Section Title (17 pt)
CHAPTER 12: ACHIEVEMENT, CAREERS, AND WORK
INTRODUCTION
THE PACE OF GLOBAL CHANGE INFLUENCES ADOLESCENTS TO ADAPT TO SOCIETAL AND ACADEMIC PRESSURE AND TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR REACHING THEIR GOALS. ADOLESCENTS’ EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE ROLES FOR THEMSELVES HAVE AN ONGOING INFLUENCE, AND APPEAR TO BE PREDICTIVE OF LATER SUCCESS. EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION, ENCOURAGED OR DISCOURAGED BY EXTERNAL CONSEQUENCES, ; AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, SELF-GENERATED CURIOSITY, CHALLENGE, OR KNOWLEDGE, REPRESENT TWO MAJOR FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ADOLESCENT ACHIEVEMENT. MOTIVATION CAN BE INFLUENCED BY THE DEGREE TO WHICH ADOLESCENTS BELIEVE THEY ARE SELF-DETERMINED AND HAVE PERSONAL CHOICES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. CSIKSZENTMIHALYI DESCRIBES FLOW AS OPTIMIZING MOTIVATION AND CONCENTRATION RESULTING FROM AGREEABLE LEVELS OF CHALLENGE, CONCENTRATION, AND MASTERY.
Attribution theory explains how adolescents construe the outcomes and consequences they experience. Weiner described three dimensions of causal attributions:
( Locus (internal-external) )—internal explanations for success influence increased self-esteem
( Stability (stable-unstable) )—stable and unstable causes are associated with predictable outcomes
( Controllability (controllable-uncontrollable) )—controllability influences emotional responses
Self-esteem depends on the explanation of success; emotional responses depend on causal attribution.
Three classes of achievement motivation emerged from research: mastery, helpless, and performance.
( Mastery orientation—–focus is on the task, show enthusiasm, generate solution-oriented strategies
( Helplessness orientation—–focus is on personal inadequacies, difficulties attributed to ability
( Performance orientation—–focus is on winning and success, not process and skill development
( Self-efficacy—–belief in an ability to master a situation, similar to mastery orientation
( Goal setting, planning, and self-monitoring—–defines manageable pieces for both the short- and long-term, set specific and challenging goals, measure progress toward goals
( Expectations—when parents and teachers have high expectations for adolescents they perform better –
( Anxiety—–normally, moderate levels of fear, apprehension, concern, or worry about success
Ethnicity and culture influence achievement by children and adolescents of minority groups. Cultural differences may influence students to demonstrate distinctly different goals and patterns of achievement. The influence of socioeconomic status, racial prejudice, conflicts in values between minority and majority cultures, and characteristics of mega-system schools in large cities easily are confused with “ethnic deficits.” Cross-cultural examinations of adolescent performance clarify the impact of teachers’ focus on academic subjects, number of days in school, parents’ expectations, and assistance for student achievement. U.S. students perform poorly in math and science in cross-cultural comparisons of the top 25 percent of students. Low-achieving adolescents in general require learning goals, additional support, efficacy retraining, and meaningful assignments that are both interesting and challenging to eliminate self-handicapping strategies and to improve academic competence and self-confidence.
Adolescent employment has become increasingly common since the 1970s; 75 percent of students combine school and work. Students typically work in fast-food restaurants (17 percent), retail stores (20 percent), as office assistants, or as unskilled laborers. Longer hours and higher pay are typical for males. Adolescent employment provides an opportunity to develop skills that can be applied to all jobs, but employment often has disadvantages. Students give up time for school activities, studying, and socializing; 25 percent reported that their grades dropped and personal care declined following employment. Part-time jobs of 20 hours or less per week are associated with better adolescent outcomes. In countries where adolescents do not attend school, boys engage in income-generating labor and girls engage in unpaid household labor.
Many adolescents work while attending college. Although working can help pay for college it can negatively affect grades.
Making the transition from school to work presents serious difficulties for about 5 percent of the adolescent population. Recommendations for facilitating the transition include: monitor work experiences, expand community involvement, provide job-specific education, guarantee employment, improve career counseling, and recruit volunteers as mentors.
Work and career-based learning provide opportunities to focus on specific career themes to prepare students for jobs or post-secondary education in specific occupations or fields.
Career development depends on exploration, decision-making, and planning. Three theories:
( Ginzberg’s developmental career choice theory—–children and adolescents progress through three career-choice stages that including includes
( fantasy ( realistic
( tentative
( Super’s career self-concept theory—–a five-phase theory that includes
( crystallization ( stabilization
( specification ( consolidation
( implementation
( Holland’s personality type theory—–six personality types that includes
( realistic ( conventional
( intellectual ( enterprising
( social ( artistic
Adolescents usually need assistance in exploring, deciding, and planning appropriate career paths. Adolescents further along in the identity crisis seem better able to make choices and set goals. While Although expectations are high for attending college and working in a professional job, loose associations are made between these expectations, educational requirements, and future employment opportunities.
Sociocultural contexts that influence career choices include:
( Socioeconomic status–—higher levels of education are associated with upward mobility.
( Parents and peers–—parents’ expectations push students into the wrong career; parents and peers influence career choice by exposure, example, and expectation.
( School influences–—few counselors are available to help students find career opportunities; school counselors must cooperate with classroom teachers, parents, and community members.
( Gender–—females have been socialized to have limited career goals and expectations; they need exposure to career options and life choices, particularly in technology technology-based fields.
( Ethnic minority adolescents—–minority groups have been excluded from mainstream opportunities; minority adolescents need career awareness designed specifically for them.
