A comparative analysis of personality characteristics of industrial arts teachers in the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of selected demographic variables and personality variables to industrial arts teaching. The groups under investigation were: the national group (A) of 156 American Industrial Arts Association teacher of the year recipients and the national group (B) of 163 randomly selected industrial arts teachers. The personality variables were those variables as measured by Jackson's (1974) Personality Research Form (PRF).

Data collected from the population groups, as measured by the PRF and as reported on the demographic questions, were analyzed using the statistical procedures of multiple analysis of variance combined with t-tests and chi-square tests of significance. Simultaneous confidence intervals were calculated for the personality variables for both groups "A" and "B" following Morrison's (1976) Multivariate Statistical Methods.

The two nationally identified groups of industrial arts teachers were found to be different in respect to both the demographic variables and personality profiles.

The AIAA award recipients tended to be older, more experienced, and had earned generally higher degree levels than did those industrial arts teachers of the randomly selected group (B). The AIAA award recipients were generally teaching in larger schools, unit laboratories, and were more satisfied with industrial arts as a profession than those of the "B" group. The group (B) of randomly selected industrial arts teachers were more often found to be teaching in smaller schools, yet similar size communities, and in general industrial arts laboratories, as well as being somewhat less satisfied with industrial arts teaching as a profession than were those of the "A" group.

The AIAA award recipients tended to possess a somewhat higher need for achievement and cognitive structure combined with a somewhat lower need for aggression, autonomy, and play than did those of the "B" group. These tendencies would suggest persons who would appear to be striving, accomplishing, purposeful, more precise, definite, and more meticulous than other industrial arts teachers. These persons would also appear to be less aggressive and less quarrelsome. They appear to be more generally manageable, dependent, less carefree, and less pleasure seeking than the group of randomly selected industrial arts teachers. The return rate of 71.8 percent for the AIAA award recipients as compared to only 49.1 percent for the randomly selected industrial arts teachers would suggest a stronger interest in professional activities or at least a stronger need to be involved.

The two national groups of industrial arts teachers were found to be quite different in comparison to the PRF normative group of college men. Both groups of industrial arts teachers were found to possess personality profiles which tended to suggest persons who were less rebellious, less likely to change, more manageable, conforming, precise, meticulous, and needed structure more than those of the normative group.

Furthermore, the AIAA award recipients were more reflective of persons who tended to be accomplishing, industrious, careful, sympathetic, protective, neat, systematic, and more disciplined than those of the normative group of college men. The AIAA recipients tended to be more approval seeking, socially sensitive, and generally more desirous of credit than the normative group. The industrial arts teachers of the "A" group also tended to be less reckless, impatient, impulsive, and less carefree than the college men of the normative group.