The Guidance Oriented Approach to Learning (GOAL)

As educators we all want the best schools possible for our student’s, schools that help our students acquire the knowledge, skills and dispositions they will need to pursue whatever dreams and paths they wish in their future careers. Yet studies show that students are not receiving adequate instruction in schools to prepare them for “the reality” that they will have to face when eventually they leave school to either go into further education and/or the world of work.

This teachers' area explains the aims and importance of GOAL in schools, where it fits into the QEP and how to implement GOAL into your school. My Destiny will provide you with information through links and resources, as well as teaching ideas and further sources of help and support on GOAL.

The Importance of the Guidance Oriented Approach to Learning

How Does GOAL fit into the Quebec Education Program (QEP)

Broad Area of Learning: Personal and Career Planning

More information about implementing the Guidance Oriented Approach to Learning

The Importance of the GOAL

GOAL provides students with learning opportunities, from the early stages of their education in Cycle One elementary through to Cycle Two secondary and beyond, to gain the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to play an effective role in society and to succeed in today's world of work. GOAL is a continuum of career related instruction and learning throughout a students schooling to help students take advantage of the changing academic and skill requirements of the workplace.

This kind of learning helps students to process new information given to them in the classroom in a way that makes sense to them in their own world of memory, experience and response (Parnell 1995). Because of the flexibility of this type of learning a teacher can design a learning environment around a particular theme or project that incorporates many different forms of experience, including social, cultural, physical and psychological. So learning using the GOAL approach:

• Gives meaning, relevance and usefulness to learning by linking what students are learning in school to the reality of the world of work;
• Increases students knowledge of themselves, their interests and aptitudes and various occupations;
• Encourages students to make educational and career plans;
• Allows teaching to be more fun and students to be more motivated to learn;
• Helps students to become informed citizens;
• Promotes moral, social and cultural development, making them more self-confident and responsible both in and beyond the classroom.

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How Does GOAL fit into the Quebec Education Program (QEP)

Quebec schools have a legal responsibility to students. The responsibility of a school is to impart knowledge to students, foster their social development and give them qualifications. To fulfill this obligation we must encourage students to explore their identities, skills and passions, as well as informing students about the career possibilities that are open to them.

The Quebec Education Program (QEP) is designed with three integrating elements including:

• Broad Areas of Learning (BAL)
• Cross Curricular Competencies (CCC)
• Subject Areas

In the Broad Areas of Learning the QEP presents five educational aims and focuses for development. These are connections that are made to a persons everyday life and are used to give relevance to learning, so this is where GOAL fits into the QEP. The most relevant GOAL based Broad Area of Learning is:

Broad Area of Learning: Personal and Career Planning

The Educational Aim of Personal and Career Planning is: "To Enable students to make and carry out plans designed to develop their potential and help them integrate into adult society" (QEP, 2004).

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More Information

If you would like more information to support GOAL within your school, information has been collected and assembled in Educators, Programs and Links sections on My Destiny to assist you in this process. You can also go to the Ministry of Educations site for GOAL which is:

• The Guidance Oriented Approach to Learning web site: http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/goal/index.php
• For supporting documentation go to: http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/goal/suppdoc.php
• The Quebec Education Program go to: http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/reform/qep/index.php

Learn more about GOAL

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