The Bridge Between Elementary School and High School - Middle School Career Education

Middle School is a bridge and threshold between Elementary School and High School, a time of transition.

Need for Middle School Career Education

Middle school career education lays the groundwork for future career development by helping students achieve the following goals:


Knowledge of personal characteristics, interests, aptitudes, and skills
Awareness of and respect for the diversity of the world of work
Understanding of the relationship between school performance and future choices
Development of a positive attitude toward work (Developmental Career Programs 1998)

Without Middle School Career Education, students fail to build a foundation and the connection between high school academic subjects, potential careers, world of work, and post-secondary training. As a result, students have poor self concepts, possess poor intrinsic motivation, lack self awareness, and make limited career choices.

Eventually, some of the students who fail to participate in a career education program drop out of school.

Benefits of Middle School Career Education

Middle School Students who complete career education programs have the following positive outcomes -


Enhanced understanding of the world of work leading to an openness to an increased number potential careers
Improved skills to make informed decisions and complex career information problem solving
Enhanced academic, personal, and teamwork skill development
Increased career awareness, self-esteem, clearly defined goals, a sense of direction, and motivation to persist and attain a post secondary education and training

National Career Development Guidelines - Career Education Model

Teachers and counselors use the National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG) to create middle school career education resources, career self assessment tests and tools. Career knowledge, skills, and decision-making processes use the NCDG Guidelines.

The NCDG Guidelines have three domains, goals, and indicators of mastery under each career development goal.

The three domains are:


Personal Social Development (PS)
Educational Achievement and Lifelong Learning (ED)
Career Management (CM)

The learning competency stages are:


Knowledge Acquisition (K). Middle school students at the knowledge acquisition stage expand knowledge awareness and build comprehension. They recall, recognize, describe, identify, clarify, discuss, explain, summarize, query, investigate and compile new information about the knowledge.
Application (A). Middle school students at the application stage apply acquired knowledge to situations and to self. They seek out ways to use the knowledge. For example, they demonstrate, employ, perform, illustrate and solve problems related to the knowledge.
Reflection (R). Middle school students at the reflection stage analyze, synthesize, judge, assess and evaluate knowledge in accord with their own goals, values and beliefs. They decide whether or not to integrate the acquired knowledge into their ongoing response to situations and adjust their behavior accordingly.

An example of the Personal Social Development domain are:


PS1.K2 Identified your abilities, strengths, skills, and talents.
PS1.A2 Demonstrated use of your abilities, strengths, skills, and talents.
PS1.R2 Assessed the impact of your abilities, strengths, skills, and talents on your career development.

Key elements of Middle School Education Program

Based upon the National Career Development Guidelines, the key elements of a middle school career education program increase students' awareness of their own interests and help them learn about a wide variety of occupations. The key elements of Middle School Education Program include -


Career exploration resources - Tests, web sites, books, and software
Interest inventories
Career portfolios
Field trips
Curriculum
Career days
Community partnerships

Career Tests

Middle school career tests provide information on the relationship between job interests, key characteristics, college majors, hobbies, abilities, and related careers. According to research, middle school students use career tests to identify the three high career activity interests, and the three low areas of interest. Avoiding low interest areas is far more important since low interest areas minimize personal motivation.

Career Portfolio

As a second key element, career portfolios record the journey from school to post secondary training and/ or the world of work. Career portfolios are a collection of -


Vision, goals, and dreams
Important resource people and contacts
Major career exploration goals and objectives
Learning activities, skill practice, fieldwork, interviews, opportunities and work experience
Personal, academic, and social strengths
Evaluation of skill and personal development performance in the major areas of career development
Junior high school courses liked most or least and the success in such courses
Extra curricular activities, e.g Sports, athletics, arts, computers, music, dancing, literature, writing, and speaking, and acting and success in such activities
Three high or low career interest activities and general aptitude areas
Three high potential job opportunities

Community Partnerships

In addition to career tests and portfolios, community resources served key elements. Examples of community resources and partnerships are -


Field trips to colleges, universities, community businesses and agencies
Community resource speakers
Career Services advisers, coaches, or counselors
Career awareness fairs
Special collaborative programs (Smith 2000)

Community resources and partnerships provide opportunities for students to explore the world of work. Community events expand the students' understanding of job duties, work place skills, and the relevancy of school subjects. Middle school career education program provide students with awesome opportunities to gain self awareness as well as to explore and understand the world of work. Career exploration resources, career portfolios, community partnerships and career days create invaluable experiences.

Dr Mary Askew specializes in career tests, websites, and books for students. Students need eye appealing, easy to use, yet comprehensive career resources. Find out how students can reach their career potentials at http://www.hollandcodes.com. Contact Dr. Askew at learning4life.az@gmail.com.

Career Clusters Close the Gap Between Schools Subjects and Careers

A wealth of information exists that explains the relationships between school subjects and careers. Across the nation, children, teens, teachers, and counselors use Career Interests Areas or Clusters to explore careers and to make school study plans. There are sixteen (16) Interests Areas or Clusters:

Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources
Architecture & Construction
Arts, A/V Technology & Communication
Business, Management & Administration
Education & Training
Finance
Government & Public Administration
Health Science
Hospitality & Tourism
Human Services
Information Technology
Law, Public Safety & Security
Manufacturing
Marketing, Sales & Service
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

States and federal agencies across the nation have created career cluster web sites and resources. We have reviewed three (3) of the best state or federal agency web sites.

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA)

One of the most unique comprehensive career cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. LISA lets you explore career clusters, careers, abilities, training requirements, and more. Using the Lisa, you can do the following tasks:

Assessment: Explore career options using the Work Importance Locator.
I Enjoy: Find careers based upon the things that you enjoy.
Cluster: Find careers from Career Cluster Groups.
Search: Search for jobs based on knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Best Match: Use your current job to find knowledge, skills, and abilities to identify a new career.
Compare: Compare current job to potential new job.
Profile: Use this feature to create a profile from a selected career.

There are 3 steps in the LISA program. In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will read the description of the cluster. When you select a career cluster in Step 2, you can select a career group. In each career group, you will see a lot of different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see additional occupational information, such as:

Job descriptions
Educational and training requirements
Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes
Abilities
Knowledge
Skills
Tasks
Work Values
Labor Market Information

There is detailed information in each job profile:

Description
Crosswalk
Abilities
Knowledge
Skills
Tasks
Work Values
Occupational Characteristics Narrative

The Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA) is an excellent tool for students to do career cluster exploration.

NCE Career Clusters and State Career Clusters Initiative Resources

The NCE Career Clusters has adapted information from the State Career Clusters Initiative to create a career education toolkit for teachers and counselors. In your NCE Career Clusters toolkit, you can find a Career Cluster Model, poster, resource booklets, At-a-Glance PDF Slices, and Plans of Study. Each resource is designed to facilitate the exploration of Career Clusters.

Career Cluster Resource Booklet

To prepare for a Career Clusters discussion, teachers and counselors use the State Career Clusters Initiative Career Cluster Resource Booklet. The brochures discuss the differences between career clusters and career pathways. The booklet outlines that career clusters are career groups from the same industry that have the same skills and educational requirements. Career pathways are specific careers that are within the each career cluster. The Resource Booklet discusses the following topics:

Historical background information
Cluster Knowledge and Skills
Pathway Knowledge and Skills
O*NET Crosswalk Report
Validation Studies
Assessment Protocol
Certification Protocol

The booklet is a "must-read" resource that provides in depth information on each career cluster. Each booklet has detailed graphs, charts, and tables.

Career Cluster Model

To provide an overview of Career Clusters, teachers and counselors use the Career Cluster Model. The Career Cluster Model simplifies sixteen (16) Career Clusters model. The center of the NCE Career Clusters model focuses on six (6) major groups. The career clusters are color-coded so that you can easily present six (6) major groups in classroom activities. The six (6) major groups are:

Environmental and Agricultural Systems
Business, Marketing, and Management
Communication and Information Systems
Industrial, Manufacturing, Engineering Systems
Health Sciences
Human Services and Resources

Here is summary of the relationship between the sixteen (16) Career Clusters and the 6 Super Clusters.

