Dr. Stephen Yam Wing Yip
Abstract
In 2021, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region requested all Hong Kong primary schools to start implementing Life Planning Education (LPE) at upper primary levels, under the implementation framework, namely the ‘Framework of Implementation Strategies on Life Planning Education for Primary Schools' from the 2024-25 school year (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2021). In this policy context, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive literature and conceptual review of LPE, or career-related learning, in primary schools by exploring recent practices and research from the international community, particularly the United Kingdom. The broad-ranging review concludes that LPE in primary schools is best viewed as an essential precursor to career development, with high awareness of age appropriateness (Millard et al., 2019), rather than starting early with youth's career guidance in a literal sense (Yip, 2023). Under such positioning, LPE in primary schools should aim to nurture three fundamental mindsets for secondary-level preparation: i.e., a positive sense of the future, a sense of a journey towards life, and an active sense of self-development that helps children to cultivate a 'life explorer' identity (or identity capital) during the late 'growth' stage in Super's career development theory (Super, 1996; Côté, 1997). A teacher survey (n = 101) was also conducted to explore school/teacher preparedness and the support needed to fulfill the policy requirements. It is found that systematic capacity building and teacher training (including initial teacher education) are critically needed in helping students to develop precursive mindsets for secondary-level career guidance, and a common progressive learning framework of career-related learning (in LPE) with all-level curriculum connectivity with subject teaching is highly recommended for effective implementation under the whole-school leadership approach in Hong Kong primary schools.