TOTAL TEACHING PACKAGE OUTLINE
CHAPTER 12: ACHIEVEMENT, CAREERS, AND WORK
|HEADING | |RESOURCE |
|I. ACHIEVEMENT | |Learning Goal: 1 |
| | |In-Class Activity: 12.1 |
| | |Critical Thinking Exercise: 12.1 |
| | |Research Article: 12.1 |
| | | |
|The Importance of Achievement in Adolescence | |Essay Question: 1 |
| | | |
|Achievement Processes | |In-Class Activity: 12.2 |
| | |Learning Goal: 1 |
| | | |
|Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation | |Research Project: 12.1 |
| | |Essay Question: 2 |
| | |WWW: Motivation and Achievement; Intrinsic Motivation at |
| | |santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Self-Determination and Personal Choice | |Essay Question: 2 |
| | | |
|Optimal Experiences and Flow | |In-Class Activity: 12.2 |
| | | |
|Attribution | |Learning Objective: 3 |
| | |Essay Question: 2 |
| | |WWW: Attribution; Effort, Expectations, and Motivation at |
| | |santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Mastery Motivation | |Learning Objective: 4 |
| | |Essay Questions: 2, 3 |
| | |Lecture Topic: 1 |
| | |WWW: Mastery Motivation at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Self-Efficacy | |Lecture Topic: 12.1 |
| | |Essay Question: 3 |
| | | |
|Goal Setting, Planning, and Self-Monitoring | |Lecture Topic: 12.1 |
| | |In-Class Activity: 12.1 |
| | |Research Project: 12.2 |
| | |Essay Question: 4 |
| | | |
|Anxiety | |Lecture Topic: 12.3 |
|Expectations | |WWW: Goal-Setting; Anxiety at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Ethnicity and Culture | |Learning Goal: 1 |
| | |Essay Question: 5 |
| | |Critical Thinking Exercise: 12.3 |
| | | |
|Ethnicity | |Careers in Adolescent Development: Jaime Escalante, Secondary School Math|
| | |Teacher |
| | | |
|Culture | |WWW: Harold Stevenson’s Research at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Motivating Low-Achieving Adolescents | |Learning Goal: 1 |
| | |Essay Question: 6 |
| | | |
|Low Achievers with Low Ability | |Research Article: 12.2 |
| | | |
|Adolescents with Failure Syndrome | |Discussion Topic: 12.3 |
| | | |
|Adolescents Motivated to Protect Their Self-Worth by Avoiding | |Short Scenario: 12.1 |
|Failure | | |
| | | |
|III. WORK | |Learning Goal: 2 |
| | |Image Gallery: 157 |
| | |Lecture Topic: 12.1 |
| | |Discussion Topics: 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4 |
| | |Research Article: 12.1 |
| | |Research Project: 12.1 |
| | |Short Scenario: 12.3 |
| | | |
|Sociohistorical Context of Work | |Learning Goal: 2 |
| | | |
|Advantages and Disadvantages of Part-Time Work in Adolescence | |Image Gallery: 140, 170 |
| | |Short Scenario: 12.3 |
| | |Essay Question: 9 |
| | |WWW: The Working Adolescent at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Work Profiles Around the World | |Learning Goal: 2 |
|Working While Going to College | | |
| | | |
|The Transition from School to Work | |Research Article: 12.2 |
| | |Essay Question: 10 |
| | |WWW: Improving School-Work Transitions; National Institute for Work and |
| | |Learning; School-to-Work Transition in Canada; Job Corps at |
| | |santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Work/Career-Based Learning | |Image Gallery: 139, 160, 176 |
|High School | |Lecture Topic: 12.1 |
|College | |Discussion Topic: 12.3 |
| | |WWW: National Center for Research in Vocational Education; Exploring |
| | |Vocational Education; Roosevelt Renaissance 2000; Vocational Training in |
| | |Europe at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|II. CAREER DEVELOPMENT | |Learning Goal: 3 |
| | |Lecture Topic: 12.2 |
| | |Discussion Topics: 12.1, 12.2 |
| | |Critical Thinking Exercise: 12.1 |
| | |Research Project: 12.1, 12.2 |
| | |WWW: ERIC—Adult, Career and Vocational Education; |
| | | |
| | | |
|Theories of Career Development | |Discussion Topic: 12.5 |
| | |Critical Thinking Exercise: 12.2 |
| | |Essay Question: 7 |
| | | |
|Ginzberg’s Developmental Theory | |WWW: Holland’s Personality Types; Journal of Vocational Behavior; Career |
|Super’s Self-Concept Theory | |Development Quarterly; Journal of Counseling Psychology at |
|Holland’s Personality Type Theory | |santrocka10 |
|Criticism of Career Choice Theories | | |
| | | |
|Cognitive Factors | |Image Gallery: 159 |
| | |Discussion Topic: 12.5 |
| | |Careers in Adolescent Development: Grace Leaf, College/Career Counselor |
| | | |
|Social Contexts | |Essay Question: 8 |
| | |WWW: Career Planning; National Career Development Association at |
| | | santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Socioeconomic Status | |Essay Question: 8 |
| | | |
|Parents and Peers | |Essay Question: 8 |
| | |WWW: Occupational Outlook Handbook at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|School Influences | |Lecture Topic: 12.1 |
| | |Essay Question: 8 |
| | | |
|Gender | |Image Gallery: 158 |
| | |Lecture Topic: 12.3 |
| | |Essay Question: 8 |
| | |Through the Eyes of Adolescents: Thinking About Barriers |
| | |WWW: Girls and Careers at santrocka10 |
| | | |
|Ethnic Minority Adolescents | |Critical Thinking Exercise: 12.3 |
| | |Careers in Adolescent Development: Armando Ronquillo, High School |
| | |Counselor/College Advisor |
| | | |
Suggested Lecture Topics
TOPIC 12.1—LIFELONG LEARNING
After adolescents make a choice about career goals, they must begin a series of activities that allows them to have the job and achieve career success. Schaie and Willis (1996) refer to this process as “early professional socialization.” Adolescents and young adults learn how to get along with co-workers, how to get along with managers and bosses, and how to promote their own welfare during the stabilization period. This overview will highlight three key aspects of the promoting personal welfare: choose an employer that respects high personal and professional values, find a mentor to show the way, and make a commitment to lifelong learning.
Workers take and keep jobs for a number of reasons. Galinsky, Bond, and Friedman (1993) asked workers employed within the last 5 five years to rate the important reasons for taking the new position with the new employer. Workers rated the top five reasons as straightforward communication at the workplace, the influence the job had on personal and family life, the responsibilities of the job, the quality of the administration, and attributes of the supervisor. About 35 percent of workers rated salary as a highly important reason for accepting their jobs. In addition to asking appropriate questions during the job interview, potential employees can learn a lot about an employer by investigating staff turnover or profiling characteristics of current employees.
Mentors provide valuable assistance to new workers and to those trying to establish a career. The roles they serve include coaching, protection, providing information, and sponsorship (Whitely & Coetsier, 1993). Coaching helps to develop job competence and interpersonal skills. As protectors, mentors help the new worker avoid pitfalls associated with political forces or difficult co-workers. As sponsors, mentors help their protégé make important contacts to work with influential people or advance to appropriately challenging roles. In each of these roles, mentors provide information that the protégé would not be able to acquire independently. Finding a mentor can be a tricky process, especially for women. Mentoring, however, does have big payoffs including early career advancements, increased satisfaction with work, and overall increased gratification with career.
Lifelong learning reflects the reality of employment expectancies of 40+ years, increased longevity, and job obsolescence. As our society moves from an industrial to an information age, workers will be required to adjust to changing job expectations and changing technology (Naisbitt, 1984). Two important issues to consider are the rate at which available information expands and the speed at which information can be assessed. Technical and scientific information doubles every five years. This fact alone explains the need to continue learning through all available mechanisms in order to continue employment at a competitive level. Those who do not keep up face the threat of decreased levels of employment (and pay) or unemployment.
Employment success depends on identifying good employers, learning from experienced co-workers, and positioning to take advantage of learning opportunities, as they become available. Success depends on flexibility and persistence to achieve and maintain early dreams of a career.
References
Galinsky, E., Bond, J. T., & Friedman, D. E. (1993). The national study of the changing workforce: Highlights. New York: Families and Work Institute.
Naisbitt, J. (1984). Megatrends. New York: Warner Books.
Schaie, K. W., & Willis, S. L. (1996). Adult development and aging (4th ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
Whitely, W. T., & Coetsier, P. (1993). The relationship of career mentoring to early career outcomes. Organization Studies, 14, 419-–441.
Topic 12.2—Mothers and Their Powerful Sons
McCullough has proposed an interesting explanation for the cause of learning to want achievement and power: Mother. McCullough examined the lives of many male leaders and found their mother and her behavior to be a common thread among these men.
( Douglas MacArthur’s mother Pinky accompanied Douglas to West Point. She set up residence in a hotel across the street from campus for his full four-year tenure there.
( Franklin D. Roosevelt’s mother, Sara, moved to Boston while Franklin attended Harvard.
( Frank Lloyd Wright’s mother, Anna, decided before Frank’s birth that he would be an architect. She hung engravings of cathedrals in his nursery.
( The mothers of Presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson taught them to read before he wasthey were five years of age.
In these, and many other cases, McCullough pointed out that these mothers made their sons the center of their lives. McCullough also pointed out that in all cases, the mothers had weak or uninspiring husbands and dominant fathers who provided possible models for their grandsons. McCullough believed that sons became these women’s vehicles to success. McCullough offers insight from Freud: “A man who has been the indisputable favorite of his mother keeps for life the feeling of a conqueror.”
You should point out to your students that these men grew up with only the best education and resources. They were given the opportunities, support, and models to become all that they could. Ask the class to supply additional examples (President Clinton? Newt Gingrich?). Also ask the class to apply the idea to high-achieving women. Finally, be sure to engage the class in a critique of McCullough’s method, and entertain a thorough analysis of the limitations of his proof.
Reference
McCullough, D. (1980, March). Mama’s boys. Psychology Today, pp. 32-–38.
Topic 12.3—The Rise and Fall of Fear of Success
Matina Horner achieved widespread recognition for initiating an investigation of a phenomenon that many believed was a powerful explanation of achievement differences between men and women: fear of success. Horner noted that up until the time of her work, women’s achievement and motivation had been substantially ignored. In her attempt to develop norms on a projective measure for achievement, Horner found that women were much more likely to express motives to avoid success than to achieve it. The work was instantly influential, even though (perhaps predictably), subsequent criticism blunted its long-term impact.
Nevertheless, a lecture on the rise and fall of Horner’s work is a useful way to teach about one way achievement motives are assessed, historical gender biases in the study of achievement motivation, and progress that has been made in comparing male and female achievement motives as a consequence of Horner’s work. A way to begin your lecture could be to introduce one of the incomplete stories that Horner used to measure motivation: “At the end of first-term finals, Anne (John) finds herself (himself) at the top of her (his) medical school class.” Have your students write their own versions of how this story turned out, which they can then compare to Horner’s and others’ findings.
Give examples of Horner’s findings (see the reference below). Sixty-six percent of women’s story completions expressed fear of success in terms of fear of social rejection, worries about womanhood, or denial that the success had actually occurred; only 8 eight percent of males told similar stories about John (presumably, really themselves). Horner argued that such an achievement avoidance complex would go a long way toward explaining why women achieve less than men.
But her work did not go unchallenged. It was flawed, for example, on methodological grounds. Men only wrote stories about a man, women stories about a woman. What would happen if they wrote stories about the opposite sex? Such a manipulation is necessary because subjects’ answers in Horner’s study may not have been true projections of their own motivations, but rather stereotypes about success. For example, if men wrote stories about women similar to women’s stories, there would be an alternative explanation for such stories.
Subsequent work also challenged the claim that men rarely show fear of success themes in their stories. In one case, Lois Hoffman, in a better controlled study at the same university as Horner did her work, found a proportion of fear of success stories among men that was actually larger than for women.
Consult the sources listed below for more details about this work. Also, you can use your students’ answers for an instant comparison to the findings that you have been discussing.
References
Hoffman, L. W. (1974). Fear of success in males and females: 1965 and 1971. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 353-–358;
Horner, M. S. (1969). Fail: Bright women. Psychology Today, 2, 36-–38, 62.)
CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS AND ACTIVITIES
DISCUSSION TOPICS
Discussion 12.1—1998–2008 Employment Projections
Projections for employment over the next decade were released by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in November, 1999. Total employment is projected to increase by 14 percent, slower than the previous 17 percent between 1988–1998. These statistics promote knowledgeable career guidance, education and training programs management, and long-range employment trend analysis.
Projections are provided for industry employment and occupational employment. In the category of industry, service-producing industries will represent almost all growth in jobs. Health services, business services, social services, engineering management, and related services jobs will employ 50 percent of nonfarm workers added to the economy between 1998–2008. Manufacturing will employ slightly fewer workers in spite of increased productivity; currently, manufacturing employs about 13 percent of workers and will decrease to 12 percent by 2008. Construction jobs will increase slightly at about the same rate that manufacturing declines.
Occupational employment projections indicate that professional specialty areas will increase by 5.3 million jobs. It will continue to be the fastest growing area of employment as it was during 1988–1998 period. Service workers are expected to hold an additional 3.9 million jobs. These two areas are expected to represent 45 percent of the total projected job growth over the 1998–2008 period. The ten fastest growing occupations between 1998–2008:
|Occupation | |Percent Increase |
|Computer engineers | |108 |
|Computer support specialists | |102 |
|Systems analysts | |94 |
|Database administrators | |77 |
|Desktop publishing specialists | |73 |
|Paralegals and legal assistants | |62 |
|Personal care and home health aids | |58 |
|Medical assistants | |58 |
|Social and human service assistants | |53 |
|Physician assistants | |48 |
Labor force changes are projected to increase by 12 percent, 2 percent less than the projected increase in total employment. The labor force age 45 to 64 will grow fastest. The labor force 25 to 34 years of age is expected to decline by 2.7 million. Asian and Hispanic labor forces are projected to increase by 40 and 37 percent, respectively due to immigration and birthrate. Black and Caucasian labor forces are expected to increase by 20 and 10 percent, respectively.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1999, November). Monthly Labor Review.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor at
Discussion 12.2—Hottest Jobs
According to Julie Rawe, the 10 hottest jobs of 2000 plus are the following:
1. Tissue Engineers—–Man Man-made human tissue will be used to replace body pieces and parts such as intestine, liver, and heart tissue.
