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Introduction
The concept of career development and career education has assumed new dimensions with the rapid growth of globalization and the developments made in the field of science and technology. The developments in the 21st century have made the world a global village and students can expand their career goals and ambitions worldwide. It has resulted in changes in career trends and career information has been made accessible and available to everyone with the rapid spread of information sharing.
Education for life has given way to the concept of education for a career as education is understood as a lifelong process and as there is a close link between one’s life and career. The essay tries to analyze the concepts of career development, career education, career counseling, career guidance, and career information with special reference to the Australian career development system in schools. This paper aims to identify the key elements in successful career development in the school scenario.
Key elements in successful career development in a school
The meaning and scope of career education have undergone great changes by the end of the 20th century. There have been many attempts to define the concepts of career education and career development. According to MCEETYA (1998), career education is “the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes through a planned program of learning experiences in education and training settings which will assist students to make informed decisions about their study and/or work options and enable effective participation in working life. (Definition of career education, 1998).
As it is evident from the quotation the primary aim of career education in schools is to provide knowledge and information regarding various career opportunities to students and to enhance their skills and attitudes to befit their personal career needs.
For Simonsen (1997), carer development is an “ongoing process of planning and directed action towards personal work and life goals. Career development is the outcome of the individual’s career planning and organization’s provision of support and opportunities”. (Definition of career development in the organizational literature, 1997, p.6). Thus, it is clear that career development is a life-going process and students should be guided properly to identify their potentialities and to pursue the best possible career option for them.
The Australian Blue Print for Career Development of 2006 pinpoints the key elements for successful career development programs in Australian schools. The trial version of the proposed career programs in Australian schools seeks to provide a large variety of career guidelines for the Australian students and it aims to constantly plan, implement and evaluate career programs and resources, in such a way to make the Australian students competent enough to pursue their career goals under the changed job scenario.
There is no doubt that the changes in life, learning and work have drastically affected career development practices; the spread of globalization and the advancements in the field of information and communication technology has offered new dimensions to career aspirations and goals.
It is unanimously agreed that one needs to pursue his career based on his/her aptitude and the talents and skills that one possesses. However, the report postulates that under the changing climate, “individuals need to exhibit characteristics such as adaptability, flexibility, self-initiation and collaboration to accommodate and thrive in workplaces, or to create work for themselves” (Australian blueprint for career development, p. 9).
The blueprint also makes clear the major factors that define and affect the process of one’s career development such as one’s age, gender, abilities, support from the family and community, and the socio-economic and cultural atmosphere of the individual. Therefore there must be constancy as well as adaptability in career development programs in schools and the major aim of such programs should be to identify and develop specific career competencies in students that would suit their changing socio-economic environment. Proper and effective assessment strategies are essential prerequisites in one’s career development.
The career and life of a person are closely related; therefore, career selection becomes successful and meaningful only when there is a close link between one’s lifestyle needs, personal and professional aspirations, and one’s work values. Therefore, the assessment programs connected with career development should help students to “gain an understanding of their skills, abilities, attitudes, interests, achievements, prior learning experiences, personal style, learning style, work values, and lifestyle needs.” (Australian blueprint for career development, p. 13). Special care should be given for the assessment of one’s career competencies for a particular work field and the performance indicators displayed by students are to be constantly evaluated and assessed.
Career counseling in schools has a pivotal role to play in providing timely career information to students and enabling them to make the right decisions regarding their career choices based on their career concerns and skills. One needs to acquire knowledge regarding one’s personal and professional qualities, strengths, and weaknesses, identify which of the skills would help him for his/her career goals and aspirations, and should strive hard to accomplish them through hard work and constant updating of his skills and career information.
It is also the responsibility of career counselors and career practitioners to help the students to build a positive self-image, and make him/her realize his/her potentialities and what they can do for the community and the nation as a whole. Students must be convinced that career education is not all about getting a job; rather they should be aware of the fact that there is a close relationship between work, society, and the economy.
Wendy Patton and Mary Mcmahon (2001) regard preparation for life-long career decision-making as one of the major goals of career education in schools. Mary McMahon, Wendy Patton, and Peter Tathan also emphasize that there needs to be a life span career development plan for students as ‘learning of career/life management skills occurs across the lifespan’ and they postulate that there is a close link between the life, learning, and work of an individual.
