‘V'V 7'va ‘vuv -__.-,..... W‘ ”~«.. ".—'—-~‘ "O...”‘ngv' v ....-.c-... n-’ 0...“.. . -..‘---9mo-_— m0- 9'... ‘N - A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A COOPERATIVE OFFICE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN THE WEST IRON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AN INDEPENDENT STUDY EDUCATION 883 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LA THOMAS W. KARIA 1969 . V01... a." f. OI 0;. ..o . . I p... l.- J.. . . .. I: .r'~ no. .0 . . I 5... _ .05. ....40. 'o\ .QOvUOO ...Lo¢... . ... ... ..o.044 .. . .. u. 1... . oi v. 113: a.o.o. . RIF-\‘t. . IDA. . I . . V c. . ..... .. .. ...r,o.. p... 034...... ..o’... . .F a./’_ .. of . I r. . . . .. . .;a... .o..-/.....vo c .;.._.. r....a r,.,‘c...... . 4.....VI . .......a.. .c....c.........;‘.;,...o._.... .. . . _.. . . p2 ~t-oaoEm mo Lopes: pcm megapom mhwmccoaumosa mo Lonssz >H manna .III'IIII I; III . A." Ilrvfl o - a __‘_~.._—.~ "m-‘WM l7 - Table V indicates the number of hours 25 seniors ' were employed by time of employment. Of the 17 employed after school, 16 worked 20 hours or less. Of the 20 < ‘ students who worked weekends, all worked 20 hours or less. The totals in each time category show~only the' total number of seniors who were employed in that category; some students were employed in all three time categories. Number of Hours Twenty—five Seniors Were >\\ ‘ Employed by Time(s) of Employment ‘ Hours ,,_ , Time of Employment* /.~ per Week \ Employed . After Week During School Ends Summer 0 e S l 3 6 — 10 8 7 11 - 15 6 6 16 - 2O 1 A l ' 21 - 25 . 1 26 - up ' 13 Totals 17 2O 15 *Students may work at one, two, or all three categories of time of employment. m- m-#— V W wins-.m- “F. ~—-1—~—~.— - 18 ,Table VI shows the number of hours 23 Juniors«* were employed by time of employment. Of the 15 Juniors employed after school, 1U worked 20 hours or less. Nineteen students worked 20 hours or less during the weekends. Of the 23 employed, only nine worked during .‘ the summer. As stated in Table V the time of employ- ment categories reflect more than the total number of‘\ Juniors as some funiors worked in more than one time category. . . \>\\ .. Table VI Number of Hours Twenty-three Juniors Were /\ Employed by Time(s) of Employment 0—— Hours ' Time of Employment* per Week . ‘ Employed After Week During '. School Ends Summer 0 -1 5 2 l 6 - lO 3 ll 11 - 15 6 3 l6 — 20 3 H l 21 ~ 25 2 26 — up 1 . 6 Totals ’ - ' 15 19 9 *Students may work at one, two, or all three categories of time of employment. I -‘_"‘.‘~ r‘ -m ‘ " -~—‘v-._‘_—~" A >— " V“. m-- w""‘~—w M-hwvm m.‘ _1,i ‘ "f f‘ 19 Table VII shows the number of hours seven sopho- mores were employed by time of employment. Of the three SOphomores employed after school, two worked 20 hours or less, and of the six who were employed weekends, ' all worked 20 hours or less. Only three sophomores who returned the questionnaire were employed during the summer. . , . . . \ Table VII - \ Number of Hours Seven Sophomores Were Employed by Time(s) of Employment —- v— v— Hours Time of Employment* per Week Employed After Week During 'School Ends Summer 0 — 5 1 2 6 - lO 2 l 11 — 15 1 l6 — 2O *., 1 1 21 - 25 - l 26 - up _ v 2 Totals 3 6 3 *Students may work at one, two, or all three categories of time of employment. ' 4— m“ ”M'O’mn 20 Table VIII Indicates that 57 of the students.return- ing questionnaires were employed. The largest number, 15, were employed by restaurants. Filling stations ‘ and grocery stores were the next largest employers of students with eimht each. The rest of the employers listed in the table employed from one to four students each. Table VIII _ N x . Types of Businesses and Number of Students >\\, Currently EmplOyed ' w ~v Types of Number of Students Businesses Employed [-4 Oi—‘I—J mww DCJCDU'I Restaurants Filling stations Grocery stores Automotive Department‘stores Resorts and recreation Theater Lumber companies Radio station Other H U1 ‘1 Total —~ “UV-.- fim—o‘w_ “I- 21 Table IX shows the time of student employment and the average number of hours worked weekly. Of the students who returned the questionnaire, more were employed during the summer than any other time. SiXteen were employed after school, averaging“six hours per week, and 15 were employed weekends, Only\ averaging eight and one-half hours per week. nine were employed during all three listed times. .. . \ 1 .