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Elementary School Career Education – The Need, Basics, Examples, and Guidelines
Author:11 Jul
According Ediger (2000), elementary school career education is important. Ediger stated that “the elementary school years are not too early to begin to achieve a vision of what one desires to do in life contributing to the world of work”. Without career education, students have unrealistic perceptions of careers due to a lack of knowledge and poor decision making. Students have limited knowledge and exposure to careers. (2,3) When students look at the different industries e.g. sports, media and entertainment, most students underestimate the skills and time required to have successful careers. (3)
The Basics for Elementary School Career Education Programs
In career awareness programs, students do not make premature career choices. Elementary school career education is not career exploration or career preparation. Elementary students remain open to new career ideas and possibilities. (7,8,13,15) Elementary students build awareness of self, personal interactions, school, and the workforce. (2,15) Elementary school counselors and teachers build self-awareness, family awareness, school awareness, community awareness, career/ work awareness, attitude development, skill development, decision making strategies, and self-worth. (2,4,11)
Career awareness programs use age appropriate materials that match the developmental levels of the students. Age appropriate activities expose students to a variety of different jobs, career information sources, and the reasons why people work. Programs also incorporate academic career pathways into classroom activities. According to CareerTec (2000), the preliminary career education skills serve as foundations for future skills. As the students progress, previous skills are reinforced, developed, and expanded. (2,4,11)
As elementary students get older, the students modify career visions and goals. After completing an elementary school career awareness program, students have higher grades, higher academic achievement, improved school involvement, as well as an increase in career awareness exploration, personal, and interpersonal skills. (1,15) In addition, the students complete more complex courses and have a higher graduation rate from high school. (9)
In summary, in career programs, students:
Learn and apply the academic material
Know and value self
Build self-esteem and confidence
Identify interests and build relationships between the school environment and the work force
Build academic, communication, problem solving, and social skills
Increase awareness of the need for future jobs skills
See the connections between learning in school, academic skills, job related skills, and careers
See career possibilities
See themselves as a future contributor to the job force
Receive empowerment
Build self-determination (2,7,9)
Examples of Elementary School Career Education Resources
Career awareness programs widely use tools are the Individual Career Plan (ICP) and the Individual Career Develop Portfolio. According to the Ohio State Department of Education (2000), Individual Career Plans (ICP) are essential for the development of self-awareness, employability skills, decision making and goal setting, community involvement, economics, and the reduction of bias. Students use the Individual Career Plans as they identify and explore initial career goals and educational plans. Elementary students use Individual Career Plan (ICP) to develop skills and to prepare to make future educational and career decisions. (12)
Another important tool is the Individual Career Develop Portfolio. Individual Career Develop Portfolios are collections of the career awareness activities and experiences that have occurred during the school year. (12) Other elementary school career awareness activities include:
Artistic displays
Career Days
Career Fairs
Career research
Career videos
Collages, murals
Community speakers
Educational games
Family group discussions
Field trips
Information interviewing
Job shadowing
Library book report
Mentors
Poetry
Phonics
Pictured dictionary
Puppets
Role playing
Scrapbook
Story reading
Student group discussions
Word search and comprehension activities (8,9,11,12,16)
Elementary school programs help students build connections between academics and real life situations. (9) Teachers and counselors use career education principles to stress the importance of language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Language arts have many uses in the workplace: Reading, writing, and listening skills. The uses for Mathematics include: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills to solve problems. In Social Studies, students gain understanding about other countries, languages, cultures, and the aspects of living in a global marketplace. Students learn the importance of Science having skills to solve problems as well as understanding how science is involved in different industries, such as food, media, agricultural, and automotive industries. (8)
Guidelines for Elementary Education Career Resources – National Career Development Guidelines
The NCDG Guidelines is a career knowledge, skills, and decision-making framework. The NCDG framework has three domains, goals, and indicators. Teachers and counselors use the domains, goals, and indicators as guidelines to design and create career resources. The three domains are: Personal Social Development (PS), Educational Achievement and Lifelong Learning (ED), and Career Management (CM). Each domain represents a developmental area in a career education program. Under each domain are goals or competencies. Under each goal, indicators highlight the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the goal. The National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG) is the foundation for career education products, research development, tests and tools. (14)
Summary
Elementary school career education programs build self-awareness, family awareness, school awareness, community awareness, career/ work awareness, attitude development, skill development, decision making strategies, and self-worth. Elementary school career awareness programs use age appropriate materials that match the developmental levels of the students. As a results of career education, schools reported that students had higher grades and academic achievement, improvement in school involvement and performance, as well as an increase in career awareness exploration, personal, and interpersonal skills. Career awareness activities include Individual Career Plan (ICP), Individual Career Develop Portfolio (ICDP), Career Days, Career Fairs, Field trips, information interviewing, and library book report.
