NCJ Number
78181
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 40-48
Date Published
1981
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Analysis of the expectations of recruited custodial officers in Victoria, Australia, regarding their jobs reveals these recruits to be generally unrealistic about the jobs they were about to assume.
Abstract
The survey questionnaire administered to 65 prison officer recruits in 1978 attempted to analyze their expectations and to ascertain the degree to which these expectations were (or could be) met. The survey instrument measured expectations regarding skill variety, task identity (the impact of the job on the lives and work of other people), autonomy, and feedback regarding the effectiveness of the recruits' performance. The survey questionnaire was readministered to 19 of the officers in June 1979 after they had worked on the job. Of the officers retested 80 percent indicated that the feedback available regarding their jobs was not what they had expected, while 60 percent felt that task significance was far less than expected. Approximately 50 percent felt that task identity was not what they had expected. Those individuals having the highest level of education were the most realistic in their expectations of the role they were to undertake. Overall results, however, show the majority of officers as having unrealistic expectations which were not enhanced by the knowledge of prison service some officers indicated they possessed prior to employment. More complete information is needed by recruits before they begin employment. Tables, notes, and 12 references are provided.