Understanding career goals and career support programming needs of Upcoming Youth: A focus group study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Career and Pathway Exploration in Career and Technical Education and Workplace Learning

Abstract

With a wide variety of career support programming available and no clear hierarchy of value or effectiveness between methods, youth-serving organizations need to understand what their audience (their youth) are seeking to help them reach their career goals. This qualitative study utilized focus groups with 24 youth participants enrolled with COMMUNITY PARTNER (CP), a career and education-focused community organization, to explore the resources youth are seeking to reach those goals. Findings from the study show that youth are predominantly seeking one-on-one assistance and personalized feedback on their career and education exploration, decision-making, and, especially, written materials. Findings can be used by youth-serving community organizations to fine-tune their programming to the needs of their youth.

Authors

• Catherine Arley, foundry10

• Zulma Guasch-Pereira, foundry10