Rethinking ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’

Jared Kuruzovich, of NIST International School in Thailand, believes schools need to step up.

Many of us remember them as children. From career aptitude surveys to personality indicators to high-stakes tests for entry into specialized schools, they all served one key purpose: setting us on a track, a career that would presumably define us as we grew into adults. While they certainly served a useful purpose in opening unexplored opportunities, the detrimental side of these assessments outweighed that positive. Simply put, each one too often became a tool to narrow education rather than broaden it. Even worse, that underlying philosophy still drives teaching and learning in many of our schools at a time when we can least afford it.

Fast forward twenty years. Though in many countries the tests are still used and can provide a critical means to prepare children for jobs in emerging economies, in international education a more subtle issue lingers. The principle behind career aptitude assessments and career tracking—an assumption that specific types of knowledge and technical skills breed success—often still dominates the curriculum. We’re trying to prepare our students for a world that has long since evolved in a very different direction.

As early as the late 1990s, researchers began to identify a growing need to balance vocational learning with the development of soft skills as employers cited shortages in qualified employees. This trend only continued to grow in the next two decades, with each annual report from governments across the world recognizing the gap between schools, universities and employers as their needs shifted. One such report from the World Economic Forum indicates that this has only been exacerbated by Covid-19, with employers citing a shortage of employees with “critical thinking and analysis as well as problem-solving, and skills in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility”.

The non-profit America Succeeds categorized all of these as components within ten durable skills: character, mindfulness, metacognition, leadership, growth mindset, fortitude, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. In a vast analysis of 82 million job postings, they found that seven of those skills were the most desired by employers. Yet think for a moment about the conversations we too often hear as educators, whether with one another or with parents and boards. Should we reduce our investment in the arts? Do we need a STEM programme? Will our students be ready for careers in tech companies and labs?

If we are honest with ourselves in schools, what we do not hear enough is a call for a clear, focused plan to develop character. We encourage creativity and critical thinking, but continue to cull enriching learning opportunities to focus on the parts of the curriculum that will prepare children for a standardized test. Students face ever higher levels of pressure, but we do not take the time to develop programmes that encourage mindfulness, empathy, and both physical and mental wellbeing.

To put the scale of this disconnect into context, look toward the company that many would consider to be the pinnacle of STEM-related careers: Google. Founded on the belief that the most brilliant programmers, mathematicians and other tech-minded professionals would produce the best results, the company tested that hypothesis by completing an assessment of its historical data to identify the skills of its most successful employees. The results were unexpected to say the least. Of the eight identified qualities, seven represented soft skills. The eighth and last was STEM expertise.

This is not an anomaly. Similar results emerge regularly from tech-based companies, the medical field, science labs and universities. More importantly, it should not be surprising. A globalized world means increased intercultural communication. It requires engaging with difference and learning to collaborate with others in very different contexts. At a time when technology is automating work processes and rendering professions obsolete, a more holistic approach to what we learn, how we learn and who we learn with remains a more crucial need than ever before in our schools.

Being the most knowledgeable, skilled person in the room no longer guarantees success regardless of the careers we choose. Success now requires developing skills and attributes that can help us grow not only in the workplace, but also in all aspects of our lives. The question for our students is no longer “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. It’s “Who do you want to be when you grow up?”

What can we change in international education?

1: Better define our goals.

A more traditional approach to vocational education does not necessarily represent the wrong approach in many contexts and can be ideal when higher education may not be an option. But within most international schools, we claim to be preparing students for universities, leadership roles and the global workplace. Accordingly, we need to be developing a strategy to achieve that, one that places equal emphasis on soft skill development, integrates it into daily learning, and clearly measures progress and outcomes.

2: Shift the conversation.

We gravitate towards the familiar. Reading and writing, math, science, and technology all represent common areas of discussion between schools and parents, and we share a collective responsibility to shift our understanding of what is truly important in education. While the foundational subjects will not vanish, they should not dominate those conversations, and both schools and parents should focus on changes that will ultimately benefit our children.

3: Find your balance.

Every school exists in its own context, and all children have different dreams for their future. As a school, find the balance between traditional academics and soft skill development that matches your community. As parents, look for a school that will support your child and help them not only reach their dream university and career, but also become good people who can apply what they’ve learned in other contexts. The reality we now face is that careers will come and go. Those who can adapt rapidly in this new world will flourish, and hopefully enrich the lives of others in the process.

Referenced sources

America Succeeds: Universal Demand for Durable Skills https://americasucceeds.org/policy-priorities/dura...

The Washington Post: The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/w...

World Economic Forum: The Future of Jobs Report 2020 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_20...

For more information about NIST International School see page 106

This article first appeared in the 2021/22 edition of John Catt's Guide to International Schools, which you can read here: