JAW Z76 TRACER SYSTEM GUIDELINES Purpose 1. The primary aims of a tracer system should be to measure the. following: (a) How many and what proportion of school leavers find, or do not find, remunerative full or part-time work within a limited time; (b) Whether this is the work which was explictly intended by the curriculum content of their schooling or training; (c) Which ex-students, in terms of home background and of school performance, are more successful or less successful than average in gaining remunerative work; (d) What adjustments they make, in either aspirations or expecta- tions to labor market realities; (e) What use they make of further training; and (f) How many and what kinds of students continue with full-time schooling rather than take up work. From this set of objectives it can be seen that a tracer system, as under- stood here, is not an exhaustive study but a fairly narrowly focussed method for obtaining "feedback" from the flows of students or trainees into the world of work. A tracer system, in other words, does not necessarily attempt to answer such global questions as "how much training is required to obtain employment", or "what are the most important contributory factors along with training in obtaining employment." Instead a tracer system in its simplest form indicates how often and under what conditions a given educational or training program does or does not lead to some form of work.* Structure 2. The skeletal shape of a tracer system - susceptible to consider- able adjustment to country conditions - is two-stage. In the first stage, a cohort of students who are near the end of their course fill in a base- line questionnaire which records (a) their immutable characteristics such as sex, birthdate, parents' occupation and educational attainment levels, and (b) their views about future work and the relevance of their schooling to it. Simultaneously, the school or relevant Ministry should supply *Hereinafter, references to "students", "school leavers" or "schools" should generally be understood to include trainees in pre-service, or non-formal training programs. -2- such students' performance measures on internal and external tests as it may have on its records. These should all be forwarded to a central office of processing and storage on card. This would most likely fall within a Ministry of Planning, Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Education, or Ministry of Labor. 3. In the second stage, the central tracer system office will send out a single-page annual follow-up questionnaire, using the contact address which is provided in the preliminary survey and repeatedly up- dated. This will contain a small number of questions on how the ex- student works to earn a living or continues his education, and how he is adjusting to his labor market. This annual information will be re- corded on the same card as the preliminary survey information. At this point, some worthwhile preliminary analyses and reporting can begin by simple frequency counts and cross tabulation. 4. A tracer system as described here follows a longitudinal design in that repeated observations are made (through the questionnaire) of a single cohort of school leavers or trainees. A cohort is defined by a shared experience - in this case completing a course of study or training. It is difficult to determine categorically the length of time to follow- up a single cohort. On the one hand it should be long enough to give the ex-student a chance to enter the labor market effectively, or to establish a fairly stable work pattern. On the other hand a long follow-up period is expensive. Rather than tracing every new cohort of graduates, it is less costly to initiate a new tracer every second or third year. This also allows for sufficient time to elapse between cohorts for notice- able changes to appear in the labor market conditions into which the graduates must enter. 5. The tracer system which is described here applies primarily to students for whom the "transition" - more often the hiatus - between schooling and work is problematic, i.e. students for whom the acquisi- tion of work is not a foregone conclusion. However, there are many in- service and adult training courses. where entry into the world of work, at least for the first time, is not such an issue. A tracer system for such in-service type trainees is considerably simplified. The question to answer shifts to whether the learner can make full use of what he learns when he returns to his work. Such a question can also be answered in a considerably shorter time than it takes to determine the success or failure of labor market entry. Appropriate adaptations of these guidelines can be made to deal with such tracer situations. 