Introduction

Achieving a positive lifestyle requires knowledge, self-awareness, motivation and effort. Its benefits last a lifetime. It involves behaviours that promote and support well-being now and throughout a person's life.

Well-being is a broadly defined term used to describe a highly developed level of health resulting from the balancing of all dimensions of health: physical, social, spiritual, emotional and intellectual.

Life Transitions is a term signifying major changes encountered throughout life. A few examples include graduating from high school, entering the world of work, selecting a mate, becoming a parent and changing careers.

Personal health, family, community and career represent aspects of one's life. Throughout this curriculum they are listed in that order to represent a focus on the narrowest aspect of self, progressing toward the broadest aspect of career.

The term career, throughout the Life Transitions course, encompasses the sum total of one's life experiences including the roles in which an individual is involved (worker, learner, family member, community member), the settings where an individual finds him/herself (home, school, workplace, community) and the events that occur over an individual's lifetime (job entry, career change, marriage, retirement). In this sense, career means that the focus is on the total person -- the human career.

Aim

The aim of Life Transitions is to enable students to acquire and refine the knowledge, skills and abilities to plan and enhance their personal health, family life, community life, and career development in order to effectively manage the change encountered in the transitions they will face throughout life.

Goals

Life Transitions centres on personal health, family, community and career, while providing students the opportunity to:

• develop a positive self-concept and the skills necessary to maintain it
• develop the attitude and skills to grow with change
• acquire and practise the skills needed to progress from dependence to independenceiety.
• apply knowledge and skills to take charge of their lives in achieving and maintaining a positive lifestyle
• examine, reflect and act upon their personal goals and level of well-being in managing their lives as purposeful, contributing members of society.

Foundational Objectives

Goal 1

Develop a positive self-concept and the skills necessary to maintain it.

Foundational Objectives

• Students will access and evaluate information to reinforce the concept that emotional development is a key factor in managing transitions and that emotional development depends largely on knowing yourself and living comfortably with yourself.
• Students will appraise self-knowledge in relation to occupational choice, career requirements and working conditions.
• Students will understand that one of their basic lifestyle choices is the degree to which they balance their personal life, family life, community life and work life.
• Students will recognize that decisions about sexual behaviour affect life plans.
• Students will explore some of the personal, family, community and career transitions they may face in terms of how such transitions may change their life roles.
• Students will develop the ability and the confidence to design, implement and assess realistic action plans to manage their health care.
• Students will become aware of how career planning is influenced by their present situation, which includes their self-concept, friends, family, community, and available resources.
• Students will develop the ability to design and carry out action plans to prepare themselves for independent living.

Goal 2

Develop the attitude and skills to grow with change.

Foundational Objectives

• Students will develop the lifelong skill of making decisions about managing change in their personal lives.
• Students will recognize that relationships are dynamic and change over time.
• Students will recognize that effective time management skills will help them meet personal goals and manage change.
• Students will recognize that they can resolve a certain degree of conflict, which is natural, as relationships are dynamic and change over time.
• Students will consider career plans that accommodate change and growth in their personal life and their family life, as well as in the world of work.
• Students will become familiar with employee interview skills which they can apply, now and in the future, to get a job and potentially to change jobs.

Goal 3

Acquire and practise the skills needed to progress from dependence to independence.

Foundational Objectives

• Students will access and evaluate information for purposes of clarifying that emotional growth is a lifelong process.
• Students will appreciate that career self-knowledge is a lifelong process involving continuous decision making.
• Students will develop skills in making decisions about career services and accessing those that can assist them with the transition from high school to life after high school and with future transitions.
• Students will develop an awareness of how their roles of daughter/son, sibling, student, friend, spouse/partner, parent, grandparent and neighbour change as they mature from dependence to independence.
• Students will develop the ability and the confidence to design and carry out action plans to manage conflict in their personal, family, community and career relationships.
• Students will practise solving some of the housing, transportation and monthly expense problems encountered by those living on their own.
• Students will develop and apply successful job search skills.

Goal 4

Apply knowledge and skills to take charge of their lives in achieving and maintaining a positive lifestyle.

Foundational Objectives

• Students will examine how interpersonal relationships are developed and enhanced through an awareness of self and others, and the use of effective communication skills and decision-making skills.
• Students will acknowledge that people balance the expectations of self, others and work in different ways, depending on their personal standards and goals.
• Students will develop the ability and the confidence to design and carry out action plans that focus on community issues.
• Students will develop the lifelong skill of making decisions about their sexual behaviour that reflect personal goals, lifestyle goals and career goals.
• Students will acknowledge that career planning reflects personal goals and lifestyle goals.
• Students will develop a sense of responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health.

Goal 5

Examine, reflect and act upon their personal goals and level of well-being in managing their lives as purposeful, contributing members of society.

Foundational Objectives

• Students will develop the lifelong skills of making time management decisions that reflect personal goals, lifestyle goals and career goals.
• Students will begin to develop the lifelong skill of making decisions that involve community and ethical issues.
• Students will recognize that effective money management skills will help them meet personal goals.
• Students will recognize the responsibilities and commitment involved in parenting.
• Students will consider those skills and attitudes needed to retain a job.

At the end of Life Transitions 20, 30 the students will be able to apply the Life Transitions planning process of: •   extending knowledge base •   making an informed decision •   designing and carrying out action plan to transitions in the following areas of their lives: •   personal health •   family •   community •   career.

Philosophy and Rationale

Our social, economic and physical world is changing. Senior high school students need self management skills to organize and shape their lives. It is apparent that there is a need for topics of career and personal development. In response to many societal issues, health education is needed in the secondary grades.

