Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success: A Research Perspective

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We hear from researchers and the business community that preparing youth for work and career success is an essential responsibility of communities, educators, and youth program leaders. Young people should be prepared by the time they leave high school. Expanded learning programs are perfectly situated to contribute to this preparation. This is the theme of our upcoming How Kids Learn conference. 

Regie Stites is Senior Researcher at SRI International who has been evaluating Linked Learning strategies in 9 California school districts. The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California’s high schools and preparing students for success in college, career, and life.

Dr. Stites will be one of our featured speakers at the upcoming How Kids Learn V conferences in Berkeley and Los Angeles. He agreed to answer a few of our questions:

Q: Can you highlight some of the evidence we have for positive 

Dr. Regie Stites,
SRI International

outcomes from work-based learning? 

A: Our quantitative analyses have focused on the impacts of the overall Linked Learning experience on student outcomes. The most recent findings from the evaluation indicate that, on average, students in Linked Learning pathways completed more high school credits, were less likely to drop out, were more likely to graduate, had higher GPAs, and were more likely to be classified as ready for college when compared with similar students in traditional high school programs.

We see the most direct evidence of positive student outcomes related to work-based learning in our student survey and focus group data. Students who had participated in work-based learning reported that it gave them opportunities to gain teamwork experience, to practice hands-on skills working with tools, and to apply knowledge and skills gained in the classroom. In focus groups, Linked Learning pathway students frequently described the ways that work-based learning experiences helped them develop awareness of the norms and expectations for behavior in the workplace, helped them develop work-related interpersonal and communication skills, and gave them motivation and clarity in planning further education and choosing a career path. 

Q: Why is preparing youth for work and career success important for young people from low-income neighborhoods? Is there an issue of equity that we should seek to address? 

A: Equity in educational outcomes and in access to college and career are central goals of the Linked Learning work. One of the most fundamental premises of Linked Learning is that all students should be prepared for college and careers. The 9 school districts included in the California Linked Learning District Initiative were chosen for initiative, in part, because they serve predominantly low-income students and communities. In the current economy, a postsecondary credential is the key to employability. But simply getting more low-income students to graduate from high school and enroll in college is not enough. For example, we know that 70% of low-income students who start at a two-year college do not complete a credential within 5 years.

Q: What are some of the challenges and opportunities in this work?

A: The biggest challenge is breaking down the silos that separate educators from each other and from employers. To create seamless transitions from school to college and to employment we need seamless systems. To prepare young people for work and career success we need educators who understand work and employers who understand education. With the Career Pathway Trust Grants and related efforts, California is moving in the direction of developing regional partnerships that bridge gaps between K-12, postsecondary, workforce development, and employment systems. These efforts are just getting off the ground but the potential for fostering greater collaboration across sectors to improve and expand access to a range of high-quality work-based learning opportunities is encouraging.   

Q: Do you think that the out-of-school setting is a good place to prepare youth for success in work and career?

A: The simple answer is yes, the out-of-school setting is essential for preparing youth for work and career success. This is so because out-of-school programs can play a key role in supporting the types of integrated learning activities that connect school learning to real-world applications of knowledge and skills. For many young people, especially young people from low-income neighborhoods, one of the most important keys to educational engagement, persistence, and success is relevance. 

Simple common sense (and research) supports the notion that young people who can clearly see the relevance of what they are learning to their own lives and futures are more likely to persist and be successful in education and, as a result, are more likely to be ready for career success.

The best methods for connecting school learning to real-world applications of knowledge and skills are well known. These methods include project-based learning, experiential learning, service learning, and a range of work-based learning activities. Some of these integrated learning activities, such as project-based learning and some forms of work-based learning may not require an out-of-school setting, but they are stronger when they do.  

Q: Can you offer any advice on what out-of-school programs could do?

A: To give more low-income youth opportunities to participate in extended, high-quality integrated learning activities, out-of-school programs should look for opportunities to work together with classroom teachers and with employers and with community organizations to co-design and jointly deliver such learning activities. Youth will be more motivated and experience deeper learning when they can connect classroom learning with applied learning in an out-of-school setting.

