The Occupational Work Ethic of University Path and Career Path Secondary School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine, using the Occupational Work Ethic Inventory (OWEI), if there were any significant differences in the work ethic of secondary high school students enrolled in vocational program of study, university program of study, and level of grade attended.

The population of this study consisted of high school students in a rural secondary school in East Tennessee. English Teachers, licensed in the state of Tennessee administered the OWEI survey during a one-class period. The researcher collected surveys as they are completed.

Based on an ex post factor design this study will use an alpha of .05 to test for significant differences. All statistical calculations were performed using the appropriate statistical software package. Null hypothesis was tested using an analysis of variance for each independent variable to determine whether significant differences can be shown for the dependent variables.

It was found for the population of this study, there were no significant differences between the two programs of study. There were differences in females reporting stronger work ethics than males. Also, there were interactions between demographic background information and programs of study. Implication of the results are discussed.