Environmental and Agricultural Systems - Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (1)

Business, Marketing, and Management combines:


Business, Management & Administration (4)
Finance (6)
Hospitality & Tourism (9)
Marketing, Sales & Service (14)

Communication and Information Systems involve:


Arts, A/V Technology & Communication (3)
Information Technology (11)

Industrial, Manufacturing, Engineering Systems include:


Transportation, Distribution & Logistics (16)
Architecture & Construction (2)
Manufacturing (13)
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (15)

Health Sciences - Health Science (8)

Human Services and Resources merges -


Education & Training (5)
Government & Public Administration (7)
Human Services (10)
Law, Public Safety & Security (12)

The sixteen (16) Career Clusters systematically fit within the six (6) major groups.

Career Cluster Brochure

Another excellent career cluster student aid is the Career Cluster Brochure. The brochure is filled with photographs that show people performing the different jobs. With this easy-to-read booklet, students get an overview of the different careers, career clusters, and career pathways. Students read about:

What is a career cluster?
What is a career pathway?
What school subjects are important for a career in the ... career cluster?
What is the educational or training requirement for a career in the ... career cluster?
What are the necessary credentials for a career in the ... career cluster?
What is the employment outlook for a career in the ... career cluster?
What are some sample occupations?

Career Cluster Slices

Besides the Career Cluster Model and the Brochure, a third student Career Cluster aid is the NCE Career Cluster Slices. The NCE Career Cluster Slice identifies specific career opportunities found within each Career Pathways. Each Cluster Slice is illustrated and designed to explore areas, such as:

Cluster Description
Pathway Description
Cluster Knowledge & Skills
Career Field
Preparation for a Career in ...
Examples of Education and Training Postsecondary Programs of Study

Students discover that each pathways leads to post-secondary options including:

Apprenticeships
Certificates
Licenses
Associate's Degree Programs
Bachelor's Degree Programs
Master's Degree Programs
Doctoral Degree Programs
Professional Degree Programs

Career Clusters Plan of Study

At the beginning of the students' middle school years, the students use assessments identify career cluster interest areas. With the Career Clusters model, brochure, Slices, and LISA resources, the students have explored the different careers and post-secondary training options. Students, teachers, counselors, and parents then use the Career Clusters Plan of Study to strategically plan the students' high school course work. The Career Clusters Plan of Study provides examples of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, electives, and extra-curricular activities for the following grade levels:

7th - 8th grade
9th - 10th grade
11th - 12th grade
Advanced coursework for postsecondary credit

The NCE Career Clusters web page is the gateway to the student career cluster resources.

State Career Clusters Initiative, NCE, and Lisa materials are just examples of career cluster resources. Career clusters resources have established a connection between school subjects and careers.

Resources:

Explore Career Clusters, Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources (TWC/CDR), US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, and Louisiana Department of Labor

Nebraska Career Education, States' Career Clusters Initiative, 2005, and NCTEF/NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium) States' Career Clusters Initiative, & National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium

State Career Clusters Initiative Washington, DC: National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium, 2002

Dr Mary Askew specializes in career tests, websites, and books for students. Students need eye appealing, easy to use, yet comprehensive career resources. Find out how students can reach their career potentials at http://www.hollandcodes.com Contact Dr. Askew at learning4life@qwest.net

Career Clusters, A Bridge Between Education and Career Planning

Since 1960s, career cluster resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the nation. Career Clusters is a system that matches educational and career planning.

Step 1: Identifying Career Cluster Interest Areas

Career clusters are groups of similar occupations and industries. When teachers, counselors, and parents work with teens, college students, and adults, the first step is to complete career cluster assessment. The assessment identifies the highest career cluster areas. Career assessments show teens, college students, and adults rankings from one of the following 16 Interests Areas or Clusters:

1. Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources

2. Architecture & Construction

3. Arts, A/V Technology & Communication

4. Business, Management & Administration

5. Education & Training

6. Finance

7. Government & Public Administration

8. Health Science

9. Hospitality & Tourism

10. Human Services

11. Information Technology

12. Law, Public Safety & Security

13. Manufacturing

14. Marketing, Sales & Service

15. Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

16. Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Step 2: Exploring Career Clusters and Related Careers

After pinpointing the highest career clusters, teens, college students, and adults explore the different careers and create education plans. Career cluster tools used in career and educational planning include:

LISA: A comprehensive career cluster database
Models
Brochures
Pathways
High school plan of study
Interest and Skills Areas
Crosswalks

After completing a career cluster assessment, teens, college students, and adults look at web sites, career models, brochures, pathways, and high school plans. One of the most unique comprehensive career cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. LISA lets you explore career clusters, careers, abilities, training requirements, and more. There are 3 steps in the LISA program:

STEP 1: Click here to select a Career Cluster

STEP 2: Click here to select a Career Group

STEP 3: Explore Occupations within this Career Group

In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will see a description of the cluster. When you select a career group in Step 2, you see different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see a wealth of information:

Job descriptions
Educational and training requirements
Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes
Abilities
Knowledge
Skills
Tasks
Work Values
Labor Market Information

Even though LISA is an awesome program, in classroom or workshop settings, you need printed materials. When using printed materials, the career model is the best place to start. Models provide excellent overviews listing the cluster definitions, sample careers, pathways, knowledge, and skills. Visual models show career clusters, the cluster subgroups, and related careers. Models are an excellent way to introduce career clusters.

For presentations, workshops, and group discussions, the career cluster brochures provide additional information. Adults and teens read about the different careers that are available in each career cluster. Teachers, counselors, and parents use the brochures to solidify adults' and teens' potential career or educational decisions. The brochures cover topics such as:

Definition of career clusters
Careers
Career pathways
Employment outlooks
Skills
Credentials

Teachers, counselors, and parents use career pathways for more detailed information. The career pathways are subgroups or areas of concentration within career clusters. Each pathway contains career groups. The career groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career pathways are plans of study that outline required secondary courses, post secondary courses, and related careers. The career pathways are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents, and other adults use to give educational planning advice.

Several web sites feature High School Plans of Study. These study plans show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. The school plans also match the career clusters to related careers, career pathways, and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find that these school plans are guides for selecting the right high school courses to match potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has created a College Major Guide. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors to Certificate and Degree Programs.

Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers

For planning curriculum and educational programs, there are detailed Knowledge and Skills Charts and Cluster Crosswalks. The knowledge and Skills expand upon the information listed on the career cluster models. For each knowledge and skill area, there are performance elements and measurement criteria. Crosswalks show the relationships between career clusters and other career models:

Career clusters build a bridge between education and career planning. Different types of career cluster resources are available: videos, web sites, booklets, brochures, activity sheets, and workbooks. Teachers, counselors, and parents use career cluster resources to successfully complete career and educational planning.

Resources:

American Careers Career Paths, Career Communications, 6701 W. 64th St., Overland, KS 66202, 800-669-7795

Career Click, Illinois Department of Employment Security,33 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 793-5700

CIP Code Index by Career Cluster, Adult & Postsecondary CTE Division, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814

Cluster and Career Videos, Career One Stop, U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, 866-4-USA-DOL

College Major Guide Utah System for Higher Education, Board of Regents Building, The Gateway, 60 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284, (801) 321-7100

Find Careers (Videos), iSeek Solutions, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Wells Fargo Place, 30 7th St. E., Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-7804

High School Plans of Study, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street

Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494

Introduction to Career Clusters, Career Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, P.O. Box 543

Blacklick, OH 43004-0544,

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), customized Internet version of OSCAR, a product of the Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources, TWC/CDR, Austin, TX 78753

Maryland Career Clusters, Maryland State Department of Education 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201,

Rhodes Island's Career Clusters, Rhode Island's Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790

School to Career Clusters, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Job Bank, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000

States' Career Clusters Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074

Career Pathway Plans, Career Cluster, Knowledge and Skills Charts

VTECS Cluster Frameworks, VTECS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033,404-679-4501 ext 543

What are Career Clusters? Career Prospects System, New Mexico Career Resource Network, CAREER TECHNICAL AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION BUREAU (CTWEB), Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 827-6512

Dr. Mary Askew specializes in Holland Codes, career cluster, and transferable skills career tests, websites, and books for adults, high school students, college students, and teens. Find easy to use, yet comprehensive career resources. Move towards your career potentials at http://www.hollandcodes.com Contact Dr. Askew at learning4life@qwest.net