a grade point average which ranged from 1.01 to 2.00, and 6.10 per cent received a grade point average which ranged from 0 to 1.00. Thus, over half of the students in the sample who were enrolled in vocational .agriculture during the 1961-1962 school year had grade point averages of 2.00 or less. As shown in Table 18, more of the transfer students had higher grade point averages than did the re-enrollees and fewer of the transfer students had lower grade point .averages than did the re-enrollees. Within the 3.01 to A.00 -107- range were 13.26 per cent of the transfer students and 7.11 per cent of the re-enrollees, within the 2.01 to 3.00 range were 39.80 per cent of the transfer students and 38.83 of the re-enrollees, within the 1.01 and 2.00 range were A2.86 per cent of the transfer students and A7.A6 per cent of the' re-enrollees, and within the 0 to 1.00 range were A.O8 per cent of the transfer students and 6.60 per cent of the re- enrollees. The mean grade point of the transfer students was 1.90, and the mean grade point of the re-enrollees was 1.7A. These two mean grade point averages differed signifi- cantly. A t-value of 1.98 was obtained which was significant at the .05 level. Evidence was found, therefore, to reject the hypothesis that the academic ability displayed by stu- dents who re-enroll in vocational agriculture does not differ ’from that displayed by those who transfer from the program. The transfer students had a significantly higher mean grade point average. It should be noted that, although the mean grade point averages of the transfer students and the re- enrollees did differ significantly, the mean grade point averages for both groups of students was below 2.00. Extent of Post-Hi h School Education Planned for 51 Students Nearly three quarters of the re-enrollees and slightly _over one half of the transfer students did not plan any fur- ther education after high school. These facts are revealed in Table 19. Of all students in the sample A.27 per cent -108- Table 19.--Years of Post-High School Education Planned by Students Transfer Years of Re-enrollees Students Total Education No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per 0ent ‘ N0ne 328 7A.12 62 55.88 390 70.27 Less than 1 20 A.27 I 1 .90 21 3.78 1-2 A1 9.23 9 8.10 50 9.00 3-A A3 9.68 31 27.92 7A 13.35 More than A 12 2.70 8 7.20 20 3.60 Total AAA 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (Chi-square = 50.55, significant at the one per cent level) of the re-enrollees and .90 per cent of the transfer students planned to obtain additional training requiring less than a year, 9.23 per cent of the re-enrollees and 8.10 per cent of the transfer students planned to obtain one to two years additional school, 9.68 per cent of the re-enrollees and 27.92 per cent of the transfer students planned to attend school for another three or four years, and 2.70 per cent of ‘the re-enrollees and 7.20 per cent of the transfer students p1anned.toiobtain more than f0ur years of additional edu- cation. Chi-square equalled 50.55 which was significant at the .01 level, Thus evidence was obtained to justify rejection of -109- The hypothesis that the amounts of post-high school educa- tion planned for by re-enrollees and transfer students do not differ. Transfer students planned to obtain significantly more education after high school than did the re-enrollees. W by tudents' F rst Occupationa hoices This section is divided into three sub-sections; and, in order, the following'are discussed: the number of stu- dents who did and did not express an occupational choice, the aspiration levels of students' first occupational choices, and the occupational fields represented by the first occupa- tional choices of students who expressed at least one occu- pation choice. The Numbers of Students Who Did and Did Not Express an Occupational Choice- The numbers of students who did and did not ex- press one occupational choice are shown in Table 20. As revealed there, 81.08 per cent of the transfer students and 7A.77 per cent of the re-enrollees indicated occupational choices on the questionnaires when they filled them out. Statistical treatment of Table 20 yielded a chi-square value of 1.9A which was non-significant at the .05 level. Thus,. it could not be shown from the data obtained in this study that the numbers of transfer students who did and did not have at least one occupational choice differed from the -110- Table 20.--Numbers of Students Who Did and Did Not Express an Occupational Choice W Transfer Re-enrollees Students Total Expression No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent Yes 332 74.77 90 , 81.08 432 76.03 No 112 25.23 21 18.92 133 23.97 Total hhh 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (Chi-square = 1.9A, non-significant) numbers of re-enrollees who did and did not have at least one occupational choice. Aspiration Levels of Students' First Occupational Choices The aspiration levels of students' first occupational choices are shown in Table 21. The largest percentages of both re-enrollees, 6A.16 per cent, and of transfer students, 33.87 per cent, chose occupations within Level Three, the Semi-Professional and Small Business occupational group. It can be seen, therefore, that the percentages of transfer students who aspired to enter Level Three occupations was substantially less than the percentage of re-enrollees who did so. Above the Semi-Professional and Small Business lavelowers found more of the transfer students' and fewer -1ll Table 21.--Aspiration Levels of Students' First Occupational -_ Choices - Re- Transfer Aspiration Level Enrollees Students Total 1. Professional and managerial I Number 0 6 6 Per Cent 0.00 6.67 l.A2 2. Professional and Mana- gerial II Number A1 27 68 Per Cent 1203A» 30.00 16011 3. Semi-professional and 8 , Small Business Number 213 35 2A8 Per Cent 6A.16 38.87 58.78 A. Skilled Number A9 19 68 Per Cent 1A.76 21.12 16.11 5. Semi-skilled Number 23 3 26 Per Cent 6.93 3.3A 6.16 6. Unskilled Number 6 O 6 Per Cent 1081 0.00 1.1.2 Total Number 332 90 A22 Per Cent 100000 100.00 100000 (t B 2.65, significant at the one per cent level) of the re-enrollees' first occupational choices. Thirty per cent of the transfer students' first occupational choices were classified in the Professional and Managerial II group compared with 12.3A per cent of the re-enrollees first Wwfl .SLEV?JMMHfij~ ‘ v -112- occupational choices. The Professional and Managerial I group contained 6.67 per cent of the transfer students' first occupational choices; but, none of the re-enrollees' first occupational choices were classified in this group. More transfer students chose occupations which fell within the Skilled group than did the re-enrollees. The percentages were 21.12 per cent and 1A.76 per cent, re- spectively. . The Semi-Skilled group and the Unskilled group contained fewer of the transfer students' first occupational choices than the first occupational choices of the re- enrollees. The Semi-Skilled level contained 3.3A per cent of the transfer students' first occupational choices and 6.93 per cent of the re-enrollees'. The Unskilled level contained none of the transfer students' first occupational choices, but 1.81 per cent of the re-enrollees' first occupational I choices, but 1.81 per cent of the re-enrollees' first occu- pational choices. A t-value of 2.65 was obtained when the data were submitted to statistical treatment, and this t-value was found to be significant at the .01 level. Thus, the hypothesis that the aspiration levels of the occupational choices of the re-enrollees do not differ from the aspiration levels of the transfer students was disproved from the data analyzed. The transfer students aspired to higher level occupations than did the re-enrollees. The mean aspiration level of the transfer students' choices was found to be 2.85, -113- and the mean aspiration level of the re-enrollees' choices was found to be 3.22 (the higher mean denotes a level of lower skill and responsibility). ' Occupational Fields Represented by the Students' First Occu- . pational Choices The occupational fields represented by the first occupational choices of the students who expressed at least one occupational choice is shown in Table 22. Examination. of the table reveals that the first occupational choices of the transfer students differed most from those of the re- enrollees in the fields of Technology and Outdoor occupa- tions. Of the transfer students' first occupational choices, 40.00 per cent were classified in Technology and 20.00 per) cent in Outdoor occupations. Of the re-enrollees' first occupational choices, 17.18 per cent were classified in Technology and 57.87 per cent in Outdoor occupations. Within each offithe other occupational fields, the transfer students ' did not differ from the re-enrollees to any great extent. The data yielded a chi-square value of 50.26 which ‘was significant at the .01 level. Evidence was found, therefore, that the first occupational choices of the trans- fer students classified by occupational fields did differ from those of the re-enrollees. nan—.4. 'JEK I, .lMINi.!EI.-i~ .. — -114- Table 22.--Fields Represented by the First Occupational Choices of Students Who Expressed at Least one Choice Transfer Occupational Re-enrollees Students Total Field No. Per Cent No. Per Oent No. Per Cent Business Contact A 1.20 A A.AA 8 ' 1.89 Organization 8 2.AO 3 3.33 11 2.60 Technology 57 17.18 36 A0.00 93 22.0A Outdoor 197 57.87 18 20.00 210 A9.78 Science 7 2.10 5 5.55 ' 12 2.8A General Cultural l6 A.81 6 6.66 22 5.21 Arts and Enter- ' ' tainment 8 2.AO 3 3.3A 11 2.60 Total' 332 100.00 90 100.00 A22 . 100.00 (Chi-square - 50.26, significant at the one per cent level) Chapter Summapy From the findings presented in this chapter, the second general hypothesis of the study was rejected. It was found that transfer students do display a higher level of academic ability, do plan to obtain more post-high school education, do aspire to enter occupations in higher aspiration -115- levels, and do aspire to enter occupational fields unlike those of the re-enrollees' aspirations. CHAPTER VII FINDINGS RELATED TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENTS' PLAN MAKING AND THEIR FUTURE PLANS This chapter presents the findings of the study which were related to the third general hypothesis of the study: “Transfer students and the students who re-enroll in voca- tional agriculture do not differ with respect to the degrees _ of initiative they display in seeking guidance assistance when formulating plans, the amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance they receive from others when formulating plans, the degrees of maturity they display when expressing reasons concerning continuance in vocational agriculture, the de- grees of consistency of occupational choices they achieve, and the certainty of their future plans. The specific hypotheses tested were as follows: A. Transfer students and students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the number of SOlicited guidance resources they utilize when selecting high school subjects, when formulating post-high school Plans, and when making occupational choices. 3- The numbers of unsolicited guidance resources which assist transfer students when selecting high school subjects, When formulating post high school plans and when making -ll6- C. D. E. F. -117- occupational choices do not differ from the numbers of unsolicited guidance resources which assist the re- enrollees. The degree of consideration given to long—range educational and/or occupational objectives by transfer students and re- enrollees do not differ when these students express reasons for transferring from or re-enrolling in vocational agri- culture. The consistency of the occupational choices within aspira- tion levels and occupational fields of the transfer stu- dents does not differ from the consistency of the occupa- tional choices of the re-enrollees. Transfer students and students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not differ with respect to the certainty of their post-high school plans, nor do they differ with respect to th certainty of entering the occupations of their first choice. Of those students who chose farming as one of their occu- pational choices, transfer students are no more certain of entering farming than are the re-enrollees. Stpgenp Initiatiye in Obtaining Guidance Assistance As described in Chapter 111,1 the degrees of initiative 1.5.2223: 1’0 53-51,, -1l8- displayed by students when formulating plans for the future were measured by a determination of the number of solicited guidance resources which gave students assistance; that is, the number of resources they turned to for help without anyone asking or telling them to do so. To facilitate reporting of the data, the investi- gator classified the degrees of initiative displayed by the students, as determined by the number of solicited guidance resources used, as "no initiative," "a low degree" of initi- ative, "a medium degree" of initiative, and a "high degree” of initiative. Those students who reported no utilization of solicited guidance resources were classified as having "no initiative," those who reported having used from one to three solicited guidance resources were classified as having a "low degree" of ihitiative, those reported having used from feur to six solicited guidance resources were classified as having a "medium degree" of initiative, and those who re- ported having used from seven to nine solicited guidance resources were classified as having a "high degree" of in- itiative. ' The initiative displayed by the students was analyzed ‘Itor each of three periods of student decision: (1) the se- .zection of high school subjects, (2) the formulation of Poet-high school plans, and (3) the making of occupational chhuoices. The analyses of the data related to each of these Pa riods of students decision are presented in the following Sections 0 -ll9- Student Initiative Displayed in Obtaining Assistance with Selection of High School Subjects The initiative displayed by students in obtaining assistance with the selection of high school subjects is shown in Table 23. As shown there, 35.13 per cent of the transfer students and 30.85 per cent of the re-enrollees took "no initiative" in seeking assistance. 0f the re-enrollees, A9.57 per cent displayed as "low degree" of initiative com- pared with A2.37 per cent of the transfer students who did likewise. Here of the transfer students displayed a "medium degree" of initiative than did the re-enrollees. The per- centages were 20.70 per cent and 16.21 per cent, respectively. Those students who displayed a "high degree" of initiative were 3.37 per cent of the re-enrollees and 1.80 per cent of the transfer students. The mean number of guidance resources solicited by transfer students for assistance with the selection of high school subjects was 2.0A, and that for the reeenrollees was 2.02. .A t-value of' r95 was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. Thus, it was found that the numbers of solicited guidance resources which assisted transfer students in the selection of high school subjects did not differ frOmithe numbers that assisted the re-enrollees. Consequently, it was concluded that transfer students do not display sig- nificantly different degrees of initiative in seeking -120- Table 23.--Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Selection of High School Subjects Transfer Degree of Re-enrollees Students Total Initiative No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No initiative 137 30.85 39 35.13 176 31.71 LOW 220 h9.59 A7 A2.37 267 A8.ll Medium 72 16.21 23 20.70 95 17.12 High 15 3.37 2 1.80 17 3.06 Total hhh 100.00 111 100.00 555 ‘100.00 (t - .95, non-significant) assistance when selecting high school subjects than do the re-enrollees. Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Formulation of Post-High School Plans Table 2A shows that the largest percentage of re- enrollees, A5.A9 per cent, and that the largest percentage of transfer students, A1.AA per cent, did not consult any guidance resources on their own initiative. many did, how- ever, and AO.56 per cent of the transfer students and 36.53 per cent of the re-enrollees displayed low degrees of' initiative in seeking assistance with the formulation of -121- Table 2A.--Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Formulation of Post-High School Plans Transfer Degree of Re-enrollees Students Total Initiative No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No initiative 202 A5.A9 A6 A1.AA 2A8 AA.69 Low 162 36.53 45 40.56 207 37.30 Medium 70 15.75 18 16.20 88 15.85 High 10 2.23 2 1080 12 3016 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (t = .63 non-significant) their post-high school plans. Percentagewise, 16.20 per cent of the transfer students and 15.75 per cent of the re- enrollees displayed medium degrees of initiative. A larger percentage of re-enrollees, 2.23 per cent, displayed a high degree of initiative than did the transfer students, 1.80 per cent. The mean number of guidance resources which the transfer students consulted when formulating their post- high school plans was 1.72, and for the re-enrollees, it was 1.59. A t-value of .63 was obtained which was non-significant. Evidence was obtained, therefore, to support the hypothesis that transfer students do not differ from the re-enrollees -122- with respect to the initiative displayed in seeking guidance assistance when formulating their post-high school plans. Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Choice of An Occupation Reference to Table 25 reveals that more of the stu- dents who re-enrolled in vocational agriculture displayed no initiative when making decisions concerning occupational choice than did the transfer students. Of the re-enrollees, A5.26 per cent did not utilize any solicited guidance re- sources, and of the transfer students, A3.23 per cent. Those students who displayed "some" initiative included 37.20 per cent of the re-enrollees and 36.06 per cent of the transfer students. More of the transfer students utilized more guidance resources on their own initiative than did the re-enrollees. The transfer students who fell within the "medium” classi- fication included 15.31 per cent of these students and the transfer students who fell within the "high" classification included 5.AO per cent of the transfer students. The re- enrollees who fell within the "medium" classification in- cluded 1A.AO per cent of the re-enrollees and those who fell within the "high" classification included 3.1A per cent of the re-enrollees. The mean number of solicited guidance resources. utilized by the transfer students when making occupational choices was 1.79, and the mean number for re-enrollees was -123- Table 25.-~Degrees of Initiative Displayed by Students in Obtaining Assistance with the Choice of an Occupation Transfer Degree of Re-enrollees Students Total Initiative No. Per Cent No.iPer Cent No. Per Cent No initiative 201 A5.26 A8 A3.23 249 44.86 Low . 165 37.20 A0 36.06 205 36.9A Medium. 6A 1A.AO 17 15.31 81 1A.60 High 14 3.1A 6 5.A0 20 3.60 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (t = .82, non-significant) 1.61. A t-value of .82 was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. It was concluded, therefore, that the transfer students did not differ significantly from the re- enrollees with respect to the degrees of initiative they displayed in soliciting assistance when making occupational - choices. Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students The amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance given to students when formulating plans for the future were as- certained by determinations of the total number of guidance resources which assisted students with plan making at each -12A- . of the periods of student decision without the students hav- ing asked for help. The amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance given to the students, to facilitate the reporting of the data, were classified as "none," "some," "much," and "very much.” If students had not been assisted at all, they were classi- fied in the "none" category, if students had been assisted by from one to three resources, they were classified in the "some" category; if students had been assisted by from four. to six resources, they were classified in the "much" cate- gory; and if they had been assisted by from seven to nine resources, they were classified in the "very much" category. The next three sections report the amounts of un- solicited guidance given to students during each of the periods of student decision: '(1) the selection of high school subjects, (2) the formulation of post-high school plans, and (3) the choice of an occupation. Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Selected High School Subjects Over one-third of both groups of students indicated that they had received no unsolicited assistance when they selected high sch001 subjects. Reference to Table 26 indi- cates that the percentage of transfer students who fell within this classification was 36.93 per cent, and the per- centage of re-enrollees, 38.78 per cent.' Over half of both -125... Table 26.--Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Selected High School Sub- jects ' , —— 1— WW * Transfer Amount of Re-enrollees Studentgfi Total Assistance No. Per Cent No. _Per Cent No. Per Cent None . 172 38.78 Al 36.93 213 38.38 Much Al 9.22 12 10.80 53 9.55 Very much 7 1.56 l .90 8 l.AA Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (t = .68,non-significant at the five per cent level) groups, and slightly more of the transfer students, reported having had "some" assistance. The percentage of the re- enrollees classified as having had "some" assistance was 50.AA, and the percentage of the transfer students was 51.37. More of the transfer students, 10.80 per cent, than the re- enrollees, 9.22 per cent, reported "much" assistance. A very small number of students reported "very much" assistance. 0f the re-enrollees, 1.56 per cent did so, and of the transfer students, .90 per cent so reported. A tevalue of .68 was obtained from the statistical treatment of the data which was non-significant at the .05 level. This indicated that the amounts of assistance given _ e126- the re-enrollees when they selected high school subjects were not significantly different from the amounts given to the transfer students. The mean number of resources which gave assistance to the re-enrollees was l.A3 and to the transfer students, 1.55. Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Formulated Post-High School Plans Over one half of both groups of the students, and more of the re-enrollees, reported that they were given no unsolicited assistance when formulating post—high school plans. The percentage of the re-enrollees who received no assistance was 55.62, and of the transfer students, 52.26, as shown in Table 27. More of the transfer students re- ceived "some" assistance, but fewer of the transfer students received "much" and "very much" assistance than did the re- enrollees. The "some" classification contained 38.7A per cent of the transfer students compared with 33.82 per cent of the re-enrollees. In the "much" classification were found 8.77 per cent of the re-enrollees and 8.10 per cent of the transfer students; and, in the "very much" classi- fication were found .90 per cent of the transfer students and 1.79 Per cent of the re-enrollees. The mean number of unsolicited guidance resources which gave assistance to the re-enrollees was 1.1A, and the mean number fer the transfer students was 1.19. A t-value -127- Table 27.--Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given giaStudents When They Formulated Post-High School ns - Transfer Amount of Re-enrollees Students Total Assistance No. er ent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent None 247 55.62 58 52.26 305 54.95 Some 150 33082 43 3807h 193 3&078 Much. 39 8.77 9 8.10 48 8.65 Very Much 8 1.79 l .90 9 1.62 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 L (t = .31,non-significant at the five per cent level) of .31.was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. Because the number of unsolicited guidance resources utilized by both groups were not found to be significantly different from each other in the data analyzed, evidence was found with which to support the null hypothesis that the amounts of guidance assistance given to re-enrollees and transfer students without student request for such assistance are not significantly different. Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Made Occupational Choices Over half of the re-enrollees and transfer students in the sample studied had not received any unsolicited -128- guidance assistance when they made occupational choices. Table 28 shows that the percentages were 60.82 per cent of the re-enrollees and that 58.56 per cent of the transfer students. More re-enrollees, 32.01 per cent, had obtained "some" assistance than had the transfer students, 29.7h per cent. However, more of the transfer students had received more assistance which they had not asked or looked for than had the re-enrollees. The percentages of the transfer stu- dents which fell within the "much" and "very much" categories were 10.80 and .90, respectively. The percentages of the re-enrollees which fell within the "much" and ”very much" categories were 6.29 and .88, respectively. I The mean number of resources from which re-enrollees had obtained unsolicited assistance was .93, and the mean number for transfer students was 1.05. A t-value of .74 was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. There- fore, evidence was not obtained from the data analyzed to reject the null hypothesis that the amounts of unsolicited assistance received by transfer students when they made occu- pational choices do not differ from the amounts of assistance received by the re-enrollees. The transfer students did not receive significantly more unsolicited guidance assistance than did the re-enrollees. ~129- \ Table 28.--Amounts of Unsolicited Guidance Assistance Given to Students When They Made Occupational Choices I m I _ Transfer Amount of Re-enrollee Students Total Assistance No. Per Cent No. Fer Gent fio. Fer Cent None 270 60.82 65 58.56 335 60.36 Some 112 32.01 33 29.74 175 31.53 much 28 6.29 12 10.80 40 7.21 Very'Much A .88 l , .90 5 .90 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 55 5 100.00 (t = .7h, non-significant at the five per cent level) .Maguritfi of Reasons Egpressgd by Students Concern- ng air out nuance in Vocat ona Agr c ture The reasons which students indicated on the question- naire as thgig reasons fer either re-enrolling in or trans- ‘ferring from vocational agriculture were assigned maturity scores as described in Chapter III.1 These scores reflected the degrees of consideration students gave to long-term edu- cational and/or occupational objectives when they expressed reasons concerning their continuance in vocational agri- culture 0 1 Su ra, p. 61-62. -130- The results of an analysis of these scores are given -in this section. To facilitate the reporting of these re- sults, maturity scores ranging from 1.61 to 2.00 were de- signated as "very mature," scores.ranging from 1.21 to 1.60 were designated as "fairly mature," scores ranging from .81 to 1.20 were designated "neither mature or immature," scores ranging from .41 to .80 were designated "fairly immature," and scores ranging from O to .40 were designated as "very immature." Table 29 shows the maturity ratings assigned to the reasons expressed by the transfer students and re-enrollees. An examination of this table reveals that, with respect to the maturity scores, the transfer students differed markedly from the re-enrollees. In the "very mature" classification were classified 45.93 per cent of the transfer students com- pared with 10.80 per cent of the re-enrollees. In the "fairly mature" classification, 43.92 per cent of the re-enrollees were classified, compared with 32.42 per cent of the transfer students. Although more of the re-enrollees were classified in the "fairly mature" classification than were transfer stu- dents, more re-enrollees than transfer students were classi- fied in the "neither mature nor immature," "fairly immature," and "very immature" classifications. The percentages of the re-enrollees classified in these categories were 37.64 per cent, 7.20 per cent, and .44 per cent, respectively. The percentages of the transfer students classified in these -131- Table 29.-~Maturity Ratings of the Reasons Expressed by Students for Re-enrolling In and Transferring From Vocational Agriculture W Transfer Maturity Re-enrollees Students Total Rating No. Fer Cent No. Fer Cent No. Per Cent Very Mature 48 10.80 51 45.93 99 17.83 Fairly .Mature 195 43.92 36 32.42 231 41.62 Neither Mature or ' Immature 167 37.64 18 16.25 185 33.34 Fairly Immature 32 7.20 3 2.70 35 6.31 Very Immature 2 .44 3 2.70 5 .90 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 100.00 (t - 2.05, significant at the five per cent level) same categories were 16.25 per cent, 2.70 per cent, and 2.70 per cent, respectively. The mean maturity rating of the re-enrollees' reasons was 1.02 and that for the transfer students was 1.34. A t- value of 2.05 was obtained which was significant at the .05 level. The analysis of the data indicated, therefore, that the maturity scores for the transfer students' reasons were significantly higher than were the re-enrollees' scores. Evidence was obtained which indicated, then, that transfer -132- students expressed reasons which indicated more consideration of long-term educational and/or occupational objectives than were the reasons expressed by students who re-enrolled in vo- cational agriculture. Consistency of thg Students' Occupational Choices Discrepancy scores were computed for all of the occupational choices of each student in the sample, and these discrepancy scores were utilized to measure the consistency of the students' occupational choices within aspiration levels and within occupational fields. The methods used to classify occupations by aspiration level and occupational fields, and to compute the discrepancy scores were de- scribed in Chapter 111.1 Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Aspiration Levels for Students Who Expressed at Least One Choice An examination of Table 30 reveals that fewer trans- fer students had consistent occupational choices than had 'the re-enrOllees. Those students who were entirely con- sistent within aspiration levels included 30.42 per cent of ‘the re-enrollees, but only 18.88 per cent of the transfer students. Those students with a discrepancy of one level anxung their occupational choices included 35.85 per cent of the re-enrollees and 37.77 per cent of the transfer stu- dents. These latter percentages were fairly equal, as were ISu re, p. 57-60. \ -133- Table 30.--Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Aspira- tion Levels for Students Who Expressed at Least One Choice W Transfer . Discrepancy Re-enrollees Students Total Score No. Per Cent No. Fer cant No. Per Cent 0 101 30.42 17 18.88 118 27.96 3” g . l 119 35.85 34 37.77 153 36.25 3 2 9o .27-11 23 25.56 113 26.79 g 3 20 6.02 12 13.34 32 7.58 i 4 2 .60 4 4.45 6 1.42 Total 332 100.00 90 100.00 422 100.00 —— _— (t = 3.14, significant at the one per cent level) those of the students who had a discrepancy of two levels among their occupational choices; and, among those who had a discrepancy of two levels were 27.11 per cent for the re- enrollees and 25.56 per cent of the transfer students. The number of students who had higher discrepancy scores than two includes many more transfer students than re-enrollees. Classified as having occupational choices with a discrepancy of three levels were 13.34 per cent of the transfer students compared with only 6.02 per cent of the re-enrollees. Those ' with discrepancy scores of four accounted for 4.45 Per cent of the transfer students compared with only .60 .per cent of the re -enrollees. ~134- The mean discrepancy score for the re-enrollees was found to be'1.lO, and that for the transfer students was 1.46. Thus, the average transfer student chose occupations from a wider range of levels than did the average re-enrollee. A t-value of 3.14 was obtained which was significant at the .01 level. Consequently, evidence was obtained from.the sample studied which rejects the hypothesis that the con- sistency of the occupational choices within levels for the re-enrollees and the transfer students do not differ. In . the sample studied, the occupational choices of the transfer students were more inconsistent and the re-enrollees' choices were more consistent within aspiration levels. Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Fields for Students Who Expressed at Least One Choice The discrepancy scores which reflect the consistency of the students' occupational choices within fields for ‘those students who expressed at least one choice are shown in Table 31. Examining this table, one can see that 25.00 per cent of the re-enrollees were absolutely consistent with 'their occupational choices compared with 18.89 per cent of ‘the transfer students. A smaller percentage of the re- enrollees, 47.29 per cent, had a discrepancy score of one compared with 51.12 per cent of the transfer students. How- ever; slightly more transfer students had discrepancy scores «if two than did the re-enrollees. The transfer students and -135- Table 31.--Consistency of Occupational Choices Within Fields for Students Who Expressed at Least One Choice m Transfer Discrepancy Re-enrollees Students Total Score No. Per Cent No. Fer Cent No. Fer Cent 0 83 25.00 17 18.89 100 23.70 F ' 1 157 47.29 46 51.12 203 48.10 , 2 91 27.41 26 28.87 117 27.72 i 3 1 .30 1 1.12 2 .48 5 Total 332 100.00 90 100.00 422 100.00 (t = 1.15,non-significant at the five per cent level) the re-enrollees who had discrepancy scores of two included 28.87 per cent and 27.41 per cent of these students, re- spectively. The mean discrepancy score for the transfer students ‘was 1.13, and that for the re-enrollees, 1.03. A t-value of 1.15 was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. This indicated that the consistency of the occupational choices of the transfer students within occupational fields ‘was not significantly different from the consistency of the 10ccupational choices of the re-enrollees. The re-enrollees did not display significantly, higher degrees of consistency when their occupational choices were classified by occupa- tional fields than did the transfer students. -136- Certainty of the Students' Future Plans The degrees of certainty expressed by the students concerning the plans which they had for the future were classified by them as "very certain," "fairly certain," "somewhat uncertain," and "very uncertain." The following sections reports the findings concerning the students' immediate post-high school plans and the degrees of certainty 1 expressed concerning these plans, the degrees of certainty expressed by students concerning their entry into occupa- L tions of their first choice; and, for those who chose farm- ing as one of their choices, the degrees of certainty ex- pressed concerning the likelihood of entering into this occupation. Immediate Post-High School Plans of Students The immediate post-high school plans of the transfer students differed markedly from those of the re-enrollees., ‘This is evident when Table 32 is examined. This table shows that more transfer students, for example, have no plans for ”what they would like to do after leaving high school. Of 'the transfer students, 13.52 per cent had made no plans and 10.36 per cent of the re-enrollees had no plans either. More of the re-enrollees, 35.82 per cent, planned to start working after high school'than did the transfer students, 17.12 per cent. More transfer students, 44.14 per cent, ~137- Table 32.-~Immediate Post-High School Plans of Students W . Transfer Post-High Re-enrollees Students Total - School Plans No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent None 46 10.36 15 13.52 61 10.99 Start . working 159 35.82 -19 17.12 178 32.07 More education 116 26.12 49 44.14 165 29.73 Enter armed forces 123 27.70 28 25.22 151 27.21 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 . 555 ‘ 100.00 ‘ (Chi-square 8 20.38, significant at the one per cent level) ;p1anned to obtain.more education compared with 26.12 per cent of'the re-enrollees. Approximately the same percentages of ‘both groups of students planned to enter the Armed Forces. Classified as having the plan of doing this were 25.22 per cent of the transfer students and 17.70 per cent of the re—enrollees. The data were submitted to statistical measurement_ A by chi-square. The chi-square value obtained, 20.38, was _ significant at the .01 level.‘ Therefore, the evidence ob- tained from the sample studied failed to support the hypothesis tnuat the post-high school plans of the re-enrollees do not differ from those of the transfer students. 4 -133- Degrees 0f Certainty Expressed by Students Concerning Their Post-High School Plans Table 33 shows the degrees of certainty expressed by the students concerning their post-high school plans. An examination of the percentage columns for the transfer stu- dents and the re—enrollees reveals that the percentages of both groups of students who expressed the various degrees of certainty are very similar. Those who were "very certain". of their post-high school plans included 17.11 per cent of the transfer students and 16.21 per cent of the re-enrollees. In the "fairly certain" classification were placed 45.04 per cent of the transfer students and 49.11 per cent of the re-enrolle'es. "Somewhat uncertain" about their post-high school plans were 18.93 per cent of the transfer students and 17.79 per cent of the re-enrollees. Those who were "very uncertain" included 5.40 per cent and 6.53 of the transfer students and re-enrollees, respectively. "No plans" were expressed by 13.52 per cent of the transfer students and 10.36 per cent of the re-enrollees. The proportions of the transfer students compared with the proportions of the re-enrollees who expressed the same degrees of certainty were not significantly different from each other. Chi-square, 1.39, was found, after computa- tion, to be non-significant. This indicated that if signifi- ,‘cant differences existed in the degrees of certainty ex- pressed by the two groups of students with reference to -139- Table 33.--Degrees of Certainty Expressed by Graduates Con- cering Their Post-High School Plans *— Transfer Degree of Re-enrollees Students Total Certainty No. Fer Cent 0. er Cent No. Per Cent Very Certain 72 16.21 19 17.11 91 16.39 Fairly Certain 218 49.11 50 45.04 268 48.28 Somewhat Uncertain 79 17.79 21 18.93 100 18.02 Very Uncertain 29 x 6.53 6 5.40 35 6.32 No Plans 46 10.36 15 13.52 61 10.99 Total 444 100.00 111 100.00 555 . 100.00 (Chi-square - 1.39, non-significant) their post-high school plans, it could not be proved by the data 0 Degrees of Certainty Expressed by Students Concerning Their First Occupational Choices As shown in Table 34 those students who were "very certain" about pursuing their first occupational choices ineluded 32.22 per cent of the transfer students and 40.65 per cent of the re-enrollees. Fifty per cent of the transfer students were "fairly certain" of their first choice occupa- tions compared with 43.40 per cent of the re-enrollees. A -140- Table 34.--Degrees of Certainty.Expressed by Students Con- cerning Engagement in the werk of Their First Occupational Choices ' Transfer Degree of Re-enrollees Students Total Certainty No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent __ ' r...“ Very Certain 135 40.65 29 32.22‘ 164 38.86 ' Fairly . Certain 144 43.40 45 50.00 189 44.78 ; Somewhat f Uncertain 45 13.55 . 15 16.67 60 14.21 Very Uncertain 8 2.40 1 1.11 9 2.15 Total 332 100.00 90 100.00 422 100.00 (Chi-square = 3.03, non-significant) higher percentage of the transfer students, 16.67 per cent, ~compared with 13.55 per cent of the re-enrollees, were "some- ‘what uncertain" about pursuing their first occupational choices. Those who were "very uncertain" of their first choices included 1.11 per cent and 2.40 per cent, respectively, of'the transfer students and of the re-enrollees. A chi—square value of 3.03 was obtained which was non-significant at the .05 level. Evidence was not obtained, ‘therefore, to reject the hypothesis that the degrees of certainty expressed by transfer students for entering their first occupational choices do not differ from those expressed ~141- by the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. Certainty of Entering Farming Expressed by Students Who Chose Farming as One Occupational Choice Two hundred-fifty-six re-enrollees and 43 transfer students expressed farming as one of their occupational ‘ choices. The degrees of certainty expressed by these stu- dents concerning the probability of their entering this occupation are shown in Table 35. It can be seen from Table 35 that, as a group, the transfer students who chose farming as one of their occupational choices were far less certain of becoming farmers than were the re-enrollees. Of the re-enrollees who chose farming as one of their occupational choices, 39.84 per cent and 41.01 per cent were either "very certain" or "fairly certain," respectively, of engaging in farming. Of the transfer students, 11.63 per ‘ cent and 32.56 per cent were either "very certain" or "fairly certain," respectively, of engaging in farming. In the "somewhat uncertain" category fell 15.23 per cent of the re- enrollees and 44.18 per cent of the transfer students. Those students who were "very uncertain" of becoming farmers in- cluded 3.92 per cent of the re-enrollees and 11.63 per cent of the transfer students. The chi-square test for a significant difference between the two groups of students equalled 18.82 and was significant at the .01 level. This indicated that the ‘ h...- l "P -142- Table 35.--Degrees of Certainty of Entering Farming Expressed 3g ftudents Who Chose Farming as One Occupational 0 ce # .- _- Transfer Degree of Re-e rollees Students Total Certainty No. Fer Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent Very Certain 102 39.84 5 11.63 107 35.78 Fairly ' ' Certain 105 41.01 14 32.56 119 39.80 Somewhat Uncertain 39 15.23 19 44.18 58 19.39 Very Uncertain 10 3.92 5 11.63 15 5.03 Total 256. 100.00 43 100.00 299 100.00 (Chi-square = 18.82, significant at the one per cent level) proportions of re-enrollees who expressed'the various degrees of certainty of becoming farmers differed significantly from the same degrees of certainty expressed by the transfer stu- dents. The re-enrollees who chose farming as one of their occupational choices were significantly more certain of en- gaging in farming as an occupation than were the transfer students. Chapter Summary From the findings presented in this chapter, the third general hypothesis could neither be entirely accepted w WEE] t. . $- -143- nor rejected. It was found that transfer students and the students who re-enroll in vocational agriculture do not dis- play signifiCantly different degrees of initiative in obtain- ing guidance assistance when selecting high school subjects, formulating post-high school plans, and when making occupa- tional choices; that the amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance given to the transfer students are not signifi- cantly greater than the amounts given to re-enrollees when selecting high school subjects, formulating post-high school plans, and when making occupational choices; that transfer students display significantly more maturity when they expres reasons for transferring from vocational agriculture than do the re-enrollees for re-enrolling; that the occupational choices of the re-enrollees are significantly more con- sistent than those of the transfer students within aspira- tion levels, but not significantly more consistent within occupational fields; that transfer students are no more cer- - tain of their post-high school plans and first occupational choices than are the re-enrollees, but, of those who choose farming as one of their occupational Choices, the re-enrollees tare significantly more certain of becoming farmers than are the transfer students. CHAPTER VIII SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY The Purpgse of the Study The purpose of this investigation was to identify certain characteristics of vocational agriculture students which differentiate those who re-enroll in the vocational agriculture program as they progress through the four years of high school from those students who leave the program at the end of'grades nine, ten, and eleven to study other high school subjects. The characteristics studied were selected after a review of literature had been made to determine which Char- acteristics might differentiate the two groups of students. For ease in manipulation of the data, three general hypotheses were developed which stated that, with reference to the characteristics studied, the characteristics of stu- dents who re-enroll in the vocational agriculture program do not differ from the same characteristics of students who transfer from vocational agriculture to pursue other high school studies. The three general hypotheses tested were: -144- -l45- A. Students who transfer from vocational agriculture do not differ from the students who re-enroll with respect to the characteristics of former students who have become farmers. B. Transfer students and the students who re-enroll in voca- tional agriculture do not differ with respect to the levels of academic ability they display, the amounts of post-high school education they plan to obtain, and the aspiration levels and occupational fields of their occupa- tional choices. C. Transfer students and the students who re-enroll in vo- cational agriculture do not differ with respect to the degrees of initiative they display in seeking guidance assistance when formulating plans, the amounts of un- solicited guidance assistance they receive from others when formulating plans, the degrees of maturity they display when expressing reasons concerning continuance in vocational agriculture, the degrees of consistency of occupational choices they achieve, and the certainty of their future plans. Procedure of the Study The students studied were those enrolled in 39 voca- tional agriculture departments during the school year 1960-61 which were located within two farming areas of Central Michigan: ~146- (1) the dairy and general farming area, and (2) the dairy! and cash crop farming area. From all of the students who had been enrolled in vocational agriculture in the 39 departments during the 1960-61 school year, a sample of students was selected for testing the hypotheses of the study. All students who re- ‘?3 mained in school, had supplied useable data, but had trans- 4: ferred from vocational agriculture in the fall of the 1961-62 school year to other high school courses were selected as i the sample of transfer students to be studied. The final numbers of transfer students included in the sample were 54 grade nine students, 37 grade ten students, and 20 grade eleven students. Re-enrollees were selected for the sample by utiliz- ing the stratified random sampling technique. Re-enrollees within each grade level were divided into three groups based upon the degrees of consideration they gave long-term educa- tional and/or occupational plans as reflected by maturity scores the students were assigned: the upper 25 per cent, the middle 50 per cent, and the lower 25 per cent. Using random numbers, the investigator chose, within each grade level, from the upper 25 per cent group, a number of re- enrollees equal to the number of transfer students there were from that grade; from the middle 50 per cent group, twice the number of re-enrollees as there were transfer stu— dents from that grade; and, from the lower 25 per cent, a -147- number of re-enrollees equal to the number of transfer stu- dents there were from that grade. Resulting from this pro- cedure was a sample of re-enrollees composed of 216 grade nine students, 148 grade ten students, and 80 grade eleven students. For statistical analysis, the re-enrollees from each A o..