A projective study of attitudes toward continuing education

Abstract

A PROJECTIVE INSTRUMENT AIMED AT MEASURING ATTITUDES TOWARD CONTINUING EDUCATION DESCRIBED A HYPOTHETICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER AS HAVING (1) OBTAINED AN MS DEGREE IN A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM, (2) COMPLETED 7 COURSES, OR (3) COMPLETED ONLY 1 COURSE SINCE RECEIVING HIS BS. THE 3 VERSIONS WERE RANDOMLY GIVEN TO 312 ENGINEERS IN A GOVERNMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERS DID NOT PERCEIVE ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OBTAINING A DEGREE OR TAKING SEVERAL COURSES IN A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM. HOWEVER, OBTAINING A DEGREE OR TAKING SEVERAL COURSES WERE BOTH SEEN AS HAVING MORE POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES THAN TAKING ONLY 1 COURSE, WERE PERCEIVED AS BEING ASSOCIATED WITH MORE MANAGEMENT POTENTIAL, HIGHER AMBITION, AND GREATER PROFESSIONALISM, AND AS KEEPING AN ENGINEER MORE UP TO DATE. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)