06/01/2024

Expanding Career Opportunities for High School Students, One Step at a Time

By Stace Puerta and Drews Mitchell

Experiences help to pave the pathway to success. This is particularly true for students when they consider the world of opportunities before them upon graduating from high school. Influenced by Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, et al., 1999), the approach taken by the Loveland City School District in Ohio is focused on developmental themes that are woven into the K-12 experience. The themes of growing self-efficacy, interest exploration, goal setting and skill development are foundational to each career education activity that is offered. An experiential learning program that is built upon these themes will breathe life into the information that is gleaned over many years and will offer a real-world opportunity that allows students to take a more confident step in the school-to-work transition.

Internships (also known as “externships”, extended career shadows, pre-apprenticeships, co-ops, etc.) bring energy and meaning to the planning process for high school students, especially around skill development. (Brown & Lent, 1996) While the impact of these opportunities can have a significantly positive impact on student outcomes, the development of such a program takes planning, time, and commitment. Listening to those who are impacted by the career education program is critical.

The perspectives of four primary groups of stakeholders (students, parents/guardians, businesses and the school district) involved in career planning are important. Gaining their perspectives is particularly helpful when weighing the challenges that will be faced. The unique voices of each group can open doors to understanding desired outcomes as well as the obstacles that need to be overcome. Building an internship program with their input can be accomplished, but will require patience and the understanding that these programs are developed slowly, one step at a time.   

Getting Started

The first of these steps is to engage with the four primary stakeholders for reflection. Seeking to understand the needs of each group will help foster trust and allow for more effective processes for the students. The ways that this engagement takes place can vary depending on the needs of the stakeholders. A business advisory council, parent input group, or faculty cohort can be effective in growing an understanding of the stakeholder’s desires. The use of well-timed surveys can also have an impact on decision making. Gathering relevant data is central to the design process. 

Issues for consideration by the stakeholders may include the following:

Engaging with the Students

Creating meaningful activities for students is the next step. These are designed in a manner that is sensitive to the prior input from the stakeholders. Three tiers of activities can be considered: 

These activities are developed based upon the input from each of the stakeholders. They are also a catalyst for student engagement. The large group tier focuses on general information, awareness and idea development. The small group tier takes ideas that were developed in large group activities and gives the students the opportunity to begin personalizing the information. One-on-one counseling then cultivates meaningful planning for the student. Short term experiential learning activities, such as a job shadow or career-oriented seminar can then culminate in the pursuit of an internship.

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Going Deeper through Experiential Learning

Internship providers play a key role in creating resources and environmental supports that lead to growth and skill development (Bandura, 2019). As noted earlier, the types of internships that are developed for students will be based upon the needs of the students, parents, and organizational partners. The information provided by business advisory council members will not only support the development of these opportunities, but they may also provide some of the first internship experiences for a high school. In addition to an advisory council, here are some potential groups to consider when seeking to start student experiences:

It is important to continue to have multiple stakeholders involved in the final decision-making process. Steps towards security, liability coverage, proper high school credit (if offered) and coordination of data reporting for the state must be taken into consideration as well. Students also can create their own internship experiences, using the processes that are developed directly by the school. 

Developing a Program of Impact

The final steps are often the most rewarding. This includes taking the time to honor those organizations that offer students an internship, which in turn helps to create energy for future engagement. Also, honoring the students who participate fosters a sense of purpose. Celebrating the success of both groups also creates awareness of the impact of experiential learning throughout the community. The efforts then yield positive results which help to build future opportunities. 

Developing a program of impact starts with considering current program strengths. Three questions can be asked by administrators, counselors and teachers in order to move forward with internship development:

The answers to these questions serve as the starting point for the steps ahead. The effort it takes is worth it as the stakeholders all celebrate the impact that internships have for students' career plans. Keeping the themes of growing self-efficacy, interest exploration, goal setting and skill development at the forefront of the planning will give a strong foundation to build off of. These themes, combined with the meaningful engagement of the stakeholders can lead to success with transition from school to work. It is all accomplished one step at a time.

 

References

Bandura, A. (2019). Applying theory for human betterment. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14, 12-15.                                                                                     

Brown, S. D. & Lent, R. W. (1996). A social cognitive framework for career choice counseling. The Career Development Quarterly, 44, 354-356.

Lent, R. W., Hackett, G., & Brown, S. D. (1999). A social cognitive view of school to work transition. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 297-311.

