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Vocational and educational preparation and plans of seniors in three Seventh-day Adventist academies.

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Vocational and educational preparation and plans of seniors in three Seventh-day Adventist academies.

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Content VOCATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION AND PLANS OF
SENIORS IN THREE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST ACADEMIES
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Edgar Randall Howard
June 1960
UMI Number: EP49913
All rights reserved
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a note will indicate the deletion.
Dissertation RifelisMng
UMI EP49913
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
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This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate’s adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of M aster of
Science in Education.
Date...
Adviser
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES . . . . ...................... iv
Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM, DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED, AND PROCEDURE TO
BE FOLLOWED .......... .... ....... 1
The Problem
Definitions of Terms Used
Procedure to be Followed
Organization of Remainder of Project
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE................... 10
What is Guidance?
The Questionnaire Method
Vocational Guidance
Educational Guidance
Seventh-day Adventist Official Thought on Guidance
Summary
III. COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP STUDIED................ 27
The Schools
The Seniors
Summary
IV. VOCATIONAL PREPARATION AND PLANS . ......... 40
Preparation
Plans
Guidance
Summary
V. EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION AND PLANS ........................ 65
Preparation
Plans
Guidance
Summary
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS........... 82
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
ii
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1* Number of Students and Staff Members in Schools Studied ... 28
2. Years in Attendance at Schools Studied............... 29
3# Ages of the Group.................... 29
4. Racial Extraction of the Group .................... 30
5. Seniors Reporting Siblings and Number Reported ............ 30
6* Parents and Relatives Who Were Members of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church ................ 31
7* Number of Years Parents Had Been Members of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church.................. 32
8. Marital Status of Parents.................... . 33
9. Number of Years Since Divorce or Death of a Parent ........ 33
10. Occupations of Fathers . ............................ . . 34
11. Occupations of Mothers . ........................ 35
12. Living Arrangement .................... . . . 35
13. Physical Impairments of the Group.............................37
14. Evaluation of Training . . . .............. 41
15. Vocational Preparation ........ .................... 43
16. Amounts of Spending Money Received and Saved.................46
17. Frequency of Choices of Lifework . ............ 48
18. Denominational Employment as a Career............ 50
19. Frequency of Possible Obstacles to Vocational Choice .... 53
20. Sources of Help in Planning Vocation.......... * ............ 59
21. Number of Schools Attended.......................... 65
22. Secondary Courses Repeated ................................ 66
iv
I
Table
| 23.
! 24.
25.
26.
Page |
i
Hours per Day Spent in Studying Outside of Class.......... 67
Seniors Who Planned to Go to College . . ................ 68 (
Types of Colleges Seniors Planned to Attend .............. 69'
Frequency of Choices of College Major.................... 70
v
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM, DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED, AND
PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED
For nearly a century the Seventh-day Adventist denomination
has been formulating its own philosophy of education and it has opened
schools and colleges in many parts of the world. In the last two years
a university has been established in the eastern part of the United
States and within the last year, plans have been laid to establish a
university in the West. With this long history of pioneering in edu
cation and with the present trend to expand the educational system,
Seventh-day Adventist leaders and laymen alike may do well to stop from
time to time to see if their schools are fulfilling the purposes for
which they were founded.
This system of education is founded upon the belief that "true
education includes the whole being. It teaches the right use of one's
self. It enables us to make the best use of . . . body, mind, and
heart." (29:398) This same author, Ellen G. White, one of the early
leaders of the denomination, enlarges upon this thought:
True education means more than the pursual of a certain course of
study. It has to do with the whole being, and with the whole
period of existence possible to man. It is the harmonious develop
ment of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers. It
prepares the student for the joy of service in this world, and for
the higher joy of wider service in the world to come. (26:13)
Denominational schools by their very nature are dedicated to
teaching the whole child. The concept of teaching the whole child is
now emphasized in modern approaches to education. Louis P. Thorpe
2
states that "it is recognized that, although the child may be observed
from the standpoint of various facets of behavior, he functions as a
total personality which should be thought of as such." (21:3,4) That
guidance is concerned with the whole child is stated by Jane Warters.
"Student personnel work is concerned with the whole student. The
emphasis is upon the unity of personality and the unitary nature of
the guidance process." (23:10)
The Problem
Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of this project
to study and evaluate the performance of Seventh-day Adventist second
ary schools in only two areas: Vocational and educational preparation
and plans of the seniors. This purpose will be carried further by
seeking the answers to the following questions: (1) Are these schools
giving their students sufficient help in making vocational choices?
(2) Are these schools giving their students opportunities to develop
habits that will help them later in the world of work? (3) What kind
of students do these schools have to work with? (4) Are these schools
assisting their students to make realistic educational plans? (5) Are
these schools helping their students to discover their goals in life?
(6) Are these schools convincing their students that the schools are
doing an adequate job in these areas? (7) How can these schools ful
fill their purpose for existence in a more effective way?
Importance of the study. If education in a Seventh-day
Adventist school is concerned with teaching the whole child, if the
modern concept of education is that the child functions as a whole, and
3
if a guidance program is supposed to be geared to integration of the
whole child w4 ith his environment, it is extremely important that denom
inational schools use not only all the methods of modern education at
their command, but also use all the guidance services and techniques
which they can possibly incorporate into their program. Seventh-day
Adventist schools not only have the responsibility of developing the
mental and physical aspects of the child, but they have an added
responsibility. In fact, the very reason for their existence is to
develop the spiritual aspect of the child, to impart religious concepts;
and to try to help the child to integrate the material things of life
with spiritual values.
The importance of this study and the close relationship be
tween educational and vocational guidance is further emphasized in the
following quotation from Stoops and Wahlquist.
Educational guidance is . . . needed to help choose wisely for
vocational needs of tomorrow. Rapid development of new devices,
automation, and the coming atomic age certainly will present new
problems of living and making a living. Guidance for adaptive
living is the order of- the day. (19:81)
Definitions of Terms Used
Guidance. "Guidance is a continuous process of helping the
individual develop to the maximum of his capacity in the direction
most beneficial to himself and to society." (19:3)
Guidance program. This term embraces five services which can
be combined to form a well-rounded program. They are the counseling
service, the individual inventory service, the information service, the
placement service, and the follow-up service. (16:7-22)
4
Vocational guidance. This term is adequately defined by
Super.
Vocational guidance is the process of helping a person to
develop and accept an integrated and adequate picture of himself
and his role in the world of work, to test this concept against
reality, and to convert it into a reality, with satisfaction to
himself and benefit to society. (20:12)
Educational guidance. Jones defines this as a program f,to
assist individuals to make wise choices, interpretations, and adjust
ments with relation to schools, courses, curricula, and school life."
(11:287)
Preparation. "The act, process, or operation of preparing.
An act or proceeding designed to bring about some event. . . . Pre
liminary study; training, as for college or business." (8:1034) This
word will be used to denote the background, embracing both educational
and vocational training and experience, with which the academy senior
finds himself at time of graduation.
Plan. "An arrangement of means or steps for the attainment
of some object; a scheme; method, design." (8:1003) The courses or
major which the student proposes to complete in order to reach his
vocational or educational goals are part of his overall plan.
Whole child. This term is used to denote the mental, physi
cal, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the child, as they
relate to his total function in life.
Academy. This term often used in Seventh-day Adventist edu-
5
cational literature refers to a school on the secondary level, usually
grades nine through twelve. A junior academy is usually a school with
grades seven through ten. An elementary school with grades one through
eight is nearly always connected with either the junior or senior
academy. All denominational colleges have an academy and an elementary
school connected with them.
Denominational school. This term refers to an educational
institution operated by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, and can
be either elementary, secondary, college, or graduate level.
Procedure to be Followed
In making this investigation a study of the literature was
made in the library of the University of Southern California, the
Central Library of the City of Los Angeles, and in the offices of the
Department of Education of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists.
After careful consideration of methods that might be used for
securing data relative to this problem, the anonymous questionnaire was
selected as the instrument best adapted to the purposes of this study.
The investigator is aware that this method does have some limitations.
In developing the questionnaire to be used in this study, the
investigator counseled with his instructor and several other members of
the faculty of the School of Education. Both published and unpublished
materials were studied and the investigator used some of his personal
preferences in the selection of items.
The investigator holds the Life Teaching Credential in the
6
field of Bible issued by the Department of Education of the General Con
ference of Seventh-day Adventists. Therefore, he has an interest in
whether the denominational schools are teaching and encouraging spirit
ual values in the curriculum; and he is interested in the attitudes of
the students in the academies toward church standards of living, and
what proportion of the students are endeavoring to live up to these
standards. For these reasons, many items were included in the ques
tionnaire which have to do with the doctrines, beliefs, and practices
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. These items will not be discussed
in this project.
The areas of the emotional-personal development, the intel^-
lectual-cultural development, and social development of the students
were also explored in this questionnaire. The area of school evalua
tion as related to guidance services was partially covered. These
areas will not be included in this project, but will be treated in
future research papers.
The questionnaire consisted of eighty-two items, most of which
could be answered with a Yes or No answer. It was designed for a
forty-minute class period. All the questionnaires were completed on
the last page, Items 75-82, except for eight respondents almost evenly
divided between the schools. It is assumed, therefore, that the mini
mum forty-minute period was a sufficient length of time for administra
tion.
Young states that the data sought should be grouped in clear
and logical order. (31) This procedure was purposely not followed in
this investigation. No pattern of questions is followed and all areas
7
sampled are mixed together because it was felt that the unexpected
question would evoke a more accurate reply than the expected question.
The questionnaire was personally administered by the invest
igator in three Seventh-day Adventist academies in the Southern Calif
ornia area. The time chosen in each school by the principal was the
senior problems class period. The schools will be designated as A, *
B, and C. Total responses from the schools are:
School A 68
School B 53
School C 39
A total of one hundred sixty-two responses were received,
but two were not used because the respondents answered only a few items
and obviously did not try to complete the questionnaire.
Because of absenteeism all the seniors were not sampled in
this study. Copies of the questionnaire could have been left with the
instructors to give to the absent ones when they returned, but this
would have destroyed the anonymity of the answers for those seniors.
The investigator constructed a table showing all the numbers
from one to one hundred sixty, with the corresponding per cent of one
hundred sixty to the nearest hundredths place. For example: 160
equals 100 per cent; 80 equals 50 per cent; 30 equals 18.75 per cent,
et cetera. -
In the tables used in this project, if the total number of
replies do not add up to 160 or 100 per cent, it may be assumed that
less than 100 per cent of the seniors responded to the item. In some
instances the use of hundredths may cause the total percentage to be
slightly more than 100 per cent.
8
Organization of Remainder of the Project
Chapter I. The first chapter sets forth the problem of this
project and gives some reasons for the importance of the study. Sig
nificant terms are defined. The procedure to be followed in this study
and the organization of the remainder of the project are covered in
this chapter.
Chapter II. Chapter II covers a review of the literature as
related to what guidance is, the questionnaire method, vocational
guidance, educational guidance, and official actions of some Seventh-
day Adventist conferences concerning guidance programs in the acad
emy.
Chapter III. This chapter covers the composition of the group
studied, as learned from personal information secured from the anony
mous questionnaire administered in three academies.
Chapter IV. Chapter IV presents the results of findings from
the questionnaire with relation to the vocational preparation and plans
of the students.
Chapter V. The fifth chapter presents the results of findings
from the questionnaire with relation to the educational preparation and
plans of the students.
Chapter VI. The last chapter summarizes and concludes the
findings of the investigation and answers the questions raised in the
first chapter. Recommendations are made.
9
Bibliography. Entries made in the bibliography cover those
books, periodicals, and materials used in formulating the questionnaire
and in summarizing the literature, whether direct reference is made to
them in the text or not.
Appendix. The appendix contains the exact instructions which
were read to each class before the questionnaire was administered, and
it also contains the complete questionnaire. The number of each item
studied in this project corresponds to the number of the item in the
questionnaire.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The literature in the fields of vocational and educational
guidance has increased tremendously in the last decade. The second
world war brought into sharp focus the need for vocational and educa
tional guidance from the standpoint of the development and security of
the nation* as well as the development and security of the individual.
The "security" of the individual can be broken down into his mental,
physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and financial ability to not
only hold his own in the community, but to develop personally and be
able to contribute to the well-being of his peers in the community.
The schools of the nation - public, private, and parochial -
have been challenged to give the individual the information, the guid
ance, and the incentive to make the most of himself and his opportun
ities. The schools have traditionally been dedicated to giving infor
mation or knowledge, sometimes called education, to their subjects.
But to give individual assistance in helping to use this information
for the best personal development "to the maximum of his capacity in
the direction most beneficial to himself and to society," (19:3) is
something new in American education.
A new approach is being taken; a new attitude on the part of
educators is being developed. Stoops and Wahlquist describe this new
approach to guidance services as related to the educational program:
Guidance is something that is no longer added to the educa
tional program, but is an indispensable part of the program
itself. School guidance services are essential for children, be
11
ginning in the kindergarten and continuing throughout their school
experience. Some type of guidance has always been necessary, but
much of the guidance needed in a less complex social, vocational,
and educational community was acquired informally. Today the
world has grown complex. In a little more than one generation,
our whole pattern of life has been radically changed. These
changes make guidance services an invaluable and indispensable
part of the instruction of pupils. (19:1)
What is Guidance?
Guidance is sometimes referred to as pupil personnel service.
The services rendered by the schools to the pupils are increasing and
this has been partly due to the fact that the curricula offered now is
vastly different and tremendously increased over what was offered by
secondary schools and colleges a few decades ago.
Davis says that "pupil personnel service consists in giving
intelligent attention to pupils according to their individual needs.
Perhaps intelligent attention in one school situation would be quite
different from that in another." (Italics in the original) (4:569)
Sometimes it may be thought that guidance services may be
rendered more efficiently in the larger schools with enrollments of
five hundred or more. Host Seventh-day Adventist academies have en
rollments between one hundred and three hundred students, therefore,
whait Davis calls "intelligent attention" could be very different in the
large public high school and in the small parochial academy.
Froehlich devotes a whole book to guidance services in
smaller schools and he maintains that the child in the smaller school
can and should have just as effective guidance as the child in the
larger school. He says:
. . . The provision of workers and services may be easier in
large than in small schools, but the responsibility and need for
guidance services is the same in any school. This is an essential!
part of our democratic faith. Every child should have access to I
an appropriate educational program. The opportunity to get the !
kind of education he needs is the birthright of each child. To ]
provide less is to deny the equality of our youth. The child liv-'
ing in an area served by a small school should be able to secure j
just as appropriate an education as one attending a large school.
This is the American dream. (7:1) ’
Chisholm describes what a guidance program should do in all
areas of a student*s development:
Guidance seeks to have each individual become familiar with a
wide range of information about himself, his interests, his abili
ties, his previous development in the various areas of living, and,
his plans or ambitions for the future. Guidance then seeks to
help him become acquainted with the various problems of social,
vocational, and recreational adjustment which he faces. '
Guidance is based on the assumption that the world has a place
for everybody, at least that our democratic America has - a place
in the social world, a place in the world of education, a place j
in the civic life, and a place in the vocational world, . . .
Thus, guidance seeks to help the individual discover his own tal- '
ents in comparison to the opportunities of the world and help him
prepare himself so that he can find or develop a place in which he
can live a well-balanced life and contribute his part to the wel
fare of his fellow man. (3:3)
Mathewson emphasizes the fact that adjustment depends upon the
student*s bringing his total assets to bear upon his problems:
The kind of adjustment which the individual makes on his job,
in his family, among his friends, and throughout his community
will be satisfactory insofar as the individual brings his total
personal powers and resources to bear upon his choices and actions
in a well-balanced and harmonious way. Guidance should be toward
the achievement of personal effectiveness through self-knowledge,
through awareness of surroundings, through mastery of self-
environmental relationships, and through orientation upon spirit
ual value. (12:60)
The Questionnaire Method
The reliability of this method of research was tested by Ruth ’
i
Cavan and she reports that objective and factual questions show an !
