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DISCUSSION

Teachers' School-to-Work Activities
Teachers' School-to-Work Characteristics

Our results supported the need for both vocational and academic teachers to be well-prepared to conduct school-to-work transition activities. Not only must teachers be skilled at teaching but they should also be able to forge and maintain linkages between the school and the workplace. Thus, when we sought to align teachers' activities that contribute to school-to-work success with the characteristics they need to conduct these activities we soon found that the task was complex. The approach we took to align these areas was through the creation of a matrix that appears in Table 3. Using the matrix, we identified teacher characteristics (labeled C1 through C12) that contribute to each of the activity areas (labeled A1 through A10). For the ten activity areas, we selected only those characteristics that interviewees' comments supported having the best fit with each of them. The discussion that follows elaborates on knowledge, attitudes, and competence teachers must have to be effective contributors to students' school-to-work transition. Explanations of why the characteristics are important to teachers are provided.

Table 3
Teachers' School-to-Work Activities and Related Characteristics

Activities Characteristics	A1. Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences	A2. Helping Students To Understand the Workplace	A3. Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction	A4. Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities	A5. Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction	A6. Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching	A7. Working in the Workplace	A8. Initiating and Maintaining Contact With Employers and the Community	A9. Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations	A10. Following up on Current and Former Students
C1. Understand and Meet Students' Needs
C2. Establish and Maintain Relationships with the Workplace
C3. Know the Workplace
C4. Communicate Effectively About School-to-Work Programs
C5. Be Adaptable and Open to Change
C6. Demonstrate Positive Attitudes Toward Work
C7. Be Professional in Appearance and Conduct
C8. Apply School Learning to the Workplace
C9. Know Schools and Schooling
C10. Be Knowledgeable and Competent in Teaching Area
C11. Be Creative and Innovative in Teaching
C12. Be Committed to Teaching

*Blocks with shading reflect characteristics with the greatest contributions to the activities

*IF YOU CAN'T SEE SHADING, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK

Teachers' School-to-Work Activities

The following is a brief description of each of the ten school-to-work activities:

A1. Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences

Teachers must be able to plan and conduct organized workplace experiences for their students, working individually and as team members, in providing students with active, hands-on learning in work environments. Teachers need facility in providing their students with meaningful on-the-job experiences including mentoring, shadowing, interning, cooperative work experience, and youth apprenticeship.

A2. Helping Students To Understand the Workplace

Successful transition of students to the workplace requires that they understand it. Teachers can increase workplace understanding through the use of field trips and having their students participate in professional meetings, including those of student organizations.

A3. Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction

Engaging workplace representatives in school activities can lead to their making meaningful contributions to students' school-to-work transition. Teachers must be able to identify and involve workplace representatives who will provide worthwhile advice, serve as guest speakers, assess student progress, and provide resources for the school.

A4. Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities

An essential component of school-to-work learning is having in-school experiences that mirror the workplace. Otherwise, many students will fail to see the relevance of the learning for their futures. These experiences, which can be gained from school-based activities, include construction projects, store and bank operations, restaurant and catering services, child care, and automotive repair for example.

A5. Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction

Various teaching activities help students link their learning with the workplace. These included use of vocational student organization activities, role playing, simulating workplace conditions, and emphasizing applied instruction in both vocational and academic classes.

A6. Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching

To conduct successful school-to-work activities, teachers must learn about the workplace and incorporate that knowledge in their classroom instruction. Knowledge of the workplace can be gained through business partnerships, advisory committees, technical up-dating, formal classes, and various other ways.

A7. Working in the Workplace

Teachers who have work experience, particularly experience that relates to their teaching area, are able to link school with work for their students in meaningful ways. Work experience helps them teach relevant content and up-to-date technical skills. It also helps teachers see the need to develop students' interpersonal skills.

A8. Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community

To support school-to-work transition efforts, teachers must link formally and informally with employers and with the community. These linkages forged with employers and the community help teachers gain information about the workplace, access employer support and resources, obtain student placement opportunities, and help promote school efforts and programs.

A9. Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations

Classroom experiences organized around and focused on workplace expectations give meaning to school-based learning. Teachers can positively impact learning through this focus as they plan and provide classroom instruction.

A10. Following up on Current and Former Students

Teachers involved with school-to-work transition efforts must be skilled at contacting and visiting their current and former students in workplace settings. Follow-up activities include student placement, evaluation, and obtaining formal and informal feedback from students in the workplace.

