Awareness Index for Nontraditional Occupations

NTO

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Professional Development Activities

his section provides professional development activities for professionals working with individuals participating in nontraditional training and employment. The activities are organized to provide implementation strategies for presentations of 15-45 minutes and include handouts and discussion questions.

Awareness Index for Nontraditional Occupations

Recruiting Sources

Gender Equity Challenge

Stereotypes and You

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Awareness Index for Nontraditional Occupations

his activity is designed to raise awareness about issues for Career and Technical Education professionals working with individuals engaged in nontraditional training or employment. It provides a forum for discussing personal attitudes and stereotypes related to this population. This activity can be used in assessing not only the behavior and practices of individuals, but also organizations, schools, and teams.

Objectives

To define nontraditional occupations.
To raise awareness about issues for individuals engaged in nontraditional training and employment.
To understand biased behaviors and actions towards individuals in nontraditional training and employment.

Time
The activity may be modified for a 30-45 minute presentation. Suggested modifications are as follows:

30 minutes

Begin the activity by reviewing key concepts in the Supporting Nontraditional Learners for Success brochure. Distribute the Awareness Index handout and allow participants 10 minutes to record their answers. Review the correct answers with the group and introduce one or two discussion items, as time permits.

45 minutes

Follow suggestions for 30 minute activity above, except ask participants to break into small groups to discuss their reactions to the given answers. Assign each group one discussion question and ask them to choose a leader to present the group’s viewpoints on the subject.

Suggested Discussion Questions

What is the connection between traditional employment for women and economic disadvantage? Why?
Where can an instructor receive training on working with individuals in nontraditional training and employment?

AWARENESS INDEX FOR NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS

Please answer each of the following questions as true or false.

1 / Traditional coursework or occupations for women leads to low-wage jobs.
2 / Fifty-percent of all families headed by women of color are living in poverty.
3 / Occupation, not education, is the most important variable affecting earning, according to a brief from the National Center for Research in Vocational Education.
4 / The most important factor in reducing the likelihood that displaced homemakers and single mothers will live in poverty is increased education.
5 / Teen mothers are more likely to finish high school and postpone subsequent pregnancies when they are enrolled in school during pregnancy and after childbirth.
6 / Men are entering the workforce at twice the rate of women and are leaving the workforce at a slower rate than women.
7 / On the average, women can expect to be in the workforce longer than men.
8 / In Illinois, the participation percentage of females in high school CTE programs is above the national participation rate.
9 / Women with high school degrees earn the same as men with high school degrees.
10 / Females continue to be clustered into traditionally female occupations.
11 / The ratio of girls and boys in computer courses is equal.
12 / Women who take more than two college-level math courses often achieve pay equity with men.

Source:

Association of American University Women. Retrieved December 10, 2000, from

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Recruiting Sources

his activity is designed to raise the issue of the importance of recruitment of nontraditional learners. It will allow participants the opportunity to identify strategies and discuss potential recruitment barriers.

Objectives

To identify sources for recruiting learners in nontraditional training and employment.
To expand individual contacts and sources used to recruit nontraditional learners.

Time
The activity may be modified for a 15-45 minute presentation. Suggested modifications are as follows:

15 minutes

Begin the activity by briefly reviewing the recruitment strategies listed in the Supporting Nontraditional Learners for Success brochure. Distribute the Recruiting Sources handout and allow participants five minutes to record their answers. Ask the participants to volunteer one or two sources from their list and record their responses on a flipchart. Participants may want to record the given sources for future reference.

30 minutes

Follow the suggestions for the 15-minute activity above, except ask participants to break into small groups to share their responses. Assign a representative from each group to discuss several of their responses to one or two of the given source categories. Participants may want to record the given sources for future reference.

45 minutes

Follow suggestions for the 30-minute activity above, except ask the audience to name two or three other sources not already identified by the group.

Source:

Gardenswartz, L. & Rowe, A. (1994). The diversity toolkit. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill.

Recruiting Sources for Nontraditional Learners

Place a check in the column of any recruiting sources you have used or would be willing to use. Then fill in as many specific names and phone numbers as possible.

