in the classroom
Who are you ?
The benefits of introducing careers education to younger students .
By Wade Zaglas
Careers education is typically completed in the secondary years of schooling , yet two education experts argue that introducing the subject in the primary years will foster more student engagement , empowerment and curiosity among younger students as they consider “ who they may become ”.
At a recent OECD global conference – aptly titled ‘ Disrupted Futures ’ – Professor Jim Bright and co-founder and CEO of the BECOME program , Liv Pennie , showed their findings in a presentation titled
‘ Disrupted Futures : International Lessons on How Schools Can Best Equip Students for Their Working Lives .’
Pennie and Bright ’ s presentation centred on a group of 180 students at St Luke ’ s Catholic College in Marsden Park , NSW . The cohort of 10-13 year olds took part in a structured career education program called BECOME , which was led by the students ’ teachers and included activities , exploration , discussion and reflection . The presenters noted that student data was collected before , during and after the program finished .
Pennie and Bright shared the following findings during the presentation . Before participating in the program :
• More than three-quarters of the cohort ( 77 per cent ) said they think often or all the time about their future , but only 10 per cent had talked about their futures with a teacher .
• Just over half ( 52 per cent ) of the students “ aspired to one of only five occupations ”: an athlete , performing artist , physician / surgeon , visual artist and a vet / vet assistant . Pennie and Bright note that these
“ results correspond to OECD findings which showed that student aspirations are generally narrow and fixed , with little awareness of the wide variety of careers open to them ”. After participating in the program :
• Nearly 70 per cent of the students said : “ I feel more confident that I can take action on my ideas than before BECOME .”
• Sixty-three per cent of participants reported : “ I will definitely keep doing things that move me towards my ideas for my future .”
• More than half ( 58 per cent ) said : “ I am more excited about the world of work and who I might become .” “ Change is constant , careers are not linear , and while we agree that children ’ s future careers are not linear , we teach in
We need to give them the time , space and tools to explore , design and navigate their own future .
a linear fashion and assume children ’ s careers will follow suit ,” said Bright , director of evidence & impact for BECOME .
CEO of BECOME Pennie added : “ By taking an inquiry-based approach , students develop a full understanding of who they are and how they can be active in designing their future in a constantly changing world of work .
“ We can ’ t teach young people how to think critically and deeply about their future when major decisions need to be made in a rush towards the end of schooling .
“ We need to give them the time , space and tools to learn and practice the skills to explore , design and navigate their own future .”
Bright concluded by saying early careers education should become “ common practice ”.
“ After completing BECOME , there was a 20 per cent increase in how connected students feel their learning at school is to their future ,” he said .
“ We know if students are interested in a subject and see that it ’ s relevant to what they are thinking about doing in the future , they are going to be an engaged student , a happier student and a more successful student .
“ The benefits are in preparing them for tomorrow but also for inspiring them today . We are trying to make this best practice become common practice .”
Bright commences the presentation by highlighted disrupted futures are analogous to forms of chaos theory , where the expectations , norms , shifting cultural practices and uncertainty make it extremely difficult for anyone , let alone primary school students , to make inquiryled decisions about their futures .
The education expert contends there is incongruence between what we know about students ’ future careers , and how careers education is typically conducted .
“ We all agree that young people ’ s careers will not be linear ,” Bright says .
“ Yet often our careers programs at school are completely linear .” ■
14 | educationreview . com . au