Built on Research & Informed Learning Principles
Luma Quest™ is designed around research - informed approaches to early learning, career awareness and student engagement.
Research and educational guidance support introducing children to a broad range of careers and possibilities before they are expected to make career decisions. Through
age-appropriate storytelling, discussion, hands-on activities and exploration, Luma Quest helps students connect classroom learning with the world around them.
Each adventure is designed to encourage career awareness, curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, empathy, problem-solving, communication and teamwork, while making connections to STEM, literacy and social - emotional learning.
Luma Quest does not ask young children to choose a career. Instead, it gives them opportunities to explore what's possible, discover unfamiliar careers and begin recognizing their own interests and strengths.
Research Areas
Early Career Awareness:
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A major Australian/Canadian early childhood career development study (2014 - 2016) involving 1,194 parents, 136 educators, and 436 children ages three to eight found that young children were already:
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Interested in what adults do
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Expressing “hopes and dreams”
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Learning work roles through play, chores, and observation
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Key takeaway - Children this young are very capable of career exploration - they are already developing “career seeds.”
Learning Through Stories & Exploration:
How this connects to Luma Quest: Story adventures allow children to imagine themselves in different environments and roles, while hands-on activities and classroom discussions give them concrete ways to explore concepts such as engineering, healthcare, science, aviation, environmental work, and other careers. That connection is a reasonable educational application of Piaget’s framework-not a claim that Piaget specifically studied career education.
Connecting Learning to the Real World:
Children begin developing an understanding of work and careers long before middle or high school. Research suggests that age-appropriate career exploration during the elementary years can help children expand their knowledge of occupations, explore their interests and abilities, and begin connecting what they learn in school with the world around them.
A 2024 study of kindergarten students found that children participating in an early career education program demonstrated significantly greater growth in occupational knowledge than children who did not participate.
The American School Counselor Association also recommends introducing students to careers and the world of work beginning in the elementary grades, including Pre-K to grade 3, through developmentally appropriate experiences.
Early career exploration isn't about asking young children to choose a profession. It's about opening their eyes to possibilities.
Luma Quest™ introduces students to a broad range of careers through imaginative stories, relatable characters, problem-solving, classroom discussion, and hands-on activities-helping children discover the many ways their interests, talents, and learning can connect to the world of work.
Research & Developmental Foundations
Developmental Psychology
Luma Quest™ is designed with children's developmental stages in mind.
Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget emphasized that young children learn through imagination, symbolic thinking, exploration, and increasingly through concrete problem-solving. During the early elementary years, children are developing their ability to understand the world through stories, experiences, and hands-on learning.
Psychologist Erik Erikson identified early childhood as an important period for developing initiative, confidence, purpose, and competence. As children enter the school years, opportunities to explore interests, complete meaningful tasks, solve problems, and experience accomplishment can help strengthen their developing sense of capability.
Luma Quest supports these developmental needs through imaginative career adventures, classroom discussion, problem-solving, and hands-on activities that allow students to explore the world of work in an age-appropriate and engaging way.
5.3 Cognition in Early Childhood - Lifespan Development | OpenStax