6. A tracer system is also different from a survey of "employer satisfaction" with training courses. Hypothetically it would be possible to join a survey of employers to a tracer of former students, but the resulting operation is administratively too complex to be practical. -3- The user will have to choose which approach - a student tracer or an employer satisfaction survey - is preferable. Two considerations should enter into his choice. In large part the choice may depend on the question of reliability: whose feedback from interview/ques- tionnaire answers - the employers' or the students' - are more re- liable descriptions or perceptions of fact. A further consideration is that an employer survey, by definition, excludes ex-students who are either unemployed or self-employed. This is a major deficiency if the education and training system is concerned with the productivity and welfare of all former students. Sample 7. A sample of ex-students can be drawn at two possible levels, or stages: first, the schools of the school leavers, and secondly, from among the students at the sample of schools. For administrative convenience it is recommended that the sample be primarily a sample of schools or training institutions, or more precisely of the graduating cohorts in those schools. As a simple rule of thumb, when the "universe" of schools from which the sample is selected amounts to less than about 15 to 20, a 50% sample size is appropriate. When the "universe" of institutions is larger, a 5% to 15% sample is both sufficiently large to permit reasonably reliable results, and more likely to be manage- able. The sample should be selected randomly. To ensure an adequate representation of major types of schools or training programs, it may be necessary first to "stratify" the "universe" of institutions by such distinguishing features as location or boarding. If the tracer system intends to compare the performance of students from project-financed schools with those from similar non-project schools, then this charac- teristic can also be treated as a stratifier prior to making a random selection. 8. Once this sample of schools, or rather of their graduating cohorts, is selected, a further sample of students within these cohorts can be drawn up on a random basis. However, due to the extra administrative problems this process would create, and due to the need to anticipate realistically low response rates to the tracer questionnaires, it is more practical to include all students in the sample schools' gradua- ting classes. This is sometimes called cluster sampling. Baseline.Survey 9. Close to the end of the students' course, a baseline survey should be mounted to gather background information on students so that the first follow-up questionnaire may be kept as brief as possible. Asample baseline questionnaire is attached (Attachment A).. Obvi-. ously the user will need to adapt it to the particular needs of each tracer. The most useful questions to pose at this stage are those which can be used later to characterize ex-students, who experience different degrees of labor market success or failure, in terms of their educational and social backgrounds. 10. The baseline questionnaire should request the names and future contact addresses of the students in the sample. To ensure the stu- dents' cooperation while also protecting the confidentiality of their statements, it is necessary to give them a frank explanation at this stage of what the system's purpose and significance is, as well as the importance of their willing cooperation for its success. If the students are given a chance to see their role in the system as con- structive, they may even see their participation as a special privilege. However, as a corollary to this trust, every care should be taken to insulate the information in the system from possible abuses for purposes unrelated to the tracer system. The students should also be told that the -tracer system does not work with individual answers to questions, but to groups of answers, with averages, percentages, etc. This is a. further reassurance of confidentiality. 11. An additional reason for getting these preliminary questions out of the way prior to commencing with the follow-up surveys is the distorting effects of both memory lapses and real changes in percep- tions of oneself and one's preparedness, brought on by the rigors of an often marginal experience in the labor market. Furthermore, while .they are still students, the respondents are a captive audience from which a near total response rate can be expected. 12. At the time the schools forward the completed preliminary ques- tionnaires in bulk to the tracer office, a list of scores on standard performance tests for each student should be obtained from the appro- priate central examining authorities. These scores should be added as an extra dimension to each student record. 13. To maintain the greatest uniformity in questionnaire condi- tions, the forms should be printed at and sent from the tracer office to the schools. Follow-up Questionnaire 14. The heart of the tracer system is the follow-up questionnaire. This will need to be mailed to and from the sample students at the '"contact addresses" they gave for this purpose in the preliminary survey. The actual phrasing of these questions must avoid biased assumptions about the social structure of work, especially in national economies where most work opportunities will be found in the vast, uncharted "informal sector"* - e.g. cottage industries, petty trading, See, for example, the ILO Report on Kenya, Employment, Incomes and Equality (Geneva: ILO, 1972). -5- etc. This is notwithstanding the fact that the students in the very process of going to school may have acquired a narrowly modern-indus- trial conception of post-school work where everyone (short of reces- sion) ought to have one and only one "job" or "employment" in the modern sector from which they derive all or most of the income for their monetary needs. This image is a distortion of the complex reality in many economies where multiple income activities, extended family support (and burdens), and underemployment (rather than unem- ployment per se) are the common characteristics. In brief, productive work is not to be equated with employment which is a sub-set of the former, more inclusive concept. 