Pathways and Programs of Study Resources
This page houses resources that supported the implementation and improvement of pathways and programs of study, in addition to sharing the working documents used by the Illinois Programs of Study Planning Team.
Career Pathways
Career Pathway Implementation
- National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium. (2008). Implementing programs of study: What, why and how? (with accompanying toolkit). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
- League for Innovation in the Community College. (2007). Career pathways as a systemic framework. Phoenix, AZ: Author.
- Green, K., Headrick, N., Kindell, R., & Stacy, C. (2006). Career pathways: Critical components of implementation. Louisville, KY: NCCTE.
- Jenkins, D. & Spence, C. (2006). The career pathways how-to guide. New York, NY: Workforce Strategy Center.
- A publication of the Southern Good Faith Fund Public Policy Program, (2006). The Southeast Arkansas College Career Pathways Program. This brief describes the Career Pathways program collaborative initiative between college, funds, two-year colleges, adult education, Arkansas Department of Higher Education, and the Transitional Employment Assistance Board.
- Women Employed with Chigao Jobs Council and UIC Great Cities Institute. (2005).Bridges to careers for low-skilled adults: A program development guide. Chicago, IL: Author.
- Hull, D. (2004). Career Pathways: The Next Generation of Tech Prep. Hull supports the career pathway model and challenges Tech Prep to participate in a Career Pathways Strategic Improvement Coalition.
Research Studies and Reports
- Karp, M.M., Calcagno, J.C., Hughes, K.L., Jeong, D.W. & Bailey, T.R. (2008) The postsecondary achievement of participants in dual enrollment: An analysis of student outcomes in two states. New York, NY: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.
- Kemple, J.J. & Willner, C.J. (2008).Career academies: Long-term impacts on labor market outcomes, educational attainment, and transitions to adulthood;New York, NY: MDRC.
- Meeder, H. (2008).The perkins act of 2006: Connecting career and technical education with the college and career readiness agenda(Achieve Policy Brief). Washington, DC: Achieve.
- Bragg, D. D. (2007). Teacher pipelines: Career pathways extending from high school to community college to university. Community College Review, 35(1), 10-29.
- Bragg, D.D., Bremer, C.D., Castellano, M., Kirby, C., Mavis, A., Schaad, D., & Sunderman, J. (2007). A cross-case analysis of career pathyway programs that link low-skilled adults to family-sustaining wage careers. Minneapolis, MN: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Minnesota.
- Ewell, P.T., Jones, D.P., & Kelly, P.J. (2007). Conceptualizing and researching the educational pipeline. Boulder, CO: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
- Lekes, N., Bragg, D.D., Leob, J.W., Oleksiw, C., Marszalek, J., Brooks-LaRaviere, M., et al. (2007). Career and technical education pathway programs, academic performance, and the transition to college and career. Minneapolis, MN: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Minnesota.
- Hughes, K. L. & Karp, M.M. (2006). Strengthening transitions by encouraging career pathways: A look at state policies and practices. New York, NY: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.
- Warford, L. J. (Ed.) (2006). Pathways to student success: Case studies from the college and career transitions initiative. Phoenix, AZ: League for Innovation in the Community College.
- Marszalek, J., Zhu, R., Leob, J., Bragg, D.D., & Brooks-LaRaviere, M. (2004). Career and technical education transition programs: Effects of dual credit participation on postsecondary readiness, retention, graduation, and time to degree. Urbana, IL: OCCRL.
- Arkansas: Health pathway
- Arkansas: Local transition plan for health pathway
- Arkansas: Career and labor market tool designed around the pathways
- Arkansas: Department of Higher Education Perkins Website
- Florida: Florida Shines
- Georgia Department of Education: Reengineering CTAE for the 21st Century.
- Maryland: Career clusters guidebook.
- Maryland: The alternative senior project
- Maryland: Assessment website
- Maryland: State’s take on the clusters
- Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Career Education: What’s the plan? Helping students explore their futures.
- Montana Office of Public Instruction: Career and Technical Education
- Montana: Pathway model
- New York: Implementation and state department of education
- North Carolina: Building career pathways
- South Carolina: CTE Career Clusters information
- South Carolina: Resources for implementing
- Texas: How to ensure student success by creating a strong local career pathways system
- Texas: Achieve Texas
- Virginia: Career Readiness Certificate
Career Clusters
Career Clusters
- Career Cluster Critical Components & Benchmarks for STATE/SYSTEM Implementation
- Career Cluster Critical Components & Benchmarks for LOCAL/SCHOOL Implementation
- Ruffing, K. The history of career clusters. The States’ Career Clusters Initiative
- National Consortium on Health Science and Technology Education This webpage describes the health science career cluster critical components. More information can be found at the Consortium site.
- The Career Cluster website contains research, resources, and implementation information related to career clusters. Additionally, this site contains a brief paragraph or two on implementation of programs of study in each state.
- Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
- Architecture and Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications
- Business Management and Administration
- Education and Training
- Finance
- Government and Public Administration
- Health Science
- Hospitality and Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
- Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Secondary Pathways and Programs of Study
- Brooks, C. (2007). Perkins IV secondary indicators. From Scott Parke’s presentation at the Forum For Excellence on September 18-19, 2007 in Springfield, IL
- Grubb & Oakes (2007) ‘Restoring Value’ to the High School Diploma: The Rhetoric and Practice of Higher Standards.
- Southern Regional Education Board. (2007). Using the new Perkins legislation to advance high school reform. Atlanta, GA: Author.
