Pathways Resource Library
Tools to help people understand their options
Explore messaging, research, and resources from across the field—along with customizable, white-label tools that you can adapt, brand as your own, and use in your organization’s communications—to help you reach key audiences with language that builds confidence and expands what’s possible.
Playbook or Guidebook
Skills-Based Sourcing and Hiring Playbook
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This playbook is a step-by-step guide to implementing more equitable and effective approaches to employee recruiting, hiring, and advancement by embracing skills-first talent management practices.
Research Report
The AI Paradox: More Exposure, Less Confidence Among Gen Z
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This Gallup, Walton Family Foundation, and GSV report examines how Generation Z's relationship with artificial intelligence has evolved over the past year. Drawing on survey data from more than 1,500 14- to 29-year-olds, the report finds that while AI adoption has remained flat, negative sentiment has grown sharply, with declining excitement and hopefulness alongside rising anger and persistent anxiety. It explores Gen Z's skepticism toward AI's impact on creativity, critical thinking, and workplace trust, alongside growing recognition among students that AI skills will be essential for their education and careers.
Toolkit
From Insights to Action: Communicating Career Pathways With Confidence
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This communications toolkit is designed to help organizations and advocates effectively engage learners and employers regarding the value of career education and training programs as well as skill-based hiring. It offers research-backed messaging that reflects what people care about most—and what motivates them to take action. These messages don’t just describe the benefits of pathways programs, they also help audiences see these options as relevant, accessible, and worth pursuing. The guidance in this manual is grounded in science-based communication practices and shaped by extensive research, including a landscape analysis of messaging in the field and media, a nationally representative survey with message testing, roundtable discussions with learners and employers, and a series of pulse surveys.
This toolkit offers adaptable, ready-to-use messages, language, and themes to support outreach, engagement, and storytelling. Use them to strengthen your communications—whether you're writing a social post, developing a presentation, or talking with partners and stakeholders. The messages are designed to be flexible; feel free to use them as written or tailor them to fit your audience and voice.
Narrative Framework
Framework for the Design and Implementation of College and Career Pathways in Rural Communities
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
Pathways that respond to the unique needs of—and opportunities in—rural communities are a critical strategy to support youth and advance economic development. This framework outlines key considerations and promising strategies for pathways leaders who seek to achieve equitable outcomes for youth while strengthening rural communities.
Research Report
Organizing People through Storytelling: Public Narrative as a Leadership Development Practice
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
The study supported by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative proposes “public narrative” as a key form of leadership development in organizations and communities. This report raises a set of 'Action Insights' on how to use public narrative to organize people through storytelling.
Research Report
The Value of Community Colleges: Recent Students’ Motivations and Outcomes
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This study offers new insights about value community colleges provide and the range of needs that they serve. It examines recent community college students' motivations for enrolling, and their self-reported perceptions of the value of their education and training experiences, and the degree to which they acheived their goals for enrolling.
Toolkit
Making Opportunity Real: A Framework for Communicating About Racial Justice
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This Message Manual contains research-based language and guidance for anyone communicating about racial justice and equity in education. The manual introduces a Racial Justice and Racial Equity Frame that provides guidance for communicating about justice and equity in aspirational ways that move beyond buzzwords and invite new audiences into the conversation. The guide provides research-tested language and specific examples of how to apply the frame when sharing data, crafting story-driven content, and tailoring messages for different audiences.
Blog Post
Telling the Right Stories: How Narratives Can Change Community College
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
The post highlights the gap between community college students' aspirations to earn four-year degrees and the reality that only a small percentage achieve this goal. It criticizes current narratives and policies that hinder successful transfers, particularly for low-income and minority students, and advocates for a shift towards focusing on credit mobility and recognition. By changing the narrative to value students' prior achievements and creating more flexible, student-centered pathways, the aim is to foster equitable educational and economic outcomes.
Toolkit
Communications Toolkit: Postsecondary Pathways and The Shifting American Economy.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
A toolkit communicating pathways with students and families. it includes: a) how different pathways can look like; b) how pathway career ladder can look like; c) how pathway support systems can look like.
