Running head: CAREER INTERVENTION PROGRAM
9th Grade Career Intervention Program
Leia Miller
CNDV 5323 – Career Development
Lamar University
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9th Grade Career Intervention Program
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9th Grade Career Intervention Program
The program I am designing is based on my future role as a 9th grade counselor at a
public high school. There are approximately 350 students in this freshman class. My program is
designed to assist all 9th grade student in discovering their personal interests, engage in career
exploration, and develop a 4 year graduation plan based on their career interests. Individual
career counseling is available to those students who need one on one guidance.
Needs of 9th Graders and Objectives of Program
Many changes are occurring in the lives of adolescents as they transition from middle
school to high school. They are in a new school, academics are more challenging, and they are
around new people. On the other hand, there are a lot more possibilities to join student
organization and engage in extracurricular activities or pick classes that might lead to a career
path that they are interested in. In regards to career development, freshman need to (1)
understand the process of career planning, (2) have a better understanding of their personal
interests and abilities, (3) explore career clusters and occupations within career clusters that
match their interests and abilities, (4) learn about these occupations, and (5) develop and / or
update their four year graduation plan with courses that match their career interests.
The objectives that students will be able to accomplish at the end of this program are: (1)
describe the steps involved in career planning, (2) name their top two career clusters that match
their personal interests and abilities, (3) list occupations from those clusters that they are
interested in pursuing, (4) describe the occupations that they selected and the educational
requirements to obtain employment in those careers, and (5) develop and / or update their four
year graduation plan with courses that match their career interests. By completing these
objectives, I believe that students will have a strong foundation to assist them in planning for
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their future and making good career choices. Students will be supported with additional career
development interventions in each grade level as they continue their high school career.
Resources & Assessment
To explain the career planning process and goals of this program, the first session will
take place during an advisory period in the auditorium. I will give a presentation that
specifically covers the career planning process and goals of the program to the students and
answer any that they may have. Due to the large number of students in the freshman class, I will
meet with students during their history class once in the month of October and once in the month
of November, and a final meeting in February when students will select courses for their
sophomore year. We will meet in the computer lab so that all students have access to a
computer. My school district has purchased licenses for all students to have access to
Kuder® Navigator™, which “is an online education and career planning system that gives
secondary students the tools they need to build a foundation for lifelong career success,”
(Kuder®, 2013). Kuder® Navigator™ provides three research based assessments, and I want all
9th graders to complete all three assessments in the October session. I have selected the Kuder®
assessments because they are made for this age group and they can be completed in a short
amount of time. According to Kuder® (2013), “in 20 minutes or less, students can complete all
three assessments and get instant access to results that provide critical insights for career
exploration and planning.” This software also “enables students to create multi-year education
plans aligned with their assessment results and future goals,” (Kuder®, 2013). Overall,
Kuder® provides all of the assessments and resources to complete my objectives of this program.
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Kuder® (2013) provides the following detailed information about what their assessments
provide to students:
“KUDER ® CAREER INTERESTS ASSESSMENT (KCIA)
The KCIA provides the opportunity to explore what you like to do – your interests
– then generates an easy-to-read interest summary report that matches your results
to specific career paths or clusters. It also features a unique component, Person
Match, which scientifically aligns results with those of professionals whose
results are similar to your own, and presents their career stories in a question-andanswer format.
KUDER ® SKILLS CONFIDENCE ASSESSMENT (KSCA)
The KSCA asks you to rate tasks and activities according to the confidence you
have in performing or acquiring that skill. This assessment is available in four
versions to ensure results align with your organization or state career cluster
system as well as your education and experience level. The KSCA is especially
helpful in providing direction for exploring careers that are a good fit for your
current abilities, identifying careers that will help you build on existing skills, and
highlighting career clusters that match both your interests and skills.
KUDER ® WORK VALUES ASSESSMENT (KWVA)
Whether it’s high income, prestige, a sense of accomplishment, a pleasant
environment, or something in between, learning what you value in the workplace
is an important part of finding the right career. The KWVA shines light on these
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important factors and points you to careers with characteristics that best align with
your specific work values.”
During the October session, students will take all three of the assessments and view their
results. Students will be able to explore the career clusters and careers that match their results.
