This presentation from the OECD Disrupted Futures 2023: International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives conference looks at Enabling effective transitions for all youth “Case study of an after-school programme for connecting education with workplace”. Presented by Panagiota Argyri, Zacharoula Smyrnaiou. Discover the videos and other sessions from the OECD Disrupted Futures 2023 conference at https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/conferences-webinars/disrupted-futures-2023.htm Find out more about our work on Career Readiness https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/

1. DISRUPTED FUTURES 2023:
International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives
OECD conference
Case study of an after- school program for
connecting Education with Workplaces
Panagiota Argyri ,
PhD Candidate, Department of Educational Studies, National Kapodistrian University of Athens
Mathematician, Evangeliki Model School of Smyrna, Greece
panargiry@eds.uoa.gr
Zacharoula Smyrnaiou,
Assisant Professor, Department of Educational Studies, National Kapodistrian University of Athens
zsmyrnaiou@eds.uoa.gr

2. Doctoral research : Connecting Education with Workplaces in terms of development STEM Skills
Department of Educational Studies, National Kapodistrian University of Athens
Worked based models as effective learning strategies
for connecting education with workplaces
in terms of developing knowledge, skills and attitudes
for smooth and safe transition from education to working lives

3. Introduction
3
Education and workplaces as structural ecosystems of interaction in the
complexity of the modern world
Education : Living lab Workplaces
Ecology of
Knowledge
Learning
Ecology
Ecosystem of Education
in the knowledge economy
in the Learning City
Norman (2013).
Rogers (2003)

4. •Empirical statistical analysis (Argyri & Smyrnaiou, 2019) provide a connection between
educational actions in terms of skills development and activation.
Argyri & Smyrnaiou, (2019).
Introduction
Correlations of i) employment rate and skills activation ii) employment rate and skills development
Emloyment rate Skills activation Skills development
Pearson Correlation Emloyment rate 1,000 ,723 ,389
Skills activation ,723 1,000 ,325
Skills development ,389 ,325 1,000
Sig. (1-tailed) Emloyment rate . ,000 ,020
Skills activation ,000 . ,046
Skills development ,020 ,046 .

5. European Union faces an increasing rate of
unemployment in the terms the global
financial and economic crisis.
The labor market shows that there are difficulties to find the
employees with the right job skills requirement, especially in the
field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),
as result of the rabidly rate of increasing new technologies.
Τhe development of skills is one of the priorities of
the European Commission's strategy for educational
systems and the young unemployment is an inhibitor
for the sustainable recovery and growth.
Education is of strategic importance for personal,
social and professional development, as well as for
lifelong employability for young.
Introduction
Skill shortages and gaps in European enterprises. Striking a balance between vocational education and training and the labour market. CEDEFOP. Cedefop reference
series 102. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015. Accessible at: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications-and-
resources/publications/3071
Eurofound. Third European company survey (ECS), 2013.
ManpowerGroup. Talent shortage survey, 2014.
Introduction

6. Teaching and learning focuses on the development of
the ability to process, analyze information and solve
problems, as well as analytical and critical thinking
skills.
Disciplinary knowledge, contain interpersonal and
intrapersonal functions, such as tolerance and
respect for others as well as skills of self-regulation
and better understanding of learning processes.
Globalization requires the development of cognitive
skills, so that young people are ready to produce and
share new knowledge products in the rapidly
evolving international markets
Social and emotional skills improve academic and
labor market prospects, and metacognitive skills are
vital to education because of their impact on the
learning process.
Educational Trends of 21st
century
Introduction
Effective development of lifelong learning skills
Argyri & Smyrnaiou (2021)
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2019).
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2018).

7. Skills of STEM career readiness
‘Transversal skills’
Problem-solving
Communicative skills
School
knowledge of
the educational
objects
Workplaces
Practical
applications
Argyri P. (2019)

8. • How can secondary education prepare graduates for work and what skills and knowledge are
necessary to be successful in the labor market?
• How can work affect general secondary education and how can labor market needs determine the
content and methods of education?
• What obstacles and challenges do graduates face in their transition from education to work? What
practices exist to deal with them
Research questions
• How can teachers integrate into general secondary education curricula methodologies for the
development of students' professional readiness?
• What are the standards and good practices that can help improve the link between education and
work?
• What are the advantages of an integration of education and work during studies?

9. • Work-based learning experiences provide all students with the opportunity to develop and
apply employability knowledge, skills and attitudes that lead to better informed career choices
and productive employment
 Connection: integrating academic studies with career development
 Better informed career choices
 Employability attitudes and behaviors
Work-based learning experiences
Work-Based Learning Policy Guide Tennessee Department of Education, May 2017
https://www.tn.gov/education/search-results.html?q=Work-Based+Learning+Implementation+Guide
OECD (2020), Improving Work-based Learning in Schools: Note on Australia, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/skills/centrefor-
skills/Improving_Workbased_Learning_In_Schools_Note_On_Australia.pdf

10. Good practices : Connecting Education with Workplaces
Out of school program -STEM club
Expected outcomes:
• to strengthen decision-making and career management skills
• the development of self-learning and innovation skills (critical thinking, problem solving,
creativity, etc.), information and technological literacy, personal and social skills
(communication, cooperation, flexibility, adaptability, responsibility, self-regulation, etc.),
Participants : Students aged 16-17

11. Students fill forms
for their interests/
preferences of
professional fields
• Requested documents for the
parental agreement
Job shadowing
(4 hours)
• Employers filled documents of evaluation
students participation in the workplaces
Research projects &
papers
• A key parameter for the design
of the tasks is the investigation
for the integration of services
from the environments of the
respective workplaces, related
to the issues being negotiated

12. Research framework
Qualitative Quantitative
Grounded
Theory
ATLAS.ti Scientific Software
Development GmbH
[ATLAS.ti 22 Windows].
(2022). Retrieved from
https://atlasti.com
Codes Concepts Themes
Results
Theoretical
framework
Miles, Matthew B., Huberman, Michael, Saldaña,
Jhonny (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis (3rd ed.)
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Qureshi, H. A., & Ünlü, Z. (2020). Beyond the
Paradigm Conflicts: A Four-Step Coding
Instrument for Grounded Theory. International
Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920928188

13. • Student observations from job shadowing
• Evaluation form of the employer/professional with comments and observations on the results
of job shadowing
• Interdisciplinary actions will be developed in collaboration with experts, local agencies and
professionals, so that the corresponding feedback comments are received, through the design
thinking model.
• Individual electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) of the students: reflection essays, concept maps,
oral presentations, poster design, video creation.
Data collection

14. • Quantitative evaluation: self-evaluation and peer-evaluation questionnaires based on Core
Skills for Work Developmental Framework (Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate
Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIICCSRT), & Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (2013). Core Skills for Work Developmental
Framework (CSfW).
• Qualitative assessment of the individual e-portfolio and data analysis of individual/group
interviews/open-ended questionnaires.
Data collection

15. Results
15
Manage career and work life 1,88182 7,581 <0,01
Work with roles, rights and protocols 2,15932 6,816 <0,01
Connect and work with others 1,26351 3,25 0,03
Recognise and utilise diverse perspectives 1,7645 4,665 <0,01
Make decision 1,32324 4,243 <0,01
Identify and solve problems 1,35924 3,922 <0,01
Create and innovate 0,85038 3,947 0,01
Compare means (Paired t-test) (at the beginning–at the end of school year 2021-22

16. 16
Manage career and work life 0,77767 2,132 0,027
Work with roles, rights and protocols 0,77767 2,132 0,027
Connect and work with others 1,66376 5,196 <0,01
Recognise and utilise diverse perspectives 1,73357 5,333 <,001
Make decision 1,73357 5,333 <,001
Identify and solve problems 1,18136 5,500 <,001
Create and innovate 1,27203 3,333 ,003
Compare means (Paired t-test) (at the beginning–at the end of school year 2022-23
Results

17. 17
Exploring the world
of work
Gr=45
Actions to perform
professional
duties and tasks
Gr=40
Knowledge -
Professional
course
Gr=17 Totals
Employability Skills
Gr=50; GS=10
10 6 6 22
Literacy Skills
Gr=62; GS=6
13 27 4 44
Career development
Gr=40; GS=5
8 1 5 14
Career readiness
Gr=59; GS=5
7 2 8 17
Strategies for developing career
readiness
Gr=55; GS=4
17 5 2 24
Totals 56 44 28 128
Results

18. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Operation of workplaces
Speeches/Lectures by experts
Transfer knowledge by cirruculm into real life…
Real conditions/Realistic perspective of…
Learning by doing
Simulate the role of a professional
Visiting workplaces
Better prospects for future career success
Smooth transition from training to new roles
Workplace challenges
Knowledge of Labor Market trends
Career Orientation
Training: Preparation station for entering the…
Workplace skills
Familiarity with professions
Preparing a future career path

