Standard 9.1:     (career AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION)     All Students will develop career awareness AND PLANNING, EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS, AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE. 

 

Descriptive Statement:  All students will explore career opportunities and make informed choices based on aptitudes and interests.  Students will identify and pursue career goals, apply communications skills in work-relevant situations, demonstrate the ability to combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between unrelated ideas, organize and present information, and allocate financial and other resources efficiently and effectively.  Students will identify and use various print and non-print resources in the home, school, and community to seek and plan for employment.  They will be able to use the job application process, including resumes, forms, and interviews.

 

Career and technical education, formerly called practical arts, is the application of life, academic, and occupational skills demonstrated by student-centered experiences in courses related to the sixteen States’ Career Clusters.  The intent at the elementary and middle school levels is to prepare all students for the option of further study in career and technical education at the high school level.  These courses typically include business education, family and consumer sciences, and other courses related to careers and life skills. Career and technical education programs establish necessary pathways for secondary vocational-technical education programs, entering the world of work, continuing education (such as college, post secondary vocational-technical education, specialized certification and/or registered apprenticeships), and lifelong learning.

 

Those students electing courses in career and technical education should demonstrate both teamwork and problem-solving skills through a structured learning experience.  This could consist of an experiential, supervised educational activity designed to provide students with exposure to the requirements and responsibilities of specific job titles or job groupings, and to assist them in gaining employment skills and making career and educational choices.  The experience may be either paid or unpaid, depending on the type of activities in which the student is involved.   Examples include, but are not limited to:  apprenticeships, community service, cooperative education, internships, job shadowing, school-based experiences, vocational student organizations, paid employment, and volunteer activities.  Structured learning experiences must meet all state and federal child labor laws and regulations.

 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicators

 

By the end of Grade 4, students will:

 

A.     Career Awareness and Planning

 1.         Describe various life roles and work-related activities in the home, community, and school.

 2.         Identify abilities and skills associated with various careers.

 3.         Identify reasons people work and how work habits impact the quality of one’s work.

 

B.     Employability Skills

1.           Describe and demonstrate the importance of personal and interpersonal skills.

2.           Identify positive work habits and attitudes necessary for home, community, and school.

3.           Identify reasons for working as part of a team.

 

 

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will: 

 

A.     Career Awareness and Planning

 1.         Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between job, occupation, and career.

 2.         Outline the steps in the career planning process.

 3.         Apply research skills to career exploration.

 4.         Analyze personal interests, abilities, and skills through various measures including self assessments.

 5.         Explore careers using hands-on real life experiences within the sixteen States’ Career Clusters.

 6.         Develop an individual career plan and include in a portfolio.

 7.         Plan and conduct a cooperative project that addresses one of the problems faced by the school and/or community.

 

B.     Employability Skills

 1.         Research local and state employment opportunities.

 2.         Develop an employment package that includes a job application, letter of interest, and resume.

 3.         Demonstrate job-seeking skills.

 4.         Describe and demonstrate appropriate work habits and interpersonal skills needed to obtain and retain employment.

 5.         Compare and contrast possible choices based on identified/perceived strengths, goals, and interests.

 6.         Identify and develop skills that are transferable from one occupation to another.

 

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 12, students will: 

 

A.     Career Awareness/Preparation

 1.         Re-evaluate personal interests, abilities, and skills through various measures including self assessments.

 2.         Evaluate academic and career skills needed in various career clusters.

 3.         Analyze factors that can impact an individual’s career.

 4.         Review and update their career plan and include the plan in a portfolio.

 5.         Research current advances in technology that apply to a selected occupational career cluster.

 

B.     Employability Skills

1.                  Assess personal qualities that are needed to obtain and retain a job related to career clusters.

2.                  Communicate and comprehend written and verbal thoughts, ideas, directions, and information relative to educational and occupational settings.

3.                  Select and utilize appropriate technology in the design and implementation of teacher-approved projects relevant to occupations and/or higher educational settings.

4.                  Evaluate the following academic and career skills as they relate to home, school, community, and employment:

·             Communication

·             Punctuality

·             Time management

·             Organization

·             Decision making

·             Goal setting

·             Resources allocation

·             Fair and equitable competition

·             Safety

·             Employment application skills

·             Teamwork

5.                  Demonstrate teamwork and leadership skills that include student participation in real world applications of career and technical education skills. 

 

All students electing further study in career and technical education will also:

 

1.            Participate in a structured learning experience that demonstrates interpersonal communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.

2.            Participate in simulated industry assessments, when and where appropriate.

3.            Prepare industry-specific technical reports/projects that incorporate graphic aids, when and where appropriate.

4.            Demonstrate occupational health and safety skills related to industry-specific activities.