Content area
Abstract
School-to-work programs are currently young and immature. A lack of scholarly literature exists describing the change process when schools and business/industry collaborate to initiate and build a partnership training system within a school-to-work program. Feedback mechanisms that can assist in the design and implementation of a successful school-to-work initiative are necessary.
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the process of collaboration during the initiation phase of a school-to-work partnership formed by a public school system in Midwestern United States and business/industry within the city of that system. This case study was both descriptive and interpretive. It was descriptive because there is a lack of research illustrating how changes during the initiation phase have been made when diverse groups collaborate to build a partnership within a school-to-work training system. The interpretive part of this case study utilized the data collected to suggest relationships and conceptualizations. Data collection focused on interviews, observations of collaborative efforts, and the examination of documents.
This study is useful for understanding how a school-to-work program unfolded in its early stages. It provided documentation about how diverse partners approached areas of agreement or disagreement as they formed a school-to-work program. The findings provided a conceptual framework that could serve as a model for the formation of school-to-work initiatives in the future.
