Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of work-based learning (WBL) on employment and earnings.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of college graduates who participated in WBL to a matched group of college graduates who did not. The author used national survey data and statistical models to compare the short-term and long-term outcomes between the groups.
- The study found that participating in WBL was significantly associated with higher salaries at one year post-graduation.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to work-based learning (WBL); other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Work-Based Learning
Features of the Intervention
Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational approach that uses the workplace as a teaching and learning site, incorporating work experience to enhance students' intellectual and career development. This approach supplements work experience with activities to develop attitudes, knowledge, skills, and habits. WBL has historically been connected to vocational and technical programs in high schools and two-year colleges but it also is implemented at four-year institutions. In post-secondary education, WBL includes internships, cooperative education programs, and apprenticeships.
Features of the Study
The study used a matched comparison group design to examine the impact of WBL on employment and earnings. The treatment group consisted of college graduates who participated in an internship, cooperative education programs (co-op), or apprenticeship during the last year in college. The comparison group consisted of college graduates who did not participate in any WBL during the last year in college. The author used statistical matching to create a similar sample of non-participants. More than half of the study sample were female (57%), and the majority were White (83%), with smaller proportions of Black (6%), Hispanic (6%) and Asian (4%) graduates. Over one-third of the study sample participated in WBL in the last year of college, with 24 percent participating in an internship program and 8 percent participating in a co-op or apprenticeship program.
The primary data source was the Baccalaureate and Beyond Survey 1993-1997 (B&B 93/97). The B&B 93/97 included a nationally representative sample of approximately 10,000 college students who earned bachelor’s degrees during the 1992–93 academic year. Survey data were collected in the final year of college and twice after graduation: at one year post-graduation (in 1994) and four years post-graduation (in 1997). The survey provided information about employment and earnings, background characteristics, college experiences, and whether or not the students participated in any WBL in the last year of college. The author used statistical models to compare the short-term and long-term outcomes between the groups.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that participating in WBL was not significantly related to odds of employment at one year or four years post-graduation.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that participating in WBL was significantly related to higher salaries at one year post-graduation. However, no significant relationship was found at four years post-graduation.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author matched treatment and comparison group members on many variables including age, gender, race/ethnicity, college major, and work experience. However, the author does not match on baseline employment or earnings measured more than one year prior to program participation as required by CLEAR. The author only accounted for earnings and employment in the 12 months prior to program participation. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to work-based learning (WBL); other factors are likely to have contributed.