Enterprise Links
Summary – Lessons learntFrom these case studies, three key issues emerge: relevance; manageability; and sustainability. These issues relate to the interaction of all of the key groups involved – the students, teachers, and the enterprises themselves, and also the school community as a whole and the wider community outside the school.
The perspective of the technology teacher and their students
Perceptions of manageability are undoubtedly the biggest challenge for teachers establishing industry links. There has to be a natural fit between the particular outside practice and the technology curriculum goals. The differences in culture, motivations and aspirations between the 'classroom world' and the 'outside world' need to be recognised for the links to have relevance for all parties – the students, the industry/business, the teacher – and therefore be successful and sustainable.
Once the relevance is established the value placed on the links becomes an important issue in terms of their establishment and ultimate sustainability. This value can obviously be measured in the tangible benefits to the teacher and students in terms of the quality of the student practice and the outcomes produced. But the value can also be in terms of the more intangible professional development of the teacher from the interaction and its influence on the personal attributes of the students. The value placed both by the school as a whole and the local community also has a significant influence on the sustainability of the links. However the manageability issues can be huge and largely centre around the cultural clash between the school and business operating environments.
The business perspective
While a link with a local school is not a core activity of a business, in each of the eight case studies, the business recognised the relevance and the value of effective links and the benefits of ensuring sustainability. Benefits identified by businesses included: promotion of their products and services; the personal satisfaction of working with enthusiastic young students who valued their input; contact with students who may be interested in entering into their industry on leaving school; and, when acting as a client, getting fresh ideas from the student project work. Again the major challenges centred around manageability issues, especially to to with time availability, integration and commitment.
Experience from the eight case studies suggests that if industries can see relevance and value in their participation, then most ongoing manageability issues can be effectively addressed. Ultimately, the sustainability of these links depends on maintaining effective relationships between key individuals on both sides.
Steps towards sustainability
- Establish a clear rationale for making and maintaining links with local enterprises. This will address the broad relevance of the links with a focus on enhancing student learning. It will also emphasise the value placed on the links by all key stakeholder groups.
- Set short term goals.These should be challenging but SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound).
- Develop an action plan.This should effectively address perceived manageability issues. It should focus on maintaining effective communication channels between all parties and incorporate ongoing evaluation to allow for modification where required.
Case Studies
- Wanganui Girls' College links with Kitchen Contours and Norsewear
- Garin College link with Sealord
- Havelock North High School links with Edges Picture framers
- Havelock North High School links with Wattie's Foods
- St. Patrick's College, Kilbirnie link with Survey Lab
- Tararua College link with Meal Innovations
- Wanganui City College link with Rob O'Keeffe Joinery
- Gisborne Girls' High School link with Basically Bush
- St John's College, Hamilton link with RML Ltd
- Brokering the links
