An integrated learning experience
The cooperative education program should provide a way to apply academic knowledge as well as giving relevance to the school curriculum. As such, cooperative education programs should cover a wide range of workplace learning arrangements from general workplace awareness to pre-apprenticeship programs.
The in-school part of cooperative education should be devoted to developing a critical understanding of work, addressing issues of power, workers' human rights and responsibilities, work ethics, and also global issues such as trade agreements, the banking system, unemployment, and monetary and fiscal policies.
Cooperative education should serve disadvantaged members of the community by providing a way of integrating education, support, work experience, and cultural awareness. Aboriginal peoples consider cooperative education the best way to combine education, skills acquisition, and employment experience.
The question of pay for work in the cooperative education system at the secondary level is a delicate matter. It raises several issues: the question of cheap labour for employers, normal remuneration for work done, resources diverted from production to support the cooperative education program, and young people being attracted away from schools by available paid employment. We believe that students should receive appropriate credit for the time spent and knowledge acquired at the workplace and some recognition toward further training in lieu of remuneration. The questions of insurance for the extension of the school day, the need for safety equipment in the workplace, transportation, and access to the work site should be carefully addressed. Employers should be ready to bear some of the costs encountered by students during their job placement.