School-Supervised Work Experience

Paris and Mason (1995) describe the school-supervised work experience:

"School-supervised work experience refers to programs that give students a structured or planned set of educational work experiences and activities in simulated or actual work settings. School-supervised work experiences may start as early as kindergarten, providing students with community field experiences relating to work and progressing to more substantial opportunities such as short-term unpaid work, job shadowing, and community service as students enter middle and high school. These experiences: assist students to understand and apply work-related activities and learning in school, inform students of career options and opportunities, and help students plan career paths.

In school-supervised work experiences, school staff help recruit and develop work-learning sites, develop learning agreements and plans, facilitate student participation, and help evaluate work experiences. Teacher supervision helps ensure that work experiences assist students to accept responsibility, take initiative, develop adult relationships, participate in decision making, and acquire other job skills that most youth do not receive in typical part-time jobs. Teachers help reinforce the educational potential of work experience by encouraging mastery of new and varied skills for work and life roles, relating work to in-school instructional programs, and evaluating the work experience of both the student and the employer.

The drawback of most school-supervised work experiences is that no formal curriculum integration or school and workplace integration occurs. Also there is no credentializing of skills, and no articulation between secondary and postsecondary schools. Rather than developing occupational competence, school-supervised work experience is intended to develop 'job-general' skills, employability skills and attitudes required for success in any employment situation." (p. 45-46)

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