Northern Michigan University NMU Commons All NMU Master's Theses Student Works 12-2017 THE WORK ETHIC GAP: COMPARING PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND EMPLOYERS Joseph Routhier jrouthie@nmu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.nmu.edu/theses Part of the Vocational Education Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons Recommended Citation Routhier, Joseph, "THE WORK ETHIC GAP: COMPARING PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND EMPLOYERS" (2017) All NMU Master's Theses 164 https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/164 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at NMU Commons It has been accepted for inclusion in All NMU Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of NMU Commons For more information, please contact kmcdonou@nmu.edu,bsarjean@nmu.edu THE WORK ETHIC GAP: COMPARING PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND EMPLOYERS By Joseph Routhier THESIS Submitted to Northern Michigan University In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of EDUCATION SPECIALIST Office of Graduate Education and Research December 2017 SIGNATURE APPROVAL FORM THE WORK ETHIC GAP: COMPARING PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND EMPLOYERS This thesis by Joseph Routhier is recommended for approval by the student’s Thesis Committee and Department Head in the Department of Education and by the Assistant Provost of Graduate Education and Research Committee Chair: Dr Derek Anderson Date First Reader: Dr Cale Polkinghorne Date Second Reader: Dr Joe Lubig Date Department Head: Dr Joe Lubig Date Dr Lisa S Eckert Date Interim Director of Graduate Education The Work Ethic Gap Routhier ABSTRACT THE WORK ETHIC GAP: COMPARING PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND EMPLOYERS By Joseph Routhier Work ethic has been a constant, but elusive topic for decades This study sought to identify the differences in perception of work ethic in between students, educators, and employers Seventy-two participants observed videos of workers in various tasks and rated the perceived work ethic of the person in the video by using a sliding Likert scale Additionally, participants were asked to comment as to why they rated the worker the way they did Quantitative analyses were used to determine differences in the participant’s work ethic ratings Qualitative analyses interpreted respondents’ comments to better understand the results Results indicated that while educators assess work ethic with an eye for improvement and effort, employers assess work ethic with a focus on effective and efficient completion of a task Students lack the experience to judge other’s work ethic consistently i The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Copyright by Joseph Routhier 2017 ii The Work Ethic Gap Routhier DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Peter K and Rose M Routhier, who gave me my work ethic and so much more iii The Work Ethic Gap Routhier ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to thank his thesis chair, Dr Derek Anderson, for his enthusiasm and constant inspiration; Dr Joe Lubig and Dr Cale Polkinghorne, for their support and encouragement; and his wife, Brooke Clancey Routhier, P.E., for her support and assistance with the statistical analyses This thesis follows the format prescribed by the NMU Graduate Studies office and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) iv The Work Ethic Gap Routhier TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH TOPIC Research Problem and Justification Purpose for the Study Research Question CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE Theoretical Framework CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 11 Participant Selection 11 Study Design 13 Data Collection 13 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 17 Limitations and Implications 29 Discussion and Conclusions 30 Recommendations 36 REFERENCES 39 APPENDIX 43 v The Work Ethic Gap Routhier LIST OF TABLES Table Median Work Ethic Scores by Group and Kruskal-Wallis Results….