7 Beginning the Journey Where I Am

Introduction
This module, “Beginning the Journey Where I Am” is about the process
toward strategic implementation leading to the realization of the learner’s chosen
profession or career goal. The activities included herein will help learners learn more
about their interests, values, and skills in relation to their current situation which is
vital to their profession in the future. This session will also guide learners in exploring
occupations that are applicable to them and in learning to decide on the best choice.

Time Allotment: (90 minutes)

Materials

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 ballpen
 activity sheets (SWOT analysis, My Ladder to Success)
 music video: The Journey by Lea Salonga O
I. Objectives
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At the end of this session, the learners are expected to:

1. discuss their present situation in relation to their status in life and profession;
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2. enumerate the different areas to consider in planning their life and profession;
and
3. evaluate the relevance of their current situation to their life and profession.
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Activities
1. Profession Rap (Motivation)
2. SWOT Analysis (Main Activity)
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3. Discussion of SWOT Framework (Lecturette)

4. Structuring Ladder of Success (Application)
5. “The Journey” song (Reflection)
6. Sentence completion (Evaluation)

II. Motivation (10 minutes)

Note: Compose a short rap introducing your own name and profession.

Stand and Name – Profession Rap

Directions
1. Following the teacher’s example, each learner will introduce his/her name
and future profession.
2. Those seated will affirm the profession stated, also through a rap.

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 Example:
Rico : I am Rico, I will be a surgeon! Yo! Yes, yes, yo!
Group : Rico is a surgeon! Yo! Yes, yes, yo!

Melody : I will be a civil engineer!

Group : Melody is a civil engineer!

Amore : I am Amore, I will be a chef!

Group : Amore is a chef!

Guide Questions
1. How did you feel while you were rapping your name and profession? Why?
2. What made you choose that profession?

Call three to five volunteers to answer the questions. Discuss their answers.

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Say: Telling anyone what you want to be is both exciting and tedious because
wishing what you want to be is a personal choice but considering other factors
that affect this choice is another aspect to examine.
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III. Main Activity (30 minutes)
This main activity is based on the motivational activity and a revisit of
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Session 6, activity 6.1 where the learners identified their current situation in
relation to their life and profession.

In this activity, the learner will be introduced to SWOT analysis. This will
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help them discover and understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,

and threats, and lead them to take action if necessary, about their future career.
The SWOT analysis will also help the learner and their parents narrow down or
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change a chosen career with understanding and acceptance based on the

family’s socio-economic situation.

Procedure
1. Provide learners with the SWOT analysis activity sheet.
2. In the first column, have them indicate their present track, strand, and
specialization.
3. Based on Session 6, Activity 6.1, have learners list the areas that they believe
form part of their SWOT analysis.
4. Have learners list other challenges and concerns that they encounter as
specified in each column of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats. (See SWOT Sample Worksheet 1 and 2.)

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Sample Worksheet 1: Academic

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Track:
Academic
Strand: ABM Good Poor English  Scholarship  Financial
Specialization: mathematic communication in college issues
____________ al skills skills  Job  Distance
opportunities from
in the residence to
locality college or
university

Sample Worksheet 2: TVL

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
Track: TVL
Strand: Home  artistic  easily  local employment  local small

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Economics  practical discouraged  international business
Specialization:  analytical  less information employment competitors
Food and thinker of the latest food
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Beverages  patient and beverages skills in food
Production  honest production and
 people issues beverages
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person  communication production
skills (verbal and  stagnation of
written) business
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Worksheet 7.1 SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
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Name:

Track:
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Strand:
Specialization:

Note: After learners have filled out the worksheet, group them together by playing
“The boat is sinking.”

Mechanics
1. Students will group themselves according to the number you will say.
Example, say, “The boat is sinking, group yourselves into nine,” the
participants should group themselves into nine members per group.
2. Repeat the process at least three times with different number of groups until
they will group into fives. This makes five members in each group.
3. Each member of the group will answer and discuss the guide questions.

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 4. Have each group choose a rapporteur to present to the class their common
answers to the guide questions.

