There has been limited evaluation to show the perceptions of student participants in school-to-work programs about the impact of school-to-work program participation as being beneficial to their postsecondary educational and career plans, and no research to determine whether perceptions differ significantly across race and gender. In addition, the minimal research conducted to date did not study student participants' perceptions about the impact of the program on their understanding of the relevance of the academics to the worksite and their overall academic success. Nor did the research address the actual change in grades and school attendance of students in school-to-work programs. Students are a major stakeholder group in the school-to-work initiative, and therefore, consulting with them about their perceptions about the impact of school-to-work program participation is an important aspect in school-to-work evaluation. Students have not been consulted in educational program evaluation and have not had a significant voice in the school-to-work arena (Hollenbeck, 1996). It is important to assess the opinions and perceptions of students who are currently participating in school-to-work programs, because they are the major focus of the school-to-work initiative and information that they provide can be used by program administrators and policymakers in making future decisions about school-to-work programs. Such assessment should seek to determine their perceptions about the impact of the program on their overall academic success and future postsecondary education and career choices. It is also important to assess the impact of the program on students' academic success and school attendance. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher and distributed to site coordinators in three school-to-work sites. Site coordinators worked with school staff to administer the questionnaire instrument. One-hundred twenty-four twelfth grade student participants in school-to-work programs, in these three sites, were asked to participate; 62% responded to the survey. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made. • The findings on students' perceptions that school-to-work program participation improved their overall academic performance, increased their acceptance of responsibility, increased their self-confidence and motivation can be an indicator of the success of the school-to-work program. • The positive attitudes of students regarding the school-to-work program as being beneficial to their future education and career plans is important in promoting the concept of "life-long" learning. • The use of measures to determine students' perceptions about understanding the relevance of school-to-work, improvement in academic performance, and overall satisfaction with the school-to-work program can be used as measures to evaluate the success of a school-to-work program. • School-to-work program participation can be instrumental in influencing students to continue their education beyond high school. • School-to-work program participation does not appear to negatively impact any group (gender or race). / Ed. D.

Vocational educators are reexamining methods of preparing students for the transition from school to the workplace as employers from business and industry are looking to schools for help in meeting their human resource needs. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994) has stimulated a number of approaches to link school-based learning and work-based learning to help students transition to the workplace. Research has been conducted in school settings and work settings but little is known about how the two link together. Thus, little is known about the ways that situated learning contributes to the linkages between school-based and work-based learning.To address this concern, the overall purpose of this study was to determine how work-based and school-based experiences of students enrolled in cooperative education are linked. More specifically, details of students' school-based experiences that they, their teachers, and their workplace supervisors perceive as linked to the workplace were sought. Additionally, details of students' work-based experiences that they, their teachers, and their workplace supervisors perceive as linked to school-based experiences and activities were examined. Participants were ten students enrolled in cooperative education, their cooperative business or marketing education teachers, and their workplace supervisors from ten school sites in southwest Virginia. Individual interviews were used to collect data for the study. The interview data was used to ascertain perceptions of instances in the students' work experiences that reflect how school-based learning gives context to their work-based learning and how work-based learning gives context to their school-based performance. Emphasis was on detailing situated learning experiences, where school-based learning and work-based experiences were interlinked.The interview protocols were designed to answer the following three research questions:1.What school-based experiences do students, teachers, and workplace supervisors perceive have provided learning in the context needed for the work-based experiences of students enrolled in cooperative education?2.What work-based experiences do students, teachers, and workplace supervisors perceive as providing context to school-based learning experiences of students enrolled in cooperative education?3.What additional school-based learning experiences can students, teachers, and workplace supervisors identify that would help students who are enrolled in cooperative education relate their school learning to the workplace?The findings of the study indicated that the foundational skills and the competencies identified in the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991) report as necessary for workers were, also, identified by interviewees as school-based experiences that provided learning for the students in the context needed for work-based experiences. Further, they were identified as work-based learning activities that linked work with school.Based on the findings in this study a number of implications for school-based and work-based instruction were developed that focus on the importance of providing students experiences and activities in the context needed for the workplace. Implications for further research are also provided. / Ph. D.

As in the case of many other local and overseas teacher-training institutions the Postgraduate Certificate of Education programme (PGCE) at the University of Pretoria is a model rich in experience. In this model 60% of the time is devoted to a school-based programme and 40% to the university-based programme. The school-based programme is presented in association with schools. The student teacher is placed in a school for a period of seven weeks and assigned to a teacher who acts as the mentor teacher. The mentor teacher serves as a the link between teaching theory and subject content and also plays a major role in the contextualisation of the classroom learning experiences. The university prescribes various tasks: mentor teacher have to stimulate the inquiry skills and reflective practices of student teachers, manage meta-communication across situation and role, manage learning tasks and create a safe and challenging learning environment to the students. The mentor teacher should therefore not only be a subject specialist in his or her field of specialisation but should also create the opportunity for student teachers to maximise their potential. In this study the focus is on the experience of the teacher taking up the role of a mentor teacher. To fulfil the role of mentor teacher implies that an exchange of identity needs to take place from teacher identity to mentor teacher identity. This prompted the following research question: What is the identity image of a mentor teacher? With subsidiary questions as <ul> <li>What are the identifying characteristics of a mentor? </li> <li>What are the identifiable dynamic processes or stressful situations that have an impact on the identity formation of a mentor?</li></ul> The research could be identified as qualitative in the interpretative paradigm. Data were collected by means of open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews with selected mentor teachers and student teachers. The student teachers assigned to the selected mentors were automatically included in the study. The study was repeated for over a period of three terms, each term with two different teachers and student teachers. To analyse the data, Gee’s (2000-2001) four perspectives of identity, namely nature-identity, institution-identity, discourse-identity and affinity-identity, were used as analytical framework. The results disclosed many indicators supportive of mentor-identity but no fixed mentor-identity emerged. However, the characteristics, functions and responsibilities of a successful mentor in this case study were identified. These characteristics, functions and responsibilities defining the identity of a mentor teacher, could support the school in selecting teachers to take up the role of mentor teachers. In an extended school-based teaching practice the quality of the experience, in most cases, depends on the mentor teachers' beliefs and attitude towards the task. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted