Draft+3+Literature+Review

Hey Everyone-- Here is the latest draft for our literature review. I have a few questions and comments: 1. Chris, I checked the APA guidelines, and found that paraphrasing does not require page numbers, but it is recommended. Therefore, I kept the page numbers in when we had them, and left them out for the newer articles that I added today. 2. Lisa, I included a few references to the Black & Auger article, and added a sentence about Gottredson, but I couldn't find a place to include some information about the importance of parental involvement. I think that it's worthwhile to note if you do, but it isn't enough to start a whole paragraph on its own. Do you think that you could look over this draft to see if you could identify somewhere to slip in that information? 3. Kim, I added in a reference to Super's life cycle as you suggested, and included some references to the rural elementary article that you suggested. Is there anything else that I missed? 4. I'm still not sure about the second to last paragraph (about learning stations/Montessori ed). I like that it's there, but I'm wondering if it's extraneous information that I should remove. Any thoughts? 5. For the intro, I reworked it a bit so that I included an article that I heard on NPR yesterday about student debt. It seems to fit. If you aren't satisfied with the intro/conclusion, please change it where you think it should be altered... 6. Any other suggestions or changes? PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP!! I will wait to get this last feedback from you, and then once I hear, I'll post it on D2L.

Thanks, Nate HEY NATE! I THINK YOU FORGOT TO ADD BROWN TO OUR REFERENCE PAGE. MAYBE I MISSED IT. TALK TO YOU SOON! LISA

Hi Nate and Chris and Kim! Just finished reading the lit review and folks notes. I think it looks great! I like all of the additions people gave and how you incorporated it all. I thought about the piece on parental influence and while I like it, I think we don't need to include it unless one of our stations really mentions the fact. I know mine will not. What about your stations Chris and Kim? I have been working on the draft of my station and it is coming together. Can't wait to see what you all think as it has morphed a little since we all talked. I read some of it to our target audience (Sydney my daughter is a 3rd grader) and got some good feedback. I think we will be able to get a lot done Wednesday night. I am now thinking of us having three stations (Lisa, Chris, and Kim in charge of one each) and then Nate being the Goal/Objective/Intervention guy telling why we did what we did etc. Does that make sense? I think that could work well. If you like that idea, we can flesh it out on Wednesday after class. Have a great weekend and good work everyone and a special thanks to Nate! Lisa

PS I like the NPR bit and the section about the learning stations as it is so relevant to our workshop.

I think the literature review looks great. Nate I know that we talked about the chapters that Dr. Baker put on the library reserve. Did you ever talk to Dr. Baker to see how we needed to site it? -Kim

**__LITERATURE REVIEW__**

As countries in the Western World have increasingly moved toward a specialized economy, students have had to invest themselves in years of education and take on a significant debt burden in order to enter the job market. The Student Debt Project reports that student borrowing hit an all time high of $25,250 during 2010 (Abramson, 2011). In part because of these pressures, many students feel an intense urgency to make a firm decision regarding career. Worryingly, however, many students enter college with little idea of their goals, or the tools necessary to succeed in the ever changing job market (Wood & Kaszubowski, 2008). The American School Counselor Association attempts to address this issue by providing clear benchmarks for career development education that can prepare students for wise decision making (ASCA, 2004; Blackhurst & Auger, 2008). This literature review will consider the current trends in career development for elementary school students within the United States, by addressing the needs, goals and some specific approaches that may successfully involve students in the career process.

Many adults may balk at the idea of 6 and 7 year olds receiving information about career opportunities at such a young age. However, careful consideration of the rationale behind career development education in elementary schools helps to clarify the importance for providing this service even at a young age. First, theorists like Super emphasize the fact that career development takes place over a lifetime (Brown, 2012, p. 43). Certainly, children should not make decisions about their future careers, but instead, “begin to gather information about careers and to acquire the skills and competencies that will one day support success in the workplace” (Harkin, 2001, p. 170). In previous generations, for example, children would work with their families to sow and harvest crops (Harkin, 2001, p. 169). These activities taught basic principles to children who would one day continue on in this employment. Now, however, few families remain on farms, and the field of careers is far wider. Cultivating the basic building blocks of responsibility, persistence, planfulness, self-motivation, respect and focus allow children to establish a firm foundation on which future aspirations can take shape (Paterson, 2005, p. 18; Magnuson & Starr, 2000, p. 98; Gallavan, 2003, p. 18).