13
encouragingly high degree of reliability from adolescents, especially
when the questions are thoughtfully worded. Questions relating to
attitudes are not as reliable as factual questions. Her conclusion is
that reliability may be increased by avoiding the asking for details
which experience has shown cannot be given reliably. Cavan concludes
her work by saying, "When properly constructed and analyzed, the
questionnaire becomes a valuable instrument of research in the hands of
the research worker who is aware of the possibilities and the limita-
'i
tions of the method." (2)
Hathewson points out some of the weaknesses of this method of
investigation:
The survey or check-list method has the weakness of calling forth
expressions of numerous problems without disclosing the funda
mental personal or environmental nature and basis of these
problems.
Also there remains the fact that, from the level of problems
alone, we do not necessarily see the organic relationship, either
with basic personal urges or with significant and fundamental ad
justments in the main areas of human living, (12:50)
Shostrom and Brammer say that "... questionnaires often
penetrate into what the client is thinking, but it is doubtful whether
a questionnaire indicates how he is feeling about the guidance
services." (Italics in the original.) (17:146)
Ellis reminds us that questionnaires vary all the way from the
"standardized application blank to the personality or adjustment inven
tory," and he has this to say about the latter:
Much of the evidence on adjustment inventories suggests that
they have limited value for diagnostic purposes. However, if the
information gathered by this technique helps verify or disprove
information gathered by other techniques, the adjustment inventory
is of some value. (6)
14
Some of the advantages of using the pupil questionnaire are
given by Davis:
The pupil questionnaire, although frequently criticized as an
invalid method of gathering information, has the virtue of saving
time. As many persons as can be comfortably seated in a room can,
through the questionnaire technique, provide information in the
time required for one person to give the same information person
ally to a teacher or counselor .. . * The carefully prepared
questionnaire may be used with excellent results if thoughtfully
administered and taken. (4:379)
From the viewpoint of the student, or counselee, Mooney has
this to say:
For the counselee, the process of "sorting out" his problems
often may be immediately helpful to him in understanding himself.
In fact, in the summarizing statements many students have spon
taneously attested to the value of merely filling out the check
list. Students characteristically remark - "Just seeing what my
problems are, on paper, has been a big help," and rrI have obtained
a much better understanding of my problems through filling out the
check list.” Equally often, the students express relief in real
izing how few problems they really have. (13:6)
Concerning the construction of the questionnaire and the types
of items to be included, Smith says,
Items included should be stated with sufficient explanation
and clarity so that all respondents will place the same interpre
tation upon them. Questions should avoid presenting pupils with
an opportunity to evaluate the work of any individual counselor or
other staff member. Response items should be graded in degrees of
affirmative and negative intensity in the manner of a graphic rat
ing scale if the replies are to be discriminating. Lengthy essay-
type replies are difficult to tabulate and may result in a lack of
significant consensus to provide data helpful in appraising the
counseling service. (18:285)
This plan will usually elicit more straightforward replies to
questions if pupils are permitted to respond anonymously.
(18:284)
Research done by Young indicates that a questionnaire can be
profitably used when the following considerations are taken into
account:
15
1. The viewpoint of the group should be carefully considered
before the investigation is made and after the data are on hand for
analysis and interpretation.
2. The questions should be asked in the light of the cultural
background and the findings related to that background.
3. The apperception mass of each respondent should be consid
ered in the light of the information supplied by him.
4. Simple and concise wording within easy grasp of the least
intelligent persons included in the study should be used.
5. Questions and statements should be so designed as to elim
inate antagonism, suspicion, or resentment.
6. Questionnaires and schedules should be made interesting to
the respondents and important enough to them to justify the time spent.
7. A maximum of checking and underscoring of items and a
minimum of estimates, impressions and opinions should be included.
8. The data sought should be grouped in clear and logical
order and arranged attractively. (3)
Vocational Guidance
Froehlich shows how vocational guidance can be used as a
stepping stone to educational guidance and to discussions of a stu
dents personal problems which he might not like to talk about on the
initial contact with a counselor. The following quotation is espe
cially significant to small denominational academies because it is
taken from a description of a guidance program in a high school of
two hundred students, twelve teachers and a principal.
16
"Assisting students with vocational planning makes a good
starting point. It is a definite, easily recognized, fairly
universal need. And, once a discussion of a pupil*s possible
vocation in life is begun, what is more natural than to begin
talking about which high school subjects he should take to lead
to success in such a field, and what further training he will
need? In this way, educational guidance is brought in naturally.
Similarly, personal problems often come to light during interviews
concerning vocational and educational plans. Even though you know
that a pupil has a personal problem with which he needs help, it
would often be tactless or appear prying to call him in and ask
him about it. But, when the student becomes accustomed to coming
to a counselor with vocational problems, he begins naturally to
come with personal problems. Also, during the very process of
assisting a pupil in solving a vocational problem, the personal
problems, if there are any serious ones, begin cropping up."
(7:73)
The need for vocational guidance is expressed by Stoops and
Wahlquist who state that many students have chosen occupations which
cannot be justified in terms of their abilities and other character
istics. (19:101) Self-understanding is needed for wise choices and
there mustlbe specific assistance to individuals for optimum vocation
al adjustment. Many students are not aware of the wide variety and
number of occupations that are available to them. (19:102)
There is a lack of correspondence between students* expressed
vocational choices and the opportunities actually available in the com
munity. Stoops and Wahlquist say,
One of the writers, in a study of 1,145 juniors and seniors in
high school, found similar results. While only 11 per cent of all
males in the community worked as "professional, technical and kin
dred workers," over 33 per cent of the boys had chosen occupations
in that area. (19:102)
Schools, both public and parochial, are criticized for not pre-
‘ paring the students for anything.
‘ If the public school is to retain the good will of its pa
trons, it must be able to show that it is doing an efficient job
j. of preparing students for successful participation in the economic
; _____ life of the country. It is by no means easy to show that students.
17
are being prepared for vocational efficiency. (19:102)
The Seventh-day Adventist denomination for many years has held
very definite convictions concerning vocational education and training.
From the very first, manual training was included in all curricula, and
as boarding academies and colleges were founded, they were purposely
placed in rural settings so that agriculture and animal husbandry could
be learned by the students. Of course, such institutions needed a
laundry, bakery, cafeteria; as well as clerical, janitorial and main
tenance workers. The students were always encouraged to work in these
industries and perform these services to earn part or all of their
school expenses. As opportunities were presented, other industries
such as woodworking shops, metal shops, broom shops, printing shops,
and food factories were added to the school facilities so that students
could learn a trade and earn their expenses.
The writings of Ellen G. White helped to form the educational
philosophy of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her books are filled
with references to vocational education and training. The beginning of
such training should be in the home. She wrote:
The mother should be the teacher, and the home the school
where every child receives his first lessons; and these lessons
should include habits of industry. Mothers, let the little ones
play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the birds,
and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works.
Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things
about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be
added, and firmly fixed in the memory. But let them also learn,
even in their earliest years, to be useful. Train them to think
that, as members of the household, they are to act an interested,
helpful part in sharing the domestic burdens, and to seek health
ful exercises in the performance of necessary home duties.
(Italics not in original.) (27:416, 417)
For every child the first industrial school should be the
home. And, so far as possible, facilities for manual training_
18
should be connected with every school. To a great degree such
training would supply the place of the gymnasium, with the addi
tional benefit of affording valuable discipline. (26:217)
When the child is old enough to be sent to school, the teacher
should cooperate with the parents, and manual training should be
continued as a part of his school duties. (27:417)
The purpose of vocational education and training, White says,
is not to escape life*s burdens, but to become more efficient in work
ing and bearing responsibility.
Let the youth be impressed with the thought that education is
not to teach them how to escape life*s disagreeable tasks and
heavy burdens; that its purpose is to lighten the work by teaching
better methods and higher aims. Teach them that life*s true aim
is not to secure the greatest possible gain for themselves, but to
honor their Maker in doing their part of the world*s work, and
lending a helpful hand to those weaker or more ignorant.
(26:221, 222)
The youth need to be taught that life means earnest work, re
sponsibility, care-taking. They need a training that will make
them practical, - men and women who can cope with emergencies.
They should be taught that the discipline of systematic, well-
regulated labor is essential, not only as a safeguard against the
vicissitudes of life, but as an aid to all-around development.
(26:215)
White has much to say concerning the dignity of labor and the
value of work in the upbuilding of the physical, mental, and spiritual
powers of the individual. The following will illustrate her view
point.
There is science in the humblest kind of work, and if all
would thus regard it, they would see nobility in labor. Heart and
soul are to be put into work of any kind; then there is cheerful
ness and efficiency. In agricultural or mechanical occupations
men may give evidence to God that they appreciate His gift in the
physical powers, and the mental faculties as well. Let the edu
cated ability be employed in devising improved methods of work.
This is what the Lord wants. There is honor in any class of work
that is essential to be done. Let the law of God be made .the
standard of action,and it ennobles and sanctifies all labor.
Faithfulness in the discharge of every duty makes the work noble,
and reveals a character that God can approve. (27:315)
19
Back in February, 1894, White wrote concerning agriculture and
the farmers. She said, "There is need of much more extensive know
ledge in regard to the preparation of the soil," (27:317) "This
country needs educated farmers." (27:319) "Agriculture will open re
sources for self-support, and various other trades also could be
learned. This real, earnest work calls for strength of intellect as
well as of muscle." (27:322) "Farmers need far more intelligence in
their work. . . . They should be constantly learning how to secure a
variety of treasures from the earth." (27:325)
At a later date, this author continues to discuss the advan
tages of teaching agriculture in denominational schools. She empha
sizes that the teaching should be practical as well as theoretical.
She says,
No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture.
In the study of agriculture, let pupils be given not only
theory, but practice. While they learn what science can teach in
regard to the nature and preparation of the soil, the value of
different crops, and the best methods of production, let them put
their knowledge to use. Let teachers share the work with the
students, and show what results can be achieved through skillful,
intelligent effort. Thus may be awakened a genuine interest, an
ambition to do the work in the best possible manner. Such an
ambition, together with the invigorating effect of exercise, sun
shine, and pure air, will create a love for agricultural labor
that with many youth will determine their choice of an occupation.
( 26:219,220)
White is very specific when writing about the establishment of
schools and the inclusion of vocational training in the curricula. For
the most part, this instruction has been carried out in the educational
system of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, in this country and
in all parts of the world. She says,
--------- Manual_training._is_deserving_o_f„far_mQre_attention_than_it___
20
has received. Schools should be established that, in addition
to the highest mental and moral culture, shall provide the best
possible facilities for physical development and industrial train
ing. Instruction should be given in agriculture, manufactures, -
covering as many as possible of the most useful trades, - also in
household economy, healthful cookery, sewing, hygienic dressmaking,
the treatment of the sick, and kindred lines. Gardens, workshops,
and treatment-rooms should be provided, and the work in every line
should be under the direction of skilled instructors.
The work should have a definite aim, and should be thorough.
While every person needs some knowledge of different handicrafts,
it is indispensable that he become proficient in at least one.
Every youth, on leaving school, should have acquired a knowledge
of some trade or occupation by which, if need be, he may earn a
livelihood. (26:218) (Italics not in original.)
Educational Guidance
The fact that in the United States we have cumpulsory educa
tion for all, and in later years, a trend toward what is called equal
education for all, has caused the need for educational guidance to in
crease rapidly. Stoops and Wahlquist point up some of these reasons:
One reason for the need for educational guidance arises from
the fact that the majority of children of school age are now in
school. No longer are the select few prepared for college. By
contrast "all the children of all the people,'1 with extreme con
trasts of ability, achievement, culture, economic and social con
ditions, present themselves to the school to be educated. Equal
ity of education is one of the themes of the day, but equality
does not mean identical education. Each individual needs to be
known in terms of his abilities, achievement, adjustment, and as
pirations before a counselor or teacher can attempt to guide him.
(19:81)
The very complexity of our civilization, the varied cultures
that make up our background, and the tremendous advances in science and
technology in the last sixty years, especially the last fifteen, make
educational guidance a necessity in the schools. This is brought out
by Stoops and Wahlquist:
21
Another reason for the need for educational guidance is found
in the increasingly wider choice, both in school and out, of offe
erings that educate in many areas. There is an increasing recog
nition that "men do not live by bread alone," and that people must
learn to live and play together. This too is an educational re
sponsibility. (19:8)
Individual differences in the great mass of children who are
coming to school are another important reason for educational guidance.
Group instruction and group approaches to some guidance services are
satisfactory for the majority of the school population, but there are
important minority groups at both ends of the intellectual continuum
who are seriously in need of educational guidance of a personal nature.
This is summarized by Stoops and Wahlquist as follows:
Educational guidance must be given to some individuals who
cannot profit from the instruction given to the group, or who have
some problem of such a serious nature that they can be helped
through personal counseling. The main areas of educational guid
ance in which individual assistance must be given are appraising
educational goals, diagnosing and giving remedial help for an
academic deficiency, and helping the above-average student who is
not achieving up to his capacity. (19:94)
The Adventist, philosophy of intellectual attainment must be
understood clearly by denominational schools before they can begin to
give appropriate educational guidance to the students. Goals in life
and personal ambition are discussed by White in the following:
Dear you&h, what is the aim and purpose of your life? Are you
ambitious for education that you may have a name and position in
the world? Have you thoughts that you dare not express, that you
may one day stand upon the summit of intellectual greatness; that
you may sit in deliberative and legislative councils, and help to
enact laws for the nation? There is nothing wrong in these aspir
ations. You may every one of you make your mark. You should be
content with no mean attainments. Aim high, and spare no pains to
reach the standard. (28:36)
Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God*s ideal
for His children. . , . Before the student there is opened a path
of continual progress. He has an object to achieve, a standard to
attain, that includes everything gjood, and pure, and noble. H e __
22
will advance as fast and as far as possible in every branch of
true knowledge. But his efforts will be directed to objects as
much higher than mere selfish and temporal interests as the heav
ens are higher than the earth. (28:40)
The goal of self-development tempered with unselfish service
is emphasized in different words by Mathewson. He says,
Good adjustment and development will be that which brings the
person to his highest possible self-consummation in cooperative
action for spiritual ends. Man's life will not be viewed merely
as an aggregation of successes in various spheres of living but as
a continuous attempt to reach the highest possible attainment of
self-hood in serving values beyond the self. (12:59)
Seventh-day Adventist educators have the following counsel per
taining to the attitudes of the student and the extent which the mental
powers should be trained. White says,
God requires the training of the mental faculties. He designs
that His servants shall possess more intelligence and clearer dis
cernment than the worldling, and He is displeased with those who
are too careless or too indolent to become efficient, well-informed
workers. The Lord bids us love Him with all the heart, and with
all the soul, and with all the strength, and with all the mind.
This lays upon us the obligation of developing the intellect to its
fullest capacity, that with all the mind we may know and love our
Creator.
The Lord desires us to obtain all the education possible, with
the object in view of imparting our knowledge to others. (Italics
not in original.) (25:333)
Seventh-day Adventist Official Thought on Guidance
In the autumn of 1958 the investigator wrote to the Department
of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Wash
ington, D. C., and asked the following questions:
Could you give me an overall picture of what is being done in
our church schools and academies with reference to setting up
guidance programs, and using some of the modern methods of guid
ance? Do we have any textbooks, program materials, workbooks,
in-service training, et cetera, in the field of guidance? Does
the General Conference have any plans, recommended procedures, or
teaching materials along this line?_______________________________
23
The answer to this letter, given below in part, is self-
explanatory:
Now, a good number of our academies have a guidance program. Un
fortunately not all of them do.
We do not have any material on guidance of our own. In our
discussing of this matter we have used the standard teaching
materials on guidance and adapted them to fit our own situation.
Later, the investigator learned of some official actions that
had been taken and again wrote to the Department of Education of the
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and asked specifically
about these actions. The following information was received:
. . . Resolutions voted by the Academy Principals1 Council of
the North American Division held in 1957. It is as follows:
WHEREAS, the 3 ?outh of this denomination continually face a
multitude of life's complex problems, and need help in making
right choices; and
WHEREAS, Our educational program must place greater emphasis
on the guidance of our youth; therefore,
0
We Recommend, That every union educational board actively
provide for strengthening the testing, counseling, and guidance
program of our intermediate and secondary schools, by all possible
means, including the following:
1. A more personal teacher interest in the students.
2. Making full use of the testing and counseling programs
available to them through the colleges in their respective areas.
( *
3. Academy administrators arranging in-service training for
teachers to more adequately prepare them for their role of coun
seling in the school's guidance program.
4. Wherever possible the guidance program be projected from
the intermediate grades through the academy by each staff.
