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

地理位置对与工作相关的体验式学习机会的影响

• 批准号: 2000847
• 负责人: Karen Webber
• 金额: $ 69万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2000847&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Effect; Geographic; Locale; Work; Related

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.

该项目探讨了学生的工作相关的体验活动（WREAs）可能会受到他们的机构的地理位置接近主要的经济和劳动力中心的影响。WREAs包括实习，合作社，实习，工作阴影和其他类似的机会，使学生能够在真实的环境中应用知识，并导致成功和生产性就业。 这项研究将填补知识空白的经验记录的影响，现场实习和类似的专业发展机会的学生。这项研究是由邻近研究，结构隐含在关键的人文地理，可以通过社会空间关系的维度进行检查，和机会结构的概念，定义为学生组织他们的教育和未来的轨迹提供的全方位的机会。这项研究将提供周到的洞察就业能力的话语，并证明了地理位置的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，并有助于加强从教育到劳动力的STEM管道，特别是对于那些可能与主要劳动力中心联系较少的学生。在邻近研究的指导下，研究人员将采用混合方法设计来回答以下研究问题：（1）地理位置如何以及在多大程度上影响STEM学生参与与工作相关的实验活动？(2)学生、大学职业官员和/或新员工是否根据他们所在机构的地理位置，对WREAs的访问或受益有不同的看法？(3)是否有其他方面的结构性机会，交叉与现场，进一步影响学生的访问或对WREAs的看法？(4)WREA的参与是否会影响学位时间和/或学位完成和工作机会之间的时间？(5)对于最近的毕业生，谁没有得到就业，他们的所在地有助于失业的原因，他们在WREA的参与不同于同龄人谁已经获得就业？以及（6）参加WREAs的员工是否比不参加WREAs的同事获得更高的工资？ 调查数据将分多个阶段从注册学生、雇主和最近从格鲁吉亚五所公立大学招聘的校友雇员那里收集，地理空间分析将直观地显示研究、机构和WREA地点的学生。地理空间分析将考虑到诸如到工作场所的物理和功能距离以及整体设施等因素。定性数据的分析将提供有关雇主和最近雇用的员工所感知的特定WREA活动的细微差别信息，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了解体验活动，最好的位置学生就业。调查结果可以为学生和随后的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）计划资助，该计划支持重点关注STEM学习和学习环境、扩大STEM参与以及STEM专业劳动力发展的基础研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。