Cooperative Education: From the Crystal Ball.

Overview & Synopsis

The shrinking labor market, tightening economy, falling enrollments, and declining national standards for education have had an impact on cooperative education programs. Those working in the field of cooperative education should become familiar with the report entitled "The Unfinished Agenda," which was vocational education's response to "A Nation at Risk." As the report makes clear, cooperative education has a vital role to play in providing the field-based learning that is so grossly underutilized in vocational education at present. Cooperative education is currently being challenged by corporate classrooms. If cooperative education is to meet this challenge, teacher-coordinators must solicit employer involvement to ensure that the vocational programs in which they are involved are preparing people to fit the available jobs in their area. Efforts to improve existing cooperation, coordination, and communication as well as development of partnerships with advisory councils are essential in order to develop strategies to cope with technological advancement. Because the overall goal of cooperative education is training rather than pay, care should be taken to keep students from focusing on the economic benefits of cooperative education as opposed to the opportunities derived from the training and basic skills portions of the program. (MN)