Civic Learning Is Career Preparation When Students Practice Agency
The Aspen Education & Society Program’s final Redefining Student Engagement session argued that civic learning and career readiness are not competing priorities but overlapping forms of preparation. Elizabeth Zamudio, Elizabeth Clay Roy, Jennifer Tran and Braden Chapman made the case that students develop the skills schools and employers say they value — communication, collaboration, problem-solving, perspective taking and civil disagreement — when they have real agency in schools, supported channels to influence decisions, and families and institutions that treat youth voice as part of civic life.
The Aspen Institute·May 20, 2026·17 min read
