This 5 page paper responds to a scenario provided by the student wherein students have noted they are bored with the career guidance activities and gender bias exists among the students. This is a proposal that begins with a short overview about today's thoughts of career guidance in elementary schools. The writer then proposes two activities and one career guidance program for the school. Each recommendation notes the objective and expected outcome. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGelcrg.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
certain things, like becoming an astronaut, because they are girls. We need to adopt a program and/or a series of activities that will be more valuable to our students as
well as one that will eliminate the gender bias that seems to exist among our students. Current thinking about career guidance in elementary schools is not to move children towards
any particular career but to prepare them by developing self-esteem and decision making skills (McIntosh, 2000). Career guidance programs at the elementary grades level are founded on developmental theory, which
asserts that development occurs in stages naturally over a persons lifetime (Marino, 1998). Individuals master various physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and vocational tasks during each of the stages of development
(Marino, 1998). As children pass through these stages, they develop a clear concept about themselves and the world around them; by about age 9 or 10, most children have internalized
their self-concept (Marino, 1998). They develop a level of confidence about themselves that lays the foundation for future success (Marino, 1998). Havighurst asserted that the first stage of vocational development
begins at about age five and ends at about age ten (Marino, 1998). It is a time when children begin to integrate the concept of work into their idea of
self and they do this by identifying with an important adult in their lives (Marino, 1998). Other theorists, such as Super, have noted that up until about age 10, children
can still involve themselves in fantasy (Marino, 1998). Based on this premise, role-playing different jobs and careers would be a worthwhile activity. Given the developmental stages offered by Freud, Erikson,
Piaget and Havighurst, any program we offer must complement childrens stages of development at each grade level. Marino reported that "the elementary career development program should consist of a systematic