5. In evaluation of teacher loads, giving recognition to those
who direct the testing, counseling, and guidance program in each
school.
Investigation was continued in the office of the Department of
24
Education of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,
Glendale, California, where the investigator was given access to the
files of The Journal of True Education, the professional journal of
teachers in this denomination, and was given a copy of the Principal*s
Handbook of Administrative Procedures which is used in the secondary
schools. A study of this book reveals very little about guidance except
for three references: (1) Under the qualifications of the principal,
it mentions that he should have at least twenty hours in educational
subjects, and guidance is included in the list of recommended subjects.
(2) Under the qualifications of the teacher, it states that "the teach
er shall have some training in the field of guidance and be anxious to
learn the art of personal work." This statement is fifth in a list of
seven qualifications. (3) An organizational chart is given showing the
relationships of the board, the principal, and various divisions of re
sponsibility. The "counseling service" is given as one of the respon
sibilities of the principal under spiritual and social life.
(15:4, 8, 29)
In corresponding with the Central Union Conference of Seventh-
day Adventists, the investigator received the following information
concerning the provisions having been made for guidance services:
. . . We have just recently passed an action on our union edu
cational board and it was passed again on the union committee,
recommending each of the academies in the Central Union give study
to taking on at least a half-time teacher for the purposes of
guidance.
The Pacific Union Recorder, official organ of the Pacific
Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, in the July 6, 1959, issue
had the following notice:
25
Workshop in Counseling
Progress in filling one of the denominations greatest needs
is being made this summer as the Pacific Union College department
of education conducts a workshop to help establish guide lines in
the development of a counseling program in our academies.
Topics for consideration at this workshop include organization
of counseling services, testing, and specific suggestions for re
medial programs to follow individual counseling. Plans worked out
by this committee will be made primarily for the Pacific Union
but will be available to other unions. (14:8)
For information on the training of teachers in guidance and
counseling, the investigator wrote to the two institutions of higher
learning which offer advanced degrees in education. From Andrews Uni
versity in Berrien Springs, Michigan, the following information was
received: "Our master^ program in education permits a concentration in
the field of counseling and guidance within the education major. We
do not have a true major in counseling and guidance as such."
From Pacific Union College in Angwin, California, the follow
ing information was received: r t We do offer an advanced degree in edu
cation with a provision for several courses in counseling and guid
ance.1 1
Summary
Since their beginning;schools have been charged with the re
sponsibility of imparting information to students, but in the last
decade the urgent need for both vocational and educational guidance has
been felt, due to a great extent to the second world war. Guidance is
not now something separate from the curriculum, but is an integral part
of it, both in large and small schools. Guidance can be thought of as
"giving intelligent attention to pupils according to their individual__
26
needs."
The anonymous questionnaire is a satisfactory means of secur
ing guidance information from students if it is used wisely and con
structed according to a few common-sense rules.
Vocational guidance can be used as the entering wedge for
other forms of guidance such as educational and personal counseling.
The Seventh-day Adventist denomination has long offered vocational
training and guidance in its institutions and it believes that such
training should begin with the mother in the home and be continued all
through school life.
Educational guidance is needed now more than ever because more
students with differing abilities from more widely varying backgrounds
are coming to school. Seventh-day Adventists have long held that every
student should develop his mental capacities to the fullest possible
extent and educational guidance is certainly needed for the student to
accomplish this intelligently and economically.
The Departments of Education in the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists and the various union and local conferences are
beginning to give thought and study to the problem of organizing guid
ance and counseling services in the academies. The denominational in
stitutions of higher learning are offering more and more courses in the
field of guidance, and workshops are beginning to be held for the in-
service training of teachers already employed.
CHAPTER III
COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP STUDIED
The Schools
The group consisted of the seniors in three Seventh-day Ad
ventist academies located in Southern California. Two of the schools
are in an urban area and one is in a rural setting. The two urban
schools are located in middle-class residential sections composed most
ly of home owners. The rural school is a boarding academy located on
a five-hundred-fifty-acre tract of rolling, fertile land.
Table 1 shows the distribution of students in the four scho
lastic classes and the number of teaching and non-teaching personnel.
The non-teaching personnel includes the principal, registrar, secre
taries, dietician, custodians, bus drivers, industrial superintendents,
and any others needed on the staff to operate the school or related
industries.
School B is the rural academy and it has several industries
connected with it, which accounts in part for the greater number of"
non-teaching staff members. School C also has an industrial shop con
nected with it, and the academy is closely connected with an elementary
school, which may account partly for the increased number of non
teaching staff members.
The information in Table 1 is taken from the official opening
reports sent to the office of the Department of Education of the
Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
28
TABLE 1
NUMBER OF STUDENTS . AND STAFF MEMBERS
IN SCHOOLS STUDIED
Personnel School A School B School C
Teaching 22 20 20
Non-teaching 9 29 25
Total Staff 31 49 45
Freshman 79 38 66
Sophomores 90 71 69
Juniors 107 90 64
Seniors 79 64 52
Total Students 355 263 251
The remainder of the study will not differentiate between
schools, but will evaluate the group as a whole.
The Seniors
Length of Attendance
Almost half of the seniors, 78, or 48.75 per cent, had been in
attendance at the schools for four years. Nearly 19 per cent had at
tended for three years, and 20 per cent had been in attendance for two
years. See Table 2 below for presentation of Item 1 in the question
naire.
Personal Characteristics
Age. Item 2 of the questionnaire covers in part age, sex, and
race. Table 3 shows that a little more than half the group, 83, or
51.87 per cent, were seventeen years of age; and a little more than a
third, 56, were eighteen years of age. Eight seniors were age nine-
29
teen, and one, a foreign student, was age thirty-two.
TABLE 2
YEARS IN ATTENDANCE
AT SCHOOLS STUDIED
Years Number Per cent
4 78 48.75
3 30 18.75
2 32 20.00
1 18 11.25
TABLE 3
AGES OF THE GROUP
Ages Number Per cent
16 11 6.87
17 83 51.87
18 56 35.00
19 8 5.00
20 1 .56
32 1 .56
Race. The racial descent was predominately Caucasian. In
Table 4 the column marked "Other” includes the blank responses, and
ones that could not be tabulated such as "American.1 5 From observation
the investigator learned that there were more than four Negro and three
Oriental students in the group.
Sex. The girls were in the majority as far as sex was con--
cerned, with a total of ninety members in the group, and of course,
there were seventy boys* In the remainder of the study, no distinction
30
in sex will be made unless the investigator believes that this factor
has some bearing upon the data presented.
TABLE 4
RACIAL EXTRACTION OF THE GROUP
Race Number Per cent
Caucasian 142 88.75
Negro 4 2.50
Oriental 3 1.87
Other 11 6.87
Siblings
Most of the group, 94 seniors, had one or two brothers or sis
ters. The largest concentration was in the group that had only one
sibling, a total of 57 seniors. Seventeen indicated that they had no
siblings, and two had seven or eight siblings each. See Table 5 below
for presentation of Item 6 in the questionnaire.
TABLE 5
SENIORS REPORTING SIBLINGS
AND NUMBER REPORTED
Siblings Number Per cent
0 17 10.62
1 57 35.62
2 37 23.12
3 23 14.37
4 19 11.87
5 2 1.25
6 3 1.87
7 1 .56
8 1 .56
31
A total of seventy-three seniors indicated that they were the
oldest child in their family and thirty-eight indicated that they were
the youngest child in their family.
Church Membership
Membership of seniors. The remainder of Item 2 is covered
here. The majority of the group, 145 or over 90 per cent, listed
themselves as church members* Only thirteen indicated that they were
not members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and of these one was a
member of another church. Two seniors did not respond to Item 3.
Membership of parents and relatives. Items 7, 8, 9, and 10
are covered in this section* The majority of the group, 97 seniors or
60.62 per cent, indicated that both parents were members of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church. The next highest group, 43 seniors or 26.87 per
cent, reported that their mother only was a member of the Church:
whereas only 2 seniors reported that their father only was a member.
Five per cent of the group, eight seniors, revealed that their parents
or relatives had no membership in the Church . See Table 6 for detailed
presentation of these data.
TABLE 6
PARENTS AND RELATIVES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF
THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
Relation Number Per cent
Both parents 97 60.62
Father only 2 1.25
Mother only 43 26.87
Other than parent 10 6.25
None 8 5.00
32
Concerning the length of time that one or both parents had
been members of the church, Item 10 reveals that the largest segment is
in the lifetime area, with 39 seniors indicating that one or both par
ents had been members all their lives.. The next largest group is in
the 6- to 10-year area, with 19 indicating membership;'and 17 seniors
reported that their parents had been members for 31 years or more.
Table 7 shows the details of this information.
TABLE 7
NUMBER OF YEARS PARENTS HAD BEEN MEMBERS OF
THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
Years Seniors Per cent
Less than 1 0
1 to 5 9 5.62
6 to 10 19 11.87
11 to 15 7 4.37
16 to 20 8 5.00
21 to 25 14 8.75
26 to 30 10 6.25
31 and over 17 10.62
Lifetime 39 24.37
Home Conditions
Marital status of parents. Item 11 reveals that about three-
fourths of the seniors, 122 in all, come from homes where the parents
are living together. This does not include the instances where a real
parent is deceased and a step-parent is in the home. Eighteen seniors
report that one or both parents are deceased; and seventeen report that
parents are divorced. Table 8 shows the details of marital status.
One senior reported that both his parents were deceased; six
reported that their mother, and nine reported that their father, was
33
deceased. Table 9 reveals that most of the homes broken by death have
been so for four years or less” . The shortest period of divorce was two
years; and the shortest period since death was two and one-half months.
One senior had lost a parent whithin three months and another within
five months. Most of the divorces had been standing for over ten years.
It is interesting to note that this goes back to the time of the sec
ond world war and the post-war period.
TABLE 8
MARITAL STATUS OF PARENTS
Status Number Per cent
Together 122 76.25
Separated 3 1.87
Divorced 17 10.62
Deceased 18 11.25
TABLE 9
NUMBER OF YEARS SINCE DIVORCE
OR DEATH OF A PARENT
Number Number Number
of years Divorced Deceased
Less than 1 0 3
1 to 2 1 3
3 to 4 2 4
5 to 6 2 0
7 to 8 1 2
9 to 10 0 0
11 to 12 2 0
13 to 14 2 2
15 to 16 4 1
17 to 18 2 1
Occupations of parents. This is covered in Item 12. The
34
The largest segment of the fathers, 58 in number, or 36.25 per cent,
were employed in industry or skilled labor of some kind. The next
highest group was the professional group with 49 fathers, or 30.62 per
cent, with physicians, teachers, and ministers predominating. The
’ ’ Business" classificationrih Table 10 covers those who were self-em.^
ployed, or who worked in clerical, office, or sales work.
TABLE 10
OCCUPATIONS OF FATHERS
Type Number Per cent
Professional 49 30:62
Bus ines s 31 19.37
Indus try 58 36.25
Unskilled 4 2.50
Military 1 .56
Unemployed 1 .56
For the most part, the mothers were were occupied in their
homes as housewives, 66 in all. Forty-seven seniors indicated that
their mothers were employed in business or industry, and 36 indicated
the professions. Two seniors revealed that both their parents were
physiaians, and there were many physician and nurse combinations. In
this connection it is interesting to note that many of the divorces
were in the homes that had a physician-nurse occupational combination.
Table 11 shows details of the mothers* occupations.
Living arrangement. This is covered in Item 13. The majority
of the seniors lived in a house, 145 in all - or 90*62 per cent. Only
fourteen indicated an apartment. The seniors in School B, for the most
35
part, lived in dormitories, but were asked to answer the question as if
they were living at home.
TABEE 11
OCCUPATIONS OF MOTHERS
Type______Number Per cent
Professional 36 22.50
Business or
Industry 47 29.37
Hous ewi f e 66 41.25
A majority of the seniors, 120 - or 75 per cent, said
they had their own room. Of the 23 who said they did not have their
own room, one indicated he had one sibling; seven indicated 2 siblings;
four indicated 3 siblings, two indicated 4 siblings; and one indicated
6 siblings; JIable 12 will show the details of the living arrangements.
TABLE 12
LIVING ARRANGEMENT
Type________Number Per cent
House 145 90.62
Apar tment 14 8.75
Has own room 120 75.00
Doesn*t have
own room 23 14.37
Health Conditions
Over 78 per cent of the seniors, or 126, indicated that they
did not have any condition that might make it advisable for them to re
frain from taking violent exercise, as asked in Item 35. Over 14 per
36
cent, 23 seniors, said that they did have such a condition, and over
6 per cent did not respond. The following list shows the exact condi
tions that were given:
"I have a bad leg.”
"I get tired.’ 1
"Short-winded and slight asthma.”
"Female organs."
"Hernia condition (to be taken care of)."
"I get sick."
"Weak ankles and broke my nose once."
"Rheumatic fever."
"Sinus trouble."
"Asthma, allergies."
"Dizzy spells and headaches from a previous fractured skull."
"I have a bad heart."
"Heart condition."
"Asthma."
"Weak heart."
"I do tire easily."
"Asthma."
"Overweight." (white female, age 18)
"Osteomyelitis."
"Rough physical work makes me tired."
"Asthma."
"Have slight heart condition."
"Toovmuch weight." (white male, age 17)
In response to Item 45 we find 120 seniors, 75 per cent, who
stated that they had never had an illness which kept them out of school
for a month or more. Thirty-three, or 20.62 per cent, said that they
had had such an illness. Most of this group, 22 in all, indicated that
the illness was in elementary school; two indicated the freshman and
sophomore years each; four indicated the junior year; and one the
senior year.
The ones who named the illness gave practically all the usual
childhood diseases plus two cases of poison oak, tuberculosis, osteo
myelitis, third-degree burn and cancer, four cases of pneumonia,
rheumatic fever, and encephalitis.
37
Item 47 dealt with physical impairments that were then present
in the group. The greatest number of complaints were from seeing, 20.62;
per cent; and headaches, 17.50 per cent. Sinus trouble and poor teeth
came in third and fourth. Table 13 below shows the details of the
responses given.
TABLE 13
PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS OF THE GROUP
Impairment Number Per cent
Seeing 33 20.62
Headaches 28 17.50
Sinusitis 23 14.37
Poor teeth 20 12.50
Frequent sore throat 17 10.62
As thma 12 7.50
Stomach trouble 11 6.87
Hearing 9 5.62
Speech defect 7 4.37
Heart trouble 6 3.75
Impaired limbs 2 1.25
Summary
The group studied in this investigation were the seniors in
three Seventh-day Adventist academies, two in urban settings and one in
a rural area. The total enrollments in the three schools were 355, 263,
and 251; and the total number of questionnaires used in this study were
160. The study does not differentiate between schools nor between the
sexes, unless the investigator felt that such differentiation would
have some bearing upon the data presented.
Seventy-eight of the seniors had attended the schools for four
years and 62 seniors had been in attendance for two or three years. A
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33-
little more than half the group, 83, were seventeen years of age; and a
little more than a third, 57, were eighteen years of age. The racial
descent was predominately Caucasian. The group contained 90 girls and
70 boys.
Nearly all the seniors had siblings, with only 17 having none.
A total of 57 reported only one sibling, which was the largest segment
in the distribution.
Over 90 per cent, 145, reported that they were members of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, while one was a member of another church.
The majority, 97, indicated that both parents were members, and the
next largest group, 43, reported that their mother only was a member of
the Church. The largest single group of parents, 39 in all, had been
members-of the Church all their lives.
Most of the seniors, 122, came from homes inhere the parents
were living together; whereas 18 had a parent deceased; and 17 had
parents who were divorced.
The largest single group of the fathers, 58, were employed in
industry or skilled labor; and the next largest group, 49, was in the
professional class. Most of the mothers, 66 in all, were housewives;
47 were employed in business or industry; and 36 were in the profes
sions .
Most of the seniors, 145, lived in a house; and 14 indicated
an apartment; while 120 said they had a room of their own.
Over 78 per cent, 126 seniors, said they did not have any con
dition that would make it advisable to refrain from strenuous exercise;
while over 14 per cent indicated that they did have such a condition.
39
Thirty-three seniors said they had had an illness which kept them out
of school for a month or more, and most of these were in elementary
school years.
