Massachusetts Connecting Activities

 


Research Foundations for Connecting Activities Work

Early exposure to positive career development education experiences can  increase labor force attachment for female adolescents (Alon, Donahoe, & Tienda, 2001) and students with disabilities (Lindstrom & Benz, 2002).
Early exposure to positive career development education experiences can  increase labor force attachment for female adolescents (Alon, Donahoe, & Tienda, 2001) and students with disabilities (Lindstrom & Benz, 2002).
The Connecting Activities initiative has always been a strongly data-driven initiative, with systems for data collection, goal setting and reporting.   

Our model is based on the concept that early career development experiences, including opportunities for work-based learning, provide youth with a strong foundation for next steps after high school and for long-term success.  Our model is based on the concept that these experiences are important for ALL students, and that there are important areas of knowledge, skills and experience that are important for all students, across all backgrounds and across all future educational and career paths.  

In more than two decades of work, the Connecting Activities initiative has gathered evidence of the effectiveness of this approach: 

SKILL GAIN STUDIES that analyze data from Work-Based Learning Plans, documenting not only that students gain skills during their work-based learning experiences, but that the amount of skill gain is correlated with indicators of the quality and intensity of the work experience.  

ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAMS that documented that academic support programs that blended classroom instruction with work-based learning resulted in greater gains in test scores than classroom instruction alone. 

ANALYSIS OF GRADUATION RATE DATA that documented a correlation between graduation rates and plans of high school graduates.  Schools in which most or all high school graduates had specific plans upon graduation have higher graduation rates, a statistically significant difference after controlling for the demographics of the school.

In addition to these data analyses, we also are proud of two decades of program data, with statistics about numbers of students served, numbers and types of participating employers and profiles of work experiences, Work-Based Learning Plan skills and career development experiences.   

The work is also based on research foundations from a variety of sources, including studies of youth development; youth labor force attachment, employment and unemployment; gender equity; and other topics.   

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Examples: 

LABOR FORCE ATTACHMENT: Early exposure to positive career development education experiences can  increase labor force attachment for female adolescents (Alon, Donahoe, & Tienda, 2001) and students with disabilities (Lindstrom & Benz, 2002).