Career Education Benchmarks: Year 7 and 8

A set of quality benchmarks to improve

career development in New Zealand schools

with Year 7 and 8 students

“The OECD has recognised that career services

are necessary for effective transition systems.

It notes that career management skills are an

essential literacy alongside other literacies for

successful transitions into and from

education, training and work.”

- Career Guidance and Public Policy Bridging the Gap 2004 Report

The importance of career development in schools

The benchmarks will provide…

A framework for:

• high quality, consistent, sustainable career development programmes

• supporting students to make successful transitions

• competencies that enable students to self manage their life and work.

Why do we need a framework? The changing nature of careers…

R:\Operations\Capability building

From: Decision guidance To: Career development guidance

Linear, single destination orientation – help people to make an informed decision

Dynamic, change, growth orientation – help people to learn to live well as citizens

What do you want to be when you grow up?Separation of paid work from rest of life

Who might you become? What kind of life do you want? Paid work and life roles connected

Choose a careerMaking a living

Create a careerMaking a life

The Benchmarks will…

• Enable a common understanding of good practice for effective career education

• Provide a self review tool for schools to evaluate, identify specific areas to focus on and forward plan to develop their career development programmes and services

• Provide those who are supporting schools with a framework to focus their work

• Promote engagement and discussion about a vital part of the education system

Who are they for?

• Boards of Trustees

• Principals

• School senior leaders

• Teachers

• Career development staff in schools

The benchmarks can be used by:

• Organisations who work with schools(eg. Careers New Zealand, Education Review Office, Ministry of Education, and other professional career development agencies)

Where do the benchmarks fit?

National Administration Guidelines

Objective of career education

Career Education Benchmarks

What good practice looks like

Career Education Guidelines

How to go about career education

Part of a suite of benchmarks for the sector:

Year 7 & 8

Under development

Secondary

Published October 2011, in use in schools around NZ

Tertiary

Developed: Launch pending

The Year 7 and 8 Benchmarks are the final set in a suite of three written for the education sector

Timeline for development

Jul – Aug 2012 • Working draft developed

Sep 2012 • Road-test in individual schools and school clusters across New Zealand

• Feedback sought from the sector and interested parties

Oct – Nov 2012 • Finalise benchmarks based on feedback

T1 2013 • Publish and launch benchmarks• Schools using the benchmarks

Evidence base

• National and international research and evidence has informed the benchmarks

• A number of leading career development and education experts have provided expertise and/or advice throughout the development process

Introducing the project team

The Year 7 and 8 Benchmarks project was:

• Led by Dale Bailey, Odie Johnson, Jackie Fowke and Mitch de Vries

• Developed with input and advice from across the education sector

• Overseen by an External Reference Group of education sector and industry representatives

• School Trustees Association

• NZ Principals Federation

• NZAIMS

• NZEI

• Career Development Association of New Zealand (CDANZ)

External Reference Group

• Auckland University of Technology

• Nelson/Marlborough Institute of Technology

• Te Wananga O Aotearoa

• NZ Council for Educational Research

Representatives from the following organisations were on the External Reference Group:

The Benchmarks

The Brief

The brief for the development of the benchmarks was to ensure that they are:

• Cutting edge

• Aspirational

• Future focused

• World leading

The framework of the benchmarks

• Student career management competencies are at the heart – these are the competencies that our students must have developed to enable a successful transition to Year 9. They are outcomes.

• The other three dimensions are the inputs that are required to enable all students to develop these competencies.

Unpacking the Benchmarks:

• The layers are: dimension, category, sub category, benchmark statement

• For the student career management competency dimension, there are two possible placements for each sub category – competent and highly competent

• For each of the remaining dimensions, there are four possible placements for each sub category – from ‘ineffective’ to ‘highly effective’

• The following slides will unpack the dimensions and categories to show you the overall framework.

• From there, go to the Benchmarks document to read the detail

Key dimensions for effective career development

S Student career management competencies

The development of capability to self-manage their life and learning, and to enable them to successfully transition to secondary school

L Leadership Sound leadership creates a climate for whole school approach to career development.

