Journal of Cooperative Education Fall 1996: Vol 32 Iss 1

105 Pages·1996·4 MB·English

THE JOURNAL of
COOPERATIVE
EDUCATION
FALL 1996
Volume XXXII Number 1
^COOPERATIVE
■ ■■■IAeDUCATION
^ASSOCIATION
m INC.

The JOURNAL of
COOPERATIVE EDUCATION
Volume XXXII, Number 1
EDITOR
James W. Wilson
Peterborough, Neiv Hampshire
EDITORIAL BOARD
Kathleen Finn
Northeastern University
H. Sanford Gum
San Mateo College
Barbara R. Heller
Center for Advanced Study in Education
Ann E. Keeling
University of Cincinnati
E. Daniel McKenna
Concordia College
Ellen Weaver Paquette
Rhode Island College
Christopher G. Pratt
Seton Hall University
Frances Ricks
University of Victoria
Patricia M. Rowe
University of Waterloo
Joan M. Stoia
University of Massachusetts
William Stull
Utah State University
James W. Varty
Macomb Community College
Leonard J. Watts
Antioch University
William Weston
North Carolina State University
CONSULTING EDITOR
Sheri Dressier
University of Central Florida
Copyright^ 1996 Cooperative Education Association, Inc.
All rights reser\’ed
1995-96 Officers of the Cooperative Education Association, Inc.
President - Jean Egan, Northeastern University
Executive V.P., President Elect - Sheri Dressier, University of Central Florida
Past President - David Cessna, University of Northern Colorado
Vice President, Finance - William Weston, University of North Carolina
Vice President, Employer Affairs - Dawn Brogan, Walt Disney World Co.
Vice President, Government Relations - Brenda Kueger Wilson,
University of Cincinnati
Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations - Douglas Q. Davis,
Northern Illinois University
Vice President, Programs/Professional Development - Richard Pullin,
University of Waterloo
Vice President, Research & Information - Ellen Weaver-Paquette,
Rhode Island College
Regional Vice Presidents
Region 1, Jeanette Grill, Long Island University
Region 2, Albert Foderaro, County College of Morris
Region 3, Luther Epting, Mississippi State University
Region 4, Karen Eagles, Southwest Missouri State University
Region 5, Patti Gunnels, EDS
Region 6, Carl Bossieux, Bureau of Reclamation
Region 7, A1 Barela, IBM
Region 8, Mark Kilian, AT&T Corporate Headquarters
Executive Director
Dawn E. Pettit
Legal Councel
Jennifer Sugiyama, University of California at Berkeley
Journal of Cooperative Education
James W. Wilson, Editor
Co-op / Experience / Co-op
Betty Lynne Leary, Editor
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
Manuscripts must be double-spaced and submitted in triplicate, the original
included, to the Editor, Journal of Cooperative Education, 1 Sand Hill Road #12,
Peterborough, NH 03458. The guidelines for authors, which appear elsewhere in
the Journal, should be carefully followed. The Journal of Cooperative Education is
published three times a year by the Cooperative Education Association, Inc. The
Journal is available through membership in CEA, Inc., or at a subscription rate of
$30.00 per year ($45.00 outside U.S. and Canada). Information about CEA, Inc.,
orders for the Journal, and address changes should be directed to the Cooperative
Education Association, Inc., 8640 Guilford Road, Suite 215, Columbia, MD 21046.
