Lifelong Career Development - Case Study Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Task 1: Personal Case Study Reflections on my career development Age 7: During this age I had just school a few years ago and was interested in what was around me. My dad was a businessman, and since my school was nearby, I would visit him more often after school. I would spend time with him in the business and with time I developed so much interest in his business. I would go to his business during the weekends just to hang around since I was too young to complete any task. I loved the way he dealt with the customers. But one day he had a great argument with a customer, and the result was unpleasant, and hence I hated running my own business since I did not know how to handle rude and arrogant customers. 8-12 years: I spent most of the time at this age playing with other young children in the neighbourhood. Though we played a lot of games, we always like participating in fake weddings, and I would always be allocated the task of cooking. I slowly developed an interest in cooking. I would always be close to my mum when cooking to develop an additional skill the nest time I was allocated the task. My aspiration was to become a chef. But with time I also lost interest in the work. 13-15 years: I spent a considerable amount of this stage with my school friends, and we visited a lot of places together. During our adventures, we always had an older person to take care of us and show us around the places that we had visited. At one time, we visited a historical site, and I liked the manner in which the guide talked and responded to our questions. Immediately I developed so much interest in tour guiding. This was until I saw in the news that Lions had attacked a tour guide in a park. This changed my perception of the career immediately since I feared for my life. 16-18 years: this year's exposed me to a broad range of careers. I travelled to Brisbane to study. But mostly I spent time with my tutors and other students in school. I liked the manner I which the teachers guided us in our studies and the much interest they showed when one performed below standard. I liked one particularly teacher who was always on time for the classes and was impeccable. She acted as a role model to me. I also liked the manner in which she explained the concepts and made sure that all people were keen on what was being taught by popping up questions one in a while. Another motivating factor for choosing education was the fact that I found the Australian education metrology being very different from the one in my home country China. Currently: now am studying to be a teacher and do not plan change my career anytime soon since am satisfied in it. My teaching areas are Chinese and Learning support. Themes in my aspirations One of the major themes that are present in my goals is developing relationships. Teachers need to develop good relationships with their students with the aim of enhancing learning. Teachers need to be respected rather than feared I was able to understand this during my study in school through the relationship that our teachers developed with us as we interacted in our classes. This theme related to teaching in that it can act as an enabler of education and at the same time it can work against the teaching profession (Herr and Cramer 56). The understanding of this concept is crucial since it will play an essential role in my teaching profession. Another theme that is present in my aspirations is helping others. Teachers are supposed to act as guides to the students and help them when they are facing issues. Rather than being guides academically teachers also need to be concerned about the well-being of their students this is so because their welfare is likely to affect their learning. This theme seems to be closely related to teaching in that based on their profession they are supposed to make use of their determination and education to help others that is the students under their care and make them better than the previous ones (Ozanne 114). Teachers have the capacity to create change in their students, and they should ensure that this kind of change is always positive and that it will benefit the students in the long run. Values developed as I grew up One value that I learnt that relates to work is always aiming at gaining new skills and knowledge about the work that you are doing. With the constant change in the environment concepts that were being applied in older days are becoming obsolete thus the need for learning new skills and attaining new knowledge. The new skills and knowledge will enable one to complete allocated task within a small period and with a great level of efficiency. This value can impact significantly on my work with the students since I will always provide what is relevant to them in the current day and equip them with skills and knowledge to deal with activities in their job environments in the most efficient manner (Sollier 55). This value can influence my relationship with the students in a positive way as they try to learn new concepts, ideas and skills from me. Another value that I discovered that relates to work is the dedication and commitment and passion for the work that you are doing. This value can significantly impact on my work with the students since they can learn from me and take such values and practice them in their respective careers. This value can have an impact on the relationship