Type: Middle School

Recommended for grades 7-8

Learning by doing, young people discover the benefits of long-term education, identifying their skills, interests and personal values, making decisions and thinking about choices for their future, in terms of education and the world of work.

For students, adolescence is the time when they are figuring out what they will major in high school and even what they will go on to do at university.

Students learn how to better manage their personal finances, what career options and opportunities they have, and the benefits of long-term education, while identifying their personal skills, interests and values through interactive quizzes and games.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE

Part of JA's Career Guidance national program, the Economy and Success module aims to help students understand education and career choices based on personal skills, interests and values, as well as the link between education and success.

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT

The Economy and Success module provides classroom activities using a kit of educational materials which includes:

• teacher’s guide;
• student’s workbook;
• activity worksheets.

There are 11 topics in the module, which students work through under the guidance of teachers and volunteers.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

• Self-assessment • Exploring options • Critical thinking • Teamwork • Research • Interpreting data • Making decisions and voicing opinions • Understanding the consequences of choices • Problem-solving • Connecting school knowledge to economic reality

ACTIVITY LIST

1. Mirror, mirror
   Students make choices to understand the concept of self-discovery – skills, interests, values and the labour market structure based on education and profession.
2. Self-knowledge
   Students discover their skills and abilities by taking a self-assessment test. They relate their test results to their chosen professions and identify ways in which they can acquire the knowledge and skills needed for such professions.
3. Setting personal goals
   Students define success and then work in teams identifying goals to achieve on their way to success.
4. How to choose your life path
   Students discover their interests guided by positive role models found in everyday life or in society and understand how having an education can influence their future life, career choices and their level of earning.
5. You decide!
   Students learn the steps to make the right decision in different situations. They play Choose Success!, a game in which making a good decision counts towards education and career choices.
6. Choose success!
   Students use their acquired knowledge about decision-making, self-knowledge and the world of work and gain a better understanding of the importance of further education and of the relationship between education, career and chances of success.
7. Learning from experience
   Students discover the importance of education. They work in teams to read tables, make graphs, and share data to find out the financial and opportunity costs of getting an education.
8. The cost of living
   Students work in teams to make a personal monthly budget, determine wages by referring to the careers chosen in previous activities, and use local newspapers to calculate household and transport costs.
9. Keeping the balance
   Students understand that a balanced budget is important for everyone, regardless of their pay level. They receive job cards, see how pay varies depending on where people work and think of ways they can balance a budget.
10. The savvy shopper
    Students play a game to find out how consumers pay for goods and services. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using cash or credit cards.
11. Risk-taking
    Students learn that life has risks and that insurance helps reduce the financial consequences of risks. They perform a role-play to show how insurance can lower the costs of healthcare, housing, and car accidents.

"Me and my students have been taking part in the Economy and Success activities for several years now. Each time, in each class I have worked with, my experience has been a pleasant one, because the students are delighted with the new approach to the topics. All this makes them realize that their future really can look the way they want it to, if they have a planned, organized and committed educational path. Given that the proposed activities start from a proper self-awareness and go towards using one's own resources to build a quality educational/professional pathway, the students consider themselves all the more valued, as they themselves are the working material. It's all about them – future high school students, university students, doctors, lawyers, teachers, good car mechanics or builders –, they look in the mirror and discover themselves." – Delia Tiudic, teacher, Dimitrie Cantemir School, Baia Mare