| Summary: | Evaluating the success or failure of work force training programs is
most often accomplished through the reporting of "objective" data. Rarely
are the students' views of their own success in such a training program
formally solicited or applied in any useful way. But participant perceptions
can be a critical barometer of quality and ought to be taken into account in
any program which aims for continuous improvement. This research was
undertaken to allow people to present their experiences and meanings in
ways which can contribute to just such program improvement.
The study was guided by the following research questions: 1. How
do student participants define success? 2. How did their Skill Center
training program meet their definition of success? It was expected that
information gathered from the study would provide information that could:
(a) provide and clarify student participant perspectives in work force
training and employment programs, and (b) help program operators who
run this and similar programs make informed decisions based on
participants' definitions of success and their perceptions of what successes
they experienced from the Skill Center program.
The data were collected through in-depth interviews with fifteen
graduates self-identified as successful. Grounded theory methodology was
followed to develop the findings. Among all informants, the most often
cited theme was that of "connecting" with instructors and fellow students.
A second component of this central theme was a "cohort" feeling; a
perception of warmth, support, and a sense of family that was common to
all of the students interviewed. Many students were balancing feelings of
anger, frustration, anxiety, and despair, and it was the human connections
with the other members of the skill training center that enabled many, if
not most, students to persist in training. For all of the interviewees, the
affective value of their training was more intrinsic (e.g., helped them build
their confidence and self-esteem) than extrinsic (e.g., helped them obtain
and retain a job). This contributes to an inherent tension between
individuals and agencies, since agency perspectives on success are based
almost solely on extrinsic measures. === Graduation date: 1996
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