2. Gene Programmers—–Genome maps will be able to be altered digitally, allowing programmers to rewrite genetic code to prevent genetically -based disease.
3. Pharmers—–Farmers will become pharmers as they raise genetically engineered versions of grain and livestock.
4. Frankenfood Monitors—–Any food will be available in ample quantities, but hybrids could create problems with original food sources; who will make sure they don’t gets out of hand?
5. Data Miners—–With the exponential increase in scientific and technical data, these folks people will make sure that the information gets into the right hands.
6. Hot-Line Handymen—–Remote access diagnosticians will be needed for technophobes needing assistance with the home electronics.
7. Virtual-Reality Actors—–The demand for interactive stories will put writers and actors to work creating dramas for audience participation.
8. Narrowcasters—–Advertisers will create messages just for you, enhance sales with olfactory stimulation, and beam messages directly to the brain.
9. Turing Testers—–Are you talking to a person or a machine? Artificial intelligence will be enhanced until consumers won’t be able to tell. (Proposed by Alan Turning in the 1950s)
10. Knowledge Engineers—–Knowledge and expertise will be encapsulated onto software.
Reference
Rawe, J. (2000, May 22). What will be the 10 hottest jobs? Time, 155, 72.
Discussion 12.3—Universal Performance Assessment
Adolescents often take jobs that do not have any apparent relevance to the careers they hope to achieve. The following questions apply to any type of job by inquiring about the acceptability of overall trainee performance and about vocational, social-vocational, and social skills demonstrated on the job. Raters respond to the questions on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (below average workers) to 5 (equal to best workers). Consider these performance questionnaire items:
Performance Questionnaire
( Are you satisfied with the employee’s work?
( How well does the worker complete tasks?
( Does the employee satisfy your performance standards?
The employee:
( Works independently
( Works at job consistently
( Works at expected rate
( Completes acceptable work
( Carries out instructions
( Provides timely information about absence, tardiness, or desired time off
( Provides job-related information to other employees
( Does not disrupt or interrupt others
( Seeks clarification for instructions
( Gets necessary information
( Arrives at work on time
( Anticipates what needs to be done next
( Offers help to co-workers
( Responds appropriately to criticism
( Expresses appreciation to co-workers
( Conversation does not interfere with work
( Apologizes as necessary
( Acknowledges what others are saying
( Uses social amenities
Reference
Curl, R. M., & Hall, S. M. (1990). Put that person to work: A manual for implementers using the co-worker transition model. Logan, UT: Utah State University.
Discussion 12.4—Interest Inventory
An important issue during early adulthood is the beginning of a career or at least a full-time job. Individuals are engaged in training, education, or on-the-job opportunities that are leading them to their first career or job choice. One way to help students understand the tasks that must be completed at this stage is to ask them which occupations they find most appealing, and those that are the least appealing. Each student should list at least three in each category.
After collecting the lists, make arrangements for someone from career development or academic counseling to come in and administer the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory or some other appropriate occupational interest measure. It may take some time to get the results back, so the administration of the survey may need to be done early if you want to use the results as part of a lecture or discussion. Once the results are back, give students their lists of occupational favorites and least favorites back, and have them compare their choices with the choices indicated by the survey. Talk about the similarities, the differences, and any surprises.
If you are unfamiliar with the use of an interest inventory, you may want to invite a career counselor to assist with the interpretation of the results and handle any questions from students.
Reference
Temple, L. L. (1992). Instructor’s course planner to accompany life-span development (4th ed.) by J. W. Santrock. Dubuque: William C. Brown Communications.
In-Class Activities
Activity 12.1—Identifying Personal Life Goals
Have students examine their life goals by doing the following exercise. Spend approximately three minutes on each part to reviewof this exercise. Each student needs four sheets of paper and approximately 20 minutes to complete the exercise.
1. At the top of the first paper write: What are my goals for my life? Answer this question.
2. At the top of the second paper write: What do I want to do for the next three years? Answer this question.
3. At the top of the third paper write: If I had only six months, how would I choose to live my life? Answer this question.
4. Look over your three sets of answers.
5. At the top of the fourth paper write: What are my three most important goals? Answer this question.
What kinds of goals (i.e., personal, career, family, community, social, or spiritual) did you choose? Were the same goals present on all your lists? How would your lists be different if you had done this exercise five years ago?
Reference
Simons, J. A., Irwin, D. B. & Drinnin, B. A. (1987). Instructor’s Manual to accompany Psychology: The search for understanding. St. Paul: West Publishing.
Activity 12.2—Styles of Expressing Achievement
After reading about achievement, you may be able to estimate your own achievement need (nAch) level. The three main styles of expressing achievement (and each of these has three substyles) are the direct style, the instrumental style, and the relational style. In the direct achievement style, individuals confront tasks directly and want to achieve tasks through their own efforts. In the instrumental achievement style, individuals achieve by promoting themselves or others. In the relational achievement style, individuals achieve by contributing to the accomplishments of others (Lipman-Blumen et al., 1983).
Your preferences for different achievement styles developed throughout childhood and adolescence, although they can be modified during the adult years. Gender roles are one significant influence on achievement style preferences. More males are socialized to have a direct achievement style and more females are socialized to have a relational achievement style. Family members, friends, and cultural messages further shape and differentiate your achievement choices.
Rate each of the substyles for how typical they are of your own achievement patterns (adapted from Lipman-Blumen et al., 1983). Use a 0 if the style is very atypical of you, a 1 if you occasionally use the style, a 2 if you believe you are average in this pattern of behavior, and a 3 if you think that you often use the particular style. After rating the substyles, go back and rank the three major styles from 1 (most typical for you) to 3 (least typical for you). The worksheet is also available in “Student Handouts.”
Rank Rate
_____ Direct Style—I am an individual who likes to achieve and accomplish tasks by my own efforts. I confront tasks directly.
_____ Intrinsic Sub-style——I tend to compare myself to some standard of performance excellence. For example,: I am satisfied with A’s and B’s and would like to make the Dean’s list. I like to see “well written” on a paper I have done. I try to do work that meets the high standards set by my boss.
_____ Competitive Sub-style——I tend to express achievement by trying to do better than others do. For example: I like to get grades that are higher than other students in the class. It is as important to win an athletic competition as it is to do well. I like to hear that my ideas are better than others.
