2008; Alford and James 2007). For young Australians planning their career paths, being given clear and consistent information from a variety of supportive voices is a necessary element to preparing for the future.
The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians 2008 reiterates the benefits of strong partnerships between schools and external agencies; partnerships that support and encourage young people to pursue career pathways that will enhance their life-chances (MCEETYA 2008). The role of education structures, families, local businesses and external agencies in mentoring young people embarking on successful career pathways, is well-documented (Teese and Lamb 2010; Lamb and Vickers 2006; Broadbent et al. 2012). Central to what follows here is an unpacking of those attributes of secondary schooling that equip young people with the necessary skills to problem solve, critique and take an informed and therefore empowered stance on where they are heading and what they want to be.
With these issues in mind, this paper reports on research undertaken between 2009 and 2010 involving one inner city school in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The research was funded jointly by Melbourne City mission and the Victorian Department of Education from a funding pool that was a part of a broader State Government initiative in the city's west. Research findings presented in this paper highlight school partnership practices that either supported or hindered career pathways and transition plans undertaken by students from Years 9–12. Over the course of this project, a series of workshops and interviews involving six teachers and six community stakeholders was held to discuss community perceptions of partnerships with the school. Community stakeholders were recruited by the school principal, in conjunction with the researchers, based on the stakeholders' work inside the school and their subsequent connections with career programs.