Using work-based learning as a vehicle for student engagement and community investment

Stephanie Stickle
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:43:01 PDT

Research indicates that rural communities with few labor market opportunities are at increased risk for social and economic unsustainability. As such, high-potential rural students often believe they must leave their homes for more populated areas with superior labor markets in order to obtain fulfilling employment, success, and life satisfaction. This out-migration trend places rural communities at risk for losing the youth that are most likely to contribute to their sustainability and growth. Rural education has been identified as a promising and central means to counter this risk. Effective work-based learning curriculums, which incorporate student engagement and talent development components, may facilitate school engagement, entrepreneurial interest, community involvement, intrinsic satisfaction, and extrinsic success among rural students, thus contributing to community investment.