The greatest number of impairments reported in the group
were seeing, 20.62 per cent; headaches, 17.50 per cent; sinusitis,
14.37 per cent; and poor teeth, 12.50 per cent.
CHAPTER IV
VOCATIONAL PREPARATION AND PLANS
Preparation
Three parts of Item 71 are concerned with the vocational prep
aration of the seniors and their evaluation of the training they have
received in these areas. Table 14 shows the breakdown of the number of
seniors and per cent of the responses to each item and its evaluation.
Fifty-nine seniors replied that the development of their abil
ity to begin and complete new tasks was "very satisfactory." Seventy-
six said that their development was "about average;" and only thirteen
felt that such development was "unsatisfactory."
The largest segment in this group, 77, were the ones who said
that their development of respect for physical work was "very satisfac
tory." Sixty seniors indicated that this development was "about aver
age," and eleven thought that their development along this line was *un
satisfactory ."
The opportunities for direction or supervision of others are
quite limited in these academies, but forty-two seniors indicated that
their training in this line was "very satisfactory." Seventy-one re
ported their training as "about average;" and thirty-three indicated
their opinion of it as "unsatisfactory."
Table 15 covers Items 32, 41, 43, 48, and 53. Most of the
group, 102 seniors, engaged in some form of work activity during the
preceding summer months. Forty-one did not admit working, and fifteen
attended summer school. Some of the replies indicated that one or more
41
such activities were engaged in, such as work and school.
TABLE.14
EVALUATION OF TRAINING
Type of
Training
Satisfactory
Number Per cent
About
Number
Average
Per cent
Unsatisfactory
Number Per cent
Begin and com
plete new
tasks 59 36.87 76 47.50 13
CM
r-4
•
CO
Respect for
physical work 77 48.12 60 37.50 11 6.87
Supervision
of others 42 26 • 25 71 44.37 33 20.62
-
Typical answers to the question, Item 41, about how last sum
mer was spent and some of the more significant answers are:
"Working and having fun."
"Behind bars."
"On a vacation."
"I worked and had a week's vacation."
"Housework and vacationing back East."
"Working in Washington State."
"Sewing, working, going on a vacation."
"Swimming, church work, house cleaning, working."
"Going to summer school."
"Baby sitting."
"At the beach and camp counselor for 21 days."
"Secretary."
"Free as a bird, worked, and loafed."
"Part-time work in dentist*s office and housework."
"Summer school and vacation."
"Working for _______ Recreation Department."
"In Europe."
"Visiting relatives in Mexico."
"As counselor at summer camp."
"Went to Europe."
"Went on a trip.*'
"Helped in my mother's rest home."
"On a trip to Minnesota."
"Lifeguard at camp."
42
''Loafing, seeing girls.”
"Worked in doctor’s office and went to summer school."
"Worked for a construction company.”
"Swimming and doing correspondence courses."
"I went to Western Oregon for three weeks and then stayed
home."
"Switchboard operator at hospital."
"Loafing and enjoying life."
"Working as a nurse’s aid."
"Working for a sick woman with three children."
"Working in a brickyard."
"Working at the academy to earn money for school."
"Helped in a vacation Bible school, vacation back East."
"Worked all summer and took swimming lessons."
"Working on a farm."
"Went on a trip to Lake Tahoe."
"Worked as a nurse’s aid in a large hospital."
"Working in the dairy, milking cows."
"Worked forty hours a week in a laundry pulling sheets."
"Working and sewing."
"Trip around the world."
"Working at the academy. (hard, too)."
"Working for radio broadcast firm."
"Taking French lessons."
"Working, gardening."
"Part-time work, sewing, placing."
"Visiting relatives in the South and working."
"I worked for my father and went to Europe."
Some of the seniors both worked and traveled or went to sum
mer school and traveled and this accounts for the excess number in the
total listed under "Summer Activities" in Table 15.
It is apparent that this was a busy group during the previous
summer, and they engaged in a variety of vocational, educational, and
recreational activities, ranging from loafing at home to a trip around
the world.
Item 43, tabulated in Table 15, indicated that most of the
seniors, 146 - or 91.25 per cent, did have responsibilities or duties
to perform at home. Thirteen revealed that they did not have work to
do at home, and of these, two said they did not have summer work
43
either.
TABLE 15
VOCATIONAL PREPARATION
Type of Training Number Per cent
Summer Activities
Working 102 63.75
Not working 41 25.62
Traveling 20 12.50
Summer School 15 9.37
Home Duties
Some 146 91.25
None 13 8.12
Outside Jobs
Some 86 53.75
None 65 40.62
Spending Money
Some 70 43.75
None 81 50.62
Like to Work With Hands
Yes 141 88.12
No 17 10.62
Some of the typical answers to this question regarding home
duties are listed below:
"Cleaning house."
"Generally keeping the house up."
"Clean house, wash dishes, do my own washing and ironing."
"Take trash out, repair any appliance in house."
"Keep the house in generally good order."
"Ironing, cooking, cleaning."
"Care for my own room, cleaning house."
"Keep up lawn, work on car."
"Yard work."
"I give piano lessons at my home."
"You name it - I've got to do it."
"Feed cat."
"Feed dog."
"Keep tile on the pool clean*1’
"Doing my part so home is a happy place."
"Taking care of house while mother works."
"Manager of farm."
"Practice music."
"Take care of the cow."
"Helping with the business."
"I have to keep the house as if it were my own."
"Keep my room clean."
"I have to do all the work of a housekeeper."
"Practice music and clean half the house."
"I prepare dinner once a week."
"Take care of house and cook the meals." (Mother deceased three
months.)
"Handyman."
"Help support family during the summer." (Has four siblings.)
"Help my father work on the house and yard."
Some of the seniors in the boarding academy did not live at
home during the preceding summer and worked at the academy to help de
fray the school expenses for the school term. The other seniors in
this academy answered the questions as of the time when they did live
at home, and for most of them, it was the preceding summer.
that 86, or 53.75 per cent of the seniors, did have some kind of em
ployment outside the home. Sixty-five, or 40.62 per cent did not indi
cate any outside jobs. These data are also tabulated in Table 15.
request to describe outside employment briefly are listed below:
Item 48, which asked about jobs outside the home, revealed
Samples of the typical and more significant responses to the
Secretary-receptionist
Work in doctor*s office
Assisting a librarian
Working for English teacher
Office work
Gardening
Record and piano store
Hospital work
Janitor
Housekeeper
Piano teacher
Laboratory
Business office
Church organist
Service station
Yard work
Taxidermy
Hospital kitchen
Gas station, appliance repair
Baby sitting
Waitress
Checking groceries
45
Clerk School maintenance
Hospital admitting clerk Odd jobs
Stock boy Plumbing and electrical repair
Working at school Laundry
Farm work House work
Milking cows Factory work
Grocery store Grading papers
Broom shop Mowing laws
Nurse*s aid Mechanical work
Reader Truck Driver
Sanitarium work Restaurant work
Washing trucks Printing
Skilled work Call-boy in hospital
Medical records clerk Kitchen work
Dental assistant Cleaners
Construction Typist
Secretarial Drug clerk
Item 52 dealt with spending money which the seniors received
and which they did not earn. Table 15 shows that seventy were given
spending money by a parent or other relative, and eighty-one were not
given any money.
This item asked further how much per week was received and how
1
much of the allowance was saved. Table 16 below reveals that of those
who did receive spending money, twenty-one got $1.00 or $2.00; eight
seniors got $5.00 and six seniors got $10.00.
Concerning the amount saved, we find that twenty-two saved
nothing of the weekly allowance; while six saved $1.00 a week. Those
who saved from two to four dollars a week were evenly spread with two
each at two, three, and four dollars.
Two seniors indicated that they received fifty cents a week,
and another received fifty cents "very seldom." One senior revealed
that he received $40.00 a year.
Some of the group appeared to be very thrifty, while others
were_.not. Of the six seniors who received $10.00 a week, three saved
46
nothing; one saved $6.00; one said from one to eight dollars; and one
said, $9.50. One senior received $5.00 a week and saved four; another
received $2.00 a week and saved one; and another received $1.00 a week
and saved seventy-five cents. One senior received $10.00 a month and
saved five. One received $1.00 a week and saved all of it! One saved
ififty cents a week.
i TABLE 16
AMOUNTS OF SPENDING MONEY RECEIVED AND SAVED
Amount
Received Number Per cent
Amount
Saved Number Per cent
$ 1.00 10 6.25 $ 0.00 22 13.75
2.00 11 6.87 1.00 6 3.75
3.00 4 2.50 2.00 2 1.25
4.00 2 1.25 3.00 2 1.25
5.00 8 5,00 4.00 2 1.25
6.00 0 -
5.00 0 -
7.00 0
- 6.00 1 1.25
8.00 2 1.25 7.00 0 -
9.00 0
-
8.00 0 -
10.00 6 3.75 9.00 1 1.25
Some of the significant remarks written in concerning amount
received are listed below;
"Irregularly.**
"Uncertain."
"What I need."
| "Given as needed. It varies.**
"I earn my own and spend my own."
; "Get all I need and save all I can.**
( "Only when needed for special purpose.**
"They give it irregularly."
"Very little."
"Not given per wedc ; just when necessary.*1
"Depends on what I need.1'
Some of the significant remarks concerning amount saved are
47
shown below:
"Not enough to save.1'
"Whatever I don’t spend."
"It depends."
"Save as much as possible."
"Get all I need and save all I can."
Item 32 asked if the senior liked to work with his hands. The
majority - 141, or 88.12 per cent, indicated that they did. Only sev
enteen, or 10.62 per cent, said they did not. This is tabulated in
Table 15.
Plans
Item 55 asked if the senior had decided what he wanted to do
to earn his living in life. The majority, 124 - or 77.50 per cent,
indicated that they had made this decision; while 35 - or 21.87 per
cent, said they had not decided.
Table 17 shows the actual choices of the seniors and the num
ber of times each line of work was chosen. The highest pair of choices
was'physician*and‘nurse,1 1 each with “ thirteen. It is interesting to note
that there were three choices of "dentist" and four of "dental hygien-
ist;" two of "missionary doctor" and two of "missionary nurse;" and one
of "missionary dentist." The medical and scientific areas were chosen
a total of fifty-five times. This may be accounted for, in part, be
cause of the fact that the Seventh-day Adventist denomination operates
a large medical school, two shools of nursing, and two large metropol
itan hospitals in this immediate area.
The field of teaching was represented with twenty choices, one
of which was to teach the handicapped. The field of business had nine-
teen choices; while building and construction had nine choices. Agri
culture had four choices.
The miscellaneous group included several of the professions,
with law leading - having three choices. The ministry had only one
clear-cut choice. This may be a significant fact in a group of seniors
imparochial schools operated by an evangelical denomination such as the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. Seven seniors had not made a specific
choice, but had narrowed it down to one thing or another, or a com
bination of two areas.
TABLE 17
FREQUENCY OF CHOICES OF LIFEWORK
Line of Work Number of Times Chosen
Physician
Nurse
Medical line
Dental hygienist
Dentist
X-ray technician
Physical therapist
Missionary doctor
Missionary nurse
Missionary dentist
Surgeon
Pathologist
Dietician
Laboratory technician
Occupational therapist
Biochemist
Chemist
Nuclear physicist
Teaching
Elementary teacher
Physical education teacher
Piano teacher
English teacher
Commercial teacher
13
13
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
6
5
2
2
1
1
49
TABLE 17 - Continued
Line of Work Number of Times Chosen
Language teacher 1
Speech teacher 1
Teacher of the handicapped 1
Secretary 9
Business 3
Medical secretary 2
Legal secretary 1
Private secretary 1
Telephone operator 1
Bookkeeper 1
Store buyer 1
Electrical Engineer 3
Engineering 2
General contractor 1
Interior decorator 1
Draftsman 1
Architect 1
Farmer 2
Dairy farmer 1
Horse trainer 1
Lawyer 3
Housewife 2
Evangeli s t-mini s ter 1
Social worker 1
Music 1
Fireman 1
Beautician 1
Housewife and teacher 1
Psychologist and housewife 1
Education or homemaker 1
Nursing or teaching 1
Foreign work or teaching 1
Teaching or ministry 1
Science or law 1
Item 57 asked, "Would you like to work for the Seventh-day Ad
ventist denomination as a career?” Host of the seniors answering this
50
said they would not - seventy-two in all, or 45 per cent. Sixty-seven
said that they would, and twelve were undecided. Details of this are
shown below in Table 18.
TABLE 18
DENOMINATIONAL.EMPLOYMENT AS A CAREER
Decision Number Per cent
Yes 67 41.87
No 72 45.00
Undecided 12 7.50
Some of the more typical and significant reasons given for de
ciding to work for the church as a career are given below:
MI would be with people who believe the same as I do."
"I think mission service would be the most thrilling and re
warding work."
"Because you will never have to worry about your social stand
ards.”
"You would not have Sabbath problems and you would enjoy it
more working with someone of your own belief."
"It would"keep me on the right way and I could serve God
best."
"A good way to serve Christ."
"Unity for a cause - Christian fellowship."
"To serve."
"Because I wish to help our young people."
"Because you have a better chance to help people."
’ Help to bring others to Christ."
"I would like to help people find the right way of living."
"Keep among the people and beliefs I believe."
"This gospel must go to the whole world."
"I would feel I was working for the Lord."
"One can be sure you get Sabbath off."
’ •Maybe I can help some other person spiritually."
"I believe in it. It would be the best place to work."
"I would like to be a missionary nurse."
"Because I like to work around young people."
"To be helpful and please the Lord."
"I want to be in our work."
"Help further the gospel work."
51
"Not as many children in a class." (Wants to be elementary
teacher.)
"To be in a boarding school with young people."
"I would like to work in public places to spread the gospel."
(Senior and parents not church members.)
"I feel it offers something you can*t get elsewhere."
"It"would involve less personal conflict."
"Help finish the work."
"You don*t have so much trouble."
"Help the Lord to come sooner."
"I feel a responsibility for the work."
"I would have the backing of the church in a closer way."
"I would have more of an opportunity to witness for those out-
side the church."
"Wouldn*t be any other choice!! (and still preach right)."
(Chose minister as lifework.)
"Because I feel if I work within the denomination it will keep
me in the church. That is the reason my father left the
church, because he slowly left denominational work."
"Because it would be easier to keep ray Christian standards."
"The opportunity it offers for service."
"If I got in the world it would influence me wrongly."
"So I could have Sabbaths off. Too much drinking and smoking,
too." (In other employment.)
"Because there are so many people who need our help."
"It*s my duty."
"Help God."
"I can be working for God."
"For about five years in Africa."
"In their hospitals."
"Because I think that every S.D.A. member should help in our
denominational work."
"Because you are with your own religion."
"If it is a good-paid job in my field, why not?" (Chemistry)
Of the seventy-two who said they would not like to work for
denomination as a career, 90.27 per cent - sixty-five seniors, were
church members. Some of the more typical and significant answers are
|given below:
I
"They donft offer enough in this field." (Nuclear physics)
"Because I want to have my own farm - not someone else*s."
, f Work is not appealing enough."
"There is no denominational job that interests me."
"Not enough money or chance for advancement."
"Low pay--: it*s really hard."
"No money in it."
52
"Not enough pay."
"Not too interesting to me."
"Would not enjoy it."
"It does not interest me."
"It doesn’t need draftsmen."
"They don’t pay anything."
"Just don’t like people crying on my shoulder."
"Not enough money."
"I really don’t care." (Not a church member.)
"Not good pay, etc."
"Doesn’t pay well."
"Honey, no money."
"Not enough pay and I don’t believe in the church." (Church
member with both parents members for ten ydars.)
"Because I wouldn’t be able to live up to the standards."
"It doesn’t appeal to me."
" I want to work on my own."
"I don’t feel that I should."
"¥»u just don’t get enough pay."
"There are too many politics being played."
"Don’t pay enough and you have to be so-so."
"I don’t like the people." (Not church member; both parents
are - for lifetime.)
"Not enough money."
"Just doesn’t seem right."
"Too poor of pay - not much appreciation for efforts."
"Because I think I could do more for the church by being on thd
outside."
"The pay is very poor, not enough to live on."
"I am not a S.D.A. and have no desire to be." (Mother is S.D,
A. and divorced 13 years.)
"I do not believe in all S.D.A. doctrines.’ 1 (Church member;
both parents members over 25 years.)