References
1. American Counseling Association, Office of Public Policy and Legislation. (2007). Effectiveness of School Counseling. Alexandria, VA: Author.
2. Angel, N. Faye; Mooney, Marianne. (1996, December). Work-in-Progress: Career and Work Education for Elementary Students. (ED404516). Cincinnati, OH: Paper presented at the American Vocational Association Convention.
3. Benning, Cathleen; Bergt, Richard; Sausaman, Pamela. (2003, May). Improving Student Awareness of Careers through a Variety of Strategies. Thesis: Action Research Project. (ED481018). Chicago, Illinois: Saint Xavier University.
4. Career Tec. (2000). K-12 Career Awareness & Development Sequence [with Appendices, Executive and Implementation Guide]. (ED450219) .Springfield, Il: Author.
5. Carey, John. (2003, January). What are the Expected Benefits Associated with Implementing a Comprehensive Guidance Program. School counseling Research Brief 1.1. Amherst, MA: Fredrickson Center for School Counseling Outcome Research.
6. Dare, Donna E.; Maddy-Bernstein, Carolyn. (1999, September). Career Guidance Resource Guide for Elementary and Middle/Junior High School Educators. (ED434216). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.
7. DuVall, Patricia. (1995).Let’s Get Serious about Career Education for Elementary Students. AACE Bonus Briefs. (ED386603). Hermosa Beach, CA: AACE Bonus Briefs.
8. Ediger, Marlow. (2000, July). Vocational Education in the Elementary School. (ED442979) Opinion Papers
9. Gerver, Miriam, Shanley, Judy, O Cummings, Mindee. (2/14/02). Answering the Question EMSTAC Extra Elementary and Middle Schools. Washington, DC: Technical Assistance Center, (EMSTAC).
10. Hurley, Dan, Ed.; Thorp, Jim, Ed. (2002, May). Decisions without Direction: Career Guidance and Decision-Making among American Youth. (ED465895). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Ferris State University Career Institute for Education and Workforce Development.
11. Maddy-Bernstein, Carolyn; Dare, Donna E. (1997,December).Career Guidance for Elementary and Middle School Students. Office of Student Services Brief, v9 n1. (ED415353). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.
12. Ohio Department of Education, Division of Vocational and Career Education, Ohio Career Development Blueprint, Individual Career Plan, K to 5 (ED449322). Columbus, Ohio, 2000
13. Splete, Howard; Stewart, Amy. (1990). Competency-Based Career Development Strategies and the National Career Development Guidelines. Information Series No. 345. (ED327739). Columbus, Ohio: ERIC Clearinghouse on Education and Training for Employment & Ohio State University
14. U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (1994, 2004). National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG). Washington, DC: Author.
15. Williams, Jean A., Ed. (1999, January). Elementary Career Awareness Guide: A Resource for Elementary School Counselors and Teachers. (ED445293). Raleigh, NC: NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Job Ready.
16. Woal, S. Theodore. (1995). Career Education–The Early Years. AACE Bonus Briefs. (ED386603). Hermosa Beach, CA: AACE Bonus Briefs.
