The role of co-op in the transition from high school to post-secondary education

This study examined the differences in high school and post-secondary characteristics for both university and college cooperative and non cooperative education students using longitudinal data from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS, Statistics Canada). A total of 11,383 cases were examined from the 18-20 year-old cohort. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between the dependent variable (co-op and non co-op in college and university) and a series of independent variables which included: high school grades, career training courses, homework habits, interest in school, sense of belonging, attendance, volunteerism and SES. Results indicated that university co-op students demonstrated higher academic grades in high school than students in the other programs (university non co-op, college co-op and non co-op). College and university students who had taken work experience courses during high school were more likely to be in a co-op program. University co-op students were more interested in high school than their college counterparts, and less likely to have skipped classes. They were also more likely to have had good relationships with teachers and more likely to have made connections between classroom learning and real-life experience.