School-to-Career Services and Experiences:
Are They Linked With Lower Dropout Rates for High School Students in Nevada? |
Sterling Saddler
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Colleen A. Thoma
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Susan Whiston
Indiana University |
Abstract
School-to-careers services and experiences have been described
as important in providing a reason for students to remain in school
as well as to be ready for life after high school. These researchers
examined the information collected in Nevada, a state that has high
student dropout rates in general, to determine if there were differences
in the school-to- careers services and experiences offered at schools
with high versus low dropout rates. The data did show differences in
certain experiences and the researchers make recommendations for further
analysis as a result of their findings.
|
Introduction
Why do students drop out of high school? This question
has been asked for as many years as high schools have existed, and the
answers from ex-students have not varied much, either. Students who
leave school do so primarily for economic reasons (e.g., Barro &
Kolstad, 1987; Catterall, 1986; Roderick, 1993) or for reasons tied
to their inability (real or imagined) to “fit in” academically
and/or socially (e.g., Catterall, 1986; Frase, 1989; Lehr & Harris,
1988; Roderick, 1993; Wehlage, Rutter, Smith, Lesko, & Fernandez,
1989).
Roderick (1993) also found that students whose parents were poor were
more likely to encounter problems early in school, to be retained in
grades early in their school careers, and to fall behind in school as
they got older. An important difference between students who were doing
poorly in school and dropped out and those who were doing poorly in
school yet remained in school was the extent of both student and parent
involvement in the student’s education and educational decision-making
(Rumberger, et.al., 1990). Student involvement in their education is
more likely when schools adopt a school-to-careers approach (Imel, 1995).
In 1994, the federal government attempted to decrease the number of
students who drop out of high school through enacting the School-to-
Work Opportunities Act. This legislation was designed to provide seed
money to states so that each could develop unique systemic change efforts,
including the development of a school-to-work emphasis throughout their
educational systems. It is believed that by focusing on education that
prepares students for life after high school (either employment or postsecondary
education leading to careers), students would be less likely to drop
out of high school.
School-to-work or school-to-careers approaches combine applied learning
with academic rigor and career exploration. It is a powerful educational
system that teaches workplace skills, deepens classroom learning by
enlivening abstract concepts contextually, and opens doors from high
school to further education as well as satisfying careers. School-to-careers
is defined as a “systematic, comprehensive, community-wide effort
to help all young people (a) prepare for high-skill and high-wage careers,
(b) receive top quality academic instruction, and (c) gain the foundation
skills to pursue postsecondary education and lifelong learning”
(Imel, 1995, p.1). School-to-careers methodology maximizes the learning
experiences of all students, by bringing relevant content to the classroom
and by better preparing the emerging workforce.
Boyer–Stephens (1991) outlined the major components of such a
vocationally driven approach. They included: (a) career awareness which
includes developing an awareness of the world of work and its relationship
to their education and their developing values; (b) career exploration
which is the development of a more realistic perspective of themselves
in relation to work through both classroom-based and community-based
learning; and (c) career preparation which occurs during high school
years as students learn specific job skills including those that help
them find and keep employment or postsecondary education options. Effective
elements of quality career preparation strategies can include learning
to write resumes, cover letters, fill out college applications, part-time
employment, developing mentor relationships, service learning activities,
job shadowing, career and/or college information fairs, and volunteer
experiences.
There are three fundamental elements for a school-to-careers system
that incorporates vocational education across the curriculum. These
elements are: school-based learning, work-based learning and connecting
activities that link the two. School-based learning refers to academic
subjects that include learning related to the world of work. Teachers
work together with employers to develop broad-based curricula that help
students understand the skills needed in the workplace. Teachers work
in teams to integrate their usually separate disciplines to create projects
that are relevant to work and life in the real world.
Work-based learning opportunities include those learning experiences
that employers provide that lead to broad, transferable skills. Work-based
learning provides students with opportunities to study complex subject
matter as well as vital workplace skills in a hands-on, “real-life”
environment. Working in teams, solving problems, and meeting employers’
expectations are workplace skills that students learn best by doing.
Connecting schools and workplaces does not happen naturally, but requires
a range of activities to integrate the worlds of school and work. Connecting
activities provide program coordination and administration, integrate
the world of school and work, and provide student support.
Nevada schools have implemented various components of a school-to-careers
approach, with the belief that such an approach would not only better
prepare students for the labor market and postsecondary educational
opportunities, but would also decrease the dropout rates for high school
students. No one has examined the data to determine whether using this
approach does indeed lower dropout rates in Nevada. This exploratory
study looked at data already collected to determine whether the services
and experiences were different in schools with high dropout rates versus
those with low dropout rates. These services and experiences were self-reported
by school administrators and were broadly categorized. Of course, this
self-report does not describe the services in detail. The purpose of
this study was to determine whether there were differences in participation
rates in school-to-careers activities offered to students who attend
schools with high dropout rates versus those who attend schools with
low dropout rates.
|
| Funding for this project was provided through the Federal School-to-
Careers Grant and the State of Nevada, School-to-Careers Partnership.
The authors would like to thank Lisa Bybee, Pam Jernigan, and Carol
Carruthers for their help in securing funding and in obtaining the
data analyzed for this manuscript. |
|
Methodology
Participants
The data used in the study was collected by the Nevada Department
of Education at the grade, district, and state levels. The process was
approved by and consistent with those methods utilized by the National
Center Education Statistics (NCES).
The sample consisted of 993 students who were graduating from nine high
schools in Nevada. Of the 12th grade students, 45% were male, 49% were
female, and 6% did not indicate their gender. In terms of ethnicity for
the total group, 66% reported being White or Caucasian, 13% Hispanic,
4% Pacific Islander, 3% African American, 2% Native American, and 5% listed
other. In addition, 7% of the students did not indicate their race. Table
1 lists the region of the state in which the high schools are located
and the number of students involved with school-to-careers and the dropout
rate.
Table 1
Dropout Rate of Participant Schools |
Schools |
Region |
Students
(#) |
Dropout Rate |
| Low |
High |
A |
North |
10 |
|
14.3% |
B |
South |
308 |
|
9.7% |
C |
North |
88 |
|
8.3% |
D |
South |
67 |
|
8.1% |
E |
North |
336 |
|
6.0% |
F |
North |
88 |
0.5% |
|
G |
Rural |
14 |
0.2% |
|
H |
Rural |
19 |
0.0% |
|
I |
North |
63 |
3.5% |
|
|
Procedures
The researchers examined the dropout data for various school districts
across Nevada, exit information provided by high school graduates and
exitors, and the components of school-to-careers programs offered. The
Nevada State School-to-Careers Exit Survey questions 18 and 19 were obtained
from the Nevada Department of Education (1999). These questions asked
public high school graduating seniors about their participation in and
receipt of services from school-to-careers programming during the students
high school years. Nine public high schools in the state of Nevada were
included in this study. The dropout rate percentages were obtained via
self-report from participating high schools, and verified by the Nevada
Department of Education’s 1999 Public School Dropout Report.
Data Analysis
The high schools were grouped as having either a high dropout rate (>5.5%)
or a low dropout rate (<5.5%). Questions number 18 and 19 of the school-to-career
exit survey and the nominal dropout rates of the nine participating schools
were analyzed utilizing chi-square.
Chi–square analyses were used to determine if there was a difference
between the number of students who participated in some sort of work experience
among students in a high school with a low dropout rate and those in a
school with a high dropout rate. Also a chi–square was used to determine
whether students in a school with a low dropout rate received different
school-to-careers types of services than students in a school with a high
dropout rate. In order to address the likelihood of Type I error with
seven analyses, a Bonferroni adjustment was made resulting in an adjusted
alpha at .004 for both analyses. |
Results
Table 2 lists the seven work experiences and the number of students in
each group who indicated that they had participated in that work experience
during their high school education. There were five out of the seven experiences
that differed significantly for students in a low dropout rate school
compared to students in a high dropout rate school. In the area of unpaid
school year internships, 15% of those in a low dropout school participated
compared to only 8% in a high dropout school. This same trend was evident
with unpaid summer internships, where 8% of those in a low dropout high
school participated compared to 6% in a high dropout rate school.
Another trend concerns service activities and volunteer work, where in
terms of community service/service learning 64% of those in a low dropout
school participated in contrast to 44% participated in a high dropout
rate school. The fifth difference was in the area of any other workplace
experience with more of the students in low dropout rate school having
other experience (79%), whereas students in the high dropout rate school
(67%) had less workplace experience. Table 3 lists the services and the
number of students in each group who indicated they had received that
particular service. A lower percentage of students from a high dropout
school reported receiving School-to-Work services in three areas. Only
41% of students from a high dropout rate school, as compared to 62% in
a low dropout rate school, reported receiving assistance in writing essays
for application to college or vocational technical schools. Furthermore,
students in a high dropout rate school (30%) were less likely to have
had help in filling out financial aid forms in contrast to those in a
low dropout school (49%). Finally, there was also a difference between
the two groups on receiving instruction or assistance in writing and preparing
a resumé; 70% of students from a high dropout rate school report
assistance with this task, compared with 82% in a low dropout rate school.