_____ Power Sub-style——I like to be in charge of and have control over others in order to accomplish achievement goals. For example: , I would like to organize and lead a study group in order to improve my grades. I would like to be chairperson of a student organization. I would like a career in management or other area in which I am in charge of other personnel.
_____ Instrumental Style——I tend to use others and myself as a way to meet my achievement goals.
_____ Personal Sub-style——I often achieve by making use of my status, influence, reputation, and personal characteristics. For example,: I try to dress for success in order to make a good impression on the people with whom I work. I would like to earn a doctorate degree because I think I would be better able to meet my goals if I could sign Ph.D. after my name. I would like to be on the dean’s list or an officer in state organizations because this would help me achieve more.
_____ Social Sub-style——I tend to use networking to achieve my goals. For example: I plan to join a fraternity or sorority because other members can provide lifelong social and career connections. I think it is important to belong to lots of organizations because you meet people who are able to help you get things accomplished. I try to associate socially with people I admire and with whom I hope to work.
_____ Reliant Sub-style——I tend to achieve by depending on others for direction. For example: , before studying or writing papers I usually ask instructors and classmates what I should do and how I should do it. I think it’s important to get lots of input and feedback from others in order to know how to work on a task correctly. I often get advice on what to do from others rather than deciding goals by myself.
_____ Relational Style——I tend to achieve by contributing to the accomplishments of other persons.
_____ Collaborative Sub-style——I tend to achieve through group effort that includes the sharing of both responsibility and credit. For example: , I prefer classes in which projects are done in small groups with shared responsibilities and a common grade. I would rather co-author a paper than write alone. I like working on issues with a group of peers.
_____ Contributory Sub-style——I tend to play a secondary role of helping others to achieve. For example,: I would be willing to work and financially support a spouse while he or she went to college. I like to offer suggestions in committees, but I would not enjoy being the chairperson of the committee. I would enjoy playing supportive roles in arenas such as politics and charitable organizations.
_____ Vicarious Sub-style——I tend to satisfy my own achievement needs by identifying with the success of other persons who are important to me. For example: I get a lot of school pride when our athletic teams win. I would just as soon help my offspring to accomplish something important as achieve that accomplishment myself. It is very satisfying to see a co-worker have a great success——I feel like I identify with the co-worker’s achievements.
When you are finished with your rankings, evaluate how you feel about your individual pattern. Are you able to work on achievement in ways that are satisfying to you? How would you change school, work, and family situations to better fit your needs? Have you chosen career goals that will enable you to achieve in ways that fit your pattern? What kinds of changes would you like to make in your achievement styles? What kinds of changes have occurred over your life so far? Regardless of your current achievement styles, which sub-style do you wish was your most prominent style? Can you identify achievement styles of your family members? Among your friends? Do you have similar or dissimilar styles to family and friends? How do you think cultural and worldwide influences affect the prominence of different types of achievement styles from generation to generation?
Reference
Lipman-Blumen, J., Handley-Isakin, A. & Leavitt, H. J. (1983). Achieving styles in men and women: A model, an instrument, and some findings. In J. T. Spence (Ed.), Achievement and achievement motives: Psychological and sociological approaches. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Critical Thinking Exercises
Exercise 12.1—Theoretical Foundations of Motivation
There are a variety of approaches to understanding motivation, but in terms of the perspectives outlined in Chapter 2 of Adolescence, one general perspective seems to have generated more theories than any other. Which is it? Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer, and why each of the other answers is not as appropriate.Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why each other answer is not as good.
A. psychoanalytic D. ecological
B. cognitive E. eclectic
C. learning
Exercise 12.2—Explanations of Career Choice
Both Ginzberg and Super have proposed developmental theories of career choice that involve stages of development. Some of their stages appear quite similar. Of the following pairs, which one represents two stages that describe roughly the same step in career choice? Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer, and why each of the other answers is not as appropriate.Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why each other answer is not as good.
A. fantasy: crystallization D. realistic: specification
B. tentative: crystallization E. realistic: implementation
C. tentative: specification
Exercise 12.3—Achievement by Adolescents of Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds
Santrock indicates that research on ethnic minority adolescents’ achievement has been beset by conceptual and methodological problems that make it difficult to distinguish between ethnic differences and socioeconomic differences. Of the following statements that figure in his criticism, which statement represents an assumption that contemporary researchers have challenged, rather than an inference or an observation? Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer, and why each of the other answers is not as appropriate.Circle the letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why each other answer is not as good.
A. The diversity that exists among ethnic minority adolescents is evident in their achievement.
B. The relative impact of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on achievement can be analyzed separately.
C. Ethnic minority individuals who have low achievement should be viewed as different, not deficient.
D. Middle class African African-American children have achievement expectations that are as high as middle class White children’s expectations.
E. A majority of minority students in the United States are in attendance at school districts within the 50 largest nation wide.
Answer Key for Critical Thinking Exercises
Exercise 12.1
A. This is not the best answer. Only one approach, the achievement motivation approach, resembles a psychoanalytic approach, in that it focuses on achievement motivation as a personality construct. But the bases of these approaches are related to a psychoanalytic approach only remotely, if at all.
B. This is the best answer. The majority of the theories seem to have a cognitive basis. Attribution theories are about causes people attribute to their behavior, intrinsic/extrinsic motivational constructs refer to desires to be competent and how they interact with reward, and the mastery/helpless distinction refers again to attributions people make about their ability to succeed.
C. This is not the best answer. Learning concepts appear to play a role in the analysis of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, but other ideas and theories draw on either personality or cognitive constructs.
D. This is not the best answer. The Ethnicity and Culture section involves an analysis of the influence of social systems adolescents inhabit and how the interactions of these systems influence achievement motivation. These explanations clearly are overshadowed by the cognitive approach.
E. This is not the best answer. The main reason for not choosing this alternative is that the cognitive perspective seems to have generated more theories than the others. One could certainly describe the area as eclectic, however.
Exercise 12.2
A. This is not the best answer. Career ideas during the fantasy period have nothing to do with reality, whereas the decisions made during crystallization increasingly are accurate assessments of personal attributes related to a career self-concept.
B. This is not the best answer. One reason is that the tentative period begins earlier. Another reason is that there is less focus on actual career choices in the tentative stage as compared to the crystallization stage.
C. This is not the best answer. The reasons are stronger versions of the reasons given for rejecting (B).
D. This is the best answer. First, these stages occur at about the same time. More importantly, they are most similar because they both involve narrowing career choices to fit an increasingly firm and specific sense of a match between one’s interests, skills, values, and a specific career.
