Curriculum as Process

Process, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result or product. The Middle Years Career Education Curriculum is just this - a process - it presents a number of opportunities for students to explore themselves (their capabilities, their interests and their skills) while broadening their knowledge and attitudes. It is NOT designed to steer students into a particular role or occupation, but rather, to provide an opportunity to discover and explore their personal interests and make them aware of the vast array of choices available. It is also about participating and connecting with the community on their journey to becoming positively contributing citizens. It is a focus on the transferable skills needed during the transition from school to work.

This preparation for the 'outside world' is a process - a never ending process! "Career development is a lifelong process which continues from school to work and, for an increasing number of people, beyond retirement." Multiple life career changes are common as the idea of career stability and sustenance of long-term employment is quickly fading away. It is for this precise reason that we must focus on process - building the skills required to be successful in any given situation. We no longer ask students what they want to be when they finish high school, but rather, what their next step in learning will be. Building a career IS A PROCESS and we are fooling ourselves if we believe it ends in a definite product.

The curriculum's key concepts or goals include (1) building lifelong learners; (2) building a sense of self and community; (3) building engaged citizens; (4) cross-curricular competences; (5) developing thinking; (6) developing identity and interdependence; (7) developing literacies; and (8) developing social responsibility. These competencies reflect the Common Essential Learnings and are found throughout the curricula in any and all areas of study. They are also inquiry based - as each learner constructs their own career pathway appropriate to their individual understandings.

"We don't want you to stop dreaming. We want you to know that your dreams may change as you test them out. Your reality might even be better than your dreams - especially if you are willing to try new adventures with unknown outcomes." - Krumboltz & Levin

Inquiry fully engages students, which leads to deeper understandings. It is not a step-by-step process, but rather a cyclical process "with various phases of the process being revistied and rethought as a result of students' discoveries, insights, and construction of new knowledge." This process echos that of action research - the process we follow as educators to gain deeper and more meaningful understandings of our own actions and thoughts.
Although wonderful in the freedoms the curriculum allows teachers to have, it is difficult for first timers to use as it does not yet include any support materials (they are to be available on line - but when?). A first year teacher may find the freedom overwhelming, as the 'old' curriculum provided more guidance and supplementary, user-friendly materials that could be easily adapted and incorporated. Likewise, in the posting by OECD which states "as a result to limited or insufficient training arrangements, many career guidance practitioners receive no thorough grounding in basic theories of career guidance." This lack of theory and experience make it cumbersome to develop lessons for the 'first timer'.

Only time will tell how this 'new' curriculum will be perceived, implemented and measured as well as the ultimate goal - producing a critical, competent thinker!