Literature+Review

Preparing children to become ready to make career decisions is an important job of the school system. Gysbers (2013) defined career readiness as “a holistic picture of resilient individuals who are actively involved in shaping and directing their lives now and into the future” (p. 284). In order to create the "career ready" student, most researchers have agreed that career development begins in early childhood, therefore the interventions should begin in elementary school. Even so, there is a lack of literature on childhood career development and much of the information available pertains to high school students. Although the research is minimal, most available research indicates the necessity to expose children early to careers and how these jobs relate to their lives.
 * Importance of Career Education in Elementary School**

Most of the theoretical research established about elementary-aged career development is related to the theories of Super and Gottfredson, as well as the Social-Cognitive Development Theory. Super and Gottfredson both recognized children’s early identification with careers in relation to both size and power and gender roles. These two theorists believed that our ideas of social valuation and gender roles are formed in the elementary school years. The Social-Cognitive Development Theory attests that interests are based on both cognitive and social factors that begin in childhood (Gysbers, 2013). Thus, early intervention and discussion of career options as they relate to interests, social valuation, and gender typing are critical for career development.

The career educational movement in schools has generally focused on three major goals. These goals are: looking to change the educational system by inserting career education into the curriculum, working towards making career education a joint effort between community and schools, and providing students with a set of ten general skills to aid them in adjusting to changes in the occupational society (Evans & Burck, 1992). The ten general skills range from attaining competence in academic skills to being aware of the means available to change careers. Career education is most effective when it is infused with the existing curriculum. This infusion leads to improved academic achievement. When providing 151-200 hours of career education over a 9 month time span, students academic work improved from the 50th percentile to the 59th percentile (Evans & Burck, 1992). This was about a .24 effect size. Career education that was provided over a two year time span saw improvement up to the .31 effective size (Evans & Burck, 1992). Career education not only improves students career awareness it can also be used in conjunction with academic curriculum to improve academic achievement as well.

In order to best prepare students for their future careers, many states set standards for schools to follow. These standards are then used to create students that are "career ready." If schools utilize effective, developmentally appropriate career interventions, the "career ready" students will eventually possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to visualize and plan their futures. They will know the importance of school success and graduating and will be able to see that their lives unfold in both the workplace and school setting. Also, students need to have an understanding that planned and unplanned life events can affect students' career development ( Gysbers, 2013). In order to prepare these students, teachers and school counselors need to ensure that connections are made between learning and what is actually occurring in the workplace. Acquiring information, building self-awareness, developing positive attitudes and habits, exploring equity issues and increasing competencies should all be used to make these connections (Palladino Schultheiss, 2008, 18). Students should be given the opportunity to engage in critical life contexts with both purpose and direction. Then, they will be able to make good decisions and overcome obstacles that are placed in their path. Being able to turn unexpected events into positive moments will help to create career ready students (Gysbers, 2013).

School counseling programs should focus on academic, career, personal, and social development in conjunction with one another in order to best prepare students for their future careers. Additionally, these programs should be delivered to the student body in an interactive manner in order to be most effective (Gysbers, 2013). There are two types of guidance career interventions: system level interventions and individual level interventions. System level interventions, which are regular factors of K-12 education delivered collectively to students, should be utilized with elementary students. Individual level interventions will come later in the students’ education (Palladino Schultheiss, 2008). Most importantly career education should be a conjoined effort of both the school system and the community. Schools will provide the knowledge for careers and the community will provide groups in which students can apply the skills they have learned (Gysbers, 2013).

Even though there is some information available about what is needed for elementary students to be ready for their future careers, more is needed. While there is some theoretical research, most career interventions being used are not grounded in empirical studies. In order to obtain this research, more reliable assessment instruments are necessary (Palladino Schultheiss, 2008, 18). Additionally, we need to ensure that the research is inclusive towards a diverse background of students. Current studies mainly focus on middle class and suburban children so future studies should encompass a variety of socioeconomic statuses (SES), cultures, and special needs children. As we continue to progress, career interventions should include relevant work information in relation to what will be needed in the future, such as the ability for children to be flexible thinkers, competent decision-makers, and life-long learners (p. 15). Most of the literature emphasizes the necessity for career interventions for elementary students. Thus, the current research, such as the work of Gottfredson and Super in regards to size, power and gender roles (Gysbers, 2013), as well as future research should continue to be utilized in order to create effective career intervention programs.