As they make it clear, the “emerging definitions of career and career development are reflective of a proactive, individual centered, lifespan, life/career management process where individuals are active in responding and adapting to change and in creating, constructing, designing, and identifying paid employment opportunities, life and learning experiences that will enable them to create satisfying lives.” (McMahon, Patton & Tathan, p. 5). There can be both intentional and unintentional career development. Thus, it is evident that career development learning takes place even without any intervention. However, proper intervention strategies can assist and foster the career competencies of the learners towards their career goals and aspirations in a more effective way.
One should also take into account the various career development theories in developing a career intervention program for school children. Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, and Herma Theory – 1951 postulate that career choice is a ‘developmental path’ that is influenced by four factors, namely “the reality factor, the influence of the educational process, the emotional factor and individual values.” (Overview of career development theory).
The theory lacks authenticity as there are many other factors like gender, race, and social status that play pivotal roles in the career choice made by a person. Super’s Theory of Vocational Choice – 1954 emphasizes the role of self-concept in career choice and he argues that the self-concept of people is subject to constant changes depending upon their learning, exposure, and experience and so his career choice. Holland’s Career Typology – 1959, on the other hand, postulates that people tend to pursue careers that meet their personal needs. He stressed the role of heredity in career choice and believes that people select careers that give them the best satisfaction.
Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s Social Cognitive Career Theory – 1987 is another remarkable career development theory, and the proponents of the theory attempt “to address issues of culture, gender, genetic endowment, social context and unexpected life events that may interact with and supersede the effects of career-related choices.” (Overview of career development theory). A close analysis of the theories mentioned above convinces one of the facts that all these theories point to one or another aspect of career development and career education and that the Australian Blueprint for career development has imbibed the positive aspects of all these theories.
The Australian Educational council 1989 describes career education as the most deliberate process which intervenes in the development process of the country. The Australian Educational review committee (1991) points out that, career education must be enclosed in the learning process from the pre-primary classes itself. The Australian government considers career education as part of a key learning area. Wendy Patton and Mary Mac Mahon point out that the Australian K-12 Career Education Curriculum framework proposes four key elements.
They are: learning about self about work, learning about the world of work, learning to make career plans and decisions, and implementing career decisions, and managing work transitions (Patton & Mac Mahon, p-76).
One can also notice the importance given to career development in other nations too. For instance, the Indonesian Government has introduced Computer literacy improvement programs for Riau students intending to make them competent in career choice. Local Community and Career Development Programs states: “In Indonesia, Chevron-donated equipment and software are helping to enrich computer knowledge among students in Riau, an oil-producing and natural resources-rich province on the island of Sumatra.” (Local community and career development programs, 2007).
The Indonesian government is ready to support the local community to cope up with the changing career opportunities in the world. The computer literacy Improvement program, which is implemented among the local community in a province on the island of Sumatra, calls for donating computer laboratories to the local secondary schools and universities. All other training programs related to computer training are implemented successfully with the support of the local government and other third parties.
Conclusion
Thus, it is evident from the above discussion that globalization and developments in the field of information technology have increased the scope and significance of career education. In schools, students should be encouraged to identify their skills and competencies, and they should be provided career counseling to fix their career goals and aspirations higher. An important factor in career development is to make students understand the link between life and career.
Therefore, any intervention program for students’ career development should equip the learners with the necessary career information and in molding, the right career of each student, career practitioners, career counselors, career educators and researchers, community-based educators, curriculum developers, and career information centers have an important role to play.
References
Definition of career education. (1998). MCEETYA, Quoted in Wendy Patton and Mary Mcmahon. Career Development Programs: Preparation for Life-Long Career Decision Making. Aust Council for Ed Research.
Definition of career development in organizational literature. (1997). Simonsen, p.6. Quoted in Wendy Patton and Mary Mcmahon. Career Development Programs: Preparation for Life-Long Career Decision Making. Aust Council for Ed Research.
Patton, Wendy., & Mcmahon, Mary. (2001). Career Development Programs: Preparation for Life-Long Career Decision Making. Aust Council for Ed Research.
Australian blueprint for career development. (2006). Trial Version. Commonwealth of Australia.
McMahon, Mary., Patton, Wendy., & Tathan, Peter. Managing Life, Learning and Work in the 21st Century. Australian Blueprint for Career Development. Miles Morgan Australia Pty Ltd.
Local community and career development programs. (2007). Energy API. Web.
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