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Paper Code and TitleEDUC102Complete this sectionStudent name: Sarah NormanStudent ID: 4170881Course coordinator: Jacques van der MeerAssignment: Research report Assignment due date: 10th May 2013 What day is your 2-hour workshop: Thursday Time: 3 - 4:50pmWho is your workshop facilitator: Judy LaylandVerificationThe work presented in this assignment is substantially my own:I did the reading and planning FORMCHECKBOX I wrote the whole assignment FORMCHECKBOX I have acknowledged the use of other people’s work FORMCHECKBOX I have proof read my writing FORMCHECKBOX I have used ‘spell check’, ‘grammar check’ and/or a dictionary FORMCHECKBOX Signed (student)………………………………..Date…..……..Date Received……………………….. By University of Otago College of EducationTe Kura AkauTaitokaThe relationships between students’ life experiences and career choices: A study using Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual framework.Sarah NormanIntroductionIn the study of human development, researchers express different views about the relationship between environmental factors and the development of people. Santrock (2011), states that “ecological theories emphasize environmental factors”. To explore the relationships between student’s life experiences and career choices, I will use data from a research project that examined students’ responses to questions about career and study choice. These students were all enrolled in the same course in a New Zealand university.I will use Bronfenbrenner’s model of ecological systems theory, which “identifies five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem” (Santrock, 2011, p.28) as a framework to organise and interpret the data from this research project. The microsystem relates to the immediate environments that a person is located in, for example home or school. The mesosystem is the relationship between a persons microsysytem and strong mesosystems allow for rich interactions between environments. The exosystem is external and indirect influences that impact on a person, for example a parents work and income. The macrosystem are overarching attitudes, values and ideologies that are linked to the society in which the person lives, for example government funding and policies. The final system is the chronosystem which refers to the place, time or history that impact on a person’s growth. Bronfenbrenner explains that this model is “composed of concentric circles, like Russian nesting dolls, in which smaller figures nest inside larger ones” (Rogoff, 2003). It is also stated by Rogoff (2003) that “Bronfenbrenner was interested in specifying the properties and conditions of the social and physical environments that foster or undermine development within people’s ecological niches”. According to McMillan (1990) “a fundamental component of the Bronfenbrenner framework, is the proposition that the major influences on development can be represented within four systems”. This indicates that the Bronfenbrenner framework is simple yet effective when referring to the development of humans. It allows us to see the clear links between the individual and the environments that affect it. In his model, Bronfenbrenner “emphasizes studying the relations among the multiple settings in which children and their families are directly and indirectly involved” (Rogoff, 2003). The advantages of using Bronfenbrenner’s model are that it allows for a clear outline of how different aspects of society and the environment can impact on an individual’s growth. It effectively integrates all the aspects of an individual’s life into their development and makes us aware of the varying ways in which the world around us influences how we grow.By drawing on the self-reported experiences of a small group of students and using Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual framework, the research question that I will answer in this report is: What are the relationships between students’ life experiences and career choices?MethodParticipantsThe students participating in this study attended a university in New Zealand and were enrolled in a 100-level Human Development course. This course is taken by all students enrolled in Initial Teacher Education programmes. Students pursuing other degrees were also enrolled in this course. The majority of these students were enrolled in Physical Education, Social Work, and Psychology programmes.The data was collected in two stages. In the first stage, all students enrolled in this course were invited to participate in a survey. In the second stage, three weeks later, each student interviewed students attending their workshop session.The surveyThe survey questions were developed by the course leaders. The survey consisted of eight demographic questions and fifteen Likert-scale questions. The Likert-scale questions required students to mark their agreement with statements on a five-point scale, with the option Strongly Agree on one end, and Strongly Disagree at the other end.The survey was administered to each workshop group during class time during the second week of the course. The workshop facilitator provided information to students about the process, confidentiality, and anonymity. Students who did not want to participate were given an opportunity to opt out of the study by pretending to complete the survey without marking the form. Students were told that the research was approved by the departmental Ethics Committee and that students who did not want participate would not incur any disadvantage.The interviewsThe questions for the interview were developed by students in their workshop group. Through a process of brainstorming, they agreed on a number of questions that would address the different systems of Bronfenbrenner’s framework. The questions were used to form a structured interview protocol. This interview protocol allowed the investigating students to ask, and record their answers in a structured way.The interview questions asked were:Tell me about how your parents influenced your choice of study or career?Tell me about the kind of discussion your school and parents had about your future and how did this impact on your decision? How did the careers of your family influence your choice of study?How did