…… 19 vi The Work Ethic Gap Routhier LIST OF FIGURES Figure Comparison of Work Ethic Values – All Videos…………………………… 18 vii The Work Ethic Gap Routhier tenured teacher program where mentors play a valuable role Employers could invest in their new hires by providing that mentor-mentee relationship and helping each employee reach their potential before condemning their starting efforts Employers could also consider hosting students in job shadowing opportunities Further, businesses could be hiring students in their high school years to help them develop work ethic in a work environment In this way, employers become part of the student’s educational process Providing more connection between employers and educators is an important aspect of equalizing their perception of work ethic; but each environment must be careful not to disavow the other Educational settings must retain some of the elements that allow to students to make mistakes and learn without fear of dismissal, while the work place must maintain the high expectations that every valuable employee should strive to attain Students must also work to find the correlations between these two environments and accept the idea that work ethic can be honed, even before a paycheck comes into play While work ethic is most certainly a product of social and cultural norms, it is critical to remember that learned behavior can be adjusted (Petty & Hill, 2005) With renewed effort and communication, committed involvement, and a genuine appreciation for the other’s perspective, students, employers, and educators can work toward a common work ethic perspective 38 The Work Ethic Gap Routhier REFERENCES Azam, M., & Brauchle, P (2003) Supervisor’s perceptions of the work attitudes of two groups of employees The Journal of Technology Studies, 29(2), 65–68 Bandura, A (1989) Human agency in social cognitive theory American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175 Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1990-01275-001 Bandura, A (2006) Toward a psychology of human agency Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(2), 164–180 Retrieved from http://pps.sagepub.com/content/1/2/164.short Bandura, A (2012) On the Functional Properties of Perceived Self-Efficacy Revisited Journal of Management, 38(1), 9–44 http://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311410606 Brown, B (2002) School to Work after the school to work opportunities act: myt and realities (No 24) Office of Educational Research and Improvement Cappelli, P (2008), “Talent management for the twenty-first century”, Harvard Business Review- March, pp 74-81 Carl D Perkins career and technical education act (n.d.) 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IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 2(1), 1–20 Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2193-9004-2-6 Lipset, S (1990) Work Ethic: then and now Public Interest, 98(Winter), 61–69 Miller, M J., Woehr, D J., & Hudspeth, N (2002) The Meaning and Measurement of Work Ethic: Construction and Initial Validation of a Multidimensional Inventory Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60(3), 451–489 http://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1838 Onwuegbuzie, A J., & Johnson, R B (2006) The validity issue in mixed research Research in the Schools, 13(1), 48–63 Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/R_Johnson3/publication/228340166_The_V alidity_Issues_in_Mixed_Research/links/53d69ace0cf220632f3dba1f.pdf Packer, A (1992) Taking Action on the SCANS Report Educational Leadership Pajares, F., & Schunk, D (2001) The development of academic self-efficacy Development of Achievement Motivation United States, Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/SchunkPajares2001.PDF 41 The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Pearson, D (March2015) CTE and the common core can address the problem of silos Phi Delta Kappan, 96(6), 12–16 Petty, G C., & Hill, R B (2005) Work ethic characteristics: perceived work ethics of supervisors and workers Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 42(2) Riebe, L., & Jackson, D (2014) The use of rubrics in benchmarking and assessing employability skills Journal of Management Education, 1052562913511437 Retrieved from http://jme.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/03/18/1052562913511437.abstract Robles, M M (2012) Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453–465 Retrieved from http://bcq.sagepub.com/content/75/4/453.short Rosenbaum, J., & Person, A (2003) Beyond college for all: Policies and practices to improve transitions into college and jobs Professional School Counseling, 6(4), 252-260 Retrieved from http://ezpolson.nmu.edu:6744/docview/213357591?accountid=2745 Professional School Counseling, 6(4), 252–260 Rosenberg, S., Heimler, R., & Morote, E.