The Journal of Cooperative Education
CONTENTS
Volume XXXII, Number 1, Fall 1996
EDITOR'S NOTE 4
James W. Wilson
Service-Learning and School-To-Work: 7
Making the Connection
Andreiv Furco
An Investigation of Entry Level Characteristics 15
Between Co-op and Non-Co-op Students
Geraldine Van Gyn
Graham Branton
James Cult
Mark token
Frances Ricks
The Bsc(Technology) Degree: Responding to the 29
Challenges of the Education Marketplace
Richard K. Coll
The Impact of Cooperative Education on Wages 36
Walter J. Wessels
Gerald Pumphrey
Learning About Women's Work: Canadian Thoughts on 52
Critical Practice in Secondary School Co-op Education
Janice Ahola-Sidaivay
Margaret McKinnon
Cheryl Simser
Petra Spietzer
Career Success and Student Satisfaction: 66
A Study of Computer Science Cooperative Education Graduates
Robert A. Dubick
Ralph B. McNerney
Bradley K. Potts
Career Maturity: 75
Effects of Secondary School Cooperative Education
Jan Varner
BOOK REVIEW 93
HOW TO OBTAIN REPRINTS AND BACK ISSUES 96
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS 97
GUIDELINES FOR REVIEWERS OF LITERATURE 100
EDITOR'S NOTE
This issue of the Journal contains seven articles - one that describes a
cooperative education curriculum in New Zealand (Coll), one that describes
and explores possible connections between the National and Community
Service Trust Act and the School to Work Opportunities Act (Furco), one
that.. examine(s) some of the tensions and contradictions that arise when
one tries to think about critical pedagogy in terms of secondary school work
education for young non-college/non-university-bound women" (Ahola-
Sidaway, McKinnon, Simser, and Spietzer), and four research reports that
examine the influence of cooperative education on the career maturity of
secondary students (Varner), program satisfaction and employment history
of computer science graduates (Dubick, McNemey, and Potts), wages of
community college technical curricula graduates (Wessels and Pumphrey),
and an examination of entry level demographic and academic characteris¬
tics of co-op and non-co-op students (Van Gyn, Branton, Cutt, Token, and
Ricks). Each contributes substantially to our growing understanding of the
nature and potential of cooperative education.
Following these seven articles is a review by Barry Heermann of a book
edited by Dan Hotaling and Dorothy Scott - An Antioch Career - The Memoirs
of]. Dudley Dawson. Reading about this remarkable man made me recall that
Dudley Dawson was one of the persons 1 came to know within the first year
of my entry into cooperative education. In turn, this reminded me of others
who were early contributors to the advance of co-op. Two of these never
actually worked in co-op, but were strong and effective advocates. In 1959
Ralph Tyler, whom I had known since 1946 and under whom I had studied,
recommended me to direct a national assessment of cooperative education
and then became the chair of our Study Committee. His counsel throughout
the eighteen-month study was substantial and helped to bring the research
to a successful conclusion. His suggestion to form a special commission to
publicize the findings of that study led to the creation of the National Com¬
mission for Cooperative Education. CEA members are aware of Ralph Tyler
through the research award that bears his name and is given annually to a
cooperative education researcher. Charles Kettering was the other individ¬
ual who, though he never worked in co-op, contributed greatly to its devel¬
opment. He was the Director of Research at General Motors and a strong
supporter of co-op. It was he who in 1957 at a cooperative education con¬
ference he sponsored suggested that a national study should be undertaken
to find out the educational merit of co-op. He later became the Honorary
Chair of the Study Committee. I first met him in 1959 at his laboratory on
the Antioch campus. It was the same visit to Antioch at which I met Dudley
Dawson. One thing I always recall about Mr. Kettering was his use of simi¬
les. For example, he likened education to welding. He noted that traditional
4
Feature EDITOR'S NOTE
education was like a butt weld in which two pieces of metal are joined end
to end. Like the butt weld, traditional education joins education and work
end to end. The only connecting point is at graduation. Cooperative educa¬
tion, on the other hand, is like a lap weld in which the pieces being joined
overlap and there are several points of contact. In cooperative education
there are several points of contact between education and work. Mr. Ketter¬
ing always concluded this simile by asserting, "Any damnfool knows a lap
weld is stronger than a butt weld."
Before meeting Dudley Dawson and Charles Kettering I met Don Hunt.
We had dinner together in Rochester, New York. His task was to interview
me for the directorship of the national assessment of cooperative education.
Apparently, the evening went well. Don was the director of the University
of Detroit's co-op program, but he was much more to co-op than an effec¬
tive practitioner. Don seemed always to be in the middle of wherever the
action was. He was one of three people chosen following the 1957 confer¬
ence to develop a proposal for a national study and seek funding; he was a
member of the Study Committee; he was co-chair of the Steering Commit¬
tee that created the CEA; he was the first President of CEA; he was the first
editor of the Journal of Cooperative Education; and through the training center
he created at the University of Detroit he introduced a good many of our
colleagues to the fundamentals of cooperative education.
The first person I met after my evening with Don was George Probst.
He was, then, the Director of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation and the
person who in 1957 organized the conference on cooperative education,
which led to the national study. He was also one of three persons who
wrote the study proposal, with the help Ralph Tyler secured funding, and
asked Tyler to recommend someone to design and conduct the study.
Probst was an active member of the Study Committee, assuming respon¬
sibility for issuing minutes of each of its meetings and arranging for small
conferences and public announcements regarding the launching of the
study, its progress along the way, and its findings. At the final meeting of
the Study Committee in 1961, held in conjunction with a Probst-organized
workshop conference at Princeton, a member asked, "What do we do now
that we have completed the study, found that cooperative does indeed
have merit, and published a book that reports our findings?" Tyler sug¬
gested that the best way to communicate the results of research and to
encourage people to act upon those results is to create a special commis¬
sion for that purpose. George took that suggestion and created the
National Commission for Cooperative Education. As the first president of
the NCCE, he worked with two co-op practitioners whose presidents vol¬
unteered them half-time as consultants to the Commission. These two
5
JOURNAL OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATION Volume XXXIl Number 1
were Dudley Dawson of Antioch College and Roy Wooldridge of North¬
eastern University. Dudley 1 already knew and I may have met Roy at the
1961 Princeton conference. Seven years later 1 moved from the Rochester
Institute of Technology to Northeastern University and Roy became my
boss. He continued so for the next twenty years.
Because of his effective management of the largest co-op program in
the country Roy quickly became a credible, sought-after and highly
respected spokesperson for cooperative education. He, and Probst, and
Dawson traveled throughout the country articulating the virtues of coop¬
erative education and providing counsel to college personnel on how best
to design and implement programs. Roy created the first center for coop¬
erative education, the purpose of which was to provide consultancy to
institutions interested in starting programs, and he appointed a North¬
eastern coordinator, Charles Seavrens, to design and conduct workshops
for persons wanting to know more about co-op. These were the first train¬
ing programs for co-op offered and became the model for Title VllI pro¬
grams to follow. He also wrote a proposal to the Ford Foundation for a
grant to endow a research professorship in cooperative education. My
move to Northeastern attests to his success.
During my first year at Northeastern and with the encouragement of
Roy Wooldridge, I had the opportunity to become involved with the then
small but growing co-op community. 1 met and became friends with other
practitioners and advocates who by their commitment, energy, and
wisdom served the advancement of cooperative education throughout
North America. The persons who come to mind include George Miller of
the University of South Florida who for many years conducted very pop¬
ular training programs and was CEA's only tw'o-term president, Wanda
Mossbacker of the University of Cincinnati, Frank Vandergrift of Auburn
University, Ed Lewis of the Borough of Manhattan Community College,
and A1 Barber of the University of Waterloo who started and directed the
first co-op program in Canada.
By mentioning these people by name 1 do not mean to suggest that
they alone advanced co-op. There were others, many others. But, when
thinking of Dudley Dawson and the remarkable contributions he made
these are the others who come to my mind.
