Have Adolescents Become Too Ambitious? High School Seniors' Educational and Occupational Plans, 1976 to 2000

Reynolds, John R.; Stewart, Michael; Macdonald, Ryan; Sischo, Lacey

doi:10.1525/sp.2006.53.2.186

Cited by 257 publications

(269 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Apart from supporting that occupational aspirations are important to achieve, this study can not determine whether Furlong and Cartmels proposals are correct or not. Little empirical research have been conducted on this subject, but some studies have found that today's youths have higher and more unrealistic aspirations than those 20 to 25 years earlier [32,33], supporting Furlong and Cartmel's suggestions.…”

Section: Implications For Occupational Aspirationsmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Socioeconomic status, achieving occupational aspirations and sickness absence: A population based longitudinal study of Norwegian youths

Gjerustad¹,

Soest²

2011

Nor J Epidemiol

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This paper examines whether the degree of convergence between occupational aspirations and actual occupational achievement can elucidate the relationship between socioeconomic status and sickness absence. The analyses draw on survey data from a longitudinal study following 1,552 respondents from adolescence through young adulthood linked to register data on sickness absence. Occupational aspirations in adolescence were contrasted with actual occupational achievement in young adulthood and used to predict sickness absence. In accordance with existing research, socioeconomic status significantly predicted sickness absence, even after controlling for several relevant variables. Including aspiration achievement in the analysis reduced the relationship between socioeconomic status and sickness absence, while aspiration achievement was significantly related to sickness absence. The findings indicate that aspiration achievement mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and sickness absence.

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Section: Implications For Occupational Aspirationsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…This situation could pressure young people into setting ambitious goals. Furlong and Cartmel's suggestion is supported by empirical findings that youths in the year 2000 had higher and more unrealistic aspirations than those 20 to 25 years earlier [32,33].…”

Section: Occupational Aspirations and Aspiration Achievementmentioning

confidence: 94%

Socioeconomic status, achieving occupational aspirations and sickness absence: A population based longitudinal study of Norwegian youths

Gjerustad¹,

Soest²

2011

Nor J Epidemiol

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“…However, their high school graduation rates have not followed suit, especially among disadvantaged youth (for whom dropout remains common; Heckman & LaFontaine, 2010). Because of this disconnect, aspirations are not as good a predictor of educational attainment as they were a few decades ago (Reynolds, Stewart, Macdonald, & Sischo, 2006).…”

Section: Geographical Context: Larger Urban/rural Dynamics Concentramentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressors and Turning Points in High School and Dropout

Dupéré

Leventhal

Dion

et al. 2015

Review of Educational Research

138

103

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High school dropout is commonly seen as the result of a long-term process of failure and disengagement. As useful as it is, this view has obscured the heterogeneity of pathways leading to dropout. Research suggests, for instance, that some students leave school not as a result of protracted difficulties but in response to situations that emerge late in their schooling careers, such as health problems or severe peer victimization. Conversely, others with a history of early difficulties persevere when their circumstances improve during high school. Thus, an adequate understanding of why and when students drop out requires a consideration of both long-term vulnerabilities and proximal disruptive events and contingencies. The goal of this review is to integrate long-term and immediate determinants of dropout by proposing a stress process, life course model of dropout. This model is also helpful for understanding how the determinants of dropout vary across socioeconomic conditions and geographical and historical contexts. There have been repeated calls in the scientific literature to consider high school dropout not as an event but as a process (see Christenson & Thurlow, 2004;Rumberger, 2011). In this view, dropout is the endpoint of a long trajectory of disengagement starting as soon as, and even before, children enter school. This long-term approach has led to breakthroughs in our understanding of the roots of dropout. Longitudinal studies spanning the first two decades of life have illuminated the role that early family circumstances and school experiences play in putting some children on a high-risk trajectory for dropout (e. Beechum, 2014). Understanding the causes of dropout among students who do not follow a clearly identified pathway out of school is necessary to tailor interventions to their needs (Feinstein & Peck, 2008). Among these dropouts, precipitating factors (i.e., situations emerging for high school students not long before the decision to dropout is made) could play an important role (e.g., see Bowers & Sprott, 2012b; America's Promise Alliance, 2014).In addition, even among students already considered at risk when they enter high school, there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of timing and outcomes, with some leaving school later than others and others unexpectedly graduating (Bowers, Sprott, & Taff, 2013;Vitaro, Larocque, Janosz, & Tremblay, 2001). This heterogeneity could be determined in part by circumstances emerging late in students' schooling careers. In fact, improved circumstances in adolescence can close wide achievement gaps established during the elementary school years (Dobbie & Fryer, 2011). Conversely, peak vulnerability could arise when early failure intersects with challenging circumstances in high school, such as when students are under important stress or are offered new opportunities incompatible with schooling (e.g., a full-time job). Attention to such precipitating factors among students following a recognizable long-term problematic path could contribute to a ...

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“…This was not due to actual improvements in performance, as standardized test scores were either unchanged or down, as was time spent studying. More recent generations also have markedly higher expectations for future educational and professional attainments even though the actual attainment of these goals has not changed (Reynolds, Stewart, MacDonald, & Sischo, 2006). For example, nearly 60% of 2010 high school students expect to attain a graduate or professional degree-twice as many as in 1976.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evidence for Generation Me and Against Generation We

2013

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According to the empirical evidence, today's emerging adults (Millennials/GenY, born after 1980) are more Generation Me than Generation We when compared to previous generations. Five data sets show a generational increase in narcissism, including one that demonstrates significant increases when a confound is controlled. College and child samples increase in self-esteem over the generations. Some high school samples show no change, though high school students increasingly embrace other overly positive self-views. In nationally representative samples of high school and college students, values have shifted toward extrinsic (money, fame, and image) concerns and away from intrinsic (community, affiliation) concerns. These trends have mostly negative consequences, such as lower empathy, less concern for others, and less civic engagement (e.g., interest in social issues, government, and politics). Parents and teachers should focus on teaching children and adolescents the values of hard work and consideration for others instead of an inflated sense of self.

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Have Adolescents Become Too Ambitious? High School Seniors' Educational and Occupational Plans, 1976 to 2000

Cited by 257 publications

References 5 publications

Socioeconomic status, achieving occupational aspirations and sickness absence: A population based longitudinal study of Norwegian youths

Socioeconomic status, achieving occupational aspirations and sickness absence: A population based longitudinal study of Norwegian youths

Stressors and Turning Points in High School and Dropout

The Evidence for Generation Me and Against Generation We

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