While the need for courses is of the utmost importance, it is also imperative to remember that there is only room for so many courses of study on a high school student's timetable. If only a small percentage of students were to opt to take these courses, it would be difficult to justify the commitment of resources to their development. Therefore, recognizing current Saskatchewan issues, needs and realities, Life Transitions combines a number of key topics often thought of in connection with career and personal development, family life and health education. This integration is timely and practical.

Two hundred hours of programming are presented in modular fashion -- one hundred hours for the 20 level credit and one hundred hours for the 30 level credit. There are four core modules at each of the 20 and 30 levels. They represent well being, relationships, resource management and career planning. There are optional modules for each of the 20 and 30 levels. Optional modules include life balance, independent living, parenting, sexual and reproductive health, job search and others.

The constant feature in all modules is dealing with change. Change is responsible for the transitions one encounters throughout life. It is no longer sufficient for students merely to understand what we know today because critical information is constantly changing. More important and useful are the skills of accessing information, evaluating both the source and the information itself, and then applying the information in transition decisions.

A goal of this course is to enable students to plan and manage their career, family and health throughout life. Managing involves making informed decisions, setting goals and establishing plans to meet those goals. It includes putting plans into action. At times it may mean discovering that some redesigning of the plan is required to achieve established goals.

Today it is essential that young people be able to cope effectively with change. Individuals are better prepared to cope if they have the opportunity to study and predict the likely consequences of change and formulate strategies to adapt to change.

Changes in the nature of the family are clearly evident. The workplace is undergoing change. There is no faster changing facet of life than health care. Students of Life Transitions will be prepared.

Figure 1: Life Transitions "Umbrella Analogy"

Outline and Content of Course

Life Transitions is written in a modular format. There are four required modules at each of the 20 and 30 levels. They represent well-being, relationships, resource management and career planning. There are also optional modules at each of the 20 and 30 levels. See Figure 2 for course content. There are specified levels of achievement within each module. In Level A - Extend Knowledge Base, students evaluate information and sources of information. In Level B - Make an Informed Decision, students explore their options, consider the consequences of all options, and make a decision based upon current and accurate information. In Level C - Carry Out Action Plan, students design and carry out an action plan to attain the goal they set in Level B. See Figure 3 for the Planning Process.

Figure 2: Course Content

The Planning Process

Life Transitions content is taught, learned and evaluated using three levels of instruction. The three levels are outlined below.

Figure 3: The Planning Process

In Life Transitions 20 and 30, the semester or year begins with the five required modules. The teacher and students then select one or more modules from the optional grouping of modules designed for their grade level. Students in Life Transitions 20 work through Levels A, B and C on three occasions: once in the Personal Self-knowledge module, a second time in the Relationships module and a third time in a module of their choice. Likewise, Life Transitions 30 students design and carry out three action plans. This occurs in the Money Management module, the Career Planning module and one other module of the students' choice. See Figure 4 for course content and process.

Figure 4: Course Content and Process

Content	Planning Process	Time
20 Level Course Orientation Personal Self-knowledge Relationships Time Management Career Self-knowledge	Level A Levels A, B, C, Levels A, B, C Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional)	3 hours 20 hours 20 hours 10 hours 10 hours
Optional modules Life Balance Community Issues and Ethics Career Services and Supports Human Sexuality	Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional)	10 hours 10 hours 10 hours 15 hours
30 level course Life Roles Health Self-care Conflict in Relationships Money Management Career Planning	Level A Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B, C Levels A, B, C	2 hours 20 hours 20 hours 10 hours 15 hours
Optional modules Independent Living Parenting Job Search Sexual and Reproductive Health	Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional) Levels A, B (C optional)	10 hours 10 hours 10 hours 20 hours

Four Areas of Emphasis

The three disciplines of career and student development, family life education and health education are integrated within Life Transitions. They share a common emphasis on personal development, interpersonal relationships, resource management and career development. These four areas are reflected throughout the 20 and 30 level courses. See Figure 5

Figure 5: Four Areas of Emphasis

modular Design

Each module includes:

• foundational objectives for content and process
• foundational objectives for the Common Essential Learnings (C.E.L.s)
• learning objectives for content and process
• learning objectives for the C.E.L.s
• suggested instructional strategies
• suggested student assessment and evaluation techniques.

Each module is designed to include the six steps of the Planning Process. It is an expectation that each level 20 student will, throughout the year or semester, design and carry out one action plan in the area of personal development and one action plan in the area of interpersonal relationships. Students taking Life Transitions 20 will also design and carry out one more action plan of their choice throughout the year or semester. Each level 30 student will design and carry out three action plans -- one from career development, one from resource management, and a third of his or her choice.

Students will practise the Planning Process within each module, always completing the Design half of step 5, Design and Apply action plan. At least three times in a semester or year, they will complete the process through to step 6, Evaluate your progress and Revise as needed. Life involves continuous challenges that require individuals to make decisions and to be accountable for them.

Overview of Planning-Process

Overview of Planning Process

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Level A: Extend Knowledge Base

Step 1: Reflect on what you know and feel about the issue.

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Step 2: Research the issue. Find the facts.

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Level B: Make an Informed Decision

Step 3: State the challenge. Explore the alternatives and consequences.

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Step 4: Determine your decision.

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Level C: Carry Out Action Plan

Step 5: Design and Apply an action plan.

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Step 6: Evaluate your progress. Revise as needed.

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modules 2 and 3 are shaded as a reminder that students in Life Transitions 20 design and carry out action plans in module 2, Personal Self-knowledge and module 3, Relationships. Throughout the semester/year each student will design and carry out one more action plan in a module of his/her choice.

modules 13 and 14 are shaded as a reminder that students in Life Transitions 30 design and carry out action plans in module 13, Money Management and module 14, Career Planning. Throughout the semester/year each student will design and carry out one additional action plan in a module of her/his choice.