Scholars representing two departments at the Michigan State University College of Education helped develop a free curriculum focused on college readiness, which is now being used in high schools across the state.

“The goal is to support students in understanding their options for post-secondary education and that college is an option for them,” said Assistant Professor Joanne Marciano. She developed the Participatory College Planning Course Curriculum with doctoral students from the K-12 Educational Administration and Leadership and Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education programs.

The Spartan-led research was used by Michigan College Access Network – a statewide partner of K-12 schools dedicated to increasing postsecondary opportunities for underserved communities – in developing a curriculum titled Your Future Matters: A College and Career Planning Course for Students. Your Future Matters is now being piloted by Michigan schools and puts students’ perspectives and voices first as they prepare for the transition to college.

Since launching the curriculum, 54 schools from 26 counties across the state have signed up according to MCAN strategy manager and two-time Spartan alum Cheyenne Peters. Each school that onboards Your Future Matters is also offered grant funding to enhance the curriculum through college and career exploration trips and activities. 

“The curriculum is fostering great conversation and students are sharing their experiences with others in the college application and admissions process,” said Jeremy Warner, who administered Your Future Matters at Huron Area Technical Center in Bad Axe, Michigan.  “The students really are gaining a lot of useful knowledge from the lessons. I’ve been getting positive feedback from them.”

The curriculum is designed in a way that educators from all disciplines and grade levels can incorporate lessons into their everyday teaching. Units from the curriculum provides students with the opportunity to do the following:

Self-exploration – identify their own interests, future goals and create a vision board.
Career interests – dig deeper into their career interests and learn more about professional pathways, especially those that are trending.
College exploration – explore colleges across the state and nationally that are right for them.
College admissions – learn about the college admittance process and what it’s like to be a college admissions counselor – provide insights into how they compare to other applicants.
Financial aid and affordability – an overview of FAFSA, academic scholarships, loans, grants and how they can go about affording college.

Peters notes the research for units one and four heavily incorporate research from Marciano’s team, including graduate students Amber Lawson from the Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education Ph.D. program, and Dasmen Richards from the K-12 Educational Administration & Leadership Ph.D. program.

“I liked how it helped me find my interests and helped me get to where I need to be,” said one high school student who utilized the curriculum. “I realize that this course made it easier, so I am not trying to figure everything out on my own.”

Nearly 42% of students reported they were more likely to attend college because of the course, according to a survey conduced by MCAN.

MCAN aims to add 60 more schools to adopt the curriculum by Fall 2024.

“It’s been a great partnership so far,” said Peters referring to the collaboration with Spartan scholars. “Working with Joanne has helped me think of how we can expand the curriculum even more.”

A college-going culture

“It’s really important for schools to have a college-going culture where there’s culturally relevant curriculum and everyone in the school community is talking about students’ post-secondary futures and options,” said Marciano, whose research points to its benefits.

Validating the insights of youth has been a core component to her research, and informed by teaching in New York City Public Schools for 13 years. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with youth to co-design and co-author curriculum and instruction to understand and address issues of inequity in education. 

Marciano’s collaboration with MCAN extends beyond curriculum development, as she has also engaged with the Michigan School Counselor Fellows — a network of counselors from throughout the state —offering guidance on incorporating youth participatory action research and student voice into their professional practices.

This story originally appeared on the College of Education website.