| Middle school students are at the most important stage of career awareness and career exploration.With the promulgation of the new college entrance examination policy and the "double reduction" policy,the learning style of students gradually changes to a new learning style of active knowledge seeking,comprehensive development and innovation consciousness,and the demand for career education at junior high school level has obviously increased.At present,the research on Career Education in junior high school mainly focuses on interpreting relevant policies,learning from domestic and foreign experience,investigating the current situation of career education in junior high school and so on.The lack of research on the development and practice of career education curriculum in junior high school makes it difficult for front-line teachers to carry out career education in junior high school.Therefore,it is of great theoretical and practical significance to develop career education curriculum systematically and to test the effect of the curriculum.This study aims to compile a school-based curriculum for career education in junior high school through action research and evaluate its effectiveness.The curriculum is divided into two modules.The first module involved the development of a career education curriculum for junior high school students using an action research paradigm.Initially,we conducted a survey of 571 students and 8 teachers at L Middle School in Zhengzhou to assess the current state of career education curriculum and identify areas for improvement.Based on the survey findings,we developed the curriculum and carried out two rounds of action research to refine and improve it.Ultimately,we created a school-based curriculum of career education that was suitable for L Middle School in Zhengzhou.Building upon the first module,the second module tested the effectiveness of the developed "Junior High School Career Education School-Based Curriculum" on students by examining its impact on their career development.To do so,we selected four 7thgrade teaching classes at L Middle School in Zhengzhou that showed no significant difference in pre-test career development levels.These classes were randomly divided into two experimental groups and two control groups.The experimental groups received a 10-week intervention of the school-based career education curriculum,while the control groups did not receive any intervention.The rest of the conditions were kept consistent across both experimental and control groups.The study aimed to examine the impact of the school-based curriculum,which was developed in the first module,on students’ career development.The research conclusions are as follows:(1)Through the action research paradigm,a "Junior High School Career Education School-Based Curriculum" was developed,which is suitable for L Middle School in Zhengzhou.The curriculum consists of four units: career awareness,self-exploration,career cognition,and future planning,comprising of 10 lessons,each lasting for 45 minutes.The curriculum is designed to be delivered through various methods such as teacher-led lectures,group collaboration and discussion,experiential activities,and video-watching,utilizing various curriculum resources.It is suitable for implementation in the 7th-grade of junior high school.(2)The "Junior High School Career Education School-Based Curriculum" developed in this project has been tested and proven to be effective in promoting overall career development of junior high school students.This is reflected in three dimensions:career awareness,career exploration,and career planning.(3)The implementation of the school-based curriculum of career education for junior high school students developed in this project has been successful.In the second round of action research,students and teachers rated the curriculum with 3.5 and 4 points or higher,respectively.Furthermore,students’ post-evaluation scores have shown significant improvement compared to pre-evaluation scores. |
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