SUMMARIES OF FOUR REVIEWS OF
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
New Rules, New Roles:
Preparing All Young People for a Changing World
(A Report on Career Exploration and Preparation for Young People)
Prepared by: the Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund (the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds seek to enrich community life through support of education, arts and culture).
This document profiles career preparation and exploration projects for youth that have worked in the United States. It identifies barriers that must be addressed as well as the key elements of successful programs. By examining six programs - a national high school program, a career support network, two community-based initiatives and a Youth Build and a Youth Corps project - a number of general lessons were learned:
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Career Development programs help youth understand their interests and focus on career choices
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Some programs improve student retention and performance, and lead to a higher graduation rate
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These programs can be implemented in a variety of settings, which bodes well for their replication
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Some of the strongest proponents of career development are business leaders
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Although they operate in local situations, the programs are connected through their intermediary organizations to larger trends and priorities
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Career development programs have the power to affect the larger landscape of youth opportunities, especially policymaking (e.g., many programs were featured at briefings for Capitol Hill staff - from which the Senate framed youth policies - and other government or education leaders)
More Specific Lessons Learned:
1) Career development programs and activities fit well with the greater rigor currently being demanded of public education.
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these programs apply what students know to solve complex problems
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they combine rigorous academic work with opportunities for young people to apply what they are learning
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they build skills often not addressed in traditional academic contexts
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these skills are relevant for all students when they enter the workplace
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career development experiences often engage the interest of students connecting with their lives and aspirations
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help young people apply and understand the relevance of their learning to the real world outside the classroom
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programs can be a lever to improve instruction and learning within secondary schools
2) High quality implementation is essential to the success of these programs
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must be intense and sustained to be effective
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must carefully integrate philosophy, staff expertise, external partnerships
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must pay close attention to student development and evaluation
3) Good programs require good leadership
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recruit and prepare staff members who understand the needs of young people and are committed to their career development
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ongoing professional development, including opportunities to learn about youth development, the workplace and post-secondary education and to interact with employers and college educators
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must be able to build the capacity of staff to integrate youth development approaches
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the individuals who lead these programs need to take their cue from the workplace
4) New Roles Required for Youth-Serving Organizations
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institutions have failed to keep pace with the needs of the workforce
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they must assume new roles if they are to make the best use of public money and create better futures for young people
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need to build up the capacities of teachers and other adults, to reflect and evaluate, and to garner policy support
5) Schools, youth-serving organizations, employers, and post-secondary institutions must collaborate with one another and work with government around policy development/change
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partnerships help programs better understand the challenges that will be faced by young people, also help students anticipate what will be expected of them
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linking program work with government reform efforts can improve the quality of program offerings and take better advantage of funding opportunities
6) Local and national intermediary organizations are vital to youth career development
7) Public sector investment in youth career development is essential
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community organizations and private foundations can get the ball rolling, but do not have the resources to generate fundamental, long-term improvement
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effective programs generally do not last without public support
8) Constantly evaluate progress and use the information to make improvements
The Programs:
These six initiatives share several common elements and approaches, but address different target groups of adolescents and different institutions: the first four focus on youth who are in high school; the other two concentrate on youth who have left school with inadequate skills, and participate in employment programs operated by community-based organizations. All developed strategies to help young people gain greater control over their futures.
National High School Program – “High Schools That Work”
Purpose: to upgrade the rigor and improve the quality of instruction in high schools high expectations and demanding course work were core elements
The Career Academy Support Network
Purpose: assists in the development of career academies—small, thematically-focused schools that integrate academic and career curricula, give personal support to students, and create linkages with employers
Communities and Schools for Career Success (CS2)
Purpose: builds connections between schools and communities to provide career-related experiences for young people.
Benchmark Communities Initiative
Purpose: provides engaging project- and work-based learning experiences for students, integrates academic and career-related curricula, and helps school systems assess student progress
National Training Program (NTP) of the National Association of Service and
Conservation Corps (NASCC) - NTP trains staff of local Youth Corps
Purpose: helps young people ages 16-24 who have left school without the skills they need to continue their education or obtain jobs
YouthBuild Affiliated Network - organized by YouthBuild USA
Purpose: provides technical assistance and training in construction trades to 70 local YouthBuild programs that voluntarily pledge to meet high standards of quality
