Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Adelaide, 1992. / General bibliography: leaves 230-247. Bibliography of test material: leaves 248-254.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The aim of this study is to establish whether there is significant differences between the aptitudes of succesful freshmen in the B.A. (Law)-, B.Com. (Accountancy)- and B.Sc. (Biological Sciences) fields of study, as well as between succesful freshman male and female students. This study consists mainly out of two parts. Firstly a literature study discussing the concepts aptitude and aptitude testing. Futhermore aptitude and vocational guidance are discussed from an Educational Psychological perspective. Secondly an empirical study was done to establish differences in various aptitudes of the above mentioned fields of study and between male and female students. According to the literature study aptitude can be seen as a combination of factors which enables an individual to achieve a certain level of performance or to develop a certain skill with the necessary training. It is apparent from the literature study that aptitude is inherited; as well as influenced by environmental factors. In early childhood it varies considerably but stabilizes in later years. Slight similarities are present between aptitude and intelligence but a very clear distinction can be drawn. Aptitudes and interests influence each other but according to research, correlations very seldom exist. Differences appear between the aptitude patterns of males and females. The process of vocational guidance consists of three components, namely diagnosis, process and outcome. Vocational guidance is an educational matter which places a responsibility on each educator. Self-knowledge and career-knowledge are a prerequisite for a meaningful choice of a career. In the empirical study a random sample (n = 357) was taken from the successful freshmen at the Rand Afrikaans University for the years 1985, 1986, 1987 from the B.A. (Law)-, B.Com. (Accountancy), and B.Sc. (Biological Sciences) fields of study...

From summary: This study describes a procedure for predicting course success for certain first term engineering technicians. The aim of the study is to reduce the high attrition rate of trainee engineering technicians through the early identification of candidates who are likely to fail their first term of study. This identification is done by testing all applicants to the courses on a battery of psychological tests, and from this information estimating the applicants' first term course results. It is suggested that the student counsellors attached to the various Technikons integrate the suggested procedure into a flexible vocational guidance service for engineering technicians. It should be borne in mind that no validation study can predict future success with a hundred percent accuracy, and that the sample used in this study may be specific to the Witwatersrand Technikon.

This study focuses on the relationship of one cognitive ability test on long-term job performance as measured by personnel data. Archival data from over 3,000 employees at an international technology company were used to assess how aptitude test scores relate to both objective and subjective job performance measures. Supervisory performance ratings, level of promotion, and salary increase significantly contributed to variance in test scores; however, these results were inconsistent. Number of training courses did not have a significant relationship with test scores. Additionally, type of turnover did not moderate the relationship between aptitude test scores and job performance. These results indicate that although aptitude test score is related to long term job performance factors, other factors account for the majority of the variance. The implication is that aptitude should not be the sole consideration when predicting long term job success.

Recent national longitudinal studies of special education students indicate that schools should concentrate on developing students' skills matched to the requirements of their potential occupations. Evidence suggests that the experience of career development among adolescents with learning disabilities is especially frustrating without early exploration and planning. This study investigates the value of using available psychometric data in assisting the school psychologist and other professionals to make initial exploratory estimates of vocational aptitude without referring the student for specialized vocational assessment. General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) scores were used in multiple regression analyses to examine the predictive relationships existing between the two instruments. The population studied included 172 adolescents wi th learning disabilities enrolled in a public school division. The analyses in this study reveal a high degree of validity between the GATB and WAIS-R. However, the prediction equation appears unsuitable for using the WAIS-R subtests for predicting GATB aptitudes. Aptitude F explains the highest degree of variance. Other squared multiple regressions range as low as .13 for Aptitude Q to as high as .52 for Aptitude S. Results suggest that even though the GATB and WAIS-R share common variance, there is enough independent information provided by each test to warrant employing both in order to insure that the students' vocational aptitudes are fully diagnosed. Implications for school psychologists and other professionals doing exploratory assessments of vocational aptitude from available WAIS-R subtests are discussed, as are assessment issues regarding adolescents with learning disabilities. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to discover if predictive variables could be identified to assist manpower programs with decisions concerning trainee program assignment. The primary problem explored was: What is the relationship between selected trainee characteristics, specific vocational assessment procedures and successful outcomes in a CETA skills training center? The research concentrated on demographic variables of age, sex, ethnic group membership, education and family status, as well as scores on three sp~cific assessment procedures: academic tests, work samples, and a work behavior rating instrument. The study involved a sample of 137 subjects who had completed a vocational assessment experience, had enrolled in one of four vocational classes, and had been terminated, either successfully or unsuccessfully, from a skills training program at the Northern Virginia CETA Skill Center during fiscal year 1981-82. Demographic and test data were analyzed by means of a discriminate analysis program in an effort to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful trainee termination. The results of the study indicated that for each of the three assessment techniques tested: (1) Academic Tests, (2) Work Samples, and (3) Work Related Behavioral Observations, several significant variables were identified. Results of the discriminant analysis were astonishingly h:i.gh and appear to demonstrate that statistical relationships can be proven to exist between certain trainee characteristics, assessment procedures and training outcomes. When the discriminant analysis using the various demographic variables, scores on the work behavior rating instrument, academic tests and work samples were performed, the results were impressive. The discriminant analysis yielded predictive accuracies of 81%-100% for successful and unsuccessful terminatins in three training area. Thus it would appear that the specific demographic variables highlighted by the three assessment techniques employed at the Northern Virginia CETA Program are valuable indicators of trainee outcome. / Ed. D.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study examined the relationship between the sub-components of Holland's Self-Directed Search and independent, objective measures of ability using a comprehensive battery of well-validated tests of primary abilities corresponding to each of Holland's six vocational interest types. The sample consisted of 149 female undergraduate students, ages 18-25. Correlation of the ability measure test scores with the four Self-Directed Search subcomponents revealed that the subtests were not related to corresponding measures of ability in a consistent fashion. Implications for the use of the Self-Directed Search in assessing abilities are discussed along with suggestions for future research investigating the relationhip between interest in ventories and the measurement of primary abilities.

The study described the development of a standardized, normed, content-valid machine transcription test which could be used to evaluate the ability of secretarial applicants to type a mailable copy of a business letter from a dictated tape recording. The test was based on a thorough job analysis and was pretested using a pilot study with job incumbents to confirm its feasibility. Normative data were developed from 50 job applicants. Interrater reliability was statistically significant (r = .85, p <..05). The test was adopted for use at the headquarters office of a major oil and gas producing company.

The purposes of this study were two-fold: to develop a program model for vocational assessment of handicapped students in the public schools that would include information concerning the following components: goals/outcomes, methods, procedures, target populations, and staffing. (2) to compare perceptions of four types of personnel (vocational evaluators, vocational adjustment coordinators, vocational counselors, and educational diagnosticians) concerning the components that should be included in a program model of vocational assessment of handicapped students.