Abstract
Middle school students should be appropriately tested and examined to identify the future career choices. The tiered approach is beneficial for the educational process as it allows students to distinguish their skills and abilities. It should be stressed that teachers should provide the necessary information concerning the issue of job choosing, namely self-awareness, goal setting, decision-making, workplace skills, exploring skills, and the understanding of the workplace. The exercises, tests, and projects should be appropriate for the students of the middle school. For the students to develop abilities and skills needed for the future profession they have to be carefully tested as it will impact their future life and working career.
Middle School
Children usually have different level of cognitive and physical development that need to be taken into account while arranging the learning process. The great majority of teachers find it challenging to work with the middle school students as they have a lot of energy, and it should be directed to the learning process. The modern system of education aims to achieve the highest results by showing that the methods that are used in class should serve the major needs of the student and be appropriate to their learning skills and abilities.
Three-Tiered Approach
The system allows distinguishing students who are at some or high risk. The students at tier two and tier three should catch up with the tier one. To improve working abilities of the students belonging to tier two and three individual consultations, tests, and working in the small groups should be implemented into education (Farkas et al., 2011, p. 276). All the career chances can be also divided into three stages (every stage matches the appropriate tier). The tiered one students should be orientated into more difficult career opportunities, whereas the students who lack skills and abilities should be directed into those careers that will match their preferences and skills (Wardwell, 2013, p. 158).
Self-Awareness
The school counselors are responsible for the applying of the Response to Intervention approach to the educational process (School Counseling Curriculum, 2011). The middle school is viewed as the significant time when students should identify their goals in life and be aware of job opportunities. The members of the educational process should take into account three-tiered approach while preparing career counseling curriculum.
The student of the middle school should understand his role in the communication with the community. The development of the human’s personality is the dynamic process that never stops; consequently it is important to direct student’s energy into the needed direction. Students need to be attentively tested through experiments and observation to distinguish and improve personal preferences, skills, abilities, and talents (Akos, Charles, Orthner, & Cooley, 2011, p. 7).
Goal Setting and Decision-Making
The significant role of the middle school is to identify skills, abilities, and preference of the student. The understanding of goals can help students to choose the subjects that will be important for the future education and career (Rogers & Creed, 2011, p. 170). The psychological tests should be implemented to achieve the best results in identifying the possible career chances. It should be stressed that it is significant to distinguish the nurse from the doctor, the designer from the painter. So, teachers should help the student to set specific aims, as it is difficult for middle school students to make decisions concerning their future career opportunities.
Workplace Skills
While studying in the school students should understand what skills should be developed to get a good job. The employers usually have a list of important skills while they are looking for the candidates, namely communicative skills, critical thinking, creativity, punctuality, positive attitude towards the job, team working, and responsibility (Orthner, Jones-Sanpei, Akos, & Rose, 2012, p. 30). The stated above skills and abilities need to be improved in the middle school as it is considered to be the perfect time for the intervention and changing habits. The teamwork, confidence, creativity, and critical thinking can be developed while working in small groups, creating projects, and taking part in competitions (Orthner et. al., 2012, p. 30).
Exploring Careers
Students should be acquainted with the career choices and be able to explore all the opportunities. The teachers should provide students with all the necessary information and help them in evaluating needed skills and abilities for the workplace. Students can work with the articles and videos; and be aware of the possible ways of changing the job (Ting et al., 2012, p. 85). It will be beneficial to organize students into groups for them to prepare projects where students will tell about job expectations and challenges.
Understanding the Workplace
Modern students face the problem society changing. Political, economic, and technological improvement affect the working conditions (Dik, Steger, Gibson, & Peisner, 2011, p. 61). They should be aware of the modern trends, globalization process, and changes in the society that impact the workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be stressed that the question concerning choosing the job for the middle school students is one of the most significant while education. The appropriate methods and approaches will help the student to estimate their skills, abilities, and talents, as it can influence the future opportunities for the student to succeed.
References
Akos, P., Charles, P., Orthner, D., & Cooley, V. (2011). Teacher Perspectives on Career-Relevant Curriculum in Middle School. Research in Middle Level Education, 34(5), 1-9.
Dik, B., Steger, M., Gibson, A., & Peisner, W. (2011). Make Your Work Matter: Development and pilot evaluation of a purpose-centered career education intervention. New Directions For Youth Development, 2011(132), 59-73.
Farkas, M., Simonsen, B., Migdole, S., Donovan, M., Clemens, K., & Cicchese, V. (2011). Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support in an Alternative School Setting: An Evaluation of Fidelity, Outcomes, and Social Validity of Tier 1 Implementation. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 20(4), 275-288.
Orthner, D., Jones-Sanpei, H., Akos, P., & Rose, R. (2012). Improving Middle School Student Engagement Through Career-Relevant Instruction in the Core Curriculum. The Journal of Educational Research, 106(1), 27-38.
Rogers, M., & Creed, P. (2011). A longitudinal examination of adolescent career planning and exploration using a social cognitive career theory framework. Journal of Adolescence, 34(1), 163-172.
School Counseling Curriculum. (2011). Web.
Ting, S., Leung, Y., Stewart, K., Roberts, G., Dees, S., & Smith, A. (2012). A Preliminary Study of Career Education in Middle School. Journal of Career and Technical Education, 27(2), 84-97.
Wardwell, M. (2013). RTI in a Middle School: Findings and Practical Implications of a Tier 2 Reading Comprehension Study. Learning Disability, 34(1), 157-163.