A Study of the Relationship Between Distributive Education Students' Perceived Degrees of Job Satisfaction and On-the-job Training Grades They Received

Abstract

The problem. This research studied the degree of job satisfaction of graduates of the Urbandale High School Distributive Education program from its beginning in 1966 through the 1972 school year. It also attempted to determine whether or not there was any relationship between students' perceived degrees of job satisfaction and the grades they received for their on-the-job training experiences while enrolled in the Urbandale High School Distributive Education program. Procedure. One hundred forty-one graduates of the Urbandale High School Distributive Education program were asked to respond to a rating-type questionnaire that listed six different degrees of job satisfaction. Each of these degrees was assigned a point total--six points for the highest degree of satisfaction and one point for the lowest degree of satisfaction. There were five different questions relating to each graduate's job satisfaction. The combined responses to these questions are tabulated and presented in various tables, charts, and in descriptive discourse. Grades received for on-the-job training were obtained from each graduate's permanent file in the guidance department. These grades, the Pearson Product-Moment formula, and the point total as described previously were used to obtain the coefficient of correlation between the on-the-job grades and the graduate's degree of job satisfaction. Conclusions. This study indicated that the graduates of the Urbandale High School Distributive Education program were satisfied to a high degree with some specific aspects of their present jobs. It also revealed that there is no relationship between the degrees of job satisfaction and the grades received for the on-the-job training experiences. Also, approximately one-fifth of the respondents were dissatisfied with the kinds of on-the-job training experiences available to them and many of the respondents indicated that they would have liked more outside resource persons brought into the classroom. Some of the respondents felt that more field trips could be used and that the program could be better publicized.