"Only reason is poor pay, otherwise yws."
"Can’t make enough money to support family properly."
"They don’t pay well."
"Adventists are not consistent sometimes."
"Because they already have many workers."
"I’d like to be a missionary for 5 or 10 years, after that I
would like ray own practice."
"I couldn’t preach or sell books to save my soul."
"If I became like some of the office workers here, I’d think I
was better than everyone else." (Not member; parents not
members.)
"I don’t like working for S.D.A."
"Not enough pay." (Elementary teacher)
"I am not interested in that type of work."
"Not enough fields of work."
"No reason - low pay."
53
Item 34 asked if the senior could think of any obstacles that
might interfere with his vocational plans. Seventy-five responded to
this and 71 indicated that they could think of an obstacle, while five
indicated no obstacles. Several seniors indicated more than one ob
stacle,
| Table 19 shows the types of responses and the frequency they
l
were given by the group. If two or more reasons were given by a re
spondent, such as "Money, grades, laziness,” they are given under the
headings of "Lack of Money," "Lack of Ability," and "Myself,"
TABLE 19
FREQUENCY OF POSSIBLE OBSTACLES
TO VOCATIONAL CHOICE
Type of Obstacle Frequency
Lack of Money 41
Marriage 12
Lack of ability 10
Myself 6
Lack of study 5
Lack of time 4
Parents 3
Religion 2
Lack of health 1
Death 1
It is obvious that financial considerations were the greatest
obstacle to vocational choice anticipated by this group of seniors.
Many of them were planning to continue their education in denomination
al colleges, and the fact that they were in private schools where tui
tion is charged and the students have to pay for their fees and books,
may account for this awareness of financial responsibility.
54
This group is entering the marriageable age and ten were real
istic enough to mention that marriage could prevent them from attaining
their vocational goal. Those who indicated a lack of ability, some
personal trait, or lack of study, showed a measure of insight into the
present and possible future problems.
Some of the significant and typical answers to this item are
given below:
"Myself."
"No, except 1*11 have to work a year before attending college
for financial reasons."
"Married life."
"Money for training - marriage."
"Math and reading."
"English."
"Lack of money and time."
"Death, financial assistance."
"Long period of time for training."
"Competition, money."
, f Money and my husband."
"Past illness."
! , Money, grades, laziness."
"Not being able to compete with the tough competition."
"Lack of funds - must be self-supporting."
"Money, study - I don*t study enough."
"N8t enough study."
"Perseverance."
"Marriage and a family."
"Mqney - past grades."
"Not having a strong enough stomach to get through my nurse Vs
training."
"Not having finances for college."
"Parents or a certain man."
"Keeping the bills paid up."
"Jty brain."
"Girls."
"Financial - no support from my family."
"Money, money, money. (Lack of it)."
"My father thinks I should take chemistry or biology." (A
girl who lists music as her vocational choice.)
"A husband."
"Grades in academy."
"Me."
"None except finances."
"Finances, but 1*11 manage."
55
"Financial and the language*"
"Perhaps I don’t have enough ability; possibly financial rea
sons ; and I am not going to have my Dad pay for my educa
tion anymore," (Father is M.D. and subject plans on a
physics or chemistry major.)
"If I cannot obtain Sabbath off while going to school, I may
not attend the university." (Of Hawaii)
"My father doesn’t want me to be a teacher." (Elementary)
"My religion." (Plans on a business advertising major.)
"Getting married."
"Possibly ray failure to study and learn."
"Math - finances."
"Money - time."
"Time, money, happiness."
"Failure."
"I am lazy, don’t have enough preparation."
"Not good enough grades in chemistry."
Guidance
Item 56 asked the seniors how they became interested in their
choice of lifework. There were many influences represented by the
answers. Among the most prominent were: parents* influence, part-time
jobs, reading, example of teachers, academy courses taken, and a gen
eral interest in the area. Below are listed some of the significant
responses and to make the response more meaningful, the eboicewdf vo
cation is also given.
"Doctor - 'Have always liked doctors."
"Surgeon - read about it and many tests say I can take up this
field."
"Physician - Through father and friends." (Father is M.D.)
"Physician - Father is one and also grew up where all friends
are doctors."
"Medical Doctor - My parents are this and I can’t think of any
better job for me."
"Doctor - I like it."
"Something medical - Have friends in it."
"Doctor - My father is one."
"Medical work - Don’t really know."
, ! Medical missionary - I have always been around medicine; I
enjoy the work with people."
"Doctor - Work in hospital."
"M.D. - Just knowing a lot of doctors. It just interests me.
56
I don't know why.” (Father is M.D.)
''Physician - I have always been interested in physics and
chemis try•"
"Physician - Reading and listening."
"Medicine - My dad's a doctor."
"Hospital work - "I like it, why I don't know."
"Nurse - I just all of a sudden had a feeling to help the
sick."
"Missionary nurse - My relatives are in medical work and some
are in the mission field, so I naturally became interested.
"Missionary doctor - Through reading and observation."
"Nursing - I have always wanted to be a nurse. It was when my
father was sick that I was sure."
"Nursing - I have been influenced in the medical line since I
was younger because of my brothers and sisters who are
doctors and nurses."
"Missionary nurse - I visited the ______ Sanitarium one day
and started talking to a student nurse I knew. Also read
ing the book, Julie Otis, Student Nurse."
"Nursing - Through my mother." (Mother is a nurse.)
"Nurse - I want to help people and I like to meet people. I
remember all the kind nurses when I was in the hospital."
"Nursing - The field of medicine is facinating and nursing
affords ample opportunity to help others and witness for
God. This is what I want to do."
"Nursing - Because of what they have done for me."
"Nursing - It seems no matter where I go I always talk to
nurses. They are always telling me of their experiences."
"Nursing - My parents are in the medical field of work and I
have always been interested."
"Missionary dentist - Interest brought to me through family."
"Dental hygienist - From my brother. I thought it would be
interesting."
"Physical therapy - Reading about it."
"Nursing - I like medicine a lot and I also like to help
people."
"Nursing or teaching - I want to be with children."
"Dental assistant - I'm doing it now."
"Dental assistant - Reading about it."
"Nurse - So I can be a missionary."
"Nurse - Grew up with the idea and still want to."
"X-ray technician - Because I have always liked this kind of
work."
"Nuclear physicist - By playing around with radio, electri
city, geology, astronomy."
"Dental assistant - by talking to my dentist's assistant."
X-ray technician - Just so happened."
"X-ray technician - Like working with machines."
"Laboratory technician - I enjoy working with chemistry."
"Dentist - By going to the dentist's office."
57
"Something in medical line - Worked in rest homes. My sister
is a nurse, X want to help others."
"Dentist - 'Worked in a doctor’s office."
"Occupational therapist - "Through personal guidance and help
from a teacher. Also it includes many of my particular
interests."
"Biochemist - By studying into the field."
"Chemist - I liked to read about it and my parents helped to
convince me."
"pathologist - My father is a pathologist."
"Commercial teacher or secretary - Enjoy it, seems interesting,
fun."
"Physical education teacher Because I like all sports and
because of our P.E. teacher here."
"Teaching - By attending academy and observing our teachers."
"English teacher - I enjoy teaching and English."
"Piano teacher-performer - I have always liked it."
"Teaching - Watching teachers and talking to them."
"Teacher of the handicapped - Prom observation."
"Teaching - By thinking what would be best for me."
"Elementary teacher - Since I was very young I have loved small
children."
"Teacher - From the teachers I have had."
"Language teacher - By taking Spanish."
"Piano teacher - Took piano."
"Foreign work or teaching - Always have been. I will teach if
I get married."
"Teaching first or second grade - Ever since I was little I
used to play school with my dolls.”
"Education or homemaker - I like little children and they like
me." (Oldest of seven children.)
"Elementary teacher - Just because I like children and children
like me."
"Speech teacher - When I began a speech course here and did
well in the temperance contest."
"Elementary teacher - I have four brothers and sisters and I
like to work with them."
"Teacher - I don’t understand how, but pnly I can say I liked
it since early in my life, and ray mother was a teacher for
nineteen years."
"Secretary - I used to work in an office during summer and
Christmas vacation."
"Secretary - I enjoy all kinds of office work. I admire bus
iness people."
"Secretary - X enjoyed typing when I took it.”
"Medical secretary - Through working in it and having an in
terest in medicine."
"Bookkeeper - By taking bookkeeping here at school."
58
"Secretary - I have had some experience and that is what my
mother does."
"Private secretary - Being around offices."
"Telephone operator - Reading about it and taking tests show
ing where my abilities lie."
"Secretary - From my sister-in-law and I like it."
"Business (denominational) - Through different persons and my
father."
"Medical secretary - Worked around it all my life.':’ (Father
is a surgeon.)
"Business - Through aptitude tests."
"General contractor - I don*t know. (Father is a truck dri
ver.)
"Interior decorator - By reading books and talking to other
people about it."
"Draftsman - I like art and mechanical drawing."
"Electrical engineering - Reading and study,"
"Electrical engineer - Subjects taken at school."
"Engineering - Ive always been interested in mechanics and
mathematical problems."
"Dairy farmer - Working in a dairy in academy."
"Agriculture - Lived on a farm for a year."
"Farmer - Lived on one for a while."
"Horse trainer - By getting horses of my own and training
them."
"Housewife - My boy friend."
"Fireman - My father is one."
"Housewife and teacher - Through thd guidance of academy
teachers and seeing the wonderful work they are doing."
"Psychology and Housewife - One of my former bosses was work
ing on his master*s in psychology."
"Evangelist-minister - Teachers and associates. I can*t
really say."
"Social worker - I enjoy people and would like to work with
them."
"Lawyer - In our history class and from lawyer associates."
"Lawyer - Through reading, etc."
Item 58 furnished the seniors a list of ten sources where they
could have received help in planning for their chosen occupation. The
tenth source was "Other" and they were asked to specify what the other
sources were. Table 20 lists the ten sources of help and the number
of times they were checked by the seniors. The per cent column adds
59
up to more than 100 per cent because several items were checked by the
same person in some cases.
It is significant that "parents" was checked by 93 seniors, or
58.12 per cent of the group. The second highest group were the ones
who checked "reading," or 79 seniors. The third largest group, 75,
were those who checked "friend."
The sources who had the least influence on the seniors in
their vocational choices were the academy principal and the class ad
viser. It is interesting that 16 seniors were influenced by their
church pastor.
TABLE 20
SOURCES OF HELP IN PLANNING VOCATION
Type Number Per cent
Parents 93 58.12
Reading 79 49.37
Friend 75 46.87
Academy teacher 46 28.75
Relative 43 26.87
Career conference 38 23.75
Other (Specify) 36 22.50
Church Pastor 16 10.00
Class adviser 10 6.25
Academy principal 3 1.87
The second part of Item 71 asked the seniors to evaluate the
guidance and counsel they had received concerning their lifework.
Eighty-one indicated that they thought that it was "very satisfactory;"
forty-nine said they believed the guidance and counsel was "about av
erage;" while nineteen seniors considered it "unsatisfactory." Over 81
percent were satisfied with their vocational guidance and over 11 per
60 .
cent were not.
I
Item 74 asked, "Did this school help you to discover your goal :
j
in life?" Sixty-six seniors, or 41.25' per cent, said "Yes;" and eighty-
*
seven seniors, or 54.37 per cent, said "No"; seven did not answer.
Some of the more meaningful answers are quoted verbatim below.
Most of them are encouraging to parochial school administrators, but
some offer a challenge and require an answer to the question, "Is this
academy doing all it can for the whole child?"
The second part of Item 74 asked, "If so, how did it help you?"
Below are the answers which comment on the testing and counseling pro- ;
grams of the academies: |
"By tests and counselors."
"Tests and conferences."
"Yes, but it also made me change it after I found a goal by
confusing me with a bunch of dumb tests."
"I took tests in ninth grade that helped me know what I can
do."
"By counseling."
Some of the negative comments are listed below. The senior
I
who said he was "confused" obviously received poor guidance.
"Not much as I had already made up my mind."
"I already had it set."
"I already knew what I wanted in life." I
"Confused me."
"I already had it."
"I discovered it myself."
"I already had my goal set."
"I know of no goal for myself other than eternal life."
"I knew before I came here."
"Because I had it a long time ago."
Most of the negative answers show that the school did not help
in making a vocational choice because the student had already set his
goal before coming to the academy. One senior said, "No, just encour- ,
61
aged me."
Even though most of the seniors, 54.37 per cent, said that the
academy had not helped them to discover their goal in life, most of the
comments by far, were very positive and constructive. The more signi
ficant ones are listed below:
"It offered the courses which I love."
"Through the courses (I took)."
"It helped me to see how important God is in my life."
"It has helped me in my spiritual life."
"By teaching me the right ways."
"Made me want to learn."
"By talks I have had this year and our P. E. teacher."
"It helped strengthen my determination to give my life for
mission service if I am called."
"It has made me know how to appreciate my Lord more fully."
"By teachers who lived lives I want to live."
"By putting me in a correct relationship with God."
"To prepare myself and others for eternal life."
"By the day-by-day influence of Bible courses, teachers, and
schoolmates."
"It showed me my true interests."
"Made me want to do something."
"By showing a Christian attitude."
"Convinced me to always be a Christian."
’ .'Friendship teams. V;
"We have wonderful chapel programs and good teachers who are
interested in us."
"Except that I like most of the teachers."
"By the many religious activities."
"It is hard to say."
"Helped me to understand the faults of the world."
"Helped me to learn how to study."
"It showed me that there was something worth-while in life for
me to do above all earthly jobs and fame."
"Helped me choose my lifework."
"Helped me decide to let God fix my goal."
"It changed my ideals."
"I found what my goal is."
"Opened the way a lot clearer."
"It helped me to see what the really important things in life
are."
"I learned about and joined the S. D. A. church."
"The school, no doubt, did help me, but I don't know how to
evaluate its role in the situation."
"By showing me what I could do best."
62
"By creating the atmosphere.'1
"I guess a little, just made me decide more.**
"By guiding me away from Adventism."
"Through courses taught."
"Showed me where my interests lay."
"Taught me what real happiness was."
"It showed me that life is what you yourself make it and want
out of it."
"I don't know exactly."
"It showed me what I don't want."
"I never had taken speech until I came here and I furthered my
knowledge and abilities in this field."
"By the association and learning the hard way."
"It helped me by knowing God wouldn't let me down if I work ;
for Him."
Summary
The greater part of the seniors evaluated their vocational
training in the areas of beginning and completing new tasks, respect
i for physical work, and supervision of others, as "very satisfactory"
or "about average."
In actual vocational preparation such as summer work, home
duties, part-time jobs, and liking for manual work, we find again that
most of the seniors were on the positive side. However, only seventy
were given spending money by parents or relatives, while eighty-one
were not given any. Of those who did receive an allowance, twenty-two
did not save anything; while fourteen admitted saving from 75 cents a
week to $9.50.
Summer activities, part-time jobs, and home duties covered a
wide variety of recreational interests, traveling, and vocational
preparation. These ranged all the way from loafing, feeding the dog,
and having fun, to giving piano lessons to pay tuition, and traveling
with parents around the world.
63
One hundred twenty-four seniors indicated that they had de
cided what they wanted to do to earn their living in life, while thirty-
five had not. The greatest concentration of vocational choices was in
the area of science and medicine, with a total of fifty£five choices.
Physician and nurse were the highest items on the list with thirteen
choices each. The field of teaching was next with twenty choices; then
business with nineteen choices; and agriculture with four choices. The
area of building and construction had nine choices, ihe field of law
had three; two seniors desired to be a housewife only; and only one
listed the ministry as a choice.
Nearly half the group, seventy-two, said they would not like
to itfork for the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as a career, while
sixty-seven said that they would. Twelve were undecided.
The reasons for these choices were many and varied, but most
of the ones who would not like to work for the church said that money,
or low wages, constituted the reason. Those who would like to work for
the church said that they desired an opportunity to work for others, to
work with congenial companions, and to be of service to God. Of those
who would not want to work for the church, 90 per cent were church mem
bers .
Seventy-one seniors indicated that they could think of an ob
stacle that could interfere with their vocational plans. The one
mentioned the most was lack of money, by forty-one seniors. Twelve
listed marriage, and ten - lack of ability. Six had enough insight to
list some personal quality, and two said "Myself" and "Me" respectively.