~.C--‘.-qug grade level were grouped together to form one group desig- nated in the study as the "re-enrollees." The transfer stu- . dents from each grade level were likewise grouped together to form one group designated in the study as the "transfer students." Chi-square and the t-test were used to treat the data statistically. The lowest level for significance of differ- ences accepted in the study was at the five per cent level, and those differences found to be significant at the one per cent level were so designated. The Findings of the Study Analysis of Student Loss from the Departments Participating in the Study The analysis of student loss from the departments which participated in the study was based upon a total of 1,370 students enrolled during the 1960-61 school year. At the end of the 1960-61 school year, 209 students, or 15.25 per cent of the total enrollment, left the voca- tional agriculture program. The percentages of each class 7 -148- which left the program were 17.44 per cent. 17.16 per cent, and 10.63 per cent of grades nine, ten, and eleven, respec- tively. ‘Of the total student loss, 43.06 per cent were fresh- men, 35.83 per cent were SOphomores, and 21.11 per cent were juniors. I f Most students who left the program did so in order to study another high school subject. Of the total student 1 loss, 75.60 per cent chose other high school subjects, 11.00 per cent moved away, 12.92 per cent left school, and .48 per cent died. Findings Related to the Hypotheses Tested From the data studied, the following characteristics of re-enrollees were found to differ significantly at the one per cent level from the characteristics of the transfer students: A. MOre re-enrollees lived on farms. B. Re-enrollees had more favorable attitudes toward farming as a vocation and as a way of life. C. Re-enrollees had different types of post-high school plans. D. Re-enrollees planned to obtain less post—high school education. E. F. G. I. J. -1g9- More re-enrollees stated occupational choices which were related to agriculture. More re-enrollees stated farming as their first and second occupational choices. Re-enrollees named occupational choices in lower aspira- tion levels. Re-enrollees named occupational choices representing dif- F ferent occupational fields. The occupational choices of re-enrollees were more con- sistent within aspiration levels. The following characteristics of re-enrollees were found to differ significantly from the characteristics of the transfer students at the five per cent level: A. B. Re-enrollees displayed less academic ability. Re-enrollees expressed reasons for re-enrolling in voca- tional agriculture which displayed less consideration of long-term educational and/or occupational objectives than did the transfer students for transferring from the voca- tional agriculture program. Re-enrollees and transfer students did not differ SiSnificantly from each other with respect to the following characteristics: A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. -150- Sizes of the students' home farms Extent of parental farm ownership The farm work status of the students' fathers The ages of the students' fathers The number of students who expressed at least one occupa- tion choice Degrees of initiative displayed in seeking guidance assistance when students selected high school subjects, when they formulated post-high school plans, and when they decided upon their occupational Choices The amounts of unsolicited guidance assistance received by the students when they selected high school subjects, when they formulated post-high school plans, and when they decided upon their occupational choices censistency of occupational choices within ocCupational fields Certainty of immediate post-high school plans Certainty of first occupational choices -151- Implications of the Study The findings obtained when the hypotheses were tested brought to light implications which may have value for the improvement of the vocational agriculture program. A brief presentation of some of these implications found as the find- ings were interpreted are presented in this section, and some recommendations based upon the findings and implications of the Study are presented in the next section. These implications and recommendations have been made from the following viewpoints held by the investigator as he developed the study: ' A. Students who continue to enroll in vocational agriculture should wish to do so and they should be able to profit from the instruction given. 0 B. Students who continue to ehroll in vocatiOnal agriculture should be able to profit relatively more from the study of vocational agriculture than they might profit from the study of another high school subject which could be sub- stituted for vocational agriculture. C. Students should choose the high school subjects they study on the basis of a careful consideration of whatever realistic occupational alternatives they may have. -152- D. Students should select the high school subjects they study on the basis of a consideration of long-term educational and/or occupational plans they may have. E. Students should not only be encouraged to keep long-term educational and/or occupational plans flexible,but also as aw many avenues of opportunity should be left open as long as possible. F. School personnel and others who are concerned with the edu- cational and/or occupational plans of youth should offer and make readily available sources of educational-occupa- tional information and counsel. G. Vocational agriculture is a part of the total educational program of the local school in which it is offered and 4 students should be allowed to enroll if they can meet satisfactorily the criteria necessary for.a successful. study of vocational agriculture as it is taught. H. A high rate of student loss from the vocational agricul- ture program of one school compared with that of another is neither indicative of good or poor guidance or of good or poor instruction without the consideration of other factors. From these points of view, then, the following appear to be important implications which arise from the findings of -153- this study and toward which the recommendations are pointed in the section which follows this one. A. The findings indicated with respect to the home farm and family characteristics which govern to a large extent the opportunities there are for boys to become established in farming on their home farms that the transfer students f did not differ significantly from the re-enrollees. The % results of the study, on the other hand, indicated that E the re-enrollees did differ significantly from the trans- : fer students in that the re-enrollees had significantly more favorable attitudes toward farming and that the re- enrollees aspired to enter farming and agricultural occupations to a significantly greater extent. These findings imply that: 1. Vocational agriculture students are not basing their decisions concerning continuance in the vocational agriculture program upon a consideration of the oppor- tunities they have to become established in farming. 2. Those persons who counsel with students are apparently not considering the opportunities boys have to become established in farming when they assist students with the selection of high school subjects. 3. The significant governing factors which apparently influence the decision of farm boys to continue or ~154- . discontinue the study of vocational agriculture are student opinions concerning the desirability of farm- ing as a vocation and as a way of life; and student decisions for and against capitalizing upon a farming background as an aid in becoming established in an agricultural occupation. 4. Personnel in the high schools apparently are seeing in the vocational agricultureprogram more than the oppor- tunities there are for the training and establishing of youth in farming. It is likely that they are observ- ing in the vocational agriculture program the oppor- tunities there are for boys to receive a broad agricul- tural education, the opportunities there are for occupa- tional exploration of a variety of agricultural occupa-i tions, the values of the program.there are in terms of general education, and the Opportunities there are for the development of student leadership and citizenship abilities. . ’ B. Re-enrollees were found to display significantly less academic ability than did the transfer students. The mean grade point of the re-enrollees was found to be 1.74, and Chat for the transfer students, 1.90. Furthermore, the findings indicated that fewer re-enrollees planned to obtain any additional education after leaving high school. Nearly 75 per cent of the re-enrollees and a few more C. -155- than 50 per cent of the transfer students did not plan to obtain any type of training after high school graduation. In view of these findings, the study implies that: 1. Many top quality students are apparently not being .guided into the vocational agriculture program. 2. Vocational agriculture students are not being impressed with the importance of obtaining better school marks, nor are they being helped sufficiently to do so. 3. Although the difference was statistically significant; in a practical sense,the academic ability displayed by transfer students was not markedly higher than it was for re-enrollees. 4. Many vocational agriculture students do not realize the importance of obtaining post-high school education and that their occupational achievements may be limited because of this lack of further education. Transfer students were found to aspire to higher aspiration levels than did the re-enrollees. To obtain the education nexhd for these higher level occupations, significantly more transfer students planned to attend another school rather than going to work after leaving high school. These findings suggest that: 1. Plans to obtain more education after leaving high school encourage students to transfer from vocational agriculture rather than re-enroll. 17:311. 1 .6.) It r. -156- 2. Higher level occupational aspirations tend to encourage 'students to transfer from vocational agriculture rather than to re-enroll. 3. Transfer students may not know that vocational agri- culture graduates usually succeed as well as, or do better than, other high school graduates with college work, or in occupations which are not related to agri- culture. 4. Both groups of students have a fairly accurate knowledge of the aspiration levels to which they should be striv- ing in that a sufficient number of students in both groups were found with the appropriate levels of academic ability for the first occupational choices that students made. If anything, some re-enrollees tended to under-estimate their appropriate occupational level because seven per cent had grade points of 3.00 and above, but none aspired to enter occupations classified in the Professional and Managerial I level. D. The results of the investigation indicated that the degrees 0f initiative displayed by re-enrollees and transfer stu- dents in seeking solicited guidance assistance; that is, .the number of resources students utilized without being asked or told to do so, did not differ significantly when they selected high school subjects, when they formulated -157- post-high school plans, and when they made occupational choices. The results also indicated that a large number of both groups of students did not display any initiative in obtaining guidance assistance with these decisions: approximately a third of both student groups did not dis- play any initiative in obtaining guidance assistance with the choice of high school subjects, and over 40 per cent of both student groups displayed no initiative in obtain- ing assistance with the formulation of post-high school plans and with the choice of an occupation. These findings imply that: l. 2. 3. In general, there are large numbers of vocational agriculture students who are not sufficiently concerned with their future to actively seek information and assistance with the solution of their educational and. vocational problems. Students in both groups are relatively more concerned with their immediate problems; that is, with the sel- ection of high school subjects than they are with problems to be solved in the more distant future. Re-enrollees appear to be just as conscious of their need for information with which to make decisions as are the transfer students who transfer from the voca- tional agriculture program. -158- E. With respect to the amounts of guidance assistance given to both student groups without student request for such assistance, the study indicated that the amounts of un- solicited guidance assistance given the transfer students did not differ from that given the re-enrollees. Further- more, the study indicated that many students in both groups were not given gny unsolicited guidance assistance: over a third of the students in both groups were not given any assistance for which they did not ask when they selected high school subjects, and over half of the students in both groups were not assisted with unsolicited help with the formulation of post-high school plans and with the choice of an occupation. These findings suggest that: 1. Personnel in high schools, including vocational agri- culture instructors, are not giving to all students -equally the help and information they need in order to make educational and occupational decisions. 