Why a School-to-Work Curriculum?
Middle school educators we interviewed were pleased to describe why they chose to implement STW curricula in their schools. Some of their reasons were not entirely unexpected since, based on our literature searches and involvement with other STW projects, we anticipated that middle school educators would include enhancing curriculum relevancy, better serving the needs of at-risk students, and enhancing student development among their reasons for implementing STW curricula. The remaining groupings of reasons (developing career awareness and exposure, supporting systemic change and school reform, building community linkages, and improving the transition to high school and beyond) were less obvious in the literature but appear to be of no less importance. All seven of the implementation reasons were to some extent a function of school context. That is, schools' reasons for implementation were based on the particular school and community setting, student population, school district and/or state involvement in educational reform, and so forth. The reasons educators gave for STW implementation were to a varying degree compatible with suggestions provided in several recent reports advocating change in the middle schools. For example, among its recommendations, Turning Points (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989) supports the implementation of personalized and cooperative learning for students and making meaningful connections between middle schools and their communities. These statements parallel several of the categories of responses that were drawn from the interview text. Other implementation categories we identified are either generally or specifically supported in the middle school literature (e.g., see Dougherty, 1997; Mac Iver, 1990; Marshak, 1995). Unfortunately, even though a number of people we interviewed commented that their middle school STW programs were implemented at least in part to meet the needs of at-risk students, there is little discussion in the literature to support this focus. A plausible reason for such a mismatch is that the people we interviewed were at the cutting edge of educational reform but their exemplary efforts had not as yet been recognized in the professional literature. Another possible reason might be that middle school educators do not want to note in formal communication that some students begin to develop their at-risk characteristics while enrolled in middle schools.
Conceptual and Organizational/Operational Reasons for Implementation
About half of the middle school educators interviewed offered conceptual reasons for implementing their STW curricula. Some referenced Turning Points and/or general middle school concepts as a foundation for curriculum development efforts. One principal implied a mismatch between Turning Points and the STW curriculum, inferring that Turning Points de-emphasized academics in favor of affective behavior development. Several educators saw the STW curriculum as an excellent fit with the middle school philosophy of assisting students to transition from child to young adult. Comments made by several other educators supported the need to prepare students for the future as well as the present. Interviewees' comments about the value of the STW curriculum ranged from "relevant to real life" to "produces lifelong learners" and "embedding basic skills into a thought-provoking curriculum." The statement made by a middle school principal that "it is never to early to address future needs" seemed to capture the essence of why it is important for the middle school to focus on preparing students for their futures.
Interviewees mentioned a small number of organizational and operational reasons for implementing STW curricula in the middle school. Interdisciplinary teaming, which was discussed most frequently by middle school educators as an organizational reason for implementing STW curricula, is quite visible in the literature (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989, 1995; Keefe et al., 1994; National Middle School Association, 1995). However, it is not very clear who should be members of these teams. Should teams include all the educators in a middle school or just a subset of these educators?
Curriculum Focus
Collectively, middle school educators we interviewed indicated that their curricula focused on five different but interrelated areas: (1) career exploration and awareness, (2) self-awareness, (3) contextual learning, (4) service learning, and (5) integrated themes. It was in this area where STW curricula appeared to differ most from curricula advocated in the general middle school literature. However, the actual difference is quite subtle. Whereas the literature focused more directly on development of academic knowledge and skills within a framework of adolescent youngsters' current development needs, educators we interviewed sought to assist their students in developing for the future as well as meeting their present needs. For example, interviewees mentioned that career exploration and awareness experiences could assist students in evaluating their current interests and abilities and expanding their future career horizons. Several educators noted that contextual learning should be used to connect basic learning with authentic applications in real life community and workplace settings.
Educators also discussed how the focus of their curricula were determined. Implicit in the literature is a view that educators are the source of content knowledge and organization for middle school curriculum development. In contrast, several educators we interviewed indicated that at their schools a broad net was cast to capture content that should be included in their curricula. Through approaches such as faculty brainstorming, student input, district-wide needs assessments, advisory committees, and community conversations, educators were able to bring a real-world focus and view into their curricula. Curriculum development processes discussed by interviewees were much more comprehensive and dynamic than what we noted in the literature on middle school education.
Student Benefits
Interviewees described a broad range of benefits that the STW curricula had provided to their students. These educators' comments underscored the contributions of STW experiences to middle school student development. Middle school educators noted that the middle school STW curriculum enhanced their students' personal development in areas such as individual growth, self-understanding, confidence, self-esteem, and motivation and responsibility to learn. Interviewees linked these outcomes directly to the STW curriculum process. Examples of the curriculum process include ways it appeals to students at their developmental level and how it focuses on issues that are relevant to middle school students. Teachers we interviewed were very sensitive to student outcomes and how they related to the process used to structure the curriculum.
Implementation
For the most part, implementation issues and concerns expressed by the middle school educators we interviewed paralleled those associated with general change and reform in the schools. However, the process of implementing a STW curriculum should be viewed as much more holistic than what is viewed as traditional individual teacher-centered change. Several interviewees noted that "buy-in" was sought from virtually everyone from the schools, the community, and the workplace who might make contributions or provide meaningful input to the curriculum. These potential contributors were viewed as partners in rather than merely providers to the STW curriculum effort. This contrasts to some extent with recommendations for curriculum change described in several recent middle school publications (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989, 1995; National Middle School Association, 1995). For example, even though in Turning Points it is recommended that teams of teachers work with the same students, the notion of all teachers in the middle school working as teams is not addressed. In contrast, interviewees seem to view the STW curriculum as being every educator's responsibility since it is meant to be implemented by all teachers in the middle school.