College & Workforce Readiness

Career Education Is ‘for All Kids': How Work-Based Learning Can Engage Students

By Alyson Klein — April 03, 2023 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Work-based learning experiences can be a powerful way to help students envision themselves as professionals and make connections between what they are learning in school and the skills they will need for future jobs.

“My experience has been that it’s a very powerful engagement strategy,” said Jon Cerny, the superintendent of Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools in rural Nebraska during an Education Week K12 Essentials Forum on March 16. His district allows every senior to spend their Fridays either doing an internship or other work-based learning experience or taking online courses.

Some students are coming away with possible job opportunities, he said. “We’ve had students at hospitals where the doctors or nurses are [asking] ‘When are you going to graduate? We want you to come back.’”

The experiences also help students better understand how their coursework will matter in the working world. “I’ve had students in manufacturing who said, ‘Now I understand why I took geometry,’” Cerny said. Once students see those connections, they “work harder in those classes, because now they understand the importance it’s going to have in their real life work.”

Internships can also help students figure out what careers they want to pursue and which ones to shy away from, Beth Benson, the workforce development coordinator for the New Albany and Union County school districts in Mississippi, said during the forum. Her two districts allow more than 70 students to do a 100-hour summer internship in a field that interests them, covering their pay of $8.50 an hour.

“One of our girls went to work at the department of human services. She thought she wanted to be a social worker,” Benson said. “And after just one day, she was like, ‘please, let me do something else.’ And I’m like ‘it does take a special person to be a social worker. And I’m glad you didn’t just spend four years going to college getting that degree and realizing after that you don’t like it.’ That was a win.”

Benson’s advice to districts that want to start their own work-based learning programs: It’s OK to start small. Her program went from 13 participating students to more than 70 in about five years, she said.

Educators should also realize it’s not a problem to pull a student out of an internship if it is not going well, she said. “We don’t want to let the business down because two years from now we might want to place another kid that will be wonderful there.” But she conceded “it might be a hard lesson for that child to get pulled out of their internship.”

Cerny emphasized that it doesn’t make sense to encourage only students who aren’t planning to go to college to get on-the-job training in high school, Cerny said.

After all, he explained, even when employers are hiring for positions that require post-secondary education, they would rather take on workers who have had some hands-on experience in their field, even if it was through a high school internship.

“I think people are starting to come to the realization that vocational or career technical education isn’t just for some kids, it’s for all kids,” Cerny said.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2025 Survey Results: The Outlook for Recruitment and Retention
See exclusive findings from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of K-12 job seekers and district HR professionals on recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction. 
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

College & Workforce Readiness What Parents Say They Want Their Kids to Get Out of High School
A new poll finds that parents strongly support more options for their kids that might reshape the high school experience.
4 min read
High school student using touchpad on a modern class.
E+
College & Workforce Readiness Most States Will See a Steady Decline in High School Graduates. Here Are the Data
The decline is based largely on population trends.
7 min read
Coleton McLemore is silhouetted against the sky during the Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2020 at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School's Tommy Cash Stadium on July 31, 2020 in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
Coleton McLemore is silhouetted against the sky during the Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2020 at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School's Tommy Cash Stadium on July 31, 2020 in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. The country will see a peak in high school graduates in 2025, followed by a steady decline through 2041, affecting most of the nation.
C.B. Schmelter/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A Graduation Rates Might Get Worse Before They Get Better
Schools must make a convincing case for why students should show up, Robert Balfanz says.
5 min read
Learning Recovery Hurdles 092023 1303680911 01
iStock/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness These Students Are the Hardest for Schools to Track After Graduation
State education chiefs are working with the Pentagon to make students' enlistment data more accessible for schools.
5 min read
Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 27, 2022. The new program prepares recruits for the demands of basic training.
Students in the new Army prep course stand at attention after physical training exercises at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 27, 2022. State education leaders are working with the Pentagon to make graduates' enlistment data part of their data systems.
Sean Rayford/AP