Foundational and Learning Objectives

The Middle Level Career Guidance Curriculum is based on four goals and thirteen foundational objectives. The foundational and learning objectives of the curriculum and a short description of the career development modules follow.

Goal 1: Self-Awareness

Middle Level is a critical time in the life long process of establishing one's identity. The importance of self-awareness and a positive self-concept in the career development process cannot be understated. This module helps Middle Level students develop a greater awareness and appreciation of themselves in relationship to others, school, and the world of work prior to the formulation of career goals. In the module, students will also have an opportunity to become aware of, explore, and develop personal attitudes, aptitudes, and interests and to understand the life career concept.

Foundational Objective 1: Awareness and understanding of the Life Career concept

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Develop and share a personal life career diagram/model/timeline.
   

2. Define life career, abilities, interests.
   
3. Describe the various roles an individual may have as part of his/her life career.
   
4. Describe individual skills required to fulfil different life career roles.
   
5. Describe work-related activities in the home, community, and schools.
   
6. Describe how family members depend on one another, work together, and share responsibilities.
   
7. Identify life events that have been meaningful.
   
8. Identify and understand the feelings that accompany important events.
   
9. Identify occupational directions as they relate to life career goals.

Foundational Objective 2: Awareness of self and knowledge of the value of a positive self-concept

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Develop an awareness of each person's uniqueness.
   

2. Describe positive characteristics about self and others.
   
3. Describe how positive characteristics are beneficial in school and work.
   
4. Identify five sources of information about yourself.
   
5. Identify personal qualities and events that have influenced your self-concept.
   
6. Identify personal interests, abilities, strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to careers.
   
7. Understand the meaning of interests and leisure and their relationship.
   
8. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between personality and occupational goals.
   
9. Describe positive contributions people make to society.
   
10. Understand the meaning and importance of values.
    
11. Explore personal value systems and how they relate to school and occupation goals.
    
12. Demonstrate a positive attitude about self.
    
13. Describe how one's behaviour influences the feelings and actions of others.
    
14. Describe ways to improve self-concept.

Foundational Objective 3: Awareness of the value of the skills needed to interact successfully with others

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Recognize differences in the way people see the abilities of others.
   

2. Identify and state characteristics of other class members.
   
3. Demonstrate an appreciation for the similarities and differences among people.
   
4. Demonstrate effective group membership skills.
   
5. Demonstrate respect for the feelings and beliefs of others.
   
6. Demonstrate healthy ways of dealing with conflicts, stress, and emotions in self and others.

Goal 2: Life Career Management Skills

Middle Level students need an opportunity to develop skills to help them make appropriate decisions, have the confidence to take risks, be flexible and adaptable when faced with change and life transitions. They also need to establish good work and study habits, to manage their time wisely, and to be able to set short and long range educational and career goals. This module provides the students with an opportunity to be aware of and to develop these various skills. In the process, the students gain a greater sense of self-reliance and empowerment in their own lives. Students are also provided with opportunities in this module to explore different ways of thinking and knowing, including intuitive reasoning.

Foundational Objective 1: Awareness of and skills needed to set goals and to make appropriate decisions

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Understand the importance of decision-making skills.
   

2. Demonstrate setting goals and developing action plans.
   
3. Identify how personal beliefs, values, and attitudes affect decision making.
   
4. Describe factors that affect choices.
   
5. Identify and assess problems that interfere with attaining goals.
   
6. Identify problem-solving and decision-making techniques.
   
7. Identify ways in which decisions about education and work relate to other major life decisions.
   
8. Identify environmental influences in the development of attitudes, behaviours, and aptitudes.
   
9. Describe the importance of career, family, and leisure activities to mental, emotional, physical, and economic well-being.
   
10. Identify possible outcomes of decisions.
    
11. Learn to ask relevant questions concerning a problem.

Foundational Objective 2: Awareness of change and skills needed to cope with Life Transitions

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Examine values and how they change throughout life. 
   

2. Identify how a person changes during a lifetime (physical, psychological, social, emotional).
   
3. Describe the effects that societal, economic, and technological change have on occupations.
   
4. Identify feelings associated with change in one's life.
   
5. Understand the concept of transferable skills.
   
6. Develop skills for learning from work experience.
   
7. Learn to persist in goal adherence.
   
8. Develop strategies to reduce stress.
   
9. Learn job adaptation skills.

Foundational Objective 3: Skills to establish good work and study habits

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Define basic student skills.
   

