LifeEdu ► Life Planning Education

In face of the unprecedented pace of changes worldwide with the advent of information technology and explosive growth of knowledge, our education system aims at preparing students in making informed and responsible choices so that they would be able to grasp the best opportunities ahead.  With the implementation of the new senior secondary (NSS) curriculum and the diversified articulation to different pathways for lifelong learning, the senior secondary stage denotes a key transition between secondary schooling and post-secondary / vocational education and career development.  Upon completion of senior secondary education, irrespective of the pathway that a student may choose, he / she will face an environment markedly different from school life and hence, it is of utmost importance to provide students with enhanced life-planning and career guidance support.

Life planning is an ongoing and lifelong process for personal fulfillment, with different foci at different stages of one’s life. Life planning education plays a significant role at school in fostering students’ self-understanding, personal planning, goal setting, reflective thinking and articulation to progression pathways.  Hence, life planning education is not merely a remedial or advisory service for students when they need to make career choices.  Effective life planning education and career guidance should equip students with the knowledge, skills and attitude to:

• make wise choices in accordance with their interests, abilities and orientations;
• understand the world of work and the change of society;
• connect their career/academic aspirations with whole-person development and life-long learning;
• develop their own life planning by making use of different resources and basing on their own strengths.

Since 2006, SKH Bishop Baker Secondary School has started to develop a school-based life-planning education programme. It is not merely providing students further education information and careers counselling but enriching and fostering on students’ self-understanding, personal planning, goal setting, reflective thinking and articulation to progression pathways.

In junior form, we hope students can grasp basic concepts of life-planning. They should start understanding their own strengths and interests. They should also explore different opportunities provided by school, and prepare themselves for their senior secondary education.

In senior form, we will focus on the world of work and help student set their own careers goals. Of course different education pathways will be explored to help students making informed and responsible choices. Skills in preparing interviews and writing their self-accounts will also be discussed so as to better equip our students.

The following shows our goals for life-planning education in different forms:

To achieve the above goals, we have prepared year-round activities for different forms. Here below list some examples:

1. Junior form activities:

1. University visit
2. Life-planning education lessons for F.2 and F.3 students
3. NSS subject selection counselling programmes, including Parents’ Talk, Mock Subject Selection, Workshop for Senior Form Study Planning, “Lunch with Careers Teachers”, etc.

2. F.4 Careers Exploring Activities

By a series of workshops, careers visit and jobs shadowing, we enrich our students knowledge in the world of works.

3. F.5 Tertiary Education Visits
4. Various Supports for F.6 students :

1. Talks for both students and parents, by school and different education institutes;
2. Joint school interview training workshop
3. Mock release of HKDSE results
4. “Morning Assembly for Careers” in every Day 4
5. Individual Counselling on study choices or JUPAS programme selection
6. Workshops for writing students’ self-account
7. Sharing from our school alumni

5. Development of Careers Corner, a place where students can access different careers related documents.
6. Schemes of Jobs Shadowing provided by NGOs, government and different organizations
7. Students Careers Team

Besides activities provided by Careers Life-planning education team, students can also enjoy various life-planning activities organized by different subjects or sections. For example, the Student Reporter Training from Chinese Department, Taiwan Art Visit Tour by Visual Arts Department, LCCI examination training by Accounts Department, etc.