JOBLAND- TEACHING SKILLS AND RESOURCES FOR IMPROVING CAREER LEARNING AT SCHOOL

The project worked to create a set of innovative resources with the aim of preventing Early School Leaving and empowering pupils to design their future. JOBLAND is a project funded by the Erasmus plus program (KA2 – project code: 2018-1-RO01-KA201-049235) that works to improve career learning in primary schools. With new models and innovative resources, it aims to help children explore the world of work, strengthen competences, raise aspirations and broaden horizons.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To Develop resources and models to improve career learning in primary schools in Europe.
2. To reduce Early School Leaving and educational disengagement in European countries.
3. To promote relationships between different stakeholders involved in career guidance at a local, national and European level.

The project aims to reach its objective with the creation of 6 intellectual outputs:

1. CAREER MANAGEMENT SKILLS - A methodological framework for career learning at school.
2. CAREER TEACHING - A training course to help teachers improve career learning at school.
3. DESIGN MY FUTURE - Career learning units and videotutorials for teachers and school counsellors to use with pupils.
4. JOBLAND - Educational game for schools to help children explore careers and develop career management skills.
5. CAREER LEARNING AT SCHOOL - Handbook for teachers and practitioners on career learning in primary schools with materials for activities.
6. JOBLAND DAY - A virtual training seminar all over Europe on career learning in primary schools.

 Main focus

Career education

•  Career learning is about helping children to understand who they could become and helping them develop a healthy sense of self that will enable them to reach their full potential. DESIGN MY FUTURE as career Learning Units for Primary School.
• DESIGN MY FUTURE represent a series of career learning units for primary school pupils. The project will create a series of educational units to be used by teachers and school counsellors. These will be a set of proposals for career learning interventions for pupils and will include materials, video-tutorials, guidelines for teachers and evaluation tools.
• CAREER TEACHING TRAINING. A training course to help teachers improve career learning at school. The project will design, develop and test innovative teaching methods to enhance the skills of teachers in this field. The training model proposed in the book will focus on specific areas of competences related to career learning, decision making, self-reflection and guidance interventions.
• CAREER TEACHING HANDBOOK. A comprehensive handbook for teachers and school counsellors. This resource will represent a practical resource to help teachers and school counsellors understand the methodological framework and effectively use the learning units developed in the previous outputs. The handbook will offer working sheets to support teachers in the implementation of age-appropriate activities and will define learning outcomes.
• JOBLAND DAY. A European virtual training course to help teachers improve career learning at school. This output represents an innovative training opportunity to present the project outputs across Europe. Schools and other stakeholders will be involved in a day of training. This will take place in different schools in Europe and will include web seminars and presentations from all the partners.
• An educational game. This output consists in an educational game to introduce and support career learning in primary schools (on-line and metacards). https://www.joblandproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/jobland-inglese-finale.pdf

 Career Management Skills

• • CMS is a methodological framework for career learning at school. Data from more than 200 questionnaires and focus groups will be gathered to collect emerging needs, training needs and guidance resources for career learning in primary school in Europe. This output represents the rationale for the development of the other project outputs, translated in all 6 languages of the project partners. The research, promoted by an international partnership among universities, schools and career guidance providers, focuses on the role of early career learning and aims to investigate the state of the art of early career learning in Europe and to provide a shared methodological framework, resources and practical tools to help schools improve the quality of career learning activities during the first step of school education. Career learning in primary education includes those early childhood activities designed to give children from an early age a wide range of experiences of, and exposure to, education, transitions and the world of work. Career related learning has been shown to significantly impact children’s aspirations, motivation and confidence. Having narrow expectations and aspirations influence the academic effort children exert, their educational outcomes, the subjects they choose to study and the jobs they end up pursuing. By challenging stereotypical views about certain jobs and careers, career learning activities help children raise aspirations and play a crucial role when it comes to improving social mobility and contrasting disadvantages.

 Career Information 

• • https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/m42pwir3/what-works-in-primary.pdf. What works? Career-related learning in primary schools By Dr. Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Jordan Rehill (Education and Employers) and Dr. Deirdre Hughes OBE (DMH Associates)
  • TRAINING TEACHERS TO IMPROVE EARLY CAREERS LEARNING. As a fundamental activity of the project, the JOBLAND team worked to empower teachers with the creation of an innovative Training course for teachers on early career learning. The course was developed by the research group of University of Florence which created a proposal of 2.5 ECTS. A demo, online version of the training was then piloted during June and July 2021 with more than 50 participants from different countries in Europe. Moodle was used as an e-learning platform and the course offered both synchronous and asynchronous sessions where teachers could explore different modules on these topics:
    • Discovering career education
    • Engaging in career education
    • (Co)-creating a Career Education Program
    • Implementing Career Education Program
    • Evolving Career Education Program

• Supporting transitions (i.e. the process of supporting moving from one education, employment or training situation to another)