Self-Narrative Editing

in career education

KITAMURA, Yayoi

Faculty of Arts and Letters

Kyoritsu Women’s University

kitamura@kyoritsu-wu.ac.jp

Asia Pacific Career Development Association 2014

19 May , 2014

At Hale Koa Hotel

Waikiki, Hawaii, USA

1. Background

2. Objectives of Self-Narrative Editing

(Japanese Labor Market and Career guidance)

3. Data and Method

4. Results (Types of Narrative-Concept

relationship)

5. Conclusion

Overview

Background :

Economic Changes in Japan

• Transformation of labor market structure

>>>Lifetime employment & a seniority wage system

have collapsed

>>>Rate of labor-turnover has increased

• Changes in HRM and skill development

>>>Job seekers’ responsibility for skills & OJT

have increased Firms save the cost of education

• Growing awareness for young people’s employment and Work life balance

Career education for youth & women’s labor force

are more expected

Background :

Dual wage market

Background :

Necessity: from Vocational Guidance

→ Career Counseling

Background :

Career Education in Japan

• Immature vocational education

the numbers of educators & therapists

>>>shortage

• career assessment

the quality of methodology

>>>mechanistic

SNE Sheet : Objectives

• To acquire the skill of editing self-narratives in plural forms

• To understand that their “self” is not unchangeable, but can be reconstructed in diverse narratives

• To help learn how to tell plural stories out of their past experiences

SNE Sheet :

To implement these objectives

• Students are encouraged to use SNE sheet

– To learn a skill to construct a plot out of their past

experiences

– To learn a method of how to understand the

implication of the narratives so constructed, and

link them to their abilities and career

Ab

ilities

Team work

patient

management

Book worm sociablesociable

Age 13 (40)

Gold swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

-100

0

ha

pp

y<�

-> u

nh

ap

py

Example 1

punctualsociable

patient

diligent

patient diligent

Book worm

Friendship

competitiveStrong-will

Strong-will

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

punctual

SNE Sheet

Process 1

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 13 (40)Gold swimmer of

City tournamentAge 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job Age 18 (50)Passed entrance

exam of College

Age 8 (-80)Divorce of parents left

school and friends

Happy experiences

Unhappy experiences

SNE Sheet

Ab

ilities

Process 2

-100

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>sa

d

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

SNE Sheet

Ab

ilities

Process 3

-100

Age 13 (40)

Gold swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>sa

d

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

SNE Sheet

Ab

ilities

Process 4

-100

Age 13 (40)

Gold swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>sa

d

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

SNE Sheet

Ab

ilities

Process 5

-100

Age 13 (40)

Gold medal swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>sa

d

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

SNE Sheet

Age 13 (40)

Gold medal swimmer of

City tournament

I didn’t want to be defeated by any

members of the swimming club. I was

not the best swimmer of the club and I

wasn’t sure I could make it. But I

wanted to do my best. So, I made a

detailed plan of exercise, very sensitive

to diet and tried to have a good sleep.

One of my close friends, Yuka,

encouraged me in the blog everyday.

Age 10

Ab

ilities

Process 6

-100

Age 13 (40)

Gold medal swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>sa

d

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

SNE Sheet

Age 10

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

I was incredibly unhappy since they divorced. They asked

me to accompany Mother and move to the mother’s

home town which is more than 200 kilos away from

Tokyo. I had to leave the elementary school where I had

lots of friends I loved. After I moved to the new place, I

had to overcome my own loneliness, encouraging my

mother. I wrote a lots of letters to old friends in Tokyo

and tried to act courageously, making new friends, and I

learned to go to library and came to love reading books.”

Age10

Ab

ilities

as

reso

urce

s

Process 7

-100

Team work

patient

management

Book worm

sociablesociable

Age 13 (40)

Gold swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>u

nh

ap

py

sociable

patient

diligent

patient Book worm

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Friendship

Strong-will

diligent

competitive

punctual

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

SNE Sheet

Ab

ilities

as

reso

urce

sProcess 8

-100

Team work

patient

management

Book worm

sociablesociable

Age 13 (40)

Gold swimmer of

City tournament

Age 14 (-50)

Long stay in

Hospital

Age 16 (80)

First experience of

part time job

Age 18 (50)

Passed entrance exam of

College

100

0

ha

pp

y<

<---->

>u

nh

ap

py

sociable

patient

diligent

patient Book worm

Age 10 Age 15 Age 20

Friendship

Strong-will

diligent

competitive

punctual

Age 8 (-80)

Divorce of parents left

school and friends

Coherent narrative

of “I am sociable”

Coherent narrative

of “I am patient”

While going through an interview with 20 companies, I came to feel like loosing myself,

asking “who am I ?”. In job hunting, I have to keep saying “You are the best for me” in order

to be accepted. It is just like saying, “I love you” to 20 boys at the same time. SNE sheet

enabled me to be many kinds of myself. I could say “You are the best because I have patient

characters at the 21st interview”. And I appealed myself at the 22nd interview, “You are the

best because I am very sociable”

SNE Sheet

Types of Narrative-concepts relation

Table 1: Categories of students in narrative competence (n=232)

Su

ccessfu

l in p

lottin

g

Su

ccessfu

l in d

eriv

ing

con

cep

ts from

na

rrativ

es

Types of Narrative-concepts relation

Table 1: Categories of students in narrative competence (n=232)

Su

ccessfu

l in p

lottin

g

Su

ccessfu

l in d

eriv

ing

con

cep

ts from

na

rrativ

es

Types of Narrative-concepts relation

Table 1: Categories of students in narrative competence (n=232)

Su

ccessfu

l in p

lottin

g

Su

ccessfu

l in d

eriv

ing

con

cep

ts from

na

rrativ

es

Concluding Remarks

• In this presentation, I mainly explained how to use the SNE sheet that I designed as a teaching material for career development classes. I argued that The SNE sheet can help students to develop the competence of editing their experiences in plural narrative forms and of linking their narratives to the concepts of ability, which students can use as resources to pursue their future diverse possible career path.

Reference

• Japanese Working Life Profile 2007/2008 ― Labor Statistics

by The Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training

Thank you very much.