Introducing Elementary Students to the World of Work

Career development promotes the development of key life skills, allows students to discover opportunities, connects school to work, encourages collaboration, and is instrumental in preparing students for postsecondary success. Despite this, many elementary educators struggle to seamlessly integrate career development activities into curricula. This paper will explore how to strengthen students' foundational career skills, offer suggestions and resources on how to seamlessly integrate career development into elementary curricula, and how to celebrate and share student learning as elementary students discover their personal, career, and/or educational aspirations.