What strategies are states using to promote career advising and development? Are counselors using effective career advising strategies? Advance CTE and the American School Counselor Association have investigated these and other questions in the recently published The State of Career Technical Education: Career Advising and Development, including these research findings:
- 58 percent of states believe they are only somewhat effectively serving K-12 students with career advising and development systems, and 55 percent believe they are somewhat effective or not effective at serving postsecondary CTE students.
- States, on average, engage in a multitude of strategies at the K–12 level for career advising and development. The most common strategies relate to funding professional development, experiential learning, career advising positions and career planning tools; providing professional development; and developing curriculum.
- Only 27 percent of middle school counselors connect students with CTE coursework or career pathways, although 87 percent of the school counselors who do use this strategy see it as effective or extremely effective.
- 60 percent of high school counselors connect students with CTE coursework and career pathways, and 91 percent of the school counselors who use this strategy find it effective or extremely effective.
The report recommends providing more effective professional development and resources to school counselors and evaluating the effectiveness of that professional development; ensuring that career advising and development is a coordinated school- and community-wide effort; engaging in partnerships among institutions and across education systems; and examining and improving current strategies as part of a system-wide approach.
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