Do you think that primary school is too early for children to begin career-related education? If you say yes, you are not alone. Many parents and educators feel that primary school children are much too young to be directed in the path of one specific career. Rather, they are of the opinion that children should be encouraged to test the waters and be flexible with their ambitions.
Parents can visit parenting website and blogs to learn more about career-related learning.
Are primary school children too young to think about their careers?
The most misleading thing about the word ‘career’ is how people immediately understand it to mean work-related topics. However, career education for primary school children is more about making children see the wide range of options they have in terms of their career and less about raising their aspirations. It opens countless doors and allows children to see how they can keep their options open, and for how long.
At this stage of a child’s life, educators and parents are tasked with spotting and encouraging certain skills in a child which might make them excel more in a particular field of study. This head start will make their transition into higher education as seamless as possible and will give them a clearer path to follow.
Surveys conducted with educators as participants have shown the many ways in which career-related learning helps children.
- Showing children how learning is relevant and giving them the motivation to succeed in their prospective careers.
- Showing children the wide range of opportunities available to them.
- Showing them how gender stereotypes should be abolished.
- Check the common tips on how to help your children persevere and succeed in the future.
More teachers are of the opinion that primary school children should be exposed to career-related information. 47% of the teachers believe that children aged 5 and under should begin career-related learning. Another 21% opine that this learning is best started at age 5 – 7. The majority of schools already included some form of this learning in the activities children perform.
Other surveys show how children learn more about their proposed career when they talk to and meet people who are experts in that field.
Importance of Career-Related Learning
Changing gender stereotypes
Gender stereotypes in careers are slowly being abolished, but children still often consider some careers as ‘female’ or ‘male’. For example, children are more likely to draw a firefighter as a man, and a nurse as a woman. An early introduction to professionals of both genders on the same career path will do much in changing this preconceived notion.
Aspiration
It’s a common belief that children from less privileged backgrounds are less likely to aspire for ambitious careers. The truth is that children often limit themselves based on what their parents know, and the society they are in.
Build confidence
Children will be encouraged to showcase their hidden talents as they discover how useful it will be in their prospective careers. As they learn more, they will understand the importance of literacy and how it will come into play in their future.
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