_ Asked how they became interested in their choice of lifework,
64
the seniors listed parental influence, part-time jobs, reading, academy
teachers, and academy courses taken, as the main forces active in their
choices.
Given a list of ten sources of help in planning their vocation,
the seniors listed their parents as first, next reading, then friends.
The class adviser and the academy principal were listed as the least
helpful source in this decision.
Eighty-seven seniors said the academy did not help them to
find their goal in life, while sixty-six said that it had helped. Some
said they had helped through testing and counseling, by the example of
teachers, the courses taken, and the awareness of GodAs presence in
'their lives. Most of those who made negative comments indicated that
the school had not helped them discover their goal in life because they
already had it established when they came to the school.
CHAPTER V
EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION AND PLANS
Preparation
Item 15 in the questionnaire asked how many academies or high
schools had been attended since the student left the eighth grade.
Table 21 shows that 85 seniors, or 53.12 per cent, had gone to only one
school; while one senior whose father was a welding foreman, had at
tended six schools. Forty-seven seniors, or 29.37 per cent, had gone
to two schools, 18 had attended three schools, and 8 had attended four
i
schools. The occupations of the fathers of the seniors who had gone to
!four schools were: welder, electrician, post office clerk, military
service, factory worker, and industrial house mover. The motility found
in construction work and military service may account for some of these
changes in schools.
TABLE 21
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ATTENDED
Schools Seniors Per cent
1 85 53.12
2 47 29.37
3 18 11.25
4 8 5.00
5
- -
6 1 .56
Item 16 asked, "Have you ever repeated an academy course?" We
find eighteen seniors said they had, and 138 - 8r 86.25 per cent, said
66
they had not. Of those who had, the sexes were almost equally repre
sented with ten boys and eight girls. Table 22 shows the courses that
had been repeated and number of times mentioned.
The field of English heads the list with ten times repeated,
and seven of these were in School A, which contributed most of the
respondents. It is interesting that it was a boy who failed physical
,education-and a girl who failed driver education. Some students re
peated more than one course, and one mentioned that it was because of
rillness.
TABLE 22
SECONDARY COURSES REPEATED
Name of Times
Course Repeated
English 10
Mathematics 4
History 3
Biology 1
Bible Doctrines 1
Driver Education 1
Physical Education 1
Not Shown 1
The amount of time the seniors studied out of class was ex
plored in Item 14. One hundred forty-eight, or 92.50 per cent, ad
mitted that they did study at home; while eight said they did not. The
amount of time spent in study out of class is shown in Table 23. Most
of the seniors, 86 in all, spent two or three hours a day studying out
of class, while two admitted to spending five hours a day studying.
67
TABLE 23
HOURS PER DAY SPENT IN STUDYING
OUTSIDE OF CLASS
Hours Seniors Per cent
0 8 5.62
%
11 6.87
1 22 13.75
1%
14 8.75
2 45 28.12
3 41 25.62
4 6 3.75
5 2 1.25
In answering how many hours per day they studied some said,
t
"Not much,*1 and "Don*t know." One said, "At school in study hall, at
home before a test." Another said, "Never count them."
Two parts of Item 71 explored the seniors1 evaluation of their
educational preparation. Sixty-three seniors believed that their fac
tual foundation for future education was "very satisfactory," while
!
seventy-two seniors said it was "about average," and twenty-five rated
such foundation as "unsatisfactory."
The other part of Item 71 which dealt with educational prepar
ation asked them to evaluate their training in writing and speaking
correctly. Fifty-seven seniors rated this training as "very satisfac
tory," and sixty-two said it was "about average," while thirty-one said
it was "unsatisfactory."
These two questions showed that the majority of the seniors
were satisfied with their training in a factual foundation and in writ
ing and speaking correctly.
68
Plans
i
| More than 97 per cent of the boys, 68 seniors, planned to go
Jto college; while 90 per cent of the girls, 81 seniors * planned to go
|to college. Tabled shows the details of the answers to Item 25 con-
i
icerning plans for going to college. Of the group as a whole, over
i
93 per cent planned to go to college.
TABLE 24
SENIORS WHO PLANNED
TO GO TO COLLEGE
Response Number Per cent
Yes
Boys 68 42.50
Girls 81 50.62
No
Boys 1 .56
Girls 7 4.37
Undecided
Boys 1 .56
Girls 2 1,25
Item 25 also asked the seniors to name the college they
planned to attend. The majority, 101 or 63.12 per cent, named a church
i
i
•operated senior college. Twenty-one seniors, 13.12 per cent, named
!some type of public or tax-supported college; while twenty-six, or
I
16.25 per cent, were undecided as to which college they would attend.
Table 25 shows the distribution of these answers.
In Item 26 the seniors were asked, **In what field of study do
you plan to specialize in college?” One hundred thirty-six seniors,
69
or 85 per cent, had decided on their college major, while eighteen
revealed that they were undecided. Table 26 shows the college majors
chosen and the number of times each was chosen. The areas of science
and medical work again lead as they did in choice of lifework. Edu
cation or teaching, and secretarial science followed, with law, music,
1 and agriculture coming next. The ministry again had only one clear-
cut choice, while it was combined with other lines of work in two
instances. The exact wording of the students is given in this table
so that the reader can see how the seniors differentiated between
college majorsiin terms of vocabulary.
TABLE 25
TYPES OF COLLEGES SENIORS
PLANNED TO ATTEND
Type Number Per cent
Denominational
Public
Undecided
101
21
26
63.12
13.12
16.25
TABLE 26
FREQUENCY OF CHOICES OF COLLEGE MAJOR
Type of Major______ Number of Times Chosen
Nursing 14
Medicine 9
Secretarial science 6
Chemistry 5
Business 5
Elementary education 4
Law 4
Biology 4
Engineering *' 4
Teaching 4
Science 3
Music 3
Dentistry 3
Education 3
Agriculture 3
X-ray technician 2
Medical secretary 2
Teaching or Secretarial science 2
Physical therapy 2
Social science 2
Architecture 2
Construction 2
Physics 2
Physical education 2
Medical line
Anatomy
Occupational therapy
English
Sewing
Nuclear physics
Interior decorating
Electronics
Legal secretary
Dietician
Speech
Mechanics
Psychology
Dental assistant
Home economics
Liberal arts
Beautician
Modern languages
German
Theology
TABLE 26 - Continued
71
Type of Major Number of Times Chosen
Physics and Electrical engineering 1
Nursing and Secretarial Science 1
Physics and Mathematics 1
Art and Literature 1
Dentistry and Art 1
Biology and Chemistry 1
Pre-medical and Art 1
Biology and Education 1
Languages and Physical education 1
Science and Business 1
Secretarial science and speech 1
Music and Journalism 1
Elementary education or Nursing 1
Building construction or Drafting 1
Home economics or Dental assistant 1
Education or Sociology 1
Home economics or Animal training 1
History or English 1
Business or Secretarial science 1
Education or Buying 1
Physics, Chemistry or Biology 1
Education or Ministry 1
Theology or fre-engineering 1
Business or Mathematics 1
Guidance
Inasmuch as many students do not make a definite choice of
vocation until they are already in college and pursuing a college
major, it was felt by the investigator that the reasons for choosing
a particular course of study in college would be of importance to
' guidance workers in denominational academies. Therefore, Item 27
asked the seniors to give some of their reasons for their choice of a
college major.
The following list gives some of the typical and more signifi
cant answers in the exact words of the seniors. To make the list more
72
meaningful to guidance workers, the choice of major is also shown pre
ceding the reason quoted.
"Nursing - I have always been interested in becoming a nurse.
I am around it a lot at home and enjoy dealing with people.1 1
"Medical secretary - I like it and feel X have an ability in
this line and aptitude tests show I do."
"Medicine - In this field I can be of greatest benefit to
humanity. I enjoy this kind of work."
"Education or ministry - I like working with people and help
ing them with their problems. 1*11 do whatever the Lord wants."
"Nursing - I would enjoy meeting all sorts of sick people. I
would enjoy to help in every way."
"Law - I am interested in helping others and in speech."
"Social science - I*m interested in people and would like very
much to help them."
"Music - I like music! Good music!"
"Elementary education - I like children and enjoy being with
them."
"Nursing - To someday work in a boarding school to help young
people as I have been helped."
"Science and business - I think it would be interesting work.
There is a good amount of income in it."
"Anatomy - I have great interest in the human body and how it
works•"
"Physical therapy - It is interesting work; there!s a need for
it."
"Business - Fatherrs work and I like it. Also my aptitude
tests for college showed definite aptitude for it."
"Agriculture - I like outdoor work and would like to farm or
teach an agricultural subject."
"Theology - Teachers, location and surroundings."
"Secretarial science - Because I have always wanted to be a
secretary."
73
"Engineering - I like to work out of doors and do different
things."
"Social science - It is the nearest thing to psychology that
can be obtained in our schools. I am interested in working with
people."
"German - I am fascinated by languages, have had some oppor
tunity to study German, and am interested in the foreign work."
"Business or Mathematics - Ability in this field is higher in
my case."
"Pre-medical and Art - To get a liberal education before med
ical school, and I enjoy art and music very much and have some
talent, I believe,"
"Nursing - My father was a missionary in India and I was born
there. I have seen firsthand the desperate need of medical work
ers in the mission field, and if it is God’s plan for me, I would
like to return to India as a missionary nurse."
"Theology or Pre-engineering - I like both of these very much
and my talents tend toward this way."
"Dentistry - I think it would be interesting work."
"Music and Journalism - Like music and writing. Feel that’s
where main talent lies."
"Chemistry - A liking for chemistry. Preparation for medical
school."
"Music - I have the ability and I just feel that I must do it.
I enjoy music more than any other subject taken so far."
"Modern languages - I am really interested in taking foreign
languages and I would like to teach them."
"Biology and/or Education - Mainly because I enjoy them. Have
always loved children and love to work with them."
"Education - I think I can do the Lord’s work most satisfac
torily here."
"Agriculture - I am interested in it because I like the out-
of-doors and am milking cows right now."
"Architectural design - I like to work with my hands and
create things, I like to work with drawings and painting."
74
"Nursing - I have always wanted to and would like to help
people.— Also there wiil^always be~a~demand~for this type~of~ workV
"Languages and Physical education - I love sports and pick up
languages easy."
"Business - A lot of opportunities."
"Teaching - I love small children and I feel I can help fur
ther God’s cause in this way, too."
"Secretary - It is what I think would be interesting work, not
too hard, pays good money."
"Beautician - Because I like to fix hair."
"Architecture - I am interested in architecture course since
I am interested in drafting and design."
"Nursing - I have always wanted to be a nurse because my
mother is an R.N."
"Engineering - I like mechanics and the physics principles of
mechanics."
"Physics, Chemistry or biology - I am interested in that field
especially in doing research. I want to benefit people by research
and it gives me satisfaction. I like scientific things."
"Dietician - I just like to plan diets and cook."
"Chemistry - I like it and I think I will do well and it
makes you thank."
"Engineering - My interests and abilities lie in this line."
"Physics - Because I have always been interested in physics
and I want to broaden my interests in it."
"Biology and chemistry - Planning on being a doctor and I
like chemistry very much."
"Nursing or teaching - I love children and want to work with
them. I love arts and music and use these things in teaching.
My father is a surgeon and I would enjoy being a nurse."
"Liberal arts - I’m not sure what I plan to be in life’s
workshop•"
"Home economics - I enjoy that type of work, sewing, etc."
75
"Physical education - I like sports."
"Dental assistant - I like the subjects involved and know I
will enjpy this work,"
"Education - I like small children, I usually get along with
them real well and they behave when I ask them to."
"Psychology - I enjoy people and working with them, especially
young ones. I want to be something such as a girl's dean."
"Business (advertising) - I like to deal with people and I
think I have a talent for selling people on my ideas."
"Chemistry - Because I like it and because I get good grades
in it."
"Chemistry - I like chemistry very much and I am good in this
subject, so I think I can succeed in it."
"Law - The money. I would like the work. I would be good at
it. The prestige,"
"Physics - Because I enjoy physics and because I plants be a
doctor."
"Mechanics - It interests me greatly."
"Physics and electronics engineer - Like math."
"Science - I like it."
"Medicine - Like to help ease pain. Financial reward."
"X-ray technician - I like this because of the many fields it
offers."
"Education - I saw the great necessity when I worked as
teacher for many years in our organization in the Inca Union,
South America. I think that same necessity is in all the world."
"Elementary education - Because I enjoy working with children
and I feel I could do it well.?
"Nursing - Being a nurse gives you a chance to help people.
You meet a lot of people. You can travel and always find work.
It is a job you can always pick up even though you have been out
of work awhile."
"Speech - I do well at speech and I would like to teach high
school or junior college speech after I have had my four years
76
of college.'1
"Elementary education - I love children and I remember how
much I enjoyed grad^ school and I hope X can make my classes just
as much fun."
"Dentistry and art - I like art but would like to go into the
medical field, so I decided to take art as a sideline."
"Nursing - I feel that it is my duty to God to help the sick
and needy."
"Business or secretarial science - I like office work a lot
and have had some experience in the work."
"Nuclear physics - I love physics and love to study about the
atom and work with it."
"Elementary education - I love children and I would like to
help them."
"Secretarial — I have the abilities, appearance, and interest
for it." ,
"History or English - I*m more interested in these fields and
my tests show that my abilities lie in these fields."
"Sewing - X enjoy it and think I would like to teach it."
"Nursing - I want to go to the mission field and I enjoy work
ing with people."
"Secretarial science - I enjoy typing, shorthand, and book
keeping."
"Surgery - I donft like to see people all distorted and sick."
"Physical education - I enjoy playing games, and it will keep
me in shape, and I will be helping others to learn something
about how their bodies should be kept.'.1
"Teaching (I dOnft know what.) - I enjoy trying to help stu
dents and teach them something useful in later life. I like kids
and I like to talk."
"Biology - To prepare me for medicine."
"Pre-medicine - Be able to give of myself to others, personal
interest in this type of work."
"Medical - All my interests point in that direction,"
77
"Building - Money."
"Agriculture - I like watching things grow, working among
them, and harvesting them."
"Biology - It is a prerequisite to medical school."
"English - I enjoy English and literature very much and I
would like to teach it."
"Music - I like it. I will make it my professional career."
"Secretarial - Can always get a job. Even a small amount of
this training can help at home or in holding or finding a job."
"Home economics or animal training - Because I’m going to be
a housewife and raise horses and I figure these courses will help
me •"
"Nursing - Because I want to help people not only physically
but spiritually as well."
"Biology - I enjoy it."
"Interior decorating - I like to plan for homes and things and
decorate rooms, so I think I shall go into this line."
"Prenursing - Because I love to work with people and help them
in every way possible. Also this is one way of witnessing for
Christ."
"Education or sociology - Love people - Like to travel - want
to be educated to be a more interesting person."
"Home economics - To better myself as a housewife."
"Building construction or drafting - I like art and mechanics
and this is a good compromise."
"Dentistry (children) - I would like to help children through
dentistry. I love science and I like working with children."
"Biology - Way to get into medical school."
"Engineering - I have ability in this field. Am very inter
ested in research and learning different ways of doing things."
"Teaching - The man I plan to marry is a teacher and people
have advised it to me."
"Secretarial science and Speech - At present, I am engaged in
78
a secretarial job. I enjoy it and I*ve met many interesting
people. I also enjoy public speaking and I believe I can gain
help in this field by taking it in college.'*
"Nursing - I can help mankind. I would like to be a mission
ary and I feel I can help the natives more in this line of work."
"Art and Literature - I have enjoyed doing and studying these
things."
"Occupational therapy - I enjoy all things connected with it.
I love art and music and I think it would be very rewarding to
help the handicapped in these fields."
"Medicine - Help others. Good;pay."
"Legal secretary - Want to do that type work - good pay."
"Medical secretary - I have worked in this field for two
years as part-time medical secretary. I enjoy medicine and meet
ing the different people."
"Business - I have already a background in this field. I run
my owia business." (Gardening)
"Construction - I like making things, and also I like to see
great bridges and buildings."
One senior did not indicate his choice of a college major, but
gave as his reason for the choice: "To get a knowledge of a little of
everything."