Further, children already receive many, often inaccurate, messages about the workplace (Harkin, 2001; Wood & Kaszubowski, 2008). Television offers faulty, often stereotyped depictions of employment; these messages shape children at an early age and can ultimately lead them to circumscribe their options based on what they have seen (Harkin, 2001). Wood and Kaszubowski affirm this conclusion by saying that “some students begin to limit their career goals as early as elementary school” (2008; Magnuson & Starr, 2000). Likewise, children may also lack the necessary understanding of the investment of work and education necessary to achieve their goals. If researchers are correct in their assertion that children make decisions about themselves and the world at a young age, educators and counselors need to address these issues early on in the education process so that students can make wise choices (2000, p. 90). Finally, with all of the advancements and changes in the current job market, children cannot possibly receive exposure to the vast array of careers that currently exist (Harkin, 2001, p. 170). Career counselors need to fill in the gaps with opportunities for children to explore the realm of possibilities. In short, career education among elementary school students must begin early because the skills necessary to succeed do not develop quickly, and the messages that children receive from other sources may negatively impact the career journey. The earlier those children begin to develop a framework for employment, the more time that this concept will be given the opportunity to mature in the child’s mind (Harkin, 2001, p. 170). This time for rumination will offer the child a better chance of successfully navigating this aspect of life.

Because of the many factors that influence children, several inter-related goals emerge as imperative aspects of elementary school career education. First, Brown notes that children need to develop an awareness of the diversity of occupations (2012, p. 178; Harkins, 2001, p. 171). Harkins adds that children must also become aware of themselves (2001, p. 171). This process will include understanding parents’ and or primary caregivers’ employment as a starting point, and then learning about the careers of other influential adults in the child’s life (Brown, 2012, p. 178).

Similarly, breaking stereotypes plays a significant role in career education for children (Brown, 2012, p. 52 & 178; Harkins, 2001, p. 172). Seminars must offer children a broad range of concrete opportunities that, hopefully, will offer a more accurate perspective of the requirements and functions of certain jobs as well as potential educational requirements needed for entry into those careers. This more realistic representation of career paths presented by these seminars should ideally offset the inaccurate career representations that are presented on television or other outlets that children are exposed to on a daily basis. As Gottfredson notes, sex-typed stereotypes regarding careers take shape from 6 to 8 years of age; perspectives about the social class of jobs forms from 9 to 13 years of age (Brown, 2012, p. 50). These factors influence children to reject or pursue certain career paths (Blackhurst & Auger, 2005). Once an individual circumscribes an alternative, he or she will not revisit it unless some type of intervention occurs (Brown, 2012, p. 50). Therefore, this element of career education plays an especially significant role, and reinforces the importance of addressing career development at a young age. By breaking stereotypes early in the education process, career counselors can take a proactive stance in shepherding children past some of the barriers posed by societal norms towards a career that they can find fulfilling.

Along with breaking stereotypes, educators can build up children’s self-esteem so that they will have the emotional resources necessary to consider jobs that they might otherwise perceive as out of their reach. McIntosh notes that this quality, in part, can take root in a child’s life as they acquire skills in self-expression, and gain competence (2000, p. 623). Although broader than McIntosh’s (2000) category, Harkin alludes to this goal when she indicates that school counselors should seek to encourage children to develop “positive attitude and habits” (2001, p. 171). As children build self-esteem by learning core competencies, some of the linkages between education and work can be reinforced. Educators and counselors can stress that the skills that children are learning in school will directly relate to the workplace, and, thus, achieve another goal of career education in the elementary school (Brown, 2012, p. 179)

According to Harkin (2000), career counseling at the elementary school level should center on building children’s abilities in teamwork, communication and computer skills. McIntosh echoes Harkin’s (2000) emphasis on group cooperation, and adds that career education should enable the student to “set personal goals, make personal choices and decisions, accept responsibility for the consequences of persona decision, come to grips with peer pressure and develop and prize one’s own standards” (2000, p. 623).

In summary, two primary concepts, building and breaking, encapsulate the goals of career education for elementary school children. School counselors must build up the competencies, abilities and self-understanding of children, while at the same time breaking misconceptions, and stereotypes. These two principles should guide any career development work at this age.

Many researchers note effective ways to implement these goals, by offering different approaches to career development in elementary schools. Primarily, career development activities must be fun and interactive. Harkins notes that “the principle that children draw on active experience to create meaning about the world should be reflected in career education…” (2001, p. 170). Fostering a fun atmosphere can involve stimulating creativity. Magnuson suggests encouraging curiosity in children by providing a space for children to wander and explore, which could be accomplished by providing hats, magnifying glasses or building blocks that the children can use to explore and introduce themselves to different types of employment (2000, p. 98). This dramatic play can not only expose children to new opportunities, but aid in the process of breaking gender based stereotypes (Harkins, 2001, p. 172). Fieldtrips to different workplaces can also open students’ minds to other opportunities (Paterson, 2005, p. 18).

