Reimagining career education with the future senses

Abstract

Purpose Career education and employability have become Australian university curriculum and pedagogy priorities to meet the changing world of work and federal government parameters linking higher education funding to graduate employment outcomes. This conceptual paper aims to present the hypothesis that emphasis on integrating career education in the curriculum can provide an opportunity to embed future-thinking concepts by reframing future-focussed career education practice to futures focussed. It proposes that using a Futures Senses lens to expand current career pedagogy liberates career education from individualised cognitive decision-making and self-analysis; to include the affective, collective imagining, ancestral voices and innate gifts. Design/methodology/approach A suite of five career education pedagogical tools that have been embedded by the author in the curriculum of an enabling education course in a regional Australian university; are described, analysed and reconceptualised using the Futures Senses. A Causal Layered Analysis provides a layered comparison of future-focussed and futures focussed career education. Discussion The discussion reflects on current pedagogical practice by the author and indicates pragmatic implications for applying a future-focussed approach to career education practice. Implementation of these reimagined activities provides an opportunity for future qualitative research. Originality/value Opportunity exists to leverage rising institutional demands and political agendas of integrating career education in the tertiary curriculum, as a means of embedding futures concepts, thinking and pedagogy. The reimagined activities are a pragmatic offering that can be used by educators to initiate and nurture futures thinking.

Investigating the Effects of Career Education Programs on High School Students’ Career Development Competencies in Korea

“…These inquiries now encompass endeavors such as reducing disparities in career education through an equity lens [40], developing diagnostic instruments for assessing career decision self-efficacy using item response theory (IRT) [41], exploring the intricacies of conceptualizing career chance, and investigating the sociocultural factors intertwined with career chance [42]. Additionally, there has been a surge in efforts to formulate strategies aimed at augmenting career education within higher education [43]. Consequently, it has become crucial not only to diversify the array of topics within the ambit of career education, but also to actively promote its integration within primary and secondary education and the realms of higher education and lifelong learning.…”