Teachers' School-to-Work Characteristics

In the discussion that follows, the twelve characteristics that teachers need to effectively conduct the school-to-work activities are summarized. At the end of each summary, a listing of activities where the interviewees used the characteristic is provided.

C1. Understand and Meet Students' Needs

Students' needs include their strengths, limitations, interests, and potential for growth. Regardless of their individual needs, however, all students must transition from school to the workplace. Thus, teachers must help all students understand the workplace and help them develop as individuals who can contribute positively to it. To do this, teachers must accept students, value them, and do all they can to develop them as individuals. Further, teachers must recognize that today's workplace is changing and they cannot focus solely on preparing students academically for further education.

Teachers who keep up-to-date on the world of work can make instruction relevant to students who have different learning styles and needs. They can help all students understand the importance of work in their lives. Further, focusing on students' needs allows teachers to design classroom learning experiences that meet their needs.

An important way for teachers to help students learn of the workplace is by using input from workplace representatives. Teachers must select the proper mix of workplace representatives and involve them in a variety of school activities to meet the diverse needs of their students. Organizing workplace experiences that match students' needs requires that teachers fully understand their students' needs. Students can then be placed in work-based experiences that align with their capabilities and expectations.

Follow-up activities can serve as the culminating aspect of understanding and meeting students' needs. Teachers who visit current and former students in the workplace show by example that concern for students' needs does not end when they leave the school setting. Through follow-up contacts, teachers are able to reach and communicate with their students, continue to motivate them, and seek to meet their workplace educational needs. By maintaining relationships with students after they are in the workplace, teachers can build upon established personal linkages, serving as informal counselors, consultants, and coaches to their students.

From interviewees' perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Understanding Students' Needs was particularly important for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A3) Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations, and (A10) Following up on Current and Former Students.

C2. Establish and Maintain Relationships with the Workplace

To keep abreast of what is going on in the workplace, teachers must establish and maintain linkages with the business community. The knowledge and information gained through these linkages provides teachers with "real world" examples to use in classroom activities that contribute to better teaching and enhance students' success in transitioning to work. Further, maintaining linkages with the workplace provides teachers with a variety of resources, including guest speakers, filed trip sites, and advisory committee members who can provide input for developing curriculum, selecting equipment, and validating skills and knowledge needed in the workplace.

Relationships teachers establish with the workplace require that they display sensitivity for workplace perceptions, needs, and expectations. Actual work experience can help teachers develop familiarity and comfort in making workplace connections. Further, through work experience, teachers establish contacts with business and industry representatives. Teachers must know how to communicate with workplace representatives, how to interact with the business community, and how to establish their presence in the business community at large.

If teachers expect to be successful at placing students in the workplace, they must be able to work closely with employers. Through regular personal contact with employers, teachers place themselves in an excellent position to know what employers' needs are and can thus place their students in workplace experiences that maximize the benefit to both students and employers.

Teachers who develop school-based projects that simulate workplace requirements and help their students operate school-based enterprises must have input from business and industry representatives. Particularly important is their securing input from representatives of organizations that supply similar products and services. To receive this input, they must establish and maintain positive relationships with these representatives.

From the interviewees' perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Establish and Maintain Relationships with the Workplace was important for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A3) Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction, (A4) Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A7) Working in the Workplace, (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C3. Know the Workplace

To help students understand the world of work, teachers must themselves have a broad-based understanding of the workplace. This understanding includes not only the local economy but the global economy as well. Further, to provide a realistic workplace focus to their instruction, teachers must understand the importance of competition, the free enterprise system, the profit motive in the workplace, skills workers need, and how to apply what they are teaching to the workplace. Teachers must be able to provide classroom experiences that include both content and context requirements of the workplace.

Having first-hand knowledge of the workplace is vital to helping students transition to work. Teachers can gain this knowledge through work experience, internships, summer jobs, and Back-to-Industry programs. This knowledge must be constantly updated through communication with business and industry representatives and by visiting workplace settings on a regular basis. First-hand knowledge enables teachers to enhance and focus their instruction so that it meets their students' needs as they transition to the workplace. It must extend from knowing characteristics their students need for success in the workplace to specific skills that are needed in different occupations. Further, this knowledge helps teachers keep abreast of present and future workplace opportunities available to their students.

A particularly effective way for teachers to develop workplace knowledge is by taking time to visit workplace settings of both their current and former students. These visits expose the teachers to what is happening in businesses, industries, and the community. Gaining a current understanding of the workplace through follow-up activities helps teachers identify job opportunities for current students and align curriculum with contemporary workplace requirements.