15. For this reason this questionnaire does not ask: "Are you employed?" or "What is your job?" Instead, it simply seeks to know first what the ex-student does to earn a living, without calling that work a "job," an "occupation," much less a profession. (Clearly, this cautious approach may not be necessary in tracer situations where, say, engineering graduates in very short supply are virtually programmed to enter vacant, full-time positions in the modern sector.)' 16. In view of possible underemployment of skills and of only partial or even marginal integration of the ex-student into the labor market, part of the questionnaire should probe the respondent's number of months out-of-work, his use of learned skills, his number of working hours per week, his willingness to work more hours, his continued search for new work, and further training. Attachment B is an example follow-up questionnaire. 17. A common problem with almost all tracers is in ensuring a high rate of response to the follow-up questionnaires. One obvious solution is to employ face-to-face interviews. However this is frequently too expensive and a combination of other devices is therefore needed to increase the number of questionnaires which are completed and mailed back. Attachment C to these guidelines discusses a number of such methods of dealing with low response rates. Analysis 18. An initial step to the analysis stage should be a clear state- ment prepared in advance of the learning and work/occupational aims of the schools and/or courses around which the tracer system sample is drawn. This statement can then be used later az a policy standard against which to judge the degree of success of the students, on the average and in groups, as measured in the questionnaires and brought -6- out in the analysis. For example, the aim of a given course can be formulated in the folloVing measurable terms: that in x nuber of years after completion at least y percentage of students-will be gain- ing at least z percentage of their income needs from work categories a, b, or c. 19. As each round of follow-up questionnaires is returned, the in- formation is coded, according to a pre-coded schedule developed in advance for the array of possible answers to each question. This re- quires drawing up several special, sometimes master code-lists for such items as occupation, geographic location (districts, etc.), school names, subjects and/or courses, and languages. The coded in- formation is then key punched onto the fe-ma"ning columns-of each student's data-storage card. 20. Descriptive analysis can begin with simple single-variable frequency distributions for the responses to the preliminary question- naire. However, analysis proper will begin when this preliminary in- formation is used as "independent" variables to "explain" the distri- bution of responses to the follow-up questionnaire, using the school leavers' recorded labor-market behaviors as the "dependent" variables. Attachment D presents a number of "basic reporting tables" with cross- tabulations of independent and dependent variables. 21. A further form of analysis is possible by introducing the cost dimension. One can compare the relative cost-effectiveness of alterna- tive programs by, for example, determining how much money in recurrent budget was required by each program to train a graduate who in x number of years secured a specified form of work. Administrative Resources 22. Depending on- the size of the samples involved, and on the com- plexity of the tracer system in terms of levels and curricular types of schools involved, about one half a man year per year could be absorbed with the procedures outlined above, not including clerical needs which would be "seasonal." The person in charge should have had prior practical experience with survey research techniques. Material resources would consist largely of paper, key punch cards and either mechanical or electronic data processing machines. Access to a computer could help but the analytical procedures required deli- berately stop short of necessitating this. Access to the postal system, or a sizeable postal budget is, of course, crucial to the system. Without that, a large number of interviewers is probably necessary. 23. By concentrating the system in a central office, reliance on expertise and performance standards among a variety of school per- sonnel is minimized. At least three options exist in situating the -7- tracer office within the government bureaucracy. At the Ministry of Labor, there is at least an assurance that the tracer results could feed into the operation of labor exchanges, if these are capable of handling the information. At the Ministry of Planning the results could help to make manpower forecasting more sensitive to school leaver performance in job markets. At the Ministry of Education the results could feed into career counseling programs and curri- culum or syllabus revisions. 