It is significant that many of the respondents expressed a
desire to be of service to others and some planned on foreign mission
work. Others were practical enough to consider the financial returns
of the chosen field of study. A few said that tests had shown that
they had aptitudes or interests in the field they had chosen. The
greater part of the group, however, stated that they enjoyed the field
of study or line of work they had chosen. Several had already tested
out the field by practical experience in it. Parental influence is
only slightly noticed in this list of reasons.
79
One part of Item 71 asked the seniors to evaluate the infor
mation and counsel they had received concerning their future education.
Sixty-six seniors, or 41.25 per cent, said that the information and
counsel they had received relative to their future education was "very
satisfactory.” Sixty-four seniors, or 40 per cent, said that this
service had been "about average”; while twenty-one seniors stated that
the service had been "unsatisfactory.”
It is significant that over 81 per cent of the group studied
believed that the educational guidance services they had received were
at least satisfactory; while only 13 per cent thought they were not.
i
;The majority of the dissatisfied students, fifteen in all, were in
School C, which had the fewest respondents. The school with the great
est number of respondents, School A, had the fewest dissatisfied stu-
;dents, only two in all.
Summary
Eighty-five seniors, or 53.12 per cent of the group, had
attended only one school since leaving the eighth grade; while one
jsenior had attended six schools. Forty-seven seniors had attended two
schools, eighteen had attended three schools, and eight had attended
four schools.
Eighteen of the group admitted repeating a secondary course,
but 138, or 86.25 per cent said they had not. The field of English is
mentioned more than any other, with mathematics and history next.
One hundred forty-eight, or 92.50 per cent of the group, said
they studied at home, and eighty said they did not. Eighty-six seniors
80
spent two or three hours a day studying out of class and two admitted
spending five hours a day studying.
One hundred thirty-five of the group, over 84 per cent, were
satisfied with the factual foundation for their future education. Over
74 per cent, or 119 seniors were satisfied with their training in writ
ing and speaking correctly.
Over 93 per cent of the group planned to go to college and
over 63 per cent of this group planned to go to a denominational col
lege. Twenty-six seniors were undecided as to which college to go to,
and twenty-one indicated that they planned to go to a public college.
One hundred thirty-six seniors, or 85 per cent of the group,
had decided on their major field of study in college; while eighteen
revealed that they were undecided. Science and medical work lead in
the choice of college majors. Education and secretarial science were
next down the list, followed by law, music, and agriculture. The
ministry had only one choice, but was combined with other fields by
two seniors.
Asked a reason for their choice of college major, most of the
group said they liked the field of study and believed that they would
enjoy working in it. Many expressed a desire to be of service to
others and wanted an opportunity to serve God. A few mentioned the
monetary reward in the field; and some mentioned the influence of apti
tude tests. Parental influence was mentioned, but was negligible.
Over 81 per cent of the seniors indicated that they were sat
isfied with the educational guidance they had received while in the
academy, while 13 per cent were not. Most of the dissatisfied students
81
were from one school.
CHAPTER VI
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The Seventh-day Adventist philosophy of education can be
stated in one sentence: "True education • . , has to do with the whole
being, and with the whole period of existence possible to man,"
(26:13) This concept was held for many years before modern education
al thought began to consider the whole child, and long before the area
of counseling and guidance became a part of the modern technique of
education.
Guidance services are just as essential in a small school as
in a large one. Most Seventh-day Adventist academies are small
I
schools, under 300 students. The complexities of modern life, the
concept that all the children of all the people should have an equal
education; and individual abilities, interests and aptitudes, make it
imperative that every child have the advantage of an intelligently-
administered guidance program in his school.
The anonymous questionnaire as a research instrument has sev
eral weaknesses such as calling attention to problems without calling
forth the causes and relationships with other significant aspects of
the total situation, and calling forth thoughts without revealing the
feelings connected with them. This instrument can, however, be used to
advantage to verify other data already received, and it is an econom
ical method of gathering information from large groups. The very act j
i
i
of filling out a questionnaire may help the respondent to see what his i
83
problems are, how many problems he may have, or how few.
Vocational guidance can be used as a stepping stone to educa
tional guidance and to helping the student with personal problems which
he otherwise might not want to bring to the counselor. Students need
realistic information about themselves and the vocational opportunities
in their community.
Seventh-day Adventists since the very beginning of their educa
tional system have emphasized the need for vocational education and
training in their schools, and consequently placed most of their
schools in rural areas where agriculture could be practiced and indus
tries could be added to the institutions to aid in this training. They
[
believe that habits of industry, responsibility, respect for honest
labor, thrift, and manual training slsould begin in the home at an early
age and be continued in all the years of school training.
Educational guidance is needed in the schools now more than
ever because of the vast array of courses offered, the thousands of
|vocational avenues that can be entered, and the throngs of children
from all stratas of society who are coming to the schools with all de-
I
grees of ability, interests, and aptitudes.
The Seventh-day Adventist concept of educational guidance is
that every student should develop his mental powers just as far as it
is possible for him to do so, but not with the thought of becoming a
privileged member of society and avoiding useful work, but with the
realization that he with increased training and opportunities, has an
increased responsibility to make the world a better place in which to
live.
The group studied consisted of 160 seniors in three Seventh-
day Adventist academies, composed of 70 boys and 90 girls. Nearly one-
half, 48 per cent of the group, had attended the school for four years*
Over one-half of the group, 51 per cent, were age 17; and 35
per cent were age 18. One hundred forty-two were of Caucasian descent
and the remainder were of Negro and Oriental descent. Only seventeen
seniors had no siblings, while the remainder had from one to four or
more.
Over 90 per cent of the group, 145 seniors, were members of
the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Ninety-seven seniors indicated that
both parents were members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and
forty-three said that their mother only was a member.
Marital status of the parents was as follows: Living to
gether, 122 seniors; separated, 3; divorced, 17; and deceased, 18.
i
jMost of the divorces had been in effect for ten years or more.
Occupations of the fathers showed 49 in the professional area,
31 in business, 58 in industry, 4 in unskilled work, one in the armed
forces, and one unemployed. Most of the mothers, 66, were housewives;
while 47 were in business or industry, and 36 were in the professions.
The health conditions of the group were good,as a whole, with
only 10 per cent saying that they had a condition that would prohibit
their taking violent exercise. Thirty-three had had an illness which
had kept them out of school for a month or more and most of these were
in the elementary school years. Over 20 per cent indicated they had
difficulties with eyes, over 17 per cent had headaches, and over 14 per
cent suffered with sinusitis.
85
Most of the group evaluated their training in the areas of be
ginning and completing new tasks, respect for physical work, and super
vision of others as "satisfactory*” Most of the seniors performed sum
mer work, had home duties, part-time jobs, and liked manual work. Only
70 were given spending money, while 81 were not.
One hundred twenty-four seniors said they had decided what
their lifework would be, while thirty-five had not. Most of the voca
tional choices were in the area of science and medicine, with physician
and nurse at the top of the list. The next highest choices were teach
ing, business, agriculture, building and construction. The ministry
had only one unqualified choice.
! Nearly one-half the group, seventy-two, said they would not
want to work for the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a career, while
sixty-seven said they would. Most of the ones who would not like to
work for the denomination gave "low wages" as the reason. Of those
who would not want to work for the church, 90 per cent were church
members•
"Lack of money" was given as the greatest obstacle to attain
ing vocational choice, then marriage, and lack of ability. Ninety-
three seniors said that parents had the greatest influence on their
vocational choice; while seventy-nine gave heading“ and seventy-five
listed a friend.* * Eighty-seven seniors said that the academy did not
help them to find their goal in life, while sixty-six said that it had
helped.
Eighty-five seniors had attended only one school since leav
ing the.eighth grade, while one senior had attended six schools.
86
Eighteen of the group admitted repeating an academy course, and English
headed the list. One hundred forty-eight said they studied at home.
I
I
One hundred thirty-five of the group were satisfied with the
factual foundation for their future education, and 119 seniors were
satisfied with their training in writing and speaking correctly.
Over 93 per cent planned to go to college, and of this group,
over 63 per cent planned to go to a denominational college. One hun
dred thirty-six seniors had decided on their major field of study in
college. Science and medical work lead in the choices of majors.
Education and secretarial science were next in line, followed by law,
music, and agriculture. Most of the group gave as their reason for the
choice that they liked the field and believed they would enjoy working
in it. Many expressed a desire to be of service to others, and a few
mentioned the monetary rewards.
Over 81 per cent of the group indicated that they were satis
fied with the educational guidance they had received in the academy.
Conclusions
The Seventh-day Adventist denomination in developing its sys
tem of education has been aware of the need for vocational and educa
tional guidance for many years and has made efforts in this direction
long before public education entered the field of guidance. The
, denominational system of education has now been surpassed by public
f
schools in offering guidance services to students and endeavoring to
:take into account individual differences.
!
■ Some of the peculiarities and limitations of denominational
87
academies are discussed by Charles E. Wittschiebe, who made a study of
the problems of the students in one academy and one college. He says,
Seventh-day Adventist schools are not equipped to give the vari
ety of courses necessary to cater to the vocational needs of all
students adequately. The combination of study and manual labor is
a basic principle, but only a limited number of vocations can be
prepared for within the system itself. The emphasis on the pro
fessions, the limited school budgets, the prevalent "white-collar"
philosophy, the inadequacy of men and means for guidance, and the
religious difficulties inherent in some occupations, all are
causes for the present ineffectiveness in meeting the particular
needs of a sizeable fraction of the current student population.
Another contributing factor arises out of denominational be
liefs* Because the students feel that the Lord is coming soon,
and that His people are to finish the work, many young people are
conditioned to believe that they must have a part in the denomin
ational organization to do their share. And for one reason or
another, the opportunities offered are largely in the professions
rather than in vocations requiring manual and mechanical skills,
(30:50)
With the above-mentioned limitations in mind, answers will be
sought for the questions raised in the first chapter,
(1) Are these schools giving their students sufficient help in
making vocational choices?
The schools are apparently doing the best they can with what
they have. Not one of them has a full-time counselor, but all of them
teach a course in senior problems which does cover the area of voca
tions. The fact that over 77 per cent of the group studied had decided
on their lifework, and the fact that most of those who said the school
had not helped them to discover their goal in life had already set
their goal before entering school, indicate that the schools are not
falling too far short in offering vocational guidance, either directly
or indirectly,
(2) Are these schools giving their students opportunities to
develop habits that will help them later in the world of work?
The very fact that a student has been admitted to a private
school that has minimum standards of conduct and charges tuition, indi
cates that he is being given an opportunity to develop habits that will
help him later in the world of work. He must give attention to his
appearance, his language, his grades, attendance, health, and his fi
nancial relationship with the school. The fact that most of the
fathers are employed in business and industry, and the largest group of
the mothers are housewives makes it necessary in many cases for the
student himself to work and help pay his tuition. One of the urban
s chools studied has a printing shop connected with it in which stu
dents are employed, and the rural school has several industries includ
ing agriculture where students work to help defray school expenses.
Most of the seniors work in the summer, have home duties, and part-
!
time jobs, all of which are encouraged by the schools, for financial
reasons, if for no other.
(3) What kind of students do these schools have to work with?
The schools were founded for the purpose of offering a Chris
tian education to children of the members of the church. Only 5 per
cent of the group were from non-Adventist homes, with 95 per cent hav
ing one or both parents or some other relative a member of the church.
The seniors were of average age for their grade, 17 and 18 years old,
were predominately of the white race, and most of them were in good
health with no impairments* The sexes were about equally divided, with
a few more girls than boys. Most of the group had parents living to
gether, had siblings, lived in a house, and had their own room.
89
(4) Are these schools assisting their students to make realis
tic educational plans?
It is not possible to answer this question completely in this
study because the testing and counseling services were not evaluated as
such in this investigation. Each school, however, does have a testing
program, A few of the group mentioned that they had chosen their life-
weak or college major on the basis of tests they had taken. These
schools are dedicated to the principle that each student has an obli
gation to develop his mental powers to the greatest extent possible,
and because of this, there are the dangers of over-achieving and of
some students being pushed too hard. Host of the seniors chose one of
!the professions in their choice of college major and of lifework*
iThere is a definite limit on the number of graduates that the Seventh- !
:day Adventist denomination can hire, and it is doubtful that all the
seniors that desire it can find professional positions in the commun
ity, It is not certain whether these facts have been called to the
attention of the seniors,
(5) Are these schools helping their students to discover their
ggals in life?
Eighty-seven seniors stated that the academy had not helped :o
them to find their goal in life; while sixty-six said that it had
helped. It must be pointed out, however, that many of those who said,
"No," also said they had their goal already set when they entered the
school. While some students mentioned that they had been influenced
by the example of teachers, by testing and counseling, and by an
awareness of the presence of God; it must be recognized that much of
the schools* influence and guidance is indirect and is felt in many
jsubtle ways, sometimes unknown to the staff or students.5
!
! (6) Are these schools convincing their students that the
'schools are doing an adequate job in these areas?
The successful influence of the schools in the areas of vo
cational choice, educational plans, and discovery of life goals, is
admitted by most of the students.
Recommendat ions
(7) How can these schools fulfill their purpose for existence
in a more effective way?
The Seventh-day Adventist Department of Education of the Gen
eral Conference should ever guard against the feeling that because the
church has what is felt to be a "divine blueprint" for a system of
secular education, nothing more is to be learned from current educa
tional research and from public systems of education.
The students in denominational academies and colleges should
be given realistic educational and vocational guidance with reference
to their lifework and should be oriented to the spiritual and practical
belief that they can "do the Lord*s work" just as effectively in secu
lar employment, if not more so, then they can hope to do in denomina
tional employment, because of the limited number of persons the church
can hire.
In a series of articles entitled "The Contemporary Problems of
Christian Education," Richard Hammill says, "In our church we deplore
the tendency of mothers to engage in employment outside the home, yet
91
we must recognize that a large percentage . . . do." (91:23) In the
annual bulletins of the three schools studied, we find ho less than
'twenty-two married couples on the staffs in a total of 125 staff mem
bers. If the denomination desires to continue to attract the graduates
it needs for its world-wide organization, it must study the financial
rewards that are being offered, and seek to pay a living wage that can
be earned by one member of the family, so as not to make it necessary
for the wife and mother to leave: her home or children in order to
supplement the income.
Careful study should be given to the reasons why young people
desire to enter upon a career of denominational employment. If this
desire is based upon a sense of duty alone, the individual may be
placing upon himself an emotional burden he may not be able to bear.
!
|Fred M. Hechinger says, "But to put the matter on the basis of your
duty to serve would inevitably lead to a great many unhappy careers."
(10:2) Laudable as they are, the desires to "help humanity," "fill a
great need," and "to witness for God," carry with them the danger of
being derived from a compulsive neurotic need in the personality of the
individual. The denomination may find itself short of well-trained
and mentally-healthy employees if it relies entirely for its workers on
the desire of its members."to do good."
In order to offer a properly-administered program of educa
tional and vocational guidance, balanced by a mentally-healthy spirit
ual approach, denominational schools should accelerate their plans and
efforts to train and hire qualified teachers to set up a full range of
guidance services in all academies and colleges.
92
In order for the schools studied to fulfill their purpose for
existence in a more effective way, they should foster as far as poss
ible the above recommendations* The administrators can seek to educate
their governing boards, patrons, and leaders in the denomination, to
the need for qualified and trained guidance personnel oh the staff.
Inasmuch as most of the seniors indicated that their parents
were a source of help in planning their lifework, the denomination
should seek some way to place vocational information, especially con
cerning denominational employment, into the hands of the parents so
that they can offer intelligent assistance when it is sought by their
children.
This could be done by publishing articles or series of art
icles in the general church paper, The Review and Herald, and in the
journal prepared for the youth of academy and college age, The Youthfs
Instructor.
B IBLIOGRAPHY
94
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Allen, Richard D. Organization and Supervision of Guidance in
Public Education. New York: Inor Publishing Company, 1937.
2. Cavan, Ruth S. "The Questionnaire in a Sociological Research
Project,” American Journal of Sociology, 38:721-27, 1933.
3. Chisholm, Leslie L. Guiding Youth in the Secondary School. New
York: American Book Company, 1945.
4. Davis, Frank G. Pupil Personnel Services. Scranton: The Inter
national Textbook Company, 1948.
5. MEducation Code for Seventh-day Adventist Schools of the Pacific
Union Conference.1’ Glendale, California: Department of
Education, Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,
1957, Unpublished. (Mimeographed.)
