IDENTIFICATION OF CAREER CHOICES
By: Louise M. Giannini

With the age group of 6th to 8th graders being a pivotal time in students’ goal setting for their futures, and how they see themselves, it is important to continue to reinforce career, job, and life options that are based on capabilities and learning rather than gender. At this time, it becomes especially critical for females to not only review nontraditional career options, but also to assess the impacts of their choices of career on other life needs. These lessons, then, afford opportunities for critical thinking about career options and the kinds of support needed by women who are successful.

STANDARD: All students will be able to identify careers as non-traditional for either gender.

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8, Guidance

OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:

1. Identify non-traditional careers to females and to males.
2. Explain why different careers are gender neutral.
3. Understand the career preparation needed for various jobs/careers.
4. Interact with people (males and females) in non-traditional occupations with the purpose of assessing their continued interest in the respective job/career.

TIME: 3-4 Class Periods

MATERIALS:

• Project ECOE (Equity in Career Options and Education)
• Career Clusters — Guidance Program Materials
• Children’s Dictionary of Occupations
• How Far The Moon? How High The Sky?
• Video Cassette - Educating Young Women For Today
• NOTE: See the A.A.U.W. Report for further materials.

PROCEDURES:

1. All students will be given a list of occupations and asked to add to the list, and then place the occupations in one of 3 columns labeled Male, Female and Male/Female.

2. Divide the students into groups and have them discuss their list in terms of (a) sharing additions to their list (making a composite list), and (b) coming to consensus on which column each occupation should be in.
3. The teacher will take feedback from the final agreed list from each group and write the outcomes on the blackboard. The teams should then have time to engage in problem solving through discussion of:

1. what hurdles need to be overcome in order to be prepared for each of these occupations?
2. In order to be successful in this job, what characteristics, knowledge and skills are needed?
3. In order to be successful in this job, what kind of support will be needed at home? What alternatives are there to having the support needed? (issues such as: house work, child care, marketing, meal preparations, staying healthy).

4. Homework Assignment: Students in each group will find and cut out pictures in magazines and newspapers of people in nontraditional occupations and do a collage. A class period should be designated for the teams to work on their team collage. Collages should be labeled and displayed.
5. Career Day: Invite people into speak to the students who are employed in non-traditional careers. Allow for a question and answer period.
6. Student Assessment: Teacher/Students discussion on knowledge of non-traditional occupations for both females and males, and what it will take to get the job, and then hold onto the job.

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