Work-Based Learning (WBL) is an instructional strategy that has the potential to help students make powerful connections to the world of work leading to the development of viable post-secondary plans and successful careers. This study advocates for the implementation of a structured continuum of WBL experiences for all students at a large suburban high school. The benefits of WBL for students, the school, the community, and employers are examined. The impact of WBL is analyzed through the lenses of educational, economic, social, political, and ethical perspectives. The negative aspects of the prevailing culture of college for all is discussed. The importance of building and sustaining strong relationships between educators and the business community is highlighted, as well as the importance of addressing the effects of historic racism or bias in both education and employment. The author argues that with input from a range of stakeholders, high schools can develop, implement, and measure the success of comprehensive WBL systems leading to higher levels of post-secondary success for ALL graduates.
","abstract_html":"<p>Work-Based Learning (WBL) is an instructional strategy that has the potential to help students make powerful connections to the world of work leading to the development of viable post-secondary plans and successful careers. This study advocates for the implementation of a structured continuum of WBL experiences for all students at a large suburban high school. The benefits of WBL for students, the school, the community, and employers are examined. The impact of WBL is analyzed through the lenses of educational, economic, social, political, and ethical perspectives. The negative aspects of the prevailing culture of <em>college for all </em>is discussed. The importance of building and sustaining strong relationships between educators and the business community is highlighted, as well as the importance of addressing the effects of historic racism or bias in both education and employment. The author argues that with input from a range of stakeholders, high schools can develop, implement, and measure the success of comprehensive WBL systems leading to higher levels of post-secondary success for ALL graduates.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gates, Shelley"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Angela Elkordy","Dr. Elizabeth Minor","Dean's Representative Christine Nelson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-03-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-03-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:44Z","subjects":["work-based learning","postsecondary options","career exploration","career planning","Career and Technical Education","Educational Leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/356","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Angela Elkordy","Dr. Elizabeth Minor","Dean's Representative Christine Nelson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gates, Shelley"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["work-based learning","postsecondary options","career exploration","career planning","Career and Technical Education","Educational Leadership"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/356"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Work-Based Learning (WBL) is an instructional strategy that has the potential to help students make powerful connections to the world of work leading to the development of viable post-secondary plans and successful careers. This study advocates for the implementation of a structured continuum of WBL experiences for all students at a large suburban high school. The benefits of WBL for students, the school, the community, and employers are examined. The impact of WBL is analyzed through the lenses of educational, economic, social, political, and ethical perspectives. The negative aspects of the prevailing culture of college for all is discussed. The importance of building and sustaining strong relationships between educators and the business community is highlighted, as well as the importance of addressing the effects of historic racism or bias in both education and employment. The author argues that with input from a range of stakeholders, high schools can develop, implement, and measure the success of comprehensive WBL systems leading to higher levels of post-secondary success for ALL graduates.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Advocating for the Adoption of a Comprehensive Work-Based Learning System"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Angela Elkordy","Dr. Elizabeth Minor","Dean's Representative Christine Nelson"],"dc:creator":["Gates, Shelley"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Work-Based Learning (WBL) is an instructional strategy that has the potential to help students make powerful connections to the world of work leading to the development of viable post-secondary plans and successful careers. This study advocates for the implementation of a structured continuum of WBL experiences for all students at a large suburban high school. The benefits of WBL for students, the school, the community, and employers are examined. The impact of WBL is analyzed through the lenses of educational, economic, social, political, and ethical perspectives. The negative aspects of the prevailing culture of college for all is discussed. The importance of building and sustaining strong relationships between educators and the business community is highlighted, as well as the importance of addressing the effects of historic racism or bias in both education and employment. The author argues that with input from a range of stakeholders, high schools can develop, implement, and measure the success of comprehensive WBL systems leading to higher levels of post-secondary success for ALL graduates.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/356"],"dc:subject":["work-based learning","postsecondary options","career exploration","career planning","Career and Technical Education","Educational Leadership"],"dc:title":["Advocating for the Adoption of a Comprehensive Work-Based Learning System"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:44Z"}