E. This is not the best answer. Again, one reason is that these stages are said to occur at different times. More importantly, the realistic period includes a period of narrowing choices and preparing for a career, whereas implementation is the time when adolescents (or young adults) begin working at a specific job.
Exercise 12.3
A. This is not the best answer. This is an inference supported by an example of diversity within the Asian American student population. Many students have strong academic performance while whereas others demonstrate lower levels of achievement and motivation.
B. This is the best answer. This is an assumption. Graham’s research is cited as showing stronger differences in the impact of socioeconomic status than ethnicity, but does not suggest that the two factors do not overlap. Most researchers agree that socioeconomic status is usually confounded with ethnicity in studies of ethnic minorities.
C. This is not the best answer. This is an inference, based on the idea that low achievement expectations mean the same thing in ethnic minority youth as they mean in White majority youth.
D. This is not the best answer. This is an observation that was measured in the work by Sandra Graham.
E. This is not the best answer. This is an observation based on the information in the chapter that over 33 percent of African Americans and 33 percent of Latinos attended school in the 47 largest school districts in the United States.
Short Scenarios
Scenario 12.1
Lanny dislikes the group projects more than anything else about the class requirements. Take this group he is involved with on this oneproject—four people with four completely different types of motivation. The one guy, Paul, has said he doesn’t really care about the amount of time it takes, he is enthusiastic, and he wants to be sure the research project is done right. (Come on Paul—get a life!) Then there’s Vivian who has said for about the tenth time that she doesn’t know anything about doing interviews or how to figure out reliability. (She’ll be a lot of help!) Harriet is very confident that they will find just the subjects they need and has made some good suggestions for dividing up the work (There is hope!) All Lanny cares about is getting it done in a reasonable amount of time and getting an “A” on the project. He has to have all A’s this semester to get the 3.75 GPA he needs to bag an acceptance to graduate school.
( Lanny is not demonstrating a great deal of flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity, or appreciation for the diversity of the group members or their potential contributions.
( Paul is demonstrating a mastery orientation by showing concern for excellent performance, and displaying a positive affect.
( Vivian is demonstrating a helpless orientation. In order to help her be successful, someone in the group will need to break down the project into small steps, identify pieces she is comfortable doing independently, and encourage her efforts.
( Harriet has a mastery orientation, and demonstrates a high level of self-efficacy.
( Lanny is demonstrating a performance orientation, very concerned with reaching a positive outcome, but not interested in the process.
( Lanny is demonstrating a level of anxiety that may be due to concerns about achieving the desired outcome under the conditions of working in this group. This may be an unreasonable fear, however, since there are three other group members who want to succeed.
( Lanny may be exhibiting a maladaptive failure-avoiding strategy, nonperformance, as an excuse for his lack of skill at participating in group activities.
Scenario 12.2
Michelle remembers when she believed she could do anything——she even considered buying her own fishing boat and living on the ocean. Then she volunteered to help in a local campaign and realized that it was exciting to work with a lot of people who have a similar passion. She also visited New York on her high school senior trip and decided that she likes the fast pace of the city. Taking cabs instead of driving, living in the city instead of the suburbs, and dressing for concerts instead of hanging out at the bars fit who she is. As a business major in college, she met a few people who shared her enthusiasm for corporate America and discovered that lots of people make it work. She has just gotten a job with a major technology company. After a couple of years of work in the real world, she may decide to go to law school. She wonders how far up the corporate ladder she can go or whether she will be partner at a large firm. Either one would give her the excitement in her life that she desperately requires to feel alive!
( Michelle’s belief that she could do anything is an example of Ginzberg’s fantasy stage.
( Michelle changed her perspective about her employment interests from the solitary life on the ocean to a commitment as a campaign team member (a possible continuation of the fantasy stage).
( As Michelle worked on the campaign, she realized that she enjoyed being with a group of people who were similarly committed to a project or goal, i.e., the tentative stage according to Ginzberg or the crystalization stage according to Super.
( Her exposure to New York helped Michelle move closer to the decision that she wanted to work as part of a larger group.
( Michelle attended college with a major in business to get closer to her goal of living in the city and working at a large corporation—Super’s specification stage.
( Entering the job market is an example of Super’s implementation stage.
( According to Holland’s theory, Michelle demonstrates an enterprising personality type. Politics and management are two positions that are exemplary of this type of personality.
Scenario 12.3
Jeannie celebrated her birthday a little early this year and bought a new outfit for her birthday dinner. Usually this approach worked out fine, but this year everyone gave her presents instead of money. She wasn’t planning on working through the winter, but now she is working at a clothing store. Her first summer job was at a fast food restaurant. She made quite a bit of money, but it wasn’t very glamorous. Last summer she worked for a garden center and lawn service. She loved the work, but was exhausted most of the time. The retail job should work out better now that she is back in school. Having a job has allowed Jeannie to make her own choices about clothes and entertainment, but these positions certainly aren’t things she would do long term. After finishing college, she wants to be able to set her own hours and be flexible enough to have children and a career. Her mom was a teacher so family schedules worked together. Her dad worked for a business that required him to be there all of the time. She really liked working with the landscape architects when she worked for the lawn service——maybe landscape architecture work or horticulture. She will talk to one of the architects she met last summer to learn more about it.
( Jeannie is working at a retail job, as do 20 percent of working adolescents.
( Her first job was as a fast food worker, typical of 17 percent of adolescents; McDonald’s is the single largest employer of teenagers.
( As an unskilled laborer with the lawn service, she represented 10 percent of working adolescents.
( The benefits of the job are that it gives her autonomy from her parents in making clothing purchases and choosing to join her friends for expensive entertainment more frequently than when she depended on spending money from her parents.
( Jeannie has the goal of completing college (90 percent of adolescents have a similar goal) and having a flexible professional career.
( Jeannie is assessing the expectations and limitations of the careers her parents chose.
( Her exposure with the lawn service gave her an opportunity to learn about landscaping as a profession.
( Jeannie recognizes that more experience with the landscape architect may be helpful in making a career choice.
CURRENT RESEARCH ARTICLES
ARTICLE 12.1—ADOLESCENT VIEWS OF WORK AND LEISURE
Youths begin to consider choices for future roles during their adolescence. Sundberg and Tyler (1970) identified differences between adolescents in the Netherlands and the U.S.nited States that reflected ideas about future roles in employment and leisure. Twenty-five years later, both countries have undergone major changes in the roles of men and women, with marked decreases in birth rate and increased participation by women of all ages in the work force. The current investigation was designed to replicate the Sundberg and Tyler study in the United States U.S. and the Netherlands to determine the effects of societal change on 14- and 15-year-olds awareness of employment and leisure opportunities and preferences.
