Date of Award
Spring 5-2021
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Department/Major
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Julia Hellwege
Second Advisor
Dr. Ed Gerrish
Third Advisor
Dr. Karen Card
Keywords
Career planning, CTE, workforce development, brain drain
Subject Categories
Other Political Science
Abstract
This thesis examines South Dakota’s workforce issues and their potential relations
to career planning education curriculum, policies, and practices in the state based
on students’ perspectives. Using 8-12th grade students’ responses from consumer
satisfaction surveys taken before and after a roughly hour-long career planning
workshop the study provides several pieces of evidence of gaps in career planning
education. Based on this evidence and national career planning curriculum
standards or best practices the thesis recommends three actions to improve career
planning education delivery: increasing access to counselors/hiring counselors,
updating curriculum include comprehensive subjects and more often to current
with the job market, and finally introducing short workshops online or in person
to fill in the gaps and help the disparities of Career and Technical Education
(CTE) district to district. These recommendations could help play a role in
stopping the ripple effect failing CTE has on workforce development issues such
as brain drain in South Dakota.
Recommended Citation
Hulse, Amber R., "Operation Overload: Career Planning Education in South Dakota" (2021). Honors Thesis. 122.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/122