**Preparation for School Counselors** School counselors play an extremely important role when it comes to career counseling. Based on previous research, career counseling should start in elementary school to allow students to lay the framework for their future. In order to do so, it is necessary for counselors to have the knowledge to carry out the career development process in the proper manner. For many years, career development in elementary schools had been placed on the back burner because it was not considered a top priority. But in reality, studies have shown that elementary age children should be exposed to career development in order to learn to develop autonomy, competence, positive attitudes, and decision making skills, as well as the ability to connect their schoolwork to their future work (Freeman, 1994). These elements help to lay the framework for future career planning at all levels (Splete, 1982).

The issue that arose for elementary school counselors was that in the past many programs did not cater to their career counseling courses or programs to fit the needs of elementary counselors and their students. One study found that 45 percent of programs surveyed modified their courses to better suit elementary counselors in training (Emmett, 1997). This showed the lack of importance that was placed upon elementary career counseling. One step to prepare elementary counselors for career development is for educators to modify existing courses to suit the needs of elementary students. Career development for elementary students varies in comparison to career development for older students because they still need to learn how to fantasize about the future in a controlled manner and explore their curiosities in the occupational industry. Newer programs have integrated the idea of using national standards of teaching in their graduate counseling programs. Through the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), standards are set that require the completion of a career development course. In one study that surveyed school counselors and their perception of career development, it was found that newer school counselors placed a greater influence on career development than counselors who had been in the field for many years (Anctil, Smith, Schenck & Dahir, 2012). Thus revealing the influence of the CACREP guidelines instilling the importance of career development.

In previous years, career development has been greatly overlooked. Due to the adoption of national standards in recent years, however, counselors have been able to gain an understanding of how the career counseling field works and the different models that can be used with students. In order for counselors in the elementary field to feel comfortable teaching career development to students, it is crucial for them to engage in a career development course during graduate work. It is also important for educators to consider the needs of both elementary and secondary counselors and adapt lessons to meet the needs of the two.Ultimately, it is essential for school counselors to become educated in the career counseling field to allow them to educate their students and help them excel in their future careers. Elementary students are in need of career education as well and higher education institutions are responsible in helping prepare professionals to deliver these skills.

**Connecting with the Community** Maguson and Starr (2000) note that childhood is a critical time for supportive adults to provide rich experiences to aid in learning. Career days and career field trips are great opportunities to involve the community in career education, rather than for career education to occur solely with the education system. A career day aids in accomplishing the goals of an interactive learning opportunity in conjunction with the career guidance goals in elementary school. The goals of career day are to expand understandings of work and to raise the children’s awareness of work and educations interconnectedness. Involving parents in the career day, the school counselor gets a chance to involve those family members who have great influence on a child’s development of motivation, work satisfaction, and personality.

To use the method of career days to reach career development goals, several steps are involved. First, it is essential to communicate with parents to identify people who could come to speak on career day and to encourage conversation between the parents and the child about occupations performed by family members. A career day committee could help the school counselor pick a theme for the career day and facilitate community involvement. Careers representatives could be selected from Holland's six occupational areas or another career model. It is also important to consider nontraditional occupations and minority representation in a career day (Beale & Williams, 2000). Several formats for career day include having students come to the speakers or have the speakers rotate to the classrooms. However the career day is formatted, it is important to plan ahead, communicate clearly to the parties involved, and implement classroom activities the teachers can use with the students.
 * Career Day**

Much attention has been focused on school counselors and the role they can play in helping elementary school students gain knowledge about careers and career interests (Beale & Williams, 2000; Hoffman & McDaniels, 1991). In other word, teaching career awareness is an essential career development goal of elementary teachers and school counselors. To reach this goal, active members of the community are brought into the school to discuss their careers. Unfortunately, children have little direct opportunity to go behind the scenes and to see how and where many types of work are performed (Isaacson & Brown, 1993). To change this, traditional field trips can be incorporated into a concrete and creative career awareness tactic. A well thought out trip serves important career guidance purposes. It demonstrates personal and societal benefits of the working community. It helps students to become familiar with local jobs and how they are performed. Although elementary students are only visiting one place of work, many different varieties of jobs are being performed. It helps students to become acquainted with cooperation and teamwork in the production of goods and services (Beale, 2000; Beale & Nugent, 1996).
 *  Career Field Trip: Connecting with the Work Environment **

