TREND ANALYSIS OF THE OCCUPATIONAL HISTORY OF MASTER OF EDUCATION GRADUATES AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION 1958, 1965, 1976

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the association, if any, between the career patterns of graduates in the field of education and the kinds of masters' degree programs in which they were involved. Specifically, the study analyzes data on the career patterns of graduates who received their Master of Education (Ed.M.) degrees in 1958, 1965, and 1976 at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.;The areas of investigation which serve as a framework for the study are listed under the following six categories: (I) Alumni background prior to enrolling in the Ed.M. program. (II) Attitudes of alumni towards the Ed.M. program. (III) Employment before and after enrollment in the Ed.M. program. (IV) Employment positions for graduates including entry-level positions and subsequent employment. (V) Career patterns and job responsibilities of graduates according to sex category.;The research methodology involved a survey of HGSE Ed.M. graduates (50% response) from the selected study years using chi-square methods to determine whether the type of program the graduates had selected made any significant difference to the specific outcome variables, such as salary range and professional job advancement. General and specialized Ed.M. category designations were determined by the type of curriculum selected. Excluded form the sample population were those students who enrolled as doctoral candidates and received the Ed.M. through special petition or enrolled in the M.A.T. program prior to its elimination and were awarded their degree under the Ed.M. program.;The results of the study are these: that general program graduates cited problems related to curriculum and faculty-student contact as two factors which prevented complete achievement of their goals whereas specialized program graduates placed greater emphasis on family responsibilities and length of the Ed.M. program; that specialized program graduates felt that the program was far less successful in providing experienced teachers with further training basic to positions of responsibility and leadership than general program respondents; that prior to the Ed.M., secondary education was the primary source of employment for a majority of respondents from both program types; that general program graduates experienced greater job mobility and diversity in the first job after the Ed.M. than graduates of the specialized programs; that the general program provided graduates with a broader educational base from which to draw the knowledge and skills that they felt were necessary for their professional development; that specialized program graduates tended to rely on HGSE Placement Office services to obtain the first position after the Ed.M. whereas general program graduates listed personal solicitation and direct recruitment; and that the reported salary figures for the first job after graduation show a marked increase in earnings for general program graduates but much less of a gain for specialized program graduates.;The central question which this study seeks to answer, therefore is: did the curriculum changes introduced at HGSE result in significant differences in the career paths of graduates of the two program models? Also, did graduates of the specialized Ed.M. program experience significantly greater job mobility than graduates of the general Ed.M. program?;Female earning patterns appear to be a combination of program type and certain roles and responsibilities frequently associated with females in society. Therefore, any subsequent study should look at this group separately in order to determine what effect the Ed.M. program might have had on the added earnings growth of these graduates.