with the students in a positive manner (Smart, Feldman and Ethington 111). I would monitor my values regularly to make sure that have positive impacts on my work as a teacher and deal with situations that have adverse consequences in the best way possible. All this will enable my success in teaching and impacting the right values in the students. Task 2: Interviews and case studies summary Summary on interviews Child interview The child I interviewed aspired to be a doctor when he grows up, and the child developed the idea since in their family there are some nurses and doctors. The child is interested in the career since it involves helping people who are sick. The child wanted to be good at offering moral support and be good when it came to administering drugs and researching further on drugs to some terminal diseases. The parents of the child were very supportive with the career aspiration of the child. The child also pointed out that they had learnt some basic first aid skills in school, and he believed that the skills were essential to his career aspirations. Adolescent Interview The adolescence I interviewed wanted to be a software engineer, and his idea has been informed by people who are making it in the technological industry. He is interested in how systems have made work easier and more efficient, and he would like to major on developing systems for hospitals to aid in offering better health services in a faster manner. His career aspiration has been greatly influenced by poor service received since a file was missing in the hospital, and he believes that this can be made easier by use of systems to store medical records. The parents are in full support the child career aspiration and they are willing to offer all the necessary support. Currently, the child has learned a lot in school to help them in their career ambition. The school has also provided a wide range of career information to them to guide them in making correct decisions. The interviewee was of the opinion that the school ought to provide career development support by inviting people in various careers to come and talk to them and explain to them what is needed for specific careers. Adult interview Based on the adult I questioned he initially wanted to become an engineer. Along the way, he lost interest in the career since he was not performing well in maths. He started searching for another career that he could pursue after completing his high school education. As he grew up, he had a pet and was apprehensive anytime the pet fell sick, and he would also help in taking care of the sick domestic animals at home. After some time, he developed an interest in animals, and this was a major aspiration for his current career. Currently, he is a veterinary technician, he performs tests, diagnose and treat medical conditions in animals. He is satisfied with his career since he has a great passion for what he is doing and he also enjoys engaging in biomedical research in his area of study. Personal reflection table Communication skills and knowledge competence Confidence Open questions 5 4 Closed questions 5 4 Reflection of Feelings 5 5 Reflection of content paraphrasing/summarising 4 4 Genuineness 5 5 Unconditional positive regard 5 4 Empathic understanding 5 5 Elements of attending stance -SOLER 4 5 Communication skills In conducting the interview, I applied various communication skills to enhance the results obtained. An important communication skill that I depicted is the ability to pose both the open-ended questions and closed ones. Through the use of these open ended questions, I was able to get more detailed information on the certain concepts than needed more details while I applied closed questions in questions that needed few details. This helped me a lot in saving time since I only asked the relevant questions. A major area that I faced difficulties is when it came to paraphrasing and summarising (Parsons 90). I found that in some areas almost all of the information that had been provided was necessary and I had a difficult time trying to summarise the information. I need to enhance my summarising and paraphrasing skills. I was also able to reflect my feelings in the best possible manner and ensured that I did not upset the interviewee so as to make the interviewee comfortable and receive adequate answers to the questions asked. This ensured that I received accurate and unbiased information, and the respondent gave all the possible responses to the questions asked. The sections of the interview that I structured well were the sections that dealt with what the parents thought about the career aspirations of their children. This section I offered open-ended questions to both parents. This ensured that I heard the opinion of both parents and in a detailed manner (Porges 77). Some parents even offered the suggestion to which careers that they thought their children would take up later in life based on their observation as the children grew up. I would need to structure well the sections on what inspired a the child and adolescent in choosing a particular career path and offer suggestions to any other careers they would like to pursue if offered a chance to do so and also request them to suggest some of their role models in their chosen fields. I will apply my communication skills in my work as a teacher by ensuring that I communicate the information to the students in an audible and efficient manner. This will enable them to gain and