To build back enrollments after a decade of downward trends, community colleges need to substantially increase retention as well as recruitment, particularly among students from underserved groups, who represent a growing share of prospective college students. Community College Research Center (CCRC) has developed a framework called…

Comprehensive, high-quality career development includes work-based learning (WBL) experiences such as workplace tours, job shadowing, school-based enterprises, internships, and apprenticeships. In addition to the activities themselves, WBL is often best defined by a strong partnership between an education program, an employer, and a motivated…

The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy partnered with The Boston Foundation to examine and document the school-level practices that have enabled high growth and high academic achievement at the Pioneer Charter School of Science II, the winner of the 2021 Pozen Prize for Innovative Schools. The Rennie Center began with a review of…

Exploring Summer Youth Employment Programs: Increasing Access Through Career Pathways builds the case and provides actionable recommendations for state-led support in the intentional alignment of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) with career pathways and the work-based learning continuum, including through Career Technical Education (CTE).…

Many students find it difficult to transition into the workforce successfully. They often accept unsuitable positions through happenstance rather than actively planning their career trajectories. This is due to their unawareness of career exploration and mapping. We use informational interviewing as an in class experiential learning assignment to…

In this article, Rebecca Riley uses drama and role-play to provide a context for science learning and teach about STEM careers. The article discusses how using a meaningful text with a stimulating story and relatable characters allows children to become fully immersed in a narrative. By using the drama-based teaching approaches that teachers…

Creating strong community collaborations is a cornerstone in the success of career and technical education programs. Developing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) programs for middle school students using community collaborations can be challenging. This article presents innovative strategies being successfully implemented in…

Georgia 4-H has been partnering with public schools for over 100 years to provide youth development programming for elementary, middle, and high schools. In 2013, a new state accountability system required the addition of career exploration lessons in elementary schools. Georgia 4-H staff and faculty developed a career curriculum taught by county…

First-year students enter college with significant concerns about career and major decision-making, including questions about purpose, vocation, and meaning. Some students have opportunities to actively explore and engage in the reflection process--yet many do not. Higher education professionals will need to identify and expand resources to…

Faculty encourage students to create LinkedIn profiles and to use LinkedIn for job searches, but often realize that as soon as the profile is created, many students abandon LinkedIn. The project changed the approach to incorporate a series of assignments in which students not only revised an existing profile but then were required to develop a…

Of the studies of internships at two-year colleges, few have focused specifically on IT and engineering technology (ET) programs and the structures that are essential to building effective technology internships. Case studies at two Florida community colleges enabled the exploration of internship structure, student participation by demographics,…

Scholarship on students who enter college without a declared major indicates that this population of students faces unique challenges (Anderson, 1985; Beal & Noel, 1980; Lewallen, 1993), but also may be more likely to persist to graduation and earn higher grades than those who enter college with a declared major (Lewallen, 1995). Based on…

In a webinar series called the Wild Side of STEAM, educators at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute introduce young viewers to these lesser-known or unusual careers. The free webinar series, launched in October 2020, informs viewers about the variety of careers available in science, technology, engineering, arts, and…

Students from rural backgrounds may face unique challenges with respect to their career-identity development. School counselors are critically positioned to support the career development of these students through a social-justice lens. The following paper proposes a small-group intervention that serves to empower and support middle school…

This article describes the pivotal role that school counselors play in preparing and helping students feel prepared and equipped to enter the workforce upon graduation. This brief commentary addresses the necessity for school counselors to work collaboratively with their students, so they are knowledgeable about college and career exploration. In…