From interviewees' perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Know the Workplace contributed to the following school-to-work activities: (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A4) Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A7) Working in the Workplace, (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community, (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations, and (A10) Following up on Current and Former Students.

C4. Communicate Effectively about School-to-Work Programs

Maintaining meaningful workplace linkages demands that teachers be skilled communicators. Teachers must be enthusiastic school-to-work salespeople for their students, their programs, and their school. They must effectively "sell" the idea of school to work not only to the business community but also to their students. School-to-work activities require teachers to communicate with individuals of varied interests and backgrounds in the workplace.

To engage workplace representatives in school activities, teachers must be able to articulate clearly about school-to-work so that these individuals understand what their involvement with the schools will be and how it will benefit them and the students. Teachers must also be able to relate to students why workplace representatives are involved with the schools and what benefits they will gain from them.

Interviewees' perceived the teacher characteristic of Communicate Effectively about School-to-Work Programs as important for the following activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A3) Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction, and (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community.

C5. Be Adaptable and Open to Change

Being adaptable and open to change was a teacher characteristic regarded as essential in helping students understand the world of work. To offer students school-based experiences that mirror the workplace, teachers must understand that requirements for workers in today's and tomorrow's global workplace are not the same skills that are typically emphasized in school settings. Teachers must be open minded. They cannot adopt the attitude of this is the way I learned, this is the way I have always taught, and this is the way I will continue to teach.

Including a workplace focus in instruction requires that teachers bring new workplace information to their classrooms and emphasize the development of skills students need for today's workplace. In many workplaces, change is constant. If teachers intend to respond to workplace expectations, they must be willing to change their instruction whenever necessary so it continues to align with what their students need to transition to work.

Interviewees perceived the characteristic of Be Adaptable and Open to Change as important for the following school-to-work activities: (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A4) Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C6. Demonstrate Positive Attitudes Toward Work

Placing a classroom focus on work requires that teachers view work positively and appreciate the contributions that workers of all types make to society. If students learn through teacher role models that work is to be valued and is a major contributor to community growth and stability, they will develop a positive view of work themselves. Teachers must help their students value the various roles they will assume in the workplace.

Further, having a positive attitude toward work is essential for teachers to maintain positive relationships with workplace representatives. Through interactions with the workplace and personal work experience, teachers gain an appreciation for the contributions workers make and the importance of these contributions. This appreciation plays an important role in helping students transition to work.

Teachers' attitudes toward work are often imbedded in what they teach. If teachers can incorporate positive attitudes toward work into their classroom instruction, students have greater potential to develop these attitudes. Conversely, if teachers demonstrate negative attitudes toward work in their classroom instruction, students may adopt these attitudes themselves.

From the interviewee's perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Demonstrate Positive Attitudes Toward Work was relevant for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A3) Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A7) Working in the Workplace, (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C7. Be Professional in Appearance and Conduct

Teachers serve as role models for their students in both appearance and conduct. Building on workplace expectations, teachers can incorporate into their instruction essential aspects of both. Further, by exemplifying on a day-to-day basis workplace expectations for appearance and conduct, teachers can provide relevant examples for their students to follow in shadowing, internships, and other related workplace experiences.

When teachers are representing the school and contacting the business community, they are serving as representatives of the schools and are role models for what businesses, industries, and the community think about schools. Teachers must understand what the workplace expects in terms of personal appearance and conduct and abide by these standards. Ignoring these expectations can offend workplace representatives who are needed to help students successfully transition to work.

Interviewees' perceived the characteristics of Be Professional in Appearance and Conduct as important for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A3) Involving Workplace Representatives in School Curriculum and Instruction, (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C8. Apply School Learning to the Workplace

Teachers must recognize the importance of linking school-based learning to the workplace and practice this concept in their teaching. Students often have difficulty connecting what is being taught in the classroom with the real world. Whenever feasible, vocational and academic teachers must connect their instruction with one another and with the workplace. Learning in context helps students grasp the relevance of what they are learning. Emphasis on applied learning helps students understand why they are learning and how they are going to use what they have learned.

The school and the workplace are much like a two-way street. Just as the workplace can drive what is taught in school, the school can be a starting point for what is eventually applied in the workplace. Linking school-based learning with the workplace is an essential teaching skill. Knowledge, attitudes, and competencies teachers gain from work experience can facilitate the creation of this link.