society’s beliefs and values influence you in your choice of study?Did the Christchurch Earthquake impact on your choice of career or study? If so, how?Each investigating student interviewed two students they had not worked with before. Students alternated asking each other question. After some time, the workshop facilitator invited students to form another dyad and a second round of the structured interviewing process was conducted. The interviewing students took notes during each of the interviews they conducted. After this, students returned to their workshop groups and shared their interview data.Survey AnalysisThe results from the Likert-scale questions were assigned numerical values from 1-5, with “5” being Strongly Agree and “1” being Strongly Disagree. The mid-point of the scale was assigned a value of “3” and reported as Neutral. Subsequently, the results for the strongly agree and agree answer options were calculated as the average of the combined result and were reported as (Strongly) Agree. The results for the strongly disagree and disagree answer options were calculated as the average of the combined result and were reported as (Strongly) Disagree.Interview AnalysisStudents used the structure of the interview protocol to help them organise and analyse their data. An initial round of analysis was completed in students’ workshop groups. The responses to interview questions were analysed by students using the characteristics and details of each system in Bronfenbrenner’s framework. Students were encouraged by their course leaders to meet outside of class time with other students in the course to analyse and discuss the research report.Results and DiscussionSurvey RespondentsThe survey was filled in by 301 students. A total of 348 students were enrolled in this course. This means that the survey had a response rate of 86%. A summary of the survey respondents can be found in Appendix 1. A summary of the survey results can be found in Appendix 2.Interview RespondentsThe two interviewees ranged in age between 18 and 21. One came directly from high school and is enrolled in a Primary Teaching degree, and one came from having a gap year after high school and is enrolled in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree. Both interviewees were female.Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual frameworkThe data in this study will be interpreted using Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual framework. Specifically, Bronfenbrenner’s concepts of the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem, will be used to discuss the relationships between students’ life experiences and career choices in the data I collected.MicrosystemBronfenbrenner described the microsystem as “individuals’ immediate experiences – the setting containing the child and others, such as home and school” (Rogoff, 2003) The microsystem relates the direct environments that a child is located in and according to Santrock (2011), “it is in the micrsoystem that the most direct interactions with social agents take place”. For example, this is where children will come in contact with other people in the school setting. This includes teachers, students and other adults. Each interviewee was asked the following question related to the micro-system. “Tell me about how parents influenced you choice of study or career?” Participant A discussed that her Mum has a degree in Psychology and always used to test the participant on some of the questions she had and this heavily impacted on her choice to do psychology. Also both of her parents attended university, so she felt obliged to attend, simply because her Mum and Dad pushed hard to make education a big factor of her life. Participant B stated that her parents were never really a huge influence on her career choice however they always supported her in her decision to study teaching. She also said that her aunty was a teacher and this was something that motivated her to follow her auntie’s footsteps.The experiences that these participants discussed relate to Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the microsystem because they both share how their families influenced their decision to choose their specific career path. Each participant had their own uniqueness to how their parents affected the choice in study. For example, Participant A was greatly influenced by her Mum, whereas Participant B stated her career choice was barely influenced by her parents at all. This shows, in reference to the microsystem, that these participants both had direct interactions with people who impacted on what they decided to do, whether this is Participant A and her Mum or Participant B and her aunty. Survey questions “my parents were very influential in my choice of study/career” and “my teachers played an important role in how my career interests developed” appear to reveal information about the microsystems of the respondents. It shows that teachers were more influential in the respondent’s career choice than their parents. The responses to the question “my teachers played an important role in how my career interests developed”, shows that 45.6% of the respondent reported that the school did influence their choice of career, in contrast to the question “my parents were very influential in my choice of study/career”, were 31.9% of the respondents said their parents influenced their career choice. This survey result appears to reflect the answer from Participant B when asked “tell me about how parents influenced your choice of study or career?” This is because family never really had a great impact on her, which mirrors similar results as the survey.In an article by Young (1983) on the career development of adolescents, he remarks that “many adolescents do not acknowledge any significant influence in their eventual career or educational choices” and this point seems to come through in the interviews as well. For example, participant B talked about how her parents had little impact on her decisions, however always supported her.Mesosystem Bronfenbreener describes the mesosystem as “the relations among the microsystems in which an individual is involved, for example, the complementary or conflicting practices of home and school” (Rogoff, 2003). The mesosystem is