Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2020 Perceptions of academic benefits of work-integrated learning among West Virginia community and technical college students Laura Leslie McCullough mccullough.com Follow this and additional works at: https://mds.edu/etd Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, and the Vocational Education Commons Recommended Citation McCullough, Laura Leslie, "Perceptions of academic benefits of work-integrated learning among West Virginia community and technical college students" (2020). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones.edu/etd/1286 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact zhangj@marshall.edu, beachgr@marshall.
PERCEPTIONS OF ACADEMIC BENEFITS OF WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING AMONG WEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education In Educational Leadership by Laura Leslie McCullough Approved by Dr. Bobbi Nicholson, Committee Chairperson Dr. Charles Bethel Dr. Feon Smith-Branch Dr.
Diana Long Marshall University May 2020 APPROVAL OF THESIS ii © 2020 Laura Leslie McCullough ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many have helped me reach this milestone. I am grateful to the dedicated and talented faculty in the Leadership Studies and Curriculum and Instruction doctoral programs at Marshall University. Thank you Dr. Charles Bethel, Dr.
Michael Cunningham, Dr. Diana Long, Dr. Feon Smith-Branch, and Dr. Bobbi Nicholson for serving on my committee.
Thank you, especially Dr. Nicholson for your spirited sense of humor, patience with my slow progress, and mentorship on this journey, from my first class in Educational Theory to my last hour of Dissertation Research. You have made me a scholar. Pamela Woods and Dr.
Zornitsa Georgieva, who helped me reason through the limitations of data available at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. I want to also thank my colleagues at BridgeValley, specifically, Dr. Eunice Bellinger, Dr. Sherri Ritter, Dr.
Peter Soscia, Dr. Calisa Pierce and many other co-workers, who are almost as excited as I am. Every day, one of my family or friends asked about this study. Their kind inquiries pressured me to not give up.
I might have too, if it were not for my steadfast husband, Joe, my amazing children, Katie, Sam, and Jacob, and my loving mother, Beverly. No one can fail, while they watch. Thank God for this life and for the people that have been placed along my path. Philippians 4:13 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.
viii LIST OF FIGURES. 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM. 1 Definition of Terms. 2 Studies Addressing the Problem.
6 Research Documenting Benefits of Work-Integrated Learning. 7 Research Documenting Challenges with Work-Integrated Learning. 8 Effective Design and Implementation of Work-Integrated Learning Programs. 9 Purpose of the Research.
15 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. 15 Prior Research in Work-Integrated Learning. 18 Research Documenting Benefits of Work-Integrated Learning. 18 Research Documenting Challenges with Work-Integrated Learning.
25 Effective Design and Implementation of Work-Integrated Learning Programs. 41 Procedure for Data Collection. 45 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA. 45 Population and Sample.
45 WIL Experiences and Higher Cumulative GPAs. 59 WIL Experiences and a Shorter Time-to-Degree. 62 Interpretation of Findings. 62 Implications of Findings.
65 Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research. 84 APPLICATION FOR DATA. 84 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Summary of Findings.60 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.
Representation of Participants from All West Virginia Community and Technical Colleges. Academic Year and Degree Level. Demographics of Study’s Participants. Graduation of Participants at Year 2 and Year 3 Periods.
Distribution of Graduation Year of the Study’s Participants. Grade Point Average Distribution. Work Integrated Learning Completed at West Virginia Community and Technical Colleges. Representation of Participants from Sample.
WIL Completed at Sample Institutions. Academic Year and Degree Level from Sample. Demographics of Sample Participants from Sample Institutions. Graduation of Sample Participants by Year 2 and by Year 3 Periods.
Distribution of Sample Participants by Years Required for Graduation. Grade Point Average Distribution of Sample. 58 ix ABSTRACT Global research notes the academic benefits of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) to be higher academic achievement and faster degree completion rates. Past studies have been chiefly conducted at baccalaureate degree granting institutions.
The purpose of this descriptive, non- experimental, post-facto study is to determine whether the West Virginia WIL programs delivered through community and technical colleges yield the same academic benefits that have been reported in the extant research concerning baccalaureate schools. The population of this study was to be 572 business and information technology majors at ten West Virginia community and technical colleges. Student-level data by classification of instructional programs (CIP) codes were analyzed that had been previously collected through the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s annual census for academic years 2011-2012, 2012 -2013, and 2013-2014. WIL experience data distribution throughout the population of the study, however, was skewed substantially and required a more normally distributed sample for purposes of analysis.
A reduced sample, comprised of 117 participants enrolled at New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College, and West Virginia Northern Community College during the same period, provided a more even distribution. The findings suggest WIL experiences did not have a significant effect on cumulative GPA or on demonstrated time-to-degree in the two-year graduation period, nor on the years to degree variable, for this sample. WIL experiences did appear to have a significant effect on demonstrated time-to-degree in the three-year graduation period, however. The lack of a conclusive determination that WIL has an effect on grade point average (GPA) for community college students could spur a reconsideration of the field’s understanding of the academic benefits of WIL experiences for researchers and professional practitioners.
x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM Xun Kuang’s Confucian program of study, the Xunzi, written in the 3rd century BCE, contained a proverb that translates to English as, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” (Chen, 2017). Highlighting the importance of practice in a student’s learning process, this concept is the basis of collaborations between employers and educational institutions that enables students to practice concepts learned in formal programs of study in work experiences outside the classroom that can deliver to the labor force the technical and soft-skills needed and allows students to launch careers or adapt to industry changes (Jackson & Wilton, 2016). This type of experiential learning among a student, an academic institution, and an employer is known as work-integrated learning (WIL) (Corporate Voices for Working Families [Corporate Voices], 2012; Freudenberg, Brimble, & Cameron, 2010; Murphy & Calway, 2008; Parks, Baldwin, Fenster, & Onweugbuzie, 2008; Sprandel, 2010; Smith, 2012; Washor, 2015; Xia, Caulfield, & Ferns, 2015). Globally, WIL boasts beneficial results that include academic success, higher rates of degree attainment, and ease of transition to the workforce along with higher wages for participating students (Corporate Voices, 2012; Binder, Baguley, Crook, & Miller, 2015; Blicblau, Nelson, & Dini, 2016; Drysdale, Frost, & McBeath, 2015; Gardner & Perry, 2011; Gomez, Lush, & Clements, 2004; Grover-Bisker, 2011; Jackson & Wilton, 2016; Lentz, Holland, & Alloy, 2011; Sprandel, 2010; Tanaka, 2015, Washor, 2015).
These outcomes are especially important to graduating students throughout the United States and in West Virginia. Complete College America (n.) estimates 20 million students are enrolled in higher education intuitions in the United States, of whom only 20% will graduate within four years with a 1 bachelor’s degree and only 5% will complete an associate degree within two years. There are 31 million Americans with some college credits who have not earned a degree (Complete College America, n. Of the nearly 1.3 million people aged 25 years or older living in West Virginia, only 12% have attained a baccalaureate degree or higher and only 6.9% have attained an associate degree (Census, 2017).
Past research noting the benefits of WIL has been chiefly conducted at baccalaureate degree granting institutions. Little is known about whether community and technical college students earn the same benefits deriving from their WIL experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine whether community college students participating in WIL programs in one of West Virginia’s (then) ten community and technical colleges achieved academic benefits that are documented in other parts of the United States and the world. If so, higher education and government leaders may wish to allocate resources to WIL programs to improve performance against metrics such as higher grade point averages and degree attainment.
Statistical improvements in both areas will become increasingly important to higher education institutions as the West Virginia Council of Community and Technical College Education (WVCCTCE), the coordinating organization of the state’s nine community and technical colleges, is considering the implementation of a performance-based funding model. Both metrics are currently contained in goal one of the 2015-2020 master plan (WVCCTCE, 2019). Definition of Terms Before delving into the historical and current studies on the subject, an understanding of the nomenclature used in the discipline is important. Work-integrated learning (i., WIL) is an overarching term that refers to an experience where “learning takes place within the context in which it is applied” (Lave & Wenger, 1991) In the past, the term “cooperative education” 2 commonly described this learning experience, but various other terms are also employed (Jackson and Wilton, 2016).
Helyer and Corkill (2015) devoted a small study to documenting the terminology of university faculty and staff involved in experiential learning activities and found that “learning-by-doing” and “internship” were commonly used. Recently, international scholars have used the more encompassing term of WIL (Zegwaard, 2015). Gardner and Bartkus (2014) as well as Zegwaard believe WIL’s origins stem from situational learning, but extend past on- the-job training due to its formal connection to higher education coursework. In an attempt to provide a taxonomy of WIL, Groenewald, Drysdale, Chiupka, and Johnston (2011) provided four separate categories of practice that include community and service, which focus on service learning, cooperative education, and community-based learning; professional practice-required WIL that features apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, and professional practica; field- and industry-based concentrations such as cooperative education; and other WIL opportunities that focus on teaching assistantships, work study, work exchanges, research assistantships, and select leadership and peer programs.
This study focused on professional practice-required WIL in West Virginia community and technical colleges, although programs that offer elective WIL components were included as well. Groenewald et al. (2011) and Jackson and Wilton (2016) pointed out that all academic work experiences contained in the required professional practice include intentional learning goals that mandate competency in the workplace, and they cautioned that cooperative education differs from cooperative learning where the collaborative effort of a group aids in the accomplishment of student learning objectives. The WIL courses offered in West Virginia’s community colleges 3 possess syllabi that document measurable learning objectives and defined assessment processes.
Because this study emphasized professional-practice required WIL, the definitions of the terms identified in Groenewald et al. associated with this category and defined in Gardner and Bartkus (2014) and Tanaka (2015) are employed, as follows: Apprenticeships are formalized combinations of mentorship, on-the-job training, and related technical instruction that are sponsored by an employer, labor organization, or an association where workers learn academic and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled job, and which commonly features wages that progress over a multi-year period as skills increase or standardized competencies are achieved (Apprenticeship, n. Cooperative Education or Co-Op is an academic program integrating classroom learning and productive work experiences in a field related to a student’s academic and career goals. Co-ops provide students with progressive learning experiences integrating theory and practice (World Association of Cooperative Education (WACE), p.