NEW BOOK ANALYZES WHAT IS AND IS NOT working in the field of post-high college education
A scholar at Harvard University recently released a book that examines trends in higher education and how schools and politicians can adjust to a changing market.
Kathleen deLaski is a senior consultant to the Project on Workforce and the founder of the Education Design Lab. She previously worked as an executive for the student loan corporation Sallie Mae and teaches at George Mason University about learning transformation.
The former White House journalist for ABC News examines what does and doesn’t work in higher education, as well as solutions to the conventional four-year college education, using both her professional and personal experience.
DeLaski advocates for redefining” school” to include a variety of post-high school options in” Who Needs College Anymore.”
At the beginning of the book, she writes,” I believe we are on the verge of a novel era in which school as we know it could become an awning synonym for a number of proud paths to adulteration, leveling, or trust building.”
She provides insight into the “rise and tumble of workshops” for technical skills, distinctive organizations that are training workers, and creative strategies by state. The College Fix received a copy of the book from her editor, Harvard Education Press, and deLaski even responded to questions via email.
A “wallet” for” certificates” is one idea that the book emphasizes. Employees may prefer to have verified methods of demonstrating their particular skills in place of a college education. In her book, the author predicts that “most state school and college devices will probably have a provincial skills budget system” over the next five years.
According to deLaski, just 6 % of workers now hold a certain “industry certification.” Her books suggest ways to make certificates more portable.
She does a great task of analyzing the data and creating an understandable guide that combines interviews with employers and employees to tell a tale. She also examines the unique education decisions that her children made, making the book relatable and never dry. She has a range of life experiences, which even help her understand the various problems more effectively than someone who would have spent their entire life working in academia or state as a wonk.
The book occasionally makes divisive social points, though. Following the “murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor,” she wrote,” Getting methods” came under scrutiny.
According to deLaski, the Supreme Court’s decision regarding affirmative action may also negatively impact skills-based understanding. She cited a news release from the American Bar Association and argued that” to withstand discrimination lawsuits, newer efforts to employ or promote employees based on skills will need the kind of paperwork that the tried-and-true level seems to like de facto.”
DeLaski told The Fix,” When asked to comment on the information for this,”
The SCOTUS decision and perhaps more specifically the new Trump Administration’s outright combat on La plans have both slowed the general political force felt by many corporations to hire more diverse employees following the 2020 events I describe in the book. I have no information to support that claim, aside from discussions I’ve had with HR professionals who claim to still be interested in skills-based getting, but a difficult-to-implement change management program falls a little further down the priority listing. Except for those positions where there isn’t sufficient skills among employers. There is a need for skills-based getting and the creation of new avenues of jobs in addition to the degree.
She also discussed the potential role that the federal government might perform in skills-based studying with The Fix. The Fix particularly inquired about her concern that this might result in more issues, such as excessive bureaucracy.
It’s difficult for the federal government to be a design for skills-based hiring, she wrote, adding that there is now a message of chaos coming from the national government in a time of layoffs. They are primarily laying off, never hiring, they say. However, I believe that an additional executive order would be to expand the executive order to federal companies, which was suggested during the Biden Administration but never explicitly stated.
Despite the author’s own political beliefs, the book is also usually a useful read, especially for those in charge of higher education, business, and policy.
It begins to address a query that several College Fix readers undoubtedly have:” Who needs college again?”
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Jessica Overcash, Jessica Overcash, Kathleen deLaski, Harvard Education Press, and a version of a new publication are next to them.
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