Lisrel Model of Three Latent Variables from 19 Meaning of Work Items for Vocational Students

Abstract

The problem for this investigation was to clarify relationships among responses to manifest variables by using scores on theoretical latent variables. The Meaning and Value of Work Scale, part I: Meaning of Work, was administered to 482 high school students enrolled in their first year of a vocational education program in Alabama. Polychoric correlations and asymptotic variance and covariance matrices were computed with PRELIS for the 40 meaning of work items. Three latent variables, Self-Actualization, Independence, and Societal were identified for the study. Results are reported on an unweighted least squares analysis. Phi of .81 was obtained between Independence and Societal with a corresponding t-value exceeding 20. The total coefficient of determination (reliability) for the manifest Self-Actualization variable was .85, for the manifest Independence and Societal variables, .96, and for the structural equations, .89. Results indicated that an individual's attitudes toward independence and society in a work-related context may contribute to one's work-oriented self actualization.

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