The School-to-Work Opportunities Act requires all students to engage in meaningful work-based learning that is connected to school-based learning. In constructing work-based learning opportunities, education reformers will need to consider at least three possible options. The first, and perhaps the assumed, is what has been called the high performance workplace, where employees make significant decisions regarding production, and managers are facilitators and coaches. Often it is assumed that these are "high-tech" workplaces as well. However appealing such a workplace is for adolescent development, the reality is that not all workplaces, in fact few workplaces, meet this definition.
A second work-based learning environment can be created through school-based enterprises. Previous NCRVE studies identified a rich array of possibilities for the school-based enterprise. These include writing and publishing books in academic classes, more traditional vocational programs that work in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to rehabilitate and rebuild urban communities, and schools that reopen or save local businesses to be run as learning enterprises by high school students. For example, a recent CenterWork article described a community garden run as a school-based enterprise, and a magnet program that connects young adults to the high-skill workplace of modern medicine (see CenterWork 7:4, fall 1996).
The third workplace for young people might be called the available workplace. The fact is that whether they're involved in school-to-work programs or not, most young adults work. Perhaps as many as 80 percent work for pay outside of the home during the school year. Most of these work in the service sector, especially food service and retail. McDonald's alone employs an estimated 12 percent of all working adolescents. This available workplace has been largely ignored in most school-to-work conversations, or has been strongly criticized. Yet, the reality is that there aren't enough high performance workplaces to accommodate large numbers of adolescents seeking work-based learning opportunities.
In some communities, in fact, there are few work-based learning opportunities for youth because there are not enough jobs for adults. This problem is particularly acute in the urban core of many cities. It is as true in our very rural communities as well. This condition exists despite the need for "work" to be done: houses in disrepair, crumbling infrastructure, and unmet needs for quality child care are among an extensive list. The dilemma is that much of the work that needs to be done in our urban core and rural communities does not attract the sort of private investment necessary to create traditional private sector jobs. This issue becomes especially problematic if states are to actively engage all students in work-based learning.
More problematic still is that much of the work that needs to be done in our society, or that will be available, neither requires high skill nor pays high wages. Most of the new jobs being created in our economy do not meet these criteria. This does not mean, however, that the workplace is not a viable educational venue for youth, or that a focus on developing high performance skills in our youth is not a desirable end.
This study looks at two examples of the available workplace in order to explore what young people are learning in the youth job market, and what contributions today's workplaces can make to meaningful work-based learning. A second question we are seeking to answer is to what extent the organization and quality of the workplace affect the acquisition of desirable worker characteristics in young people.
Two fast food restaurant businesses serve as our research sites. One is a locally owned pizza restaurant, here called Restaurant 1 (this restaurant is the subject of an article in CenterWork 7:2, spring 1996). The other is a locally owned franchise of a national hamburger restaurant chain, here called Restaurant 2. Together, 100 students at seven sites completed surveys and participated in focus group interviews. Their adult supervisors also participated in individual interviews.
One source for defining the high performance workplace is the report issued by the Secretary's Commission on Necessary Skills (SCANS). In addition to three foundational competency areas, five skill areas were identified as essential for all workers. These included skill in allocating resources, accessing and using information, systems thinking, a wide array of interpersonal skills, and knowledge and use of appropriate technology.
Survey responses showed that young workers in both companies report varying degrees of SCANS skills use, with some differences between companies (see Table 1). The data show that more than half of all young workers use ten of the SCANS skills sometimes or all the time in their work. Another four SCANS skills are used by more than 40 percent some or all of the time. The remaining five SCANS skills are used less often.
Interpersonal skills were the most frequently used by young workers. One Restaurant 2 employee talked about developing the social skills to work with others who are different. "You can't pick your crowd at work . . . you have to work with someone." This student observed that she had become friendlier and more open-minded since beginning work at the restaurant.
Another Restaurant 2 student talked about how you have to work as part of a team. "When buses come in, like for the state tournaments . . . if one part of the area isn't busy and another is, they come over and help. Like if drive-through is not busy and the front-line is, the drive-through people come and pick a person and run for them."
At Restaurant 2 at least, the decision to help is typically made by a supervisor. There is very little autonomy for young workers in Restaurant 2. Indeed, one manager made a point of noting that, "I do it all for them . . . they're told when to take a break and when not to take a break." At Restaurant 1, by contrast, "kids get true managerial responsibilities," according to one manager. Another manager insists on employees learning to rely on their own emotional intelligence so that they can react in a commonsense way to customer complaints "all on their own."
The greatest differences between these two restaurants are in turnover and employee satisfaction. Turnover of employees in the fast food industry averages between 300 and 400 percent a year. At the hamburger chain, turnover mirrored industry averages. The pizza restaurants, on the other hand, had a significantly lower rate of employee turnover, averaging between 30 and 60 percent annually. All their managers had been with the company a minimum of eight years, with one as long as 18 years.
This enormous variation in employee turnover is similar to the difference in the young workers' levels of satisfaction. Nineteen percent of Restaurant 1 employees expressed satisfaction with their jobs all of the time, though only eight percent of those working in Restaurant 2 did. We also found that 53 percent of Restaurant 1 employees felt their manager treated them fairly all of the time, contrasted to 37 percent for Restaurant 2. Twenty-one percent said their managers solicited their opinions on work to be done all of the time, versus only 13 percent of Restaurant 2 employees.
Our preliminary analysis suggests that there is indeed much to be learned by young people working in available workplaces. They do learn about allocating resources, systems thinking, use of technology, acquisition of information, and interpersonal skills. (Table 1 gives a complete breakdown of the skills used by workers in each workplace.) Our findings also suggest that the way in which these workplaces are organized to accommodate young workers may affect what they learn. In one work environment, the young worker is expected to take on adult roles and responsibilities. In the second, the young worker is treated more like an adolescent. Management practices may also prove to influence what is learned.
As we complete the analysis of our interview and survey data, we will be able to say more about what young people learn working in fast food restaurants. We will explore an array of work values and attitudes and try to better understand how the quality of the workplace enhances or detracts from the goals of work-based learning.
For more information about this study contact: James R. Stone III or Theodore Lewis, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, (612) 624-1795 or stone003@ maroon.tc.umn.edu
Jim Stone is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota and has directed or co-directed a number of NCRVE studies on work-based learning, school-based enterprise and career magnet schools.