Mary Askew -
About the Author:
Dr Mary Askew specializes in career tests, websites, and books for students. Get information about elementary school career education at http://www.hollandcodes.com. Contact Dr. Askew at learning4life@qwest.net.
15 Responses for "Elementary School Career Education – The Need, Basics, Examples, and Guidelines"
Hello,
The best one could do is to change a hobby or passion you like and make a business or career out of it. In that way you are not going to work; just enjoying your hobby and being payed for it. Just remember that in life you may dream of certain careers from being a great actor to an astronaut or doctor. When you start working or getting some introduction to the requrements of entrance or the reality of the work, you may find it is not your cup of tea. This sort of quest is normal and sometimes it is a while with some trial and error before you find your niche. LOL, at 20 years old I had no idea that I would be where I am today.
Meanwhile here is a site that should be quite helpful as a guide:
http://www.ehow.com/how_18314_decide-certain-career.html
Regards,
Michael Kelly
I often wonder this myself.
While it is true that some people work hard in a career and make their own living, I find for the most part rich people with big houses come from rich families. It is old money passed down from generation to generation, or their rich family and friends hook them up with their careers. It is difficult to start out with no money and no connections and end up living the high life.
If you figure out how though, come back and let me know!
Hope this helps!
So have u settled with what you want to do yet? Or what are you doing right now-in work i mean
Thanks! Canfield’s the man.
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all your answers are at this site:
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ourCompany/career.do
THANKYOU!! THANK YOU! NO decision is forever!!!!
a B.S. in Bus Admin is a useless degree
Finance is more banking/credit/loans/mortgages related
accounting is number crunching, financial statement prep, auditing
accounting is generally boring repetitive, often stressful
haven't worked in Finance field
FP/FA – mostly commission or salary with sales quotas – cold calling
High Quality information, in only a few words!
Thank You!
easiest would be ones you see and know a lot about even if you are not associated with that job in any way..such as doctors, working at a supermarket, teachers, camp counselors, and other jobs that you are familiar with. even a hair dresser or a nail salon stylest. do you know what you want to be when your older? if so, why don't you use this one because it would be more interesting and its stuff you actually need to know eventually. it would be a lot easier to write about this career. if not maybe take the test on nycareerzone.org because then with your results, you can learn a lot about what it tells you that you should become.
Ive been an Electrician a Fitness Instructor an Office Worker a Delivery Driver and a Police Officer, I hope my heart sings a little louder and my next choice is my last… im getting close, I feel it. Thanks
you might be able to get a job with an american company that does business in parts of the world where your language skills would be useful. anywhere that french is the main language would be a possibility but you will need strong language skills and a high overall grade point would be beneficial as well.
Journalists often make good tech writers because they try to write with the user in mind and are less prone to use tech jargon. A good technical writer knows how to research thoroughly, how to interview people to tease out the information needed, and how to put this all together in a document or other materials for users.
Wikipedia has a nice description of technical writing, so you can understand the difference with journalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_writing
If you work at a small company, is there any technical writing there you can do now? For instance, you say you are very web savvy — are your fellow reporters and other staff members? If not, could you write a set of troubleshooting guides or a short tutorial that would help?
Also, consider volunteering in order to get practical experience and build up your technical writing portfolio. Lots of nonprofits need help with writing up procedures (they often have procedures, but they aren't documented), annual reports, getting-started guides for new volunteers, film or video scripts, tailored reference documents, tutorials and user guides for clients, etc.
Travel and Tourism industry is another option that you can look at.
Thank you. Very inspirational.
Hello, Your question is a bit general and there are lots of potential choices, I'm not sure what interests you. There are many 2 year programs available possibly EMT training, Respiratory technician or X-ray/sonogram technician. The best bang for your buck in the long-term would be to shoot for a BSN (4 year nursing degree). There are always well-paying nursing jobs available regardless of where you live. Good luck!
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