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Increasingly, the success of education systems is being judged on the performance of their students on tests of academic achievement and by college entry rates. While academic courses are effective for many students, they often fail to engage or motivate others. The belief growing amongst many is that the integration of classroom learning with experiences outside of the school is a more effective approach to engage students and prepare them for education and work after high school. This book explores the potential for using work-based learning as a part of a broad education reform strategy, with the aim of strengthening the educational preparation of many young adults. The authors of the book make four main claims about the benefits of work-based learning: that it reinforces and improves academic learning; that it enhances students' work-related skills and their understanding of careers; that it advances participants' social and emotional development; and that it engages them in new modes of thought seldom found in schools. The book outlines a study undertaken by the authors in which 25 students were observed during internships and interviewed at length. The results of this study are then compared against the four work-based learning claims originally outlined, with most of these being proved true. Show less

This report identifies ways in which state policies can support students' academic and labor market success by creating coherent systems of preparation for students entering technical fields. In particular, the report focuses on state policies that support the implementation of career pathways, such as those encouraged by the US Department of Education's College and Career Transitions Initiative, which span secondary and postsecondary education and culminate in rewarding careers.

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In recent years, researchers and educators have been paying increasing attention to work-based learning as a promising educational strategy. In the school-to-work literature, many lists of the potential purposes or benefits of work-based learning to students can be found. However, despite increased enthusiasm over work-based learning and anecdotal evidence supporting it, there have been few empirical studies that test whether and how students are actually benefiting. Further, while many programs are having success in inducing employers to offer work-based learning placements, it is probably overly optimistic to require employers to undergo training and to expect them to act as teachers. Yet there are ways for school personnel to examine workplaces, oversee internships, and create classroom-based assignments and activities, so that work-based learning is educational. In this paper, we give guidance as to how to achieve quality internships, by laying out a framework through which an educator might analyze the situated pedagogy of a particular work context, and describing methods used in schools to ensure that students’ work experiences yield learning. That is, we will explore the different ways work-based learning is organized at the workplace, and how it can be enhanced in the classroom.

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In the past, credit-based transition programs (CBTPs), such as Tech-Prep, dual or concurrent enrollment, International Baccalaureate (IB) and Middle College High School (MCHS), enrolled primarily academically proficient and high-achieving students. Today, however, a growing number of policymakers, education reform groups, and researchers argue that middle- and even low-achieving high school students may benefit from participation in these programs. Yet, despite their popularity nationwide, there is limited research-based information on CBTPs, particularly those programs that include a broad range of students. This report is the final report from the Accelerating Student Success Through Credit-Based Transition Programs study, which was initiated by the US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) in the fall of 2003. The research for this report was conducted in the spring and fall of 2004. Case studies were undertaken in five states - California, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Texas. Two dual enrollment programs, an MCHS, an International Baccalaureate program, and a Tech-Prep program were studied. The first section of the report describes the sites and examines some of the ways in which contextual features influence program implementation. The report then highlights findings regarding four key program features - student recruitment and selection processes; curriculum; support services; and data collection and use. For each feature, the researchers investigated the current practices of the case study sites, identified those practices that seemed most promising in meeting the needs of middle- and low-achieving students, and identified barriers to implementing them. Readers should note that the data reflect program practices at the time the research was conducted in the spring and fall of 2004. In addition, in order to give the study participants anonymity, the specific research sites were given pseudonyms. When given permission, the name of the general program is used.

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Educators who support work-based learning as a program for secondary school students make a number of different claims for its utility. One such claim is that work-based experience will improve students’ academic performance. To investigate this argument, we review existing studies of how work affects youths’ academic performance, and studies of the academic achievement of students in programs that include work-based learning. We then present empirical data from our research on five such programs, as well as draw on the observations of others who have studied student interns. We conclude that the evidence does not provide strong support for this popular assertion about work-based learning, but there are other, non-academic but equally important forms of learning that can come from work experience and that these forms give us good grounds for supporting work-based learning.

