Part I: Career Education in the 21st Century Part II: Vision, Communication adn Resiliency: A Review of the Literature
Part V: Where Do We Go From Here? Conclusions and Recommendations for Proactive Administration References |
Upon graduation from secondary school, students are faced with several choices. Entering the work force, continuing with post secondary education, or assisting with a family business are popular options for many students. The end result or goal for a large number of students is to obtain employment in order to establish independence and to become self-sustaining. Parents, educators, and community members aim to ease or facilitate the transition from school to the adult world for students. The impact of strategic and equitable career development and planning for youth will enable students to envision greater opportunities and choices. Addressing the issue of how career development programming can be delivered in schools can be examined through an analysis of administrators’ perspectives. These are the people, the catalysts for change, who influence and interact with the staff who are responsible for teaching concepts on a daily basis. How do the perceptions and behaviours of school administrators influence and shape the school culture surrounding career development initiatives? Gathering knowledge about administrator’s perceptions can change the way in which we currently incorporate career development planning and “real world” relevancy in our schools. This study addresses, in part, the changing roles of educators as a response to societal changes. As public expectations increase regarding career development opportunities for youth, schools will need to be prepared to respond by taking a proactive position. Part I of this report provides an introduction and overview of career education and career development in the 21st century. Part II presents a review of the literature while Part III introduces an approach to leadership based on the themes that emerged in the study. Part IV illustrates the research procedures and methodology. Part V concludes with the results of the findings of this study, including recommendations for further research and action. A summary statement finalizes the report. |
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“Catch the wave!” On the threshold of the new millennium, this
trendy expression represents someone or something located at the forefront
of the latest fad or fashion. Certainly, as educators and administrators
are aware, progressive teaching encompasses fresh instructional strategies
and new knowledge as opportunities to increase learning arise. In
the vast educational ocean of language development, acquisition of math
skills and educator accountability, a growing interest in the career development
of students currently exists. Does developing the career competencies
of our youth constitute a present day educational fad or trend? Is career
education and career development a philosophy that will eventually recede
like an outgoing tide? Or will career education and career development
become infused and “surf” into mainstream school curricular offerings as
a classic and integral component of holistic educational aims and practices?
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Growth in the educational arena entails change. Guiding students
toward healthy, satisfying and productive lives is no easy task.
As students are prepared for adult life and make the transition from secondary
school to their future world of work or study, school communities pause
to reflect on each individual’s skills and accomplishments. Indeed,
at this point in the learning progression for the student, our society
emblazons the rite of passage from high school to the “grown up” world
with convocation ceremonies, wishes, and gifts. Essentially, the student
is “graduated” or transitioned into the reality of life. How have we prepared
our youth for their future journey into the adult world of work and study;
a changing world of alternatives, options, and career choices?
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How have we prepared our youth for their future journey into the adult world of work and study; a changing world of alternatives, options, and career choices? |
Referring to elementary and secondary school education, the 1995 Report
on Education authored by The Canadian Council of Ministers of Education
states, “The transition between school and work must be made smoother
by familiarizing students with career and course choices, and by expanding
work experience programs at the secondary and post secondary levels” (1995,
A Report on Education in Canada). In addition to lifelong learning,
the report lists adapting programs, creating partnerships, and providing
better information as outstanding issues and challenges in terms of educational
relevance to students. Perhaps the challenge to educators in creating relevancy
for learners is to build an atmosphere or culture for students conducive
to lifelong learning that incorporates career design, discussion, choice,
and planning.
