Cooperative Education: What the Research Says

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Cooperative Education What the Research Says
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William T. Grant Foundation

• has a solid achievement record and merits far
  more attention than it has received

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Evaluation Results

• Successful in creating a stronger connection
  between school and work
• Improves attitudes toward both school and work
• Do not obtain higher earnings after leaving high
  school unless they continue working for
  cooperative education employer
• Proportion who have attended college has been
  smaller than among other high school graduates

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Supervised vs. Unsupervised Work

• Higher quality jobs
• More contact with adults
• More job supervision
• More challenge
• More meaningful work
• More satisfaction with school
• Involves assuming responsibility, reading,
  writing, problem-solving

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Supervised vs. Unsupervised Work

• Make gains on
• moral reasoning,
• self-esteem,
• social and personal responsibility,
• attitudes toward adults and others,
• career exploration, and
• empathy/complexity of thought
• Claim more often that jobs positively affected
  decisions to stay in school and to attend classes
  during senior year

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Performed Better Than Peers

• School engagement
• Attendance
• Tardiness
• Academic indicators
• Grade point average
• Likelihood of enrolling in college

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Increased Educational Value

• More positive perceptions of their jobs
• More positive perceptions of relationship between
  work and school

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Questions or Comments?