Impact of Work Based Learning on Employability Skills of High School Students

Abstract

Within Career and Technical Education (CTE), some students have the opportunity to participate in Work Based Learning (WBL) as a third-level course to achieve CTE completer status. Participation in WBL has proposed benefits beyond students learning technical skills to the more substantial development of employability skills. Although employers indicate that there is an employability skills gap in employees, information on how employability skills are developed in high school WBL environments is limited, which is the problem addressed through this research. A multi-site case study was conducted to address the purpose of exploring the WBL environment’s impact on the development of CTE concentrators’ employability skills of communication and work ethic. The study had one main research question: What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop employability skills of CTE completers?

Two sub-research questions were examined: What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop communication skills of CTE completers in Grade 12 in two rural, public high schools in Arkansas? What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop work ethic of CTE completers in Grade 12 in two rural, public high schools in Arkansas? Themes on how high school students’ communication skills and work ethic were developed through WBL were determined through analysis of high school student data gathered via small group interviews and student observations at two rural high schools. Additional themes on how high school students’ communication skills and work ethic were developed through WBL were determined through WBL supervisors via focus groups at two rural high schools. Recommendations based on the findings were for high schools to implement intentional training programs for communication skills, for high schools and other educational institutions to audit current in-person and digital communication systems for students, for instruction and classrooms to mimic the collaborative nature of authentic workplace environments, and for high schools to access WBL as a program through Perkins V. The study concluded that the WBL environment impacted the development of high school students’ communication skills and work ethic to a high degree, and the study filled a significant gap in research on high school WBL environments.