Date of Award

5-1976

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Management Information Systems

Committee Chair(s)

Ed Houghton

Committee

Ed Houghton

Abstract

The first program of cooperative education was established in 1906, and by 1942 there were thirty programs in the country. During World War II, all cooperative programs were stopped in the interest of getting people through school as quickly as possible. When programs were resumed after the war, the pace picked up some, going from 26 programs in 1946 to 130 programs in 1968 (Ferris, 1969, p. 480).

The primary objective of cooperative vocational education is to turn out skilled, responsible young adults who upon graduation from high school can assume a productive place in our technical society. A successful cooperative program relieves the employer of some of his training problems, and in addition, gives him the satisfaction of rendering an important service to the community (Huffman, 1969, p. 17).

The Advisory Council on Vocational Education established to evaluate implementation of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 stated, "Cooperative Education had the best record of all vocational programs in terms of the proportions of students placed in the occupation for which they were trained" (Evans, 1969, p. 17). Typical research studies show that more than 80 per cent of the graduates are so placed (Evans, 1969, p. 19).

Marion B. Folsom, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare stated:

Our basic objective . . . is to increase the supply of workers qualified to fill the jobs for which there will be a demand as the economy expands and to reduce the number qualified for unskilled jobs. (Bolger, 1964, p. 28)

The growth of our economy indicates that more and better workers will be needed in the future. Even though school training is valuable for a particular job, actual experience on the job sometimes is the only way to develop the necessary competence . Cooperative education programs are designed to bridge the gap between the school and the business community. In this type of program, the student gains a first- hand knowledge of how a business operates (Raines, 1967, p. 303).

Are Logan businessmen aware of the cooperative office education programs available to them?

Because it has been unsung, people who have not been in direct contact with cooperative education have had little chance to learn much about it. Some confuse it with work-study; others have never heard of it (Ferris, 1969, p. 480).

This study will be a community survey to discover if businessmen know about the cooperative office education program and if they are willing and able to cooperate with the schools in providing work experience for high school students.

Comments

Department name when degree awarded: Business Education

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