Respondents are asked about school programs that help students learn about the world of work. In round 1, all respondents who had attended secondary school reported whether the school had a day when adults came to talk about their jobs. Those who reported a highest grade attended of 9th through 12th grade were then asked about their participation in any school-based learning programs.
These questions were repeated in subsequent rounds, although the universes were slightly different. Users can sometimes find the universe changes confusing and are thus encouraged to study the questionnaire skip patterns before using the variables. Respondents currently enrolled in high school first answered the question about adult speakers on a career day. Then, all respondents enrolled at the date of interview at any level were asked about their participation in school-based learning programs. Table 1 lists the types of school-based learning programs included in the NLSY97, along with a short description of each.
Table 1. Definitions of School-Based Learning Programs
Program |
Definition |
Career Major |
A coherent sequence of courses based upon an occupational goal. |
Cooperative Education |
Students alternate or parallel their academic and vocational studies with a job in a related field. |
Internship/ Apprenticeship |
Students work for an employer for a short time to learn about a particular industry or occupation. |
Job Shadowing |
A student follows an employee for one or more days to learn about an occupation or industry. |
Mentoring |
A student is paired with an employee who assesses his or her performance over a period of time, during |
School-Sponsored Enterprise |
The production of goods or services by students for sale or use by others. Enterprises typically involve |
Tech-Prep |
A planned program of study with a defined career focus that links secondary and post-secondary education. |
The surveys ask for the characteristics of the most recent program, including the type of program, the number of days or weeks spent at a work site, and the number of hours per day or week spent at the work site. If the respondent was paid for participating in the program, he or she is asked to give the rate of pay. Other questions include whether the respondent took any classes at the work site and whether the employer wrote an evaluation of him or her.
Survey Instruments: Data on school-based learning programs are collected in the schooling section (question names begin with YSCH) of the Youth Questionnaire.
Related User's Guide Sections
School & Transcript Surveys
TrainingMain Area of Interest
School-Based Learning Supplemental Areas of Interest Jobs & Employers
School Experience