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.

Life-long Learning: to develop the attitude and skills to grow with change.

Independence: to acquire and practise the skills needed to progress from dependence to independence.

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

Personal growth: to examine, reflect and act upon their personal goals and level of well-being in managing their lives as purposeful, contributing members of society.

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. 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.

The constant feature in all modules is dealing with change. Change is responsible for the transitions on 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 re-designing 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.

Foundational objectives are the major, general statements that guide what each student is expected to achieve for the modules of the PAA curriculum guidelines. Foundational objectives indicate the most important knowledge, skills, attitudes/values, and abilities for a student to learn in a subject. Both the Foundational Objectives for Life Transitions 20, 30 and the Common Essential Learnings (CELs) Foundational Objectives to be emphasized are stated in this document. Some of these statements may be repeated or enhanced in different modules for emphasis. The Foundational Objectives of the modules of the Life Transitions 20, 30 curriculum include:

• To 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.
• To appraise self-knowledge in relation to occupational choice, career requirements and working conditions.
• To 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.
• To recognize that decisions about sexual behaviour affect life plans.
• To explore some of the personal, family, community and career transitions they may face in terms of how such transitions may change their life roles.
• To develop the ability and the confidence to design, implement and assess realistic action plans to manage their health care.
• To become aware of how career planning is influenced by their present situation, which includes their self-concept, friends, family, community, and available resources.
• To develop the ability to design and carry out action plans to prepare themselves for independent living.
• To develop the lifelong skill of making decisions about managing change in their personal lives.
• To recognize that relationships are dynamic and change over time.
• To recognize that effective time management skills will help them meet personal goals and manage change.
• To recognize that they can resolve a certain degree of conflict, which is natural, as relationships are dynamic and change over time.
• To consider career plans that accommodate change and growth in their personal life and their family life, as well as in the world of work.
• To become familiar with employee interview skills which they can apply, now and in the future, to get a job and potentially to change jobs.
• To access and evaluate information for purposes of clarifying that emotional growth is a lifelong process.
• To appreciate that career self-knowledge is a lifelong process involving continuous decision making.
• To 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.
• To 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.
• To develop the ability and the confidence to design and carry out action plans to manage conflict in their personal, family, community and career relationships.
• To practise solving some of the housing, transportation and monthly expense problems encountered by those living on their own.
• To develop and apply successful job search skills.
• To 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.
• To acknowledge that people balance the expectations of self, others and work in different ways, depending on their personal standards and goals.
• To develop the ability and the confidence to design and carry out action plans that focus on community issues.
• To develop the lifelong skill of making decisions about their sexual behaviour that reflect personal goals, lifestyle goals and career goals.
• To acknowledge that career planning reflects personal goals and lifestyle goals.
• To develop a sense of responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health.
• To develop the lifelong skills of making time management decisions that reflect personal goals, lifestyle goals and career goals.
• To begin to develop the lifelong skill of making decisions that involve community and ethical issues.
• To recognize that effective money management skills will help them meet personal goals.
• To recognize the responsibilities and commitment involved in parenting.
• To consider those skills and attitudes needed to retain a job.

Life Transitions is written in a modular format. Each credit is based on 100 hours of instruction. There are four required (core) 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. 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.

Career exploration, Transition-to-Work, and a smooth transition form high school to post-secondary education programs or work are important goals in all PAA courses of study. This course is a Practical and Applied Arts option which is a specified elective at the Secondary Level.