Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

David C. Bloomfield

Subject Categories

Education

Keywords

work-based learning, career education, employability, postsecondary pathways, education policy, Mayor Adams

Abstract

As children progress through grades K-12 they are often asked what they would like to be when they grow up, but there are few opportunities for exposure to real world work experiences while they are in school. While many radical scholars have critiqued the primacy of the economic goals of schooling, in this paper I embrace the connection between education and employability to advocate for career education and work-based learning programs to bolster students’ postsecondary plans. Work-based learning does not substitute traditional forms of education and schooling, but when aligned with tenets of learning and career theories, it has the potential to provide students with a more holistic education and to foster lifelong-learning even after they have graduated from high school and transitioned into adult roles. After broadly discussing schooling’s connection to workforce rationales and a theoretical basis for work-based learning, I present a call to action for New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams’ education policy agenda.

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS