Leveraging Learner Voice in CTE: Empowering Learners, Enhancing CTE: A recent publication from Advance CTE highlights how five states – Colorado, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wisconsin – engage learners to foster successful education and career pathway programs.
For instance, Colorado has embedded their perspectives onto local advisory committees and engaged with recent CTE graduates to
promote program development as part of expanding equitable college and career pathways and sustainable work-based learning partnerships. Other states employ similar tactics when relying on learner voice: Delaware has organized a task force of 16 learners to provide input on CTE programs, New Hampshire has incorporated learners into state CTE Advisory Board meetings, and Oregon established the CTE Student Advisory Council, which serves to provide input into CTE decision-making.
This work builds off of a toolkit that ACTE and Advance CTE developed for state and local CTE leaders with actionable resources, guidance and tools to ensure CTE learner voices are elevated and heard for the improvement of CTE policies and practices.
School Pulse Panel: Summer and Afterschool Programs: A recent update to the NCES School Pulse Panel provides data about summer and afterschool program for public schools across the nation. As of September 2024, 80% of public schools offer academically focused summer programs, but only 4% of public schools offer a work-based learning summer program and only 3% of public schools offer a summer internship program.
Is College Worth It?: The Pell Institute published a report examining the perceived value of higher education among minority students, particularly in a time where education debt and other financial burdens are at an all-time high for students and graduates.
Researchers found that while the financial strain of higher education significantly impacts students, students still believe that attaining a college degree, including associate and bachelor’s degrees, will be worthwhile. Particularly, the majority of students note that they are pursuing a degree to secure a good-paying job (66% strongly agreed, 26% agreed) and to learn skills that will help them succeed in their careers (60% strongly agreed, 33% agreed). Other factors in the perceived importance of attending college include the following:
- Marginalized students strive for college education as part of acknowledging the sacrifices made by their families (especially for immigrant families).
- Students want to build upon their social capital by networking in college settings with faculty, researchers, employers and other notable individuals in order to accelerate their careers.
- Students view their college education as making a broader societal impact, wanting to use their degrees to advance change and equity in society.
Making Every Rung of the Credential Ladder Count: Understanding How Community College Certificates Can Meet Learner Expectations for Economic Mobility: Education Equity Solutions released a report regarding community college certificates. Research on these certificates suggests wide variation in their effectiveness at propelling students into economic prosperity, especially when examining data by race, income, ethnicity, disability status and other markers. The authors found the following issues to be addressed by community college leaders and policymakers:
- There is significant misalignment between student and college goals in certificate programs. Community college educators often view their credential programs as a “first step” in a longer pathway incorporating stackable credentials, but students expect these programs to lead them to a secure career immediately after completion.
- Even if a student’s first certificate is stackable, they often are unable to return to college as their jobs do not pay them enough and they have long working hours. Many students also do not believe that earning another credential would help them.
- Graduates appreciate when credential programs are designed to target specific, high-quality jobs.
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