High school students’ career decision-making process: Consequences for choice implementation in higher education

This study investigated consequences of high school students’ career decision-making process for choice implementation in higher education. A sample of adolescents participated at the end of Grade 12 and was followed during the first and second year in higher education. Linear and logistic regression analyses revealed that students’ coping with career decisional tasks at the end of Grade 12 significantly contributed to the several aspects of early choice implementation (i.e., choice actualization, academic adjustment, commitment to the chosen study) during the first trimester in higher education. The importance of these aspects of early choice implementation is demonstrated through their relationship with academic achievement during the first year in higher education.     

The role of career adaptability resources in dual career pathways: A person-oriented longitudinal study across elite sports upper secondary school

ObjectivesObtaining education is an important milestone in athletes’ preparation for their professional career after sport. Literature indicates that combining school and sport is not an easy task for many aspiring youth athletes. It has been proposed that career adaptability, which refers to psychosocial resources enabling individuals to solve complex occupational transitions, present and anticipated vocational development tasks, and career related challenges could be a relevant concept for applied work with student-athletes. In this study, we examined whether there are distinct developmental profiles of career adaptability among adolescent athletes across the upper secondary school years. We also investigated the associations between career adaptability and sport withdrawal and academic achievement.Design and methodsA total of 391 Finnish-speaking student-athletes completed the questionnaire on career adaptability (Career Adapt-Abilities Scale – Dual Career Form; Ryba & Aunola, 2015; Ryba et al., 2017) at the beginning and end of upper secondary school. The participants’ background information about their sport participation and grade point average were collected upon completion of each grade of upper secondary school. The data were analysed using cluster analysis, cross-tabulation, and one-way analysis of variance.ResultsFour distinct adaptability profiles were identified: higher adaptability, lower adaptability, increasing adaptability, and decreasing adaptability. Higher and lower adaptability profiles showed stable levels of adaptability across time, whereas the adaptability level either increased or decreased in the other two profiles. Student-athletes with a lower career adaptability profile were overrepresented among those who withdrew from competitive sports, and they reported lower grade point averages than those with higher scores of career adaptability.ConclusionsHigh scores of career adaptability were associated with high grades, whereas low scores of career adaptability were associated with low grades and a probability to withdraw from competitive sport. Therefore, it is recommended that career adaptability be considered as important self-regulation resources for sustaining dual career pathways over time.     

Social strategies during university studies predict early career work burnout and engagement: 18-year longitudinal study

This longitudinal study spanning 18 years examined the role of social strategies in early career adaptation. The aim was to find out whether individuals' social strategies measured during their university studies had an impact on work burnout and work engagement measured 10–18 years later. A sample of 292 university students completed the SAQ questionnaire three times while at university and the work burnout inventory three times and the work engagement inventory twice during their early career. According to the results, the higher the initial level of social optimism and the more it increased during university studies, and the lower the initial levels of social withdrawal and social handicapping and the more they decreased, the lower was the level of work burnout and the higher the level of work engagement in the early career. The effects of the level of social strategies were stronger on the professional efficacy subscale of burnout.     

Calling, vocational development, and well being: A longitudinal study of medical students

The present study investigated the relation of calling to the vocational development and well-being of a sample of medical students. Students were surveyed at two time points: prior to beginning the first year of medical school and prior to beginning the third year of medical school. At each time point, calling moderately correlated with positive vocational development and life meaning. At Time 2, participants had higher levels of vocational development relative to Time 1 and lower levels of calling and life satisfaction relative to Time 1. Calling at Time 1 did not significantly predict vocational development or life meaning at Time 2. However, vocational development and life meaning at Time 1 each significantly predicted calling at Time 2. Students who were able to view their lives as more meaningful and advanced in their vocational development over time also endorsed higher levels of a career calling. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Relations between children’s metamemory and strategic performance: Time-varying covariates in early elementary school

Although much is known about the development of memory strategies and metamemory during childhood, evidence for linkages between these memory skills, either concurrently or over time, has been limited. Drawing from a longitudinal investigation of the development of memory, repeated assessments of children’s (N = 107) strategy use and declarative metamemory were made to examine the development of these skills and the relations between them over time. Latent curve models were used first to estimate the trajectories of children’s strategy use and metamemory and then to examine predictors of children’s performance in each of these domains. Children’s metamemory at the beginning of Grade 1 was linked to child- and home-level factors, whereas the development of both skills was related to maternal education level. Additional modeling of the longitudinal relations between strategic sorting and metacognitive knowledge indicated that metamemory at earlier time points was predictive of subsequent strategy use.     