simply described as the relationships between a person’s microsystems, therefore strong mesosystems allow for the responsiveness and richer interactions, where children’s voices are heard. An example of these links is stated in Santrock (2011) “that children whose parents have rejected them may have difficulty developing positive relations with teachers”. Each interviewee was asked the following question related to the meso-system. “Tell me about the kind of discussion your school and parents had about your future and how did this impact on your decision?”Participant A discussed that her parents and school discussed how good she was with people and from this she decided to do psychology, because it is a very people-based degree. Participant B stated that at parent – teacher interviews both parties discussed the prospects of her future jobs. This was especially prevalent in her French classes and from this she decided that teaching would be a good way to incorporate this strength.The experiences that these participants discussed relate to Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the mesosystem because they both dwell on how there was a link of interaction between their parents and school. Because the mesosystems “are the relations among the Microsystems in which an individual is involved” (Rogoff, 2003) then the parents greatly impact on the individual because parents generally play a major part in a child’s life .Both participants’ careers were discussed between these two parties and ultimately had an impact on their future. This shows, with reference to mesosystem, that the links between these two societal groups impacted on the way the participants looked into furthering their study.ExosystemThe exosystem is described by Bronfenbrenner as being “settings in which the children do not directly participate, such as parents’ work places if children do not go there” (Rogoff, 2003). It is the external and indirect influences that impact on an individuals’ development. For example, the parent’s income status could greatly impact on a child. If a parent is wealthy then it is more likely that the child will have more opportunities than children of parents who struggle to make ends meet. This “consists of links between a social setting in which the individuals do not have an active role” (Santrock, 2011). Each interviewee was asked the following question related to the exosystem. “How did the careers of your family influence your career or choice of study?”Participant A discussed that with her Mum studying psychology, this was enough to influence her to do the same degree. She was also influenced by the way that her Mum was in a very well paying job. The monetary factors of her Mums career has made this participant look more towards clinical psychology because of the number of jobs available in this sector. Participant B stated that with her aunty being a teacher she was always encouraged to do something similar and this was where her extended family linked into her decision to become a teacher.The experiences that these participants discussed relate to Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the exosystem because both show how family can have an impact on what individuals choose to study. Both participants discussed how a member of their family influenced their decision, whether this is a member of immediate or extended family. For example, Participant A stated her Mum’s degree inspired her to follow her footsteps and Participant B had a similar influence with her aunty. This shows that the exosystems, even though not being directly experienced by the individuals can still have an influence on someone simply because the exosystem incorporates factors that may not necessarily be as significant as the microsystem or mesosystem. MacrosystemBronfenbreener describes Macrosystems as “the ideology and organisation of pervasive social institutions of the culture or subculture” (Rogoff, 2003). This means that it is the overarching beliefs, values and ideologies that are related to society and culture in which the person is developed in. For example, within schools the curriculum guides teachers on how they could teach each subject. This is something that relates to how a person develops through their education. Each interviewee was asked the following question related to the macrosystem. “How did society’s beliefs and values influence you in your choice of study?”Participant A discussed that an external influence to her studying psychology was watching ‘the Mentalist’ on TV, because she was deeply intrigued by the way the main character acted towards other people. This participant was also really driven to having ‘Dr’ in front of her name after she finished her degree. Participant B stated that she always wanted to do a degree that would end in having a safe job. However media did put her off being a teacher because of the teacher to job ratio and also the pay situation of a teacher at the present time. This links to the macrosystem because both Participants had major external factors that influenced their choice of study and these both came through social pressures and needs. The experiences that these participants discussed relates to Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the macrosystem because they both show how the external factor of society influenced them in their decision to partake in their further study. Participant A discussed how the external factor of media influenced her study and Participant B stated that it was social factors of job prospects that impacted on her wanting to become a teacher. This shows that the macrosystems can greatly impact on how individuals choose their future path. The survey question “the status in society of the career I am pursuing played a role in my choice of career/study” appears to reveal information about the macrosystems of the respondents. The response to this question shows that 25.2% of the respondent reported that the status in society of their planned career influenced their choice of study. This survey result appears to reflect the answer from interviewee A when asked “how did society influence you in your choice of study?” This is because she answered with saying that watching a TV programme influenced her, as well as the prospect