The relationship between selected student characteristics, participation in vocational education and the labor market achievement of high school graduates

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the selected students' characteristics, participation in vocational education, and the labor market achievement (job satisfactoriness, income, job satisfaction) of 1983/84 graduates of a comprehensive high school in S.W. Virginia. Data were collected from students, their academic records (transcripts and test records), the students and their employer follow-up.

The selected student characteristic variables used were: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT VARIABLES: Grade Point Average (GPA), Virginia Competency Test scores in Reading and Mathematics (VCT-Reading, VCT-Math); ACADEMIC APTITUDE VARIABLES: Science Research Associate scores in Language and Applied Science (SRA-Lang., SRA-App. Sci.); SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES: Educational level of head of household (HEAD-ED); OTHER VARIABLES: the number of vocational education credits taken (VTE-Credit), Sex, Job Satisfactoriness (Boss-Sat) of the graduates, job performance, income earned per hour, and Job . Satisfaction. The data collected were analyzed by using the stepwise regression to predict the labor market achievement variables. A partial correlation was used to investigate the relationship between overall labor market achievement variables and each of the independent variables while the effect of others were controlled. Cohen's criteria were used to investigate the strength of relationship (practical importance) between variables. The coefficient of determination and the partial correlation of the findings outlined below were too small to be of practical importance in the investigation of high school graduates' labor market achievement. However, the results of the analyses of graduates' job satisfactoriness showed that male graduates with high academic achievement, low socioeconomic status, low aptitude tended to have higher job satisfactoriness. Females with high degree of participation in vocational education tended to experience higher job satisfactoriness. In terms of income earned by male graduates, academic achievement (GPA) was the best predictor. Analysis showed that females with low socioeconomic status (SES) tended to earn higher income. Those females with high degree of participation in vocational education tended to earn higher income. For job satisfaction of males, those with low SES tended to be more satisfied with their job, while females with high aptitude and high degree of participation in vocational education tended to be more satisfied with their jobs.

For overall job satisfaction, without sex differentiation, individuals with high academic achievement tended to have low job satisfaction. High aptitude in English language tended to make graduates more satisfied with their jobs. In terms of income, graduates with high achievement tended to earn low income. On job satisfactoriness, graduates with high achievement tended to have higher job satisfactoriness.