ERIC Number: ED076093
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1969-Oct
Pages: 20
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Use of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank in Identifying Naval Academy Early Motivational Disenrolees.
Abrahams, Norman M.; And Others
Prior to beginning the first year academic curriculum at the Naval Academy, incoming midshipmen are required to complete "plebe summer" - a nonacademic military training program. Typically, some members of each incoming class fail to complete this summer training, with the great majority of disenrollments being for motivational reasons. During the summer of 1968 a dramatic increase over previous years occurred in the number of voluntary motivational drops from the class of 1972. To determine whether these drops differ from remaining midshipmen, comparisons were made on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) scales reflecting interest in military, cultural-aesthetic, and sports activities, among others. The comparison of item responses made by the disenrollees with those made by the remaining midshipmen revealed 75 differentiating items which were assigned weights for construction of a scale. In order to cross validate this scale, the plebe summer motivational drops from the class of 1971 were scored and compared with the remaining class. The validity of the empirical scale held up well on the cross validation sample and inspection of the item content revealed several clusters of items that may be further explored and refined. The validity of the empirical scale, together with the results on existing scales indicated that the SVIB aid in identifying those midshipmen most likely to voluntarily disenroll during Naval Academy plebe summer. (Author/MJM)
Descriptors: Dropout Rate, Enrollment Trends, Higher Education, Military Personnel, Military Schools, Motivation, Research Projects
National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22151 (AD-712 065, MF $0.95, HC $3.00)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Naval Personnel and Training Research Lab., San Diego, CA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A