Career

This report includes vignettes from teachers reflecting on their use of tools--the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC)--aimed at preparing students for college and careers. The vignettes included in this report are the result of interviews with teachers between September 2012 and January 2013 where educators reflected on their teaching styles, changes in student motivation and engagement, and changes in their own behavior while using the LDC and MDC tools. 

This fact sheet provides an overview of career academies as one approach to delivering CTE.  The brief offers a working definition of career academies, a history of their implementation, and research that supports the approach. In addition, the piece includes profiles of two states' (Florida and California) efforts and a description of one local career academy. 

This interactive map is a collection of state fact sheets summarizing CTE program delivery, funding, enrollment, performance as well as profiles of exemplary programs.  While the criteria for identifying these exemplary programs is unclear, these fact sheets may provide a starting place for state leaders to see how other states fund and deliver CTE programs.

This brief, authored by the Business Roundtable, is designed to provide states with concrete policy recommendations that will help ensure that students are properly prepared to become effective and highly skilled members of the workforce.

This report describes a constructivist career course, "Orientation to Self and Career," aimed at helping students meet the demands of the world of work. The report also explores the theoretical foundations, modules, activities, and outcomes of the course. Outcomes of the course include increases in students' career decision self-efficacy and decreases in students' self-defeating thoughts.

This report presents the implications for implementing a group counseling program aimed at delivering career services to all students. The authors argue that group counseling programs can close achievement gaps, steer students toward career goals, and provide students with real world skills.

This letter outlines a joint commitment of the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of Labor to promote the use of career pathways, encourage alignment of state resources, and ensure all interested parties are aware of the commitment. This letter also defines career pathways and provides details of what a career pathways approach should include.