 

Stace OrsoDr. Stace Puerta received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Arizona State University. She earned her Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Cincinnati as well, in Urban Educational Leadership. Her interests are in urban education and advocating for the underserved and marginalized population of students. Stace was a high school science teacher for five years before becoming an administrator. She joined Loveland City School District in 2022 as Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning and is responsible for curriculum, instruction, assessment, and the development of student programs throughout the district. Stace recently presented at the 2023 NCDA Global conference about experiential learning and will present again 2024. Email: puertast@lovelandschools.org Website: https://www.lovelandschools.org/Page/116 

 

Drews MitchellDrews Mitchell earned a Master of Arts in School Counseling from Xavier University and has been serving as a counselor since 2007. He joined the Loveland City School District in 2012 and serves as the district’s College and Career Readiness Counselor. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of career related awareness, exploration and planning systems, group practice as well as counseling for both students and clients as well as their families. Mitchell, a National Career Development Association Certified Career Counselor, enjoys the process of supporting others in finding success using Career Construction Counseling as well as Social Cognitive Career Theory. Drews recently presented at the 2023 NCDA Global conference about experiential learning and will present again 2024. Email: mitchedr@lovelandschools.org Website: https://www.lovelandschools.org/domain/313 

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5 Comments

Libby Berke   on Tuesday 09/10/2024 at 10:51 AM

Great article, Dr. Puerta and Mr. Mitchell! I currently teach in a high school that offers internship opportunities for students in our CTE programs. While I was aware of some of the processes you mentioned that are involved in providing these opportunities, I do not teach any CTE courses. I had not thought about the importance of being sure to cover the steps mentioned surrounding topics like security, liability coverage, how it affects credit and what data needs to be reported to the state. It has piqued my interest and now I plan to talk to our CTE Coordinator to learn more about how she approaches those topics. Thank you for your information and guidance about how to effectively implement experiential learning programs within our schools!

Brian Rodrigues    on Tuesday 09/10/2024 at 12:17 PM

This was an excellent article that gave an in depth of how important it is for high school students to get involved with an internship. I like how the authors mention that working at an internship gives students an opportunity to "open doors" since students can learn about different career paths that he/she plans to pursue someday. I also like how the authors mention about the different engagement levels that they focused on. They started off on a large scale and then narrowed it down to an individualized level and then talked about how each level can have an impact on the students as well as different stakeholders. Thank you Dr. Puerta and Mr. Mitchell for the wonderful article and how important it is for high school students to participate in internships

Russ Flanagan   on Tuesday 09/10/2024 at 05:11 PM

With social cognitive theory at the root of this informative article, Dr. Puerta and Mr. Mitchell aptly substantiate a competent and comprehensive protocol for student success. I was especially impressed by the framework of the internship platform which includes in it's design the participation of the four primary stakeholders. This approach, as mentioned in the article, not only benefits the student, but the community as well. An article to be shared with all educators.

Grace Shirley   on Sunday 09/15/2024 at 10:40 AM

This was such uplifting article to read, Dr. Puerta and Mr. Mitchell.
As someone who has shifted career paths numerous times and has had to endure the feelings of stress that often accompanies these transitions, this articles gives me hope for the upcoming generation of students who will be given the opportunity to participate in career exploration at an earlier age and with a system that is far more logical, organized and planned out in comparison to when I was a student in the k-12 years. Something that especially resonated with me in your article was the collaboration of the four primary stakeholders including "students, parents/guardians, businesses, and the school district". I believe that expressing the importance of strong communication between each party is important as often times students make feel intimidated the reach out to businesses or companies they feel interested to explore. Establishing this type of team is something that I feel would be so beneficial to ensure students do not feel alone when attempting to explore avenues that interest them, alternatively I believe this will encourage student to participate in more research and inquire about career paths that interest them at a far earlier age.

Emma Derry   42 minutes ago

Hi Dr. Puerta and Mr. Mitchell, I really enjoyed your article, "Expanding Career Opportunities for High School Students, One Step at a Time." Your approach using Social Cognitive Career Theory, with its focus on building self-efficacy and career skills, makes so much sense. I really enjoyed how you emphasize collaboration with students, parents, and businesses to shape career education programs. Also the tiered activities, large group sessions to one-on-one counseling, seem like a great idea and really personalizes the process for students. The focus on internships as real-world learning opportunities is great and I plan to apply some of these ideas in my future work as a School Counselor and in my internship this year. Thanks for sharing this approach.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the comments shown above are those of the individual comment authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of this organization.