§\\ \\ Table IX Student Employment by Time and Average Numberw of Hours Worked Weekly ' Number of Students. Average Number of Time of Student Employment Employed Hours Worked Weekly Summer 18 ' 33 After school 16 ' 6. Weekends 15 8 1/2 All three ' 9 * No response 3 - Total 61 *Uncomputable 22 Table X shows the number and type of Jobs held by students. Of the 57 students employed, 15 or 26.3 percent were employed in food service occupations. ‘ Eight or 1H percent of the students were employed by filling station operators, with sales clerk and stock boy combined employing ten or 17.6 percent of the students. The largest number of employed students, 22, or 38.5 percent, fall into the "other" category which ‘ . K A is comprised of miscellaneous Jobs. . }\\‘ Table X Number and Type of Jobs Held by Students Types of Number of Percent of Jobs - Students Students Food service 15 I 26.3 Filling stations 8 14.0 Sales clerk 5 8.8 Stock boy 5 8.8 Farm 3 1 1.8 Logging ‘ 1.8 Office 0 0.0, Other ' . _-' 22 38.5 Total 57 100.0 28 or 1“ percent. The remaining “2 or 20.6 percent of\‘ 23 Table XI indicates future plans of students after high school graduation. The greatest number of students who returned the questionnaire, 101 or 50 percent, plan to attend college. Thirty-one, or 15.h percent of the students plan to attend business college. Theenumber of students planning to look for an immediate Job was V the students planned tofattend a technical school, Join . i the military service, or had other or no plans. \ . \\\_ ' Table XI Future Plans of Students After High School Graduation Plans . ' Number of Percent of Total Students Response College 101 50.0 Business schools 31 15.0 Immediate Job 28 lu.0 Military 12 6.0. Technical school 10. 5.0 Other - 18 9.0 No plans 2 .6 202 100.0 Totals 2h Table XII shows the Jobs desired by students in the sophomore, Junior and senior classes who were not ' planning to continue their education after high school. The occupation, store clerk, showed the largest Job interest response with nine or 15.3 percent.~lThe typist category was next with eight or 13.6 percent, and secretary and bookkeeping followed with five, or 8.5 percent of the responses. The largest number of students, 22 or 37.3 percent did not indicate the Job they would \ \ like to obtain after high school graduation. _Table XII Jobs Desired by Students not Continuing- Their Education After High School ‘ Desired -" Number of Percent of Total' Jobs Students Responses ‘Store clerk 9 15.3 Typist 8 13.6 Bookkeeping 5 8.5. Secretary 5 8.5 Filling station 3 5.0 Welder 3 5.0 Mechanic 2 3.“ Machinest 1 1.7 Salesman 1 1.7 . Stenographer O 0.0 ' Other or undecided 22 37:3 Total 59 100.0 25 Table XIII indicates the number of students by class who were interested in enrollment in a cooperative office education program. Forty-four of the 62 sopho- mores who returned the questionnaire were interested; 51 of the 78 Juniors who returned the questionnaire were interested; and 38 ofthe 62 seniors who returned ‘the questionnaire were_interested in enrolling in a c00perative office education program. Table XIII \ Number of Students by Class Who Were Interested in;- Enrollment in a Cooperative Office Training Program Class - Number of Students Total Number of Responses Yes No Sophomore A“ 18 62 Junior 51. 27 78 Senior 1 38 , 2“ I 62 Total _ 133 ', 69 202 Chapter V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summarv This Study IconsistedI of a survey of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes of the West Iron County \\ \ “IPublic High School and the business community Iof the Iron River area. The objective of the study was to determine the feasibility of establishing a cooperatiVe office education program in the western Iron County area. The sophomore, Junior, and senior classes of 1968-69 were contacted by-a letter and questionnaire issued by the principal's office. The business commun— ity was contacted by a letter and questionnaire and followed up with a personal interview. Questions pertaining to the cooperative office education program were answered during the interview. Conclusions The information received from students indicated that at present 57.8 percent of the students returning- questionnaires were primarily employed at jobs of'a' nature leading to a distributive education program. Twenty-two percent of the students not continuing their education after high school hOped to obtain a Job in a distributive occupation. While this study intended to 26 27 \ explore the feasibility of establishing a c00perative office education program,'it also showed that it may be feasible to establish a distributive occupations train- ‘ ing program. Because the current Jobs held by students were not .ae-br the office nature employers could not give reliable adVice on shortcomings in'students from that standpoint. The questionnaire to those businesses employing office i - personnel might have been more meaningful if the employer;\\\I had the opportunity to rate general areas of weakness \ and indicate knowledge needed by their employees to function effectively in their operation. The low number of‘responses from the students may ”,very well be attributed to the fact that few of them. had part-time Jobs.