6. Ellis, Albert. ’’ The Validity of Personality Questionnaires,”
Psychological Bulletin, XXXXIII (September, 1946), 385-440.
7. Froehlich, Clifford P. Guidance Services in Smaller Schools.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1950.
8. Funk, Charles E. (ed.). Britannica World Language Edition of Funk
and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary of the English
Language. 2 vols. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1956.
9. Hammill, Richard. "Should Adventists Keep Pace with Rising Educa
tional Levels?” No. 5 in series, "Contemporary Problems in
Christian Education,” The Review and Herald, CXXXVII, No. 6,
(February 11, 1960).
110. Hechinger, Fred M. "A Personal Message to College Students,”
College Teaching As a Career. Washington: American Council
on Education, 1958.
11. Jones, Arthur J. Principles of Guidance. New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Company, 1934.
12. Mathewson, Robert H. Guidance Policy and Practice. New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1949.
13. Mooney, Ross L., et al. Manual, The Mooney Problem Check Lists.
New York: The Psychological Corporation, 1950.
14. Pacific Union Recorder, LVIII, No. 49. (Angwin, California)
July 6, 1959, p, 8.
95
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
"Principal's Handbook of Administrative Procedures." Washington:
Department of Education, General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists, 1954. Unpublished. (Mimeographed.)
Roeber, Edward C., et al. Organization and Administration of
Guidance Services. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955.
Shostrom, Everett L., et al. The Dynamics of the Counseling
Process. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1952.
Smith, Glenn E. Counseling in the Secondary School. New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1955.
Stoops, Emery, et al. Principles and Practices in Guidance. New
York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958.
Super, Donald E. "Vocational Adjustment as Personal Development,"
California Guidance Newsletter, 5:10-12, 1951.
Thorpe, Louis P. Child Psychology and Development. New York:
The Ronald Press Company, 1955.
Traxler, Arthur E. Techniques of Guidance. New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1945.
Warters, Jane. Techniques of Counseling. New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Company, 1954.
. "Three-year Follow-up Report, Miami Senior High School,
Graduates of 1938." Unpublished. Miami, Florida: April,
1941. (Mimeographed.).
White, Ellen G. Christ's Object Lessons. Washington: Review and
Herald Publishing Association, 1900.
________. Education. Mountain View, California: Pacific Press
Publishing Association, 1903.
. Fundamentals of Christian Education. Nashville:
Southern Publishing Association, 1923.
________. Messages to Young People. Nashville: Southern Publish
ing Association, 1930.
. Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, California: Paci
fic Press Publishing Association, 1909.
96
30. Wittschiebe, Charles E. "Expressed Problems of Students in a
Seventh-day Adventist College and in a Seventh-day Adventist
Academy." Unpublished thesis, Seventh-day Adventist Theolo
gical Seminary, Washington, 1953.
31. Young, P. V. "The Validity of Schedules and Questionnaires,"
Journal of Educational Sociology, 14:22-26, 1940.
APPENDIX
98
SENIOR PROBLEMS SURVEY
INSTRUCTIONS
Informal Oral Introduction: (After appropriate announcement by class
instructor) First, I will introduce myself* My name is Edgar Howard.
I am a graduate student at the University of Southern California and I
am working toward the Master of Science in Education degree. I taught
in Seventh-day Adventist schools for several years and am now on leave
of absence to get this advanced degree.
Today, I am going to give each of you a questionnaire to fill out dur
ing this period. Mr. . _____ has kindly consented to let us use this
time in the ________ class.
(distribute materials. Read the following instructions so that each
group will have the same opportunity and information.)
fformal Instructions to be Read: The purpose of the questionnaire is to
find ways and means of helping the school to help you and to help those
students who will come after you. Some of you have younger brothers or
sisters who will soon be taking the same courses you have finished, and
if you still live in this area, you may send your own children to this
very school; and they, too, will be helped by the information that we
will gather today.
We wish to obtain a picture of academy life as you see it today, as you
have experienced it while you have been in this school, and as you hope
to have it if and when your own children come here for a part of their
education. Please feel free to add any information to the question
naire which is not requested and which you feel is important. Write
down any suggestions which may come to your mind as you read the ques
tions.
I
! There is no place anywhere on the questionnaire for your name, address,
or any other identifying data. We do not want to know who gives the
answers. All that we desire is that you answer carefully and thought
fully and give as true a picture of yourself and the school as you can.
If there is any question which you would rather not answer for some
reason, feel free to omit it. If you are in the habit of using green
ink or a purple pencil in your work, we have a supply of black lead
pencils for you to use so that no one can identify your questionnaire
by the color of the writing. I will repeat that all the information is
strictly confidential and that we do not wish to have any questionnaire
identified in any manner whatsoever.
This is not a test. There is no such thing here as an answer which is
right or wrong. The only correct answer is the one which you honestly
feel to be true in your own situation.
99
Do not spend too much time on any one item* It is better to write down
the first things that come to mind and then go on to the next item. If
.there is any time left when you finish, you may go back over the items
land add anything that you like. If you need more space, you may use ■
the backs of the pages. If some item puzzles you, raise your hand and
I will come to your side and explain it. Remember, no answer can be
called either right or wrong, and we do not wish to know who gives the
information.
You may begin.
(NOTE: The original questionnaire as presented to the students consis
ted of five legal-size pages completely filled. The following presen
tation of the questionnaire, due to the wider margins, does not show
the exact spacing of the original. The amount of space left for the
answers here is not equal to the amount left on the original.)
100
SENIOR PROBLEMS SURVEY
Seventh-day Adventist Academies
Date________________
1. Name of school ______________ How long have you attended?_________
2. Your age Sex____Race Member of S.D.A. Church? Yes No____
3. If not a member of S.D.A. Church, are you a member of some other
church? Yes____ No____
4. If not a member of S.D.A* Church, have you thought of becoming a
member? Yes____No____
5. If not a member of S.D.A. Church, has anyone talked with you about
.joining? Yes No___
6. How many brothers and sisters do you have?________Are you the
o lde s t ?______ Y ounge s t ?_____
7. Are both your parents S.D.A. Church members? Yes No____
8. If only one parent is a S.D.A. Church member, which one?___________
> 9. Name any other relatives of yours who are S.D.A. Church members.___
10. How long has either one or both parents been S.D.A. Church members?
' years.
11. Indicate the marital status of parents: Living together___________
Separated______Divorced___ How long?_____Either one deceased?______
Which?_________________How long?____________years.
I
12. Father's occupation:______________Mother's occupation:_____________
13. Do you live in a house?__________or an apartment?__________________
and have your own room?___________
14. Do you study at home?__ How many hours per day on the average?___
! 101!
J 15• How many academies or high schools have you attended since leaving ;
| the eighth grade?
J \
jl6. Have you ever repeated an academy course? Yes No______ If so, j
' t
give the name of the course:_____________ j
i
I
17. What kind of athletic activity do you prefer to engage in?_________
18. Why does this particular type of activity appeal to you?___________
19. Estimate the number of hours per day you spend in recreation out
side of school hours:
20. Estimate the number of hours you spend in each of the following
activities each week: Reading for pleasure______________
Listening to radio_____________ Watching television_______________
Any form of church work________ Attending theaters_________ ______
Miscellaneous recreation (specify)____________________ .
21. Name the school clubs you have belonged to for at least one semes
ter while in the academy:___________________________________________
22. How did these particular clubs benefit you?________________________
23. What school or class offices have you been elected to while in the i
a c a d e m y ? _____
24. What is your favorite television program?_________________________
25. Do you plan to go to college? If so, name of college:_________
26. In wfaat field of study do you plan to specialize in college?_______
27. What are some of your reasons for this choice?^______________ :
28. Do you enjoy reading?
prefer?______________
If so, what types of books do you
102
|29. What magazines do you read?_________________________________________ ,
|30« Do you believe that the wearing of jewelry such as rings, neck- j
laces, bracelets, and precious stones is an acceptable manner in
which to dress? Yes No j
i
31* Do you feel that you have any talent in art?________Music?_________
Vo ice?_________S peak ing?______ _
32* Do you like to make things with your hands? Yes No_____
33. If you were to go through academy again, would you elect the same
subjects on the whole? Yes No Why?________________________
34. Can you think of any obstacles that might interfere with your voca
tional plans? Yes No _If so, what are the major ones? ____
35. Do you know of any condition that: might make it advisable for you
to refrain from taking violent exercise? Yes No If so,
describe the condition:_____________________________________________
36. Do you feel that coffee, tea, and cola drinks are useful items of
food? Yes No_____ If so, do you include them in your diet?
Yes No_____
37. List in order of rank the three courses you took during your acade
my years which have been the most helpful and the least helpful:
Most helpful: a._____________ b.____________ ^ c. ____________
Least helpful: a._____________ b.___________ c.____________
38. What other subjects do you wish had been offered by the school?
39. What help other than subject matter could the academy have given
you which it did not provide?____________________________________
103
40# Do you feel that reserving Sabbath time one day a week for church
activities is an encroachment upon your personal life? Yes No___
41. How did you spend last summer?
42, Do you believe that the general run of movies at theaters and on
television is good food for the mind? Yes_____ No___ Why?_________
43. Do you have any responsibilities or duties to perform at home?
Yes No If so, describe them briefly: ___________________
44. Do you believe that paying one-tenth of your income plus offerings
is a fair way in which to finance the work of the church?
Yes _No If so, do you participate in this plan? Yes________ No_
45. Have you ever had an illness which kept you out of school for a
month or more? Yes No If so, when was it?_______ __________
Nature of the illness:_____________________________________________
46. Do you feel that flesh foods are an acceptable article of diet?
Yes No If so, do you use this type of food: Regularly?____
Occasionally?__________
47. Do you have any trouble with: Hearing?________Seeing?_________
Headaches?_________Speech defect?^________ Heart trouble? ________
Impaired limbs? Frequent sore throat?________Asthma?_______
Stomach trouble?__________Sinusitis?__________Poor teeth?_________
48. Do you have a job outside your home? Yes No . If so, what
kind of work is i t ? ____________________________________________
49. Do you feel that the use of tobacco is an acceptable way to relax,
be sociable, and make friends? Yes No If so, do you use
this material? Yes No
104
50. Why did you choose this school in preference to some other?_______
51. Now that you are a senior, would you or your parents r choose this
school again? If so, why?_________________________________________
If not, why?________________________________________________________
52. Are you given spending money (which you did not earn) by a parent
or other relative? Yes No If so, how much per week? $_____
Amount you save of this? $_______
53. Do you feel that having sex relations before marriage is an accept
able form of activity? Yes No If so, have you partici
pated in this activity? Yes No_____
54. Do you play a musical instrument? Yes_ No If so, which?
55. Have you decided what you want to do to earn your living in life?
Yes No If so, what is your choice of lifework?___________
56. How did you become interested in this kind of work?______________
57. Would you like to work for the S.D.A. denomination as a career?
Yes No_____ If so, why?________________________________________
If not, why? _____________________________
58. Check below the sources where you received help in planning for
your chosen occupation:
a. Friend e. Class adviser h. Reading
b. Relative f. Academy principal i. Church pastor
c. Academy teacher g. Career conference j. Other (Specify)
d. Parents _______________
59. Do you feel that the use of intoxicating drinks is as good a way asi
any to relieve your tensions, be a good sport, and win companion
105
ship? Yes No If so, do you participate in drinking?
Yes No____
60. If you had what you consider a very serious personal problem, to
whom would you go for help in solving it? Check below the appro
priate spaces*
a* Personal friend e. Academy principal i. Any teacher
b* Home-room teacher f. Secret prayer j* Father
c. Church pastor g. Mother k. Other (Specify)
d. Relative h. No person_________________________ ____
61. If you and another young person of the opposite sex considered
yourselves to be deeply in love and all other things were favor
able, would you consider marrying the person if they belonged to a
religious faith different from yours? Yes No____
62* Considering the social activities sponsored by the school, do you
think there have been: a. Too:many h Just enough c. Too few
63. Considering all aspects of your life, (home, school, church, com
munity, the future) what do you consider to be the one major prob
lem you face at the present time? Describe as fully as you like,
using other side of page if you need to.
64. If you know of one particular person in the school with whom you
would like to talk about this problem, please give his or her name
here: ___________
65. Do you feel that on the whole the school has pushed you too hard
and that superior grades are difficult to try for? Yes No____
66. In your personal relationship with God, do you look upon Him as:
a. personal friend? b, speaking acquaintance? c, someone
106
you do not really know?
67* If you were called into military service, would you seek to join a ,
noncombatant outfit? Yes No
68. Do you think that using gaudy make-up and having unusual haircuts
and hair colors is a good way in which to attract more friends?
Yes No____
69. Do you feel that most of the time your assignments have been easy
and that you should have been encouraged to work harder than you
did? Yest No____
70. Do you believe that the form of recreation known as dancing, or
jitterbug, rock-and-roll, etc., is an acceptable form of activity?
Yes No If so, do you participate in this form of recrea
tion? Yes No
71. Indicate below some of the ways you received satisfactory training
and experience while in the academy. (Circle the "S'* for very
satisfactory, the "A” for about average, and the "TOT" for unsatis
factory.)
a. Development of good health habits S A U
b. Guidance and counsel about my lifework S A D
c. Information and counsel about my future education s A D
d. Preparation for home and family living s A D
e. Training for participation in community life s A U
f. Development of high ideals of sex and marriage s A D
g.
Development of ray ability to meet people easily s A U
h. Development of my ability to begin and complete new talks s A D
i. Factual foundation for tny future education s A U
j*
Training in direction or supervision of others s A u
k. Preparation in writing and speaking correctly s A D
1. Learning the true meaning of prayer s A D
m. Stimulation to appreciate the best in books, art, etc. s A U
n. Training in understanding the great truths of the Bible s A D
o. Training in the constructive use of leisure time s A D
P.
Development of respect for physical work s A U
72. Do you believe that the writings called the "Spirit of Prophecy"
were written by a person whom God inspired? Yes No____
107
73. Did you find it difficult to adjust to the new environment when you
first came to this schpol? Yes No If so, what difficul
ties did you experience? _________________________________________
74. Did this school help you to discover your goal in life? Yes____
No xf so, how did it help you?________________________________
75. Please describe your main interests while in the academy.__________
76. What are the most important things which you gained from attending
this school?___________________________ ________________
77. On the whole did you find the academy a pleasant place to be?
Yes No Please tell why.____________________________________
78. Can you name the teachers or school persons who did the most for
you or influenced you the most? Yes No If possible,
please name them
79* Describe how these persons helped you,_____________________________
80. Please give your estimate of the value of the co-curricular activ
ities in which you participated while in the academy, (In the
space provided, mark 1, 2, 3, or 4, to show the extent you feel
you were helped by the activity. )
1 - Much value 2 - Some value 3 - Little value 4 - No value
ti. Ingathering field days
_i. Sunshine bands or choir
j. Chapel programs
_k. School social events
1. Band or orchestra
m. Other (Specify)
81. If you have any constructive comments, criticism, or suggestions
regarding this questionnaire, the school, the church, or the com
munity, please feel free to write them below.
a. Sports activities
b. Week of prayer
c. School annual
_d. Saturday night programs
e. School newspaper
f. Club activities
g. Prayer bands
108
82. I feel that answering these questions today has: (Check proper
spaces.)
a*-helped me to discover some of my problems.
b. shown me that I do not have so many problems after all.
c. been somewhat of a bother to me.
d. been on the whole a good experience for me.
Note: In item #63 if you stated your one major problem and in item #64
you named the person with whom you would like to talk it over,
please feel free to go to that person and have a heart-to-heart
talk. We mention this because we have no way of making an
appointment for you with that person, because we do not know
who you are.
THANIC YOU FOR YOUR KIND COOPERATION IN HELPING US TO HELP YOU!!
University of Southern California Library

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Asset Metadata

Creator Howard, Edgar Randall (author)

Core Title Vocational and educational preparation and plans of seniors in three Seventh-day Adventist academies.

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Education (Guidance and Counseling),Vocational Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, vocational,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format masters theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c24-219525

Unique identifier UC11277272

Identifier EP49913.pdf (filename),usctheses-c24-219525 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP49913.pdf

Dmrecord 219525

Document Type Thesis

Format masters theses (aat)

Rights Howard, Edgar Randall

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA