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Employability is not just about focusing on building the students' workplace experience but about developing their social and cultural capital through learning. In higher education, the selected pedagogies are central to that development (Pegg, 2012). Thoughtful curricular design which maximises student engagement and adopts pedagogies for career and employability learning can help to prepare students for the reality of the workplace. These pedagogies with social connection at their heart can enhance student wellbeing and their perceived sense of belonging to their course and the wider world. This can thus build more confident, reflective, and collaborative graduates who should ultimately be more employable (Rowe, Jackson and Fleming, 2023). This paper uses a qualitative approach to outline four course-based case study examples of pedagogies that strengthen the behaviours and skills that enhance students' employability. The curricular and pedagogic practices of each are examined, and significant themes from each are then synthesised. Together they demonstrate how thoughtful course design and inclusive, integrated, contextualised pedagogic approaches support the development of students' employability learning and graduate skills (Healy, 2023). The common themes from the case studies focused on self-directed, student-centred, authentic learning which encouraged students to (i) work with industry and communities to build early professional networks, (ii) engage in connected learning where the curriculum and its supporting activities and pedagogy facilitate collaborative learning, and (iii) develop confidence, a sense of belonging and professional identities through using these inclusive, collaborative learning approaches. In addition, six practical pedagogic principles are identified for course teams to utilise. These include (i) focus on inclusive practice, (ii) building students' professional identity, (iii) developing students' belonging, (iv) deep critical thinking, (v) the demystification of the workplace through the activities selected, and (vi) students leading their own learning. This paper integrates a series of reflective questions (mapped to each principle) for educational developers to consider as they design future learning activities which foster graduate skills during career and employability learning.

Several researchers have highlighted the need to strengthen school-based career education in Hungary. After reviewing the international literature on similar programs, this study reports on the impact of an innovative, multi-method career education course. It aimed to support Hungarian high school (ISCED 344) students in grades 10-11 in making decisions on further education and career choices, and in dealing with related uncertainties and difficulties, mainly through developing career management competence. Using a quasi-experimental design, the intervention group of 92 students showed significantly better results on half of the 20 career orientation variables assessed six months after the end of the intervention of 12 three-quarter-hour sessions, with low effect sizes compared to the pre-intervention assessment, and the 96-student control group. In addition to a self-developed questionnaire, the CDDQ Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire; and the CFI Career Factors Inventory were used. The effectiveness of the intervention was independent of factors such as gender, age, academic performance, and parental education. The study concludes with the suggestion that an enhanced version of the course could be an officially recommended supplementary career education program in Hungarian high schools.

The purpose of this study was to test STEM career interventions through a theoretically integrated STEM Career Education (SCE) Module. The effectiveness of SC education was tested on STEM Career (SC) interests, self-efficacy, and knowledge of students from two middle schools. The sample included middle school students from two private schools (N=33) in Islamabad, Pakistan. By using a mixed-method sequential explanatory research design, quantitative data were obtained before and after the intervention while qualitative focus group discussions were conducted post-intervention. A significant increase in SC interest, self-efficacy, and knowledge after participating in the SCs Program is reported, even after statistically controlling key variables. The training seems to be more effective for those with low SC knowledge. Findings indicate a need for robust interventions to target math self-efficacy. Results provide further directions for effective STEM interventions. By pinpointing limitations and future directions, this pilot study contributes to STEM education in Pakistan and provides a model of CE for other countries.

The purpose of the study was to gain further understandings of undergraduate students' perspectives on employability skill development in the liberal arts programs, as well as the perceived influence of the identification of employability skills in course curricula on undergraduate students' self-efficacy. Building on the results of a prior study on faculty perspectives in the liberal arts on employability skills, we also explored the ways students' and faculty members' perspectives were in alignment. Purposive sampling was used to select the undergraduate courses from three different undergraduate programs at the research site. Three relatively high enrolment courses were selected based on two key criteria: must be a second or third level undergraduate course and must be in a non-professional program in the liberal arts. Non-professional programs were considered programs where the students do not graduate with a specific professional designation or applied program. Two methods were used to collect the data for this project: an employability skill inventory and a survey distributed to students (N = 131). Course syllabi were also obtained to map employability skills. The findings of this study provide further insights with respect to the ways that employability matters to students and the ways in which students expect their instructors and institution to play a role in their employability development. Conclusions of this study underscore the need to consider bridging the disconnect between expectations of the students, the institution, and the faculty regarding employability development.

