Career Development and Social Justice

Career Development and Social Justice

           

Social Justice is defined as the belief or philosophy that that all persons, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, social status, race, or religion are to be treated equally (Brown, 2007, p. 17). It makes the assumptions that as a society we should be willing to work with others in order to enhance our society, enable development, promote financial equality and to certify fairness.  Unfortunately, as a society we are far from achieving social justice. Friedman provides his idea of how to work towards achieving that goal. He talked about how as a government they should be providing infrastructure that includes education, healthcare, and social networks that helps individuals during personal disasters (Brown, 2007, p. 17, p 18).

While doing research on social inequality in America I came across two theories. The first theory is the functionalist theory. “Functionalist believe that inequality is inevitable and desirable, and that it plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and thus should receive more rewards. Social inequality and social stratification, according to this view, lead to a meritocracy based on ability” (Crossman, 2016). The next theory is the conflict theory and that is the view of inequality resulting from groups with power dominating groups with little power. “They believe that social inequality prevents and hinders societal progress as those in power repress the powerless people in order to maintain the status quo. In today's world, this work of domination is achieved primarily through the power of ideology--our thoughts, values, beliefs, world views, norms, and expectations” (Crossman, 2016).

I feel that social inequality is a mixture of both theories and that “social justice cannot be achieved unless people have meaningful jobs” (Brown, 2007, p. 18). According to Roberts, Povich, and Maher mention that ending poverty solely relies on education and skills training. I find this to be very true because like secretary Anne Duncan said on October 9th, 2009 “I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our generation. And if you care about promoting opportunity and reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to start. Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice”. This quote sums up my belief of implementing career development programs at a very young age, so that once students reach the end of high school they are educated about society and the many careers America has to offer.

References

Ashley Crossman Sociology Expert. (2016). How Sociology Explains Social Inequality. Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://sociology.about.com/od/Disciplines/a/Sociology-Of-Social-Inequality.htm

How we can achieve social justice. (n.d.). Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://www.thepursuitofhappiness.com/real-social-justice/

Career Development

Career Development

When I hear the word “career development” I think about a life long journey. It’s a journey where people can learn about themselves, and what their likes and dislikes are when it comes to employment. It’s the journey of setting goals for one self and pushing to accomplish them. I believe that once you reach a goal you should start the process of creating a new goal to aim towards. This way a person can feel as if their career development never ends. Setting goals regarding your career can help people look at their jobs differently and keep them from being burned out with the same everyday tasks.

I have reflected on the multiple jobs that I had before going into graduate school. I worked at an amusement park, at a baseball stadium, as a cashier, as a receptionist, and as a case worker for the Children and Youth Agency. Even though I did not fully like those jobs I do appreciate the skills that I have obtained. I have learned how to deal with people and understand how the environment influences their actions. Working at those places made me realize that I want to choose a different career path where I am able to implement my passion for helping children.

According to Duane Brown (2016), career intervention is a good way to increase the aspect of a person’s career development. That can be done in different ways such as career counseling, career guidance, career education, and career coaching. As for me I work at an elementary school where students are not exposed to career education, and I believe that is something that should be changed. Educating children about different careers early on can give them a head start when having to choose a major for college, when deciding to go straight into the work field, or even when deciding to join the army. Career education provides people with occupational information by maybe taking field trips or having speakers who talk about their jobs.

Students tend to start thinking about careers when they’re about to graduate and are pressured into choosing a field that they would like to work in. There are students who have never had guidance regarding choosing a career. Even though there are guidance counselors within schools they don’t always do the best of job when having to “guide” their students. In conclusion career development is a life long journey that should begin in earlier in life instead of later.

Bibliography

Brown, D. (2016). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.