A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EXPRESSED VOCATIONAL PREFERENCES OF SAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN

This study compared the expressed vocational preferences of traditional (18-21 years old) and non-traditional ((GREATERTHEQ)25 years old) undergraduate women regarding their vocational preferences, as assessed through six scales of the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) (Holland, 1978), and drew implications from the findings regarding the need for differentiation in the nature and delivery of career counseling and development services for these women. Six hypotheses (three non-directional and three directional) were postulated. Each pertained to one VPI scale. Four samples of 200 students each (two traditional and two non-traditional), were randomly selected from The American University (AU) and George Mason University (GMU). Study data were elicited through a Personal Data Form and a VPI by mail from each student. The overall return rate was 75%. Hypotheses were tested using t-tests. The standard for significance was .05. Significant differences were found between the Enterprising Scale mean scores for traditional and non-traditional undergraduate women from both universities. A significant difference was found between the Intellectual Scale mean scores for the AU samples. These findings indicate that the traditional undergraduates have stronger interests than their non-traditional counterparts for "Enterprising" occupations (sales and/or business-related). Findings also indicate that the AU non-traditional sample as compared with the AU traditional sample has a greater preference for "Intellectual" careers (math and science). No significant differences were found between the Realistic, Social, Conventional, and Artistic Scales' mean scores for traditional and non-traditional undergraduate women from each university. These findings suggest that these women, regardless of traditional or non-traditional classification, have essentially similar vocational interests for careers associated with these scales. When considered in terms of Holland's six scales, in general, study findings warrant the conclusion that the vocational preferences of traditional and non-traditional undergraduate women are more similar than different. The overall implication is that AU, GMU, and other institutions of higher education with similar student populations need not differentiate extensively their career counseling programs/services for women along traditional and non-traditional classifications.