International student experiences with cooperative education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine international student experiences with cooperative education, or co-op, in which students have opportunities to gain work experience in their chosen industries. The benefits of participation in experiential learning opportunities have been well established (Blair, Millea, & Hammer, 2004; Weisz & Smith, 2005) and include a positive impact on students' post-graduation careers. However, international students face particular challenges such as language barriers and cultural differences when they participate in these opportunities. Support provided with the structure of a co-op program can impact international students' abilities to overcome such barriers. This study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to understand the individual realities of participants who completed co-op experiences. The primary findings of the study relate to the impact of international student status, the impact of institutional and student-focused variables on the preparation and search processes, the impact of institutional and student-focused variables on the workplace experience, and the effect of co-op on full-time job searches and career plans. Keywords: international students, cooperative education, experiential learning