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While it may seem premature to ask 6 – 8th graders to think about careers at such a young age, research has shown that one of the key indicators of future academic and career success is exposure to career awareness activities in middle school (Schultheiss et al. 2005). Students have a notion that it is something they will think about later. We can help students begin to identify broad career pathways consistent with their interests when we begin talking to them about what appeals to them academically and vocationally. The goal is not to have students hone in and settle on one career, but rather to introduce them to the range of possibilities that exist and prepare them to make decisions about high school classes and eventually about their futures in general. Career development research has yielded the following findings that emphasize the importance of beginning this process early with our students:
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10 to 14 jobs by age 38 (Fisch, Shift Happens – Video, 2010). A major misconception among students is that their college major will determine what they do for the rest of their lives. Studies have shown that within ten years after graduation, most people are working in careers not directly related to their undergraduate majors. It is not unusual for most professionals to change careers several times during their lives. (Leonard, 2010)
Most jobs also change over time, whether people want them to or not. Many current jobs will be very different five years from now or may even be obsolete by then. New types of jobs are emerging every year, and most of us have no way of knowing what those jobs will be or what type of education will be needed in order to qualify for them. Our students will need to be able to adjust to this rapidly changing work place.
This research supports the big ideas I have for this grant proposal and the transformation in understanding which I hope to make happen in students. These are:
- Sex-role stereotypes, particularly about gender-appropriate occupations are formed early. (Guss & Adams, 1998)
- Students at risk, girls, and minority group children often limit their career choices early. (O’Brien, 1999)
- When surveyed, the majority of high school dropouts say they began to “disconnect” in middle school or earlier. (Castellano et al., 2002)
- Most middle school students have only a shallow understanding of how school relates to work. (Johnson, 2000)
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10 to 14 jobs by age 38 (Fisch, Shift Happens – Video, 2010). A major misconception among students is that their college major will determine what they do for the rest of their lives. Studies have shown that within ten years after graduation, most people are working in careers not directly related to their undergraduate majors. It is not unusual for most professionals to change careers several times during their lives. (Leonard, 2010)
Most jobs also change over time, whether people want them to or not. Many current jobs will be very different five years from now or may even be obsolete by then. New types of jobs are emerging every year, and most of us have no way of knowing what those jobs will be or what type of education will be needed in order to qualify for them. Our students will need to be able to adjust to this rapidly changing work place.
This research supports the big ideas I have for this grant proposal and the transformation in understanding which I hope to make happen in students. These are:
- Student’s seeing that a person’s career path often is a journey which has unexpected twists and turns.
- Student’s understanding that developing a career is an ongoing, work-in-progress and will be a lifelong endeavor.
- Student’s being aware that because technology is in a constant state of change the essential skill they need to develop is learning “how to self-educate” when challenged with learning to use and apply a new technology tool.