Article Review

CHAN KUAN LOONG

PGB 140005

Science Career-Related Possible Selves

of Adolescents Girls: A Longitudinal Study
Journal of Career Development, Vol. 29, No.4, Summer 2003
Becky Wai-Ling Packard and Dam Nguyen
Mount Holyoke College

Aim
To examine whether and how adolescent girls images of
themselves as future scientists change during their
transition from high school to college.

The career paths of adolescent girls are very complex.

young women need to have interested, efficacious and
academically qualified in science
girls will value having a lifestyle and career of a scientist.
As Eccles (1994) suggested- young women weigh the costs
and benefits of science participation
Is there a good fit between science and me?
Is it worth to pursue science?
family relationship.

Methodology
41 female from diverse ethnic and social
economy background were interviewed.
enrolled in an intensive math and science
program while in high school
graduated from high school or completed their
1st or 2nd year of college.
planned to pursue to careers in natural science,
engineering, technology and applied math.

QUESTIONS ASKED
Current career plans
factors contributed to their decision to
continue with or change their career
plans.
Significant adult relationships,
significant experiences or events and
their weighing of costs and benefits.

Result
30 still pursuing science career plans, 11 pursuing nonscience career plans.
Finding.
1. Maintained their initial science aspiration over time
strong interest in the subject matter or career area.
not influenced by significant adults or programs or
internships.
2. Chose current career aspiration from an array of initial
aspirations
positive work related experience.
job opportunity or financial promise
influenced by mentor

Countinue.

3. Developed a new aspiration after actively eliminating an

initial aspiration
Negative work related experience (eg. Work hour,
finance reward)
Mentors introduced them the new ideas about
alternative science careers.
4. Developed a new aspiration, usually a shift from an
initial aspiration.
Their new career aspirations are related to initial career
interest.
No positive or negative experience
Higher income
Influenced by mentors

Conclusions
Young women maintained their career aspirations
because of
- strong interest in the subject area.
- least likely influenced by relationship with role models.
Mentoring relationship influence the career development
of young women with multiple career aspiration
Girls appear to be concerned with helping others through
their career.

Suggestions
mentors

and career internship programs should be made

more accessible.

Career Development Tasks of

Mexican American Adolescents: An
Exploratory Study
Journal of Career Development, Vol. 28, No.2, Winter 2001

Robin L. Bullington
Consuelo Arbona

Aim
examined the extend to which career development tasks
described in Supers model are relevant to minority group.
role that ethnicity played in their career related behavior.

Method
4 Mexican American public high school students
2 male and 2 female
they came from working class family and were the first
one in their families to complete college.
they were interviewed and the interview conduct in
English and last for one and half-hour.

 2 interview material were conducted:

(a)Based on Supers description of attitudes and behavior of
adolescents
Awareness of the need to crystallize and specify an
occupational choice
Awareness of contingencies
Awareness of present-future relationships
Having an occupational preferences and information about
that preferences
How interests and values relate to career preferences
Planning for occupational entry
Exploratory attitudes
Decision making
Realistic assessment of self and of situations

(b) Issues related of membership in minority group.

Understanding of their ethnicity
Influence of ethnicity in education
Role of family in school success
Discussion
Schooling and planning for their future careers was salient
for all of them.
Expect that work would be important in their adult lives.
Support and guidance from their families are important.
Hispanic college students are similar to White
counterparts in terms of career aspirations and
expectations.
Did not see that ethnic as the major obstacles in their
ability to succeed

Conclusion
Supers theory of Career Development maybe helpful in
understanding and guiding the low-income MexicanAmerican students.
relationship between ethnicity and their achievement in
school and career aspirations should further explore.
Limitation
Ethnic influences in adolescent career development are
not clear.
Small number of participants prevents generalizing.

Career Choice Patterns and

Behavior of Work-Bound Youth
During Early Adolescence
Journal of Career Development, Vol. 30, No.2, Winter 2003

Jay W. Rojewski
Heeja Kim

Aim
examined the occupational aspiration patterns, vocational
preparation, and work-related experiences of adolescents.
Method
Analysis of the data from National Education Longitudinal Study (1988
1994)
sample of over 25,000 adolescents designed to study the educational,
vocational and personal development of adolescents.
Focus on career-related aspirations and experiences during early
adolescence.
three categories- college-bound (CB), work-bound(WB) and
unemployed or out of the workforce(U).
Measure of vocational program participation and work experiences,
occupational aspirations

Results
2/3 of work-bound or unemployed students were from low SES.
High school sophomores in the lowest SES were 3 times more likely to
be work-bound and 4 times to be unemployed.
Academic achievement- Work-bound students and unemployed are
similar and they are lower than college bound students
work-related characteristics and preparation- work-bound youth were
almost three times as College-bound peers to be in a vocational track.
Occupational Aspirations College-bound youth reported high prestige
aspirations.
non college-bound students have moderate aspiration.

Discussion
Work-bound youth
Poor academic performance
Lower socioeconomic status
Poorer self-concept
Less occupational aspirations
career interventions at the middle school level or later may
help students sort out some of the particular issues.
SES can influence career decision-making and attainment.
Occupational aspiration are influenced more by academic
achievement
Their aspirations are relatively stable from Grades 8 to 10.