Guide Questions
1. How do you feel about your strengths? your weaknesses?
2. Are your weaknesses manageable in terms of pursuing your career goal?
How will you manage these?
3. How will you cope with the threats that arise in pursuing your career goal?
4. Based on the areas that you considered in your career plan, which do you
prioritize in order to attain your goal?
Synthesis
“The true purpose of the strong is to promote greater strength in the weak,
and not to keep the weak in that state where they are at the mercy of the
strong.”
- Chistian D. Larson

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Patience and perseverance are burning desires that need to be fueled constantly
in the process of reaching one’s goal. The quest for the realization of your dreams is
like waging a momentous battle during which you might encounter severe setbacks.
But success comes to those who turn adversities into opportunities, overcome their
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limitations, and bounce back with renewed vigor.
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IV. Lecturette (15 minutes)
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Career Development is a lifelong process that includes physical, cognitive,

and emotional development (Seligman, 1980). There are many factors that
influence lifelong career development process. These are generally classified as
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psychological and social factors that are developed by affecting each other
mutually. The most important feature that affects vocational development are the
skills that an individual has. However, development of these skills can only be
possible with environment support. If one were permitted only a single variable
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to predict an individual’s occupational status, it surely would be the socio-

economic status of that individual’s family of orientation. (revisit Module 1.1) As a
measurement construct, socioeconomic status usually incorporates one or more
of the following: parents’ educational attainment and occupational status, and
family income (discussed in Module 2 lecturrette). All of these factors, as well as
such corresponding variables as values, opportunities, and parental
encouragement, serve to enhance or limit an individual’s potential occupational
status. (Schoenberg et al. 1984)

Each person has different difficulties and boundaries that may hinder
him/her from pursuing a career goal. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats (SWOT) activity enables the learners to realize and prioritize their
own interests that they owe to value in planning for life because this will lead
them to whatever career goal they want to achieve.

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 The SWOT framework is credited to Albert Humphrey, who tested the
approach in the 1960s and 1970s at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI).
SWOT analysis is a process that identifies the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats of the students’ chosen career field. As its name
states, a SWOT analysis examines four elements:

1. Strengths—Internal attributes and resources that support successful

outcome of the chosen track and strand.
2. Weaknesses—Internal attributes and resources that work against a
successful outcome of the chosen track and strand.
3. Opportunities—External factors of the career goal that can be capitalized
on or used to its advantage.
4. Threats—External factors that could jeopardize the career goal.

SWOT is usually used in the industrial/business industry. It is said to be an

effective tool in business analysis that would eventually lead to business
success. In this case, SWOT is used to analyze career development pathing to

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help the learner lead their one’s career goal/journey. Having career goals helps
provide direction and focuses the learner’s attention on attainable outcomes of
the educational process.
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Knowing where you are going with your academic program in terms of clear
goals helps stimulate and maintain motivation. Motivation has been shown to be
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a critical component of academic success. Therefore, clarifying your career
goals can result in immediate as well as long-term gain (Groccia, 1992).
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Individuals vary in their progress in terms of clarifying goals because of

many reasons. Some advance rapidly through each phase, while others
progress more slowly. Individuals may repeat all or parts of the career
development process at various points throughout their lives as values, interests,
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abilities, and life circumstances change.

The concept of self-efficacy is the focal point of Albert Bandura’s social

cognitive theory (1997). By means of the self-system, individuals exercise control
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over their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Among the beliefs with which an
individual evaluates the control over his/her actions and environment, self-
efficacy beliefs are the most influential predictor of human behavior as this
relates to the career exposure where the individual is influenced.
According to Bandura (1997), the level and strength of self-efficacy will
determine whether coping behavior will be initiated, how much effort will result,
and how long the effort will be sustained in the face of obstacles.

Self-efficacy means the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute

the courses of action required to produce given attainments. This is constructed
on the basis of the following:

 Personal Performance—Accomplishments, previous successes or failures

(most influential)
 Vicarious Experience—Watching others, modeling, mentoring

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  Verbal Persuasion—Verbal encouragement or discouragement
 Physiological and Emotional Factors—Perceptions of stress reactions in the
body

It is important to understand the distinction between self-esteem and self-

efficacy in career planning. According to Bandura (1992):

 Self-esteem relates to a person’s sense of self worth.

 Self-efficacy relates to a person’s perception of his/her ability to reach a goal.

