Access to Structured Work-Based Learning Experiences

Choy, Alt, and Henke (1994) discuss the difficulties in designing work-based learning experiences that are appropriate for all students:

"Students who go immediately from school to work without any postsecondary education were the original target for career-related education. However, as increasing numbers of educators and policymakers have realized that work-based learning and greater integration of academic and vocational education would benefit all students, the target population has been broadened. The . . . School-to-Work Opportunities Act requires states that seek federal funding to provide opportunities for all students, including disadvantaged students; students of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds; students with disabilities; students with limited English proficiency; and academically talented students.

Despite the need to serve all students, these programs serve different purposes for different types of students, and no one program will meet the needs of all students. For example, students bound for four-year colleges need an overall understanding of the world of work and the academic background required for various occupations. Although these students would profit from an opportunity to work in a field related to their interests to help them choose a career, most students would not have to learn specific job skills in high school. Students who plan to work immediately after high school, on the other hand, need not only an opportunity to explore possible careers but also a chance to start learning general work and job-specific skills while still in high school. Students who plan to have some postsecondary education but to attain less than a bachelor's degree need less occupationally specific training than students going immediately to work, but they need a carefully articulated program that links their educational experiences in high school with a specific postsecondary program.

Also, educators and policymakers will have to set priorities about who will be served because developing and implementing appropriate opportunities for all students will be a long, difficult process. Thus the more we know about subgroups of students, the easier it will be to design programs and target those in most need first." (p. 97)

Source: Profile of the Target Population for School-to-Work Transition Initiatives, by S. Choy, M. Alt, and R. Henke (p. 97-130) in School-to-Work: What Does Research Say About It? 1994, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.