-S (2012) Basic employability skills: a triangular design approach Education+ Training, 54(1), 7–20 Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00400911211198869 Wall, B M (2011) Work ethic of high school seniors in career and technical education Athens, GA: University of Georgia Retrieved from https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/wall_barbara_m_201205_edd.pdf 42 The Work Ethic Gap Routhier APPENDIX 43 The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Comparison of Work Ethic Values - All Videos Work Ethic Value (0-100) 100 80 60 40 20 Participant Groups or yer ent to r yer ent t o r yer en t t or yer en t to r yer ent to r yer ent t o r yer en t t or yer en t t a o d a o d a o d a o d a o d a o d a o d a o d u c p l t u d u c pl tu d uc p l t u du c p l t u d u c p l t u d uc pl tu d uc p l t u du c p l t u d S S S S S S S E Em E Em E Em E Em E Em E Em E Em E Em S Video Figure e Cl g in n a Up H ng pi l e O ut ng o L rm A a N 44 d ile It ow Sn R ov m e al um St p Re m Sw e g in p e Up W ar m Up The Work Ethic Gap Routhier b 100 Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Long Arm Video Kruskal-Wallis Test Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 23 49.00 46.5 2.77 Employ er 19 22.00 30.7 -1.41 Student 30 26.50 32.5 -1.36 Ov erall 72 36.5 Work Ethic Value (0-100) 80 H = 7.77 DF = P = 0.021 H = 7.78 DF = P = 0.020 (adjusted f or ties) 60 49 40 20 Figure 22 Educator Employer Participant Groups 45 26.5 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Stump Removal 100 99 94 Work Ethic Value (0-100) 80 74 60 40 Kruskal-Wallis Test Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 23 94.00 38.3 0.65 Employ er 19 74.00 23.8 -3.00 Student 29 99.00 42.2 2.09 Ov erall 71 36.0 20 Figure H = 9.45 DF = P = 0.009 H = 9.83 DF = P = 0.007 (adjusted f or ties) Educator Employer Participant Groups 46 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Warm Up 100 Work Ethic Value (0-100) Kruskal-Wallis Test 80 Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 23 20.00 39.3 1.26 Employ er 17 27.00 37.6 0.63 Student 29 18.00 30.0 -1.75 Ov erall 69 35.0 60 H = 3.13 DF = P = 0.209 H = 3.14 DF = P = 0.208 (adjusted f or ties) 40 20 Figure 27 20 Educator 18 Employer Participant Groups 47 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Nailed It 100 Work Ethic Value (0-100) 80 60 61.5 51 40 42 Kruskal-Wallis Test Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 22 61.50 40.9 1.84 Employ er 17 42.00 24.9 -2.32 Student 29 51.00 35.3 0.30 Ov erall 68 34.5 20 Figure H = 6.38 DF = P = 0.041 H = 6.38 DF = P = 0.041 (adjusted f or ties) Educator Employer Particpant Groups 48 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Sweeping Up 100 Kruskal-Wallis Test Work Ethic Value (-0-100) 80 Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 21 20.00 38.3 1.22 Employ er 17 20.00 34.9 0.22 Student 29 12.00 30.4 -1.34 Ov erall 67 34.0 60 H = 2.07 DF = P = 0.355 H = 2.08 DF = P = 0.354 (adjusted f or ties) 40 20 20 20 12 Figure Educator Employer Participant Groups 49 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Snow Removal 100 89 86 Work Ethic Value (0-100) 80 78 60 40 Kruskal-Wallis Test Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 21 89.00 36.3 0.66 Employ er 17 78.00 24.4 -2.34 Student 29 86.00 37.9 1.44 Ov erall 67 34.0 20 Figure H = 5.57 DF = P = 0.062 H = 5.62 DF = P = 0.060 (adjusted f or ties) Educator Employer Participant Groups 50 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Cleaning Up Video 100 Work Ethic Value (0-100) Kruskal-Wallis Test 80 Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 21 16.000 37.5 1.01 Employ er 17 19.000 36.4 0.58 Student 29 9.000 30.0 -1.46 Ov erall 67 34.0 60 H = 2.15 DF = P = 0.341 H = 2.16 DF = P = 0.340 (adjusted f or ties 40 20 19 16 Figure Educator Employer Participant Groups 51 Student The Work Ethic Gap Routhier Boxplot of Median Work Ethic Values - Helping Out 100 Kruskal-Wallis Test Work Ethic Value (0-100) 80 60 40 Ty pe N Median Av e Rank Z Educator 20 45.50 36.5 0.99 Employ er 16 44.50 34.4 0.34 Student 29 38.00 29.8 -1.22 Ov erall 65 33.0 H = 1.60 DF = P = 0.450 H = 1.60 DF = P = 0.449 (adjusted f or ties) 45.5 44.5 38 20 Figure Educator Employer Participant Groups 52 Student