Guidance as A Key Factor for Quality Outcomes in Experiential Learning and Its Influence on Undergraduate Management Students throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper presents a study that explores how “field experience” programs generate a meaningful bridge between the “theoretical” academic world and the “real” labor market. We examine this model in a population of undergraduate management students who participated in experiential learning programs via internship-integrating courses. The results unravel the significance of the experience-based educational program during Covid-19, formulating new correlations unique to this period. The study's contribution focuses on three main areas. First, the findings shed light on the academic supervisor's importance in establishing the quality of the program and consequently improving students’ perception of its contribution to their integration in the employment market. Moreover, we found that the contribution of the guidance provided by the organizational mentor diminished during the Covid-19 period compared to that shown in former studies. Additionally, an innovative mediating effect of the guidance provided by the organizational mentor was found, one that generated an association between the quality of the program and its contribution to integration in the employment market. These results receive further validation during the period of the study, when academic institutions were required to show flexibility and adaptation, leading to the utilization of previously uncustomary distance learning methods.