Exploring the route choice decision-making process: A comparison of planned and observed routes obtained using person-based GPS

Trip decisions are complex and involve choosing the activity destination, mode and subsequently the route for travel. This paper presents detailed information on the planned and observed route choices for the home-to-work commute. Specifically, the study examines how people formulate their route plans and describe their attitudes and preferences for their selected routes. A geographic information system (GIS) records the planned route information with the route planning sequence. Observing route choice is a difficult procedure; however, through the use of the global positioning system (GPS), one can accurately record route choice. An automated activity–trip detection algorithm processes GPS data and displays results within an internet-based prompted recall diary. The diary is used to verify trip start and end times. This combination of GPS, GIS and diary responses provides great insight into the route choice decision-making process. Thirty-one individuals from Ontario, Canada participated in answering survey questions and the collection of person-based GPS data. Results indicate a preference to minimize travel time as stated by participants in deciding what route to travel. Participants also affirmed a desire to minimize the number of stop lights/signs, as well as, avoid congestion and maximize route directness. A comparison between planned and observed routes, reveals about one-fifth of participants deviated from their planned route. This study demonstrates the need for qualitative and quantitative survey methods for exploring planned and observed route choice.     

中学生自我评价水平的发展及其与学业成绩之间的关系

目的：考察中学生自我评价的发展及其与学业成绩的关系。方法：使用About me问卷与长处和困难问卷（SDQ）来调查中学生的自我评价水平,选取语文、数学英语和总成绩作为学业成绩的指标,对自我评价和学业成绩进行了相关和回归分析。结果：（1）初中生的学业自我评价要好于高中生;（2）中学生自我评价的学业努力程度和学业能力与学业成绩间存在正相关,尤其是自我评价的学业能力对各种学业成绩的正向预测作用都较大。长处和困难方面只有总分对数学成绩的负向预测作用较大。结论：不同年级学生在自我评价的不同方面表现出不同特征,初二年级在学业自我评价和长处困难上的得分都较高;学业自我评价对学业成绩的预测作用较明显,本研究中发现对困难方面的自我评价与学业成绩间的关系较弱,但困难总分对于数学成绩有一定的负向预测作用。     

Developmental trajectories and reciprocal associations between career adaptability and vocational identity: A three-wave longitudinal study with adolescents

The purpose of this longitudinal study was two-fold. First, we investigated patterns of stability and change in career adaptability and vocational identity in adolescents. Second, we examined reciprocal associations between career adaptability and vocational identity. In addressing both research aims we tested the moderating effects of gender, school-type, and age. Participants were 1151 (58.7% female) adolescents. They filled in measures that appraised career adapt-abilities and vocational identity processes three times during a school year. Latent growth curve analyses highlighted slight longitudinal decreases in career concern, control, and confidence especially in boys, vocational school students, and middle-to-late adolescents. Also, over time boys and students attending vocational schools reported less in-depth occupational exploration, less identification with present vocational commitments, and more flexibility and self-doubt about their careers. Findings of cross-lagged path analyses highlighted reciprocal associations between career adaptability and vocational identity. Career adaptability positively predicted adolescents' ways of dealing with vocational exploration and commitment. Vocational commitment and reconsideration of commitment predicted career adapt-abilities in time. These results indicate that career adaptability and vocational identity are dynamic and interrelated dimensions of adolescent career development. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Beliefs underlying modal choice in school trips: A case study in Brazil

