Career and Guidance

Position paper on supporting career development and guidance in face-to-face learning through use of ICTs

David Clarke, Memorial University of Newfoundland

This position paper argues in favour of the need to develop tools and provide resources for teachers and students that support successful career education for students in ways that are engaging, can be individualized according to each student’s particular needs and interests, and remain current with labour market data and trends.

Problem

Reflecting the growing trend toward occupationally relevant curricula, most Canadian provinces have introduced some form of secondary level career education programs to address changing economic and labor market conditions (Hyslop-Margison, McKerracher, Cormier, & Desroches, 2007). In Ontario, for example, policy has mandated increased emphasis on career education by specifying how career education should be woven into content areas and linked to occupational preparation and employability skills (Hyslop-Margison & Pinto, 2007). Indeed, career guidance is seen as playing a vital role in responding to labor market needs by matching students' interests, abilities and aptitudes to work in order to facilitate the transition to related careers (El-Zraigat, 2012). Moreover, career counseling has become a dynamic, creative and highly individualized process (El-Zraigat, 2012), and is part of the wider paradigm of guidance and a crucial dimension of lifelong learning (Vuorinen, Sampson, & Kettunen, 2011). And although teachers and parents play a significant role in the development of children’s career interests, their knowledge, for example, of science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations is limited (Hall, Dickerson, Batts, Kauffmann, & Bosse, 2011). In fact, less than one third of high school teachers feel that they are knowledgeable about career options in scientific fields; and less than two-thirds feel that they are knowledgeable about career options in information technology or engineering (Hall et al., 2011). Moreover, less than ten percent of school career advisers have scientific backgrounds and, as such, have the information or expertise to adequately guide students in such careers (Hall et al., 2011).