Working with Middle School Students Career Guidance Working with Middle School Students

Did You Know…. Sex-role stereotypes, particularly about gender-appropriate occupations, are formed at an early age? (Guss and Adams 1998) Students at risk, girls, and minority group children often limit their career choices early on? (O.Brien et al. 1999) Few middle-schoolers have realistic career plans, and many lack awareness of the world of work? (Finch and Mooney 1997)

Johnson (2000) Based on interview with 6th and 9th grade students, the authors found that most students… had only a shallow understanding of how school relates to work.. had limited awareness of the knowledge and skills needed for work and little sense of how to develop them. had little or no awareness of the type of work involved in their career aspiration. believed that schoolwork needs to be career specific to be relevant.

“As the threshold between elementary and high school, between childhood and adulthood, middle school provides a significant opportunity for the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and awareness that are the foundation for the next stage of life” (Kerka, 2000).

Career Education at the Middle School Level Should Help Students… Developmental Career Programs (1998) Understand their personal characteristics, interests, aptitudes, and skills. Develop awareness of and respect for the diversity of the world of work. Gain an understanding of the relationship between school performance and future choices. Develop a positive attitude toward work.

Indiana Career Development Standards

Career Awareness (Self Knowledge, Career Exploration, Career Planning)r Guidance Standards 6-8.2.1 Reexamine their career interests based on their experiences and/or updated career interest inventory. 6-8.2.2 Use personal, print, and electronic resources to discover occupations that match their career interests. 6-8.2.3 Use information interviews and field observations to research an occupation. 6-8.2.4 Discuss the impact of global economics and technology on today’s labor force (e.g., employing people from other countries to do telemarketing in the United States, working from home in a “virtual” office, moving manufacturing jobs from Indiana to other countries). 6-8.2.5 Describe fair hiring practices as outlined by federal laws prohibiting job discrimination.

Preparation for Career Options 6-8.2.6 Establish a flexible career plan that includes one or more career areas (e.g., health services, educational services, building and construction) they would like to explore in high school and specific occupations that are of interest to the student. 6-8.2.7 Research specific occupations identified in their career plans. 6-8.2.8 Develop a system for collecting information that will be helpful in writing a resume, (e.g., participation in extracurricular activities, service projects, and awards received). 6-8.2.9 Create a resume using a model resume.

Relationship of Careers to Academics and Life 6-8.2.10 Recognize the likelihood that most people will change jobs over their lifespan and how continuous learning applies when one changes jobs. 6-8.2.11 Describe how to prepare for jobs that do not exist today.

The Role of the Middle School Counselor in Career Guidance

School Counselor Roles Individual career planning sessions with students- a 4 year or 6 year plan (Arrington 2000) Personal contact and counseling (Kaufman, Bradley, & Teitelbaum 2002, Whiston and Sexton 1998)( Hughes & Karp 2004) Parent workshops (Diemer 2007) (Whiston & Sexton 1998) Social skills training Group counseling Peer counseling i.e. mediation (Whiston & Sexton 1998) Experiential career development activities like job shadowing (Arrington 2000) (Hughes & Karp, 2004) Focus on prevention and proactive programming rather than putting out fires (Anderman & Maehr 1994) (Mahoney 2000) (Whiston & Sexton 1998) Computer- assisted career guidance (Hughes & Karp, 2004) (Turner & Lapan)

Best Practices Kerka, 2000 Integrated Curriculum (Jacobs, Beane, Malone). Constructivism(Gibson 1998). Mentoring Service Learning (Benz 1996). Contextualized Learning (Van Leuvan 1997) Technology Infused career exploration in language arts class. learners undertake inquiry and actively construct knowledge by integrating new information into their existing cognitive structure. Connecting with an adult/community professional. Community service/volunteerism Hands-on activities that relate career practices with academic content. Enviro Quest® and ROC-CD® Drive of Your Life®