Occupational information is needed to develop and revise vocational and technical education curricula. Teachers and curriculum developers generally determine which skills might be taught in a program based upon teacher expertise, advisory committee input, informal and formal community surveys, and/or task inventories.
The Agricultural Education Department at The Ohio State University has utilized and revised a system for obtaining and using occupational information as an effective aid in planning, improving, and updating occupational education curricula. This report presents the results of a survey of the occupation, tree service worker. The information contained herein may be used by curriculum development specialists, teachers, local and state administrators, and others involved in planning and conducting vocational and technical programs in agriculture.
The major purpose of the occupational survey was to identify the skills which are performed and essential for success as a tree service worker. The specific objectives of this survey were as follows:
Develop and validate an initial task inventory for the tree service worker.
Identify the specific tasks performed by the tree service worker.
Determine the relative importance of the specific tasks to successful employment as a tree service worker.
The tree service worker is employed in privately owned tree service firms which contract services with the public sector. The specific duties performed by the tree service worker will vary with the size and type of business. The tree service worker is usually involved with maintenance of trees and shrubs. In general, the tree service worker prunes trees and shrubs; repairs damaged trees; treats diseased and decayed trees; removes dead or undesirable trees; and maintains the tools and equipment used in his work. In some of the larger firms where the work may be divided between many employees, the tree service worker may have more definitive job titles such as tree trimmer, tree pruner, or tree surgeon.
Methodology
Objectives were accomplished by constructing an initial task inventory, validating the initial inventory, selecting a sample of workers, collecting data, and analyzing data.
Duty areas and task statements for the tree service worker were identified by searching existing task lists, job descriptions, curriculum guides, and reference publications. Additionally, contacts with several industry personnel aided in clarifying the specific responsibilities of the tree service worker. All the tasks that the project staff thought to be performed were assembled into one composite list.
The initial tasks were grouped into functional areas called “Duties”. After the task statements were grouped under the proper duty areas, each task statement was reviewed for brevity, clarity, and consistency.
The 25 questionnaires which were returned were checked for completeness and accuracy by the project staff. Information from the 24 usable responses was coded on Fortran coding sheets for key punching. In addition to coding appropriate respondent background information, each specific task statement was coded as to whether it was performed (1 = Task performed by respondent; blank = Task not performed by respondent) and the level of importance of the task (3 = essential; 2 = useful; 1 = not important). The information was keypunched on IBM cards and verified by personnel at the Instruction and Research Computer Center at The Ohio State University.
Findings
Objectives of the study resulted in the compilation of basic sample background information, the determination of tasks performed by the tree service worker, and the identification of tasks essential to successful performance as a tree service worker.
The 158 tasks were grouped under 14 duty areas. Each respondent indicated whether he performed the specific task in his current position as a tree service worker. The percentaes of respondents performing each task were averaged for all tasks under each duty area. The mean percentage of incumbents who performed specific tasks in specified duty areas is presented in Table I, colums 2.
A level of importance rating was obtained for each task. The respondent could rate the task as essential, useful, or not important for successful performance as a tree service worker. A ranking of essential was assigned a numerical rating of “3”, useful a numerical rating of “2”, and not important a numerical rating of “1 “. The level of importance ratings for each task were averaged for all tasks under each duty area. The average level of importance ratings for the specific tasks in the specified duty areas are presented in Table I, column 3.
Percentage Performance and Average Rating of Importance of Specific Tasks of Tree Service Workers*
It is recommended that the results for each specific task be examined by educators and others who are developing educational programs to determine curriculum content for preparing tree service workers. Specific tasks with a high level of performance and a high level of importance rating should be given more emphasis in the educational program than specific tasks with a low level of performance and a low level of importance rating.
- © 1976, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.
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