Draft+1+Literature+Review


 * __DRAFT LITERATURE REVIEW DRAFT__**

As the West has increasingly moved toward a specialized economy, pressure has mounted on children to choose their intended career paths at an earlier age. Worryingly, many students enter college, an expensive financial endeavor, with little idea of their goals, or the tools necessary to succeed in the ever-changing job market. School counselors are being enlisted to address this dynamic through practical career education that begins in elementary school. This literature review will consider the current trends in career development for elementary school students within the United States, by addressing the need, considering some of the goals, and ending with some specific approaches that may successfully involve students in the career process.

Many parents may balk at the idea of six and seven year olds receiving information about career opportunities at such a young age. The cultural pressure on children to succeed and get a job seems to involve younger children as time progresses. Some may wonder if career education will someday begin in utero. However, by considering some of the reasons that advocates support this approach, a well-thought out reason for this action takes shape. Harkin, for example, supports early career education. 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, 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. 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. Likewise, children may also lack the necessary understanding of the investment of work and education necessary to achieve their goals. If, as Magnuson and Starr point out, 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 that 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 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’ employment as a starting point, and learning about careers of other significant influences and acquaintances 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 on who can perform the functions of certain jobs and what education is required to enter each profession from the one presented on television or other outlets that help to shape children’s perceptions. As Gottfredson notes, 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. 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 could 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 more broad than McIntosh’s 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)

Harkin further expands the range of goals for career counseling at the elementary school level by recommending that children gain teamwork, communication and computer skills. McIntosh echoes Harkin’s 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, sum up the goals of career education in the elementary schools. School counselors must build up the competencies, abilities and 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; providing hats, magnifying glasses or building blocks that the children can use to 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 stereotypes about gender roles (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). Therefore, this academic recommends starting with the roles that significant adults in the children’s lives fill. Work site simulations offer an excellent avenue for exploration.

Education literature identifies other ways to engage students in active, fun learning. 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 students in thinking about careers.