According to Sears (1982), career development is "the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical, and chance factors that combine to shape one's career." This definition was advanced by the Illinois Career Development Task Force that engaged in more than a year of deliberation. Career development…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

This report provides a summary of major results of the Illinois Bridge Status Survey, administered online between April and June 2010. The purpose of the survey was to understand the extent to which bridge programs are being implemented in Illinois, as well as to build an online directory of bridge programs. Bridge programs are an emerging…

This report summarizes major findings and recommendations of the Illinois Career Development Task Force. The first section provides background information on Task Force formation, membership, meetings, and discussion topics. The second section defines career development, based on the consensus-building process employed by the Task Force, and…

This booklet provides information to multiple stakeholders on the implementation of career clusters in Illinois. The booklet is an extension of the previous edition titled "An Introduction to Illinois CTE Programs of Study" (2008), and provides a resource for partners to understand Illinois' Career Cluster Model as its own adaptation of…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

This packet includes four publications of a project to develop and pilot a K-12 career awareness and development sequence (CADS) for education-to-careers. The K-12 CADS sequence presents a pyramid of the recommended CADS by grade level; recommended career-cluster focus for grades K-8; suggestions for implementation with this information for each…

This implementation manual was designed to assist local education agency personnel implement the individualized career plan (ICP) concept in high schools. Questions commonly asked about the ICP are answered. Guidelines are then provided for implementing the four stages of the process: planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating/refining.…

The Illinois Workforce Preparation Action Plan was developed to set workforce preparation policy directions and improve coordination of programs and services in the state. This report provides information on the goals, objectives, activities, and implementation of the Plan. Following a preamble and list of the Action Plan Task Force membership,…

A statewide survey was conducted to determine the availability of a career development course at the high school level in Illinois. The participants in the study were the directors of vocational education in the 597 high school districts that submitted Local Plans for Vocational Education to the Illinois State Board of Education in FY 1984. They…

This resource manual describes a model for planning and developing comprehensive career placement services integrated into the total career development efforts of secondary and postsecondary schools in Illinois. The manual is designed to be used by educational administrators at the local and regional level in developing specific program goals,…

This document, which was developed with input from 14 Illinois middle schools, is a comprehensive guide to planning and implementing career development activities in middle schools. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) background information (the rationale for and importance of career development; young adolescents' interests and…