Aurora Institute Calls for Federal Policy to Advance Work-Based Learning

In a new report titled “Expanding Student Access to Work-Based Learning: Federal Policy Recommendations,” education research organization Aurora Institute calls for policy-makers to “let go of the notion that education has to be a linear, time-bound sequence of learning that occurs only within formal education institutions.”

Instead, the Department of Education (ED) and other governmental arms should develop policies that view education as an “ecosystem” of cooperation and alignment across pre-K–12, career technical education, college/university, workforce, and community sectors. If the feds lead this effort, the report advises, state and local educational efforts to meet critical work skills needs will no longer be roadblocked.

The report notes there is bipartisan support for work-based learning, as outlined in a 2019 ED federal notice supporting apprenticeships, internships, and other opportunities. These can benefit students with Pell grant eligibility if a part of their work-based learning wages are Federal Work Study wages, and benefit employers by sharing the employment cost of apprenticeship programs.

The Aurora report’s key recommendations at the federal level are to:

  • Institute a federal cross-agency program and fund it with grants to promote work-based learning awareness and opportunities from pre-K level and up;

  • Increase federal innovation grants to states and organizations to encourage access to and incentivize work-based learning opportunities, including funding training for educators and other work-based learning providers;

  • Make intermediary organizations eligible for federal funding to support work-based learning partnerships across state, regional, and local entities;

  • Allow more flexibility in funding to allow resources to be simplified, combined and blended; and

  • Redesign accountability reporting to be reciprocal for elementary and secondary frameworks, as well as family, community, and workforce input to help integrate work-based learning and career exploration.

There are also recommendations for states to implement or build upon the foregoing, with federal support.

“In the context of rapid change in education and the workforce, policy makers need to take a long view on the future of education and work,” the report concludes. “The system needs to be reorganized to build knowledge and skills in the midst of changing trends, with more aligned structures, incentives, and supports for learner-centered pathways.”

The report is available on this Aurora Institute page.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education.

  • glowing digital brain interacts with an open book, with stacks of books beside it

    Federal Court Rules AI Training with Copyrighted Books Fair Use

    A federal judge ruled this week that artificial intelligence company Anthropic did not violate copyright law when it used copyrighted books to train its Claude chatbot without author consent, but ordered the company to face trial on allegations it used pirated versions of the books.

  • server racks, a human head with a microchip, data pipes, cloud storage, and analytical symbols

    OpenAI, Oracle Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    OpenAI and Oracle have announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership as part of the Stargate Project, a joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle, and Japan's SoftBank Group that aims to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity over four years.

  • laptop displaying a phishing email icon inside a browser window on the screen

    Phishing Campaign Targets ED Grant Portal

    Threat researchers at cybersecurity company BforeAI have identified a phishing campaign spoofing the U.S. Department of Education's G5 grant management portal.