understand the concepts that I will teach and apply them in their lives. When information is not, audible students may not get the concepts and thus they may end up performing poorly in their allocated tasks. I will also apply my communication skills by ensuring that my nonverbal communication is in line with my verbal communication (Pope 288). The non-verbal communication will in a way reinforce what I will be teaching verbally, and the tone will be adjusted based on the setting. Based on these I used a different tone when addressing the child in the interview as compared to the tone I used on the adult. Additionally I will also try to be polite to the students so as to evoke a positive feeling in them and for them to be able to understand the concepts being taught. Task 3: Theory Summary and Application Lifelong Career development Based on the theories studied I understand the concept of lifelong career development as the continuous process of managing work, learning, leisure and associated transitions with the aim of moving forward to a personally determined and preferred future (McMahon and Tatham 80). I also understand it as a continuous process from childhood to adolescent and into adulthood. In childhood career development is more about exploration and development of future self. In the adolescence stage, it is all about the experience, exposure, development and reflection of employability skills. Through adulthood the skills are deployed, refined and expanded for one to be able to navigate in the ever-changing labour markets (Commission of European Communities 15). Through the concept of lifelong learning, I was bale t understand that individuals in all profession needs to engage in continuous learning to improve their productivity in their workplaces. This is well supported by the fact that when ideas become obsolete they can lead to low productivity hence the need to new ideas that are well suited to the current requirements of the society. This is well supported by my reflection since as I grew up I had different career aspirations but eventually I was able to choose what was best for me over the years. Through the skills that I have gained am sure that I will be able to navigate the labour market and engage in lifelong career development to enhance my teaching (Patton and McMahon 128). Summary of Holland Theory Since the emergence of the Holland's theory about forty years ago, the theory has become a major force and mostly in applied psychology. When the theory was first presented, it emphasized more on searching aspects that are person-environment fit (Feldman, Smart and Ethington 67). Based on the theory a great number of people fall under six personality types that are the investigative, artistic, realistic, enterprising, social and conventional. When people who have the same personality work together, they create a work environment that is well fitted to their personality type. For instance, if artistic people work together on a job they come up with a work environment that rewards behaviour and creative thinking (Rayman & Atanasoff, 1999). Additional there are also six major work environment and they are the investigative, artistic, realistic, enterprising, social and conventional settings. Individuals, therefore, search for those environments where they can be able to apply their abilities and skills and express their attitudes and values. The theory further asserts that people who work in environments that are similar to their personality types are bound to be satisfied and successful (Feldman, Smart and Ethington 670). How one feels and acts in the workplace is greatly dependent on the workplace environment. The theory further states that in reality some people are a combination of the six types; thus they are more likely to consider occupations that fall under more than one category. The figure below shows Holland's Hexagon Personalities that are close to one another seem to be more alike as compared to those that are further. Application of Holland theory in teaching Though Holland's theory was mainly intended to assist people in selecting their careers in which they could achieve the greatest level of success, the premises made in the theory are applicable in the educational setting. One aspect of my career as a teacher that is well accounted for by Holland’s theory relates to educational behaviour is derived from the personality types and they in a way resemble those of vocational behaviour. The stability in, the choice of, achievement in and satisfaction with the field of study pursue rules that are similar to those of vocational behaviour. An aspect of my career that the theory do not address is how am supposed to deal with other teachers whose personality types do not match with mine. The theory also does not account for people who despite having certain traits fail to take up jobs that are related to the traits. A major critique of the theory is that he does not consider the differences that exist between jobs and careers. Additionally other studies such as the one conducted by Spokane 1985 fails to show the level of satisfaction that Holland claims should be achieved when the correct match is made. Thus, this calls for the application of other theories when choosing careers such as the Super life-span theory, Savickas’s career construction theory this will offer insight in a number of facets and make people choose the rights careers. For instance in my career as a teacher I am able to