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Perhaps the challenge to educators in creating relevancy for learners is to build an atmosphere or culture for students conducive to lifelong learning that incorporates career design, discussion, choice, and planning. |
Integrating the concept of career education and career development with academic study can assist students in defining their inherent strengths and interests. The intent of developing lifelong career skill is not to enable students to complete secondary school with a specific occupational objective. Career development is an evolutionary process; a networked and integrated compilation of interests, values, aptitudes, feedback and skills. Students who are able to create and set goals, plan for progress and improvement, and make decisions and choices to achieve well-considered aims are at a distinct advantage in the global village and international marketplace. For example, the objectives of the guidebook, “Closing the Skills Gap: Developing Awareness in Our Schools” created by Human Resources Development Canada “?are designed to increase confidence in students as they undertake career planning by developing self-awareness, an understanding of the labour market and the ability to make appropriate decisions and choices about themselves and their futures.” These goals and others, such as being able to access current information about educational and employment opportunities, are fundamental principles to the educational developmental process of heightening self-awareness and encouraging lifelong learning. | Career development is an evolutionary process; a networked and integrated compilation of interests, values, aptitudes, feedback and skills. |
Part I: Career Education in the
21st Century
September, 1999, revealed the publication of The Victoria Declaration,
a joint ministerial declaration entitled “Shared Priorities in Education
at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Future Directions for The
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada”. The Council acknowledges:
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As we venture forth into the next century, we are presented with change
at an unprecedented pace. The Victoria Declaration recognizes the importance
of addressing, as opposed to alienating, our youth and their future employability
in the context of personal options. While discussing the Canadian
economy, one that is increasingly influenced by compounding knowledge,
the Declaration acknowledges the interconnection of world economies and
growth in technology. Supporting, preparing and generating proactive
career education strategies for our youth will enable educators, parents,
and other stakeholders in the educational process to positively impact
on impending and shifting world conditions.
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The Victoria Declaration recognizes the importance of addressing, as opposed to alienating, our youth and their future employability in the context of personal options. |
Broadening the scope of this discussion, an investigation of the G8
Communique, assembled in Koln, Germany, 1999, can provide a current global
perspective to career education and career development trends and issues.
The President of the European commission and the Heads of State and Government
of eight major democracies convened in Koln, Germany, for the 25th Economic
Summit. Mentioning the positive effects and risks of globalization,
the Communique avows to call upon world partners to meet the challenges
of globalization. Section III (Designing Policies for More Employment)
and Section IV (Investing in People) of the Communique indicate a growing
awareness
and need for further career education and career development guidance, Initiatives of specific relevance to this discussion are points 14-18:
15.Basic education, vocational training, academic qualifications, lifelong upgrading of skills and knowledge for the labor market, and support for the development of innovative thinking are essential to shape economic and technical progress as we move towards a knowledge-based society. They also enrich individuals and foster civic responsibility and social inclusion. 16. In support of these goals, we agree to pursue the aims and ambitions set out in the Koln Charter. 17. Adaptability, employability and the management of change will be the primary challenges for our societies in the coming century. Mobility between jobs, cultures and communities will be essential. And the passport to mobility will be education and lifelong learning for everyone. 18. To this end, we support an increase in exchanges of teachers, administrators and students among the nations of the Eight and with other nations and invite our experts to identify the main obstacles to increased exchanges and to come forward with appropriate proposals before the next Summit. We call upon the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to study how different countries are attempting to raise education standards, for example by looking at best practices in the recruitment, training, compensation and accountability of the teaching profession internationally. We commit ourselves to explore jointly ways to work together and through international institutions to help our own countries as well as developing nations use technology to address learning and development needs, for example, through distance learning (G8 Communique Koln, 1999, p. 3). |
In the context of global social responsibility, international priorities, and future-driven progress for youth, schools may be required to commit greater resources and emphasis on career development education and activities in the 21st century. |
In the context of global social responsibility, international priorities,
and future-driven progress for youth, schools may be required to commit
greater resources and emphasis on career development education and activities
in the 21st century. As the Communique indicates, early action can
optimize and enrich the lives of individuals through education and lifelong
learning for all peoples.
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Many Canadian federal youth initiatives focus on improving the career
and employment opportunities for unemployed and disadvantaged youth (Hanna
and Doornan, 1995). Redekopp and Day (1994) maintain:
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Creating an educational culture that fosters career education, lifelong
growth and career development, amidst a climate of change, may require
innovation and risk taking as technological advances increase access to
labour market information. Additionally, present-day school cultures
and structures, influenced by global conditions, will need to respond
effectively as the result of students and educators gaining greater awareness
of career development concepts, principles, and changing world technologies.
Pervasive change will necessitate action and initiative in career guidance
opportunities for youth.