Self-Efficacy Affects Human Function in Relation

to Career Planning

Choices regarding Behavior

The individuals will be more inclined to take on a task if they believe they can

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succeed. They generally avoid tasks where their self-efficacy is low, but engage
when it is high. Self-efficacy that is significantly higher than ability can lead to
psychological damage. Significantly low self-efficacy leads to an inability to grow and
expand skills. Optimum levels of self-efficacy are a little above ability, which
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encourages people to tackle challenging tasks and gain valuable experience.
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Motivation
The individual with higher self-efficacy in a task are likely to expend more effort and
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persist longer than one with low efficacy. On the other hand, low self-efficacy may
provide an incentive to learn more and prepare better than a person with higher self-
efficacy.
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Thought Patterns and Responses

Low self-efficacy can lead the individual to believe tasks are harder than they
actually are. This leads to poor planning and stress. A person with higher self-
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efficacy will attribute a failure to external factors, whereas a person with lower self-
efficacy will attribute it to low ability. (Example: Math Test)

The Destiny Idea

Bandura successfully showed that individuals with differing self-efficacy perceive
the world in fundamentally different ways. Persons with high self-efficacy are
generally of the opinion that they are in control of their own lives: that their own
actions and decisions shape their lives. On the other hand, persons with low
self-efficacy may see their lives as somewhat out of their hands and is
dependent on fate.

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 Guide Questions
(This will be answered by at least three learners.)
1. What are your insights about the strand/track you are enrolled in?
2. What are your realizations?
3. Do you think these will help you as you progress in your career journey? In
what way?

Synthesis
As we journey towards our career, we see the road is long and rough. There are
times when we do not find enough strength to sustain us. But through it all we
strive to get up and move on. We rediscover over strengths and build on our
weaknesses to become stronger in pursuit of reaching our goal.

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V. Application (15 minutes)
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This activity is a revisit of Session 6, activity 6.2. In this activity, the learner will
structure “Ladder of Success” in relation to their Senior High School career
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choice.
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 Sample worksheet for Academic—STEM

My Ladder to Success!
A year after:

After four (4 to 5) I am a full fledged

years: CIVIL ENGINEER
I will be a degree (Name the profession)
(Grade 12) holder in CIVIL
ENGINEERING I will be employed at
( ) My goal is to MEGA World
At present (Pursued College)
earn
(Grade 11) NC II in the field of School Year 2023-24 Value:
________________
________________ Need: – Employability skills
I am in Academic – To take the board
Track – Time management
Need: exam for – Working with others
STEM Strand ________________ Engineering – Family

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Specialization ________________ – Financial support
________________ – Financial opportunity
– Family support
Value:
Skills I Learned ________________ Value: I own a business
________________
________________
________________
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– Work opportunity ____________________
– Family ____________________
( )
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– Health ____________________
– Logarithmic Entrepreneurship/
skills Negosyo I am employed as
– Calculus skills ________________ _________________
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– Self-confidence Need:
________________ ____________________
– Study habits ______ Need: ____________
– Time ____________________
Value: ____________ ____________________
Need:
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Skills I still need to ________________

learn: I own a business
________________ Value:
_________________
– Interpersonal _________________ ____________________
Value: ____________________
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skills ________________ Need:

– Communication ____________________
________________ _________________
skills _________________
(/) Pursue College Value: State other options:
Course in _________________ ____________________
Engineering _________________ ____________________
____________________
Need: Financial and State other options:
____________________
family support _________________
_________________
Value: Further
education
and health

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 Sample worksheet for TVL

My Ladder to Success! A year after:

After four (4) years: I am a full fledged

________________
I will be a degree ________________
holder in (Name the
(Grade 12) _________________ profession)
_________________
( / ) My goal is to (Pursued College) I am employed as
earn School Year ______ Senior Waiter in a
At present (Grade 11) NC II in the field Need: CRUISE SHIP in
of Food and _________________ Australia
I am in TVL Track Beverages Servicing
Home Economics Value:
Strand _________________ Need:
Need: Promotion and
- Immersion to a I am employed as compensation

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Specialization hotel or cruise ship
Food and Beverages Senior Waiter in a
- Financial support CRUISE SHIP in Value:
Servicing - Family support Australia Work and
opportunity to tour
Skills I Learned
_________________
Value:
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Need: Australia
- Work performance - Savings for my
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- Quality time at family
- Sanitation - Financial support
work and family I own a business
- Sensitivity to other for my parents
- Good service to ________________
people - and siblings
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customers ________________
- time mangement
________________
( ) Entrepreneurship/ Value:
Skills I still need to - Work ethics
Negosyo Need:
learn: - Patience
_________________ ________________
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- Good - Time management

Need: ________________
communication _________________ - Service to others
________________
skills _________________
- Self-confidence Value: I own a business
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- Being patient and _________________ _________________

Value:
understanding _________________ _________________
______________
Need:
______________
( ) Pursue College _________________
______________
Course _________________
_________________ Value:
_________________ _________________
State other options:
Need: _________________
________________
_________________ State other options:
________________
_________________ _________________
________________
Value: _________________
_____________
_________________
___

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Worksheet 7.2

Directions: Fill out the worksheet.

