The effectiveness of curriculum standarization efforts in aviation maintenance technician schools in the United States, 1977

This research project examines aircraft maintenance training in the United States. This specialty vocational field has some unique features not readily found in similar combination in other vocational or career oriented educational activities. It is a broad-span field encompassing multiple skill requirements. The training is rigidly controlled by Federal Air Regulations. The aircraft mechanic speciality has been a major concern to the Federal Aviation Agency in recent years. This is evidenced by a number of studies, sponsored at least in part by the agency, that commenced in the mid 1960s. These studies resulted in a major revision to the Federal Air Regulation (Part 147). This revised regulation, issued in May 1970 provided for a two year period (until May 1972) for all existing schools to revise their curriculums and equipment in order to maintain their licenses. All new schools were required to meet the revised requirements prior to beginning operations. The major purposes of this research project were: 1. To assess the effectiveness of the revised (May 1970) curriculum. 2. To develop recommendations for improvement to the curriculum that might be implemented. Methods and Procedures This project involved the following steps: 1. Review of background literature on career education concepts, curriculum planning and specific efforts to improve Aviation Maintenance Technician training commencing with the University of California, Los Angeles study (1966). 2. To test the sub-hypothesis regarding comparative test performances, two specific sets of data were examined. One was the performance of the graduates of the old curriculum (December 1972), and the performance of graduates of the new curriculum (July 1976). Consultation with the Federal Aviation Agency Records Center indicated that these are the only times when the test complexity was constant. This data was sought on at least 30% of the total population of FAA licensed Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools. This included schools nationwide. The data was validated by the FAA Records Center in Oklahoma City. Additionally the FAA Records Center provided data on the movement, by month, of the national norm for the licensed schools from the 1972 to the 1976 period. This provided a second point of reference. 3. To test the sub-hypothesis regarding the satisfaction of administrators with the effectiveness of the new curriculum, all administrators of FAA licensed aircraft mechanic schools were surveyed. Assessments by at least 30% of the total population of school administrators was sought for analysis. 4. To test the sub-hypothesis regarding employer satisfaction, a survey of aviation firms (Appendix C) was conducted. A population of approximately 167 employers were surveyed. The assessments of these employers were sought for analysis. 5. Data was compiled, analyzed, and statistical tests applied. 6. Analysis and recommendations for improvements were the final steps in this research project. Results/Recommendations The research project resulted in the conclusions that the original standardization efforts had been effective. The national norms for the schools had improved substantially. The test group of schools resulted in an improvement in both Airframe and Powerplant test performance results. The survey of school administrators overwhelmingly supported the new curriculum. The survey of employers proved inconclusive since insufficient time had elapsed for the new graduates to impact the work environment. Recommendations regarding further development work on the textbooks, the introduction of troubleshooting courses, and the inclusion of additional helicopter maintenance instruction were identified as considerations for future studies of this aviation maintenance field.Education, College o