The Relationship Between Applicant Age and Evaluator Age in Pre-Interview Screening of Teacher Applicants

Past research in teacher selection has suggested that applicant age is a factor in selection decisions. This research project investigated the possible interactions of social psychological precepts concerning social distance and attraction-similarity with applicant and evaluator ages, to determine whether these interactions might contribute to age preferences during the pre-interview or screening phase of the selection process.Randomly selected Ohio public elementary school principals, of specific ages (39, 40, 59, and 60 years of age) served as subjects. The principals received a position description for an elementary school teaching position and a resume from a hypothetical applicant for the position. Each resume was exactly the same, except for the applicant'sage (39 or 59 years of age and a No Age Control), which was stated on the resume. The principals and resumes were randomized so that some principals received resumes from applicants of their own ages and others received resumes from applicants older or younger than themselves.Subjects were asked to study the position description and hypothetical applicant resumes and to evaluate the applicant on five measures of teacher knowledge and abilities (communications ability, likelihood for overall contribution to the school, student discipline, creation of a friendly learning environment, and potential forprofessional growth). The ratings on these items were summed to form a composite score for this dependent variable. In addition, principals rated the applicants on the single item likelihood of the applicant being granted an interview.Results indicated that older principals rated applicants significantly higher on the specific measures of teacher knowledge and abilities than did younger principals. Additionally, there was no significant difference in ratings from older and younger principals, in terms of the global probability of granting the applicant an interview. There was no support for the hypothesized interaction of social distance and similarity-attraction in the screening decision process, relative to either applicant age or evaluator age. Implications of these finding for future research and practical applications are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

EDU Teaching and Learning

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

1998

Author dc:creator

• Bowman, Jeffry Stephen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Phillip Young, I.

• Education

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1364296161

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1364296161