Illuminating Self-Discovery for Middle School Students with Career Technical Education

As classrooms evolve, teachers adapt practices and priorities, and the body of research on what students need to learn grows, we adapt our curriculum and learning tools in response. In this ongoing series, we'll take you behind the scenes with the experts that create our programs to review updates to existing programs, new technology integrations, or brand-new programs.

Today, we spoke with Pat Keeney, Director of Career Technical Education (CTE), and Becca Gourgues, CTE Solution Developer about Career Explorations, our new career technical education program designed for middle school students.

A Look at the Program: Designed for middle school and young high school students, Career Explorations blends occupation and industry content with case studies and real-world, application-based questions and activities to engage students from the first page. Students will immerse themselves in each of the sixteen career clusters, one chapter at a time, exploring hundreds of jobs, salaries, required education, and the steps necessary to build an occupation in that career field. Essential questions, case studies, industry-specific practice questions, and activities guide students to connect with their future. The content and support tools assist both inexperienced and seasoned teachers to bring career exploration to life in their classroom.

Let’s start with some quick background on the Career and Technical Education (CTE) space. Who takes CTE courses in U.S. schools? What are most educators hoping that students take from these courses?

Becca: CTE courses can be taken by all students! In the past, people thought CTE courses were a path for students not planning on going to college, but now they attract a broader group of students.

Teachers of CTE courses have an important task – they must prepare their students to be successful in an ever-changing world by exposing them to a combination of academic knowledge and practical skills. CTE courses typically provide hands-on learning experiences, skills training, and opportunities for students to explore career paths. The goal is to prepare students for both immediate employment opportunities and post-secondary education, while also fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills. Ultimately, educators aim to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the workforce and beyond. 

Pat: A generation or two ago, CTE courses, referred to as “Vocational” or “Vo Tech” were for students who were not on the “college track”. Today, according to NCES, 90% of students take at least one CTE course while in high school, and one in four are “concentrators” meaning they are taking two or more courses in a specific field.

It's also important to understand that there used to be a false dichotomy that a student had to be in the career OR college track. Let’s face it, most students go to college to enhance their career options! So, today, education is about career AND college, not career OR college.

CTE is often associated with high school. Why are some schools looking for a middle school program?

Becca: Offering CTE courses in middle school allows students to explore various career pathways and industries at an earlier age. It provides them with the opportunity to gain exposure to different fields, discover their interests, and make more informed decisions about their high school course selections and potential career paths post-graduation.

Middle school CTE programs can help students develop essential skills and knowledge that are foundational for their future success. By engaging in hands-on learning experiences, students can begin developing technical skills, critical thinking abilities, teamwork, and problem-solving skills at an earlier stage, which better prepares them for further CTE courses in high school or postsecondary education.

Pat: There continues to be a shifting emphasis in the U.S. from a diploma-based hiring framework to a skills-based framework based more on certifications and other credentials. A growing number of school districts and states use metrics like “number of credentials earned” as a success indicator. In Texas, some students are working toward credentials like the Adobe ACA credential as early as seventh grade!

What do teachers need to effectively deliver middle school CTE instruction? How does Career Explorations provide that support?

Pat: Let’s imagine a common scenario. Two weeks before the beginning of the school year, a middle school math teacher is called into the office of the principal. The principal lavishes praise on the teacher, and then pitches: “…I noticed you have one extra free period in your schedule, and I did not want to give you cafeteria duty. That would be a waste of your talent! Instead, you would be great in this Career Explorations block we began last year! I’d like you to teach this class of thirty-five graders – we have a book and some online resources…”

While that is mostly for comic relief, it does happen in schools across the country. More to the point, most middle school teachers are not certified in CTE-specific areas. All in all, we want teachers to feel supported with these materials they can use flexibly and easily. Most of these teachers need trusted content for an “inch deep” study of the careers that are out there. They need to be able to talk about trends in these job markets. They need the type of content we provide, here at McGraw Hill, all the time.

Career Clusters. Our Career Explorations book is divided into chapters based on the national career cluster framework. Each chapter dives deeply into a cluster like STEM, Agriculture, or Transportation and Logistics. 

Up-to-Date Data. Data on which occupations are growing quickly helps the teacher talk about the world of tomorrow! We provide a deeper study of one profession in each cluster as a case study. We also include up to date content regarding trends in each cluster. In a rapidly changing world, we help the teacher stay abreast of changes of which they could not possibly be aware!

Fundamental Soft Skills. We provide support for the development of fundamental, transferable soft skills needed for most jobs like being able to read for information, read charts, and perform basic math. We offer over sixteen hundred prompts that a teacher may use as they wish. 

Project-Based Learning. One of the best ways to address these skills is through projects, and each chapter has a project-based learning (PBL) exercise the teacher may use as they wish. They are scaled so the teacher can use these as one-day experiences for the best and brightest or a high-quality PBL exercise spanning weeks!

How do you envision Career Explorations will ultimately impact an individual student’s personal learning pathway?

Pat: Students today are frustrated with the lack of learning that is applicable to their future. With the value of a college degree diminishing, the old axiom of “get your degree and everything will take care of itself” is dated. Students see older siblings and friends struggle with college debt and an ever-changing job market. They sense the “problem” and see school as a waste of time.  Since COVID restrictions were lifted, there has been an epidemic of students not participating in school, not engaged, suffering from mental health issues, and exhibiting lower achievement. These data are more pronounced among low income, generally underserved populations.

Imagine turning this trend around, one student at a time. What does it take to re-engage a student? Research shows the student must be invested – to have “skin in the game”. They have to go from not seeing a path to their future to seeing the infinite world of opportunity for them. It is like the beginning of a video game where you choose your avatar – gender, shape, clothing – and try it on! This is developing an identity – a self-image of a positive set of future options. We all know that the students of today will be our leaders of tomorrow.

Everything I have said so far also relates to teachers, who are leaving the profession at a growing rate. We are not giving them a chance to do a job that is more complex than ever! Providing the teacher with a way to literally change lives is the ultimate in agency – we are giving them the opportunity to do what they entered the profession to do.

For more on Career Explorations, see:
https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/career-explorations-2024/MKTSP-GHV08M0.html?page=1&sortby=title&order=asc&bu=seg