My Ladder to Success!

A year after:

After four (4) years: I am a full fledged

(Grade 12)
_________________
I will be a degree _________________
holder in (Name the
( ) My goal is to earn
_______________ profession)
NC II in the field of
_______________
_________________
At present (Grade 11) _______________ I am employed as
_________________
(Pursued College) _________________
I am in ______ Track School Year _________________
Need:
___________ Strand _______ _________________
_________________

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Specialization
_________________ Need:
________________ Need:
________________ _______________
Value: _________________
________________ _______________
_________________ _________________
_______________
Skills I Learned
_________________
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Value: Value:
________________ _______________
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( ) Entrepreneurship/ _______________
________________ Negosyo _______________ _______________
________________ _________________ _______________ _______________
________________
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_________________
________________ _________________ I am employed as I own a business
Need: _______________ _________________
________________
_________________ _______________ _________________
________________ _______________ _________________
_________________
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________________ Need:
________________ Value: _______________ Need:
________________ _________________ _______________ _________________
_________________ _______________ ________________
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Skills I still need to Value:

learn: ( ) Pursue College Value:
_______________ _______________
Course _______________
________________ _________________ _______________
_______________ _______________
________________ _________________
________________ Need: I own a business
_________________ _______________ State other options:
________________ _______________
_________________ _______________
________________ _______________
_______________
________________ Value: Need: _______________
________________ _________________ _______________
________________ _________________ _______________
________________ _______________
________________ __
“It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.”
______ Value:
________________ _______________
– Carlton Fisk
________________ ___
_______________
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State other options:

_______________
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VI. Reflection (10 minutes)
Note: The lyrics of the song “The Journey” will be used as alternative to the
video if this is not available or in the absence of an Internet connection.

Half the world is sleeping

Half the world’s awake
Half can hear their heart beat
Half just hear them break
I am but a traveler
Been most everywhere
Ask me what you want to know.

[Chorus]

What a journey it has been

And the end is not in sight
But the stars are out tonight

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And they're bound to guide my way
When they're shining on my life
I can see a better day O
I won't let the darkness in
What a journey it has been.
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I have been to sorrow
I have been to bliss
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Where I'll be tomorrow

I can only guess
Through the darkest desert
Through the deepest snow
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Forward, always forward I go.

Forward, always forward
Onward, always up
Catching every drop of hope
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In my empty cup.

Discuss the lyrics of the song. Give emphasis to the following:

 The song is about the crossroads that the traveler (learner) encounters in life as
he/she journeys into his/her career.
 The song puts importance on the values of patience, courage, perseverance,
and safeguarding principles.
 It highlights one’s awareness about the realities of life and profession and the
continuous struggle to survive whatever career path the traveler (learner) may
take.

Life is what we make it. We can make it beautiful and meaningful depending on
the virtues we practice.

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 There are big and small tasks that we perform in our everyday lives. There are
times when we are up, and times that we are down. But we come to realize that our
failures become our learning, and as we get up, we turn up stronger, more
responsible, and more accepting of the consequences of the decisions we make.

Deciding on a career is a lifetime choice. We do not need to do this alone. We

need each other to help us become who we want to be and to live the life we plan it
to be.

VII. Evaluation (15 minutes)

Writing Prompts
Directions: Complete the following phrases. Recall the previous activities you
did to answer.
1. I want to become ______________________________________________.
2. I need to learn my skills in _______________________________________.

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3. I want to work in ________________________________________________.
4. I have the qualities for ___________________________________________.
5. I am ________________________________________________________
(State your characteristics or attitude)
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6. I value ______________________ at work, because ___________________.
(State your ideals)
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7. I like working in _______________________________________________.
8. I like working with people who are ________________________________.
9. I do not like to work at _______________ because __________________.
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10. I do not like to work with people who _______________________________.

As a concluding statement, read this to student.

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“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something
inside you that is greater than any obstacle.”
— Christian D. Larson
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Note: All worksheets will be submitted to the Guidance Counselor/Teacher Career

Guidance Advocate for profiling and further career counseling.

VIII. Assignment

Every group shall bring the following:

 white cartolina or manila paper
 marker
 pencil
 crayons

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