ADOLESCENCE:  SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION

 

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Theories Behind the School to Work Transition

Ernesto Betancourt

     The transition into becoming an active part of the workforce is a complicated one.  There are many social, physical, and environmental contexts that come into play during this transition. 

     It is believed that successful work transition depends on how well students navigate many previously learned career tasks (Lent, Hackett, Brown, 1999) such as: 

  •  interest crystallization
  •  cultivation of decisional skills
  •  career exploration


     These tasks are introduced in the elementary years and continue developing throughout schooling and usually continue through the students’ entry into the workplace.  The transition into the workforce is one that requires a long preparatory period and is followed by a long period of adjustment to social roles (Lent et al, 1999).

    Six basic career orientations that characterize the school to work transition (Savickas, 1999): 

  • the ambitious, who are advancing in income or status 
  • the responsive, who have taken jobs provided or chosen by their parents 
  • the fulfilled, who have a permanent job they like 
  • the confused, who move erratically from job to job 
  • the frustrated, who are blocked from moving to a better job
  • defeated, who repeatedly move downward to jobs with lower income and status. 


     These different orientations widely vary between individuals.  The career path chosen usually comes from individual levels of motivation and desire to achieve, which are primarily formed from social constructs and by examples set by role models.

     In an attempt to further understand the transition from school to the workplace, social cognitive theories can be applied. Three social cognitive theories whose interactions have a large effect on this transition are (Lent et al, 1999):

  • self-efficacy 
  • outcome expectations
  • goals 


     Different combinations of situations within these theories lead to different levels of successful transition.  Students who successfully make the transition into the workforce usually have high expectations for themselves, believe that they will be successful, and have set high goals to achieve. 

     There is a certain amount of cognitive readiness that is required for a person the make the transition from school to the workforce.  There are six main types of vocational movement (Savickas, 1999).  The first three types are:

  • training,
  • experimenting 
  • stabilizing 


     These are the positive aspects of vocational movement.  If these can be worked on in the middle years of high school students not entering college will be more prepared to enter the work force.  Working on these areas will also ensure that the student is more definite about their career choice. 

    The more negative aspects of vocational movement are: 

  • drifting 
  • floundering
  • stagnating 


     These are very detrimental in deciding on and obtaining a career path.  High school students that display these are not likely to be very successful in the workforce and are more likely to get lost in the “real world.”  These aspects of vocational movement should be highly discouraged in high school and steps should even be taken to prevent them.  The more successful in choosing and obtaining a career path will have a good understanding and integration of these three cognitive concepts. 
 
 
 

References:

1.  Lent, R.W., Hackett, G., Brown, S.D. (1999). A social cognitive view of school-to-work transition. The Career Development Quarterly, 47(4), 297-311. 

2.  Savickas, M.L. (1999). The Transition From School to Work: A Development Perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 47(4), 326-336. 

Other Related Sources:

1.  Crites, J. O. (1978). Theory and Research Handbook for the Career Maturity Inventory (2nd ed.). Monterey, CA: CTB/McGraw-Hill. Testing for Career Adjustment and Development. Training and Development Journal, 36, 21-26.

2. Dornbusch, S.M. (2000). Transitions from adolescence: A Discussion of Seven Articles,15(1), 173-177.

3. Vondracek, F.W., Silbereisen, R.K., Reitzle, M., Weiser, M. (1999). Vocational Preferences of Early Adolescents: Their Develpoment in Social Context. Journal of Adolescent Research, 14(3), 267-288. 

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