Doctoral Dissertations

Bing Yao

Date of Award

8-1995

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Clifton P. Campbell

Committee Members

Gerald Cheek, Schuyler Huck, Robert Maddox

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify the benchmark practices for an apprenticeship system for young adults through collection and analysis of expert opinions about a tentative Tennessee Model of Apprenticeship for Young Adults and (b) to investigate how the finalized Tennessee Model of Apprenticeship for Young Adults, which was created on the basis of the expert-identified benchmark practices, would be perceived by different groups of major stakeholders. For the first purpose, a Delphi procedure was utilized. For the second, quantitative methodologies were adopted.

The tentative model was developed by the researcher as a result of his literature review, visits to apprenticeship training establishments, interviews with experts in apprenticeship, and a study tour to Switzerland and Germany. Expert opinions about this tentative model were then elicited from a Delphi panel. During the Delphi procedure, a total of 86 changes were suggested. The tentative model was revised on the basis of the panel members' consensual opinions about the suggested changes. After three rounds of questionnaires, the model was finalized. It was then proposed to the Tennessee Council on Vocational Education. The major themes of the model included (a) training of skilled workers for a productive workforce, (b) combination of employer-provided on-the-job training with school-based instruction, (c) integration of academic and vocational education, and (d) transition of young adults from secondary school to work.

Major stakeholders who will participate in and/or have direct, critical impact on the development and implementation of an apprenticeship system for young adults were defined as the four groups of people in the state of Tennessee: (a) presidents or chief executive officers in businesses, (b) labor union officials, (c) relevant governmental officials, and (d) directors of vocational education organizations and programs. Fifty subjects were randomly selected from each group, and an executive summary of the finalized Tennessee Model of Apprenticeship for Young Adults, along with a survey questionnaire, was mailed to each selected subject. The subjects were asked to read the summary and then rate completeness, effectiveness, and implementability of the model on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging in the descending order from 7 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree).

Descriptive statistics showed that all the median ratings were 4.0 or above except for that by the group Labor Union Officials about implementability (3.5) of the model. The mean ratings were all above 4.0 except for those by the group Labor Union Officials about effectiveness (3.5) and implementability (3.4). In general, the groups Relevant Governmental Officials and Directors of Vocational Education Organizations and Programs were the most positive in their median and mean ratings about completeness, effectiveness, and implementability of the model, and the group Labor Union Officials was the least positive.

The results of three one-way analyses of variance indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the mean ratings among the four groups of respondents (stakeholders) on all of the three dependent variables--completeness, effectiveness, and implementability of the model. The results of three Duncan's new multiple range tests further revealed that on all three dependent variables, the difference between the mean of the group Labor Union Officials and the means of all the other three groups was large enough to be statistically significant. No other differences were significant.

A major conclusion was that the Tennessee Model of Apprenticeship for Young Adults was, on the whole, perceived favorably by major stakeholders. It was thus a good indication of potential success in the development and implementation of an apprenticeship system that incorporates the expert-identified benchmark practices contained in the model.

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