Work attitudes of traditional and non-traditional technical community college students

Cherrington's (1980) study found that age, as well as gender and work experience, have an affect on the work attitudes of employees. As adults return from the work force to technical community college campuses, the attitudes and values acquired through the experiences of adults come with them. Non-traditional students come to college motivated and "ready to learn with a problem-centered or a performance-centered frame of mind" (Knowles, 1986, p. 53). These attitudes and values on the part of adults challenge instructors and professors to prepare programs differently for adults than they would for traditional students. However, there is little research to assist the technical instructor or the community college professor about the differences in work attitudes of non-traditional students as compared to the work attitudes of traditional students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the work attitudes of technical community college students differ between male and female students, students in different age groups, and students with various years of work experience.