The Effect of Geographic Locale on Work-Related Experiential Learning Opportunities

该项目研究了学生的工作相关体验活动（WREAs）可能会受到其所在机构靠近主要经济和劳动力中心的地理位置的影响。WREAs包括实习、合作、实习、工作见习和其他类似的机会，这些机会使学生能够在真实的环境中应用知识，并导致成功和富有成效的就业。本研究将透过实证纪录地区对学生实习及类似专业发展机会的影响，以填补知识空白。该研究以接近性研究为指导，通过社会空间关系的维度和机会结构的概念来检查批判性人文地理学中隐含的结构，机会结构被定义为学生组织其教育和未来轨迹的全方位机会。该研究将为就业能力话语提供深思熟虑的见解，并展示地理位置上下文细微差别的重要性。该研究预计将提供有关地理位置对学生专业发展机会的影响的信息，并帮助加强从教育到劳动力的STEM管道，特别是对于那些与主要劳动力中心联系较少的学生。在接近性研究的指导下，研究者将采用混合方法设计来回答以下研究问题：(1)地理环境如何以及在多大程度上影响STEM学生获得与工作相关的实验活动？(2)学生、大学职业官员和/或新员工是否因所在机构的地理位置而对WREAs的获取或受益有不同的看法？(3)是否有其他方面的结构性机会与地区交叉，进一步影响学生获得或对WREAs的看法？(4)参加WREA是否会影响获得学位的时间和/或完成学位到工作机会之间的时间？(5)对于尚未找到工作的应届毕业生来说，他们的工作地点是否与失业有关？他们参加WREAs的情况是否与已找到工作的同龄人有所不同？(6)参加WREAs的员工是否比未参加WREAs的员工获得更高的薪水？调查数据将分多个阶段从乔治亚州五所公立大学招收的在校生、雇主和最近聘用的校友雇员中收集，地理空间分析将直观地定位学生在研究、机构和WREA地点的位置。地理空间分析将考虑诸如到工作场所的物理和功能距离以及总体便利设施等因素。定性数据分析将提供雇主和新雇员对具体WREA活动的细微信息，而定量分析将提供学生的态度和行为，显示WREA活动与学生成功之间的联系。这项研究将提供一个更好的理解体验活动，最好的位置学生就业。研究结果可以为学生和后续就业之间的有效匹配提供信息，并使雇主能够量化他们的投资回报。该项目由教育和人力资源核心研究理事会（ECR）项目资助，该项目支持以STEM学习和学习环境、扩大STEM参与和STEM专业劳动力发展为重点的基础研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project examines how students’ work-related experiential activities (WREAs) may be affected by their institution’s geographic proximity to major economic and workforce hubs. WREAs include internships, co-ops, practicums, job shadowing, and other similar opportunities that enable students to apply knowledge in an authentic setting and that lead to successful and productive employment. The research will fill a knowledge gap by empirically documenting the influence of locale on internships and similar professional development opportunities for students. The research is guided by proximity research, constructs implicit in critical human geography that can be examined through dimensions of socio-spatial relations, and the notion of opportunity structures, defined as the full range of opportunities available to students that organize their education and future trajectories. The study will offer thoughtful insight into the employability discourse and demonstrate the importance of the contextual nuance of geographic locale. The study is expected to produce information about the impact of geographic locale on professional development opportunities for students and help strengthen the STEM pipeline from education to the workforce, particularly for students who may be less connected to major workforce hubs.Guided by proximity research, the researchers will employ a mixed methods design to answer the following research questions: (1) How and to what extent does geographic locale affect STEM students’ access to work-related experimental activities? (2) Do students, university career officials, and/or new employees perceive access to or benefit from WREAs differently based on their institution’s geographic locale? (3) Are there other facets of structural opportunities that intersect with locale that further affect students’ access to or perceptions of WREAs? (4) Does WREA participation affect time to degree and/or time between degree completion and job offer? (5) For recent graduates, who have not secured employment, does their locale contribute to the reason for unemployment, and was their participation in WREAs different from that of peers who have acquired employment? And (6) Do employees who participate in WREAs receive higher salary offers than peers who do not participate in WREAs? Survey data will be collected in multiple phases from enrolled students, employers, and recently hired alumni employees who recruit from five public universities in Georgia, and geospatial analyses will visually situate students in the study, institutions, and WREA locations. Geospatial analyses will consider factors such as physical and functional distances to workplaces and overall amenities. Analysis of qualitative data will provide nuanced information about specific WREA activities as perceived by employers and recently hired employees, while quantitative analysis will provide students’ attitudes and behaviors that show connections between WREA activities and student success. The study will provide a better understanding of the experiential activities that best position students for employment. The findings can inform effective matching between students and subsequent employment and enable employers to quantify their return on investment. The project is funded by the Directorate for Education and Human Resources Core Research (ECR)program that supports fundamental research that focuses on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM professional workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.