Early Lessons From an Evaluation of an After-School Apprenticeship Program for High School Students

• In Event: Building a Stronger After-School: How Researchers and Program Staff Can Translate Data Into Impact

Abstract

Objective or purpose:

In this paper, we share early findings from an evaluation of an afterschool apprenticeship program for high school students, focusing on the demand for such opportunities. In addition to our substantive findings, we will discuss the ways in which researchers and program providers make sense of findings to improve recruitment processes to generate the conditions for a robust evaluation study design.


Perspectives or theoretical framework:

There is tremendous need for models of engaging STEM-focused, work-based learning that can grow and diversify the talent pipeline for STEM jobs. Previous models of STEM preparation have not been effective at creating a STEM workforce as diverse as our country’s population. Since attitudes and expectations developed during high school strongly influence future aspirations (Zarrett and Eccles, 2006) and are key in postsecondary decisions related to STEM careers, this afterschool apprenticeship program seeks to increase students’ engagement and skill development in STEM fields.

Prior research indicates that jobs-only youth employment programs are successful in engaging youth in short-term work, but do not affect their longer-term employment outlook (Hossain & Bloom, 2015). As such, this program provides opportunities for partnerships between schools and non-profit organizations to offer youth-centered, project based learning experiences that can increase underrepresented youth interest and engagement in STEM while also building the skills needed for completing high school and planning for their postsecondary lives.

We seek to contribute to this body of research by asking two related questions:
-What is the interest among high school students for STEM-focused apprenticeships?
-How do researchers and program providers examine data on student interest to create the conditions for a rigorous evaluation study design?


Methods and data sources:

We use a mixed methods approach to understand student interest in apprenticeships in a dozen high schools across New York City. More specifically, our data come from three sources: 1) Researchers’ notes and interview data from observations of apprenticeships; 2) Data from students’ applications to the apprenticeship programs during the 2019-2020 school year; and 3) Administrative records from the district.

Results:

Early results, from observations of apprenticeships, suggest that:
Interest in STEM-focused apprenticeships are shaped by school context: Existing partnerships between apprenticeship providers and schools, the involvement of key school-based staff in generating student attention (e.g., science teachers or work-based learning coordinators), and pre-existing school offerings (e.g., classes or clubs focusing on STEM) shape how students find out about and demonstrate interest in apprenticeships.

Following up with students to act on their interest is time-intensive, relational work. Students who successfully translate their interest into participation in these STEM apprenticeships seem to have benefited from engagement with an adult at their school or the apprenticeship site.


Significance:

Currently, there is relatively little research on what interest in STEM-based apprenticeship programs looks like, particularly among high school students. Our focus here on understanding student interest is generated by a desire to conduct a rigorous evaluation of such a program. Understanding contextual factors--in collaboration with program providers--affords researchers and practitioners the opportunity to fill a gap in the literature, improve program offerings, and develop a feasible study design.

Authors

• Zitsi Mirakhur, University of Kentucky

• Candace Brazier-Thurman, ExpandED Schools

• James J. Kemple, New York University

• John Sludden, New York University