Title: Career Clusters: Focusing Education on the Future
1Career ClustersFocusing Education on the Future
- National Dissemination Center for Career and
Technical Education - April 2, 2004 Webcast
- The National Association of State Directors
- of Career Technical Education Consortium
- States Career Clusters Initiative
2Career Clusters Presentation Overview
- History and Background of Career Clusters
- Vision for Career Clusters
- Career Cluster Resources and Their Development
- Policy Implications
3History and Background of Career Clusters
4What is a Career Cluster?
- Career Clusters represent a grouping of
occupations and broad industries based on
commonalities. - Instructional Guidance Model
5What is a Career Cluster?
- A seamless educational system that
- Blends rigorous academic/technical preparation
- Provides career planning
- Offers options for students to experience all
aspects of an industry - Facilitates/assists students with transitions
6Career Clusters Model
- Organizes the occupations, within each cluster,
into pathways that group the cluster occupations
based on commonalities
7 8Career Clusters Titles
- Agriculture, Food Natural Resources
- Architecture Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology Communications
- Business, Management Administration
- Education Training
- Finance
- Government Public Administration
- Health Science
9Career Clusters Titles
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing, Sales Service
- Hospitality Tourism
- Science, Technology, Engineering Mathematics
- Transportation, Distribution Logistics
10Career Clusters Development
- US Dept. of Education originally identified the
16 clusters - Refined by broad-based National Advisory
Committees of content experts - Crosswalks/cross-references
11Career Clusters Differences/Complements
- Differences
- Guidance Instruction
- Embraced by all states
- Vertical Horizontal
- Complements
- Crosswalks to other grouping systems
- Flexibility for packaging instruction
- Not a silo system
12Career Clusters Organizational Structure
- National Association of State Directors of Career
Technical Education Consortium partnering with - 16 clusters
- Product/service providers
13Vision for Career Clusters
14- there is a growing interest in high school
reform, and because the Perkins Act is one of the
primary sources of funding for secondary schools,
the federal contribution to CTE deserves scrutiny
to determine how it contributes to improved
academic learning experiences for high school
students. - Rigor and Relevance A New Vision for
Career and Technical Education, Betsy Brand,
April 2003
15- The needs of the workforce have continued to
evolve and require higher levels of academic,
technical, and employability skills therefore,
the federal role in CTE should be reviewed to
ensure that it is meeting the needs of the labor
market. - Rigor and Relevance A New Vision for
Career and Technical Education, Betsy Brand,
April 2003
16Career Clusters Vision
- Career-focused strategy supporting
- Educational reform
- Workforce preparation
- Economic development
17Career Clusters Goals
- High academic attainment (meet state
requirements) - Successful transition to postsecondary education
and training
18Career Clusters Goals
- Preparation for success in careers (academic
skills, technical skills, employability skills) - Promote/support economic development to increase
productivity - Enhance career development outcomes
19Academic Attainment
- When students complete at least four credits in
an academic or career/technical major (Career
Cluster), those students also meet higher
academic achievement goals. - HSTW Findings from the 1996 and 1998
Assessments, P. Frome, 2000.
20Academic Attainment
- During the decade of the 1990s, CTE concentrators
increased their participation in more rigorous
academic coursework, and when compared with
general students, CTE learners are taking more,
higher level math and science. - Research to Practice, J. Stone, 2003
21Academic Attainment
- A large number of entry-level jobs among the 16
Career Clusters have higher reading requirements
than many high school tests required for
graduation. - The Future of Career and Technical
Education,Willard R. Daggett, 2001
22Successful Transition
- Career academy (career-themed, career
cluster-based instruction) students studied were
more likely to go on to postsecondary education
than a national sample of students. - Career Academies, J. Kemple, 2001
23Successful Transition
- 54 of non-tech prep students required
remediation at the community college level and
only 37 of tech prep students required it. - Tech Prep Pathways to Success, D. Krile and
P. Palmer, 2002
24Success in Careers
- Gold-Collar Worker
- a highly skilled multidisciplinarian who
combines the mind of the white-collar worker with
the hands of the blue-collar employee - Cultivating the Gold-Collar Worker, M. A.
Roe, May 2001
25Success in Careers
- Career Clusters are the foundation of the
smaller learning communities and are grouped by
common academic and technical skills sets needed
for postsecondary education and employment in
each category. - School-to-Career Reworking the Model, Barry
Burke, January 2004
26Economic Development
- The single most important resource of any
cluster in todays economy is its human capital.