Further, Harkin advocates that interventions begin at the level of understanding of a child and move toward unfamiliar topics (2001, p. 170; Magnuson & Starr, 2000, p. 99). School counselors can reach this goal by starting with the roles that significant adults in the children’s lives fill. If students cannot travel to see workplaces in person, work site simulations offer an excellent avenue for exploration (Harkin, 2001, p. 170).

Education literature identifies other ways to engage students in dynamic, fun learning activities. By utilizing learning stations, “a centre [sic] where students have activities to gain mandatory or voluntary skills…to try to reach objectives through predetermined activities based on their levels,” children can explore at their own pace, and investigate a wide range of activities that they might not have considered otherwise (Ocak, 2010, p. 147). Learning stations achieves many of the goals for career education, like fostering self-confidence and developing goals (Ocak, 2010, p. 147). These activities can include elements that involve multiple intelligences, a term coined by Howard Gardner to explain differences in learning style (Gouws, 2007). Some activities may include kinesthetic activities like acting, while others may involve drawing pictures or maps. Montessori education utilizes this learning station approach and often involves activities tailored to other learning styles, all in the attempt to invigorate children with a “flaming imagination” that will aid their learning process (McKenzie, 1995, p. 38). School counselors can certainly utilize these techniques and model to effectively engage elementary school aged students in thinking about careers.

In all, the elementary school years offer an invaluable window of opportunity for educators to provide students with career related information. School counselors can utilize this formative time in a child’s life to break career stereotypes and provide students with accurate information that can influence a child’s career journey over a lifetime. To gain the best outcomes, educators should use fun, inventive approaches that begin with topics familiar to students. From this foundation, educators can expose students to a variety of careers that will, hopefully, lead to a fulfilling career path.

**__REFERENCES__**

Abramson, L. (November 3, 2011). College Students’ Borrowing Hits an All Time High. //National Public Radio//. Retrieved from []

American School Counselor Association (2004). //ASCANational Standards for Students.// Alexandria, VA. Retrieved from []

Blackhurst, A. E., & Auger, R. W. (2008). Precursors to the Gender Gap in College Enrollment: Children's Aspirations and Expectations for Their Futures. Professional School Counseling//, 11(3), 149-158. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

Emmett, J. and Preston, D. (2001). Career Development in the Elementary School in D. Sandhu (Ed.), (2001). //Elementary school counseling in the new millennium// (73-101). Alexandria, VA US: American Counseling Association.

//Gallavan, N. P. (2003). Decision Making, Self-Efficacy, and the Place of Career Education in Elementary School Social Studies.// Social Studies//, 94(1), 15. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

//Gouws, F. E. (2007). Teaching and learning through multiple intelligences in the outcomes-based education classroom.// Africa Education Review//, 4(2), 60-74. doi:10.1080/18146620701652705//

//Harkins, M. A. (2001). Developmentally appropriate career guidance: Building concepts to last a lifetime.// Early Childhood Education Journal//, 28(3), 169-174. doi:10.1023/A:1026543201937//

//Helwig, A. A. (2008). From Childhood to Adulthood: A 15-Year Longitudinal Career Development Study.// Career Development Quarterly//, 57(1), 38-50. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

//Jarrett, O. (2010). "Inventive" Learning Stations.// Science & Children//, 47(5), 56-59. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

Lash, M. (2004). Multiple Intelligences and the Search for Creative Teaching. //Paths of Learning//, (22), 13-15. Retrieved from EBSCOhost//.//

//Magnuson, C. S., & Starr, M. F. (2000). How early is too early to begin life career planning? The importance of the elementary school years.// Journal of Career Development//, 27(2), 89-101. doi:10.1023/A:1007844500034//

//McKenzie, G. (1995). Montessori Language and the Sensitive Period for the Imagination and Culture.// Montessori Life//, 7(3), 38-39. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

McIntosh, P. (2000). Life Career Development: Implications for School Counselors. //Education//, 120(4), 621-625. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.

//Ocak, G. (2010). The Effect of Learning Stations on the Level of Academic Success and Retention of Elementary School Students.// New Educational Review//, 146-156. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

//Oklahoma State Dept. of Career and Technology Education, S. r. (2002).// Career Activity File: Counseling Tools for a Guidance Program, K-12//. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

//Patterson, J. (2005). Career development begins in elementary and middle school.// Counseling Today//, 48(3), 18. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.//

Snyder, D., & Jackson, S. (2006). The K-12 Career Development Process. //Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers//, 81(3), 22-26. Retrieved from EBSCOhost//.//

//Wood, C., & Kaszubowski, Y. (2008). The Career Development Needs of Rural Elementary School Students.// Elementary School Journal//, 108(5), 431-444. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.