Flaxman, E., Guerrero, A., & Gretchen, D. (1999). Career development effects of career magnets versus comprehensive schools (MDS-803). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.

INTRODUCTION

Magnet schools have been part of the Nation's educational system for a number of years, first as a desegregation strategy, and now as one of a variety of focus schools with a curriculum theme, course content, specific pedagogy, special allied activities, student selection policies, scheduling procedures, or school organization that attract or "magnetize" students and teachers with interests in the school's theme and practices. In principle, magnet schools project a clear educational ideal and goal for the students. In no magnet schools is this recognizable outlook more prominent than in the increasing number of career magnet schools nationally.

One of the purposes of high school is to prepare students for life and work. Those who oppose traditional comprehensive high schools often ask, "How can schools in which students merely master academic (or general) knowledge and perform under rote conditions to meet universal requirements have a beneficial effect on students' adult educational and occupational attainment?" (Jencks et al., 1972). Career magnet high schools represent an important alternative to comprehensive high schools. By combining career preparation with traditional college preparatory courses, students interested in career opportunities do not have to choose between college and an entry-level job after high school graduation. What is more, the career magnet high schools can draw students from neighborhoods of various income and ethnic populations; thus, they not only can improve the quality of education but can also advance the values of diversity and educational equity throughout a school district (Blank, 1989).

From research carried out by Crain, Heebner, and Si (1992) in high schools in a large city, we now know that attending a career-oriented magnet school positively affects student outcomes, as measured by grades and attendance--but not dropout rates (Crain & Thaler, 1999)--when compared with the academic outcomes of students attending comprehensive high schools. But there are further questions to be answered: "Do career-oriented magnet schools, as compared with comprehensive high schools, also positively affect the career development process?" and "Will there be differences in career development outcomes for the students attending each type of school that can be attributed to the practices in the schools?"

This paper is a report of a study of the effects of career magnet high schools on its graduates' educational and career orientation. In conducting the study, we hypothesized that students in the career magnet, as opposed to those in the comprehensive high school, would be exposed to more directly relevant and better-integrated influences on their career development. This would mean that students in career magnet schools would differ from their comprehensive school counterparts in an array of psychological achievements and behavioral and educational outcomes.

In the past, it has been too narrowly thought that the career development process occurs only within several discrete events, sometimes isolated from other aspects of schooling. We felt that better explanations of the career development process were needed so that we could better understand which events and student experiences, and in what relationship, contribute to the students' academic and career future.

Flaxman, E., Guerrero, A., & Gretchen, D. (1999). Career development effects of career magnets versus comprehensive schools (MDS-803). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.