24. But wherever the tracer office is situated, the.results should feed into all of these functions. Perhaps the best "home" is where- ever the supporting resources are most likely to be committed, and this will vary greatly between countries. Attachment A REPUBLIC OF INDEPENDENCIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE TRACER SYSTEM PRELIMINARY SURVEY 1. How many semesters have you followed these academic subjects in grades 10, 11, 12 together. (1) / Language Arts (4) / Chemistry (2) / / Mathematics (all kinds) (5) / / Biology (3) / Physics 2. How many semesters have you followed these vocational subjects in grades 10, 11, 12, together. (1) / Woodwork (6) / Sewing (2) // Auto-Mechanics (7) // Typing (3) / Metal Workshop (8) / Shorthand (4) / Drafting (9) / Bookkeeping (5) / Electricity (10) 1/ Other 3. Next year do you plan..... (tick one) (1) 1/ to go straight to work (2) / continue studying full time. 4. What field would you like to study in future if you have a chance. Name field: Check here if undecided or uninterested. 5. What first work would you like to do after graduation or finishing studies. Name of work: Describe it: Check here if completely undecided. 6. How much money do you think you can earn in your first work per month. per month 7. If you stop schooling next year, would you be willing to take work anywhere in the country where you could find it? (tick one) (1) Yes (2) No If No to which districts would you not go? Name them below. (1) (2) (3) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8. If you stop schooling after this Form, which of these choices would you prefer? Tick one. (1) / Regular wage - paid employment. (2) 1/ Living with your family and assisting in the work around the property they have. (3) / Growing, making, preparing or selling things for cash. If you chose answer 1 above, would you choose to work in ..........(tick one). (1) / A government office. (2) / A private office. (3) // A workshop. (4) // Construction site. (5) // Farm or estate. (6) Shop (7) / Mine 9. In which year were you born: 19 10. In which district were you born? 11. In which language did you first learn to speak? 12. How many years of full-time schooling did your parents (guardians) each have? (1) Father: __years (2) Mother: __years. 13. What is their chief work or occupation today: (1) Father: (2) Mother: 14. Are you a day or boarding student? (tick one) (1) /1 Day (2) // Boarding 15. What is your sex? (tick one) (1) /1/ Male (2) /I Female 16. What is your name? 17. Please give address of someone who will always know where you are and can forward a letter to you. c/o. 18. Which 4 subjects have you spent the most time studying this last year: (1) __(3) (2) (4) Your name Date Attachment B REPUBLIC OF INDEPENDENCIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE TRACER SYSTEM FOLLOW UP QUESTIONNAIRE To answer questions place a tick (') on the spaces in front of the answer you choose. Are you presently enrolled anywhere as a full-time student? Tick one answer and follow the instruction: (1) / / Yes. (Do not complete questions 1 to 13; begin answering at question 14.) (2) // No. (Begin directly with question 1. Complete questions 1 to 16.) 1. From which of the following sources or activities do you obtain most of your money. (tick one) (1) From a regular wage paid to you by an employer. (2) _ From my growing, making, repairing or selling of things for cash. (3) From doing odd jobs now and then for other people who payrme. (4) _ From the support of my relatives, (5) Another source, This is (describe) 2. If most of your money comes from regular paid employment please give the following information about your work. (1) Name and address of your employer: (2) Describe employer's business: (3) Describe your job: (4) Are you paid per week or per month? Tick one. Per week Per month (5) How much are you paid each time? . 3. If most of your money did not come to you from regular wage-paid employment, name and describe your chief money-earning activities. (1) (2) 4. How long, after graduation, did it take you to find a job? months. 5. How many other jobs did you have in the past 12 months? . 6. During how many of the past twelve months did you have a regular source of income? 7. About how many hours did you spend at your work last week? / / 8. Would you be willing to work more hours in order to earn more money: (1) / Yes (2) / No 9. In your work are you using the skills you learned in your final years of school? Tick one. (1) / No, I am doing work which a primary school leaver can do as well. (2) / Yes, mainly my vocational training. (3) /J Yes, mainly the academic training. (4) / Yes, I am using both vocational and academic training. 