Introduction by Corina van Beelen, CIS Higher Education Services

Written by Ruth McAteer, Higher Education & Careers Counsellor, Alice Smith School, and Kyra Kellawan, Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Benjamin Franklin International School

 

Schools play a pivotal role in supporting and advising students on their post-secondary pathways. As students choose increasingly diverse pathways after graduation, we hear from university guidance counsellors and future pathways advisors at CIS schools about how they work to broaden definitions of success within their school communities.

 

Pressure from prevailing definitions of success

Equating success with admission into “top-ranked” universities impacts student well-being and future outcomes in several ways.

Some students may feel pressure to pursue higher education and feel unsupported in choosing less “traditional” paths such as work experience, gap years, vocational school and other pursuits.

They may also feel pressure to choose university options based on ranking rather than other factors such as location, environment, and learning styles.

‘A major pressure this year has been basing university choices on rank rather than other important factors like location/environment.’
—Secondary school student, 2021, CIS Cross-Cultural Transitions Insights

Understanding success in a school’s university guidance programme can be influenced by how a school measures the success of its counselling programmes, how parents measure success for their children, and the cultural norms of the school community. 

In this blog, Ruth McAteer and Kyra Kellawan outline practical strategies for counsellors to broaden their own and their school community’s definitions of success in relation to post-secondary pathways.

 

 

Ruth McAteer
Higher Education & Careers Counsellor
Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

There are many ways to define success. As part of our Future Pathways programme at the Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur, multiple and diverse definitions of success are explored with students starting as early as Year 7.

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to encourage a courageous exploration of all the many and varied future pathways our students could take. 

Honouring different types of post-secondary pursuits through alumni engagement

Engaging our Alice Smith Alumni has been key to the success of this element of our curriculum.

Through our partnership with Ed Tech company Millie, we recently welcomed back jake Chivers and Daniel Woodroof for a Year 12 lesson and video panel discussion on entrepreneurship (see photos).

These alumni took very different pathways following graduation from our school and are now successful entrepreneurs, choosing to set up their respective companies in Malaysia.

Showcasing different alumni stories can lead to those ‘Wow!’ moments when students realise what is possible and why success might look different.

Daniel provided a video for a different lesson, specifically looking at why he chose to stay in Malaysia. His video challenged the—perhaps more common—view that success is only achieved by working abroad.

Exposure to real-world examples through a school's alumni network is an invaluable resource in any counsellor's toolkit.

Personalizing and expressing definitions of success from an early age

In the younger years, counsellors can start small by introducing the idea of success when exploring students’ interests and activities.

A great exercise is having students choose one particular interest to explore with them or with their parents, perhaps asking them about the thing they enjoy most and then encouraging them to turn it into a success statement.

For example, they might say, ‘I really enjoy Drama classes because I am good at making the audience laugh,’ which can become, ‘I view success in Drama as being able to engage with an audience emotionally’. 

Once students become comfortable expressing success in context, they can express success in an abstract and personal way that is not, most importantly, rigidly linked to a particular pathway.

Part of this is working with parents to understand how they view success.

By the end of our curriculum, when students are asked to answer the question, ‘How do you define success?’, we could not be more pleased to hear responses like those below that demonstrate the impact of our curriculum.

They evidence well-practised self-reflection and the ability to embrace their unique beliefs, interests, cultures, and values. They also express success in a way that is personal to them and applicable to any future pathway.

‘Success to me is making the best out of any opportunity, ensuring I leave a positive impact on those around me.’
—James Chong, Class of 21

‘Success is being in a place where I am surrounded by people that inspire me and push me to be the best version of myself.’
—Andrea Lee, Class of 22

‘To me, success is the journey of unabated, genuine hard work applied to any task that has a fruitful outcome.’
—Annushka Arun, Class of 22

‘I think success stems from contentment—when I feel happy and satisfied with who and what I am, I consider myself a success.’
—Rishabh Sen, Class of 22

‘I define success as resilience; a concept that is measured not by the number of times you actually succeed, but by the number of times you fall and get back up.’
—Freida Foong, Class of 2024

 

Kyra Kellawan
Director of Development & Alumni Relations
Benjamin Franklin International School, Barcelona, Spain
Co-founder of Kokoro Careers

 

The importance of language: Changing your job title & description to “Future Pathways Advisor”

I recently contributed to another CIS Perspectives blog about key trends in international university guidance and admissions. I discussed the pressing need to shift counselling job descriptions from “University Guidance” or “College Counselling” to a more inclusive, future-forward concept: “Future pathways counsellor”, “Future planning counsellor”, or “Future pathways advisor.”