Access to a labor pool that knows how to apply
its knowledge to the business of the cluster is a
key to success. - A Governors Guide to Cluster-Based Economic
Development, NGA, 2002
27Career Development Outcomes
- Most young people are receiving little to no
career guidance outside the home, and not enough
from their parents. - Decisions Without Direction, Dan Hurley and
Jim Thorpe, 2002
28Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Learners
- Help develop workplace, academic and technical
skills - Build a repertoire of skills
- Enhance career guidance and transitions
- Add relevance to the curriculum
- Provide for re-tooling, changing careers
29Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Educators/Schools
- Offer a broader, more durable preparation for the
world of work - Provide documentation of academic
integration/achievement - Create a seamless educational system
30Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Guidance Counselors
- Provide a focus for education and career planning
to be connected (assessment, exploration, courses
and enrollment sequenced)
31Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Guidance Counselors
- Individualize students education plans
- Help parents/students see a variety of career
options - Help parents/students see horizontal and vertical
options for mobility
32Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Parents
- Understand and visualize career options/pathways
- Use information to assist children with
navigating a career pathway
33Career Clusters Educational Reform
- Parents
- Provide organized structure (enrollment/course
sequence, test interpretation, career planning,
postsecondary planning)
34Career Clusters Workforce Preparation
- Employers/Industry Groups
- Driven by local business/industry and economic
development - Prepare the emerging workforce
- Cross-train/re-tool the workforce
- Build a flexible, Gold Collar workforce
35Career Clusters Workforce Preparation
- Workforce Development Systems
- Provide a common language for communication from
state to state, from agency to agency, from
stakeholder to stakeholder - Provide a well-prepared, qualified workforce for
employers
36Career ClustersEconomic Development
- The cluster as context can be adopted throughout
the educational systemto make the learning more
meaningful and introduce youth early to the
economy. By designing curricula around the
workplace and business of firms in a local
cluster, learnerscan perhaps be more inclined
to follow career paths in the cluster. - A Governors Guide to Cluster-Based Economic
Development, NGA, 2002
37Career Clusters Connections
- School-to-Careers
- HSTW
- Tech Prep
- Career Academies
- Small Learning Communities
38Career Clusters National Value
- National Association of State Directors of Career
Technical Education Consortium - Accountability/data collection
- Central distribution system
- Web site
- Review and validation of knowledge and skills
39Career Clusters State Value
- Broader preparation meets business and industry
needs for qualified workers - Contextual learning increases academic
performance for all students
40Career Clusters Local Value
- Potential enrollment increases with broader
programs that appeal to more students - Enhanced guidance services through the cluster
models identification of many careers and their
pathways - Aligned linkages from postsecondary education to
feeder programs
41Career Cluster Resources and Their Development
42Career Clusters Resources
- www.careerclusters.org
- www.careervoyages.com
- Preferred Product/Technical Assistance Providers
- Career Cluster Resources CD
- Second Annual Career Clusters Institute, June
27-29 - Plans of Study
43Career Clusters Assessments
- Workplace Readiness Assessment
- Assessments across clusters
- Cluster-specific assessments
44Career Clusters Products
45Tips for Using Resources
- Enhance existing programs.
- Use frameworks to strengthen/align programs,
courses, and skill sets. - Use resources for career academies, small
learning communities, schools within schools,
charter schools, home schooling and magnet
schools.
46Validation Process
- Validation by advisory committees
- National web-based validation or
- pilot site validation
- Continuing review by advisory committees, pilot
sites and subject matter experts
47Policy Implications
48National Policy
- NCLB
- Academic Achievement
- Career Guidance Component
- Perkins Reauthorization
- Accountability
- Secondary/Postsecondary Transition
49State Policy
- Organize service delivery around clusters
- Target investments to clusters
- Strengthen networking and build bridges
- Develop human resources for clusters
- A Governors Guide to Cluster-Based Economic
Development, NGA, 2002
50Local Policy
- 1. The curriculum includes the cluster foundation
knowledge and skills. - 2. The curriculum includes pathway knowledge and
skills. - 3. Academic and technical instructors jointly
plan the curriculum. - 4. The specific state academic standards
reinforced in the curriculum are clearly
identified.
51Local Policy
- 5. Communication (reading, writing, and
presenting) activities are pervasive in the
curriculum. - 6. The curriculum reflects multiple careers
associated with the cluster. - 7. The curriculum reflects the economic
development plans of the local/state community. - 8. Instructors provide direct support to students
in developing a career/educational plan. - 9. Data is collected and used for quality control
and improvement.
52CCTI
- Fifteen community/technical college-led site
partnerships in five occupational areas
developing programs of study linking secondary
and postsecondary education - www.league.org/league/projects/ccti/index.html
53CCTI
- Development of academically rigorous programs of
study organized around broad occupational areas
that initially include - Health Science
- Information Technology
- Education and Training
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
- Law, Public Safety and Security
54CCTI and Career Clusters
- Career Clusters are an ideal way of organizing
Career Pathways and can assist schools in
determining Career Pathway curriculum content.
55Future Legislation
56Contact Information
- www.careerclusters.org
- Kimberly Green or Pam Stacey
- 202.737.0303 or 405.743.6850
- careerclusters_at_careerclusters.org