They will be able to save their results, and will be encouraged to explore this website over the
next month to help prepare for our meeting in November.
During the November session, students will develop and / or update their four year plans
using Kuder® Navigator™. “Navigator enables students to create multi-year education plans
aligned with their assessment results and future goals,” (Kuder®, 2013). Our school provides
courses in 12 of the 16 nationally recognized career clusters. Students will be encouraged to
create their plan based on the results of their assessments. Students will use our school district
website to look at our programs of study for each of the 12 career clusters and other course
selections. At the end of the session, students will have completed and printed their 4 year plan.
During the February session, students will meet with me to request courses for their
sophomore year. We will discuss their four year plan that they created, and make sure that they
don’t have any changes. We will also discuss the Kuder® Navigator™ software, and I will ask
them to complete a survey that evaluates the program.
Outcomes of Program / Communicating Results / Method of Evaluation
As a result of this program, I hope that the freshman class will be (1) better equipped in
the career planning process, (2) make better choices for selecting courses based on their career
interests, and (3) motivated to meet the education requirements of their selected career choices.
Outcomes of the program on the administrative side are (1) analyze the results of the student
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assessments, and (2) recommend new or more classes in specific career clusters based on the
interests of the students. Also, I want to see if students chose courses in the career cluster that
matched their assessment results. By analyzing this data, I can determine if the program was
successful in assisting students to selected courses based on the results of their assessment.
In the October session, students will be given immediate feedback of their results after
they complete the online assessments. In the November session, students will complete their 4
year plan and have the option to take a copy with them to share with their parents. In the last
session in February when completing course selections for next year, I will individually speak
with each student about their results and 4 year plans.
An evaluation of the program will be completed during the February meeting, each
student will be asked to complete a survey. The survey will ask questions about their likes and
dislikes of the Kuder® Navigator™ software. Also, they will be asked if the software helped
them in discovering their career interests and developing their career plan. Finally, they will be
asked if they thought the meetings with their counselor were effective in helping them plan for
their course selections for their 4 year graduation plan.
Issues / Obstacles and Strengths
Some issues and obstacles that I will encounter are student absences. I will have to find
time to meet with those students who are absent on the days of the sessions. Another issue is
students taking longer than the allotted time period for taking the assessments. They will have to
complete them on their own time. Some students will need individual guidance, so I will have to
meet with them on an individual basis.
Strengths of this program are that I can service a large population of students. The
software is user friendly and compiles data for me. It also has the ability for the administrator to
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set up an online 4 year planning based on the courses that we offer at our school. Students can
save their plans and administrators have access to view them.
Reflection
Due to my background as a Career and Technical Education teacher and now a CTE
coordinator, I have had many opportunities to provide career development lessons to my classes,
and assist in preparing my students to be college and career ready. The first part of my program
was modeled off my lessons using career assessment software. I really feel that using online
software is a successful way to service a large population of students. Kuder® Navigator™ is
really user friendly, and has resources that meet the objectives of this program. It also provides
many more useful resources that weren’t discussed in this program that students can complete on
their own or in future career development interventions in different grade levels. Exploring their
different interests and skills are necessary to help students discover themselves. The results of
these assessments provide students with career clusters based on their interests. When students
are given the time to learn about their interests, I feel they are more involved in making sure that
they select courses that reflect their interests. They are also more actively involved in choosing
their program of study because they know what they like and know what they are choosing
because they have been provided with information about each of the different career clusters.
When assisting students in filling out their four year plans, many students don’t know what
program our school offers and what they will learn in the courses. Having the ability to research
these career clusters in Kuder® Navigator™ will help with this problem. I feel that this program
meets the needs of the student population. Career development is an important part of the
comprehensive school counseling program. I agree with Erford (2003) when he stated, “when
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professional school counselors provide career and educational guidance to their students, they
influence the future by helping clarify developmental decisions that often last a lifetime,” (as
cited in Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013, p. 388). In my future role as a school counselor, I am
excited about the role I will play in helping my students plan and achieve their future educational
and career goals.
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References
Kuder. (2013). Kuder® Navigator™. Retrieved on October 27, 2013 from
http://www.kuder.com/product/kuder-career-planning-system/kuder-navigator/
Niles, S. G. & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2013). Career Development Interventions in the 21st
Century (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.