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Regie Stites, Ph.D., will share his research on the impact of Linked Learning projects with schools and youth at the How Kids Learn V Conference. He has two decades of experience in the design and management of large-scale educational research and evaluation in the areas of literacy education, integrated academic and career-technical education, college and career readiness, and workforce development. Major projects include the Evaluation of the California Community College Linked Learning Initiative, the Evaluation of the Linked Learning Health Career Pathways Project in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and the Equipped for the Future National Work Readiness Credential Assessment Development and Validation. 

Work-Based Learning Continuum: Can You Locate Your Program?

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We know that, as adults, it is our job to help prepare young people for success in adulthood. This is becoming obvious to educators and those who provide expanded learning programs for youth as we see an increase in opportunities to explore careers and gather work-based skills. 

The Linked Learning Alliance has created a continuum of work-based learning activities. This continuum offers educators and youth program leaders  shared language and activity definitions as a means to locate oneself on this developmental continuum. You can review a paper on this continuum authored by the Linked Learning Alliance here. (The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California’s high schools and preparing students for success in college, career, and life.)

Above: Alex Taghavian
Below: Regie Stites

Alex Taghavian, Vice President of the Linked Learning Alliance, will speak at our upcoming How Kids Learn V conference. The focus of this conference is Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success. Alex will share the work-based learning continuum and researcher, Regie Stites from Center for Education Policy at SRI International, will focus on some of the challenges and opportunities for implementation of work-based learning systems based on his findings from the Linked Learning District Initiative evaluation. He will also highlight some of the evidence he has for positive outcomes from work-based learning.

Below we asked Hilary McLean, Executive Vice President of the Linked Learning Alliance, more about the Linked Learning work-based continuum. 

Q: Can you briefly say how and why this continuum was developed? 

Hilary McLean,
Executive Vice President
Linked Learning
Alliance

A: The Linked Learning Work-Based Learning continuum was developed by leaders in the Linked Learning field who have expertise in education and workforce development. It was designed to be a resource to help build understanding about the range of work-based learning opportunities that a student could and should experience as they move through their Linked Learning experience. With that greater understanding, we hoped that this resource would help schools and employer partners design coherent sequenced opportunities for students to interact with employers, apply what they are learning in the classroom in real-world contexts, and gain professional skills that are needed in college and in the workforce. 

Q: This continuum uses the term “work-based”. People often think about "work-based” learning activities that only happen within a work setting and with older youth and young adults. Can you comment on this perception?  

A: Work-based learning can actually start much earlier, by introducing children in primary grades or even preschool to careers and professionals in a range of occupations.  With Linked Learning, the career awareness phase of the continuum typically starts in the students’ freshman year of high school. Some districts that have embraced Linked Learning as a system-wide school improvement strategy start this phase in middle school. 


Q: Who is the intended audience for this continuum and how do you hope it will be used?  

A: We hope that the Linked Learning Work-Based Learning Continuum is used by Linked Learning educators, workforce development boards, intermediaries such as Chambers of Commerce or other organizations that are serving as a connection point between schools and the employer community, coordinators for mayors’ summer jobs initiatives, and anyone who is interested in economic development and improving the workforce pipeline.

Q: Do you believe that it is useful and relevant for youth programs that happen in the out-of-school hours? 

A: Yes we think that this is a huge area of opportunity that has not yet been fully tapped. 

Q: What benefits do you believe this continuum provides to program

Photo Credit: Techbridge Girls

designers and youth workers?  

A: The Linked Learning Work-Based Learning Continuum can provide guidance on how to sequence opportunities for youth so that they are prepared for each step in the process, and can succeed in both learning in and contributing to real-world professional workplaces. 

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Learnings from a Study of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

SRI International recently published the first part of a 5-year National Science Foundation funded research project, the Afterschool Science Networks study. In this important report, SRI presented case studies of science activities in California afterschool programs and identified the source of limitations of the various programs. Limitations were often related to:

• Lack of time
• Staff capacity
• Instructional materials
• Lack of support through external partnerships

Below, we interviewed SRI’s Ann House (Project Director of this study) to learn more. The results and implications of this study is a subject of several forums hosted by the California AfterSchool Network. Click here to learn more.  

Q: What were you seeking to learn in your study, Case Studies of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs?  

Ann House, SRI International

A: Our case studies were conducted within a larger, 5-year NSF-funded research project, the Afterschool Science Networks study. The project set out to examine the extent and types of opportunities for inquiry science learning in California’s large, publicly funded afterschool system. It explored the science offerings available to young people, and sought to understand the role partnerships and networks play in supporting science offerings. The case studies were an important component, providing an opportunity to observe science programming, and to better understand the contexts of the afterschool sites. We selected case study sites we felt were providing rich, interesting, and frequent science offerings with good support, to help us identify the key factors relating to strong afterschool science. 

