Date of Award

2000

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.Ed.

Department

Education

Keywords

Education, Higher.

Supervisor

Morton, L.,

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Co-operative education strategies at the baccalaureate level may allow for the contextualization of the learning process by utilizing experiential learning and career exploration. This study sought to examine the level of career-clarity or decisiveness with which students enter university, to see if the intervention of participation in a co-operative education program had an impact on the student's level of career-clarity, and if this impact could be linked to student academic performance and persistence rates. A pretest posttest design was used for the two groups of students (Co-op participants, and non-Co-op participants). A volunteer sample of 166 subjects (from Business Administration and Engineering streams) participated in the study. A general student information sheet, the Career Decision Scale, Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory, and a career-related intervention treatment were used to build profiles of the students. Relevant aspects of these profiles were compared pretest and posttest. Of particular interest was the relationship between co-op participation and academic performance including student retention in good academic standing. The findings of the study provide information for university administrators and educators concerning the importance of career-clarity, and the impact this "clarity" has on student performance, leading to persistence and increasing retention in the student population. This focus on increasing student retention rates may lead to greater recognition by university administrators of the benefits provided by educational strategies such as co-operative education. Appreciation of these benefits as a value-added approach to education, may provide the impetus to ensure a commitment for the enhancement and growth of co-operative education initiatives at the university level. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2000 .R65. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-03, page: 0550. Adviser: L. Morton. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2000.

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