of having the title of a ‘Dr’ when she graduated.In an article by Young (1983) on the career development of adolescents, he remarks that “work is deeply embedded in modern societies, and employment is viewed as a necessary social institution” and this point seems to come through in the interviews as well. For example, participant A talked about how she planned to get into a job after her degree which had a high pay.ChronosystemBronfenbreener describes the chronosystem as consisting “of the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course” (Santrock, 2011). The chronosystem is a place, time or historicacl event that impacts on an individuals’ development. Each interviewee was asked the following question related to the chronosystem. “Did the Christchurch earthquake impact on your choice of study? If so how?Participant A discussed that because she is from Auckland she was a bit dubious about going to Dunedin because it was close to Christchurch; however she continued to proceed with studying in Dunedin because she felt that doing Psychology here would be for the best. Participant B stated that she originally looked at Canterbury University for education; however she ruled this out after the earthquakes. So ultimately this impacted on her choice of study because it meant that she stayed in her home city to study.The experiences that these participants discussed relates to Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the chronosystem because they were both affected by an event that either put doubt in their minds, like Participant A or altered where they where intending on studying like Participant B. This shows that the chronosystem can impact significantly on the choices made in career prospects and future studies.Concluding RemarksThe main results from this study were that every individual is different, and everyone has unique experiences to the way they chose their future study or career. Some people were affected more by their teachers than their parents, and some people were swayed by factors in the society they lived in. Bronfenbrenner’s conceptual framework drew our attention to the importance of how we development, with links to what we have been exposed to as individuals. It dwells on the importance that every aspect of life will in some way impact on you, no matter how big or small. The interviewees clearly indicated that their career and study choices were influenced through the mesosystem. They both showed that discussions between their teachers and parents impacted on their decision to undertake their study option, simple because it was said to be an ideal path to think about following. Overall, results of this study point to the fact that each aspect of Bronfenbrenners framework can affect an individual in different ways, whether it is parents, teachers or the society around us, we all develop in a unique way which makes us all who we are at present.ReferencesMcMillan, B. (1990). An ecological perspective on individual human development. Early Childhood Development and Care, 55(1), 33-42.Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. Oxford: Oxford University PressSantrock, J. (2011). Introduction to life-span development. Life-span development. (pp. 4-48). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Young, A. (1983). Career development of adolescents: An ecological perspective. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 12(5), 401-417.Appendix 1: Summary of the survey respondentsDemographic detailsAge16-1920-2526-3031-4041-5051-60older than 60%68.120.32.74.33.71.00Accommodation Residential College/ HallFlatting with othersLiving in my own home (with or without family)Living with parents or relativesOther%32.634.911.618.32.7Out of town (Dunedin/ Invercargill)YesNo%51.049.0Main studyTeachingBA – EdBA - otherSocial workPsychPhys. Ed.Other%62.77.39.36.75.73.05.3QualificationNCEAUEUE-intl.Tertiary otherOther entryDegree%72.85.66.04.410.11.0GenderFemaleMale%82.317.7Before?High schoolEmployedStay at home parentTertiary studiesOther%66.818.63.76.34.7Ethnic identificationMāori(NZ) EuropeanPasifika(NZ) AsianOther% (adds to more than 100 due to multiple identities)13.884.63.04.06.7SURVEY QUESTIONn(Strongly) agree %nNeutral %n(Strongly) disagree %My parents were very influential in my choice of study/career9631.98628.611939.5My whanau/extended family were influential in my choice of study/career5317.7752517257.3My teachers played an important role in how my career interests developed13645.67424.88829.5My siblings had an important influence on my study and career interests5518.57023.517358.1My friends and their interests and choices had an important influence on my study and career interests 60206722.317357.7My school and parents discussed my future career and/or study choice13645.3541811036.7The ethnic group I belong to believes that people in my chosen career are able to contribute to the well-being and aspirations of our ethnic group.That has influenced my choice of study/career. 5017.38027.715955.0My school and parents discussed my strengths in particular subjects in order to help me decide on my future study/career choice114386220.712441.3The career of one (or more) of my parents has influenced my career/study choice78264715.717558.3Having observed the impact of my parent(s) job/career on our family has influenced my choice of study/career12642.16321.111036.8Government advertisements to recruit students for particular careers (for example to attract teachers) played a role in my decision-making155391324581.9The status in society of the career I am pursuing played a role in my choice of study/career7525.28929.913445The fact that society believes that the career I want to pursue makes a valuable contribution to the well-being of our country, played an important role in my choice of study/career13244.38026.88628.9Society’ wants everyone to be employed; my study/career choice is purely pragmatic: I have to do something to earn money.6521.87023.516354.7‘Society’ believes that people in my chosen career are able to contribute to the well-being and aspirations of all groups in society. That has influenced my choice of study/career. 11438.110133.88428.1Appendix 2: Summary of the survey results. ................
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