Thoughts on EBCE and Career Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Experienced Based Career Education has produced positive evidence of effectiveness. Two points can be made about effectiveness and educational innovation. First, evidence of effectiveness is but one of several criteria used by educational decision makers for determining educational change. Second, only a small percentage of educators are particularly attracted to change and innovation. Within this perspective, an examination of the nature and present status of career education may be helpful to decision makers interested in Experienced Based Career Education. Working toward "education as preparation for work," career education has the following parameters: (1) based on career development; (2) needed by and applicable to all children; (3) not an attempt to demean other educational goals; (4) delivered by infusion; (5) needs community involvement; (6) does not seek increased budgets. Since 1971 career education has been introduced into more than 9,000 of the 16,000 K-12 school districts in the nation and has gained wide acceptance. During this same period, Experienced Based Career Education first operated as an alternative delivery mechanism and later as an effort independent of the mainstream of career education. The following four major strategies can be considered by Experienced Based Career Education advocates: (A) compete with career education, (B) add experienced based career education to the total effort of career education, (C) become a champion of experience based education, dropping the word "career," (D) become a methodology for educational change. In the future, one of these or other alternatives must be chosen. (JH)