- The Association for Career and Technical Education. (2006). Reinventing the American high school for the 21st century. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Postsecondary Pathways and Programs of Study
- American Diploma Project— The American Diploma Project guides efforts to align the high school standards to internationally competitive college and career ready benchmarks that are responsive to demands of the 21st century.
- Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2007). College learning for the new global century. Washington, DC: Author. National Leadership Council for Liberal Education & America’s Promise
- Conley, D. (2007). Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center
- ETS (June, 2006) Culture of Evidence: Postsecondary assessment and learning outcomes. This report outlines accountability models and metrics for the higher education arena and provides recommendations for policymakers and the higher education community.
Professional Development
Career Clusters and Programs of Study: Connecting School to Careers
Kathleen Oertle (OCCRL), Dora Welker (ISBE), and Kristy Morelock (ICCB) presented at the Illinois School Counselor Association Conference, Springfield, IL on April 23, 2010.
Clusters, Pathways, and Programs of Study
Aime’e Jullian (ICSPS), Kristy Morelock (ICCB), Cathy Kirby (OCCRL), and Kathleen Oertle (OCCRL) presented at the Connection Conference on March 10th, 2010.
Career And Technical Education: A Mechanism To Support Successful Transition for All Students?
OCCRL staff Kathleen Oertle presented at the State Special Education Directors’ Conference on August 5th, 2009.
Programs of Study Guiding Principles Presentation
OCCRL staff Cathy Kirby and Natasha Jankowski presented on March 24, 2009.
Introduction to Perkins IV and Illinois Programs of Study: The Critical Role of Counselors
OCCRL staff Cathy Kirby and Kathleen Oertle presented a 2-hour workshop to Springfield area secondary school counselors on January 21, 2009.
Self-Assessment Tools
The Programs of Study Self-Assessment Workshop is designed to provide stakeholders in programs of study (state policymakers, secondary and postsecondary administrators, faculty, and staff, and business professionals) a better understanding of the Self-Assessment protocol designed by the state and to provide a guided understanding of this protocol and its usefulness in Programs of Study implementation.
- Full Document
- Section I: The Partners
- Section II: Employers and Other Partners
- Section III: Curriculum Inventory
- Section IV: Programs of Study Readiness
- Section V: Programs of Study Design Elements
- Section VI: Programs of Study Implementation Review
June 11, 2009 Workshop:
The fourth Self-Assessment Workshop took place on June 11th, 2009 in the Trutter Center at the Lincoln Land Community College from 9:30am-3:30pm.
May 8, 2009 Workshop
The third Self-Assessment Workshop (Chicago City Colleges Partnership) took place on May 8th, 2009 at the Malcolm X Community College (1900 W. Van Buren Chicago, IL) from 8:30am-3:30pm.
- Agenda
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Accomplishments
- OCCRL Framework
- Self-Assessment Action Plan Template
- Self-Assessment Action Plan Sample
- Memorandum of Understanding: California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS)
- Illinois Career and Technical Education Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Resource List
Feb. 4, 2009 Workshop
The second Self-Assessment Workshop took place on February 4th, 2009 in the Fogelson Theatre in the Center for Contemporary Technology Building (T Building) at the Moraine Valley Community College from 10:30-3:00.
- Agenda
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Memorandum of Understanding: California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS)
- Self-Assessment Action Plan Template
- Self-Assessment Action Plan Sample
- Resource List
Dec. 10, 2008 Workshop
The first Self-Assessment Workshop took place on December 10th, 2008 in the Lincoln Room at the IHotel at the University of Illinois from 10:00-3:00.
Illinois Programs of Study Planning Team Working Documents
NOTE: This archive contains documents and resources used in the planning and development of Illinois Programs of Study. Some documents are DRAFTS of final documents and may be outdated.
An Introduction to Illinois Programs of Study
04/24/08
- Notes from POS State Planning Team meeting on 04/07/08
- Notes from POS State Planning Team meeting on 03/20/08
02/20/08
02/13/08
- DRAFT POS Committee Flow Chart
- 12 Common Themes from State Interviews
- Condensed Summary from State Interviews
- Nebraska Career Education Model
01/29/08
11/28/07
11/26/07
11/01/07
- Illinois Health Science Curriculum Model
- Programs of Study Outcomes
- Goals and Objectives Chart
- Programs of Study Talking Points from Conference Call
- Career Pathways Certification: Accountability & Evaluation
- Cluster Specific Skills Model
Documents from Initial Advisory Group Meetings:
Matrix outlining several of the strategies on local implementation of Programs of Study within community colleges and K-12 school districts, along with a brief overview of what relevant literature says about the strategies, and a section for committee members to supply what best practices have shown to be in Illinois.
12-17-07
09-17-07
- Meeting Agenda
- Minutes and Notes from the Meeting
- Debrief of the Meeting, Presented at the Forum For Excellence, 09-18-07
- Programs of Study Research/Practice Matrix
- Executive Summary – Regional Programs of Study Transition Meetings: Executive Summary of Programs of Study, generated at the Spring 2007 Regional Programs of Study Transition Meeting
- Overview of States that May Offer Insights into Illinois Programs of Study: Preliminary research on several states’ implementations of Programs of Study/Career and Technical Education programs, outlining policies, procedures, and notable strategies of improving these programs.
- Questions We Need to Address with Programs of Study: Report generated by Dr. Debra Bragg posing various questions regarding Programs of Study in Illinois, including implementation practices, standards, evaluation, and others.