Table 2
Work Experience Comparisons Between Students in Schools with
Low and High Dropout Rates |
| |
Dropout Rate |
P |
Low
Yes (N/%)
No (N/%) |
High
Yes (N/%)
No (N/%) |
| A paid school year job related to career interest |
31 (18%)
145 (82%) |
177 (22%)
622 (78%) |
.0072 |
| A paid summer job related to career interest |
49 (28%)
127 (72%) |
206 (26%)
594 (74%) |
.0081 |
| An unpaid school year intern-ship related to career interest |
26 (15%)
150 (85%) |
62 ( 8%)
738 (92%) |
.0001* |
| An unpaid summer internship related to career interest |
15 ( 8%)
160 (92%) |
45 ( 6%)
754 (94%) |
.0017* |
| Community service/service learning |
112 (64%)
63 (36%) |
354 (44%)
445 (56%) |
.0001* |
| Volunteer work (related or unrelated to career interest) |
112 (69%)
56 (31%) |
404 (51%)
387 (49%) |
.0001* |
| Any other workplace experience unrelated to career interest |
139 (79%)
38 (31%) |
533 (67%)
265 (33%) |
.0008* |
| Information about colleges or postsecondary training |
156 (86%)
26 (14%) |
693 (86%)
111 (14%) |
.7791 |
| Assistance in writing essay for application to postsecondary ed. |
112 (62%)
70 (38%) |
325 (41%)
477 (59%) |
.0001 * |
| Help with financial aid forms |
89 (49%)
91 (51%) |
236 (30%)
563 (70%) |
.0001* |
| Help with applications to postsecondary schools |
71 (39%)
110 (61%) |
232 (29%)
571 (71%) |
.0130 |
| Help in finding a job after high school |
36 (20%)
144 (80%) |
171 (21%)
629 (79%) |
.4788 |
| Instruction or assistance in writing/preparing resumés |
150 (82%)
32 (18%) |
561 (70%)
241 (30%) |
.0031* |
| Instruction or assistance in completing job applications |
100 (60%)
72 (40%) |
424 (53%)
380 (47%) |
.1348 |
| * Statistically significant at .05 level adjusted for
number of comparisons |
|
Discussion/Conclusions
This was an exploratory study that used data collected
by the Nevada Department of Education regarding schools’ offering
of various school-to-careers services and experiences. The study did
not investigate whether there were any causal relationships between
variables, only correlational evidence. Therefore, only beginning links
between the various school-to-careers programs and student dropout rates
can be described with any certainty. Further research will need to be
conducted to determine whether there are any direct causal relationships
between various school-to-careers components and lower student dropout
rates, as well as the quality of the services and experiences provided.
Yet, despite the fact that it is exploratory in nature, some interesting
results were obtained. Not all components of school-to-careers were
linked to lower dropout rates, especially in a state like Nevada where
unemployment rates are low and wages are high. Students can earn decent
wages with out earning a diploma. Therefore, school-to-careers activities
that link students with work, such as part-time jobs and paid internships,
may actually have the opposite effect, introducing high school students
to high paying jobs and thereby distracting them from completing their
education. School administrators should carefully evaluate this information
before implementing a school-to-careers approach in its entirety. It
may indeed be more effective to strategically choose which elements
of a school-to-careers approach will meet the needs of students without
including those that could lead to higher dropout rates. If the complete
menu of currently used school-to-careers activities are not successful
in keeping students from leaving school, then one possible alternative
approach would be to identify students at-risk for dropping out. These
students could then be encouraged to obtain job readiness skills and/or
credentials (Saddler & Bybee, 2000).
In conclusion, this study did find that there were significant differences
between the types of school-to-work experiences or services offered
to students who attend a high school with a low dropout rate versus
those offered to students who attended schools with a high dropout rate.
The results of this study found that five of the seven typical school-to-work
school experiences were significantly different in the two types of
schools. Table 2 lists the five significant variables: (a) an unpaid
school year internship related to a student’s career interests;
(b) an unpaid summer internship related to a student’s career
interest; (c) a community service or service learning experience; (d)
a volunteer experience; and (e) any other workplace experience unrelated
to the student’s career interests.
Table 3 summarizes the results of the school-to-career services that
are significantly different in the two types of high schools in the
study. In this section, three of the five variables had a statistically
significant difference. Those three variables included: (a) assistance
in filling out financial aid forms; (b) assistance in writing college
admission essays; and (c) instruction or assistance in filling out resumés.
In addition, the total analysis speaks to the fact that schools with
higher dropout rates received fewer school-to-careers activities compared
to schools with lower dropout rates. Nevada schools report that they
have implemented various components of a school-to-careers approach,
with the belief that such an approach would not only better prepare
students for the labor market and postsecondary educational opportunities,
but would also decrease the dropout rates for high school students.
The results of this preliminary study, however, points out the fact
that this may not be the case and that certain activities may be linked
to higher dropout rates. Obviously, further research needs to be conducted
that would investigate these preliminary findings to establish more
direct causal relationships so that high school teachers and administrators
can make more informed decisions about high school programs that will
positively impact student lives and lead to lower dropout rates for
Nevada students. The research questions to be answered in future studies
include:
The concept of preparing students to be successful adults has been receiving
less focus in the research literature than it did in the early 1990’s.
The focus on quality education has shifted to reading abilities and standardized
test scores that measure a small portion of what students need to know.
Both academic preparation and life skills are necessary. Although preliminary,
the results of this research point out the necessity of further research
and a renewed focus on providing school-to-careers services and experiences
to every high school student. |
References
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Saddler. S., & Bybee. L., (2000). A comparative study of American
and German secondary vocational training programs’ preparation
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Wehlage,G.G., Rutter, R.A., Smith, G.A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez,
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|
Sterling Saddler, Director, and Colleen A. Thoma, Director of Research,
are Assistant Professors at the Center for Workforce Development and Occupational
Research, College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Susan Whiston is Professor and Director, Counseling/Counselor Education
Program in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Indiana
University. |
