Prof. Jim Bright Professor of Career Education and Development, ACU National

1. K - 4 Early Years of Schooling Engage, Connect, Create12 & 13 July 2006, Telstra Stadium, Olympic Park. Prof. Jim Bright Professor of Career Education and Development, ACU National Partner, Bright and Associates

2. Outline • What do we mean by career development? • The C21st career challenge • When do children develop career thoughts? • What should we be doing in schools to engage, connect and create?

3. Definitions of Career • Career development starts in the womb and continues until one dies • “I really must decide what to do with my life” • On the occasion of his 75th birthday Peter Ustinov (Actor)

4. Social Spiritual Occupational Physical Intellectual Emotional Life choices The modern notion of Career subsumes all life choices “A career is the sum total of paid and unpaid work, learning and life roles you undertake throughout your life.” “People will have a portfolio..will also have to cultivate more transferable skills..and be constantly re-training.” NSW DET 2005

5. Traditional Career Education • Focussed on Yrs 10 – 12 • Focussed on “Product” of vocational choice / destination/pathway • McGowan (1996) “delivered in bursts of of disjointed activity at major crisis points rather than developmentally” • Focus needs to move from Product to Process and from crisis management to developmental approach

6. C21st Career Challenge: Change, Chance, Uncertainty The “Traditional Career” Increasing Success Master Senior Consolidation Trainee

7. C21st Career Challenge: Change Signatures

8. From Chocolate to ChangePaternalism to Portfolio

9. Unplanned Events

10. THE WORST HOMING PIGEON • This historic bird was released in Pembrokeshire in June 1953 • Was expected to reach its base that evening. • It was returned by post, dead, in a cardboard box eleven years later from Brazil. • An unplanned event in both the career of the pigeon and its owner

11. THE WORST ANIMAL RESCUE • During the firemen's strike of 1978, the British Army had taken over emergency fire fighting • On 14 January they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat which had become trapped up a tree. • They arrived with impressive haste and soon discharged their duty. • So grateful was the lady that she invited them all in for tea. • Driving off later, with fond farewells completed, they ran over the cat and killed it.

12. THE WORST HIJACKING • A man who in 1976 made the most unsuccessful hijack attempt ever. • On a flight across America, he rose from his seat, drew a gun and took the stewardess hostage. "Take me to Detroit," he demanded. • "We're already going to Detroit," she replied. • "Oh... good," he said, and sat down again.

13. THE WORST BANK ROBBERY • In August 1975 three men were on their way in to rob the Royal Bank of Scotland at Rothesay, • They got stuck in the revolving doors. • They had to be helped free by the staff and, • After thanking everyone, sheepishly left the building. • A few minutes later they returned and announced their intention of robbing the bank, but none of the staff believed them. • When they demanded 5,000 pounds in cash, the head cashier laughed at them, convinced that it was a practical joke. • Then one of the men jumped over the counter, but fell to the floor clutching his ankle. • The other two tried to make their getaway, but got trapped in the revolving doors again.

14. Chance events happen to us all • In our research (Bright, Pryor and Harpham, 2005, JVB) • Between 70% – 80% of people had experienced a career changing unplanned event • Many of the events were career enhancing • Plan on the unplanned happening

15. Bright, Pryor and Chan • High Impact, Low Control Chance events are the best recalled • Means most adults have developed a view that unplanned events are negative and to be avoided • Needs addressing through encouragement of positive aspects of curiosity and surprise early

16. When do children develop career thoughts? Work and Play • Hunting and Fishing Societies – e.g. Inuits • Boys given bow and arrow toys at 2 years • At 4 years expected to shoot birds • At six years a rabbit and so on to caribou and seals and ultimately to work.

17. Work and Play • By sixth grade children have learned: • Source: Csikszentmihalyi (1998)

18. Trice 1995 Participants • 949 students - 478 boys and 471 girls (168 kindergarten children, 239 second graders, 272 fourth graders, and 270 sixth graders). • interviews 10 minutes for kindergarten children and 10 to 15 minutes for older children. • Asked children's first choice for an occupation and the reason for that choice. • The second part of the interview asked children about 13 occupations (physician, police officer, scientist, carpenter, accountant, secretary, nurse, teacher, salesperson, truck driver, artist, farmer, and soldier).

19. Trice 1995 • Top three vocational choices of children

20. % of children choosing different career areas

21. These choices are not random • Percentage of times children’s first choices were in the same occupational classification as their second choice

22. Effect of family structure • Percentage of times that “no choice” was response to occupational choice question

23. % of occupations rejected by age and gender

24. What should we do? Some suggestions from the Australian Blueprint for Career Development (ABCD, Miles Morgan, 2006) • Phase I career competency for grade/year three students • CAREER COMPETENCY 4.1: Discover life-long learning and its contributions to life and work. • PERFORMANCE INDICATOR: 4.1.7: Explore the relationship between ability, effort and achievement. • LOCAL STANDARD—Given a celebrity of their choice (e.g., football player, pop star), Grade/year 3 students will develop and deliver a brief verbal report explaining what might happen if the celebrity stopped putting effort into his or her work. The report must include references to at least two achievements that would be lost, and two abilities that might sustain the celebrity in his or her work.

25. ABCD example2 • Phase I career competency for grade/year five students • CAREER COMPETENCY 1.1: Build a positive self image while discovering its influence on self and • others. • PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.1.5: Identify positive characteristics (skills, interests, personal • qualities and strengths) about self as seen by self and others. • LOCAL STANDARD—Grade/year five students will write a paragraph in which they describe at least four positive characteristics about themselves that they had not perceived at least one month earlier.

26. Niles & Harris Bowlesby (2005) • From age six: • Counter gender-stereotyped occupational role models • Encourage curiosity with site visits to places of work children express interest in • Children need to develop accurate self-knowledge, accurate occupational information, and take some responsibility for their future career decision making

27. National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) Guidelines 1992 • Self Knowledge • Importance of self-concept • Skills to interact with others • Educational and Occupational Exploration • Awareness of benefits of educational achievement • Relationship between work and learning • Skills to understand and use career information • Awareness of importance of good work habits and personal responsibility • Awareness of work and its relation to society • Career Planning • Understanding how to make decisions • Awareness of relation to other life roles • Awareness of different occupations and changing gender roles • Awareness of career planning process

28. 3 messages • Engage children to develop ideas about careers from K onwards • Connect with a more structured/conscious approach to stimulating these nascent interests - benefits children • Create Careers education that is about facilitating a lifelong learning approach from K onwards

29. Contact Prof Jim Bright Bright and Associates Level 5, 44 Miller St North Sydney NSW 2060 Tel 02 9929 4766 Fax 02 9929 4768 www.brightandassociates.com.au