The relationship of aptitudes, length of service, position rank, and educational level to learning from a food production training program

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to develop a training program designed for food production personnel with a high school education or less; to determine the relationship of aptitudes to learning from training; and to measure the learning achieved and retained as a result of training. Food production personnel at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University participated as subjects.

A subject matter pencil and paper test was administered as a pretest post-test measure to the experimental and control groups to determine the learning achieved as a result of training.

Aptitude tests were administered to the experimental and control groups and correlated with the difference score obtained from the pretest, post-test I measure. Further correlations were done to determine the relationship of position rank, length of service, and educational level to learning difference score.

Learning achieved as a result of training in the experimental group was significant at the 0.001 level. Correlations of the aptitudes of general intelligence and Abstract Reasoning to learning were not significant at the 0.05 level.

Position rank correlated positively with pre-test scores in the experimental group. Correlations of educational level and position rank to learning achieved were not significant at the 0.05 level. However, length of service did show a significant correlation to amount of gain from training.

Based on the results of this study, it appears that training can be an effective means for increased job knowledge. Aptitudes do not appear to be related to learning achieved from training. Those persons who have been in a position the shortest period of time, tend to benefit the most from training.