Various factors can influence the choice of transportation mode such as the urban layout, land use and occupation patterns, and the services offer. In recent years, however, research studies have investigated the influence of psychological aspects on personal decision-making associated to modal choice, thereby contributing towards the elaboration of more sustainable public policies. This study investigates the beliefs that are subjacent to modal choices regarding school commute trips, based on the opinions of students attending a senior high school institution in Brasilia, Brazil. Using procedures suggested by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) a set of beliefs was obtained by means of a focus group activity and used to support the elaboration of a School Trips Modal Choice Scale (STMCS). The scale was subjected to Principal Components Analysis to verify the consistency of factors related to the beliefs and the direct measurements of the TPB constructs. Following that Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were elaborated using the Quasi-likelihood estimation method to investigate the correlation between the beliefs obtained and the said constructs. In addition to identifying the principal beliefs related to the modal choice, the results showed that different TPB constructs can be correlated with the same belief and so attributing specific beliefs to each construct based on an initial intuitive classification can actually be an impediment to understanding them. Those findings regarding the beliefs identified as subjacent to each construct are specific for the school community that was studied. However the question of some beliefs significantly affecting more than one construct is a more generalizable and corroborates what has previously been verified in other contexts where TPB has been applied.     

Development of occupational aspiration prestige: A piecewise latent growth model of selected influences

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) data sets, the complex phenomenon of intra-individual and inter-individual differences in and the potential predictors of those differences on career aspirations development over a 12-year period was analyzed. Results indicated that 73.1% of the total growth (change) in adolescents’ occupational aspiration prestige scores were achieved between grades 8-10, while 26.9% of growth was achieved between grades 10 and 12. One-third of the total growth in the occupational aspiration scores of these individuals as young adults was observed between high school graduation and 2 years after graduation, while 67.4% of the total growth was obtained during the period between 2 and 8 years after high school graduation. Individuals with higher initial aspiration scores experienced slower growth in aspirations than those with lower initial aspirations. A negative association between career aspiration prestige scores in grade 12 and 8 years post-graduation existed.     

Work values and the transition to work life: A longitudinal study

Research on career development has shown that work values play a key motivational role in job selection and career development. In the context of the current economic crisis, it is of particular relevance to examine the role of work values for employment in the transition from school to work. This longitudinal study examined the role of intrinsic (perceived importance of having a job that is interesting and matches one's own competences), rewards (having a good salary and high chance for promotion), and security (having a stable job) work values on subsequent employment status and person–job fit (how an individual's job matches one's own characteristics such as education and job preferences). Finnish participants reported their work values and background variables via questionnaire at ages 20 and 23 (Ns = 348 and 415 respectively). Intrinsic work values predicted a higher degree of person–job fit two years later. Rewards work values predicted lower chances of being unemployed; and security work values predicted higher chances of being unemployed later on. Family socio-economic status (SES) was not related to employment outcomes in this Finnish sample.     

定制化信息对家庭节能行为决策过程影响的追踪研究

在移动互联网和大数据时代, 通过定制化信息推动家庭能源消费行为变革是一个亟待解决的前沿科学课题。本研究通过对固定样本组被试进行长期的行为观察、深度访谈、焦点小组、个案研究和单被试设计, 基于扎根理论技术考察定制化信息的即期和远期作用, 探索定制化信息影响节能行为决策过程的路径和机制。整合横断设计和纵向设计两者特点, 本研究拟采用聚合交叉设计对6个实验组被试进行18个月的追踪实验, 运用方差分析检验同一实验组被试不同时期的节能心理和行为决策差异, 比较不同实验组被试在特定时点截面的横向(静态)差异; 运用多层线性模型检验不同实验组节能行为及其决策过程变动趋势之间的(动态)差异, 分析特定维度定制化信息框架的边际效应。在此基础上, 设计并论证定制化信息的优化路径、实施策略和组合应用构想。本研究拟构建定制化信息对节能行为决策过程作用机制的理论模型(信息呈现−心理机制−节能行为决策模型), 为探究定制化信息影响节能行为决策过程的作用机制黑箱提供理论支持和实验证据。     

The predictive validity of a computer-assisted career decision-making system: A six-year follow-up

The present study tested the predictive validity of Making Better Career Decisions (MBCD), a computer-assisted career decision-making system. Seventy clients who had used MBCD six years earlier were interviewed by telephone about their present field of study or occupation and the degree of their satisfaction with their occupational choice. The participants were divided into two groups: one consisted of clients whose chosen occupation was on the list of occupations recommended by MBCD, whereas the other consisted of clients whose chosen occupation was not on the recommended list. In the first group, 84% were highly satisfied with their occupational choice and 16% were satisfied to a moderate extent. Among those whose chosen occupation was not on the recommended list, only 38% were highly satisfied with their chosen occupation, 44% were satisfied to a moderate extent, and 18% were dissatisfied with their choice. These findings support the predictive validity of MBCD. Implications for counseling and computer-assisted career guidance systems are discussed.     

