The Elevating Learner Voice Through the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment guide makes the case for learner-led research in Career Technical Education (CTE); highlights key data and accomplishments from pilots in Delaware, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania to integrate youth participatory action research (YPAR) in the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA); and provides considerations and strategies for implementing learner voice with intention and sustainability in mind.
The Adoption Pack is the direct implementation companion to the guide. This tool provides ready-to-use timelines, checklists, training structures, recruitment tools, compensation guidance, documentation templates, and sample survey instruments.
As part of implementation of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V), all local recipients of Perkins dollars must engage in the state-designed CLNA at least every 2 years, which requires engagement with learners to drive data-informed improvements in CTE. To make this engagement more meaningful, representative, and robust, we can leverage YPAR within the CLNA to get informed data to improve CTE programs, ultimately transforming systems to be more responsive and empowering for all learners.
These resources offer a deep dive into integrating YPAR—one of the most engaged forms of learner voice—as a key component of CTE program and policy improvement, drawing on the work of Delaware, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Leaders across states can leverage the guide to contextualize implementation and strategies for CLNA requirements, maximizing learner voice, while leaders across schools and districts can leverage the adoption pack to begin implementation immediately.
