As we wrap up 2023, we’re looking back on a great year’s worth of learning and connecting with many of you.
This year, we deepened our work with three national intermediaries working across 20 career-connected learning sites to launch social capital pilots. Our partnerships with Education Strategy Group, Generation Schools Network, and Hawaii P-20 yielded 10 key lessons in piloting social capital initiatives within career pathways. We also partnered with AIR to conduct a developmental evaluation, analyzing student and staff data on what tools, resources, and supports could yield successful implementation at scale.
Although I’ve spent years endeavoring to document the work and voices of early innovators, this project was exciting in its scale and scope. It’s proof of how social capital research is social–it requires a community of bright, humble, and dedicated people who work tirelessly to deepen and diversify students’ networks.
That community is also critical in strengthening our ongoing efforts to distill and disseminate what we’re learning across the field. This year, we’ve had the chance to speak with and spotlight entrepreneurs, educators, researchers, and advocates, and update our “Missing Metrics” report with new analysis of emerging research and a fresh look at sample social capital survey items in the field as a result. Check out the resources below for a look back at some of those conversations and publications.
Conversations in the field:
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- Building Professional Social Capital for Black Learners and Workers hosted by JFF’s Center for Racial Economic Equity; and featuring Michael Collins, Dr. Kimberly Underwood, and Edward DeJesus unpacking the strategies and policies needed to address systemic barriers facing Black learners and workers, and to unlock deeper and broader networks throughout their education and career journeys.
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- From College to Career: Students’ Internship Expectations and Experience hosted by Strada Education; and featuring Kenyatta Lovett, Sowmya Ghosh, Marshall Strawbridge, and Courtney H. McBeth discussing how to expand access to college internships to match student demand and level the playing field for all students.
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- Approaches to measuring students’ social capital emerging among schools and nonprofits hosted by the International Social Capital Association, featuring our “Missing Metrics” research; and detailing promising approaches to measurement emerging across organizations like Search Institute, Opportunity Insights, Braven, Big Picture Learning, Future Focused Education, People Grove, and more.
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- 10 lessons in how to build relationships and relevance in career-connected learning hosted by edWeb; and featuring Rob Markle and Rachael Aquino detailing promising strategies for integrating social capital into career exploration and pre-internship learning experiences.
Writing & analysis:
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- “The far reach of near peers,” SmartBrief, featuring CARA NYC and COOP
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- “College career services are ailing–networks are the cure,” Work Shift, featuring Social Capital Academy and Johns Hopkins’ Life Design approach.
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- “3 Ways to Help Students Gain the Career Connections They Need to Succeed,” The 74, featuring EmployIndy, Kupu and Generation Schools Network
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- “Caps and gowns but no career prospects for grads without connections,” The Boston Globe, featuring Basta.
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- “Measuring connections in career-connected learning,” Getting Smart, featuring Big Picture Learning and Future Focused Education.
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- “AI is making networking and social skills more critical. Are your students prepared?, Smart Brief, featuring Connected Futures, Montgomery County Partnership for Children, Apprentice Learning, and Employindy
Thank you for following our work and building the field alongside us. We look forward to continuing this critical work in 2024!
