Page 311 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 311
the role of career guidance in esl
aspirations when they were 16 years old were nearly three times more likely
to spend 6 months or longer not in employment, education or training be-
tween the ages of 16 and 18.
Career education intended to help students develop an optimistic plan
and outlook for their future prospects is an effective way to address ESL
(Suh, Suh, & Houston, 2007) and is particularly important in determin-
ing success in later life (Nguyen & Blomberg, 2014). Sikora and Saha (2011)
found a strong relationship between having clear and ambitious occupa-
tional plans in high school and high-status employment by the age of 25
years. The absence of such plans was shown to be detrimental to later occu-
pational attainment.
The importance of career aspirations for finishing schooling and being
engaged in school tasks may be explained by Miller and Brickman’s (2004)
model of future-oriented motivation and self-regulation. They contend
that students’ distal future goals (e.g. career goals) influence the adoption
of proximal sub-goals (e.g. finishing schooling) in the service of the future
goals; that the proximal goals lead to perceptions of instrumentality on the
part of students exposed to learning tasks (e.g. taking classes, learning a
subject); and that perceived task instrumentality, in turn, leads to proxi-
mal task-oriented self-regulation and helps determine the individual’s lev-
el of engagement in those tasks (Tabachnick, Miller, & Relyea, 2008). The
importance of future-oriented motivation for adolescents’ behaviours and
their adult educational attainment, in support of the theoretical notion that
future-oriented cognitions affect behaviour and play an influential role in
shaping life trajectories, was also highlighted by Beal and Crockett (2010)
and discussed by Haug and Plant (2015).
Different studies (e.g. Galliott, Graham, & Sweller, 2015) have in par-
ticular examined the career aspirations of disadvantaged and low-achiev-
ing (at risk of ESL) students. James (2002) argues that students with a dis-
advantaged background are less likely to recognise the value of higher
education than other students, and that students from a lower socioeco-
nomic background set their sights lower than their peers. In their econo-
metric analysis, Homel and Ryan (2014) recognise that aspirations have a
positive impact on Year 12 completion for all students, regardless of indig-
enous or socioeconomic status. Thomson and Hillman (2010) stated that
having a plan helps the transitions of all young people, especially those
who do not perform well in the early years of secondary school. Therefore,
sustained efforts are needed to improve their awareness of what might be
311
aspirations when they were 16 years old were nearly three times more likely
to spend 6 months or longer not in employment, education or training be-
tween the ages of 16 and 18.
Career education intended to help students develop an optimistic plan
and outlook for their future prospects is an effective way to address ESL
(Suh, Suh, & Houston, 2007) and is particularly important in determin-
ing success in later life (Nguyen & Blomberg, 2014). Sikora and Saha (2011)
found a strong relationship between having clear and ambitious occupa-
tional plans in high school and high-status employment by the age of 25
years. The absence of such plans was shown to be detrimental to later occu-
pational attainment.
The importance of career aspirations for finishing schooling and being
engaged in school tasks may be explained by Miller and Brickman’s (2004)
model of future-oriented motivation and self-regulation. They contend
that students’ distal future goals (e.g. career goals) influence the adoption
of proximal sub-goals (e.g. finishing schooling) in the service of the future
goals; that the proximal goals lead to perceptions of instrumentality on the
part of students exposed to learning tasks (e.g. taking classes, learning a
subject); and that perceived task instrumentality, in turn, leads to proxi-
mal task-oriented self-regulation and helps determine the individual’s lev-
el of engagement in those tasks (Tabachnick, Miller, & Relyea, 2008). The
importance of future-oriented motivation for adolescents’ behaviours and
their adult educational attainment, in support of the theoretical notion that
future-oriented cognitions affect behaviour and play an influential role in
shaping life trajectories, was also highlighted by Beal and Crockett (2010)
and discussed by Haug and Plant (2015).
Different studies (e.g. Galliott, Graham, & Sweller, 2015) have in par-
ticular examined the career aspirations of disadvantaged and low-achiev-
ing (at risk of ESL) students. James (2002) argues that students with a dis-
advantaged background are less likely to recognise the value of higher
education than other students, and that students from a lower socioeco-
nomic background set their sights lower than their peers. In their econo-
metric analysis, Homel and Ryan (2014) recognise that aspirations have a
positive impact on Year 12 completion for all students, regardless of indig-
enous or socioeconomic status. Thomson and Hillman (2010) stated that
having a plan helps the transitions of all young people, especially those
who do not perform well in the early years of secondary school. Therefore,
sustained efforts are needed to improve their awareness of what might be
311