From Poisson shot noise to the integrated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process: Neurally principled models of information accumulation in decision-making and response time

In the diffusion model of decision-making, evidence is accumulated by a Wiener diffusion process. A neurally motivated account of diffusive evidence accumulation is given, in which diffusive accumulation arises from an interaction between neural integration processes operating on short and long time scales. The short time scale process is modeled as a Poisson shot noise process with exponential decay. Stimulus information is coded by excitatory-inhibitory shot noise pairs. The long time scale process is modeled as algebraic integration, possibly implemented as a first-order autoregressive process realized by recurrent connections within a population of neurons. At high intensities, an excitatory-inhibitory shot noise pair converges weakly to an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) velocity process. The integrated OU process, or OU displacement process, obtained by integrating the velocity process over time, is indistinguishable at long times from the Wiener process. Diffusive information accumulation may therefore be characterized as an integrated OU process whose properties mimic those of the Wiener process.     

A longitudinal study of school adjustment in urban,minority adolescents: Effects of a high school transition program

Described an intervention program designed to prepare elementary school (K-8) eighth-grade students for their transition to high school the following year. Participants in the study were 145, predominantly Hispanic, inner-city public school adolescents. The experimental group received an augmented condition, consisting of Education and Peer Support Components. The control group received a minimal condition consisting of only the Education Component. While no group effects were observed, time effects indicated experimental and control students' improved perceptions of school readiness, but deteriorated perceptions of support from both home and school and diminished grade-point averages and attendance. Time effects also revealed variable changes in school perceptions. Findings are discussed in terms of a developmental perspective of the school transition process. Implications for high school transition programming with the target population and directions for future research are also addressed.     

A model of career success: A longitudinal study of emergency physicians

Objective and subjective career success were hypothesized to mediate the relationships between sociodemographic variables, human capital indices, individual difference variables, and organizational sponsorship as inputs and a retirement decision and intentions to leave either the specialty of emergency medicine (EM) or medicine as output variables. Objective career success operationalized as the number of leadership positions held did not mediate the relationship, but income change and career satisfaction mediated the relationship between the hours worked and years employed in emergency medicine. Work centrality was significantly related to subjective career success more so for men than women and perceptions of success or self-efficacy were positively related to subjective career success for women, but not for men. The expected pattern of women indicating more difficulties with personal time and family time did not emerge; but women did indicate less perceived support from the organization, fewer EM leadership positions, less perceived control over their work situation and less organizational support than did men.     

Examining the effects of grade retention on student reading performance: A longitudinal study

Grade retention is an intervention that has received increasing scrutiny as policies, practices, and results of research diverge. This longitudinal study examines the reading growth trajectories of students (n = 147) from first- through eighth-grade. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analytic procedures provide unique insights regarding the relative reading growth curves among retained students, similarly achieving but promoted students, and a random sample of students. The results revealed that retained students did not experience a benefit in their growth rate (relative to either the preceding year, or to similarly performing but promoted students), and made less progress compared to the randomly selected group of students. While consistent with the extant empirical evidence failing to support the effectiveness of grade retention, these findings warrant careful consideration given both the longitudinal design and the analytic procedures.     

Latent structure of executive function in five- and six-year-old children: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study analyses the structure of executive function in children assessed at five and six years of age and examines the longitudinal relationships between the executive function dimensions identified at the two age levels. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the latent structure of executive function at both age levels. The best fit to the data at both age levels was a two-factor model in which inhibition was distinguished, while working memory and shifting emerged as a unitary component. Some variables show a moderate longitudinal stability and the inhibitory control tasks display reduced continuity across ages.