Degree Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

1989

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Education

First Advisor

Larry H. Ebbers

Abstract

This study investigated the professional integration needs of a group of returned Filipino agricultural advanced degree graduates from U.S. Land-Grant universities who had been at home in the Philippines for at least one year. Particular attention was directed toward studying gender differences during the process of professional integration, as well as differences based on other demographic variables including degree attained, length of time spent in the U.S., place of current employment, etc. Professional integration, as used in the study, refers to the process of changing from a graduate student in the U.S. to a practicing professional at home;A random sample of 26 subjects to be interviewed was drawn from a pool of 97 potential subjects. Of the 97 potential subjects, 19 were not able to be located for interviews or surveys. The data collected consisted of 24 interviews and 22 survey questionnaires from the 54 that were mailed, resulting in 46 valid cases for statistical analyses. The subjects were questioned about their contacts with their alma maters, opportunities for professional interaction after returning home, opportunities for continuing education, relevancy of the U.S. degree program, and current job responsibilities and job satisfaction;The answers on the survey questionnaires and the interview schedules were computerized and analysed using T tests at the.05 level of significance to determine if there were differences between the subjects when grouped by various demographic variables. In rank order, the significant differences based on demographic characteristics were current employment, length of time studying in the U.S., degree attained, marital status and gender;From the analyses it appeared that gender did not make a significant difference in the professional process. It indicated that men gave significantly more positive responses about their needs for professional journals, although this was attributed to differences in work responsibilities of the predominantly male university employees, versus those of the primarily female government workers;The differences in the responsibilities of government and university employees yielded the most findings of significant differences. University employees had greater needs for professional journals, they felt better prepared for their work responsibilities, and were more well satisfied with their jobs;The professional integration need cited as the least well addressed was continuing education. This was mentioned as a need in almost every area of inquiry, and is a need that can be addressed by U.S. universities and participant programming agencies. As a result, one of the main conclusions of this research was that more attention is needed toward continuing education for returned participants.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-12195

Publisher

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/

Copyright Owner

Barbara Elizabeth Burton-Feldott

Language

en

Proquest ID

AAI9014884

File Format

application/pdf

File Size

205 pages

Download

Share

COinS