Developing mature interpersonal relationships is the subject of the fourth vector in Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) student development theory. The authors stressed that relationships are “connections with others that have a profound impact on students’ lives” (p.145). Through these relationships, individuals learn how to manage and express emotions, how to be vulnerable and open, how to resolve conflicts, and how to make meaningful
commitments. As students progress through this vector they must begin to rebalance the need for autonomy and attachment.
Chickering and Reisser asserted that tolerance and the capacity for intimacy are the two components which are central to developing mature relationships. Tolerance consists of two different arenas which are made up of intercultural and interpersonal contexts. Growth in this area involves reassessing assumptions and initial impressions of others. It means that the individual tries to obtain a deeper understanding of differences as opposed to just relying on
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labels. Empathy is instrumental in gaining tolerance. New experiences, including those related to work, can foster growth of empathy.
The capacity for intimacy is supported as one’s levels of tolerance and empathy increase. The ability to sustain intimacy requires, “self-awareness, spontaneity, some measure of self- confidence, and ongoing work on support and communication” (p.161). Intimate relationships nurture self-understanding, which in turn, can lead to enhanced satisfaction in one’s personal and professional lives. Openness is fundamental to intimacy. With high levels of trust, openness, and stability, relationships can be reciprocal and interdependent (p.172).
In assessing the literature relating mature interpersonal relationships to WIL, it is necessary to acknowledge the work of Smith-Eggeman and Scott (1994). This study was specifically designed to examine the developmental potential for enhancing students’
“interpersonal relationships skills through participation in a cooperative education experience” (p.14). Subjects for the investigation consisted of undergraduate students from two groups. One group of students (145) had completed a co-op experience, and the other group of students (414) had not participated in co-op work. The research instrument utilized in this project was called the Mines-Jensen Interpersonal Relationship Inventory (M-JIRI) which was developed at the University of Iowa. The M-JIRI was specifically designed to conceptualize indicators relating to aspects of Chickering’s (1969) vector of freeing interpersonal relationships. The results of the instrument form two subscales which relate to tolerance and quality of relationships. The
researchers collected completed and usable survey instruments from 124 co-op students and 284 students that had not participated in co-op experiences. The results of the study revealed more forward growth in tolerance and quality of relationships for cooperative education students as compared to those students that had not completed cooperative education work. Though the
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significance of the comparisons on the quality of relationships scale appear to be a bit liberally interpreted, the data indicated promising connections between participation in cooperative education programs and the development of interpersonal relationship skills.
Schlosser and McNaughton’s (2005) exploration of cooperative education students’ perceptions of workplace communications offered some further insight into relationship building through work experience. Their study delved into student perception of their supervisor’s communication methods and how that influences the development of relationships in the workplace. The authors underscored the importance of effective communication practices in enabling all parties to gain understanding, trust, and improve relationship quality. These themes specifically paralleled factors of healthy and intimate relationships as highlighted by Chickering and Reisser (1993).
Schlosser and McNaughton used qualitative methods to compare ways in which students assign meaning to various experiences relating to communication during their work term. The sample consisted of 80 undergraduate engineering students at the University of Waterloo. All participants had experienced at least two to four co-op work placements. The students were asked to provide written responses to three prompts. These three questions all pertained to scenarios during the work term that involved various communication issues or methods employed by the co-op supervisor. Particular emphasis was included in each prompt that encouraged the respondent to address how these communication methods affected his or her relationship with the co-op supervisor.
Though the nature of this qualitative study and the focus on only engineering students did potentially limit the generalizability of the findings, there were however several interesting observations revealed in this investigation. Student responses revealed that co-op experiences
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provided participants with an opportunity to experiment with and develop effective interpersonal skills through managerial modeling. This type of interaction is instrumental in assisting students with understanding appropriate interpersonal communication. Participants also indicated that they value regular face-to-face feedback from their co-op supervisor. The students believed that this was crucial to relationship building and improvement in the work place. In summation, the results of this project add a richer understanding of how co-op supervisors’ and mentors’ communication methods can nurture or hinder relationship building and student self-perception (p.29). This type of scholarship is helpful in advancing the understanding of developmental potential contained in specific aspects of WIL programs.
Fleming and Eames (2005) also examined specific structures of cooperative education experiences, and how they were perceived to affect relationship building. Their inquiry focused on learning in the context of the placement structure for a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation (BSR) degree program within Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in New Zealand. Students in the BSR program were required to complete 600 hours of cooperative education work placements during their final year of enrollment. The researchers used a combination of methods to investigate how the length and structure of the co-op placements affect learning experiences for the BSR students. This integration of multiple methods allowed the researchers to gain deeper understanding of the topic and to feel greater confidence in interpreting the data. Data collection for the study consisted of two stages. In stage one, 42 students completed a questionnaire regarding their co-op experiences. This instrument included open ended and scaled response questions related to what the students had learned and the factors that influenced learning during their work placement. Additionally, respondents were asked to chart their learning curve as a measure of the amount of learning experienced relative to the time course of
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the co-op placement (p.28). The second stage of data collection consisted of in-depth interviews with seven volunteers from the cohort. The interviews touched on topics related to major
influences on learning and how the length of the placement and the co-op structure might have affected the learning experience. Information from the questionnaire and the interviews
underscored the importance of having enough time in the work placement to build relationships. Once again, interpersonal factors, such as those with co-op supervisors, were identified as a major influence on student learning. Participants’ responses indicate that the 350 hours that co- op students spent in the workplace were important in order to build relationships. This seems to affirm a need for students to develop social interactions with their co-workers in order to
enhance their socialization and enculturation to the work place. The findings appear to support the assertion that students felt that the development of relationships in the work place was important to the learning experience.
In 2015, Fleming, once again, used the Bachelor of Sport and Recreation (BSR) program at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) to further examine the influences on student learning in the cooperative education process. This study (Fleming, 2015) employed a case study methodology and also incorporated two stages of data collection. The first stage consisted of questionnaires with some open-ended questions as well as some ‘complete the sentence’ prompts. The second stage of data collection involved semi-structured interviews about the students’ experience during their co-op work placement. Unlike the previous study, in this project Fleming incorporated students, academic supervisors, and industry supervisors in the solicitation of data. Interviews were conducted with six students, five industry supervisors, and five academic supervisors. Questionnaires were completed by 91 BSR co-op students, 18 AUT academic supervisors, and 28 industry supervisors. The findings of this study echoed those of
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Fleming’s previous work (Fleming & Eames, 2005), which highlights the necessity of extended time in the co-op work placement in order to allow relationships to develop so that trust and openness can be established. These themes directly relate to the concepts that Chickering and Reisser (1993) illustrated in their discussion of healthy interpersonal relationships. Fleming’s (2015) investigation captured rich description of how student learning in the work place is driven by professional relationships between the co-op student and their supervisors or co-workers. It was through social interactions, meaningful discussions, and developing relationships with colleagues that students were able to learn procedural knowledge, and also deepen their understanding of professionalism in the industry. The following section explores scholarly literature pertaining to identity and work-integrated learning programs. Particular attention is paid to the formation of professional identity and the emerging concept of pre-professional identity as well.