Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. The
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was appointed by
the U.S. Secretary of Labor in 1990 to determine the skills young people need
to succeed in the world of work. Members of the commission were education
experts, teachers, executives, and labor officials representing a variety of
industries. The commission's purpose was to encourage a high-performance
economy characterized by high-skill, high-wage employment.
B. The initial SCANS report, What
Work Requires of Schools, was issued in 1991 and defines the five
competencies and three-part foundation that compose the SCANS skills. SCANS
skills are appropriate for all students, regardless of their high school
programs or postsecondary plans. All students will work, and all work requires
important common foundation skills. A high-performance workplace requires
workers with a solid foundation in basic literacy and computational skills,
thinking skills, and personal qualities. Equally important are the generic
workplace competencies of managing resources, interpersonal relationships,
acquiring and using information, managing systems, and working with a variety
of technologies. These SCANS workplace skills form the underlying foundation
upon which the entire business education curriculum is built.
C. Listed below are the foundation skills and
workplace competencies identified by the SCANS commission and published in its
first report, What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America
2000, a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor, June 1991.
Business educators are encouraged to incorporate the SCANS skills and
competencies throughout the curriculum.
D. Three-Part Foundation Skills
1. Basic Skills-reads, writes, performs
arithmetic and mathematical operations, listens, and speaks.
a. Reading-locates, understands, and
interprets written information in prose and in documents such as manuals,
graphs, and schedules to perform tasks.
b. Writing-communicates thoughts, ideas,
information, and messages in writing; and creates documents such as letters,
directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts.
c. Arithmetic/Mathematics-performs basic
computations and approaches practical problems by choosing appropriately from a
variety of mathematical techniques.
d. Listening-receives, attends to,
interprets, and responds to verbal messages and other cues.
e. Speaking-organizes ideas and communicates
oral messages appropriate to listeners and situations.
2. Thinking Skills -thinks creatively, makes
decisions, solves problems, visualizes, knows how to learn, and reasons.
a. Creative Thinking-uses imagination freely,
combines ideas or information in new ways, makes connections between seemingly
unrelated ideas, and reshapes goals in ways that reveal new
possibilities.
b. Decision
Making-specifies goals and constraints, generates alternatives, considers
risks, and evaluates and chooses best alternative.
c. Problem Solving-recognizes problems,
devises and implements plan of action, evaluates and monitors progress, and
revises plan as indicated by findings.
d. Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye-organizes
and processes symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other
information.
e. Knowing How to
Learn-uses efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and
skills in both familiar and changing situations.
f. Reasoning-discovers a rule or principle
underlying the relationship between two or more objects and applies it when
solving a problem.
3.
Personal Qualities -displays responsibility, self-esteem, sociability,
self-management, and integrity and honesty.
a.
Responsibility-exerts a high level of effort and perseveres toward goal
attainment through high standards, attention to details, work, concentration
and high standards of attendance, punctuality, enthusiasm, vitality, and
optimism.
b. Self-Esteem-believes
in own self-worth and maintains a positive view of self.
c. Sociability-demonstrates understanding,
friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group
settings.
d.
Self-Management-assesses self accurately, sets personal goals, monitors
progress, and exhibits self-control.
e. Integrity/Honesty-can be trusted and
chooses an ethical course of action.
E. Five Workplace Competencies
1. Resource- identifies, organizes, plans,
and allocates resources.
a. Time-selects
goal-relevant activities, ranks them, allocates time, and prepares and follows
schedules.
b. Money-uses or
prepares budgets, makes forecasts, keeps records, and makes adjustments to meet
objectives.
c. Material and
Facilities-acquires, stores, allocates, and uses materials or space
efficiently.
d. Human
Resources-assesses knowledge and skills and distributes work accordingly,
evaluates performance, and provides feedback.
2. Interpersonal- works with others.
a. Participates as Member of a Team-works
cooperatively with others and contributes to group effort.
b. Teaches Others New Skills-helps others
learn.
c. Serves
Clients/Customers-works to satisfy customers' expectations.
d. Exercises Leadership-communicates ideas to
justify position, persuades and convinces others, and responsibly challenges
existing procedures and policies.
e. Negotiates-works toward agreements
involving exchange of resources, resolves divergent interests.
F. Works with
Diversity-works well with men and women from diverse backgrounds.
1. Information- acquires and uses
information.
a. Acquires and Evaluates
Information-identifies need for data, obtains or creates it, and evaluates its
relevance and accuracy.
b.
Organizes and Maintains Information-organizes, processes, and maintains written
or computerized records and other forms of information in a systematic
fashion.
c. Interprets and
Communicates Information-selects and analyzes information and communicates the
results to others.
d. Uses
Computers to Process Information-employs computers to acquire, organize,
analyze, and communicate information.
2. Systems-u nderstands complex
interrelationships
a. Understands
Systems-knows how social, organizational, and technological systems work and
operates effectively with them.
b.
Monitors and Corrects Performance-distinguishes trends, predicts impacts on
system operations, diagnoses deviations in systems' performance, and corrects
malfunctions.
c. Improves or
Designs Systems-suggests modifications to existing systems and develops new or
alternative systems to improve performance.
3. Technology-w orks with a variety of
technologies
a. Selects Technology-chooses
procedures, tools, or equipment including computers and related technologies to
produce the desired results.
b.
Applies Technology to Task-understands overall intent and proper procedures for
setup and operation of equipment.
c. Maintains and Troubleshoots
Equipment-prevents, identifies, or solves problems with equipment, including
computers and other technologies.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with R.S. l7:6.
