Paris and Mason (1995) describe career academies:
In career academies, each student takes a core of academic courses, and receives workplace exposure and career counseling, all of which integrate occupational and academic material based on an occupational theme. Students develop individual occupational and career goals, but do not earn formal, occupational skill credentials. Local employers help design school curriculum, donate equipment, and provide mentoring, and summer internships.
These programs have been applauded for their success in dropout prevention and college preparation for at-risk youth. Bailey and Merritt (1993) found, however, that career academy classroom and worksite integration and coordination needs development. Specifically they note that much of the applied academics and work-related learning is simulated and is classroom-based. Workplace experience and orientation is only a supplement in these programs, and so lessens the extent of job placement and career building opportunities for participating students. They also note that student segregation and a negative academic stigma is problematic for some career academies that target at-risk students and offer separate vocational and academic courses. Some newer academies have sought to remedy this problem by broadening their programs to include college preparation and extending the programs to high and average achieving students. Others have attempted to target a more diverse set of students by increasing admission standards and attendance requirements and thus increasing the quality and success of the program. However, most career academies still predominantly serve those students less able to achieve in more traditional high school programs." (p. 46-47)
A helpful resource for additional information is Career Academies: Partnerships for Reconstructing American High Schools by David Stern, Marilyn Raby, and Charles Dayton (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992). The authors discuss the rationale, design, and functioning behind career academies: a school-within-a-school that focuses on career preparation. The text describes career academies in California, Philadelphia, and New York, and provides policy makers, administrators, and teachers with in-depth information on implementing, problem-solving and evaluating programs. More specifically of interest to those considering work-based learning options, the text presents examples of career academies that incorporate work experience options and linkages to youth apprenticeships. (See especially pages 112-117, which describe work experience.) Also included is a chapter on "Forging Partnerships Between Schools and Employers." The Appendix includes a copy of Senate Bill 605, which created career academies in 1987. The book concludes with a comprehensive reference section for those interested in pursuing more information on career academies or partnership academies.
References