23. Conclusions
 Job Shadowing of the employees performing their tasks interpersonal interaction
Deeper knowledge of the skills they must have and, in general, of all the elements required for the
effective execution of their tasks , where the employee may never think to report.
 Such external interventions provide students with authentic knowledge of the scope of the modern
working world, allow them to explore and/or confirm their interests, develop social contacts and
self-efficacy, so that they can later make a difference in the market work.
 When schools instill a culture of continuous critical career exploration at an early age, this helps
mature students' career thinking, giving them sufficient time to make informed decisions about how
to invest their valuable time in their education.

24.  Argyri, P. & Smyrnaiou, Z. (2021). Case Studies of Educational Systems Focus on Empowerment of Young People’s Skills.
In Vana Chiou, Lotte Geunis, Oliver Holz, Nesrin Oruç Ertürk, Fiona Shelton (ed.). Voices from the Classroom: A
Celebration of Learning, vol. 1, ISBN 978-3-8309-4378-5.
 Argyri P. (2020). Innovative Teaching Pathways in Learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Rīgā, Latvia: Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN: 978-620-2-79393-3.
 Argyri, P., Smyrnaiou, Z., (2019). The role of education in employability in terms of skills development. Proceedings of
the European Triple Helix Congress (ETHAC2019) Responsible Innovation & Entrepreneurship, pp. 42-55, ISBN: 978-960-
9416-24-5, ISSN: 2654-024X, published by SEERC (South East European Research Centre).
 Argyri, P. & Smyrnaiou, Z. (2019). Pilot Research of Teacher Placement: Are Industry and STEM Classroom Different
Learning Environments? In M. Shelley & V. Akerson (Eds.), Proceedings of IConSES 2019-- International Conference on
Social and Education Sciences (pp. 106-113). Monument, CO, USA: ISTES
 Argyri, P. & Smyrnaiou (2020). Educating students as global citizens. Conference: Open Classroom Conference 2020
“Open and Distance Education: New challenges and Perspectives” 6-8 November 2020. DOI:
10.13140/RG.2.2.14321.51045
References

25.  Argyri P. (2019) Collaborative Problem Solving as a Critical Transversal Skill for the Transition from the School Environment
to the Workplace. In: Kavoura A., Kefallonitis E., Giovanis A. (eds) Strategic Innovative Marketing and Tourism. Springer
Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. ISSN 2198-7246 , ISSN 2198-7254 (electronic), ISBN 978-3-030-
12452-6, ISBN 978-3-030-12453-3 (eBook), pp. 433-490, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12453-3_49
 Argyri, P., Smyrnaiou, Z. (2018). Work-based science learning: connecting schools with industry. 3rd Scientix Conference,
4-6 May 2018. Brussels. http://www.scientix.eu/conference/scx3 , Abstract http://bit.ly/2ItOcTN
 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2019), Trends Shaping Education 2019, OECD
Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2019-en
 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2018). The future of education and skills: Education
2030. OECD Education Working Papers.
References

26. Good practices : Connecting Education with Workplaces
Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022): Open Schools Journal for Open Science - Special Issue
Nomikou, M. D., & Nikolopoulou, T. (2022). Nanomedicine and lung cancer. Open Schools Journal for Open
Science, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.12681/osj.30364
Lambrou E., Kondyli M., & Nasios A. (2022). Probability theory for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Open
Schools Journal for Open Science, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.12681/osj.31492
Karassavidis F. (2022). Architecture and natural disasters. Open Schools Journal for Open Science, 5(1).
https://doi.org/10.12681/osj.31484
Zevaridis A. (2022). Genetic Epidemiology: Study of populations and causes of disease. Open Schools Journal
for Open Science, 5(1).
https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/openschoolsjournal/article/view/30336

27. 5th Newsletter of the Club ‘Connecting Education with Workplaces’
4th Newsletter on the Activities of the Club “Connecting Education & Workplaces”
3rd Newsletter of the Club “Connecting Education with Workplaces”
2nd Newsletter of Group Actions “Connecting Education & Workplaces”
1st Newsletter of the actions of the Club “Connecting School & Workplaces”
Newsletters of actions of the “Education and Work Association” Group (October-December 2021)
Newsletters

28. Thank you for your
attention!!