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Section 5: Education
The fifth section of the questionnaire asks respondents their opinions about education both in a general way and in terms of its ability to serve the needs of the business community.
The first question of this section, question #19, asks about the strength of educational programs that train people to work in specific industries (Figure 17).
19. How would you rate the strength of educational programs in Indiana that train people for work in the following industries?
Respondents rate Indiana’s training for “agriculture” and “information technology” as being relatively strong, the first most likely reflecting Indiana’s long tradition of agricultural excellence and the second reflecting Indiana’s heavy educational investment in this area.
At the other extreme, respondents rate Indiana’s educational programs in film as being relatively weak. The remaining industries—“insurance,” “advanced manufacturing,” “motor sports,” “distribution/transportation/logistics,” and “alternative energy sources”—are all perceived to be moderately strong.
It should be noted that executives were given the option of responding “not sure” regarding the educational programs for each of the industries mentioned in this question, and that relatively large numbers of respondents took advantage of this option for some of the industries. For example, 50% responded “not sure” regarding educational programs for the film industry, and 40% responded “not sure” regarding educational programs for motor sports. A low of 12% responded “not sure” to the question regarding information technology. Thus, the ratings presented in Figure 17 reflect the averages of those who expressed an opinion, not the ratings of the entire sample.
The next question asks respondents to rate the various levels of Indiana’s educational system on a scale from “very weak” to “very strong” (Figure 18).
20. How would you rate Indiana’s educational system at the following levels?
There is obviously wide variance in the average ratings of Indiana’s different educational levels. Undergraduate and graduate education, both public and private, are perceived to be very strong. Public elementary and secondary education is perceived to be weak. Private primary and secondary education, as well as trade and technical education, is rated near the middle of the scale.
When asked to rate the “education system overall,” it appears that respondents were most heavily influenced by their perceptions of public primary and secondary education. This may be due to the large amount of publicity this level of education has received over the past several years as ISTEP and other No Child Left Behind initiatives have been implemented. Most coverage in mass media has focused on performance problems of city school systems, and such coverage may be driving these perceptions. On the other hand, there are no statistically significant differences between those from central Indiana versus those outside central Indiana for any of the levels tested.
The next question, question #21, asks respondents to rate how well these same educational levels have adapted to the changing business climate in recent years (Figure 19).
21. How well do you feel that Indiana’s educational system at the following levels has adapted to the changing business climate in recent years?
As might be expected, respondents offered similar ratings for each educational level to this question. Once again, primary education, especially public K through 12 education, receives the lowest ratings. And once again, college and university education is rated higher. It should be noted, however, that at all levels ratings of adaptation are a bit lower than are general ratings. It appears that executives in the survey believe the educational system as a whole is not really keeping pace with the adaptations required by a changing business climate.
