International Literature Review: Careers Education

International Literature Review: Careers Education commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), London. Project Start Date: February 2016 – Project End Date: July 2016.

This report, commissioned by he Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), supported by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is designed to provide an overview of the evidence-base underpinning careers education and its impact on pupils’ skills and outcomes. We define careers education as:

‘Careers-focused school- or college-mediated provision designed to improve students’ education, employment and/or social outcomes.’

• The main questions addressed by this report include:
  – What intervention research has been carried out since the year 1996 measuring the impact of careers education on improving young people’s outcomes?
  –  What is the strength of evidence of this research?
  –  Where are the research gaps that need to be addressed?
• Furthermore, this review aims to identify which interventions might be most appropriate to implement in the UK context to better support careers education, and in turn improve educational, economic, or social outcomes for young people.

Methods used in the review
Our literature review highlighted 73 studies focused on careers education. All studies included were required to adhere to quasi-experimental or experimental approaches undertaken within Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries since 1996. The findings focus on evidence from studies where outcomes could be compared with a control group, though the robustness of the methodologies used inevitably varies. We also identified 23 studies exploring the impact of part-time employment.

The types of interventions included in the examined studies included careers provision, career guidance, enterprise, ICT and careers, job shadowing, mentoring, transformational leadership, volunteering, work experience, and work-related learning. For example:

Careers provision defined as:

• a process of learning, individually or in groups, designed to help
  young people to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to make

This may also include: career dialogue—a conversation in which a professional helps an individual discover and articulate meaning regarding life or work experiences, and career guidance—a process, delivered individually or in groups, that helps individuals to gain a clearer understanding of
their career development needs and potential through the successful understanding and application of their career management skills. It includes the use of techniques and tools that focus on personal challenge and growth and career information—the provision and use of a range of resources to
enable users to develop a better understanding of occupations, employment types, sectors and employing/learning organisations, current and future employment, and training and educational opportunities.

To access the Executive Summary and Final Report visit: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Careers_review.pdf

Citation:

• Hughes, D., Mann, A., Barnes, S-A., Baldauf, B., and Mc Keown, R. (2016)An International Literature Review: Careers Education, on behalf of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), London.