Review and analysis of Choices Into Action

Module 1 Assignment 1:
Review and analyze Choices Into Action. Summarize and synthesize findings in a 2 to 3 page report that includes applications to your current workplace and role.
Choices Into Action
The goals of the Choices into Action Guidance and Career Education Program Policy are threefold: that students develop a good understanding of lifelong learning, relationships and career planning; that they develop learning and social skills, social responsibility and career goals and finally, that they can apply this learning in their lives and at work both within the school and the community. Student development, interpersonal development and career development are three goals that, according to this policy, should relate directly to a school’s guidance and career education program. Students will be able to make connections between what they are learning in the classroom to what they are experiencing in the community which will allow them to better prepare for and adapt to the eventual transitions they will make throughout their lives. This program will enable students to learn self-discipline, personal and social responsibility and respect for others, all of which are important characteristics of a well-balanced, self-sufficient and job-ready successful young adult.
Some of the features of the policy include an annual education plan, career exploration activities in the community, the teacher adviser program, the program advisory team, the individual and short-term counsellor, the program effectiveness survey and the compulsory half credit in Career Studies. Despite the fact that the Choices into Action document dates back to 1999, the only aspect of the policy that has changed is the teacher adviser program. According to Policy/Program Memorandum No. 137 of June 2005, the teacher adviser program was revoked and replaced with Board regulated, additional dedicated secondary staff called Student Success Teachers whose job it is to track and assist students who are at risk of not graduating. The Education Policy and Program Update to April 30, 2010, confirms that the Choices into Action policy has remained unchanged with the exception of the removal of the teacher adviser program.

The following is a brief summary of some of the main features of the Choices into Action Policy:
1. Annual education plan- A plan that is created by the student and their parents that outlines the student’s yearly academic achievement for learning within the school environment as well as outside. This plan is intended for students in grades 1-12, however, it only becomes mandatory for students in grades 7-12. In grades 7 and 8, students will research potential secondary schools and their programs and courses. Beginning in grade 8, the AEP should have a list of secondary courses that the student plans on taking as well as any plans for extra-curricular activities both within as well as outside the school environment. By grade 10, the AEP should include post-secondary plans including courses, programs, potential work options and training as well as career planning activities, financial planning and plans for independent living. Students will be given more information on their options and choices and what impact their decisions could have on educational and career goals. The goals they set will be both short and long term and will be monitored along with their academic progress. By grade 12, students will be in charge of their AEP with the support of guidance counsellors and parents.

2. Career exploration in the community- Schools are required to invite members of the community to deliver activities that will provide students with a more concrete understanding of how what is learned in a classroom is transferred into skills required in the workplace or in the community. These activities may consist of visits from guest speakers, contacts with career mentors, simulated programs and career conferences. Out of school activities would include work-site tours, field trips, job shadowing, volunteering and co-op, OYAP and school-to-work transition programs. Students in grades 1-6 should be encouraged by teachers to question the people they see working in their community by asking them what skills they need in order to do a specific job. For students in grades 7-12 it is the responsibility of principals and teachers to provide access to a wide range of career exploration opportunities especially within the local community including for-profit, non-profit, private and public sectors as well as business, industry, government, arts, culture and volunteer organizations. Work experience and co-op give students a chance to apply the skills they learned in the classroom to real life situations with the potential to earn credits once curriculum expectations have been met. Work experience and co-op are suitable for those students who are destined for the workplace because they become familiar with workplace practices, employer expectations, potential career opportunities and they can apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom in a practical way.

3. Teacher adviser program- This program was intended for students in grades 7 to 11 in order to help them as they transitioned from elementary to secondary school and as they decide which secondary courses to take as they map out their future goals. Teachers assigned as teacher advisers were to help students with their AEPs, monitor their academic progress and achievement of EAP goals and inform parents about student progress. The primary goal of TAP was to give each student individual support and encouragement from both the teacher and peers as well as to help them connect the subjects they learn in school with the real world. The school must choose the guidance model that best suits the students in the school.

4. Program advisory team- This is a team comprised of some of the school’s administrative and teaching staff selected by the principal to advise them on the school’s guidance and career education program. This team is responsible for advising on the school’s guidance and career education program, reviewing the program’s effectiveness, suggestions for improvement and helping the principal deliver the guidance and career education program to students, staff, parents and the community.

5. Individual and short-term counsellor – For students who need more help, either in a group or individually, in order to achieve the goals of the guidance and career education program. This feature of the Choices into Action document closely resembles the Student Success Teams that are currently in place in many secondary schools. It can help them determine their personal strengths in relation to their interests and goals, choose secondary courses, plan their education and career goals, assess their strengths and needs and improve their management skills. In short, it can help them solve problems with respect to student development, interpersonal development and career development, working through their social and emotional needs and helping them resolve conflict with peers and adults. Teachers, administration, support staff, students themselves or parents refer these students. Counseling may also be delivered by an outside agency.

6. Program effectiveness survey – A survey given to students, parents and teachers and conducted by the principal every three years to evaluate the delivery and effectiveness of the school’s guidance and career education program in order to help improve it. The results are reviewed by the program advisory team and then shared with students, parents, staff and school council.

7. Compulsory half credit in Careers – This course is delivered in grade 10 and is required in order to graduate secondary school. Students learn how to self-assess, develop personal and interpersonal skills and are given a general overview of career planning. The strands in the course include Personal Management, Exploration of Opportunities and Preparation for Transitions and Change.

As a French teacher, I am limited to sharing French language post-secondary options and programs with my students. I have been lucky enough to have taught grades 9, 10, 11 and (next semester,) grade 12 to the same group of students over the past 3 or so years. This has allowed me the opportunity to work closely with this group of students who happen to have a real passion for French. I always make it my job to find out what their goals are and if/how to incorporate their French studies into these plans. We often use class time to discuss different schools, programs, potential careers and the students also share with each other the information that they have researched. I find that this open discussion really helps to acclimatize them to the idea that there really is a future beyond high school and in order to make good post-secondary choices, they need to do their research as well as ask questions. I consider this my own form of Teacher Advisor Program except I don’t usually communicate with parents except at parent-teacher interviews.

If I were to leave French and move into Guidance, my role and responsibilities in the implementation of this policy would be concentrated on providing a caring and respectful environment, centred on assisting students with understanding, organizing and planning their secondary as well as post secondary options. In order to do this and keeping in mind the three main goals of the guidance and career education program, student development, interpersonal development and career development, I would focus on career exploration activities, the compulsory Career Studies course, the AEP, advising students and providing individual and short term counseling. I would organize a career day and enlist the help of academic council in order to locate guest speakers that reflect the subjects and courses that are currently being offered at the school. This would provide a more realistic approach to potential careers that students could pursue by connecting classroom learning with real life professions and the career paths that professionals in the workplace have followed. I would also do a series of in-services both for teachers within my school and for groups of students in order to explain practical options as well as simply provide information about programs that are available to students. I would focus on Co-operative education, Specialist High Skills Major, E Learning, Credit Recovery, Dual credit courses, OYAP, Ontario Scholars, post-secondary grants, scholarships and student loans, Alternative Education options and Student Success. Specifically, classroom teachers need to have a better understanding of ministry and board programs that have been designed to assist students throughout their secondary education and beyond so that the responsibility does not fall completely on the shoulders of the guidance department, which, from a practical sense, is simply impossible to achieve due to a lack of staff, resources and time. With respect to the teaching of the Careers course, I would incorporate the use of technology by using computer programs like Career Cruising, which is wildly popular with students, and thus encouraging them to complete the course quite successfully.

My initial response to the Choices into Action document was to question the validity of a Ministry document that was created for students attending Ontario elementary and secondary schools approximately 13 years ago. After some research and based on the information provided in the Education Policy and Program Update to April 30, 2010, I discovered that all the features of the Choices document have remained in place except the Teacher adviser program which appears to have been replaced by the Student Success teachers along with the extra staff funding dependent on the board and the needs of the school. I feel this was an appropriate response by the Ministry to the increasing number of students who are at risk of not graduating secondary school. I also feel that there is a direct link between the cancellation of the OAC year and the number of students who are at risk of not graduating simply because the amount of learning that needs to occur has been shortened from 5 years to 4 years. For some students, primarily those whose student, interpersonal and career growth have failed to develop at the necessary pace, there is simply too much curriculum in too little time and too many other, outside issues creating obstacles to their success. I believe that the Choices document has provided some very valid programming for students at risk and the fact that this document was issued in 1999 and the cancellation of OAC year occurred in 1995, demonstrates that the Ministry has put planning for success at the forefront in the creation and continued implementation of this document.