In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation's middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also…

This article describes how my psychology department utilizes our alumni to educate current and prospective students about careers in psychology. I explain how we developed an alumni careers website and on-campus alumni careers sessions for students. High school students and our psychology majors reported that they found this information valuable,…

This qualitative study sits at the intersection of two trends in vocational education. The first trend is a narrative approach to understanding cooperative education learning; the second is a movement away from career development theories toward the view that individuals use work experiences to help construct their lives. Both trends view learning…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Cheering in the Classroom, a four day program designed purposefully to increase female awareness and perceptions of technology fields. The camp included discipline-based activities from the 13 different programs of study based in technology. The camp targeted high school cheerleaders and…

This paper summarizes the findings of a five-year study aimed at improving the retention rates of female students pursuing careers in engineering. The study analyzed a series of programs implemented at the University of Toledo. The programs involve hands-on design projects, research experiences, communication tools geared towards females,…

The Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) uses its Student Ambassador Team to help market career and technical education to other students. The MVCTC Ambassador Team is made up of 34 senior students nominated in their junior year by their career-tech and academic instructors. The students represent a cross section of career/technical…

An Ohio urban secondary school used two innovations to promote renewal of school culture and structure. Teacher-student teaming grouped 4 core subject teachers with 80 students until graduation. School-to-work combined career exploration, job shadowing, internships, and academics. (SK)

The purpose of this study was to identify the Ohio 4-H alumni's perceptions of the impact 4-H had on their career development. The 166 respondents (n=275) reported that 4-H affected the development of general employability competencies, but not job-seeking skills. (JOW)

An urban school in Columbus, Ohio, had in place a program of surprisingly explicit training of young children for the modern marketplace. Starting in kindergarten, children in the school were asked to think about the jobs they might choose when they grew up. The posters that surrounded them made clear which kinds of jobs they were expected to…