Career Development in the Early Years

1. CAREERS EDUCATION
IN PRIMARY SCHOOL?
+

2. +
What is Career Development?
Career Development is about helping people
manage their life, learning and work over the
lifespan. It is the acknowledgment of life long
learning (Mary McMahon, Wendy Patton,
Peter Tatham, 2002).
Career Development is “the knowledge, skills,
behaviours and dispositions that will assist
students to live and work as successful
independent learners, and as active,
confident, creative and informed individuals”
(Shape of the Australian Curriculum –
ACARA, Dec. 2010). These capabilities are
essential for life long learning. …

3. In Australia, there are a number of existing
+ arrangements to address these generic skills:
General Capabilities that form part of the
Australian Curriculum for schools.
The Overarching Outcomes, part of the WA
Curriculum Framework,
The
Australian Blueprint for Career Development
From a Broader , which addresses career management
competencies essential for life long learning.
Perspective Employability Skills Framework used in the
VET sector.
… the notion of
Graduate Attributes developed by
Generic Skills are not universities.
new!
Australian Core Skills Framework,
foundation skills for the workforce.
The Australian Qualifications Framework,
which spans all education and training sectors,
also refers to four broad categories of Generic
Skills.

4. It has many social and economic
+ advantages:
From a government and business
perspective: career development
assists workforce preparation,
adaptability, sustainability and
Career reintegration hence increased
workforce participation rate, reduced
Development costs, increased efficiency and
productivity.
is High on the
From a human point of view,
Government’s career development assists increased
Agenda- a satisfaction and psychological success
in one's life.
National
From an educational perspective
Priority career development assists
individuals realise their full potential..

5. Career Development
Is not about expecting a child to make lifelong
career decisions at a very young age … it is about
providing them with a context for their school
learning and the skills, knowledge, understandings
and attitudes to make future career decisions.
+
It shows students the real life relevance of their
school experience and therefore it is important that
career development in schools is a K- 12 approach.

6. +
Did you know research tell us …
Students from
Preschool to Year 12 The research findings suggest we
have the capacity are missing a valuable opportunity
to influence and enhance the
to understand career development of our
career students if we do not begin career
education early.
development?
(Miles Morgan Australia (2003). Australian Blueprint for
Career Development, P. 87.)
Australian Blueprint for Career Development
Worksheets and Activities
Additional Primary Classroom Activities

7. +
Did you know research tell us …
 Five (5) year olds can talk about the
job they want when they grow up,
and …
 Six to Eight (6 to 8) year olds
have already begun to narrow
down the number of occupations
they are prepared to consider in the
future (Phipps, 1995).

8. +
Did you know research tell us …
 … and once these limits are set, individuals
will rarely consider broader alternatives (Poole
& Low, 1985).
 Individuals start to rule out options at an early
age because of the unconscious influences of
parents, their friends and the stereotyping of
occupations.

9. +
Why is it important to start early?
Research has shown that children engage more deeply
in learning if they …
 1. cansee how education  2. connect what they are
is connected to a learning in school to
successful future. real-world situations.
 3.discover the variety of  4. develop work-
jobs available to them readiness skills.
and are able to imagine
themselves in an
occupation.

10. +
STUDENTS CAN BUILD A
CAREER FOUNDATION
… in the Early Years by
encouraging the use
of age-appropriate
activities and play to
explore the structure
and function of the
working world which is
presented in a Model of
Contemporary Learning
entitled
Exploring Roles in the Community
<click to view>

11. THEY CAN CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP CAREER
PERCEPTIONS
… in the Middle Years by building solid
foundations for good career decision making by…
+
• Exploring the range of opportunities in the
world of work – both online, and face to
face!
• Engaging in authentic learning, and
• Reflecting on personal interests, attributes,
values and abilities to develop personal
learning goals and aspirations.

12. + V
E
Years Prep to 4 – Laying the foundations: L
S
 The curriculum focuses on developing the fundamental
knowledge, skills and behaviours in general skills of
literacy and numeracy and other areas including
physical and social capacities that underpin all future
learning.
 Career development at this stage includes the
development of self awareness and understanding of
the world around them, including the roles people have
in their lives.

13. + V
E
Years 5 to 8 – Building breadth & depth: L
S
 Career development at this stage includes a
deeper understanding of themselves and the
working world and the decision making processes.
They will begin to explore options for learning that
can lead to pathways they may want to follow.
Years 9 to 10 – Developing pathways:
They need to experience learning in work and
community settings as well as the classroom. They are
beginning to develop preferred areas for their learning.
Reference: http://bit.ly/OcL4cc

14. +
Other Resources you may wish to
explore
 Through such programs as
the “You Can Do It” you
can teach children the Five
Keys to Success or in using
the “Real Game Series” the
Series
Five High Principles of life.
 You Can Do It! You Can Do It!
 Theseprograms gives http://www.youcandoit.com.au/
students the tools to help  The Real Game
manage and excel in all http://www.realgame.com/australia.html
aspects of life.  Squidoo http://bit.ly/P69y7a
 Teaching Kids Business
http://bit.ly/eT6v7J

15. References
ACARA, http://www.acara.edu.au/default.asp
Australian Curriculum, http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
Chance Clutter (1995) The Effects of Parental Influence on their
Children‘s Career Choices, Fort Hays State University, 1995.
•http://bit.ly/O4QWoy
Mary McMahon, Wendy Patton, Peter Tatham (2002) Managing Life,
Learning and Work in the 21st Century. http://bit.ly/Na8pHq
Miles Morgan Australia (2003) Australian Blueprint for Career
Development, P. 87).
+ •Patton,Wendy and McMahon, Mary (2006) The Systems Theory
Framework of Career Development and Counseling: Connecting
Theory And Practice. International Journal for the Advancement of
Counselling 28 (2): pp. 153-166. http://bit.ly/N35sJN
•Phipps, B.J. (1995) Career dreams of preadolescent students. Journal
of Career Development, 22 (1), 19-32.
http://jcd.sagepub.com/content/22/1/19.extract
•Poole & Low (1985) Career aspirations of adolescent girls: effects of
achievement level, grade, and single-sex school environment, May
2002, Volume 46, Issue 9-10, pp 323-335.
http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1023/A%3A1020228613796
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