Important points:
Fifty-nine percent of students say they want more career-related learning opportunities, according to a new report from the New Hampshire Learning Initiative and Gallup.
The report, “Voices of New Hampshire Students: The Role of Career-Related Learning in Building a Brighter Future,” examines the impact of career-related learning on more than 8,500 New Hampshire students in grades 5-12.
Approximately half of students say they learned about a job or career they didn’t know about while attending school. Students who have a mentor who supports their growth are more likely to be engaged in school (36 percent) than other students (16 percent).
59% of students surveyed would like to have more career-related learning opportunities, especially if those opportunities align with their specific job or career interests. Just under half (48%) of high school students and just 25% of middle school students report that their school’s career-related learning services include careers they are interested in.
Career-related learning opportunities include elective classes, units taught in core classes, career fairs, job shadowing opportunities, internships, volunteer work, and more. About one-third (34%) of students say their career-related learning experiences helped them plan for life after high school. Additionally, at least half of students have held an internship or externship (57 percent), completed a registered practicum (54 percent), participated in job shadowing (51 percent), or I have taken advantage of volunteer opportunities. Related positions (51%) say such activities helped them decide on a career path after high school.
Career-related learning opportunities also increase student engagement. Twenty-six percent of students who participated in at least one career-related learning opportunity were engaged in learning, compared to 15 percent of students who did not participate in any career-related activities. Increased participation in career-related activities leads to higher levels of participation. Forty-five percent of students who participated in 10 or more activities were engaged, compared to 22 percent of students who participated in one to four activities.
“The NHLI and Gallup survey was a game-changer for school districts, providing data that highlights how important career-related learning is to student engagement and how they think about their futures. “This announcement came at an inopportune time,” NHLI Executive Director Ellen Hume Howard said in the report.
Laura Ascione is Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
