New Report Reviews the Context, History and Prospects of the School-to-Career Transition Movement
The school-to-career movement has won the first skirmish. The "School-to-Work Opportunities Act" is now law, authorizing $300 million in new federal spending in 1995. And the federal action is being matched by a flurry of program and policy initiatives at the state and local levels. Some view this activity as the most energetic movement yet to alter our nation's approach to youth development.
Despite this new energy, however, it is not yet clear what substantive effect the school-to-career movement will have on the lives of American youth -- particularly those in the "neglected majority" or "forgotten half" not likely to graduate from a four-year college.
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL-TO-CAREER MOVEMENT: A BACKGROUND PAPER FOR POLICYMAKERS AND FOUNDATION OFFICERS, a new report prepared for the Lilly Endowment and published by the American Youth Policy Forum, offers readers a brief and timely review of this burgeoning movement.
Written by Richard Mendel, an independent writer on education, job training, and community development issues, the paper begins by asking, "What's all the fuss about?" What's wrong with the way our nation currently prepares youth for adulthood? What are the educational and economic realities making a school-to-career transition system necessary? What does America have to learn from the career preparation systems of other industrialized nations?
"What's Going On?" the paper asks next. What is the history of work-based learning and career preparation for American youth? What's different about the new school-to-career program models being developed throughout the nation? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How prevalent are they, and what are their prospects for widespread replication?
The report also reviews ethical and philosophical critiques that have been leveled at the school-to-work movement. Is this just a new form of tracking youth -- adding legitimacy to a still-inferior non-academic track for less advantaged students, or is it, rather, a long-overdue mechanism to add relevance to academic learning and provide youth a clear path to dignified and well-paying adult careers? Are school-to-career programs based on solid economic ground, or are they creating a cruel hoax -- a system to prepare young people for good jobs that don't or won't exist? Do they focus too much attention on youth as would-be workers, and not enough on youth as citizens and as people?
Finally, the paper offers foundations and policymakers guidance on how they might expand an improved school-to-work transition system in America.
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