CAREER AWARENESS EDUCATION FOR CHINESE PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

Career awareness education in primary schools lays a foundational basis for students’ self-understanding,career interest,and lifelong career adaptability. Based on a systematic review of empirical studies,policy documents,and international practices,this paper synthesizes the theoretical underpinnings,policy frameworks,curriculum models,teacher development,and persistent challenges of primary school career awareness education in China and abroad. The review identifies a growing global consensus on the urgency of early career education,yet existing research remains fragmented,methodologically uneven,and limited by inadequate critical synthesis. Key findings reveal consistent constraints including the urban-rural resource gap,disjointed curriculum design,and insufficient teacher professional preparation. By comparing convergent and conflicting evidence across studies,this paper identifies critical research gaps,such as the lack of localized empirical evidence,long-term effect tracking,and standardized evaluation systems in the Chinese context. Accordingly,this study proposes a three-dimensional improvement framework derived from the synthesized evidence: advancing policy implementation toward resource equity; constructing age-appropriate and contextually embedded curriculum systems; and building a sustainable,multi-stakeholder-supported teacher training mechanism. High-quality career awareness education at the primary stage can effectively promote equitable talent development and support students’ sustained career growth.