2. Many transfer students apparently are basing their de- cisions to transfer from vocational agriculture upon inadequate information, and this is also apparently true of many of the vocational agriculture re-enrollees. F. The findings of the study indicated that transfer students ' gave significantly more consideration to long-term educa- tional and/or occupational plans when they decided to transfer -159- . from the program than did the re-enrollees when they de- cided to re-enroll. This implies that re-enrollees may be too much concerned with present satisfactions and not enough concerned with the long-range effects of present- day decisions. Recommendations Based on the Findin s of This Stuay' Based upon the results of this study and the experi- ence gained as it was completed, the investigator would make the following recommendations to the instructors in the voca- tional agriculture departments surveyed in this investiga- tion: A. To estimate the probability that a vocational agriculture 9 student may or may not continue to enroll in the vocational agriculture program, the study suggeststhat emphasis be placed upon the student's place of residence, his attitudes toward farming, and his aspirations to enter an agricul- turally-related oCcupation rather than upon the charac- teristics of his home farm environment. Approximately twice as many non-farm boys transferred from vocational agriculture than did farm boys, and signifi- cantly more boys transferred from vocational agriculture who did not want to become farmers or enter other agricultural occupations than did the students who're—enrolled. If ~160- students lived on the farm, the home farm and family charac- teristics did not differentiate those who re-enrolled from those who did not. Consequently, for farm boys, the study indicates that a consideration of home farm and family char- acteristics themselves will not indicate the probability that a student will or will not continue his study of vocational agriculture. B. It may be possible to reduce the rate of student loss from vocational agriculture by having students study and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of farming and of entering agriculturally-related occupations. Probably one of the most important criteria which a student should consider if he is thinking about an agricultural occupation for his life's work is his attitudes toward farming. The study indicated that less than ten per cent of the transfer stu- dents had unfavorable attitudes toward farming as a vocation and less than five per cent had unfavorable attitudes toward farming as a way of life. Because transfer students do not generally hold unfavorable attitudes toward farming, they may, with more discussion and study of agricultural occupations, see how they can capitalize upon their farming backgrounds and vocational agriCulture training in the occupational world and then desire to remain enrolled in the vocational agriculture program. C. D. E. ~161- It would appear wise to discuss occupational plans with those students who desire to transfer from the vocational ' agriculture program to determine if these students clearly see that the program of study in vocational agriculture can not be of value to them. The study indicated that nearly all of the occupational choices of approximately 25 per cent of the transfer students were considered by these students to be related to agriculture. Vocational agriculture students should be encouraged to do their best with their high school studies. The mean grade point average of the re-enrollees was found to be only 1.74. Students should be impressed with the fact that, regardless of the aspiration levels of their occu- pational Choices, the more they learn in school, the better the job and the pay check in the occupational world. Vocational agriculture students should be encouraged to obtain more education after they leave high school. The study indicated that nearly 75 per cent of the re-enrollees and over one half of the transfer students did not plan to obtain more education after high school graduation. Students should be made aware of the need they have for all of the education they can obtain; and that once they are working, unless they have obtained more education, they will not be able to compete with those who have done 50. ~162- F. Approximately a third of all students in the sample studied who were enrolled during the 1960-61 school year had not displayed any initiative in obtaining guidance assistance with the selection of high school subjects. Nearly a half of the students had not displayed any initiative in ob- taining guidance assistance with the formulation of post- high school plans and the choice of an occupation. Over a third of all students indicated that they were not given any unsolicited guidance assistance when they selected the high school subjects they studied; and, over one half of all students in the sample indicated that no one gave them guidance assistance with the formulation of post-high school plans or with the choice of an occupation. These findings indicate that all students are not being helped as they should. It is recommended that voca- tional agriculture instructors and that all persons charged with the responsibility of assisting students be very careful not to overlook helping any student, and they should encourage all students to "take an interest" and actively seek informa- tion upon which to base their plans for the future. C. With the absence of norms which indicate how consistent the vocational choices of high school students should be within aspiration levels, it is impossible to judge whether the occupational choices of the students studied were relatively consistent or relatively inconsistent. H. -163- Nevertheless, the transfer students displayed significantly less consistency than did the re-enrollees. This may in- dicate that transfer students were less aware of their potentialities than were the re-enrollees; or it may re- flect the fact that the higher degrees of consistency of the re-enrollees' choices merely resulted from the large number of choices expressed by these students which in- clude farming. Two recommendations appear to be important here: 1. Because nearly 60 per cent of the re-enrollees chose farming as one of their occupational choices, re- enrollees should be encouraged to appraise the oppor- tunities they have for entering this occupation in view of the reality factors which govern entrance into this occupation.‘ 2. Because the occupational choices of transfer students were significantly less consistent within aspiration levels than were those of the re-enrollees, transfer students should be enCouraged to determine at which aspiration level they should most appropriately aspire. Vocational agriculture students should be encouraged to base their present-day decisions upon their long-term educational and/or occupational objectives. And, if these objectives have not yet'become concrete, the various -164- alternatives and possibilities should still be identified and kept very muCh in mind when present-day decisions are executed. The study indicated that significantly fewer re- 'enrollees than transfer students considered long-term edu- 'cational and/or occupational objectives when they decided for and against re-enrolling in vocational agriculture. Furthermore, the findings indicated that as re-enrollees pro- gressed through the four years of high school, they did not give increasingly greater consideration to their long-term educational and/or occupational plans as perhaps they should have been doing. Rather than attempting to satisfy present- day needs only, students should also be encouraged to look ahead and determine if present-day decisions are molding themselves into the types of educationally- and occupationally- trained adults they would like to become. Suggestions For Further Study The research reported in this dissertation surveyed a wide range of student characteristics. A project such as this one has been might well be expected to yield a large number of suggestions for other studies which should be completed. This has been found true with this study. Although an almost endless list of suggestions for further studies could be given, the following seem to be the -165- most important in the opinion of this investigator in terms of providing results most applicable for the immediate improve- ment of the vocational agriculture program. A. B. C. An analysis of the same student characteristics studied in this research project should be completed with other students in other schools to ascertain whether the find- ings reported in this study are generally representative of vocational agriculture students who re-enroll in vo- cational agriculture and those who transfer to other high school courses. An analysis of the same student characteristics studied in this project should be completed which compares the characteristics of students who enroll and transfer from vocational agriculture at each grade level to determine how these Characteristics change as students progress through high school. This research project only Compared the student char- acteristics of re-enrollees with those of transfer students. Not evaluated were each of the student characteristics in terms of what may constitute acceptable standards by which the wisdom of any particular student's desire to re-enroll in vocational agriculture or transfer from the program may be judged. A study designed to evaluate the wisdom of choice of vocational agriculture students who D. E. -166- do enroll and who transfer to other subjects in terms of their needs and in terms of what vocational agriculture can offer would be a very valuable contribution. This study indicated that although the characteristics of re-enrollees and transfer students do differ significantly in some instances, there are still many boys who transfer from vocational agriculture who seemingly possess more of those characteristics usually considered to be those of the desirable students than do many of the boys who con- tinue to enroll in the program. It is still not known .why some boys with these seemingly desirable character- istics transfer from vocational agriculture and why those with seemingly less desirable characteristics continue to enroll. Perhaps, the results of case studies of those students who continue to enroll which were previously identified as continuing in vocational agriculture un- wisely could be contrasted with the results of case studies of students who were previously identified as possessing the characteristics of more desirable enrollees but who have transferred to other high school subjects. There is still a need in agricultural education for the evaluation of the guidance given to vocational agriculture students in terms of the amounts of assistance actually received by them. Could a group of vocational agriculture students and their problems be identified at one point -167- in time; and, then, at a later date, could these students be surveyed again to determine: (1) which problems had been partially or completely solved; and, (2) to determine in what ways they had been helped; who helped them the most, the least; and, in what manner? LITERATURE CITED BOOKS Byram, Harold M.. Guidance in Agriculturgl Education. Dan- ville, Illinois: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., 1959. Roe, Anne. The Psycholo of Occu ations. New York: John . Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1955. Super, Donald E., and Overstreet, Phoebe L. The Vocational Maturit of Ninth Grade B0 3. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1960. Wert, James E., Neidt, Charles 0., and Ahmann, J. Stanley. Statistical Methods in Educational and Ps cholovical Researéh. _New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 54. United States Congress. Public Laws of the United States of America Passed by the Sixt -Fourt on ress l . Vol. ZYIIX, Part 1. Washington: vernment Printing Office, 1917. BULLETINS American Vocational Association. Summaries of Studies in Agricultural Education. Bulletin No. 185, Supple- ment No. . Danvi e, Illinois: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., 1943. Ahalt, Arthur M., and Murray, Ray A. How Youn Farmers Be- come Established. Agricultural Experiment Station Miscellaneous Pfiblication No. 271. College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland, 1956. Brake, J. R., McKee, D. E., and Bonnen, J. T. The Ages and Future Plans of Michi an Farmers As Related to A ri- cultural Adjustment. Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 43, No. East nsing, Michigan: Michigan State Agri- igégural Experiment Station, Michigan State University, -168- -169- Youmans, Grant E. The Educational Attainment and Future Plans of KentucE Rural Youth. Bulletln No. 554. Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky Agricultural Experi- ment Station, Kentucky State College, 1959. U. S. Office of Education. Summaries of Studies in A ricul- tural Education. Supplement No. 2, Vocational vis on etin No. 237, Agricultural Series No. 57. washington: Government Printing Office, 1948. . Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education. Supplement No. lC, Vocatlonal Dlvlsion Balletin No. 265, Agricultural Series No. 69. washington: Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1957. . Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education. ‘ Supplement No. ll, Vocatlonal Divislon Bulletin No. 272, Agricultural Series No. 71. Washington: Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1958. . Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education. Supplement No. 1?, Vocational Division Balletin No. 275, Agricultural Series No. 72. Washington: Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1959. . Summaries of Studies in A icultural Education. Supplement No. 13, Vocational Division Balletin No. 282, Agricultural Series No. 75. washington: Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1960. . Summaries of Studies in A ricultural Education. Su p ement No. 4, Vocations v sion u at n o. 29 , Agricultural Series No. 77. washington: Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1961. \ PERIODICALS Burchinal, Lee G. "Who's Going to Farm?” The Iowa Farm Science, Vol. 14, No. 10, April, 1965, pp. l3-l5.. . "What's Your Son Going to Do?" The Iowa Farm Science, Vol. 14, No. 9,.March, 1965, pp. l5-l8. ’Haller, Archie 0. "Planning to Farm: a Social Psychological Interpretation," Social Forces, Vol. 37, No. 3, March, 1959, pp. 263-268. -170- Haller, Archie 0., and Sewell, W. H. "Farm Residence and Levels of Educational and Occupational Aspiration," American Journal of Sociolo , Vol. 62, No. 4, Janu- ary, 1957. pp- 457-411- Salmela, Melvin R. "Relation Between Home Characteristics of Farm-Reared Senior Boys and Their Occupational Choices," A ricultural Education Ma azine, Vol. 31, 'No. 10, April, l959, pp. 233-235. Strauss, Murray A. "Personal Characteristics and Functional Needs in the Choice of Farming as an Occupation," Rural Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 4, 1956, pp. 157-186. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS Alexander, Ralph. "Employment Status of Former Students in Vocational Agriculture Who Have Graduated From the Sturgis High School." Unpublished special problem, Department of Agricultural Education, The University of Kentucky, Lexington, 1955. Allison, Howard D. "Relationship Between Occupational Status and Certain Environmental Factors Revealed by a Study of Former Vocational Agriculture Students in Illi- nois." Unpublished Master's thesis, Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Fort Col- lins, 19380 Bachman, Vernon W. "Factors Influencing Occupational Choice of Vocational Agriculture Graduates of Holdrege High School." Unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1957. Ball, Wilbur P. "Student Dr0p-0uts in the High School Voca- tional Agriculture Program." Unpublished Master's report, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College, Fort Collins, 1952. Bartley, Hugh J. "A Follow-Up Study of Pupils Enrolled in Vocational Agriculture in High School at Mason, 4 Michigan." Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State College, East Lansing, 1942. Bjoraker, walter T. "A Study of Upper Classmen in Vocational Agriculture to Identify Certain Factors With Levels of Desire to Remain on the Farm." Unpublished Doctor's nésgertation, The University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 5 . -l7l- Bluemke, Arnold A. "A Study of High School Guidance Activi— ties Influencing Vocational Agriculture Students." Unpublished seminar report, Department of Agricul- tural and Extension Education, The University of Wflsconsin, Madison, 1960. Cantrell, Ronald E. "A Survey of the Guidance Practices of Vocational Agriculture Teachers in Alabama." Un- published Master's thesis, The Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, 1959. “a! 1 )1 _“C‘ nu s. Cardozier, V. R. "Reading Ability of High School Students of Vocational Agriculture." Unpublished staff study, Department of Agricultural Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1958. ~41:- T‘ “ Christensen, Virgil E. "A Study to Determine How Male Stu- dents Selecting Vocational Agriculture Compare in 3 Scholastic Aptitude and High School Rank With Their L" Male Classmates." Unpublished Master's problem, The University of’Minnesota, St. Paul, 1959. Clear, Charles E. "A Study of the Guidance Needs of Vocational Agriculture Students in Southwest Virginia." Unpub- lished Master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, 1951. - ' Couch, Kenneth O. "A Study of the Effect of Home and Farm Conditions Upon the Supervised Farming Programs of Third Year Vocational Agriculture Students in Spartan- burg County, S. C., July 1, 1955 - June 30, 1956.” Unpublished.Master's thesis, Clemson College, Clemson, South Carolina, 1956. Cullen, Michael T. "A Follow-Up Study of Vocational Agri- - culture Graduates of Willmar High School for Period 1943-54." Unpublished.Master's thesis, The Univer- sity oaninnesota, St. Paul, 1955. Eldridge, Eber, "Relation of Occupational Plans of Iowa Farm Boys to Agricultural Adjustment." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, 1960. Erickson, Don. "Factors Affecting Establishment in Farming of Fbrmer High School Graduates." Unpublished Master's report, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College, Fort Collins, 1955.. -172- Erickson, Don. "Factors Affecting Establishment in Farming of Former High School Graduates." Unpublished .Master's report, Colorado Agricultural and.Mechanica1 College, Fort Collins, 1955. Hinton, Bruce M5 "Significant Factors Influencing the Quality and Success of Supervised Farming Programs of Voca- tional Agriculture in Seven Schools of East Tennessee." Unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Ten- nessee, Knoxville, 1958. Hoopes, Lindley B. "Factors Affecting the Establishment in Farming of Former Students of Vocational Agriculture at Muscatine, Iowa." Unpublished Master's thesis, Iowa State College, Ames, 1937. Kiser, Owen E. "Holding Power of Vocational Agriculture." Unpublished non-thesis study Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1955. Kitts, Harry W. "A Resume of Studies on Occupational Status ' of Former Students of Vocational Agriculture." Un— published non-thesis study, The University oaninne— sota, St. Paul, 1957. Knight, William H. "Factors Associated With the Vocational ' Choices of High School Students of Vocational Agri- culture." Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Michi- gan State University, East Lansing, 1958. Lindenmuth ward A. "The Occupational Patterns and Plans of 160 Former Students of Vocational Agriculture." Un- published Master's thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 1956. McCormick, Floyd G. "Status of Former Vocational Agriculture Graduates." Unpublished Master's report, The Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 1959. Patterson, George M. "An Occupational Study of Certain Former Vocational Agriculture Students Who Attended the Bank County High School, Homer, Georgia During the Years 1947-53." Unpublished Master's problem, The University of Georgia, Athens, 1955. Sledge, George W. "Vocational and Educational Plans of High School Graduates of 1957 in Five Wisconsin Counties With Special Reference to Higher Education." Unpub- lished non-thesis.study, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1957 o -173- Stephens, Tommie N. "Factors Associated with the Choice of Wilson, Occupations of Former Students of Vocational Agri- culture." Unpublished Master's problem, Carolina State College, Raleigh, 1957. Eddie K. "Student Selection for Classes of Vocational Agriculture in North Carolina." Unpublished problem option, North Carolina State College, Raleigh, 1957. APPENDICES -l74- -._.,‘-.-_i._ -..-.. _. . .1", -175- APTTEUIEK A UESTIONNAIRE Name 2. High school Your age 4. Year in school If you have brothers or sisters, indicate the number of each in the blanks below. Do not include yourself. Cl 'f' t' Number of Number of 3551 10a ion Brothers Sisters Older than you are Younger than you are Is your father or guardian living? Yes No If ygg, answer the following: a. What is his approximate age? years b. Read all of the following statements and then check the gag which best describes your father's employment. He is a full-time farmer and has no other job. He farms and works less than 5 months off the home farm. He farms and works more than 5 months off the home farm. He is not a farmer but is a farm manager. He is a farm employee working for wages. He is retired. He is not a farmer. His occupation is . Do you live on a farm? Yes No If ygg, answer the following: a. What is the size of your parents‘ farm? _____acres b. How many of +hese acres do your parents own? _____acres c. How many of these acres do your parents rent? _____acres d. How many of these acres are tillable? _____acres Circle every year in which you enrolled in vocational agriculture. Include this year. Freshman Sephomore Junior Indicate in the table below whether you plan to take vocational agriculture £32m Egg gn by checking either lgg or Ne, or N9§_§u§§. If you check N9 or Not Sure, write in the name of the course you may take in place of vocational agriculture. If you do not know this, check the Don't Know column. Not Course to be Taken T Do you plan to enrol] 1322 L0 Sure Name Don't Know In grade 10 V0. Agr.? In grade 11 V0. Agr.? In grade 12 V0. Agr.? . _ * -176- 10. Do you plan to finish four years of high school? Yes No 11. Have you obtained information or advice about courses? Yes No If ygg, check column 1 if you asked or looked column 2 if you were given help or advice you Check only those sources of help Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vocational Agriculture Instructor . . . . . . Other teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Principal or Superintendent . . . . . . . . Counselor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fellow students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Occupational books or pamphlets . . . . . . . College or other school you may attend . . . Other (Specify) choosing your high school for help on your own. Check did not ask or look for. you have used. (1) (2) I asked or Help was looked for given me help. without asking. Other (Specify) Note: If you are planning to enroll in vocational agriculture next year, answer question 12. If you are not planning to do this, go on to question 13. If you are not sure, answer both questions 12 and 13. 12. Check the reasons you have for planning to re-enroll in vocational agriculture. I'm interested in agriculture. I like farm shop work. My friends are taking agriculture. Need knowledge of farming in my future job. . I like the agriculture instructor better than other teachers. There are good jobs for peOple trained in agriculture. Agriculture meets requirements for getting into college. I've been advised to take agriculture. It’s easy to get good grades in agriculture. I want to make the most out of my farm background for getting a job. I like practical subjects. Activities like field trips are lots of Other (Specify) fun. Other (Specify) 13. 14. -177- Check the reasons you have for planning to transfer from vocational agriculture to another course. Don't need knowledge of farming in my future job. I'm not interested in agriculture. I like other teachers better than the agriculture instructor. Continuing in agriculture would limit my choice of future jobs. I don't like farm shOp work. My friends are transferring to other courses, Need other courses to get into college. I've been advised to take other subjects. It's hard to get good grades in agriculture. Want to explore other subjects to help me choose an occupation. Can't schedule agriculture with other courses I want. I like subjects more academic than agriculture. Activities like field trips are a waste of school time. Other (Specify) Other (Specify) Have you obtained information or advice about what you should do after you leave high school? Yes No If 125, check column 1 if you asked or looked for help on your own. Check column 2 if you were given help or advice you did not ask or look for. Check only those sources of help you have used. (1)’ - (2) I asked or Help wag Source of Help looked for given me help. without asking. Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vocational Agriculture Instructor . . . . . . Other teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Principal or Superintendent . . . . . . . . . . Counselor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fellow students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Occupational books or pamphlets . . . . . . College or other school you may attend . . . . Friend working in a job . . . . . . . . . Other (Specify) Other (Specify) 15. 16. -178- Do you have any plans for what you might do after leaving high school? Yes No If ypg, answer the following: a. After leaving high school, what do you plan to do? (Circle one) Start working Attend college or another school Enter Armed Forces %§ attending college pp another school, how long will you stay in school? Circle) Less than 1 year 1 - 2 years 3 - 4 years More than 4 years If entering the Armed Forces, answer the following: 1. How long do you plan to stay in the Armed Forces? Specify whether your answer is in months or years. 2. Do you know what you will do after discharge? Yes No If pp, what will you do? (Specify) ' b. As of now, how certain are your plans for what you will do after leaving high school? (Circle) Very certain Fairly certain Somewhat uncertain Very uncertain Have you obtained information or advice concerning the choice of an occupation? Yes No If ypp, check column 1 if you asked or looked for help on your own. Check column 2 if you were given help or advice you did not ask or look for. Check only those sources of help_you have used. (1) (2) I asked or Help was Source of Help looked for given me help. without asking. Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vocational Agriculture Instructor . . . . . . . Other teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Principal or Superintendent . . . . . . . . . . Counselor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fellow students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cecupational books or pamphlets , , , . , . . . College or other school you may attend . . . . Friend working in a job . . . . . . . . . . . Other (Specify) Other (Specify) - n . . . . . e . ~179- 17. Have you made any occupational choices? Yes No If_ypp, answer the following: a. What are the names of these occupations? First choice: Second choice: Thrid choice: b. Will some knowledge of agriculture or of farming be helpful or necessary Second choice: Third choice: in any of these occupations? First choice: Yes No L Second choice: Yes No ? hird choice: Yes No How certain are you that you will enter one of these occupations? Check one answer for each occupation. ~.u l-.-m...«-.[,.-._fl_.,4 _,._ _ AV Vepy Fairly Somewhat Veg! i_ Certain Certain Uncertain Uncertain First choice: -180- APPENDIX B School Re t of i h Sc 1 S dent Grades (From beginning of grade 9 to end of 1960-61 school year) (Please fill in either I or II below.) I II Name of Student Grade Point or No. of Semester Grades Earned Average A B C D F 1 1 llllllllllll'lllllllllllll llllllllllllllllIllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllIlllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllll Note: This information will be held confidential and used for research only. Grade point averages should be computed on the basis of A = 1+, B ='- 3. C=2,D=1,andF=-'-O. . APPENDIX C ~181- 116 Kensington Road East Lansing, Michigan (First letter sent to participating ‘ April 2, 1961 superintendents of schools) Mr. John Frechette Superintendent of Schools Merrill, Michigan Dear Mr. Frechette: As part of my doctoral program at Michigan State University, I am conducting a study to determine if certain characteristics of vocational agriculture students are associated with their continued enrollment in the vocational agriculture program. I how that this stumr, which is under the direction of Dr. H. P. Sweany of the College of Education will provide information that will characterize those students who remain in the program for four years and those who transfer to other courses. Your school, along with 39 others, has been selected to participate in this project and I sincerely hope that your school will be able to do 80. From each of the participating schools the following information will be needed: 1. Responses from a questionnaire and an attitude toward fanning scale by freshman, sephomore, and Junior students of vocational agriculture. It requires about 30 minutes to complete both forms. 2. Names of students who transfer out of the vocational agriculture program at the end of this school year. 3. Grades of students who transfer from and an equal number who re-enroll in vocational agriculture. 'The questionnaires. accompanied by an instruction sheet, will be mailed during the last week of April. They may be administered by either the vocational agriculture instructor or the school counselor. The names of the transfer students and the grades of both re-enrollees and transfer students will be requested next fall. After the data have been tabulated. the scores of your students on the farming attitude scale and a sumary of ' the stucw will be forwarded to you. Please indicate on the postcard enclosed whether your school will participate in the stucw and, if so. how many freshman. sephomore. and Junior vocational agriculture students you have enrolled. ' Thank you very much. ' Sincerely yours, Richard H. Bittner .APTHHIDIIII) -182- A Note to the Schools Participating in the Study I am very pleased that your school is both willing and able to participate in this study which, I hepe, will provide information that will enable us to improve our enrollment procedures, our guidance practices, and.our instruction in the vocational agriculture program. Although this study is not comprehensive enough to provide all the answers to the questions which we have about the student who enrolls continuously in the vocational agriculture program and the student who transfers to other firxi courses before graduation, the purpose of the study is to fill some of the gaps r in our knowledge concerning these two types of students. Specifically, the ’ study is designed to determine if outgoing transfer students from vocational agriculture differ from those who enroll continuously in the program with respect to the following characteristics: Attitude toward farming 3 Possession of characteristics similar to those of other boys f who have entered farming 1;— ASpirations to enter agricultural occupations Academic ability and extent of anticipated education after leaving high school Occupational skill and reaponsibility aSpiration levels of chosen occupations DiSplay of initiative, resourcefulness and maturity when formulating educational and occupational plans, Consistency of occupational aspirations within aspiration levels and within "fields of interest" Certainty of entering an occupation chosen by the student (I) \l O\ U! PU Nd I hepe that you will be anxious to receive the results of this study which will be based upon a survey of the students in 20 percent of the vocational agriculture