Urban Debate Leagues: Diversifying Career Pipelines

The intellectual and interpersonal benefits of participating on a debate team are equipping a new generation of urban students with the skills, motivation, confidence, and ambition to pursue a wide variety of careers.

As employers in growing numbers recognize the crucial necessity and virtue of diversity in their workplaces, urban-educated employees with these attributes are highly valued.
The substantial workplace-related benefits of participation on a high school debate team have been well documented through empirical studies and countless anecdotes. Each of these represents an important quality that predicts success in virtually every occupational category.

For example, law schools and law firms support debate as an important pipeline to legal careers for minority students. To date, over three-dozen law school deans and professors have signed a statement of support [ pdf ] recognizing this connection.

The Role of Urban Debate Leagues
Suburban and private schools have long recognized that debate programs prepare their students for future employment opportunities through the development of attributes needed for success in high school, college, post-graduate programs, and ultimately for a wide variety of career paths.

Research at Georgetown University has found that “skills taught by debate are important to successful leadership in virtually every field imaginable. Clergy, teachers, lawyers, judges, doctors, business leaders and others report that debate teaches crucial skills which were an important part of their success.”

The Urban Debate Leagues of the NAUDL network are now offering this same preparation to thousands of urban public secondary students in districts with substantial percentages of minority and low-income populations. Our leagues create a direct and effective pipeline to employment for students of color. Already, alums of Urban Debate Leagues have established successful careers in many fields, including: law, medicine, education, government, corporate, and entrepreneurs.

Intellectual Benefits
Participation in an Urban Debate League typically improves traditional academic measures such as grade point averages, attendance, literacy, graduation rates and college enrollment.

Further, preparation to compete at debate tournaments motivates students to conduct extensive research, much of it computer-based; to read and think carefully and critically about public policy issues; and to develop organized and complex spoken and written communication skills.

Interpersonal Benefits
Participation on debate teams develops interpersonal skills that are vital in the modern workplace. Debating in an interscholastic program teaches cooperation, teamwork, and social maturity. It also teaches leadership, attention to deadlines, and problem-solving techniques. As part of their competition, debaters must also develop exceptional and aggressive listening skills.
Urban-based debate competition situates these qualities in a highly multicultural environment, again providing a unique and valuable experience for operating in today’s increasingly diverse working world.