2. Identify ways to acquire effective student skills.
   
3. Understand how effective student skills can lead to effective work habits.
   
4. Evaluate work habits.
   
5. Describe a plan of action for increasing basic educational skills.
   
6. Describe the relationship of personal attitudes, beliefs, abilities, and skills to occupations.
   
7. Demonstrate personal qualities that are needed to get and keep jobs.

Goal 3: Educational Planning

The Educational Planning module helps students become aware of the relationships that exist between educational and career planning and work and learning. Students are also provided with a greater awareness and knowledge of the benefits of educational achievement and will be encouraged to develop a personal educational plan. In this module, the students are introduced to educational alternatives and course options as they prepare for the transition to secondary school.

Foundational Objective 1: Awareness and knowledge of educational benefits

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Identify skills learned in school which may be applied in occupations.
   

2. Describe the skills needed to adjust to changing occupational requirements.
   
3. Describe school tasks that are similar to skills essential for job success.
   
4. Identify personal strengths and weaknesses in subject areas.
   
5. Identify different types of educational preparation required for different occupations.
   
6. Understand the relationship between motivation and successful learning.
   
7. Describe success and how it is achieved.
   
8. Observe how work can satisfy personal needs.

Foundational Objective 2: Awareness and understanding of the relationship between work and learning

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Examine reasons for the importance of work.
   

2. Describe ways in which schools relate to the world of work.
   
3. Describe how one's role as a student is like that of an adult worker.
   
4. Identify academic skills needed in several occupations.
   
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of personal skills and attitudes to job success.
   
6. Define ways in which social and personal relationships affect employment.
   
7. Identify skills and traits that employers expect in the world of work.
   
8. Identify skills and traits that are transferable from school to the world of work.

Foundational Objective 3: Skills to prepare for the transition to secondary school

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Identify the various educational alternatives available at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
   

2. Identify the requirements for secondary and postsecondary programs.
   
3. Understand how educational planning will affect career planning. 

Goal 4: Career Awareness, Exploration and Planning

As Middle Level students will be at various stages of career development, this module attempts to accommodate students at all levels of development. It encourages both girls and boys to explore occupations that interest them and for which they have the aptitudes, and to resist the influence of sex-role stereotyping. This module acquaints students with a variety of occupations and how to access and use various sources of occupation information. It provides students with an opportunity to explore occupations that interest them, to examine various aspects of work that relate to personal satisfaction, and to become aware of the meaning and importance of lifestyle and leisure in relationship to an occupation. This module also helps students develop the skills needed to evaluate career information and work values and to anticipate and adjust to life career transitions.

Foundational Objective 1: Awareness and knowledge of the interrelationship of life roles

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Identify personal goals that may be satisfied through a combination of work, community, social, and family roles.
   

2. Describe the interrelationship between school, family, occupation, and leisure decisions.
   
3. Identify personal leisure choices in relation to lifestyle and the attainment of future goals.

Foundational Objective 2: Awareness and understanding of the career planning process

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Describe the importance of career planning.
   

2. Describe how career development is a continuous process with a series of choices.
   
3. Identify strategies for managing personal resources (talent, time, money) to achieve tentative career goals.
   
4. Describe how the expectations of others affect career planning.
   
5. Identify school courses that meet tentative life career goals.
   
6. Identify factors that are important to consider when choosing an occupational direction.
   
7. Develop an individual career plan which integrates educational plans with tentative career goals.

Foundational Objective 3: Awareness and knowledge of occupations and the skills needed to access, understand, and use career information

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Identify a variety of occupations.
   

2. Identify various ways that occupations can be classified.
   
3. Demonstrate skills in using school and community resources to learn about occupations/occupational groups.
   
4. Identify sources to obtain information about occupations/ occupational groups, including self-employment.
   
5. Identify the physical activities associated with various occupations.
   
6. Describe skills needed in a variety of occupational groups.

Foundational Objective 4: Awareness and knowledge about changing gender roles

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1. Describe advantages and problems of entering non-traditional occupations.
   

2. Describe the changing life roles of men and women in work and family.
   
3. Describe stereotypes and biases that limit opportunities for men and women to pursue certain occupations.
   
4. Describe how sex-role stereotypes influence behaviour and reactions to life role situations.