Human Resources Development

MASTERY TEST III

        ABSTRACTS OF RESEARCH

CASE A (Smith and Cooper, "A Study of Moonlighting by Public School Teachers," American Educational Research Journal 4:51-58, 1967.)

To supplement salaries, many teachers work at other jobs in addition to teaching, a practice commonly called "moonlighting."  the purposes of the study were (I) to determine the personal and professional characteristics of moonlighting and nonmoonlighting teachers and (II) to compare male moonlighters with female moonlighters on a number of factors concerning the second job.

A questionnaire was mailed to a 5 percent random sample of the public school classroom teachers in Georgia in the fall of 1963.  From the 198 school systems in the state with approximately 34,700 teachers, questionnaires were mailed to 1,767 teachers.  There were 1, 334, 75.7 percent, of the questionnaires returned.

Data pertaining to the following personal characteristics were collected:  sex, race, marital status, age, number in family, whether spouse worked, and size of community in which respondent resides.  Professional characteristics for which data were collected are:  years teaching experience, years of college, area or major school assignment, and supplement to contract salary.  For moonlighting teachers, the following data were collected about the second job:  number of weeks worked, number of hours worked per week, earnings per week, and when second job was held--summer vacation or during school year.  Data were gathered for the period between September 1, 1962, and August 31, 1963.

Some of the findings of the study are:

1.        There were 338 teachers, 25.3 percent, who reported that they earned income from sources other than public school employment.

2.        57.9 percent of the male respondents and 15.5 percent of the female respondents reported a second job.

3.        26.9 percent of the single teachers, 25.3 percent of the married teachers, and 22.5 percent of other teachers (separated, divorced, or widowed) were moonlighters.

4.        There were 219 teachers (123 male and 96 female) who reported that they earned extra income during the summer vacation.

5.        There were 135 respondents who reported moonlighting during the entire school year.  Approximately two-thirds of this group worked less than 15 hours per week on the second job and earned less than $30 a week.  There was no significant difference between male and female moonlighters insofar as hours worked or amount earned during the school year.

6.        There were 76 teachers who reported that they held a second job seasonally or intermittently during the school year.  There was no significant difference between males and females concerning length of employment, but females worked significantly fewer hours and earned significantly less than males.

CASE B (Little, "The Occupations of Non-College Youth,"  American Educational Research Journal  4:147-153, 1967.)

In the spring of 1957, a statewide inquiry gathered information from over 35,000 graduating seniors of Wisconsin's public and private high schools.  About 95 percent of all graduates from about 95 percent of Wisconsin's high schools participated.  This information included statements about educational plans beyond high school, statements of occupational aspirations, and background data about the graduates (socioeconomic status, father's occupation, father's education, scholastic aptitude, and high school achievement).  During 1964 and 1965, follow-up questionnaires were sent to the parents of a random sample of one-third of the male graduating seniors in 1957.  Information collected during the 1964-1965 survey was post-high school level of education attained and occupational attainment.  The occupations attained were classified, using an occupational prestige scale, into high prestige occupations (professional, executive, and managerial) and low prestige occupations (service workers, operatives, and laborers).  Information was received for 4,186 graduates, 85 percent of the sample.  The data in the following table are some of the findings reported by the investigator.

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    Occupational Attainment    _        All

Characteristic        High Prestige      Low Prestige        Graduates

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(Percent of Graduates)

Socioeconomic status

Low one-third        20        40        33

Middle one-third        33        40        34

High one-third        47        20        33

Father's education

No high school        34        58        46

Some high school        13        17        16

High school graduate        32        19        26

Some college        21         6        12

Graduate's educational attainment

High school only        18        76        43

Vocational school after high school        14        13        16

Some college        68        11        41

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        MASTERY TEST III

        ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH

Name _______________________________________________________

Circle the correct response for each question.  If you have been provided an answer sheet, mark your responses on the answer sheet also.

Questions 1-15 pertain to Case A--"Moonlighting by Public School Teachers."

        1.        Which of the following most accurately describes the end sought (or purpose) of the research when the investigators state that they wish "to determine the personal and professional characteristics of teachers?"

a.        Describe the status of teachers with respect to certain variables.

b.        Test hypotheses that explain why some teachers moonlight and other teachers do not.

c.        Determine what factors cause teachers to moonlight.

d.        All of the above purposes are possible for the study.