Kareen Cox
Contributor

Late last year, a group of students made the headlines when they were caught by the police outside of school during school hours. Judging from the response of the students, many of them seemed uninterested in attending school with one young lady going as far as to say, "school start anytime me get there", (The Gleaner, Friday, November 28).

This highlights a well-known phenomenon. Many students are not attending school when they should be. While we know that there are a variety of reasons for this - not having enough money for books, uniforms and other resources - it is an underlying fact that they do not attend school because they just do not see the importance.

Lack of focus
Perhaps those students have lost interest in school because they are unable to make a connection between school and their lives and they cannot see how attending school will result in the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will eventually lead to a successful adult life.

Unfortunately, our current education system allows for this because it places emphasis on passing exams, acquiring diplomas, certificates and degrees, rather than focusing on what the student learns and how the student can relate the learning process to the real world and life in general.

Need for career education
This is why we need career education. Career education can be defined as a process which provides people with knowledge about themselves and the world of work to assist them in making informed career choices. A good career education programme in schools will allow students to adequately answer the following questions:

What am I learning?

Why am I learning it?

How can I use it?

In addition, a quality career education programme will:

Create a more positive school climate in which all students can learn.

Help students fully explore their educational and career opportunities.

Establish school-to-work transition programmes.

Help students learn how to manage time, organise information, make decisions and deal with changes.

Help students develop employability skills such as communication, interpersonal skills and team skills.

Assist students to acquire skills for personal, career and lifestyle development.

Provide educational information about occupational safety, employees' rights and responsibilities.

Help students to assess their interests, abilities and skills, and provide information about work, education and training opportunities.

Guide students in writing educational and career development plans, which are maintained and updated by students and monitored by teachers.

Help students learn to take responsibility for their educational and career planning.

Assure a coordinated team effort to address the needs of all students.

Equip students with the skills necessary for success in school, family and workplace.

Eliminate gender stereo-typing in careers.

Encourage life-long learning.

The best way to introduce career education into our education system is by infusing it into the regular curriculum. By doing so, it will show the relationship between school, work, home, community and the students' own personal needs and aspirations. It will also teach students the value of work, work ethics, goal-setting and preparation for work, thereby providing the foundation necessary for career success.

It is imperative then that, as a country, we embrace career education and recognise the vital role it plays in our education and training systems, as we continue to prepare our students for life.

Kareen Cox is coordinator, Career Resources Career Development Services DepartmentHEART Trust/NTA. She can be contacted via email: kareen_cox@heart-nta.org. Visit their websites: http://cds.heart-nta.org or www.lifelonglearningja.org .