Identifying Exemplary Models of School to Work Initiatives for Students
who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing:
Linking Schools with Employers, Rehabilitation, and
Other Key Partners to Enhance Career Preparation and Employability (R-2)

Abstract
Full Project Description
        National Need and Statement of the Problem
        Objectives
        Methodology
        Samples

Abstract

With the passage of the School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 and other federal legislation (i.e., the 1990 Amendments of the Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984), many secondary schools are being encouraged to design and implement programs to better prepare high school students to enter and compete in the workplace. This strategy, know as the "school to work" or "school to career" initiative, is rooted in an emphasis on program design that involves work-based learning or exposing students to work in actual workplace settings. Although recent research is beginning to document examples of successful collaborative efforts between schools, employers, and other key partners in various localities, these promising developments, for the most part, have occurred in regular education programs.

Needed is research replicating and demonstrating the utility of implementing model work-based education programs to enhance the career preparation and employability of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. This study will (a) identify exemplary programs that link employers, rehabilitation, and other key partners with schools to provide work-based education programs to enhance the career preparation and employability of students who are deaf or hard of hearing; (b) replicate and demonstrate the utility of implementing model work-based education programs through collaborative efforts with demonstration sites that serve students who are deaf or hard of hearing; and (c) complete and disseminate research reports and resource documents with guidelines and other support materials to facilitate further replication and utilization.

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Full Project Description

National Need and Statement of the Problem:

With the passage of the School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 and other federal legislation (i.e., 1990 Amendments to the Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984), many secondary schools are being encouraged to design programs to better prepare high school students to enter and compete in the workplace. This strategy, known as the "school to work" or "school to career" initiative, is rooted in an emphasis on program design that involves work-based learning or exposing students to "real work in real workplaces." (Bailey, 1995, p. 1). In addition, more than a dozen states have recently passed their own school to work legislation to help spur the development of work-based learning programs in various localities (Kopp, Kazis, & Churchill, 1995).

Three main issues appear to underlie the increased national interest and support for school to work programs. First, many schools are not able to keep pace with the changing employer needs and expectations of future workers. Thus, many young people may have little knowledge of what is expected of them in the workplace or what they must do to enter a particular job or career. Secondly, because of the historical "separation" or "dichotomy" between the schools and the workplace, students generally have had limited opportunities to interact with adult mentors in a workplace setting. As a consequence, many students may have few opportunities to be exposed to and to learn the kinds of attitudes, behavior, and interpersonal/team interactions deemed appropriate and desirable in various workplace environments. Third, many schools tend to focus most of their resources on helping students prepare for enrollment in college rather than employment after high school (Bailey, 1995).

In general, a well-developed system of support services to assist non-college bound students with information on available jobs and job requirements, job preparation and placement assistance, and other related employment services is not a prominent feature in most school settings. Thus, another impetus of the school to work initiative was the need to not only prepare young people to enter and compete in the workplace, but to also address the problem of high unemployment for the estimated 50% of school leavers who do not enroll in postsecondary programs after high school (Stern, Finklestein, Stone, Latting, & Dornsife, 1995).

The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 defines work-based learning as including programmatic components such as: (a) development of a planned and structured program of job training and work experiences coordinated with learning in the school setting; (b) established linkages between employers and schools to provide access to placements in the workplace and/or within the schools; (c) access to workplace mentors; (d) structured programs that provide career awareness and exploration activities as well as instruction in basic workplace competencies; and (e) the availability of recognized skills certificates or credentials upon program completion. Achieving the goals of providing effective work-based learning opportunities for secondary school youth clearly requires the establishment of effective partnerships between the schools and its community supporters, particularly employers and other partners in the community.

Because many of the collaborative efforts between schools and employers are new and evolving, program evaluation and outcome data are only recently beginning to appear in the literature. Recent research by Kopp, Kazis, & Churchill (1995) and Stern, Stone, Hopkins, McMillion, and Crain (1994) documented examples of collaborative efforts between schools and employers. For example, a high school in Alaska collaborates with local fish processors to operate a product development laboratory. The local fish processors provide the raw materials and the students acquire instruction and experience in testing methods for processing, packaging, and marketing smoked fish. In Boston, several hospitals are collaborating with local high schools to provide students with clinical experiences within various units of the hospitals. The objective of the program is to target "at risk" students who are likely to complete high school but not continue their education after graduation. A significant proportion of the participating students are from diverse racial or ethnic minority backgrounds. The schools have modified the curricula in several of their classes to integrate concepts relevant to the health field and provide students with linkages between what they learn in the hospital settings and in school. The schools have also developed articulation agreements with several Boston area postsecondary programs to permit students to pursue training in health care fields after high school graduation.

An especially significant result of the Kopp, Kazis, and Churchill (1995) study, is the identification of examples of successful collaborative efforts occurring in a number of communities throughout the United States. These efforts are occurring despite the challenge faced in developing effective work-based education partnerships between schools and the workplace. Some employers are willing to make substantial investments of time and resources by providing students with placements at their work sites as well as assigning staff to work with the students as mentors. Others are working with schools on advisory committees, providing financial support, donating equipment, and helping to recruit other employers.

These promising developments, for the most part, have occurred in regular education programs. Little information is available to document similar programmatic developments for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Recent studies of transition conducted during the past several years by the University of Arkansas, Gallaudet University, Western Oregon State College, and SRI at Stanford University have primarily focused on student post high school transition outcomes (e.g., Allen, Rawlings, & Schildroth, 1989; Anderson & McGee, in press, Bullis & et al, 1990; Wagner and et al, 1991), transition policies and guidelines available in schools and VR agencies (El-Khiami, 1991), and the roles of schools, parents, and VR in transition planning and service provision (El-Khiami, 1991). Each of these efforts was not directed toward identifying and assessing exemplary program models for linking employers and other key partners with the schools to enhance the career preparation and employability deaf or hard of hearing students, particularly those who may be non-college bound.

Needed is research demonstrating the utility and replicability of implementing model work-based education programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing through collaboration between schools, employers, and other key partners such as vocational rehabilitation.

Objectives:

The purpose of this project is:

1. To identify existing models of school to work initiatives for linking employers, rehabilitation, and other key partners with schools to enhance the career preparation and employability of youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.
   
2. To identify successes and barriers to linking employers, rehabilitation, and other key partners with schools to enhance the career preparation and employability of youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.
   
3. To demonstrate with school and service delivery settings the utility and replicability of model programs for linking employers, rehabilitation, and other key partners with schools to enhance the career preparation and employability of youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.
   
4. To develop and disseminate the results of the demonstration project outcomes as well as model program implementation guidelines to key target audiences involved in the education and rehabilitation of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing via RT-31 Materials Development, Training, and Technical Assistance activities.

Methodology:

This is a working document. The proposed activities are subject to change based on ongoing input from rehabilitation professionals, educators and consumers.

Samples:

The project will include educators and service providers in secondary schools, rehabilitation programs, postsecondary programs, and employers involved in serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Of particular interest will be students who are hard of hearing, members of racial or ethnic minority groups, and those identified as low functioning.

• Activity One: Conduct Literature Review
• Activity Two: Design Research Instrument and Conduct A National Survey
• Activity Three: Conduct Case Studies
• Activity Four: Develop Resource Document and Guidelines for Replication of Model School to Work Programs
• Activity Five: Develop Collaborate Agreements to Replicate Selected Program Models
• Activity Six: Training and Dissemination

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