Let’s Deep Dive into the Topic of Co-op Supervisors

Presented by: Cora Dupuis, Brandon University

Quality co-op supervision has been identified as a major component of a successful co-op experience (J. Fleming, 2015; Hardie et al., 2018; Keating, 2014; Nevison et al., 2018; Rowe et al., 2012; Winchester-Seeto et al., 2016). Despite their vast potential for influence, little has been researched about co-op supervisors (Martin et al., 2019; Nevison et al., 2018; Patrick et al., 2008; Winchester-Seeto et al., 2016). With the federal government’s ambitious goal of providing a WIL opportunity for every “young Canadian” who wants one, thousands of co-op and WIL supervisors will have to be recruited, supported, and engaged in our post-secondary programs.

This Session will invite conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing co-op programs when recruiting, engaging, and retaining co-op supervisors. Participants will find this conversation valuable because rarely are we provided a space to discuss this topic. By taking a few minutes, participants will see that there are commonalities that we can learn from. Moreover, participants will hear about current Canadian co-op and WIL supervisor research and where it is going.