| Description |
Background Much concern is being expressed over the status of the Vietnam veteran. His inability to find work and his overall dissatisfaction with his status is, through the mass media, receiving much attention. Of this group the non-high school graduate veteran is placed at an especial disadvantage in adjusting back into the social and economic system. Since he lacks both a high school education and technical skills, he fails to qualify for those few positions which may be open in a labor market already overcrowded with persons of his age range. Congress has passed legislation to assist the educationally disadvantaged veteran. Special benefits and attempts to identify and contact this veteran have not resulted in any appreciable increase in the number who have taken advantage of their G. I. Bill training benefits. It seems enigmatic that, as a national average, only 14% of veterans in this category have utilized G. I. Bill training as a means of overcoming an employment disadvantage. It has been found that a veteran's filing an application is no sure indication that he will utilize his training benefits. Many require a personal and informal contact to assist them towards developing plans and getting stated. Purpose A study was undertaken to see if there could be developed an objective means of identifying, on an a-priori basis, which subjects would and would not initiate a program of training. The purpose of the study was to select those veterans who might best receive concerted attention in outreach efforts. Methodology A biographical analysis using a weighted application blank approach was used in an attempt to develop an empirical method of selection. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) sufficient bibliographical and personal date could be extracted from the subjects file to develop a biographical information scale; (2) substantial measurable differences would exist between subjects who would, as opposed to those who would not, initiate a program of training; and (3) subject to the tenability of the first two hypotheses, classification of subjects into initiator and non-initiator categories, above chance levels, would be possible. Conclusions The three hypotheses were found to be tenable, data extracted from two documents Veteran's Application for Program of Education or Training (VA Form 21E-1990), and the Armed Forces of the United States Reports of Transfer or discharge (DD Form 214) for a group of 33 educationally disadvantage veterans was analyzed. A horizontal percentage method was utilized to identify and develop response items. Statistically significant differences were found to exist between subjects in the two criterion categories. Indices of differentiation developed for the range of scores obtained by the validation sample ( a separate group of 116 subjects) resulted in correct classifications above what would be expected by chance (point biserial correlation coefficient of .37 p< .010) |