Interviewees perceived the characteristic of Apply School Learning to the Workplace as important for the following school-to-work activities: (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A4) Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A7) Working in the Workplace, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C9. Know Schools and Schooling

Having a broad understanding of schools and schooling is essential to success in organizing workplace experiences for students. Questions potential employers have about students may focus on what math, science, and communication skills they have developed in various courses; what workplace experiences they have already had; and what benefits will accrue for employers who become involved with school-to-work activities. As teachers interact with the workplace, they must know what is going on in their own program areas as well as the whole school, particularly in respect to any school-to-work activities underway.

Interviewees perceived the teacher characteristic of Know Schools and Schooling to be relevant for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences and (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community.

C10. Be Knowledgeable and Competent in Teaching Area

In an ever-changing technological world, teachers must be "lifelong learners." As they learn about the workplace, teachers must link this learning to their teaching. They will then be able to transfer knowledge and competence gained through their "lifelong learning" to their students. In addition, teachers must know how their content relates to the world of work and be competent in teaching to students' needs, which goes beyond teaching isolated subject matter. If teachers are to design quality school-based learning experiences, they must be truly knowledgeable about their teaching field as well as competent in their teaching. However, unless they link this knowledge and teaching competence with workplace expectations, the relevance of their school-based instruction may be lost.

Teachers cannot teach 1930s skills to help students transition to work in the 1990s. Through ongoing work experience and contacts with business, industry, and community representatives, teachers can keep current in their teaching area. If their classroom instruction is to reflect up-to-date workplace trends, teachers cannot rely on personal workplace experiences that are from 25 years ago.

From the interviewees' perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Be Knowledgeable and Competent in Teaching Area was relevant for the following school-to-work activities: (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A7) Working in the Workplace, (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community, and (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations.

C11. Be Creative and Innovative in Teaching

Providing a workplace focus to instruction requires that teachers' attitudes about teaching be based on flexibility and creativity, not on the traditional comfort zone mentality that "I teach a specific subject." In achieving a creative, innovative focus, teachers must use a variety of instructional strategies, including role playing, case studies, debates, interviews, portfolios, individual and team assignments, simulations, group projects, field trips, and integration of instruction across disciplines. Central to these strategies is the need for teachers to take risks and find a variety of ways to recognize students with different capabilities and learning styles.

Creating contextual learning experiences that allow students to simulate workplace requirements can prove more difficult than teaching from texts and lecturing. Through work-based projects and enterprises, teachers can provide in school settings experiences students will actually encounter in the workplace. However, providing students these experiences requires that teachers have first-hand knowledge of the workplace that is continually updated. Creative, innovative teaching requires that teachers maintain a progressive outlook and be willing to "get out of the box" in their teaching methods, while at the same time constantly monitoring the learning of their students.

Following up on current and former students indicates a major commitment to quality teaching. Teachers who visit with their students in the workplace gain an understanding of workplace requirements and expectations their students must meet. Follow-up activities consume time above and beyond daily teaching. However, teachers who are innovative focus on how the extra time they spend will benefit their students and themselves.

Interviewees perceived that the teacher characteristic of Be Creative and Innovative in Teaching was relevant for the following school-to-work activities: (A1) Involving Students in Organized Workplace Experiences, (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A4) Providing Workplace Experiences for Students Through School Activities, (A5) Including a Workplace Focus in School Instruction, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, (A9) Designing Classroom Experiences Around Workplace Expectations, and (A10) Following up on Current and Former Students.

C12. Be Committed to Teaching

Successful school-to-work teachers are committed to learning in order to become better teachers. They can learn about the workplace by participating in Back-to-Industry programs, summer employment, and maintaining workplace contacts throughout the year. Continual learning about the workplace enhances teachers' abilities to relate to students' workplace needs.

Teachers must have a commitment to students' learning if they are to help them understand the skills and competencies needed in the workplace. Further, they must display enthusiasm about the workplace and believe that every student can and must become a contributing member of society. Teachers demonstrate commitment by maintaining a positive attitude and tailoring their teaching strategies to meeting individual students' needs. Committed teachers give unselfishly of their time and themselves.

From the interviewees' perspectives, the teacher characteristic of Be Committed to Teaching was relevant for the following school-to-work activities: (A2) Helping Students To Understand the Workplace, (A6) Learning about the Workplace in Ways that Contribute to Better Teaching, and (A8) Initiating and Maintaining Contact with Employers and the Community.