Work Values and Technology Skills of Students Enrolled in a Career and Technical Education Course at a Community College

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate: (a) the work values; (b) the technology skills concerning software, hardware, and technology tools; (c) the perceived competency level to complete basic computer tasks; and (d) the correlation between work values and technology skills of students enrolled in one or more CTE courses at a community college in a Southeastern state. Data were analyzed using the follow statistical procedures: Descriptive, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The majority of respondents were female (71.3%). The highest reported age category was between the ages of 20 to 29 (42.9%). The largest percent of respondents identified themselves as Caucasian (52.9%). General Studies was the highest reported degree program (29.5%). There were no differences in students’ overall work values across the degree programs groups. However, when ranked, students identified the extrinsic work values of high salary/income and opportunity to advance quickly as the two most important work values. There were no differences in students’ perceived competency to utilize hardware based on degree programs group; however, there were differences in students’ perceived competency to utilize software technology and technology tools based on degree programs group. In addition, there were no differences in students’ perceived need for further development of software skills, hardware skills, or technology skills. Collectively, students enrolled in a CTE course at a community college in a Southeastern state believed that they possessed the ability to complete basic computer tasks without assistance. The majority of respondents, did, however, identify Excel tasks and Internet/web browser tasks that they could not perform. In this study, it was determined that there is no correlation between the overall work values and technology skills of students enrolled in one or more CTE courses at a community college in a Southeastern state.