departments in the state. A summary of the study and the scores of your students on the farming attitude scale will be sent to you when the work has been completed. I want to thank you for your participation. I realize that your parti- cipation involves the expenditure of both time and effort on your part, and for this, I am most grateful. A set of instructions is enclosed with the questionnaires for you to follow in obtaining the student reaponses and for returning the materials to me. Next fall, I will be contacting you again to obtain the names of the students who transfer to other courses, the grades of the transfer students, and the grades of a random sample of an equal number of students who re-enroll in the vocational agriculture program. Sincerely yours, Richard H. Bittner im._ 3. AIHHHIDIIIIB -183- I N S T R U C T I O N S Administering the Qpestionnaires The questionnaire and the attitude scale are to be completed by all vocational agriculture students except those classified as seniors by the school who will graduate this Spring. The questionnaire and the attitude scale may be administered to each class separately or to all students assembled together at one time. Before administering the questionnaire and the attitude scale, please read through the Supplementary Guide as you follow the questions on one of the questionnaires. The Guide has been written so that it may be read to your students. It is not suggested, however, that you read the entire Guide to them as this would involve using more time in explanation than is necessary, If, however, a question arises concerning any item on the questionnaire, the Guide should be consulted, and parts of it may be read to students if desired. To introduce the students to the task of filling out the questionnaire and reacting to the attitude scale, the "Introduction" printed in the Supple- mentary Guide for the questionnaire and for the attitude scale may be read or paraphrased in your own words. Do NOT discuss the Specific purposes of the study with the students as this may inhibit their reSponses. It is suggested that you hand out the questionnaire and the farming attitude scale at one time, discuss both briefly after giving your short introduction, instruct students to answer the questionnaire first, and then request that they react to the attitude scale. Before giving your students the go-ahead in answering the questionnaire, explain how'the following questions are to be answered: 6b, 8, 11, 1M, and 16. Refer to the Supplementary Guide for these instructions. Note that questions 11, 14, and 16 are to be answered in the same manner - each question merely deals with a different time of decision. Students who have already completed the questionnaire often have failed to answer questions 7d and 15b. Please ask students to answer all questions that apply to them.and to read the questionnaire carefully. If the questionnaire does not make provision for a student to make a proper response to a question, please instruct the student to write in a short answer. Please be sure that students put their names on the attitude scale answer sheets. Returning the Materials Sufficient postage has been included to return the materials by first class mail. Return ONLY the completed questionnaires and the farming attitude answer sheets. Retain or diSpose of the other materials as you wish. Please wrap up the original mailing carton securely with the paper provided. Attach postage, address label, and the first class postage sticker. Please return the materials as soon as it is convenient for you to do so. Thank m £21; ypur cOOperation! .APTTHIDIIII? -l8l+- ATTITUDE TOWARD FARMING Alonzo M. Myster-James E. Wert Instructions What are your Opinions of the following statements? YOur answer is correct if it expresses your true Opinion. This is not a test and you are not to be graded. DO NOT OMIT ANY ITEM. In each case encircle the letter or letters which represent your own ideas about each statement. SA-Strongly Agree; Aquree: UAUndecided; D-Disagree: SD-Strongly Disagree mVOERIPWN-é 45. Farming is a pleasant vocation. I can't say I'm wild about farming. E * Farm work is drudgery. ; I would enjoy working with plants and animals. A farmer has more worries than do persons engaged in most other occupations, “ As a life's work, farming would be terrible. ; Wbrk on the farm is really enjoyable. The disadvantages of farming outweigh its advantages. Farming requires less intelligence than most other occupations. The vocation of farming has its drawbacks, but I like it. Farming involves too many distasteful tasks. I have never wanted to be a farmer. Farming is fascinating work. Farming requires less education than most other vocations. I like farming well enough.to make it my life's work. Farming is a monotonous vocation. I have always wanted to be a farmer. Living on a farm is just too much hard work. The advantages of farming far outweigh the disadvantages. . Farming is uninteresting work. The average farmer enjoys farming more than I would. Everything considered, I could be happier farming than engaging in any other occupation. ' Farming tends to isolate a person from the rest of the world. Farming yields less satisfaction than most other occupations. The farm is the best place for young peeple. About all that can be said for farming is that it furnishes a means of existing. I could be satisfied to Spend my life on the farm. Social well-being is impossible Of attainment on the farm. Farming would give me a great deal of pleasure. I feel that I would be doing my children an injustice by living on a farm. I dislike the farm with its many inconveniences, Farming yields more satisfaction than most other vocations. Farming offers insufficient Opportunity for contacts with people. I feel that farm families as a whole are an interesting class of people. Farming has more social disadvantages than most other occupations. . Farming deadens a person's ambitions. I like farming as a way of life. On the average, the standard of living of farmers is below that of other persons in the United States. The farm is a wonderful place to live. Farming tends to reduce one's social standing. For me, life on a farm.would be extremely dull. The farmer enjoys many satisfactions which the average person never realizes. I think I would have less fun living on a farm than in town. ,Farming deprives one ’3 children of an adequate education. The independence of farm life appeals to me . -185- AIUHEHIIEXLtl ATTITUDE TOWARD FARMING ‘ . .Age Class (Circle one) I Answe;gSheet Name 3;. School U-Undecided; SA-Strongly'Agree: SA A U 'D SD 24, SA A U D SD 2. SA A U D SD 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD 3. SA A U D SD SA A U D SD 4. SA A U D SD SA A U D SD 5. SA A U D SD 6. (SA A U D an SA A U D1 SD SA A U D SD 7. SA A U D SD 31. SA A U D SD 8. SA A U. D SD 32. SA A U D SD 9. 10. 11. SA A UV D SD 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 140. SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. SA A U D SD SD SA A U D SD SA .A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD SA A U D SD A1. SA A U D SD 18. 19. 20. 21. SA A U D SD 42. SA A U D SD 43. SA A U D SD 4A. SA A U D SD SA A U D SA A U D SD SD SD SA A U D SD 45. SA A U D 22. 23. SA A U D SD -186- AITTNIDIIZII suppxmmmmr GUIIE :09. its. QUESTIONNAIRE AND ATTITUIE SCALE The Questionnaire Introduction Our school has been requested to supply some information which is needed for a study of the future plans of vocational agriculture students. To supply this information, we have been asked to fill out a short questionnaire which 5 requests some information about your high school program.and about what your 9 plans may be after you leave high school. There is also a farming attitude _ scale which consists of 45 Short statements about farming, and we have been asked 5 if we would indicate on an answer sheet how strongly we agree or disagree with A *3. each of these statements. The questionnaire and the attitude scale are not tests and you are not to be graded in any manner, .All of your answers will be correct if the questions are answered truthfully as they apply to you. The anaswers you provide on the questionnaire and the attitude scale will be combined with those of 1500 other agricultural students in order to Obtain information that will enable your teachers and counselors to be better able to help you with your school problems and the problem of knowing what to do after leaving high school. The questionnaire does not ask for any personal information which is not already known by many Of your friends. However, the information must be written. down so it can be combined with the information provided by other students. Let’s discuss the questionnaire and the attitude scale briefly, and then you may . answer them. INSTRUCTOR NOTE: A. Hand out the questionnaire, the farming attitude scale, and the answer Sheets to the farming attitude scale. B. Use the following explanations when discussing the questions. Discussion of Questions Question 1 Print your first and last names. Question 2 Print the name of your high school. _ Question 3 Indicate your age on your last birthday. Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 6a Question 6b -137- 2 Indicate whether you are a high school freshman, sephomore, or junior. Indicate the number Of brothers and sisters you have. 'Write in the number Of brothers and sisters you have who are Older than you are, and the number of brothers and sisters you have who are younger than you are. Do not include yourself. If you have brothers or sisters the same age as you are, consider that they are younger than you are. {we Indicate whether your father or guardian is living by checking Isaor m. The word "guardian" means the person who is considered your male parent. . If your father or guardian is not living, go on to question 7. But, if your father or guardian is living, answer questions 6a and 6b. Give your father's or guardian's approximate age. Estimate if ~~“ necessary. Read all of the statements and check the one which best describes your father's or guardian’s employment. The statement "He is a full-time farmer and has no other job." means that your father or guardian spends all of his time farming.. The statement "He farms and works less than 5 months Off the home farm." means that your father or guardian is a part-time farmer who will work less than 5 months Off the home farm.this year. The statement "He farms and works more than 5 months off the home farm." means that your father or guardian is a part-time farmer who will work more than 5 months Off the home farm this year. The statement "He is not a farmer but is a farmmanager.n should be checked if your father or guardian manages the Operation of a farm or farms for others and is paid a wage or salary for this service. If he is a caretaker or hired as a laborer, he is not a manager. The statement "He is a farm employee working for wages." means that he is a farm.worker who is working for wages on a farm Operated by another farmer. The statement "He is retired." means that your father or guardian is no longer engaged in any occupation and is not looking for work. The last statement "He is not a farmer." means that your father or guardian does not farm for himself and does not fit into any of the other occupational categories. If your father or guardian is usually employed Off the home farm, but is temporarily out of work, check the statement which describes his usual employment status. Question 7 Question 7a Question 7b Question 7c Question 7d Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 -188- 3 Indicate whether you live on a farm by checking kg or £19. Check Ng,eventhough you may be living on a farm if your parents are not farming. If you check 1gp, finish answering question 7, If not, go on to question 8. Indicate the Size Of your parents' farm.in acres. Indicate the number of acres your parents own, if any. Indicate the number of acres your parents rent from others or farm on shares, if any. Indicate the number of acres on your parents' farm that could be put into cultivated creps this Spring. Circle every year in which you enrolled in vocational agriculture. Include this year. (Note: Students whould only circle those years of vocational agriculture they have completed.or are now completing. A regularly classified junior enrolled in sophomore agriculture Should pep circle "Junior". Likewise, a regularly classified sophomore enrolled in freshman agriculture should.ppp circle "Sephomore". When classes are combined, students Should circle the year of vocational agriculture in which they are enrolled.) Indicate in the table whether you plan to take vocational agriculture from now on by checking either ng,or Np, or Npp,Sure. If you check 'Ng or Np; Sure, write in the name of the course you may take in place of vocational agriculture. If you do not know this, check the Don't Know column. If you are in grade 9, answer for grades 10, 11, and 12. If you are in grade 10, answer for grades 11 and 12. If you are in grade 11, answer for grade 12. Indicate by checking 1gp or 32, whether you plan to finish 4 years of high school. Indicate by checking 199 or N2 whether you have Obtained.or have been given any information or advice about choosing your high school courses. If you check Egg, finish answering question 11, If not, read the note printed on the questionnaire between questions 11 and 12. If you have been given any information or advice about choosing high school courses eventhough you may not have followed the advice or used the information received, read through the sources Of help printed in question 11. If you went to any Of these sources of help on your own free will and locked or asked for help, put a check in the first column after each source of help you consulted. If you were given help from any of the sources listed that you did . not Specifically ask or look for, place a check in the second.column. Check only those sources of help, however, that you have contacted of those which have contacted.you. Note: Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 QueStion 15a -189- 4> If you received.information or advice from.a source not listed, write in the name of this source. and check either column 1 or 2 as previously instructed. If you are planning to enroll in vocational agriculture next year. answer question 12. If you are not planning to enroll in vocational agriculture next year, answer question 13. If you are not sure what you will do next year, answer both questions 12 and 13. Check the reasons you have for planning to enroll in vocational agriculture next year. Do not check reasons just because they are printed on the questionnaire and ”sound good". If you have reasons 5“” not listed, write them in. g Check the reasons you have for not planning to enroll in vocational agriculture next year. Do not check reasons just because they are printed on the questionnaire and "sound good". If you have reasons not listed, write them in.. Indicate by checking Xg§_er Np,whether you have obtained or have been given information or advice about what you should do after you leave high school. If you check Egg, finish answering question 14, If not, go on to question 15. If you have been given information or advice about what you should do after you leave high school, read through the sources of help printed in question 14.