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Co-operative Education and Workplace Learning (CEWL) is a research
program at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University.
One focus of our research is directed at co-op education at
the secondary level. About 10% of Canada’s 1.55 million
secondary-school students enrol in co-op
education each academic year. In this part of the curriculum, schools
and employers co-operate to involve students in extended periods of
time at a workplace while enrolled in full-time study. Typically
students also engage in classroom sessions related to their placements.
The CEWL research program involves studies of policy, curriculum,
learning, instruction, accessibility, and assessment in co-op
education. The overall aim of this research is to enhance the potential
of co-op education for easing the school to work transition, for
motivating adolescents, and for informing youth about the world of
work.
The CEWL research program consists of a series of studies. We
have studied educational policies in Canada about workplace
learning, we have conducted surveys and interviews with students about
their co-op experiences, we have interviewed parents and workplace
supervisors about co-op, and we have conducted case studies of students
learning in the workplace. We have studied adult workers and students
with physical or cognitive disabilities, and have also focused on at-risk students. We have
conducted surveys of science teachers and employers in science-rich
workplaces to examine the links between school and work, and we have
conducted document analyses of youth safety programs with particular
attention to issues of self-advocacy and self-determination.
Over the past 12 years, the CEWL research program has been
funded by various grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada.
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