Attaining a stable, family-sustaining, fulfilling career requires individuals to have technical skills, professional competencies, education or certifications, social and emotional aptitudes, and knowledge of and access to pathways to enter jobs of their choice. Middle and high school students have various opportunities to help them learn about potential careers and gain prerequisite knowledge and skills. This “First Look” catalogs the universe of career development opportunities (CDOs) available to District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) secondary students.
A CDO might generate or sustain student understanding and interest in a specific career or career field; provide instruction in academic, technical, and employability skills; build general or specific knowledge about careers and career development; or provide experiences required to enter and succeed in various careers. Examples of CDOs range from structured multicourse programs of study at school-based career academies, elective career and technical education coursework, internships, apprenticeships, and informal or less-structured programming, such as career counseling, job fairs, and career and technical student organizations.
The DC Education Research Collaborative, with researchers from the Urban Institute, Georgetown University, and the D.C. Policy Center and in partnership with DCPS, is conducting a multiyear study to examine CDOs for the more than 20,000 middle and high school students who enroll in DCPS schools. This First Look offers a comprehensive list of CDOs and a typology for organizing them.
CDOs are organized by structure and purpose into four categories:
1. career awareness and exploration
2. formal career and technical education coursework
3. work-based learning
4. postsecondary planning and supports
Within these categories, CDOs are described in terms of their components and goals.
Cataloging these CDOs is the start of a larger body of ongoing work. Subsequent reports will detail program components, intended participants and outcomes, funding sources, management structure, and the ways students access each program. The study will compile available data on the numbers and characteristics of students who participate in each program, as well as any program outcomes, and will explore how opportunities and access to them are distributed throughout the city.
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305N240059 to Urban Institute. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.
