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Career Development Interventions in the Elementary Schools. Chapter 10. Overview of Career Development Interventions in Schools.
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Career Development Interventions in the Elementary Schools Chapter 10
Overview of Career Development Interventions in Schools • The National Standards for School Counseling Programs (Campbell & Dahir, 1997) identify career development as an essential element in effective school counseling programs. • Career education programs are the primary method used for providing career development assistance to students.
National Standards for School Counseling Programs(Career Development Domain) • Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. • Standard B: Students will employ strategies to achieve future career goals with success and satisfaction. • Standard C: Students will understand the relationship between personal qualities, education, training, and the world of work.
Criticisms of Career Education • Takes time away from core academic subjects • Pressures students to pursue work immediately after high school rather than postsecondary education • Topic not appropriate at elementary and secondary levels • Programs not systematic and coordinated
Five-Stage Planning Model • Stage 1: Develop a program rationale and philosophy. • Stage 2: State program goals and behavioral objectives. • Stage 3: Select program processes. • Stage 4: Develop an evaluation design. • Stage 5: Identify program milestones.
How to Develop a Systematic Career Intervention • Involve knowledgeable professionals, parents, and representatives from the community in all phases of planning. • Use developmentally appropriate interventions. • Communicate program goals and objectives clearly to all stakeholders.
How to Develop a Systematic Career Intervention, continued • Assure that the program is based on student needs. • Evaluate outcomes to determine the degree to which program goals and objectives were achieved. • Assure the competence of those involved in program delivery.
Career Development in the Elementary School • Careers unfold and develop throughout the life span. • For children and adolescents, school and leisure activities are their work.
Career Development Before Elementary School - Erikson • Children move through the first two of Erikson’s eight stages prior to entering elementary school. • Those who coped successfully with these stages have developed trust and autonomy. • When students do not develop trust and autonomy, they experience consequences of mistrust, doubt, and shame.
Developmental Tasks of Infancy and Early Childhood - Havighurst • From ages 0-5 children learn to • walk • eat solid food • talk • control elimination of body wastes • identify sex differences and behave with modesty • relate emotionally to family members • prepare to read • identify the difference between right and wrong
Career Development During Elementary School (Erikson) • During elementary school years, students need to develop initiative (ages 4-6) and industry (ages 6-12). • When these tasks are accomplished, they use curiosity to gather information about themselves and the world. • These behaviors result in personal effectiveness that is rewarded by positive outcomes.
Middle Childhood Developmental Tasks (Havighurst) • Develop physical skills for participation in games • Build positive attitudes toward oneself • Develop interpersonal skills • Become more tolerant • Learn appropriate gender social roles
Middle Childhood Developmental Tasks (Havighurst), continued • Develop academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics • Achieve a greater sense of independence • Develop attitudes toward groups and institutions
Goals of Career Interventions at Elementary School Level (Super & Savickas) • Encourage students to participate in activities related to their interests • Help children • become concerned about the future • increase personal control over their lives • convince themselves to achieve in school and at work • develop competent work habits and attitudes
Career Development Guidelines for Elementary School Students • Self-Knowledge • knowledge of the importance of self-concept • skills to interact with others • awareness of the importance of growth and change
Career Development Guidelines for Elementary School Students • Educational and Occupational Exploration • awareness of the benefits of educational achievement • awareness of the relationship between work and learning • skills to understand and use career information • awareness of the importance of personal responsibility and good work habits • awareness of how work relates to the needs and functions of society
Career Development Guidelines for Elementary School Students • Career Planning • understanding how to make decisions • awareness of the interrelationship of life roles • awareness of different occupations and changing male-female roles • awareness of the career planning process
Considerations in Planning Career Development Interventions • Become a constant observer of children. • Notice how they approach tasks. • Notice the activities they choose. • Encourage initiative. • Notice the thematic patterns that emerge.
Considerations in Planning Career Development Interventions, continued • Consider the processing of an activity as important as the activity itself. • Focus feedback on the specifics of a child’s efforts to develop a sense of industry rather than inferiority. • Provide opportunities for children to express their beliefs about themselves in relation to various occupations.
Parental Involvement • Parents have substantial influence over the career development of their children. • They provide greatest amount of direct and indirect exposure to work. • Their influence is most effective when it is planned, intentional, and goal-oriented. • They, however, possess minimal knowledge of career development theory and how environmental factors affect development.
Ways in Which Parents Can Assist Children (Herr & Kramer) • Encourage children to analyze self-characteristics (interests, capacities, values) • Communicate work requirements to children. • Discuss the importance of work values in work behavior. • Explain the relationship among work, pay, and the economic condition of the family.
Ways in Which Parents Can Assist Children (Herr & Kramer) • Connect children with informational resources (workers, books, films). • Be careful to avoid stereotyping occupational alternatives and workers. • Provide children with opportunities for work in the home and community. • Provide children with opportunities to learn and practice decision-making skills.