Alberta’s updated career and life management (CALM) curriculum for junior high students has “great potential” for students to explore different career paths and acquire financial skills, according to a Calgary professor.
The new CALM curriculum is part of several curriculum changes being developed for Grades 7 to 9 students which also includes mathematics, social studies and physical education. It is a three-credit course that aims to teach students how to be “responsible, caring, creative, self-reliant and contributing members of a knowledge-based and prosperous society” and is usually taught in Grade 11. Skills include career planning, financial literacy, goal setting and investigating post-secondary and apprenticeship training programs.
According to a news release on Thursday, Nov. 14, the Alberta government is consulting stakeholders such as the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta School Association to “help inform the development” of the draft curricula. Stakeholders will provide feedback on content for career education, financial literacy, basic life skills and home maintenance.
This comes after the government announced a new practical skills curriculum piloted in K-6 classrooms starting this academic year. According to provincial documents, this includes financial literacy and computer science courses, as well as lessons on public speaking and consent.
“Alberta’s government is committed to providing students with a strong and modern curriculum that sets them up for success in the classroom and beyond. The expertise and insights of our education partners are essential as we work together to build a comprehensive curriculum that will inspire a passion for learning and connect students more closely to careers,” said Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in an emailed statement on Nov. 14.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association said it is “encouraged” by the engagement process but wants teachers’ experiences to be considered when writing the draft curricula.
“The Alberta Teachers’ Association is encouraged to be part of the process which will help shape a curriculum that engages and promotes success for junior high school students. However, it’s our hope that teachers’ experiences and insights are included at the curriculum writing table and not brought in as an afterthought. While we remain optimistic, how this process will unfold remains to be seen,” Jason Schilling, president of the ATA, said in an emailed statement on Friday, Nov. 15.
Career and life management skills needed in schools
Sarah Hamilton, an assistant professor at Mount Royal University, said she is glad the Alberta government is considering updates to its Grade 7 to 9 CALM program.
“If they’re looking at things like financial literacy and if they’re looking at other pieces that can help students to understand more independent living type skills, that’s great,” she told LiveWire Calgary.
A lot of parents do not have the time nor the resources to teach their children financial literacy and home management skills, Hamilton said. It’s important for students to learn life skills so they can make their own decisions and reach out to resources if they need help.
“The more we can educate people about [financial literacy and home management] at a younger age, the better financial decisions they can make,” she said.
The new CALM curriculum will also expose children to more career paths that don’t require a post-secondary degree, a move that Hamilton said is good across the board.
In August, the Calgary Construction Association (CCA) announced that it would bring a skilled trades curriculum to more than 30,000 elementary students across the city this academic year. The Honour The Work program will also be piloted in around 850 classrooms across the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. The CCA said at the time it is important for kids to explore different career options outside of academia at a young age.
Hamilton said the CALM curriculum is useful in schools that don’t have career counselors and resources or where career counselors are stretched thin to serve an entire school. She pointed to the Building Futures program at Rocky View Schools, an interactive program where Grade 10 students learn how to build a house from the ground up in their communities.
“I think we know that those careers right now are really needing more folks in the skilled trades and those are phenomenal careers that students can choose,” she said.
Curriculum consultations must include a wide variety of voices
Hamilton said the Alberta government must have broader consultation to include voices from educators and teachers before drafting curricula changes to CALM, math, social studies and physical education for Grades 7 to 9 students.
Her comments come after the province was widely criticized for the rollout of its draft K-6 social studies curriculum earlier this year. According to an ATA report published on March 14, many teachers lacked confidence in the new social studies curriculum because they were not substantively consulted in the curriculum development process.
The report also said research, critical thinking and problem-solving skills were not prioritized in the draft curriculum, as well as demonstrated commitments to teaching Indigenous and Francophone perspectives.
The province was also criticized for other revisions to the K-6 curriculum. In 2021, the Calgary Board of Education’s board of trustees drafted a three-page letter to Alberta’s Education Minister outlining specific concerns with the revised K-6 curriculum. The trustees at the time said they had concerns about the proposed September 2022 rollout and the letter also included an 18-page Curriculum Overview Report which dives into specific areas they believe needed work.
“I do think that Alberta Education did take away some big lessons from the K-6 curriculum redevelopment in terms of broader consultation, making sure that educators are part of it, that teachers are part of it, that the right folks are engaged. I really hope that they’re going to take those lessons and apply it here,” Hamilton said.