We see increasing numbers of students opting for different choices and pathways than their predecessors, including gap years, working to save up for flight school, studying coding or UX design online or at in-person academies, or pursuing more traditional or contemporary vocational options.

Students have more choices than ever before, and colleagues across the sector have echoed calls to recognise this by adapting their job titles and responsibilities to be more aligned and future-focused.

Schools are increasingly playing catch up, trying to understand the world of work in a rapidly moving space.

Most of us are only just beginning to adapt to new ways of helping our students explore future studies and careers in fields like AI, biotechnology, quantum computing, big data, sustainable energy, fintech, and technological leaps in genetics, tissue engineering, and medical virtual reality.

Still, fewer of us are equipped to advise on the diverse portfolio careers awaiting our students who specialise in arts, design, creativity, and music, let alone how to become sought-after content creators or influencers, a highly desirable path for some students.

Jim Faherty, a university referee as Future Pathways Counsellor at the Green School in Bali, has hosted several sessions for his school community to explore 'alternative pathways'.

In the sessions, he asks participants to reflect on their personal experience of school and career pathways, the support they received (or not) along the way, the pressures they faced, and how they would visualise a model of pathways guidance that was truly holistic, and fit-for-purpose in equipping students with the skills and emotional tools to navigate an uncertain and changing work environment.

The evidence is stacking up fast that the traditionally well-worn path to “top” universities and roles are not helpful, nor interesting, to students whose nationality commits them to military service, students who are caring for a relative, students who need more time to be certain of their investment and their true goal, students who need treatment for a medical issue: all of these future pathways are valid. 

By focusing our language on only one route, we marginalise the many other routes.

Seeing a school opt for and understand the role of a “future pathways advisor/counsellor” is a positive sign that we are aligning our values with our desire to see, recognise, and validate all students’ different needs and destinations.

Let’s make this an acceptable and celebrated norm in our work.

Better yet, research from Ohio State University on the perception of roles being dependent on job titles found that ‘employees who were allowed and encouraged to establish their own job titles reported less emotional exhaustion and improved professional identity. Thus, the change in the language used to label a profession indicated changes in professional identity (Lowenthal & Wilson, 2010). How a profession labels its field can have far-reaching consequences for those within the profession and in broader society.’ 

So, for counsellors/advisers/future planners/professional crystal-ball readers, it might be worthwhile talking to your senior leader about naming the job you actually do or the one you want to do rather than relying on outdated language to ensure your advising program is truly future-ready.

Some ideas on how to approach this:

• Ensure your leadership team is regularly briefed on trends across the counselling community. Attending professional development workshops and conferences that help you bring data and trends from forward-thinking schools and organisations can help you leverage changes in your setting. After all, it’s half of the job of a Future Pathways Lead to keep their community up to date with the external perspective.
   
• Ask professional membership bodies and colleagues in schools you see “doing it well” to share revised job descriptions and policy documents. Offering a solution and a roadmap for change endorsed by others helps remove the grunt work from your leadership to figure out the “how”.
   
• Connect to other leaders in your sphere to see how they got leadership buy-in for change. You can always ask their head of school to chat with yours (they often meet at industry conferences, too!)

What else can your school consider when defining success within your school community? Think about how your school celebrates the success of its current graduating class: How to celebrate different types of student success in their final school year.

 

 

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Related content:

For everyone:

• How to celebrate different types of student success in their final school year
• Key trends in international university guidance and admissions
• What if we were anti-bias? Envisioning & moving admissions & counselling beyond myths of cultural neutrality
• Moving past the binaries of identities and borders
• Effective practices in supporting students with learning disabilities in their transition to university

 

For those of you who work at CIS member schools & universities:

• Snapshots of Evolving Assessment (2024). Schools worldwide are developing new methods to showcase students' skills and competencies. Video snapshots and a report, Evolving Assessment Practices in the CIS Community, share insights into discussions between school leaders and university officials about these developments. Go to the CIS Community portal > CIS Summit > Broadening Assessments & Skills
   
• Cross-cultural Transitions Insights (2021). It draws on data provided to us by 94 international students. Student recommendations for secondary schools included introducing transitions care at an earlier stage, facilitating small group discussions with students about their transition and strengthening connections with alumni. Student recommendations for universities included a review of orientation and induction processes, expanding university practices to be more inclusive of diversity, and greater logistical and practical support. Students from both sides of the transition experience would have liked more support related to social, emotional, intercultural and life skill development. If you work at a CIS member institution here for schools and here for universities in the CIS Community portal.
   
• Events & workshops: Browse our event schedule and join a CIS event or workshop to develop and advance your knowledge and skills relating to your university admission and guidance work.