apply a number of theories apart from the Holland theory to aid in my career development. I am able to make use of Krumboltz’s social learning theory of career choice as a guide to how I can be able to tackle career related problems. Three key learning about lifelong career development A significant learning about lifelong career development is that lifelong learning and career development are related closely. Career advice, information, as well as support, are essential for ensuring the right training, educational, work alternatives as well as lifestyle choices. Thus, people in the modern day society need to appreciate the interconnectedness and engage more in lifelong career development (Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey 87). Change seems to be taking place in every profession and by engaging in lifelong career development people will be able to be at par with current development in their area of study. For instance, for teachers, strategies that might have worked when they started teaching may be irrelevant in this current age. Through lifelong career development, they will be more aware of the strategies that can work with the current students. Another major learning on lifelong career development is that in a great number of countries and societies the contribution that career development can offer to skill development and lifelong learning have not being maximised and at times they are not even understood. Over the years, the career development profession its practice and related research have come age (Career Development 2). With time it has evolved from the matching of people's ability to the labour market to a more dynamic as well as holistic way of assisting people in managing purposeful and productive learning and working lives in a very complex manner in the limited labour market since people with particular skills tend to surpass the number of job opportunities that are available. Thus, societies, schools and countries need appreciate career development. Another major learning is that the connecting of career development and employability with lifelong learning in a more transparent and direct way need to be considered since it is essential when it comes to establishing a rational lifelong learning system for the workers and the learners (McMahon, Patton and Watson 112). Several analysts have also pointed out that career development program, education and services provides a higher potential for noteworthy productivity gain although a small level of investment have been applied. By understanding this, it would be essential to include these potential in the evolving of a lifelong learning system for the generations to come. References Career Development. A Policy Statement of the National Career Development Association Board of Directors, 2003. Print. Commission of European Communities. A Memorandum on Lifelong Learning. Brussels, 2000. Print. Feldman, Kenneth, Smart, John and Ethington, Corinna. "What do college students have to lose? Exploring outcomes of differences in person-environment fits." Journal of Higher Education, in the press. Print. Feldman, Kenneth, Smart, John and Ethington, Corinna. "A further investigation of major field and person-environment fit: Sociological versus psychological interpretations of Holland's theory." Journal of Higher Education, 72 (2001): 670-698. Print. Herr, Edwin and Cramer, Stanley. Career guidance and counselling through the lifespan: Systematic approaches. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Print. McMahon, Mary and Tatham, Thomas. Career: More than just a job: Career development understandings informing my future. Dulwich, Australia: education.au limited, 2008. Print. McMahon, Mary, Patton, William and Watson, Mark. My System of Career Influences (MSCI) Facilitators' Guide. Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press, 2005, Print. Niles, Spencer and Harris-Bowlsbey, Joan. Career Development Interventions in the 21st Century. Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. Ozanne, Elizabeth. Lifelong Career Development [online]. In: Patton, Wendy (Editor); McMahon, Mary (Editor). Career Development Programs: Preparation for Lifelong Career Decision Making. Camberwell, Vic.: ACER Press, 2001: 114-121. Parsons, Frank. Choosing a vocation. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1909. Print. Patton, Weddy and McMahon, Mary. Career development programs: preparation for lifelong career decision making, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne, 2001. Print. Pope, Mark. "Jesse Buttrick Davis (1871-1955): Pioneer of vocational guidance in the schools." Career Development Quarterly, 57 (2009)278-288. Print. Porges, Stephen. The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 2001. Print. Rayman, Jack and Atanasoff, Lynne. ‘Holland's theory and career intervention: the power of the hexagon." Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 55 (1999)114-126. Print. Smart, John, Feldman, Kenneth and Ethington, Corinna. Academic disciplines: Holland's theory and the study of college students and faculty. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000. Print. Sollier, Pierre. Listening for Wellness: An Introduction to the Tomatis Method. The Mozart Centre Press, 2005. Print. Spokane, Arnold. "A review of research on person-environment congruence in Holland's theory of careers." Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 26 (1985): 306-343. Print. Read More