Participants included 522 adolescents; 14- and 15-year-olds from three schools in the Netherlands and two Midwestern U.S. Schools. Students were enrolled in three educational tracks that reflected honors, remedial, and regular students. About half of the students in from both countries were in college preparatory classes. The current sample was matched to the original 1970 published Dutch and U.S. samples on age, sex, and educational level.
Two measures were used to assess participants’ awareness and preferences for work and leisure activities. First, participants were asked to list all of the occupations that they could think of and to place a check mark by those that they believed to be appropriate for themselves. The same procedure was followed for leisure activities. Second, participants were randomly assigned to draw a picture of a man or a woman engaging in an activity and to write an explanation on the picture. Stiles, Gibbons, and Schnellmann’s (1988) guidelines were used for scoring representations of work, leisure, helping others, sexual emphasis, and gender role stereotyping. Comments on the drawings were scored for mentioning, appearance, money, achievement, personal qualities, and reflections of feminine or masculine.
The 1993 results were strikingly different from those reported in the 1970 study. In the current study, adolescents in the Netherlands listed more occupations than were listed by adolescents in the United States U.S. Girls listed more occupations than boys; boys identified more occupations as possibilities than did girls. More leisure activities were listed by adolescents in the Netherlands than by those in the United StatesU.S., and by more girls than boys. Girls in the Netherlands listed the greatest number of leisure activities and identified the greatest number as possible for themselves.
Drawings of the ideal person at work or taking part in leisure activities showed that significantly more U.S. than Dutch adolescents, and significantly more girls than boys, drew the ideal person at work. U.S. adolescents drew gender role stereotypes significantly more often than did Dutch adolescents. More U.S. than Dutch adolescents drew the person helping someone. U.S. adolescents depicted achievement and success more often than did Dutch adolescents. Dutch adolescents were more likely to comment about the physical characteristics of the person. Adolescents from the Netherlands described internal qualities of the ideal person more often; feminine inner qualities were listed by Dutch adolescents more often than by U.S. adolescents.
The results during the 1970 study indicated that U.S. adolescents were oriented toward leisure tasks more than Dutch adolescents. During the past 25 years, the cultural trend in the Netherlands has been that work is becoming less important and private lives more important than in the past. Currently, Dutch adolescents indicated that they associate adulthood with work, dullness, and stagnation. In the United States U.S. currently, adolescents drew pictures of the ideal person working, indicating a belief that work is associated with success, money, and “the good life.” Materialism was depicted by cars and clothes, success by jobs and families, and other depictions indicated that the ideal person “has it all.” Female adolescents in the United States U.S. clearly showed women in dual roles with 48 girls showing women at work compared to 6 girls in the Netherlands where new patterns have not yet emerged. In both countries, males depicted women as sex objects. The U.S. adolescents reflected a masculine image of the country as one that emphasizes ambition, earnings, and greater gender role differentiation. Dutch adolescents were more likely to mention inner qualities of caring and kindness. In general, U.S. adolescents appear to glamorize work while whereas Dutch adolescents place a high value on quality of life.
Reference
Stiles, D. A.; Gibbons, J. L., & Peters, E. (1993). Adolescents’ views of work and leisure in The Netherlands and the United States. Adolescence, 28, 473-–489.
Article 12.2—Work Access in Traumatic Brain Injury
Work access and work return remain challenging issues for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Individuals with TBI represent some of the most difficult cases in rehabilitation. At two years post injury, fewer than 40 percent of those with severe injuries (Glasgow Coma Scale 8 and below) return to work, 67 percent of those with moderate injuries (Glasgow Coma Scale 9 to 12), and 80 percent of those with mild injuries (Glasgow Coma Scale 13 to 15). Controversy over standardized treatment and outcome measures make it difficult to determine comparability in outcome. Some analyses can be made, however, of treatment approaches relative to the impact of TBI on work return and easier versus harder to place individuals within the program. The successful application of job placement strategies to individuals with traumatic brain injury suggests their suitability for application to any difficult to place client requiring rehabilitation services.
Individuals with TBI require individualized assessment and intervention strategies; no single model has shown to be effective across all clients with TBI. Before placement begins, a thorough assessment should include neuropsychological assessment, specific work goal information, financial status, and emotional-interpersonal functioning. Neuropsychological assessments determine the individual’s relative strengths and weaknesses through formal assessment and criterion criterion-based job tryouts. Specific work variables to consider include the individual’s work goals, job complexity, the client’s time on the job prior to injury, and the receptivity of the employer to establishing a mentoring relationship. Financial status refers to the requirement for careful evaluation of the client’s ability to benefit from employment versus the loss of Social Security and other subsidies necessary to support themselves and dependents following TBI. Provided client and rehabilitation counselor affirm the decision to begin job placement and training, several placement models have been investigated to determine their applicability to individuals with mild, moderate, or severe brain injury.
( Job Tryout Prior to Model Choice–—A job tryout gives individuals with TBI and rehabilitation counselors an opportunity to determine the appropriateness of an employment choice and the level of support required by the individual.
( Model 1: Office-Based Advisement and Counseling—–Individuals with mild to moderate injuries can benefit from a traditional vocational guidance model that assistance assists with the job search through instruction in using job seeking clubs, automated job lines, resumeé preparation, and interview skills.
( Model 2: Selective Placement by the Agency—–The rehabilitation agency staff member provides a brokering type service in which the counselor finds the job, contracts for additional on-the-job training if necessary, arranges for co-worker mentoring, and arranges accommodations for work-related impairment.
( Model 3: Agency-Generated Job Site Support—–The rehabilitation agency identifies a community member who can assist in job training as a paid mentor, contracts with the employer for a job sharing arrangement, or arranges for a job coach.
( Model 4: Natural Support in the Workplace—–Co-workers are prepared to provide job training and implement maintenance strategies with individuals requiring moderate to high levels of support initially, but are likely to be able to maintain the job with intermittent co-worker support.
A review of 51 clients showed that with increasing cognitive impairment on intelligence and neuropsychological testing, increasing levels of guidance, employment brokerage, and on-the-job support in the form of the co-worker as trainer were required. The need for co-worker as trainer support also reflected the level of employment to which the individual with TBI was trying to return (architect, computer database manager, or building remodel co-owner). The summary does not support a conclusion that any one approach is better than another, but that diversity in approaches allows individuals with TBI to receive the individualized rehabilitation package that fit their requirements.
Reference
Fraser, R. T.; Cook, R.; Clemmons, D. C., & Curl, R. M. (1997). Work access in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: A perspective for the physiatrist and rehabilitation team. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 8, 371-–387.
STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
RESEARCH PROJECT 12.1—COMPARING CAREER SEQUENCES
Objective. Students will identify differences in motivation, strategies of career development, and social contexts that have influenced individuals’ current positions and preferences in employment.
Length/Type of Activity. outOut-of-class activity; variable.
Directions.Instructions. Identify one or more individuals for each of the cohort groups representing individuals aged 20 to 25 years, 30 to 35 years, 40 to 45 years, and 50 to 55 years of age. (Spaces in age help guarantee that differences in patterns will be identified across cohorts.) Create a questionnaire that can be administered in a paper-and-pencil format or by personal interview. Questions may be generated to respond to your specific interests or to issues currently of interest in the employment research literature. Focus on at least some of the questions toward major sections in the chapter. Here are a few examples:
1. When you were in high school, what jobs or careers did you think about pursuing?
2. What influenced those choices? (check all that apply)
( financial ability ( past educational experience
( family circumstances ( educational opportunities
( parents ( gender
( peers ( ethnicity
3. What educational experience did you have to begin working at each of the jobs you have had?
4. Has/Have your employer(s) paid for subsequent educational preparation?
5. What influenced you to stay at or leave each of the jobs?
6. How many hours per week do you typically work?
7. Are you part of the management at your business? If yes, what level of management describes your position?
8. What are your favorite three leisure activities?
How often do you engage in these activities?
9. What would you have done differently if you had all options available to you?
10. When do you intend to retire? What will you do (work/leisure) during retirement?
Analysis. What do the responses to your questionnaire suggest?
1. Did subjects follow jobs or careers identified during high school?
2. What were the major influences for individual’s career choices?
3. Were outcome differences characterized within cohort groups?
4. Did you identify distinct patterns in educational or career development between the cohorts?
5. Did you identify patterns reflective of the age of the respondent?
Wrap-Up. Write a 5five-page technical paper to explain the research project and be prepared to give an oral report in class.
Research Project 12.2—Identifying Occupations
Objective: . Students will understand the diversity of occupations available to individuals who have not completed high school, and those who have completed high school, college, and advanced programs.
Type/Length of Activity: . Internet search; 1 to 2 hours.
Directions: . Individuals, states, and the federal government have an interest in getting and keeping people employed. As a result, a great deal of information about occupations and related topics is available on the World Wide Web. Compile information on the following topics using at least two search engines.
1. Occupational clusters and job titles
2. Assessment inventories for interest and abilities
3. Career options based on interest
4. Preparation, qualifications, and licensure requirements for specific careers
5. Employer types (public, private, or self-employed) for specific careers
6. Likelihood of job obsolescence for specific careers
7. Typical salary ranges for specific careers
8. Identify the fastest growing occupations
9. Identify employment projections for the future
10. The best sites to help people investigate job options
Wrap-Up: . How many occupations were identified? How many and what types of jobs were available to individuals with and without high school, college, and advanced-program degrees? How many occupations were unfamiliar? Were qualifications higher or lower than expected? Are final career decisions likely to be based on (a) the amount of money one will earn or (b) the opportunity to make a contribution to society?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
REVIEW THE GUIDELINES FOR “ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS” BEFORE STUDENTS RESPOND TO THESE QUESTIONS.
1. Explain why adolescence is a critical juncture in achievement. Indicate circumstances and experiences that can promote or inhibit a commitment to achievement at this time in life.
2. Compare and contrast any two approaches to understanding motivation. How are these approaches used to understand achievement among adolescents?
3. What are mastery, helpless, and performance orientations? How do they relate to intrinsic motivation, attribution, and self-efficacy?
4. How do goals influence adolescent achievement and what types of goals should they set?
5. What do studies of ethnic minorities in the United States and adolescents in other cultures suggest about cultural influences on achievement motivation?
6. List three groups of hard-to-motivate students likely to be identified in high school classes and describe characteristic patterns of behavior they demonstrate.
7. Compare and contrast any two theories of career development; explain how these theories would be applied to counsel adolescents about careers.
8. How do social contexts of socioeconomic status, parental and peer standards, schools, and gender influence adolescent career choice?
9. What were the research results that influenced educators to question the value of adolescent employment?
10. List and describe the William T. Grant Foundation Commission recommendations for facilitating adolescents’ transition from school to work.
Additional References
Albom, M. (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie. An old man, a young man and life’s greatest lesson. New York: Bantom.
Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. New York: The Free Press.
Elkind, D. (2001). The hurried child: Growing up too fast too soon. New York: Perseus Publishing.
VIDEO
BALANCING WORK AND SCHOOL (VAD)
Overview
About 80 percent of U.S. undergraduate students work while they are in college. Most of these working students identify themselves as primarily students, but a substantial minority identify themselves as workers who take college classes. Working, at least part-time, is a necessity for many students who need to support themselves, especially if they also have a spouse and children. But working can restrict students’ opportunities to learn and negatively influence grades. One recent national study found that as the number of hours worked per week increased, grades suffered and the number of classes, class choice, and library access became more limited. Other research has found that as the number of hours college students work increases, the more likely they are to drop out of college. Thus, college students need to carefully examine the number of hours they work and the extent the work is having a negative impact on their college success. For many students, the alternative to work is borrowing to pay for education. Borrowing can leave students with considerable debt, but working long hours reduces the amount of time students have for studying and can decrease the likelihood that these students will complete their college degree.
In this segment, 21-year-old Joel and his wife, Andrea, also 21, discuss how they balance work, school, and parenting. They have one child and are expecting a second one.
Pre-Test
1. According to the information in your textbook, most of the college students who work are
a. men.
Incorrect. The profile of the working student is not characterized by gender.
b. women.
Incorrect. The profile of the working student is not characterized by gender.
c. principally students; their focus is on college with their identity as workers being secondary.
Correct. The majority identify themselves as primarily students.
d. professionals with full-time jobs who take college courses.
Incorrect. This is a substantial minority of working college students.
Post-Test
1. Given Joel’s and Andrea’s description of their daily schedules, and given what your textbook tells you about the importance of a college education and the effects of working on college student success, which of the following would you advise them to do?
a. Consider taking out substantial student loans so that they can work fewer hours.
Correct. Incurring debt is burdensome, but it is likely to pay off in the long run.
b. Drop out of school and return when their children are in middle school or high school.
Incorrect. Young parents who postpone their education usually do not catch up financially to those who completed their education at a young age.
c. Continue doing just what they are doing.
Incorrect. Balancing work, school, and child care on such a full schedule is unlikely to lead to long-term success and satisfaction.
d. Drop out of school every other semester to work full-time, then return to school the following semester, then drop out again, etc.
Incorrect. This pattern is unlikely to result in student success and satisfaction.
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