Following community interaction theory and drawing upon the concept of boundary crossing, this paper investigates students' experiences of career learning across contexts when involved in placement activities. Specifically, this work focuses on students' experiences of continuity and discontinuity in relation to tensions naturally embedded in career education. For students to experience coherent career learning in lower secondary schools, career education must help relate career activities to career choice and learning by encouraging systematic reflections during preparation and follow-up. From a continuity/discontinuity perspective, when activities in out-of-school contexts are accompanied by an educational infrastructure, it can limit students' freedom to reflect on their experiences. Analysis results point to the emancipatory potential of collective reflection after the placement activities. Furthermore, the results highlight the unfulfilled potential of discontinuity as a source of career learning when moving across contexts.

Social identities impact the way individuals see themselves and their career options but career theories have been slow to the call in exploring how social identities interface with theoretical assumptions. The purpose of this study was to examine how social identities affect and inform specific dimensions identified by cognitive information processing (CIP) theory as being essential for effective career decision-making, that is, self-knowledge, options knowledge, decision-making process and skills, career beliefs, and overall career decision. Seventy-six students across ten sections of an undergraduate CIP-based career development course answered questions on an anonymous survey related to how their social identities impacted aspects of their career decision-making. Frequencies for social identities were calculated for each CIP dimension, and 11 categories identified for open-ended responses using the consensual qualitative research-modified approach accompanied pre-determined domains based on CIP theory. Across each component, the most common SI was age and generational differences. While students expressed the influence of social identities as occurring in each CIP dimension, statements related to the self-concept category occurred most often and were present in each domain. Our findings support previous work that the presence and impact of SIs on career decision-making components is undeniable, but also not universal. CIP theory provides a structure and avenues for discussing the role of social identities in career decision-making.

Black and Latinx adolescents in urban schools can derive numerous benefits from tailored career and health education. However, many factors may prevent schools and teachers from offering such programing. To address the need for career and health education, we prototyped Caduceus Quest, a theory-based, digital role-playing game designed to provide information on health and biomedical science careers and sexual health (specifically HIV) for Black and Latinx adolescents. Forty high-school-aged adolescents participated in small group sessions to playtest the prototype. Post-intervention, adolescents reported increased interest in health and biomedical science careers, as well as HIV knowledge and PrEP awareness.

The development of each student's awareness serves as the governing principle for high school vocational education programs. This awareness then becomes the driving force behind the progression of the educational process. Career education activities for students are the relationships between the objectives, contents, methods and forms of organization of educational activities that are directly and constantly influenced by the educational environment. Student career education activities are the relationships between these aspects of educational activities as determined by research into the programs, textbooks, systematization and theoretical analysis of these activities. This investigation focuses on the following areas: (1) Developing preschool and high school teachers in the province of Dong Thap to meet the criteria of the new educational program (2) Developing models of applying local educational material for students in the province of Dong Thap. Both of these initiatives are part of the Dong Thap Educational Development Project. Findings: Assess the current state of activities for students in the province of Dong Thap that are related to vocational education between 2018-2021. Develop a model for carrying out activities for students participating in vocational education in the province of Dong Thap to fulfill educational innovation requirements.

Currently, nations grapple with a noticeable shortage of STEM talent, particularly within fields like agroforestry. The study applied the structural equation modelling and the mediation effect model to analyze the mechanisms through which STEM value perception influences STEM career preferences, as well as the roles played by STEM self-efficacy and STEM learning interest among 1,604 undergraduates majoring in agroforestry. The results revealed that students' STEM value perception was found to directly and positively correlate with their STEM career preferences. STEM value perception also has an indirect impact on STEM career preferences by influencing STEM learning interest and STEM self-efficacy. Furthermore, STEM value perception plays a sequential mediation role in promoting STEM learning interest, STEM self-efficacy and STEM career preferences. Based on these findings, it is recommended that institutions bolster STEM career education for students majoring in agroforestry from the outset of their enrollment, enhancing students' professional awareness and identity, by addressing gaps in students' value perceptions of STEM education. Furthermore, efforts to improve students' interest in relevant courses and their confidence in learning these subjects can be beneficial. Ultimately, such initiatives can contribute to a more balanced development of students' STEM career preference.