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These changing world situations have been requiring shifts in the way
in which we currently think and educate. As children, for example,
we may view a healthy tree endowed with a full harvest of green pears and
decide that we absolutely have to eat some of them. Upon the first
attempt to bite into the pears, we realize that they do not taste quite
the way we expected them to taste. Do we continue to choose and to
eat unripe pears that are hard and green? Or do we adjust our behaviour
and eat the pears when the conditions have changed and the ripe pears are
juicy and sweet? We can equate this scenario with the world of learning.
Times have changed; students are ripe for relevant and meaningful “real
world” school experiences.
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Times have changed; students are ripe for relevant and meaningful “real world” school experiences. |
The fact remains that the field of education, on the cusp of the 21st
century, is continuously encountering external influences, technological
advancements, global interaction, and heightened expectations contributing
to an increase in the speed of change. In this environment, how best
can we nurture and meet the needs of today’s student for tomorrow’s world?
According to Moses, “we must ensure that our children have the independence
and resilience to survive in a free-for-all future where everyone is a
free agent, and where competition comes from every direction” (Moses, 1997,
p. 237). Programming initiatives in career guidance, career
education, career preparation and career development are therefore crucial
in this presently changing world in order to equip each and every student
with the necessary skills to positively communicate with individuals in
the communities and workplaces of the future. Ultimately, visionary
educators will seek to deliver and to facilitate the dissemination of information
that students will need for future success.
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Instructional leaders, with their ability to influence and to lead
teachers who are on the front line of educational service, are responsible
for stimulating, motivating and encouraging their staffs and students in
the pursuit of excellence and life long learning. Programming initiatives
vary and change as new technologies, knowledge and resources become available.
The perception of curriculum programs, by school administrators, can be
an influencing factor in how programs are delivered to students.
A myriad of possibilities can exist from which administrators and educators
may choose. Providing a focus in schools on career development and
career education opportunities through sound programming practices developed
from a strong structural framework, combined with reflective teacher
professional development, in-service and autonomy can be empowering and
enlightening. The connection to the pear scenario is evident. Partnerships
between schools and private sector work experience opportunities are ripening.
We, as educators, can choose to change and redirect our focus and our efforts
before the fruit falls off of the tree.
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Providing a focus in schools on career development and career education opportunities through sound programming practices developed from a strong structural framework, combined with reflective teacher professional development, in-service and autonomy can be empowering and enlightening. |
Structures are needed to provide equitable access to career development
programming for all students. Teachers, at the grassroots level,
are faced with the daily challenge of attempting to integrate core curricular
offerings, while infusing the concept of career development into their
courses with relevancy and meaning to the world outside of the classroom.
As students progress in their educational endeavours and embark on pathways
to lifelong learning, many teachers search for ways to deliver programs
that encompass an emphasis on lifelong career development and learning,
acquisition and management of career planning skills and growth in the
concepts of career self-awareness and career exploration. Administrators
and teachers can both find benefit by receiving feedback from a variety
of sources to determine if their efforts are meeting the needs of the students
whom they serve.
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Structures are needed to provide equitable access to career development programming for all students. |
Addressing the issue of how career development programming can be delivered
in schools can be examined through an analysis of administrator’s perspectives.
These are the people, the catalysts for change, who influence and interact
with the staff who are responsible for teaching concepts to students on
a daily basis. Teachers and administrators, using the curriculum
as a guide, focus their efforts on the needs of their local school population.
The perceptions of program content and program implementation determine
how, when, by whom, and to what degree students will receive information.
How do the perceptions and behaviours of school administrators influence
and shape the school culture surrounding career development initiatives?
Gathering knowledge about administrators’ perceptions can change the way
in which we currently incorporate career development planning and “real
world” relevancy in our schools.
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Creating a culture for career development can enhance student learning experiences. Meeting the needs of educators and students, parents and community partners, while providing a balance between academic and occupational development, is a challenging trend emerging as the 21st century begins. School administrators as instructional leaders are a key link in this process. Through an examination of current ideas, beliefs, practices and perceptions related to leadership and to career development initiatives, a better understanding in terms of future direction can hope to be achieved. | Meeting the needs of educators and students, parents and community partners, while providing a balance between academic and occupational development, is a challenging trend emerging as the 21st century begins. |
Part II: Vision Communication
and Resiliency: A Review of the Literature
Subjects for this research project were chosen from among elementary
and secondary administrators working within the Saskatoon Public School
Division in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Procedures for data
collection were conducted in compliance with San Diego State University’s
policies on the Protection of Human Species.