P Programme delivery

High quality career development programme that is consciously embedded within the schools year 7 and 8 curriculum

T Transition to secondary school

A planned, co-constructed and inclusive approach to the transition of year 8 students to year 9

Summary tables

• The next four pages show the structure of the dimensions, each unpacked with their category statements.

Structure of student career management competencies benchmark

Dimension Sub-category Competent Highly Competent

Sub-category descriptor

Sub-category descriptor

Sub-category descriptor

The competent column is shaded as it is intended that you start by reading these descriptors first. The descriptors in the highly competent column are additional.

Student career management competencies

Categories for student career management competencies

S1 • Stronger awareness of self, how they relate to others & their potential for development. • Recognize how they can apply these to their lives & the lives they aspire for

themselves.

S2 • Identify future possibilities & opportunities available to them in life, learning & work, • Have access to accurate career information and technology

S3 • Beginning to understand the consequences of their choices & decisions. • Recognize need to identify all available options for making informed choices in

planning their next steps.

S4 • Able to make flexible life, learning & work plans and goals. • Have capabilities to seek & secure opportunities & are adaptable & responsive to

change.

Structure of benchmark input dimensions:

Dimension sub-category

Ineffective Adequate Consolidating effectiveness

Highly effective

Sub-category descriptor

Sub-category descriptor

Sub-category descriptor

• The Leadership, Programme delivery, Transition to Secondary school dimensions are structured as below.

• The ‘Adequate’ column is shaded as it is intended that you read this first and then move to the left or right depending upon your school’s position

L. Leadership P. Programme Delivery T. Transition to secondary school

L1. Active and committed leadership drives the school’s vision for career development and ensures its forward direction. The school has a comprehensive,future focused plan for the development of Student Career Management Competencies and these are integrated into teaching and learning strategies.

P1. Documentation demonstrates that there is a school-wide career development programme that provides innovative and diverse opportunities for students todevelop and demonstrate the key competencies described in the New Zealand School Curriculum. There is evidence of a cohesive, coordinated approach to buildStudent Career Management Competencies through career education across all curriculum areas of the school.

T1. Transition processes between Year 8 schools and Secondary School. Systems and procedures are well established with clear and open communication andplanning to ensure students experience a smooth transfer to secondary school. The application and enrolment processes and Orientation activities are wellstructured, advertised widely and designed to encourage maximum participation.

L2. Career Development Programme. There is a strategic, planned approach to career development which is led by a member of the school’s senior leadership team and may include a career specialist. The role of the leader is clearly defined as are the roles of the career development team and all other staff.

P2. The Career Development Programme is modified and improved through information, data analysis, review and evaluation. It is enriched by incorporating newapproaches and opportunities to meet the identified, specific career development needs of students.

T2. Transition to Secondary School between Year 8 School and Student. Planning and preparation for transition is established and clearly outlined in the schoolscareer development programme. Orientation opportunities and activities are strategically timetabled, advertised widely, and evaluated and modified regularly.

L3. School leadership provides the information management systems, professional support and resources to ensure that the development of Student Career Management Competencies meets the needs of all students. Career development resources are used strategically to ensure the successful transition of all students to life, learning and work.

P3. Families, whanau and community are actively involved in supporting student career development and the whole school community are active partners in theprocess. Networking and network development, both formal and informal, and personal connections are evident and are on-going activities: they are used as a“source of shared learning, knowledge production and knowledge management” 7 to promote equality of opportunity, celebrate diversity and challengestereotypes.

T3. Transition to Secondary School - interaction between Year 8 School and family, whanau and community.Students and parents are supported in the planning and preparation for secondary school. Systems and procedures are well established with clear and opencommunication and planning to ensure students experience a smooth transfer to secondary school. The application and enrolment processes and Orientationactivities are well structured, advertised widely and designed to encourage maximum participation.

Input dimensions and category statements

Delving into the Benchmarks

• The next step is to go to the Year 7 and 8 Benchmarks web page on the Careers New Zealand website: www.careers.govt.nz and download the Benchmarks document

» You can provide feedback on as many dimensions as you wish.

» Give your feedback using the link on the Year 7 and 8 Benchmarks web page. This is the only way we are collecting feedback.

• Feedback is open until 5pm Sunday 30 September

Thank you