Filters
Playbook or Guidebook
Skills-Based Sourcing and Hiring Playbook
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This playbook is a step-by-step guide to implementing more equitable and effective approaches to employee recruiting, hiring, and advancement by embracing skills-first talent management practices.
Research Report
The AI Paradox: More Exposure, Less Confidence Among Gen Z
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This Gallup, Walton Family Foundation, and GSV report examines how Generation Z's relationship with artificial intelligence has evolved over the past year. Drawing on survey data from more than 1,500 14- to 29-year-olds, the report finds that while AI adoption has remained flat, negative sentiment has grown sharply, with declining excitement and hopefulness alongside rising anger and persistent anxiety. It explores Gen Z's skepticism toward AI's impact on creativity, critical thinking, and workplace trust, alongside growing recognition among students that AI skills will be essential for their education and careers.
Toolkit
From Insights to Action: Communicating Career Pathways With Confidence
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This communications toolkit is designed to help organizations and advocates effectively engage learners and employers regarding the value of career education and training programs as well as skill-based hiring. It offers research-backed messaging that reflects what people care about most—and what motivates them to take action. These messages don’t just describe the benefits of pathways programs, they also help audiences see these options as relevant, accessible, and worth pursuing. The guidance in this manual is grounded in science-based communication practices and shaped by extensive research, including a landscape analysis of messaging in the field and media, a nationally representative survey with message testing, roundtable discussions with learners and employers, and a series of pulse surveys.
This toolkit offers adaptable, ready-to-use messages, language, and themes to support outreach, engagement, and storytelling. Use them to strengthen your communications—whether you're writing a social post, developing a presentation, or talking with partners and stakeholders. The messages are designed to be flexible; feel free to use them as written or tailor them to fit your audience and voice.
Narrative Framework
Framework for the Design and Implementation of College and Career Pathways in Rural Communities
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
Pathways that respond to the unique needs of—and opportunities in—rural communities are a critical strategy to support youth and advance economic development. This framework outlines key considerations and promising strategies for pathways leaders who seek to achieve equitable outcomes for youth while strengthening rural communities.
Research Report
Organizing People through Storytelling: Public Narrative as a Leadership Development Practice
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
The study supported by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative proposes “public narrative” as a key form of leadership development in organizations and communities. This report raises a set of 'Action Insights' on how to use public narrative to organize people through storytelling.
Research Report
The Value of Community Colleges: Recent Students’ Motivations and Outcomes
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This study offers new insights about value community colleges provide and the range of needs that they serve. It examines recent community college students' motivations for enrolling, and their self-reported perceptions of the value of their education and training experiences, and the degree to which they acheived their goals for enrolling.
Toolkit
Making Opportunity Real: A Framework for Communicating About Racial Justice
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This Message Manual contains research-based language and guidance for anyone communicating about racial justice and equity in education. The manual introduces a Racial Justice and Racial Equity Frame that provides guidance for communicating about justice and equity in aspirational ways that move beyond buzzwords and invite new audiences into the conversation. The guide provides research-tested language and specific examples of how to apply the frame when sharing data, crafting story-driven content, and tailoring messages for different audiences.
Blog Post
Telling the Right Stories: How Narratives Can Change Community College
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
The post highlights the gap between community college students' aspirations to earn four-year degrees and the reality that only a small percentage achieve this goal. It criticizes current narratives and policies that hinder successful transfers, particularly for low-income and minority students, and advocates for a shift towards focusing on credit mobility and recognition. By changing the narrative to value students' prior achievements and creating more flexible, student-centered pathways, the aim is to foster equitable educational and economic outcomes.
Toolkit
Communications Toolkit: Postsecondary Pathways and The Shifting American Economy.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
This resource may be shared with proper attribution to the organization.
A toolkit communicating pathways with students and families. it includes: a) how different pathways can look like; b) how pathway career ladder can look like; c) how pathway support systems can look like.