Direct from Washington, January 2009

Healthy Youth Development

Yet another study tackles the differences and similarities in preparation for college and the workplace, but this one adds "healthy youth development" to the mix. It compares what is known about competencies across the three areas in five domains of youth development.

For physical development, research on healthy youth development shows a strong correlation but on workplace readiness a weak one in terms of developing healthy habits and avoiding risk behaviors. There is no literature on college readiness in this domain.

For psychological development, the research literature is in agreement across all three fields on a number of competencies. All support the importance of high expectations and of goal setting, although this latter point was less strong in the youth development and workforce readiness research than in the college readiness research. All three areas of research include self-management and self-motivation, putting less emphasis on self-esteem. A strong work ethic is crucial to workplace readiness, including conscientiousness, reliability, professionalism, honesty, punctuality/timelines, and good attendance, but these do not seem important for college readiness.

In the domain of social development, social competence is considered important in all three fields, though less so for college readiness. Also receiving a lot of attention are conflict resolution, acting appropriately for the context, communication skills, and cross-cultural competence. A strong moral character (having ethical principles, values, and integrity) is widely emphasized in the youth development research, less so in the workplace readiness literature, and not at all in the college readiness literature.

For cognitive development, the three areas of research show unanimous support for critical thinking and reasoning skills, less for problem solving and lifelong learning skills. High academic achievement in high school is necessary for college readiness but not necessary for many jobs because employers look for other evidence of workplace readiness such as previous work experience. Creativity is highly valued in the workplace but is not emphasized in college readiness. Only the youth development field considers spirituality and a sense of purpose as developmental assets

Competency in some of the domains is more important to at-risk populations than to others. For example, "among the psychological competencies noted, having high expectations and aspirations for education and career goals is particularly important among at-risk populations," according to the study, A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness." In the social skills area, these young people need to feel connected to school and to the world of work through internships and community service.

In the cognitive domain, at-risk young people need exposure to rigorous coursework and training in technology, "and those not in the academic track need more vocational courses."

Among the implications of this crosswalk, the report concludes, is that "workplace readiness criteria could be expanded to include positive mental health and resilience, as well as social support and having a sense of purpose to enable youth to be prepared for the fluctuations in the labor market and in their place of work." The report was produced by Child Trends, with funding from the Gates Foundation and others.