10. Do you get any regular financial or material support from: (1) Family members: (1) I77 Yes (2) / No (2) Land or property you have: (1) / Yes (2) / No 11. Are you responsible for supporting anyone with the money you earn? Tick one. (1) / Yes - for how many people? (2) NI No. 12. Are you now applying or looking for any new work? Tick one. ,() / / Yes (2) / / No. If you answer "No", when was the last time you looked? months ago. 13. If you answered "Yes" to the above question, for what occupation or work are you now, or were you then last looking? Name and describe: Name it: Describe it: 14. Are you or have you in the past year followed any part-time or short-time studies? Tick one. / / Yes // No If you answer "Yes", in what subject(s)? How Subject? What institution? many weeks? (1) (2) 15. At which postal address do you think you can be contacted a year from now? Name: c/o. 16. What io your postal address where you can be reached right now? Name: Address: THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS ARE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE FULL TIME STUDENTS NOW. 17. In which school have you been during the past year? Name: Grade: 18. What do you wish to do for the next year (12 months)? Tick one. (1) / Find work and earn mone7. (2) 77 Find work and earn money, and maybe study again part-time. (3) / Continue full time studies. 19. What is your permanent address? Attachment C Page 1 School Leaver Tracer Survey Measures to Handle Non-Response Bias In any tracer system, those who do respond to a mail questionnaire may differ from those who do not respond either in..terms of their back- ground characteristics or in terms of their work experiences. Since this possibility can bias conclusions which would otherwise be drawn from the respondents alone, it is necessary both to take preventative measures to reduce the non-response rate to a minimum and then t'o take "corrective" measures to estimate the behavior of the non-respondents. Below are some suggested measures. Some of the former type are neces- sarily little more than gimmicks, but useful nonetheless. Preventative Measures 1. Employ a two-stage tracer system in which a preliminary baseline survey of 100% of the sample is made while the sample population is still in a "captive audience" in school. Subsequently, non- respondents to the follow-up questionnaires can be identified and described on the basis of the information they give in the baseline survey. 2. During administration of the baseline questionnaire, give partici- pants a full orientation on the purposes of the tracer system and briefly show and explain the follow-up questionnaire they are to receive later. Emphasize the importance of maintaining up-to-date contact addresses for each participant in the records of the central tracer office. 3. Issue a name card and number to each person, showing the central tracer office address to facilitate correspondence and to enhance his/her sense of participation in the tracer system as a special activity. * 4. Roughly half way between successive questionnaires of each cohort, send out a tracer newsletter to (a) report some descriptive findings based on earlier questionnaires (but taking care not to influence thereby the subsequent responses, for reasons of conformity or what- ever), (b) invite comments and queries, and in later newsletters provide replies, (c) request recent change-of-addresses. Attachment C Page 2 5. Shortly before sending out follow-up questionnaires, send an "alert card", perhaps in vernacular languages, to forewarn the contact addressee and/or the participant to expect a questionnaire which may have to be forwarded to reach the participant. 6. Starting three or four weeks after the first mailout of the annual questionnaire, a repeat mailing to initial non-respondents can be made with either a "reminder card" or a duplicate questionnaire copy, or both. Alternatively, an advertisement can be placed in a newspaper giving a description of the sample and inviting sample members to apply for a copy of the questionnaire. 7. Keep the annual questionnaire as short as possible to minimize sheer burden of its completion and postage. 8. Frequently the address of a sample member will be lost to the tracer office but will be known to the other sample members and vice versa. For such cases the tracer office can offer to act as an address clearing house - providing addresses of those it knows in exchange for those it seeks. 9. Send annual questionnaires with return postage-prepaid. 10. "Over-sample", i.e. over-represent in the sample, those groups within the sample who, on the basis of pilot surveys, are shown to be poor respondents. To the extent these "preventative" measures can raise the overall response rate, they will simplify and reduce the cost of the more drastic corrective measures which finally become necessary to cope with hard- core non-response. Corrective Measures 1. "Downward" adjustment within the respondent sub-sample. This means randomly eliminating returned questionnaires of some of the respon- dents so that the major demographic groups are represented in the reduced sub-sample in proportion to their representation in the original sample, as known from the preliminary survey findings. (This method still does not necessarily resolve all bias. The non-respondents and respondents will usually differ not only in terms of background characteristics, but in outcomes, i.e. labor market behavior.) 