The Teacher’s Role in the Student’s Career Development
Teachers are in the best position to provide career development counseling to students. In their day-to-day contact with students in the school, they have the opportunity to observe, first hand, the students’ mental ability, interests, talents, and skills. Teacher’s play a very important role in Student’s Career Development
The following are some tips teachers can use in guiding students towards the right career choice.
1. Begin career counseling at an early stage.
Career development is a lifelong process. Teachers should make students realize that there are many factors to consider in career development. Students will be guided by their teachers with regards to:
Knowing oneself and discovering what one wants out of his education, career, and future.
Having someone one can trust to share and sort out one’s thoughts, ideas, feelings, and concerns over careers and educational choices.
Making an objective assessment of one’s interests, abilities, and talents and its relation to one’s career choices.
Assistance in evaluating career resource materials.
Developing a plan as to how to pursue one’s educational/career choice.
Providing information with regards to financial assistance one can avail of with regards to a career choice.
2. Confer with parents with regards to helping improve parents’ effectiveness in guiding their children make the right career choices.
Teachers can provide career resource materials to parents individually or collectively. They can inform parents the need to recognize and encourage their children’s abilities and talents as a guide to their career development. They can stress the value of developing good work attitudes such as promptness, respect, responsibility, and proper school habits as factors for success.
3. Teachers should have access to a community support system.
The school should maintain contacts with colleges and universities, industry, financial institutions and professionals who are ready to assist students in their choice of a career. Teachers should have, on hand, college information materials which students can browse on.
Teachers can accompany students during Open House or Open Days to different educational institutions to get a first hand view of college life. Industry can provide apprentice training tothose interested in working industries. Professionals from the community can act as resource persons during the school’s Career Week.
4. Teachers should educate students in employable skills.
Many of the careers which are available in the job market list among the qualifications forapplicants’ proficiency in certain skills such as communication, team building, computer literacy, computation, and problem-solving.
Teachers may provide tutoring to students in attaining skills in the areas of communication, computation, computer literacy, team building, and social skills.
Students need to learn how to write a resume, prepare for a job interview, dress properly,show the proper etiquette in the workplace and be a good team player.
5. Teachers should act as a facilitator with regards to the student’s choice of a career.
Teachers should not dictate to students what to do, what course to take or what career to pursue after high school. Their role is to guide students in making the right decision with regards to career plans based on their abilities, skills, interests, job opportunities and finances, the proper etiquette in the workplace and be a good team player.
Dr. Evelina Viloria is a former assistant division superintendent of the Division of City Schools of Manila. She is the mother of three kids, who have made career decisions independently. Her sons Edueve and Careli are nurses at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Hospital. Her eldest daughter, Lites, is a political science, law and social entrepreneurship graduate, and heads Philippine operations of Edukasyon.ph.
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