Wastage and incentives in vocational evening classes

Summary A.Drawbacks to attending evening classes (i) In the group of students investigated the main drawback to attending evening classes was item 3 (the rush to get to classes from work). (ii) The main difference among the students was in the importance attached to item 9 (domestic commitments), married students finding it as important as item 3. (iii) Choices made by students in different courses were fairly homogeneous, apart from the domestic courses. This seems to indicate that the factors making for wastage are not functions of the courses taken, so much as of age, sex, marital status, etc. B. Incentives to attending evening classes (i) The main incentive was item 1 (it will be useful in getting a better job). (ii) Items 2 (it will help in getting promotion in my present job) and 3 (it will be of general educational value) were ranked next in importance to item 1. (iii) Responses to the preferred items 1, 2, and 3 were relatively homogeneous when the data were arranged to isolate sex difference, marital status, and age. (iv) All courses except the domestic ones made similar choices in this question. The great importance of item 3 in question 13 (the rush to get to classes from work) as a disincentive in the group investigated (and in the try-out group) and in the research of Smith and Wilkins, suggest that local arrangements between employers and colleges to give more time between work and classes would attack one of the most accessible, and at the same time most important, causes of wastage.