Where Do Rural High School Students Go to Find Information About Their Futures? Results from the Rural High School Aspirations Study Bryan C. Hutchins Soo-yong Byun Judith L. Meece Thomas W. Farmer Matthew J. Irvin Dana Griffin

What is the relationship between obtaining career information and future career attainment? –According to Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) career information is essential for developing realistic outcome expectations (Lent, 1994) –With accurate and realistic career information one can assess his or her values, interests, self-efficacy beliefs, and career aspirations as it relates to potential occupations and careers (Lent, 2005) –Those who do not have accurate information may develop unrealistic career goals that can lead to failure in such areas as completing college or obtaining a rewarding job (Gray, 2009) INTRODUCTION

We know very little about where students go for information about their futures as well as what information is most helpful (Gibson, Borders, Wiles, Stephan, & Davis, 2006) Most studies that have explored this topic have focused on college bound students (e.g., Horn, Chen, & Chapman, 2003) Even less is known about the career exploration activities of rural youth even though they represent one- third of the public school population (Provasnick, et al., 2007) Knowing where students go for information and what sources they perceive to be most helpful can inform our efforts to create effective career related interventions (Gibson, et al., 2006) THE PROBLEM

Much of the literature on educational and career aspirations is focused on urban and suburban samples Rural youth may face unique contextual factors that may limit access to career information such as: –Family hardships (Haller & Virkler, 1993) –Less diversified occupational structure within rural communities (Crockett, Shannahan, & Jackson-Newsom, 2000) –Possibly fewer opportunities to take part in job shadowing, job mentoring, or internships (Brown, 2007) –Access to higher education due to geographical isolation Why focus on the career information gathering activities of rural youth?

Early Studies –Mitchell (1977) found that 17 year olds discussed future plans twice as often with parents than with counselors –Noeth, Engen, & Prediger (1984) found college bound juniors reported the following as most helpful in career decision making: interesting classes (92%), families (90%), friends (73%), school activities (53%) counselors (52%). –Lee (1984) rural youth (10 th grade) reported parental influence as most important factor in influencing career development More Recent Studies –Gibson et al. (2006) found that 9 th graders across NC used a variety of sources of information, but reported parents/family as most helpful while school counselors where consulted infrequently and rated as least helpful. Other sources (internet, teachers, media) were rated as somewhat helpful –Gibson et al. (2006) did not explore gender, grade, and ethnicity differences REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Where do rural youth go to find information about their future? What sources do they find to be most helpful? How frequently do they talk to teachers, counselors, or learn about college, careers, and work in the school or classroom? How frequently do they take part in career exploration activities such as: internships, job shadowing, mentoring, cooperative education, and school-based enterprise? Questions to Address in this Presentation:

Data collected from the Rural High School Aspirations (RHSA) Project –8,754 Students across 73 rural high schools took part in the survey during the school year –Schools with NCES locale codes 6, 7, and 8 were contacted for this study (however, this presentation will use the new urban- centric locale codes) –Sample characteristics: 51.5% female, 48.5% male 64.1% White, 7% African American, 10.8% Hispanic or Latino(a), and 18.2% other (Native American, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multi-racial) 27.9% 9 th, 27.3% 10 th, 25.1% 11 th, and 19.7% 12 th 20.6% town, 4.2% rural-distant, 34.7% rural-remote, 40.5% rural-fringe/other town SAMPLE

STUDENT QUESTIONS Question 1: Where have your gone for any information about what you plan to do after high school? (MARK ALL THAT APPLY) Question 2: Where have you gotten information that was MOST HELPFUL for your plans after high school (MARK THE THREE MOST HELPFUL) Guidance CounselorFriendCollege representative TeacherBrother or SisterCollege search guides, publications, or websites CoachOther RelativeA visit to a college campus Principal or other school staff Pastor/priest/other religious leader None of the above Parent or GuardianOther adult(s) in the community