‘ The community issmall, (population approximately 9,000) and the chief employer of local people closed down Operations during the year the informa- tion was gathered. This event caused many men and wo~ men to take any Job they were able to find until the local economy stabilizes. Fifty percent of the students returning question— naires were not planning to continue their education. Therefore, more extensive programs for the Job-bound student should be developed. Distributive and office occupations areas received the largest response among students not planning to continue their education after 28 high school graduation. ‘There were sufficient numbers of businessmen willing to take part in a program to I'develop office skills and knowledge in students. Recommendations On the basisof the preceding conclusions the , following recommendations can be made: 1. There were‘sufficient numbers of businesses and Students indicating an interest in a cOOperativey‘ office education program to warrant deve10pment of a \\\I proposal for such a program. 3 \ 2. The large number of employers employing students at Jobs of the distributive occupations nature warrants further study to explore the possibility of developing a distributive occupations education program.‘ 3. A follow—up study of recent graduates should be made to determine Job placement and location after graduation in order to plan a relevant office educa- tion curriculum. H., A large number of students returning question— naires did not have any plans whatsoever for the future, indicating a need for more effective and extensive guidance and counseling. r 29 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books , Harms, Harm, Methods in Vocational Business Education, _:lm (Cincinnati Ohio: The South—Western Publishing ‘”I‘ . Company, 1989) , L Mason, Ralph E. and Peter G. Haines, Cooperative “\ Occupational Education, (Danville, Illinois. The Interstate Publishing Co., 1965). Rummel, J. Francis, An Introduction to Research Procedures in Edu_cation, (New York, New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 196M). , Venn, Grant, Man Education and Work, (Washington D.-C.' American Council on Education, 196A). Periodicals Gross, Alyce M. "An Evaluation of the Occupational Training Program in Wine Minneapolis Comprehensive High Schools," National Business Education Quarterly, March, 196“. *Haines, Peter G. and Coleman, Brendon G., "How High School Cooperative Trainees Fare in the Labor Market," National Business Education Quarterly, March, 196A. Haines, Peter G. and Ozzello, Lawrence PI. "How High School Trainees Fare in the Labor Market, . Bulletin 3“, (East Lansing: College of Education, Michigan State University, Office of Research and Publication, August, 1966). Schultz, Kenneth A., "A Study of Cooperative Office Work-Experience Programs in a Selected Group of Secondary Schools of the State of Pennsylvania for 1957—58," National Business Education Quarteryy, March, 1961. 30 31 Periodicals Thorne, Marian H., "Maximum Benefits from the Coopera- tive Work Experience Program," The Journal of Business Education, Vol. XXXIX, No. 8, May, 196H. x - Unpublished Thesis Braden, Paul, Effects of HighWSphool Vocational Office .. Training Upon Subsequent Beginning_gareer Patterns, 1-. Unpublished Doctor's Dissertation. East Lansing, ‘ Michigan: Michigan State University, 1963. t 163 pp. Typewritten. ' I \ \ \ APPENDIX 32 ,«,Dear Student: 0- ‘- 33 December 9,-1968 . . .1 -. y '-x 2 How would you like to go to school and earn“ money at the same time? ‘How would you like-to work part—time while in schbol? How would you like 'Ito receive high school credit for the Job you held?- . How would you like to train yourself for that special Job you want to get after graduation? The answer to these questions is COOperative ? Office Education if you are interested in office work. Cooperative Office Education is that training - in which you the student go to school and also work at a partetime Job. Some of the classes you would take in sbhool help you learn to do your Job better. Hopefully by the time you graduate you will be a. ,.well-trained office worker with experience. A program such as this may be possible in our local schools. However, I need your help in deter- mining the feasibility of such a program. Please :fill out and return the enclosed questionnaire to your principal's office. I shall appreciate your help. Sincerely, Thomas Karjala Business Teacher is. ilk-5". ll}ll|’l|l 3H STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE Name ' ' Grade Do you hold a part—time Job while attending school? Yes No If yes, please state your employer's name , When are you employed?‘ ,. after school summer only‘. . _. . weekends . all four .\ .\ . ; after school ' ' \ . -s \ .——O . and weekends . How many hours per week do you work? during the week \ :1 . ‘"—" \ ~ ,. weekends V\\ t s umme r . Indicate the classification of your Job by checking the appropriate title below. If other, write title of Job. office Job ' gas station attendant _ farm . ‘: stock boy food services _sales clerk (cooks, waitress, etc.) other ” What are your plans after graduating from high school? college ' .-. ' _military technical school T get a Job w. business school _ . - __other If you intend to apply for a Job after high school _what kind of a job do you want? Please check one of the following. secretary ' ,' salesman 'typist . mechanic stenographer , welder bookkeeping ' _ machinest store clerk gas station attendant' ,WOuld you be interested in taking part in a Cooperative Office Education Program? Under such a program you would learn an office skill and hold down a part-time Job in that skill while in high school. Yes No w W 35 March 12, 1969 Dear Businessman: The West Iron County Public Schools are conducting a survey to determine the feasibility of establishing a Cooperative Office Education Program. \“s , Cooperative education programs are designed to train high school students in various occupations. Such pro- ‘47Tgrams require the cooperation of business and the schools~ \ . I .‘»to further their education after completion of their '3 in order that they function effectively. Programs have been operating in schools in the state of Michigan, -. x and other states for many years. They are primarily established for those students who are not planning \ ‘ high school program. Students enrolled in cooperative education programs usually "block" their school hours either in the morn- ing or afternoon, leaving one half or another of their day free to be on the Job. ’They are employed at Jobs that relate to the area of study in which they are majoring-while in school. (e.g., students studying industrial subjects work in businesses at Jobs such as welding, mechanics, and drafting; students studying “'business subjects work in office type Jobs.) SUCh COOperative education programs require the combined efforts and supervision_of both teachers and employers. At this time a study is being conducted to determine the interest of the businesses of west Iron County regarding their participation in such a program to help train students interested in office occupations. At a' later date programs will be explored in the vocational industrial arts, and vocational distributive sales occupations. . Would you please fill in the enclosed questionnaire and hold it until I can personally stOp by your office . and pick it up?’ At that time I shall be glad to talk over_with you any questions you may have about COOpera— tive education-programs. Sincerely, Thomas Karjala, Business Teacher West Iron County Public Schools 36 BUSINESS QUESTIONNAIRE Name of business Nature of business How many persons do you employ in total? Are you presently employing or did you employ high school students on a part—time basis? Yes No How many? \, If yes, when do or did the students work? after school \ , ' weekends summer - . “ -. . r . ‘ - all three 7 How many hours per week do or did they work? \ ~ after school \\\ weekends \ ‘ ”summer How many office employees do” you have? What is your rate of turnover for office workers (approx )? Do you employ students as part of your office staff? “Yes No If you employ students, which of the following do you .feel students need more training in? social skills typing skill level English - shorthand skill level spelling letter writing grammar duplicating machines math ' adding machines telephone usage calculators filing . . attitude toward work other Which of the following activities are performed by ~students working for you? typing ___mcalculator shorthand . ___Mtranscribing bookkeeping answering telephone filing - making appointments ——“"meeting public ___minventory of supplies -—machine usage ordering supplies duplicator _ _uletter writing adding machine other iflould you be interested in participation in a coopera- tive office education program? interested not interested _undecided 293 02546 9366 /: A#————A.—*AA _-