Resources / Sources Used / Sources Willing to Use / Name and Phone Numbers of People or Organizations to Contact
Professional organizations focusing on NTO programs
YWCA, YMCA, Girls Scout, AAUW
Adult Education classes
Community social service agencies
Local houses of worship and religious centers
School counselor referrals
Government job - training programs
Employee referrals
Instructor referrals
College, Tech Prep, or Back- to-School Night
Brochures and literature with pictures of NTO students
Newspapers and local radio shows
Professional organizations focusing on NTO programs

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Gender Equity Challenge

his activity is designed to increase awareness regarding the implementation of gender equitable instructional strategies and classroom climates. It allows participants the opportunity to examine their own thoughts, ideas, actions, and behaviors.

Objectives

To define gender equity.
To raise awareness about gender equity.
To understand biased behavior and actions.

Time
The activity may be modified for a 30-45 minute presentation. Suggested modifications are as follows:

30 minutes

Begin the activity by briefly reviewing the Supporting Nontraditional Learners for Success brochure. Discuss what gender discrimination, bias, and gender role stereotyping are. Distribute the Gender Equity Challenge handout and allow participants 15 minutes to record their answers. Remind participants that this is not an evaluation but an aid in thinking about gender equity issues. As a group, pose one or two of the discussion questions and solicit response and discussion.

45 minutes

Follow the suggestions for the 15-minute activity above, except ask the participants to break into small groups to share their responses.

Question

/ Yes / Occ / No
I use gender fair language and avoid labeling occupations as “male” or “female.”
I search for instructional materials that depict women and men in a variety of occupational and recreational activities.
I support students who have enrolled in career and technical programs not traditional for their gender.
I conduct informal research studies in my classroom to raise awareness of how gender bias occurs (i.e., ask students to tell the number of times males versus females ask questions; discuss with students how gender bias impacts their experiences in school).
I encourage students to make career decisions based upon skills, abilities, and goals, not gender.
I provide opportunities for male and female students to work together in teams to solve problems.
I serve as an example of nonsexist behavior and language for students and staff.
I mandate that students treat each other as equals.
Whenever possible, when evaluating students’ understanding of subject matter, I use several forms of assessment such as essays, multiple choice tests, journals, photographs, and performance tests.
I encourage females not to hide their abilities for fear of appearing “too smart” compared to their peers.
I require males and females to develop listening as well as speaking skills.
I am committed to working to change patterns of gender bias, and I recognize that this is an ongoing process.
I am aware that gender bias in schools is a societal issue, not an individual issue.
I try to use real-life examples that relate to both female and male students.
I take an active role in working to eliminate gender inequities in my school.
I discourage competition between males and females as groups.
When a female claims, “I can’t do it” after making only minimal effort, I offer suggestions but I don’t take over for her or let her “off the hook.”
When I notice that particular students rarely speak out in class, I make an effort to change this pattern.
I make efforts to share ideas about gender equity with educators in other schools and communities.
I work with school guidance counselors to ensure that all students consider a range of career options and opportunities before making lasting decisions.
I take advantage of community resources to help me promote gender equity in the classroom.
I conduct peer observations with colleagues.
I read studies on gender bias in schools.
When I hear students making sexist jokes, I intervene and explain why these are inappropriate.
I encourage males and females to be nurturing.
I make a conscious effort to deliberately reverse gender stereotypes (e.g., I ask females to demonstrate how to use a new piece of sports equipment or science apparatus).
When females and males are working together in groups, I intervene if females are consistently being silent, ignored, or relegated to stereotypical roles or treated as subordinates.
I invite visitors in nontraditional work roles to visit my classroom.
I call on female students as often as I call on male students.
I provide similar amounts of praise and encouragement to both female and male students.
I set the same standards of behavior for all students.
My expectations for classroom performance are similar for male and female students.

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Stereotypes and You

his activity is designed to increase awareness regarding the common stereotypes of nontraditional learners. It allows participants the opportunity to examine their own thoughts and ideas on how they have handled stereotypic behavior in the past.

Objectives

To increase awareness about the need to broaden the understanding of how stereotypes affect service provision for nontraditional learners.
To provide examples of how an individual might respond to stereotypic behavior.

Time
The activity may be modified for a 15-45 minute presentation. Suggested modifications are as follows:

15 minutes

Begin the activity by briefly reviewing the professional development strategies listed in the Supporting Nontraditional Learners for Success brochure. Distribute the Stereotypes and You handout and allow participants 5 minutes to record their answers. As a group, pose one or two discussion questions and facilitate the group processing.

30 minutes

Follow the suggestions for the 15-minute activity above, except ask the participants to break up into small groups to share their responses.

45 minutes

Follow suggestions for the 30-minute activity above, except facilitate an additional 15-minute group processing discussion.