To use this method of visiting the workplace, steps are involved. To start, preparation is needed. Of course, parent, administration, and job site consent is needed. However, children also need to be well prepared. By prompting a class discussion, before the trip, you can help students to become aware of what to look for and what they may witness or expect. During the visit, keep students focused on the workers, activities, skills, and any other significant occurrences. This can be done by creating a list of appropriate question related to the job scene and workers. After, follow up on the visit. Again, conduct a discussion and allow students to ask questions or make comments. As an example, Beale and Nugent (1996) evaluated a group of elementary students (N=43) who followed the above steps and took a field trip to the hospital. They found that 98 percent of these students agreed with the statement, “Our field trip helped me to learn more about hospital workers and what they do (p. 294).” They also found that 88 percent of students agreed with the statement, “I enjoyed doing the activities we did before, during, and after the field trip (p. 294).” These percentages demonstrate the success of a creative and appropriate method that pleases an elementary student’s need for career awareness. Not only will they resourcefully understand jobs, they will enjoy the learning process as they begin to understand the world of work.

** Conclusion ** The research is clear that career development is important and that it should begin at the elementary level in schools. In order to implement effective career interventions, school counselors first need the appropriate education in regards these strategies, which begins in graduate school programs. After school counselors are properly trained, they need to work with their schools to effectively implement career development programs. These programs should be incorporated within the academic setting as well as involve connections to the community. School counselors and their schools can use a variety of strategies such as having the information included in the academic curriculum, hosting career days, and bringing students to specific job sites. If students begin learning about career development in elementary school and continue receiving this education until they graduate, schools will be able to adequately prepare students for the world of work.

**References ** Anctil, T. M., Smith, C., Schenck, P., & Dahir, C. (2012). Professional school counselors' career development practices and continuing education needs. Career Development Quarterly, 60(2), 109-121

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beale, A. V. (2000). Elementary school career awareness: A visit to a hospital. Journal Of Career Development, 27(1), 65-72.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beale, A. V., & Nugent, D. G. (1996). The pizza connection: Enhancing career awareness. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 30(4), 294-303.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beale, A. V., & Williams, J. (2000). The anatomy of an elementary school career day. Journal Of Career Development, 26(3), 205-213. doi:10.1023/A:1022943232402

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed). New York : Pearson Education, Inc.

Emmett, J. D. (1997). The preparation of elementary school counselors for career development: What exists—–what is needed. Journal Of Career Development, 23(3), 177-187. doi:10.1007/BF02359188

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Evans Jr., J. H., & Burck, H. D. (1992). The Effects of career education interventions on academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 71(1), 63-68.

Freeman, B. (1994). Importance of the National Career Development Guidelines to school counselors. The Career Development Quarterly, 42(3), 224-228.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gysbers, N. C. (2013). Career-ready students: A goal of comprehensive school counseling Programs. Career Development Quarterly, 61(3), 283-288.

Hoffman, L. R., & McDaniels, C. (1991). Career development in the elementary schools: A perspective for the 1990s. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 25, 163-171.

Isaacson, L. E., & Brown, D. (1993). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">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.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Palladino Schultheiss, D. E. (2008). Current Status and Future Agenda for the Theory, Research, and Practice of Childhood Career Development. Career Development Quarterly, 57(1), 7-24.

Splete, H. H. (1982). Planning for a comprehensive career guidance program in the elementary school. //Vocational Guidance Quarterly//, //30//(4), 300-307.

**Appendix 1** 22 Pa. Code Chapter 4 - Career Education and Work Academic Standards Annex A (#006-296) [] Pennsylvania’s public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to:
 * Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Career Education and Work**

2 and 4 year colleges researching job opportunities, such as, but not limited to: • Internet • Magazines • Newspapers ||< B. Identify and review resources available in researching job opportunities, such as, but not limited to: • Internet • Magazines • Newspapers || a personal letter. || such as, but not limited to: • Achievements • Awards/recognitions • Career exploration results • Career plans • Community service involvement/projects • Interests/hobbies • Personal career goals • Selected school work • Self inventories || • Dependability • Health/safety • Team building • Technology ||< E. Apply to daily activities, the essential workplace skills, such as, but not limited to: • Commitment • Communication • Dependability • Health/safety • Personal initiative • Scheduling/time management • Team building • Technical literacy • Technology ||
 * Career Awareness and Preparation 13.1**
 * Grade 3 || Grade 5 ||
 * A.) Recognize that individuals have unique interests || A.) Describe impact of individual interests and abilities of career choices ||
 * B.) identify current personal interests || B.) Describe impact of personal interest and abilities on career choices ||
 * C.) recognize that role of individuals at home, in the workplace and in the community are constantly changing || C.) Relate impact of changes to both traditional and non traditional careers ||
 * D.) identify the rage of jobs available in community || D.) Describe range of career training program in community such as, but not limited to
 * local industry training centers
 * military
 * registered apprenticeships
 * web based training & more ||
 * E.) Describe work done by school personnel and others in the community || E.) Describe factors that influences career choice such as
 * geographic location
 * job description
 * salary/benefits
 * work schedule
 * working conditions ||
 * F.) Explore how people prepare for careers || F.) Investigate peoples rational for making career choices ||
 * G.) Explain why education and training plans are important to careers || G.) Identify components of career plan such as, but not limited to
 * Beginnings of career portfolio
 * career goals
 * individulas interests and abilities
 * training/ education requirement and costs ||
 * H.) Explain how workers in their careers used what is learned in the classroom || H.) Connect personal interests and abilities and academic strengths to personal career options. ||
 * 13.2. Career Acquisition (Getting a Job)**
 * < Grade 3 ||< Grade 5 ||
 * < A. Identify appropriate speaking and listening techniques used in conversation. ||< A. Apply appropriate speaking and listening techniques used in conversation. ||
 * < B. Discuss resources available in
 * < C. Compose a personal letter. ||< C. Compose and compare a business and
 * < D. Identify the importance of developing a plan for the future. ||< D. Identify individualized career portfolio components,
 * < E. Discuss the importance of the essential workplace skills, such as, but not limited to:
 * 13.3. Career Retention and Advancement**
 * Grade 3 || Grade 5 ||
 * A. Identify attitudes and work habits that contribute to success at home and school.

B. Identify how to cooperate at both home and school.

C. Explain effective group interaction terms, such as, but not limited to: • Compliment • Cooperate • Encourage • Participate

D. Explain how money is used.

E. Discuss how time is used at both home and school.

F. Identify the changes in family and friend's roles at home, at school and in the community.

G. Define and describe the importance of lifelong learning. || A. Explain how student attitudes and work habits transfer from the home and school to the workplace.

B. Explain the importance of working cooperatively with others at both home and school to complete a task.

C. Identify effective group interaction strategies, such as, but not limited to: • Building consensus • Communicating effectively • Establishing ground rules • Listening to others

D. Explain budgeting.

E. Develop a personal schedule based on activities and responsibilities at both home and school.

F. Describe the impact of role changes at home, school, and at work, and how the role changes impact career advancement and retention.

G. Describe how personal interests and abilities impact lifelong learning. ||
 * 13.4. Entrepreneurship**
 * Grade 3 || Grade 5 ||
 * A. Define entrepreneurship.

B. Describe the character traits of successful entrepreneurs, such as, but not limited to: • Adaptability • Creative thinking • Ethical behavior • Leadership • Positive attitude • Risk-taking

C. Describe age-appropriate entrepreneurial opportunities, such as, but not limited to: • Bake sale • Crafts • Lemonade stand • Pet care || A. Identify the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship.

B. Discuss the entrepreneurial character traits of historical or contemporary entrepreneurs.

C. Discuss the steps entrepreneurs take to bring their goods or services to market, such as, but not limited to: • Marketing • Production • Research and development • Selection of goods and services || <span style="background-color: #ffff77; color: #000000; display: block; left: 1219px; padding: 3px; position: absolute; top: 2583px; z-index: 10000;"> ta:image/gif,GIF89a%12%00%12%00%B3%00%00%FF%FF%FF%F7%F7%EF%CC%CC%CC%BD%BE%BD%99%99%99ZYZRUR%00%00%00%FE%01%02%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00%00!%F9%04%04%14%00%FF%00%2C%00%00%00%00%12%00%12%00%00%04X0%C8I%2B%1D8%EB%3D%E4%00%60(%8A%85%17%0AG*%8C%40%19%7C%00J%08%C4%B1%92%26z%C76%FE%02%07%C2%89v%F0%7Dz%C3b%C8u%14%82V5%23o%A7%13%19L%BCY-%25%7D%A6l%DF%D0%F5%C7%02%85%5B%D82%90%CBT%87%D8i7%88Y%A8%DB%EFx%8B%DE%12%01%00%3B]] <span style="-moz-border-radius: 3px; background-color: #ffff77; color: #000000; display: block; left: 317px; padding: 3px; position: absolute; top: 3567px; z-index: 10000;">