| Countless industries hire trade curriculum graduates. Some of these graduates are promoted quickly, and have attended schools which include business and management courses in the trade curricula. Literature suggests the inclusion of such courses improves on-the-job performance, success, and attitude. This research utilized an online questionnaire and sampled one trade curriculum and one non-trade curriculum for business course inclusion at 30 institutions in 10 states. One-way ANOVA and t-tests were used in data analysis and interpretation. The statistical analysis indicated that trade curricula had significantly fewer business-related courses compared to non-trade curricula. No significant differences in business courses were found based on co-location with community colleges, institutional size, state per-capita income, or inclusion of hiring employers on curriculum advisory committees. The research conclusion documents the findings, and provides prospective students, industry and technical college decision-makers with an understanding of the differences in new-graduate knowledge across the United States. |