Q: What were the primary findings of your study?

A: While the overwhelming majority of sites we studied offered some science programming, the afterschool science learning opportunities were constrained and shaped by limited time, and staff comfort with science. Sites tended to have 45 minutes to an hour for science activities, which after setting up and taking down, ended up sometimes amounting to no more than half an hour or so of actual activity. Another time limitation was that about half offered science once a week or more. The other half offered science less often. 

The fact that staff did not have training in leading science activities meant that science tended to be focused on keeping young people active and interested. This meant, for example, focusing on enjoying the reaction produced when you combine vinegar and baking soda, rather than exploring the underlying science content or providing opportunities to participate in inquiry practices. In the two cases where observed science activities were fairly rich, the facilitators of the activities had participated in professional development focused on how to facilitate science activities – an unusual opportunity. Facilitators at other sites did not have access to such training. 

Q: In terms of the limitations that were the result of staff capacity, do you think that the absence of skills on “inquiry-based activities” were more or less important than a background in science content? Can you say something about what you mean by “inquiry-based activities”?

A: When we talk about “inquiry-based activities” we were primarily guided by the National Research Council’s 2009 report, Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits, and framed inquiry in terms of:

• Working on extended investigations or projects
• Designing or implementing their own investigation
• Allowing for children to choose their own activities
• Providing leadership opportunities for children
• Posing questions or setting up a scientific investigation
• Enabling children to connect science to their real lives
• Making connections to children's interests
• Working in small groups or teams

Facilitating children’s engagement in inquiry takes specific skills and insights that staff can learn. We believe the case study findings show that a science background is less important than having access to professional development focused on how to engage and lead children through inquiry-based activities. Someone with a science background may or may not have such skills. Furthermore, we believe that inquiry practices and mindsets are not specific to science, but can be applied to a range of other subjects and activities and empower youth and facilitators to be more skilled in problem solving, collaborating, and reflecting on the world around them. 

Q: Specifically, what core skills are required in leading effective “inquiry-based activities”?

A: This is beyond the specific scope of our study, but our experience from this and other projects suggest that it’s important for staff in afterschool settings to understand their role as a facilitator of the children’s experiences rather than a teacher who delivers knowledge. We saw some instances of science activities that resembled unruly classrooms, where the children were primarily asked to sit still, listen, and follow directions. This did not allow for the kind of learner-centered approach that is essential both to good inquiry learning and good youth development practice. 

Some of the concrete skills we believe are important are:

• Asking constructive questions; 
• Addressing children’s questions in ways that build on and deepen their engagement; 
• Facilitating children’s group work and collaboration; 
• Supporting children in asking questions about their world and building answers to those questions; and 
• Facilitating discussions that help children synthesize their learning and experiences. 

Q: The LIAS project takes the position that youth workers need to make learning activities active, collaborative, meaningful, support mastery, and expand the horizons of the participants. This means everything from hands-on learning to knowing how to work as a unified group; from drawing on prior knowledge to working on real world issues; and working on activities over time that results in an accumulation of knowledge and skills. How do you think the LIAS principles relate to leading STEM activities?

A: We believe that LIAS principles are very well aligned with inquiry science activities. For example, conducting investigations, collecting data, and designing solutions make learning activities active, meaningful, and support mastery. Engaging in scientific reasoning and argument provides additional skill development, deepens the meaningfulness of activities and often involves collaboration. Finally, while investigating science phenomena and designing solutions in and of themselves broaden youth’s horizons in terms of opening up their understanding of the world and empowering youth to engage with the world, their horizons can also be broadened in terms of learning more about STEM-related careers and how STEM skills and knowledge can help them become more informed citizens. 

It’s important to note that STEM activities need to be facilitated in ways that attend to children’s thinking, interests, and learning process. Asking youth to follow specific instructions without providing the opportunity to learn about or explore their world using scientific practices does not deeply address LIAS or STEM learning principles, even if the activity covers science topics. 

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Ann House, Ph.D., the project director of this study, is a senior research social scientist at the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. Her research and evaluation experience covers both informal and formal education environments using mixed methods of investigation. She holds a Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Texas at Austin.