James W. Wilson
Editor
6
SERVICE-LEARNING AND
SCHOOL-TO-WORK:
MAKING THE CONNECTIONS
ANDREW FURCO
Service-Learning Research & Development Center
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Recently, much attention has been focused on two federal initiatives
that encourage students to explore learning opportunities outside the
classroom. The National and Community Service Trust Act and the School
to Work Opportunities Act provide states with assistance to develop and
implement school programs in which elementary, secondary, and post-sec¬
ondary students are engaged in learning experiences that are hands-on,
meaningful, and connected to the real world. Although the acts differ on
their intended educational purposes, both are based on similar educa¬
tional philosophies, principles, and pedagogies. These fundamental simi¬
larities suggest that the two reforms can work synergistically to establish
powerful and exciting school programs. This paper describes the tenets of
each reform act, lists the ways the two acts are complementary, and pro¬
vides examples of how school sites and districts have found ways to con¬
nect the two reforms in effective and creative ways.
School to Work Opportunities Act
Over the past decade, career development programs (e.g., through the
job Training Partnership Act, the Carl Perkins Acts, etc.) have sought to
remove the long-standing "lower track" stigma vocational education pro¬
grams have had to endure. This stigma significantly impacted schools in that
many college bound students avoided enrolling in vocational education pro¬
grams (Stem et. al, 1994). The 1987 Carl D. Perkins Applied Technology Edu¬
cation Act (Perkins I made great strides in de-tracking many vocational
education programs by supporting programs that more fuUy integrated aca¬
demic and vocational technical education and more closely aligned sec¬
ondary and post-secondary education. However, Perkins's primary focus on
"at-risk students" created complications for the de-tracking process.
The recently passed School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), how¬
ever, supports educational systems that provide all students, regardless of
their post-high school intentions, with a common core of academic and tech¬
nical skills that prepares them for employment and future education (Amer¬
ican Vocational Association, 1994). This new act, passed by Congress in
7
JOURNAL OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATION Volume XXXII Number 1
September 1994, provides states with federal assistance to assist schools (K-
16) in developing and implementing educational programs that prepare all
students for meaningful, high quality employment. The act is designed to
assist schools in assessing which combination of the existing 154 federally
sponsored job related training programs (e.g.. Tech Prep, apprenticeships,
school- based enterprises, career academies, etc.) can best provide students
with maximum career entry and exit options for productive and rewarding
careers. STWOA encourages states and local entities to create school-to-
work initiatives that meet the specific needs of the regional economic and
labor markets. Whatever their individual local designs, all school-to-work
systems consist of three basic program components: school-based learning,
work-based learning, and connecting activities.
National and Community Service Trust Act
The National and Community Service Act was first passed by Congress in
1990 and was reauthorized in 1993 to become the National and Community
Service Trust Act (NACSTA). The Act seeks to reinvigorate a public service
ethic in America by supporting programs that promote and encourage service
to one's community. Subtitle B of NACSTA gives states federcil assistance to
develop and support school-based programs that use service-learning as a ped¬
agogical strategy. Service-learning is a teaching strategy that formally and fuUy
integrates community service endeavors into students' academic curricula.
Service learning provides students the opportunity to contextualize academic
learning by applying the knowledge gained in their academic course(s) to
address real issues in their local communities. Because service-learning gives
students opportunities to think critically and expansively about key social
issues related to course content, students can make connections between what
is learned in school and real life (Kendall, 1990). Like STWOA, NACTSA tar¬
gets all students, regardless of ability, age, or ambition. In elementary, sec¬
ondary, and post-secondary institutions, students who engage in
service-learning are provided opportunities to apply their academics to real-life
situations to help improve situations in their communities, enhance learning,
build citizenship and develop critical thinking skills (Kendall, 1990).
Like the school-to-work act, NACTSA encourages local schools and
communities to develop programs that meet local needs. As a result, service
learning efforts are idiosyncratic, characterized by the nature of the service
activities, the particular communities involved, the students who partici¬
pate, and the courses into which the service is integrated. Despite their indi¬
vidual program designs, all service-learning efforts consist of three basic
program components: school-based learning, community-based learning,
and connecting activities.