Career Education Overview

Owned by Gina Persichini
Last updated: Jul 11, 2024
4 min read

Career Education is an important part of a student’s experience and may range from explanations about how the content in a course can be applied in the workplace to immersive work experiences. This page provides a general overview of career education and how it relates to experiential learning and high-impact learning practices, particularly to applications at Boise State University.

Table of Contents

What is Career Education?

Career Education is the umbrella term for educational experiences that allow a student to explore, experience, and articulate the connections between what they are learning and the application to the workplace. Career education can take place inside or outside of the classroom. Some career education activities may be examples of experiential learning. In addition, they may be examples of high-impact learning experiences.

Examples of Career Education may include, but are not limited to:

  • Career reflection,

  • Any type of assignment that is intended to help a student explore careers or prepare a student for the job search (PathwayU, a resume assignment, a mock interview),

  • An assignment (or an addendum to an assignment) that specifically calls out career readiness competencies (i.e.- critical thinking, communication, teamwork, global literacy, etc.),

  • Guest speakers related to a career, industry, or company,

  • Employer connections and networking, and

  • Experiential learning activities.

Career Readiness

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) states that career readiness is a “foundation from which to demonstrate requisite core competencies that broadly prepare the college-educated for success in the workplace and lifelong career management.” (NACE, What is Career Readiness?) NACE has identified eight competencies associated with career readiness. Supporting student achievement of those competencies is an important part of Boise State’s Strategic Enrollment and Retention Plan (SERP) and, likewise, the university’s Blueprint for Success University Strategic Plan. Boise State’s University Learning Outcomes are connected to the NACE competencies as seen in the image below. The university recognizes the value of connecting the work accomplished in the classroom to those competencies employers are seeking from graduates.

Image shows two tables with Boise State University Learning Outcomes linked to NACE Competencies. Written and Oral Communication are linked to NACE Competency of Communication. Critical Inquiry is linked to NACE competency of Critical Thinking. Diversity is linked to NACE Competencies of Critical Thinking and Equity and Inclusion. Ethics is linked to NACE competencies of Professionalism and Leadership.
Source: Boise State Career Services

 

Experiential Career Education

Experiential learning is an engaged learning process where students learn by doing and by reflecting on their experiences. David Allen Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory established that learning involves a 4-stage cycle. This Experiential Learning Cycle includes Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation. (Kurt, 2020)

Image showing the cyclical process of moving between Concrete Experience (doing) to Reflective Observation (reflecting) to Abstract Conceptualization (learning from an experience) to Active Experimentation (trying out what was learned).
Image from Dr. Serhat Kurt, 2020, https://educationaltechnology.net/kolbs-experiential-learning-theory-learning-styles/

Some experiential learning examples related to career education may include:

How is Career Education a High Impact Practice?

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) identified eleven practices as high-impact practices. High-impact practices are effective because they require students to “devote considerable time and effort to purposeful tasks,” (Kuh, 2008) and they help students see that what they learn in the classroom works in different settings. Many of these practices have been around for a long time and have been proven to significantly benefit student engagement and academic success; we see many examples at Boise State, particularly in activities that are experiential and address career education. Of the 11 high-impact practices identified by AAC&U, some are directly represented in the examples identified above such as Internships, Service Learning & Community-Based Learning, Undergraduate Research, Writing-Intensive Courses, and others. In their research, Kuh and O’Donnell (2013) have identified 8 conditions that help to determine whether an experience might be “high impact.” Those conditions are:

  • Performance expectations set at appropriately high levels,

  • Significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time,

  • Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters,

  • Experiences with diversity,

  • Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback,

  • Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning,

  • Opportunities to discover the relevance of learning through real-world applications, and

  • Public demonstration of competence.

Related Information

References


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