The Influence of Metacognitive Aspects of Literacy on Job Performance of Electronics Technicians

Abstract

A major problem facing educators is the growth of higher level literacy demands required to compete in the workplace. This presents a problem for educators wishing to provide literacy training best suited to the literacy demands of the workplace. Several research studies have documented the nature of workplace literacy demands, but only a few have attempted to assess the relationship between literacy abilities and on-the-job performance. This study involved observing, interviewing, testing, and rating job performance of electronics technicians from three different employment levels (i.e., from training, experienced, and supervisory levels). Data were analyzed for differences between level of experience groups and the relationships of rated job performance to literacy-related factors. The subjects were 29 electronics technicians who volunteered from a technical school, a naval base, a major Fortune 500 electronics plant, and a small, local electronics plant. Job-related reading time averaged nearly two hours daily (104.3 minutes) and job-related writing added another half hour (32.6 minutes). Only 15 minutes of total reading time and only a minute of writing time were uninterrupted. Nearly all job-related literacy was problem solving in nature. Reading ability, as measured with job-related cloze tests, did not significantly correlate to job performance and could not discriminate electronics supervisors, experienced workers, and trainees. Metacognitive aspects of literacy did consistently and significantly correlate to job performance.

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