Black, M. S. (1977). Attitudes of inner-city junior high school males toward vocational education and work. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 10(2), 99-115.

One of the recurring problems in vocational education has been knowing how best to match vocational education programs to the needs of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth. To facilitate the matching process, it is necessary to know what the attitudes of this population are toward vocational education & work. Respondents (number of cases = 300 black & 206 white) were ninth-graders in Baltimore, median. The objectives of the project were to determine: (1) differences in attitudes between black & white inner-city junior high school students, (2) how attitudes were related to the preference of educational programs expressed by these students, & (3) whether the ‘public image’ of vocational education as perceived by these students was different from that of other programs. A Student Attitude Survey was devised which solicited students’ opinions about specific educational programs, dropping out of school, occupations, occupational activities, school activities, & opinions about education & work generally. No substantial differences in attitudes were found between black & white students. No substantial differences in ‘public image’ between the vocational education program & other programs were found. The attitudes were related to the students’ preference for tenth-grade educational programs. 6 Tables. Modified AA.