STUDENT QUESTIONS Question 3: During the past year how often have you done each of the following activities: Career Counseling 1. Received instruction or counseling on how to find a job 2. Talked to a guidance counselor or other advisor about possible jobs and careers 3. Talked to a guidance counselor or other advisor about college 4. Studied about different jobs and their requirements in class 5. Talked about what you’ll do after high school with one of your teachers or another adult at school, either one-on-one or in a group Career Exploration 1. Taken part in cooperative education 2. Had an internship 3. Gone on job shadowing or work-site visit 4. Had job mentoring 5. Taken part in school-based enterprise

Most helpful sources of information: Parent/Guardian (54%) –More helpful for older and White students Guidance Counselor (28.9%) –More helpful for older and female students Counselors may be more helpful as older students are generally in need of more specific and focused career information More recent research suggests that young women are now exploring a wider range of career opportunities making counselors’ advice more helpful (Sharf, 2010) –Less helpful for Hispanic/Latino students Some studies suggest that Hispanic/Latino students feel that their career goals might not be valued by counselors (Vela- Gude, Cavazos, Johnson, Fielding, Cavazos, et al., 2009) SUMMARY AND MAKING SENSE OF THE RESULTS

Most helpful sources of information: Teacher (25.5%) More helpful for African American and Hispanic students –May serve as an alternative to counselors (Vela-Gude, et al., 2009) More helpful for more rural and low income schools –Counselors in these schools may face pressure to take part in activities that limit their abilities to provide career counseling (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001; Trusty & Niles, 2003) –Students may seek out teachers because of lack of other resources (i.e., internships, job mentoring, job role-models) (Crockett, et al. 2000) –College search materials (20.7%) Most helpful for older, females, and African American students SUMMARY AND MAKING SENSE OF THE RESULTS

Frequency of career exploration activities: Overall, few take part in career exploration activities Females take part in career exploration activities less frequently than males African American and Hispanic students take part in career exploration activities with greater frequency than White students 12 th graders take part in career exploration activities with greater frequency than other grades SUMMARY AND MAKING SENSE OF THE RESULTS

Frequency of career counseling activities: Overall, most students have talked to a counselor, teacher, or taken part in classroom activities to learn about future opportunities related to school and careers at least once during the past year Females and African American students take part in career counseling activities with greater frequency Students take part in career counseling activities with greater frequency across time (i.e., 9 th – 12 th ). SUMMARY AND MAKING SENSE OF THE RESULTS

Results from this study suggest that students are using a variety of sources for career information However, some sources of information are perceived to be more helpful than others –According to Social Cognitive Career Theory if students are not receiving information or this information is inaccurate then this can impact unrealistic expectations (Lent, 2005) –Unrealistic expectations can lead student to select goals and undertake actions that can limit positive career outcomes IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDENTS

Guidance Counselors –Overall, guidance counselors become increasingly more helpful to students as they approach graduation. –Counselors were less helpful to males and Hispanic/Latino students –Counselors may want to explore interventions that meet the unique needs of males students and students of color. Teachers –Youth of color and youth in more rural and low income schools find teachers to be helpful –Teachers may want to collaborate with counselors to develop ways to deliver career information or may simply want to make themselves available to students seeking information Parents –Parents can provide a wealth of career knowledge to their children –Those parents with low levels of educational attainment can benefit the most from working with school counselors and other personnel (Schneider, 2005) IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOLS

Did not consider potential mediating factors such as educational and occupational aspirations in this analysis Did not gather information on why some sources are more helpful than others Could not compare these findings to non-rural youth LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

Explore the relationship between career exploration and educational and occupational expectations and aspirations Explore the relationship between career exploration and educational and occupational expectation alignment (i.e., having educational goals that are in line with career expectations) (Schneider & Stevenson, 1999) Explore why some sources of information are more helpful than others –Issues of source availability –Helpfulness of the information –Accuracy of Information FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Questions, Comments, Concerns? Please contact me if you have any questions/comments at: Bryan C. Hutchins National Research Center on Rural Education Support 100 E. Franklin St., Suite 200 CB#8115 Chapel Hill, NC (919)