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Weekly UpdatesResearch on the development of decision-making skills rests on the premise that good decisions further one's goals and are accompanied by well-thought-out plans. Planning is a process that is essential to almost all aspects of decision making (Simons & Galotti, 1992). Like decision making, planning includes generating ideas, sequencing activities, prioritizing, and using a bigger and more varied repertoire of existing plans (Galotti, 2005). Despite assumptions linking goals to decision making and planning, there is little empirical evidence supporting these contentions. There is, however, a rich and informative theoretical and empirical literature on goal orientation that has direct relevance to childhood career development (e.g., decision making, planning, academic achievement, and academic efficacy).
Goal orientation theory provides a useful lens through which to view the relation between the learning environment and early adolescent development (e.g., Maehr & Anderman, 1993; Midgley, 1993). There is substantive literature that suggests that personal mastery goals are consistently associated with adaptive patterns of learning (e.g., Urdan, 1997).
Achievement goal theory, developed within a social-cognitive framework, focuses on the aims or purposes that are pursued within an achievement setting (Midgley et al., 1998). This theory concerns the importance of how individuals think about themselves, their tasks., and their performance (Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001). Goals provide a framework within which individuals interpret and react to events and result in different patterns of cognition, affect, and behavior (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Two achievement goal orientations have been described by theorists: the goal to develop ability (labeled as mastery, task, or learning goals) and the goal to demonstrate ability or to avoid the demonstration of lack of ability (labeled as performance, ego, or ability goals; Midgley, 2005). individuals who are mastery or task oriented strive to increase their understanding and skill. Success is defined in relation to the task, and progress is measured in self-referential terms. A performance goal is thought to include both approach and avoidance components. Individuals who are performance oriented strive to gain favorable judgments of their competence or to avoid unfavorable judgments of their competence. Success is defined in relation to others (Midgley, 2005).
In addition to personal goals, researchers have conceptualized goal structure in relation to classroom and school policies and practices that make mastery or performance goals salient. Research suggests that positive motivational, affective, and performance outcomes are more closely associated with students' perceptions of a mastery goal structure than with a perceived performance goal structure (Kaplan, Middleton, Urdan, & Midgley, 2002).
Considerable literature on family influences on career development was recently integrated by Whiston and Keller (2004). A realistic view of the individual embedded within a family system is fundamental to understanding the nature of how people develop and implement their plans for work (Blustein, 2001; Savickas, 2002). Research suggests that family relationship factors, such as parental attitudes, expectations, and social support, exert a predictable influence on adolescent career decision making (Whiston & Keller, 2004). This evidence points to the importance of systematically studying the role of family influences on children's decision making and planning skills.
Longitudinal research that studies the childhood origins of adolescent career behaviors will also contribute to the field's knowledge. Today, the majority of the longitudinal research has been conducted by Helwig (1998, 2001, 2002) on occupational aspirations. This work could be expanded to consider a myriad of additional factors such as the development of interests, motivation, goal setting, planning, and decision making.
Future Directions of Childhood Career Development Practice
Assessment of individuals and programs must become a central component of career practice. Several authors (e.g., Prideaux et al., 2000; Schultheiss & Stead, 2004; Watson & McMahon, 2005) have pointed to the need for more theoretically driven and empirically sound assessment instruments for use in both research and practice. Similarly, Whiston (2002) and others (e.g., Green & Keys, 2001) have consistently argued for more evidencebased practice. Greater consistency in the use of assessment instruments would greatly facilitate the comparison of individual and programmatic outcomes and the generation of knowledge through research.
Given that preparation for one's life work is an end goal of education, the in-depth study of careers is thought to be appropriate for most academic subjects (Harkins, 2001). In fact, it has been suggested that an effective educational curriculum is one that infuses career-building competencies throughout the school program to encourage integration of skills from all subject areas (Harkins, 2000; Jalongo, 1989; Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991). The goal of this recommendation is to connect school learning with what happens in the workplace and to promote the idea that all curricular areas facilitate the solution of real-world problems (Harkins, 2000). This course of action can potentially thwart a system that seems to produce children who are unable to see the connection between what they learn in school and their future careers (Johnson, 2000).
By infusing work readiness activities throughout the curriculum, teachers can help children build a strong foundation that will be useful to them in the future (Harkins, 2001; Jalongo, 1989; Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991; Starr, 1996). Some career education goals that have been identified for young children include (a) acquiring information, (b) building self-awareness, (c) developing positive attitudes and habits, (d) exploring equity issues, and (e) increasing competencies (Harkins, 2001).
Beginning with a seminal 1960 article (Engle, 2003), a call was made to make decision making and career education central to the social studies curriculum. Hence, considerable attention has been given to the world of work as a construct of vital importance to social studies education (Mamola, 1999). When students are engaged in meaningful exploration and thoughtful consideration of the workplace, valuable economics and life skills are acquired. In 1992, the National Council for the Social Studies named 10 thematic strands that are well suited for childhood exploration of the world of work (Mamola, 1999). These thematic strands are (a) culture; (b) time, continuity, and change; (c) people, places, and environments; (d) individual development and identity; (e) individuals, groups, and institutions; (f) power, authority, and governance; (g) production, distribution, and consumption; (h) science, technology, and society; (i) global connections; and (j) civic ideals and practice.
Other academic content areas ready for infusion of career development concepts include math (Chanter & Welsh, 2000), science, technology, language arts, and health. A recently developed math curriculum titled "Everyday Mathematics" purports to emphasize learning in a social context by infusing math into everyday life experiences (Isaacs, Carroll, & Bell, 2001). Similarly, literature provides a context for the integration of career and work concepts (e.g., Brathwaite, 2002). Broad themes related to self-knowledge, interpersonal skills, and other work-related concepts are highlighted in the language arts curriculum. Finally, the health curriculum is a likely area in which to focus on health and safety issues, stress, goal setting, decision making, sexual harassment, flexibility and adaptability, and interpersonal relationships as they relate to work and work-related topics.
Learning through experiential activity provides a context for learning and offers preparation for real-world tasks that will be faced in adulthood (Harkins, 2000). Harkins has suggested that starting in the early grades, children need to develop work readiness skills through the integration of knowledge acquisition and its practical application. Direct, simulated, and vicarious experiences help children to connect school-based learning to the tasks they will undertake as adults. To effectively prepare young people for their future careers, education must connect the world of childhood play and the adult workplace within the context of experiential learning (Harkins, 2000).
Levinson and Ohler (2006) have outlined two levels of intervention for childhood career development that are worth emphasizing: systems-level interventions and individual-level interventions. Systems-level interventions refer to those interventions that are designed to be a regular component of K-12 education, such as career education and school-to-work transition programs. Comprehensive career guidance programs aim to serve this purpose with programs implemented by school counselors and other school personnel. School-to-work transition programs are an example of programs that aim to meet the career needs of all students. In practice, however, many have suggested that these programs rarely focus on the developmental needs of elementary students (e.g., Whiston, 2002). The time has come to acknowledge that career development and transition services must emphasize a process rather than a single event or series of events (Levinson & Ohler, 2006). This process, as suggested by early career theorists (e.g., Super, 1990), must begin in early childhood.
Individual-level interventions should be targeted for students who have not profited from system-level interventions or have not met career development objectives in a timely manner (Levinson & Ohler, 2006). Individual-level interventions are designed to supplement group career education programs with the aim of empowering students to cope effectively with career development tasks. As Levinson (2002) suggested, individual-level interventions should provide accommodations needed for success, the promotion of advocacy skills, and the improvement of self-efficacy.
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