ARE WORK-BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIVE PLACEMENT AND PROGRAM COMPLETION?

Abstract

Career technical education (CTE) is undergoing a resurgence in popularity. Amid this uptick in interest, one significant area of investment is in work-based learning (WBL) opportunities for students, which encompasses many types of learning activities that range from career exploration to internships. Existing studies examine the influence of WBL on outcomes while students are attending school, but few studies have examined whether WBL is related to student success after graduation from a program of study. This quantitative study tests the relationship between WBL hours and program completion and positive placement by using administrative and survey data (n = 3,881) from a standalone career technology center school district in Oklahoma that serves high school students and adults. Results indicated that the number of work-based learning hours were not associated with either program completion or positive placement. However, the type of learning provided was associated with these outcomes as students attending programs offering learning through active experimentation were 2.5 times more likely to receive a positive placement and 1.8 times more likely to complete their programs. Abstract conceptualization was also associated with these two outcomes, but not as strongly as active experimentation was. This study offers important contributions to the literature because it offers suggestive evidence that it is not necessarily the amount of time spent in work-based learning but the types of learning opportunities that are provided that influence program completion and positive placement.