New World of Work

Project

Overview

Project Overview

Twenty-first-century skills (also known as noncognitive, employability, or soft skills) are increasingly viewed as essential for favorable outcomes in both education and employment. Yet employers consistently report that these abilities — such as working well with a team, problem-solving, and thriving in diverse work settings — are lacking in their employees and job applicants. In response, community colleges are looking for ways to teach these skills explicitly so that students graduate with recognizable competency not only in academic and career-technical skills, but also in employability skills.

In 2012, New World of Work (NWoW), a 21st-century employability skills curriculum, was developed to meet that need. Currently being taught at community colleges across California, this curriculum provides instruction in 10 key competencies, using work-relevant content, and can be taught in a traditional class setting or online.

In partnership with the developers of NWoW and three community colleges in California, MDRC provided comments to strengthen and refine the program. Beginning in 2021, MDRC will select a college at which the refined model will be rigorously tested to assess its promise for improving student outcomes.

The NWoW Study is structured so that students:

Receive instruction through the NWoW curriculum in a semester-long course
Practice and refine employability skills in a concurrent work-based learning experience
Earn assessment-based micro-credentials to signal skill proficiency to future employers

This enhanced model strives to have a meaningful effect on 21st-century skills acquisition, college completion, and gainful employment with sustainable living wages. MDRC is currently seeking California community college partners for its study of the NWoW program. If interested in taking part in the study, please email [email protected].

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Higher Education

Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula

Population: Young Adults

Focus Population: College Students

Locations: California

Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms

Agenda, Scope, <br> & Goals

Agenda, Scope, and Goals

The enhanced NWoW program is intended to deliver 21st-century skills training to students while allowing them the opportunity to practice their skills through a meaningful work experience. The intervention has three components, each associated with a set of specific practices, activities, and elements:

Classroom or online instruction covering at least three 21st-century skill topics in the course of a semester-long class. Instructors are supported by initial and ongoing professional development and support.
A work-based learning experience or other work experience for students that is linked to the skills taught in the NWoW curriculum.
Credentials through a digital badging platform that identifies mastery in each of the 21st-century skills. Students have the opportunity to earn up to 10 digital badges in the following areas:
- Adaptability
- Analysis/solution mindset
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Digital fluency
- Entrepreneurial mindset
- Empathy
- Resilience
- Self-awareness
- Social/diversity awareness

Working closely with instructors at three colleges, MDRC and program developers improved the model through an iterative process over two years. The more robust, enhanced program will be evaluated at one college for a year to measure its impact on student outcomes. Specifically, the evaluation seeks to answer the following questions:

How can the components of NWoW be refined and strengthened to promote their use in the field?
Can the enhanced version of NWoW be implemented and delivered as intended?
Does the program hold promise for improving
enrollment and completion in each of the program components?
21st-century skill competency assessment scores?
academic outcomes such as credit accumulation or persistence?

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Higher Education

Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula

Population: Young Adults

Focus Population: College Students

Locations: California

Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms

Design, Sites, & <br> Data Sources

Design, Sites, and Data Sources

The NWoW Study launched in July 2017 with a two-year iterative development phase to strengthen and refine all three components of the program. Three California community colleges were selected to be partners in this work: Shasta College, Santa Rosa Junior College, and Folsom Lake College. Drawing on quantitative data as well as interviews and focus groups with instructors, students, employers, and administrators at the three colleges, the research team provided comments and recommendations for improving the program. This iterative improvement process took place through fall 2019.

The evaluation phase of the study will begin in 2021 and will consist of a randomized controlled trial at a California community college implementing the improved version of the program, incorporating recommendations and featuring the NWoW program components. Data sources will include administrative records, 21st-century-skills assessment data, student course evaluation data, employer assessments of student work performance, and student survey data.

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Higher Education

Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula

Population: Young Adults

Focus Population: College Students

Locations: California

Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms

Funders & <br />Partners

Funders

Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Partners

The New World of Work Program

Foundation for California Community Colleges

MDRC Staff

Evan Weissman
Senior Associate, Postsecondary Education Policy Area
Weissman has over 20 years of experience at MDRC directing projects, providing technical assistance, conducting qualitative research, and disseminating findings in a wide range of education and social policy settings.
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Cynthia Miller
Senior Fellow, Low-Wage Workers and Communities Policy Area
Miller is an economist whose work focuses on policies and programs to increase the employment and earnings of low-wage workers and disadvantaged young adults. She is the project director for the Paycheck Plus evaluation, testing an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for single workers without dependent children in New York City.
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Edith Yang
Research Associate, Low-Wage Workers and Communities Policy Area
Yang joined MDRC in 2008, and her work has spanned the areas of employment, affordable housing, community development, and postsecondary education. She codirects an evaluation of a Housing First intervention with shared medical appointments that aims to reduce homelessness and substance abuse relapse among “frequent users” of social systems.
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Hannah Dalporto
Research Associate, Low-Wage Workers and Communities Policy Area
Dalporto supports career and technical education work that spans MDRC’s K-12 Education, Postsecondary Education, and Low-Wage Workers policy areas, bringing her experience as both a qualitative researcher and operations specialist to that work.
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