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The approach used for the research in this project included the use
of a descriptive survey. The quantitative data gathered from the
survey were suitable for descriptive analysis. 15 survey questions
were asked surrounding the three primary themes that emerged as a result
of the literature review. Five questions were asked concerning the
first theme, I. Leading with a Career Development Vision; five questions
were asked about the second theme, II. Cultivating Career Education
through Meaningful Communication; and five questions were asked with regard
to the third theme, III. Resiliency and Career Development Initiatives.
These questions were answered by the participants through the use of a
Likert-type scale with individuals responding strongly agree, agree, not
certain, disagree, or strongly disagree for each question. The survey
is included as Appendix A. The data was gathered by distributing
and collecting the questionnaires from the volunteer participants.
Data were interpreted from the answers provided for each statement concerning
the three themes of the study.
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All of the Likert scale statements on the survey were positive statements. In general, the mean scores of the respondents, for each of the three themes, indicated positive sentiments in agreement. This would suggest a positive trend in strong agreement with the emerging themes of this study. Additionally, while not statistically significant, a strong trend was indicated in the relationship between administrative experience and Theme I-Leading with a Career Development Vision. Statistical significance was observed on individual survey questions for Theme I, question 4; Theme II, question 4; and Theme III, question 1. |
Part V: Where Do We Go From Here?
Conclusions and Recommendations for Proactive Administration
References
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Daggett, W. (1997, September). Preparing students for a technological/ information-based society. Restructuring brief: A publication of the California Professional Development Consortia #13, 1-12.
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February, 1999
Dear administrator:
You are invited to participate in a research study which will investigate the behaviours and perceptions of administrators in creating a culture for career development initiatives. I am a graduate student in the Master of Arts in the Educational Leadership program at San Diego State University in San Diego, California, USA. This research will be the basis of the research project I am conducting. I am a teacher with the Saskatoon Public School Division who is currently on extended professional development leave. I am conducting the research here in Saskatoon. You were recommended as a possible participant in this study because you are an administrator in an elementary or secondary school within the system.
If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire which will take approximately 10-15 minutes (maximum) to complete. I will deliver these questionnaires to you in person and then arrange a convenient time for me to pick them up again a day or two later.
Your participation in this project is completely voluntary and you may choose not to answer any of these questions. Any information that is obtained in connection with this study will be kept confidential.
Your participation will provide you with an opportunity to reflect on your leadership role and your awareness within the context of contributing to career development and career education for the students in your school community. The learning community and the teaching profession will benefit from a better understanding of current research in leadership and the formation of a career education culture.
If you have any questions or require clarification, please contact Shelley Hosaluk. Thank you for your anticipated support for this project. Your assistance is appreciated!
Sincerely,
Shelley Hosaluk
The VCR Approach: Creating A Culture for Career Development Education Survey
The following 4 questions serve to provide some information about your personal background.
1. Please check the title which best represents your current position:
Elementary Vice-Principal _______________ | Secondary Vice-Principal ________________ |
Elementary Principal ____________________ | Secondary Principal ____________________ |
Elementary _____ years |
Secondary _____ years |
Elementary _____ years |
Secondary _____ years |
_____ number of students |
Please Answer Each Question By Circling the Most Appropriate Response.
Please Feel Free to Elaborate Upon or Clarify any Question.
Theme I. Leading with a Career Development Vision
1. With global changes rapidly occurring, I think it is essential to
include career development and career education in planning goals for my
school.
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strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
Theme II. Cultivating Career Education Through Meaningful Communication
1. I see improved communication regarding career development as an important
element in building school culture.
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
Theme III. Resiliency and Career Development Initiatives
1. I believe “job specific” training is essential in career development
education for young people.
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
strongly agree | agree | not certain | disagree | strongly disagree |
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