2. "Upward" adjustment of respondent sub-sample. This is the reverse of the above procedure, adding to, instead of substracting from, the respondent sub-sample by chasing after some non-respondents who are selected from major demographic categories.(randomly within each such category) to restore the original sub-group representation. (The same qualification given in the parentheses in the paragraph above applies here as well.) Attachment C Page 3 3. "Chase-up" a small random sample of the non-respondents - about 5% to 10%. These few people will have to be "found" by any means possible. It is necessary that they (the 5% or 10%) all be found if this method is to be valid. Once these are found, this special chased-up sub-sample can be compared to the respondent sub-sample to see (a) the direction of difference, if any, on each "dependent" variable, and (b) the degree of difference. In addition, the measure- ment taken on the "chased-up" sub-sample can be "weighted" - e.g., if it is a 5% sub-sample, then by a factor of 20; if it is a 10% sub-sample, then by a factor of 10, etc. These extrapolated results can then be added to the results of the respondent sub-sample to fill out the sample as a whole. Attachment D Basic Reporting Tables Table Title A-1 Post-School Activity of School Leavers A-2 Post-School/Training Earnings, Duration and Intensity of Work of School Leavers B Relevance of Training to Work Obtained by School Leavers C-1 Nature of Work Obtained X Years After Schooling, Related to Home Background Characteristics C-2 Nature of Work Obtained X Years After Schooling, Related to School Characteristics D-1 School Leaver Adjustments to Labor Market Situation D-2 Congruence of Work Aspirations and Expectations E Further Education or Training of School Leavers AttachmentD TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLES: TABLE A I Post School Activity of School Leavers Classified by Sex and Major Subject of Course and School Performance Sex Major Subject of Course Final Ranking of Student in School/Course T3TAL School Leaver's Activity After Males Females Sciences Technical Technical General Top Middle Bottom Leaving Project "A" !'B'!(etc.) Third Third Third Instcitution Institutin 11%j n % n % n % n % n % n %n % n n % Finds Some Work Immediately Delay in 1-5 months Finding Work 6-12 months Finds No Work of Any Type in First Year Continues (Full Time) Education National Service TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% Continues Specific Training Short-Term N.B. Please give a quantitative or qual;tat:ive desc4ption of the current trend in the state of the national or regiqual economy a4 it affects overall or specific demand for workers, TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLE: TABLE A2 Post School/Training Earnings, Duration and Intensity of Work of School Leavers, Related to Sex, Course, and Performance Final Ranking of SMa or Subject of Course Student in Schoo /Course TOTAL Technical Subjects Top 'Middle Bottom Post-School Experience Male Female Sciences "A" "1B General I Third Third Third n % n % % n % n % n n % n % n % n % I. Income 1. ligh -2. Medium 3. Low -Inapplicable TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N % N 100% N 100% N 100% II. Intensity 1. Many of Work 2. Few (hours 3. None per week) Inapplicable . TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% III. Duration 1. Many at Present 2. Few Work (no. of Inapplicable mothsa) TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 1001 N 100% N 100% N0.1. Please give a quantitative or nualitative description of the current trend in the state of the national or regional economy as it affects overall or specific demand for workers. NB.2. In actual use all of the general terms such as 'high', 1low', 'man,7, 'few', etc. will have to be translated into specific and relevant categories for the country. Tracer System: Basic Reporting Tables: Table B Relevance of Training to Work Obtained by School Leavers, Classified by Major Subject of Course I. Major Subject of Course Correspondence of Work Technical Technical Content to Content of Sciences Subject Subject TOTAL Training "A" "B" (etc.) No. of students for whom: n % n % n % Work clearly relates to training Work-Training relation- ship is unclear Work and Training are clearly not related Inapplicable cases: No work, further studies, National Service, etc. TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% Ii. Respondent-reported use of education training Reports training as useful Reports training as of little or no use to work Inapplicable (students, etc.) TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLES: TABLE C1 Nature of Work Obtained X Years After Schooling, Related to Home Background Characteristics Economic/Educational Geographic/Linguistic Status of the Home Origin (home) Financial Circumstances TOTAL Nature of , , School Leaver's Work Situation Can Obtain High Low North South etc.!