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This article presents a case study of a particular instance of business involvement in education, the industry-sponsored non-profit National Academy Foundation (NAF). While in the USA, participation by employers in schools and educational programs has increased in the last decade, the federal funding for such partnerships through the School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act is ending. NAF's efforts pre-date the federal STW legislation and have been especially effective in recruiting and retaining employer support for high-school-based career academies. Combining data from fieldwork and a telephone survey of 192 employers involved in the NAF program, the authors explore the characteristics of participating employers, their contribution to local education experiences, and the incentives and disincentives to their involvement. The findings demonstrate that sustained, quality employer involvement in education is possible; possible indications of what accounts for NAF's success are also given. This study should help inform policymakers and practitioners as to potential challenges and benefits of institutionalising a large-scale employer-education partnership.

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The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Amendments of 1998 extended support for 'career guidance and academic counseling'. A wide variety of such interventions are in existence. Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 emphasizes evidence-based education, it is important to examine the research to determine the value of these programs. This synthesis of the research literature, covering meta-analyses and individual studies on comprehensive guidance programs, career courses, counseling interventions and computer-assisted career guidance, finds many benefits to students of career guidance and academic counseling interventions. On a variety of career-related and academic measures, student subjects did have increased outcomes. However, there are also limitations to the interventions and to the research methods studying them. Many of the interventions are short-term, low-dosage activities, with lasting benefits unclear. In addition, much of the research relies on self-reported responses to psychological inventories. Based on the findings of the research review, recommendations are to focus practice and research on middle-school students, and target resources towards ensuring that all middle- and high-school students have regular conferences with counselors to discuss their current and future academic programs. Finally, research should focus on exploring the relationships between guidance interventions and positive student behaviors, rather than attitudes.

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The School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) was passed in 1994 and focused on the role of secondary schools in preparing young Americans for work. STWOA built on a range of existing educational strategies by: providing funding through national legislation to speed up these activities; attempting to give them greater unity and coherence; and providing a focal point around which to organise the discussion of, and experimentation with, these educational innovations. The STWOA was intended to generate activities that could then be incorporated into the ongoing, everyday functioning of the education system. Funding was thus due to conclude in 2001. This report collects and summarises the research undertaken over the last several years that evaluates the effectiveness of the school-to-work educational strategy. The report is organised around a set of themes and presents brief summaries of results from evaluations. The authors conclude that the research thus far demonstrates generally positive results, i.e. that the school-to-work strategy benefits students, teachers, and employers. Show less

Dual enrollment has historically targeted high-achieving high school students, but today it is increasingly seen by educators and policymakers as a strategy to help a broader range of students make the transition from high school to college. Students who struggle academically or who are at risk of dropping out may also realize significant benefits from dual enrollment. At the same time, there is uncertainty about how to offer dual enrollment opportunities in the current California policy environment. This report is intended to inform educators, policymakers, administrators and researchers about current policies and practices that shape dual enrollment in California. The report clarifies current policy and shares examples of existing programs that are successfully providing college credit opportunities to California high school students. The sections that follow provide an overview of various program models, review the research on dual enrollment, summarize the policies pertaining to dual enrollment in California and discuss how this information has informed the development of the Concurrent Courses initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation.

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This study presents findings from three cohorts of students - the classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005, in the School District of Philadelphia - that were admitted to the district's career and technical education (CTE) schools through a randomized lottery process. This study takes advantage of this so-called 'natural experiment' to compare high school academic outcomes for lottery applicants who were admitted with those for students who did not receive an acceptance. Results find that CTE students had significantly better outcomes in terms of graduation rates, credit accumulation, and the successful completion of the college preparatory mathematics sequence algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry. Results for other outcomes such as the completion of science and foreign language course sequences, overall grade point average, and mathematics and reading comprehension achievement, were inconsistent across cohorts and statistical tests, neither favoring nor against students accepted to CTE schools.

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