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.