Paris and Mason (1995) describe the importance of linking work-based learning with the school experience:
"In an information-based and highly technical society, young people are excluded from work environments until their teen years when they are first able to assume part-time jobs. This separation first took place when the Industrial Revolution centralized work activities, taking them out of the home and out of view from young people. Work-based learning is an essential part of school-to-work transition because it provides a dimension of reality that schools alone have difficulty providing for students. . . . Work experience in the community, whether paid or unpaid, should be an integral part of every student's school-to-work transition experience. Although the federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 gives priority to paid work experience as part of a comprehensive school-to-work transition, not all work-based learning experiences provided to students in high school need to be paid. The spectrum of work-based learning includes youth apprenticeship, paid work experience, cooperative education, job shadowing, business and industry mentoring, simulated work tasks at school or through vocational student organizations, school-based enterprises, and community service.
Through work experience, students have an opportunity to see firsthand how what they learn in school is used in the work world. It provides them the opportunity to develop their skills in communication and problem-solving and puts them in contact with adults who may act as mentors and positive role models. It gives students a taste of what various careers entail on a day-to-day basis, which alone may be an invaluable career exploration activity. Through work-experience activities, students often identify careers they do not wish to pursue, which is part of the total career decision-making process." (p. 4-6)
Source: Planning and Implementing Youth Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning, by Kathleen A. Paris and Sarah A. Mason, 1995, Madison, WI: Center on Education and Work, University of Wisconsin.