Parental Involvement in Career Preparation
Grades 9—12

Parental involvement during the high school years continues to be an important factor in students’ education. Thirty years of research demonstrates that there is a strong link between parental involvement and increased academic achievement. According to Henderson and Berla (1994), the evidence is now beyond dispute. When schools work together with families to support learning and career decisions, adolescents tend to succeed, not just in school but also throughout life. Communication at the high school level between teachers, counselors and the family is vital to the career decision-making model and career planner, or IGP. Conferences, newsletters, workshops, e-mails and other forms of communication help to keep parents involved.

Counselors assist high school students and their parents in understanding how individual personality, abilities and interests relate to career goals. Counselors provide information and assist students and their parents in making career and educational choices for the students. The Ball Foundation (2000) summarizes findings in career theory, research and parental involvement that lead to good career choices as a result of four main elements:

1. Self-knowledge includes goals, interests, aptitudes, skills, personality and values.
2. Readiness incorporates planning skills, exploration, information, gathering and decision-making. Each child has his or her own timetable for being ready for each of the stages of career growth and parents can take steps to encourage readiness.
3. Fit is the match between self-knowledge and the work environment. A "good fit" is related to job satisfaction, job performance and job retention.
4. Support for career development includes a supportive family environment and a network of role models, mentors and friends.

At the high school level, students are taught to research information through the use of a variety of resources such as the Internet, career and interest inventories, career planning programs and computer-assisted career guidance systems. Students and their counselor continually utilize career planners by updating them yearly, adding scores from ability and interest inventories such as PLAN, DISCOVER and Work Keys; adding examples of work-based learning and service learning done through school as well as recording student organization activities, hobbies, goals, etc. The career planner becomes a compilation of important items from middle and high school years that counselors, students and parents can use in making appropriate decisions for students. School-to-Work experiences afford all students opportunities to gain a realistic view of today’s global workplace. Counselors guide students in developing skills to enable them to be self-directed, collaborative and caring so that they will flourish in the digital knowledge world of their future.

Parents must be made aware of the guidance standards and what to expect at each grade level as well as the workplace issues that affect the job market their children will be entering. As a result of the collaboration with counselors, parents will be knowledgeable participants in guiding their children through this process.

The Career Guidance Model provides numerous links to resources that can assist counselors in involving parents in career guidance. The PACE Tech Prep Consortium (www.yourchildscareer.org) has created an interactive website on Parental Involvement that includes information for counselors, interactive exercises for parents to use with their student and links to other valuable websites.

Parental Involvment Websites for Grades 9-12