‘ If you went to any of these sources of help on your own free will and locked or asked for help, put a check in the first column after each source Of help you consulted. If you were given help from.any of the sources listed that you did not Specifically ask or look for, place a check in the second column Opposite the sources of help that gave you information or advice. Check only those sources of help, however, that you have contacted or those which have contacted.you. If you received.information or advice from.a source not listed in question 14, write in the name Of this source, and check either column 1 or 2 as previously instructed. Indicate by checkinnggg or Np whether you have made any plans about what you may be doing after you leave high school. In order to check :Ygg, you don't have to be very certain about these plans. However,~ if you have no idea whether you will start working, go on to another school, or enter the Armed Forces, check Np, If you check Ypp, finish answering question 15. Circle the words in question 15a which describe what your plans are. Circlegply‘ppg plan, the one you are most certain of. If you are planning to attend.college or another school, circle the length of time you plan to Spend in school. If you are planning to enter the Armed.Forces, write in the length of time you plan to stay in the Armed Forces. ,Also, indicate by checking 1gp or Np whether you know what you will do after discharge. If you know this, write this in on the questionnaire.. Question 15b Question 16 Question 17 Question 17a Question 17b Question 17c -190... 5 Indicate how certain your plans are for what you will be doing after you leave high school. Circle either "Very Certain", "Fairly Certain", "Somewhat Uncertain". or "Very Uncertain". . Indicate by checking Igg or Np_whether you have obtained any'help‘ or have been given any information or advice about choosing an occupation. If you check Ypp, finish answering question 16.‘ If not, go on to question 17. If you have been given information or advice about choosing an occupation, read through the sources of help printed in question 16. If you went to any of these sources of help on your own free will and locked or asked for help, put a check in the first column after each source of help you consulted. If you were given help you did not Specifically ask or look for, place a check in the second column Opposite the sources of help that gave you information or advice. Check only those sources of information or advice, however, that you have contacted.or those which have contacted you. If you received information or advice from.a source not listed. write in the name Of this source, and check either column 1 or 2 as previously instructed. Indicate by checking Ygg or Np,whether you have made any occupational choices. An occupational choice is an occupation you would like to enter and feel that you may do so. If you check :35, finish answering question 17. If not. you have finished answering the questionnaire. ‘Write in the names Of the occupations you would like to enter if you feel that there is a possibility that you might do so. Indicate by checking 3g; or Ng_whether you believe that a knowledge of farming would be helpful to you in each of these occupations. Indicate how certain you are that you will enter each occupation you have chosen by checking after each choice either "Very Certain". "Fairly Certain", "Somewhat Uncertain". or "Very Uncertain". . The Farming Attitude Scale Introggction and Instructions The second questionnaire we have been asked to fill out is a scale which measures a person’s attitude toward the occupation of farming. It is not a test and.you are not to be graded. YOur answers are correct if they express your true Opinion. It is very important you do not skip any of the items. The scale consists of 45 short statements and you are to decide whether you strongly agree, agree, are undecided, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement. . I . i. e. e ..~v. «4.. -l9l- 6 After you have decided how you feel about each statement, signify your feeling on the answer sheet m SEE-25 g; .12 through the letters I'SA" if you strongly agree, through the letter ”A" if you agree, through the letter "U” if you are undecided, through the letter ”D" if you disagree, and through the letters "SD“ if you strongly disagree. Please draw an "I" through each Of your answers rather than placing circles around them as instructed on the farming attitude scale. Do not forget to print your name, school and age on the farming attitude answer sheet. You may now begin to answer the questionnaire. When this is completed, print your name, school and age on the attitude scale answer sheet and put dom your reopenses to each of the statements on the farming attitude scale. If you have any questions as you go along, please ask them. Student -192- IUHEENIHDK I School Repprt of Farming Attitude Scores < O O Raw'Scores E3 *9 0 d- E. llllllIlllllllllllllllllllllll IlllllHllllllllllllllllllllll Subject Taken This Semester Please Specify Check if or Substitution Vb. Agr. ' for V0. Agr, -l93 '- APPENDIX'J. W 01“ V00 AG CUL 5 Report to. Participating Schools This report summarizes briefly the results obtained by administering the Wort-meter Attitude Toward Farming Scales to 1370 students enrolled in grades nine, ten, and eleven in 39 vocational agriculture departments located within two types of farming areas in Michigan: (1) the dairy and cash crOp farming area: and, (2) the general and dairy farming area. A total of 1398 students participated in the project. However, 28 answer _ . 5.. sheets were discarded as incomplete or incorrectly filled out. The Farming Attitude Scales were administered during the April and if early May of 1961 by personnel in each of the participating schools. Classification of participating students by grade levels is shown in Table 1. ' A -W . Table 1. Classification of Students by Grade Levels _ Grade Level M: 91 Students Grade 9 516 Grade 10 431 Grade 11 423 Total ' 1370 Descmtion of the {Mg Attitude Scales The Farming Attitude Scales were constructed and validated by Water and Wort in 1943 at Iowa State University. The scales measure two aSpects of farming: (1) attitude toward farming fig 3 vocation: and, (2) attitude toward farming pg 2 m 2; £2. The scores for these two types of attitudes are listed on the report sheet of your students' scores under the heading "Vac.” and “Life. " ‘ The validity of the instrument was detemined by Myster and Wart by demonstrating its ability to differentiate between six groups consisting of 2970 persons with known different attitudes. Reliability A coefficients Obtained by utilizing the Split-half method using these six groups ranged from .833 to .942. . The attitude scales consist of 45 statements which represent attitudes both favorable and unfavorable toward farming. Twenty-two statements refer to farming as an occupation and comprise the Vocational Scale , and the remaining -l9l+- 23 statements refer to farming as an occupation and.oomprise the Way of Life Scale. .After students read each of these statements. they are asked.to in-, dicate whether they strongly agree. agree. are undecided. disagree. or strongly disagree with each one. Each student response is evaluated by scoring it as highly favorable. favorable, neutral. unfavorable, or highly unfavorable to farming by assigning numerical values of 5. h. 3, 2. and t respectively; Scores for the Vocational Scale and the Way of Life Scale are obtained by adding together the values assigned to each of the statements within each scale. The total score consists of the Vbcational score plus the way of Life score. . ' ' tat S 3 To interpret student scores utilize Table 2. This table lists five classifications of farming attitude and gives the range of scores falling‘ within each classification. To interpret a student's score. locate in which part of the appropriate range of scores the student's score falls and read the farming attitude classification assigned to that score in the leftghand column of the table. For example. Richard.Sadler has a Vocational score of 75. This places him within the neutral classification with respect to his attitude toward farming as a vocation. Richard's‘flay of Life score is 83. This indicates that he holds a favorable attitude toward farming as a way of life. His total score. 158. places him.at the bottom of the favorable group when both of his scores are combined. Table 2. Farming Attitude Classifications Based Upon Raw Scores Range of Scores FarmingtAttitude C as c t n Vogatigggl Why of Life Jgfiaghfigggg Highly Favorable lOO - 110 10k - 115 203 - 225 Favorable 78 - 99 81 - 103 158 - 202 Neutral 55 - 77 ' 58 - 80 113 . 157 Unfavorable 33 - 54 35 - 57 68 - 112 Highly Unfavorable 22 - 32 23 - 3# #5 - 67 Several precautions should be observed when interpreting student scores. They are as follows: _ 1. Units of measurement are not equal throughout the range of scores. A student with a score of #0 does not fall necessarily halfway between -l95- scores of 60 and 20. Neither does a score of 1:0 represent twice as strong an attitude as a score of 20. What can be inferred is that the score of 140 is 20 units of measurement above the score of 20 and represents a more favorable attitude by 20 units of measurement. 2. Students who sag in the ngtrg rage are gale 2 am easily in either direction. Do not attach too much significance to scores in the neutral range. 3. Because the number of statements which refer to farming as a vocation does not equal the number of statements which refer to farming as a way of life. Vocational scores and Way of Life scores should 99.10. be compared directly with each other. Mamie 2f Scores From the analysis that has been completed. it appears that there are no significant differences in attitudes toward farming between successive grade levels. The largest differences that do occur are between grade nine and ten. Apparently, attitudes may change slightly early during grade 10 and then remain fairly stable throughout the remainder of grade ten and grade eleven. A five-way classification of students according to favorableness of attitude is shown in Table 3. Referring to total scores. the Wert-JUster Table 3. Percentage Distribution of 1370 Vocational Agriculture Students in Grades Nine. Ten. and Eleven according to Farming Attitude Class- ification; May. 1961 Percentage Districmion Pauling Attitude W92 W W of 9' ‘ T0 6 1‘0 Highly Favorable u.3 10.1 5.8 Favorable 54.2 6+.0 '62.3 Neutral 38.0 2M2 30.0 Unfavorable 3.3 1.11» 1.8 Highly Unfavorable . 2 . 3 . l Scales place less than two per cent of the students below the neutral range. a few less than a third in the neutral range . and approximately two-thirds above the neutral range. Obviously, most vocational agriculture stndents are favor- ably impressed with farming as a vocation and as a way of life. It can be seen. however. that attitudes are more favorable concerning farming as a way of life than they are with farming as a vocation. -l96- APPENDIX K 1 (Sample Letter) 1113 Remaington Road East Lansing. Michigan March 26. 1962 Mr. 'Searl Briggs. Superintendent Dansville Agricultural School Dansville. Michigan Dear Mr. Briggs: The stuw in which you are participating dealing with student drap-out from vocational agriculture is still underway and final analyses are to be made soon. I hope that the report sent to you last fall reporting the farming attitude scores of your students was helpful to you. Early this sumner. your school will receive a summary of the entire stuw. There is one more item of information that I need from a selected number of your present and former Vo. Ag. students. I need to have the grade point averages for these students as of the end of the June. 1961 school year. ~ A form is enclosed which lists the names of these stu- dents. On this form. there is a column for the listing of grade point averages if you have these already computed on the basis of A=I+,B=3. c=2. D=l. andF=0. Ifyoudonothavethese computed. would you please determine the number of A's. B's. C's, D's, and F's each student has earned in high school until J une. 1961 and enter these figures in the appropriate columns. With this information. I can compute the grade averages. Most likely. your school secretary can obtain this infor- mation for you from student records. Thanks again for your coOperation in supplying informa- tion. It is truly appreciated for I know that you are extremely busy. Sincerely yours. /s/ Richard Bittner Richard H. Bittner -197- APPENDIX L IMATURITY RATINGS ASSIGNED’TO REASONS EXPRESSEDiflf STUDENTS FDR.RE-ENROLLING Maturity Scogg 2.00 .3“ 1.3“ 1.67 .00 .83 1.08 .08 1.91 1.08 .16 1.00 1.83 .34 1.83 1.58 1.67 .17 .02 1.67 1.00 1.91 1.17 .17 IN OR TRANSFERRING FROM VOCATIONAL.AGRICULTURE Re s res d -enro Voca nal A cul e Need.knowledge of farming in my future job. I like the agriculture instructor better than other teachers. I'm interested in agriculture. There are good jobs for people trained in agriculture. JMy friends are taking vocational agriculture. I've been advised.to take agriculture. ' Agriculture meets requirements for getting into college. It's easy to get good grades in agriculture. I want to make the most out of my farm.background.for getting a job. I like practical subjects. Activities like field trips are lots of fun. I like farm shop work. 8 E seed or s e Voc o A c ure I don't need knowledge of farming in my'future job. I like other teachers better than the agriculture instructor. Continuing in agriculture would limit my choice of future jobs. I don't like farm.sh0p work. ‘ I'm.not interested in agriculture. My friends are transferring to other courses. It's hard to get good grades in agriculture. Need other courses for college entrance. I've been advised.to take other courses. 'Want to eXplore other subjects to help me choose an occupation. I like subjects more academic than agriculture. ‘ Activities like field trips are a waste of school time. ~198- APPENDIX M Following is a list of the 39 Vocational Agriculture De- partments which participated in the study. Alma Ashley Bath Belding Bellevue Breckenridge Cement City Chelsea Chesaning Concord Coronna Dansville Dexter Durand Eaton Rapids Elsie Fowlerville Fulton Grand Ledge Hartland Hemlock Lake Odessa Leslie Lowell Manchester MorriCe New LathrOp Jackson (Northeast) Okemos Owosso r“? Perry Saline, Saranac Springport Stockbridge St. JohnS' Sunfield Vermontville Webberville . ~199- ' APPENDIX N v 1143 Kensington Road East Lansing. Michigan September 25, 1961 Mr. Honderboy Bailey Vocational Agriculture Instructor East Overshoe. Michigan Dear Mr. Bailey: First of all. I want to'thank you very much for taking the time and effort to have your vocational agriculture students fill out the materials . r“ I sent last spring. And. thanks very much for getting everything back to 2 me in good shun. As promised. I am sending you the Farming Attitude Scores of your students. The white cepy is yours to keep. The yellow cepy I would like to have returned. A ditto is enclosed which describes how to interpret the scores. . To gather enough data for the stuck of students who transfer from the re-enroll in vocational agriculture. I now need to know which students re-enrolled in vocational agriculture this fall. I would appreciate it very much if you would do the following on the yellow cepy: 1. Correct the spelling of student names. (Some of them were very difficult to decipher.) 2. Check in the first column each student who has re-enrolled in vocational agriculture this fall. 3. Write in the second column the name of the course which may be regarded as that subject taken in place of voca- tional agriculture by each student who has transferred out of vocational agriculture. If a student left school. please indicate this. Could you return the yellow sheet this week? I would really appreciate it if you could. . Thank you very much. ‘ Sincerely yours.‘ /s/ Richard H. Bittner Richard H. Bittner F; P30“: Us.” 11041an STATE UNIV. LIBRQRIES {IVllWIIIWIIINI“WI“N"WWW"WI 31293105247351