Make It Better: High-Quality CTE Teacher & Counselor Preparation

Abstract

Educator and career counselor preparation is integral to high-quality CTE instruction and career-connected learning. Since 2021, Maryland legislation has required that all secondary students have access to individualized career counseling; this is not a novel concept. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Donald Maley (University of Maryland) advocated for industrial arts and technology education courses as a vehicle to develop students' career awareness, career exploration and occupational orientation. Additionally, Dr. Robert Lent (University of Maryland) has published extensively on the benefits of career counseling for over four decades. What distinguishes current efforts from those of Maley and Lent is legislative support - now codified and backed by state funding. Despite this mandate, Maryland has not established any requirements for P-12 career counselors. Consequently, there are a wide range of hiring, preparation and implementation models being applied with varying results among Maryland's 24 school systems.