National Career Awareness Project & Career Planning Implementation
The National Career Awareness Project (NCA) was an extended professional development and state capacity building project. Teams from sixteen states participated in the project. State teams, consisting of a state team leader and two teachers/counselors, explored the career planning process using the NCTN’s Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE/ESOL Classroom (ICA) curriculum. The ICA curriculum guide prepares instructors and counselors to lead adult students through a career awareness and planning process.
Consistent with best practices for promoting system change, the project was designed to have impact on four levels: adult basic education program staff (teachers and counselors); adult learners; adult basic education programs; and state level adult basic education systems.
State teams participated in an online course, developed by World Education, followed by a structured six month implementation phase. During the implementation phase, local program staff incorporated career awareness and planning into instructional and counseling activities. State team leaders collected input from team members to develop a plan for disseminating the career awareness curriculum and professional development statewide.
Download: Final Report [PDF] for a detailed description of activities and project outcomes.
Project Director: Sandy Goodman, Director of Career Pathways, National College Transition Network
Funder: Office of Vocational and Adult Education/U.S. Department of Education