Award Date

8-1-2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Teaching and Learning

First Committee Member

Howard Gordon

Second Committee Member

Xue Xing

Third Committee Member

Chia-Liang Dai

Fourth Committee Member

Margarita Huerta

Number of Pages

120

Abstract

Apprenticeships offer a practical solution to a growing skills gap, youth unemployment and rising school debt in the United States by delivering a low cost, high-skilled, educated, competitive labor force. Government, industry, and educational institutions have increased focus on expanding apprenticeships. However, enrollment and participation in apprenticeships in the United States remains low. Why?

Legislators, educators, and business leaders agree two primary factors contribute to low apprenticeship participation in the United States: lack of awareness and negative perception of apprenticeships. This fixed-convergent mixed-methods study explored only the first factor, awareness of apprenticeships among college students in Nevada.

An original researcher-designed survey instrument measured students’ awareness of apprenticeships, sources of influence, depth of understanding, and asked students to identify ways to improve awareness. This study found that while students exhibited some awareness of apprenticeships, their depth of knowledge was shallow due to lack of exposure and absence of information resources. Predominant educational influencers were found to be students' own personal growth objectives and family expectations. Finally, respondents identified two primary tools to improve awareness: simplified online resources displaying general information including available career fields and direct access to a personal contact.

This research should be followed up with an investigation of awareness of apprenticeships in broader student populations and paired with the study of perception of apprenticeships among students and their primary influencers.

Keywords

Apprenticeships; Awareness; CTE; Fixed convergent; Mixed methods; Survey

Disciplines

Education

File Format

pdf

File Size

8300 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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