A comparison of the achievement of vocational automechanics students in first year day trade with students in first year industrial cooperative training

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the comparative effectiveness of two different programs of vocational automechanics instruction. The two programs studied were vocational day trade automechanics and vocational industrial cooperative training automechanics. The contribution of prior courses in power mechanics, automechanics, or transportation to achievement in first year vocational automechanics was also examined. The study was limited to high school students enrolled in first year general vocational automechanics training in either of the two programs of study. Participating instructors were limited to those with two or more years of public school experience. The research procedure included the following: (1) identification of participating schools and instructors, (2) construction and validation of the test instrument, (3) administration of the instrument as a pre- and post-test, and (4) analysis of the data. The general automechanics test which was developed consisted of ninety multiple-choice items and included forty-six illustrations. The instrument was validated by a jury of five professional mechanics and four automechanics teachers. A pilot study was also incorporated as a means of further validating the test. The teachers who participated in the research included forty-two day trade instructors and twenty-six industrial cooperative training instructors. Twenty-six different states were represented by the 646 day trade and 111 industrial cooperative students. ..