Students of color, first-generation, and residents of communities experiencing disinvestment--who aspire to obtain meaningful postsecondary degrees, career success, financial security, and social mobility--face tremendous challenges in navigating science, technology, engineering, math, and health science (STEM-H) education and career sectors. The Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH) utilizes a place-based workforce intermediary model that joins an academic medical center with academic institutions, community-based organizations, and employers to increase and broaden STEM-H participation. REACH provides innovative, hands-on learning for underrepresented youth cradle-to-career to increase postsecondary achievement and diversity in STEM-H professions through: (1) early and sustained access to high quality STEM-H education experiences, (2) paid work-based learning paired with professional development, (3) the ability to earn recognized industry credentials, (4) mentorship to facilitate participant engagement and promote program completion, and (5) OutREACH community engagement that provides information, resources and wraparound supports for students, their families, and the community. Preliminary findings suggest that this model inspires and prepares young people for success. REACH offers institutions an equity-centered community-engaged framework for cultivating education and workforce partnerships to foster opportunities, support, and the relationships necessary to thrive in STEM-H for those who have historically been denied.

In theory, misalignment of education and career aspirations in high school is a crucial determinant of post-school education and career mismatch. However, existing scholarship investigates the social influence and rational choice determinants of misalignment and mismatch separately. This study examines how misalignment at 15 years of age correlates with career mismatch in young adulthood (25 years). Using data from Y09 cohort in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), it analyses the education and career aspirations of 7,871 15-year-olds and the education and career outcomes of 2,697 of the same cohort after ten years. Consistent with both social class influences and rational choice factors, the results show that young people who were female, misaligned at school, in vocational pathways, were in relatively poor health and wealth when growing up and had a father with lower levels of education were more likely to be mismatched. Notably, misalignment of career and educational aspirations at age 15 was the strongest indicator of employment outcomes in early adulthood at age 25. The findings urge a rethinking of national and state investment in careers education, especially in addressing disadvantages faced by equity groups and within occupations served by vocational education.

Pedagogical partnerships are rarely used to explore how students develop agency through Work Integrated Learning (WIL). This study contributes to this gap by exploring how pedagogical partnerships between students, industry experts and subject leaders in a postgraduate online WIL capstone assisted students to gain clarity about their professional identities as careers practitioners. To further scholarly understanding and appreciation for pedagogical partnerships in WIL, we use narrative methods to provide insight into how careers counselling students learned the process of narrative counselling. We emphasise students' learning as a re-storying of their professional identities as careers practitioners. We discuss the significant role pedagogical partnerships played in the development of co-constructed narratives that enabled student participants in this study to re-story their professional identities as careers practitioners. The paper concludes with observations about the implications of our findings, including resources needed for the pedagogical design.

The authors use data on high school students and teachers from Washington state to connect the observable characteristics and preparation of career and technical education (CTE) teachers to various non-test outcomes (absences, disciplinary incidents, grades, grade progression, and on-time graduation) of students with and without disabilities in their classrooms. The authors find that students participating in CTE tend to have better non-test outcomes when they are assigned to a CTE teacher from the state's Business and Industry (B&I) pathway--designed for CTE teachers with 3 years of industry experience but no formal teacher preparation--relative to being assigned to a traditionally prepared CTE teacher. These relationships do not significantly differ for students with and without disabilities, despite survey data suggesting that CTE teachers from the B&I pathway receive little formal training in special education. These results suggest that content knowledge and experience may matter more than traditional preparation for CTE teacher effectiveness.

Leveraging the state's dual enrollment program, Georgia policymakers introduced a novel postsecondary pathway called "Option B" that allows students to bypass many traditional high school graduation requirements by completing sub-baccalaureate credentials for career and technical education instead. Given the distinctiveness of this policy, high school counselors play an important role in its implementation as "street-level bureaucrats." Drawing on sensemaking theory, this qualitative study examines how counselors consider the feasibility of the new pathway and for whom it serves best. Results suggest that there is disagreement between policymakers and street-level bureaucrats regarding the appropriate extent of postsecondary expansion for high school students.