/ Support from Cannot Ob- Has Own Relatives tain Support Dependents n % n n % n % n n % n % n % n Public Employed with Sector Regular Wage Private jSector Self Employed Paid Largely in Kind for Work on Family Holdings Further Full-Time Study National Service Neither Work Nor Study TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% 1/ Regional categories can be replaced by urban vs rural, language groups, etc. as they appear significant. TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLES: TABLE C2 Nature of Work Obtained X Years After Schooling, Related to School Characteristics and Demographic Characteristics of Student School Quality Index School Residence Sex Age Nature of School Leaver's * Below or Older TOTAL Work Situation High Low Day Boarding Male Female at Norm Than Norm n % n % n % n % n % n n n N Public Employed with Sector Regular Wage Private Sector Self Employed Paid Largely in Kind for Work on Family Hildings Further Full Time Study National Service Neither Work Nor Study School Leaver Adjustments to Labor Market Situation, Related to Earlier Attitudes While Still in School/Training Original Attitude Toward Early Career Types of School Leaver Willingness to Move Distinguishes Between Labor Market Adjust- to Find Work Aspiration and ment Behavior Expectation TOTAL High, Low Yes No n % n % n % In % n I. Job attained is ... 1. ...same or "better" than expected 2. ...less than expected 3. ...of totally differenace character than expected 4. Has not found work 5. Inapplicable eases (students, etc.) TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% II. 1. Actively looking for new work 2. Not actively looking 3. Inapplicable cases (students, etc.) TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% III. Duration without 1. Lone work during search 2. Short 3. Inapplicable cases TOTAL N 100% N 100% jN 100% N 100% N 100% N.B. Please give a cuantitative or qualitative description of the current trend in the state of the national or regional economy as it affects overall or specific demand f or worker'q,_ TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLE: TABLE D2 Congruence of Work Aspirations and Expectations with Actual Work Obtained by School Leavers Work Aspired To: Work Expected: Work Actually ________________ _______________ Obtained A R C D TOTAL A B C D TOTAL n n % n % n n n n % A Occupa- B tional Categories C None Inapplicable TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% * Of course, a relevant set of occupational categories, not necessarily a set of four, will have to be constructed in conjunction with the questionnaire. N.B. Plea'se give a quantitative or qualitative description of the current trend in the state of the national or regional economy as it affects overall or specific demand for workers. Tracer System: Basic Reporting Table: Table D3 Geographic Migration in the School Leaver Labor Market: Place of Work, Related to the School Leaver's Place of Origin District of Origin*. District of work District District District Etc. Total or work-search A B C Sn % n % n % n % n % District "A" District "B" District "C" Etc. Inapplicable (students, inactive school leavers, etc.) TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% * Where day schools are prevalent, the place of the school; otherwise the birthplace or parents' home, etc. TRACER SYSTEM: BASIC REPORTING TABLES: TABLE E Further Education or Training of School Leavers Related to Their Labor Market Behavior Further Education or Training Types of Labor Some Some Market Behavior Full-Time Short-Term Neither TOTAL n % n % n % n % I. Nature of Work. Obtained: 1. regular wage employment 2. self-employment 3. paid largely in kind for work on family holding 4. no work 5. inapplicable (studying,etc.'. TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% II. Monthly Income From Work: 1. high 2. low 3. inapplicable TOTAL IT 100% I 100% 100 100 III. Use of Latest Further Training in Work 1. high use 2. low use 3. inapplicable TOTAL N 100% N 100% N 100% N 100% Notes to Attachment D TRACER SYSTEM Some Notes on the Use of Basic Reporting Tables 1. Normally a table (or set of tables) should be completed for Te students/trainees from each discrete set of institutions - forming a project component which is to be traced. For example: technical institutes; secondary general; primary teacher training; etc. 2. Where comparable non-project institutions are used to provide "control" in the tracer, separate tables (or sets) should be com- pleted for (a) project, and (b) non-project institutions, so that two types can be compared. 3. Table computations should consist simply of vertical percentaging down each column of numbers (response frequencies), including the total column(s), using the bottown row totals as divisors for each column. The column and row total should normally have excluded beforehand the "no answer" or invalid responses. 4. Interpretation of these results consists primarily in comparing the percentages across a row within one vertical section of table, thus seeing, for example, whether science majors more than technical majors, or high academic more than low academic performers find work more quickly, etc. 5. The sets of categories used in columns or rows in the basic re- porting tables may derive from the possible responses to one or more questionnaire questions. 6. The various patterns of labor market performance uncovered by means of these tables should, wheiever relevant, be put in the context of the latest trends in factors which affect worker demand in the national-or regional economy as a whole or in specific economic sectors, including GNP growth, capital-labor ratio, etc.