Becoming Adult How Teenagers Prepare For The World Of Work

by Csikszentmihalhi, Mihaly; Schneider, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780465015412
• ISBN10: 0465015417
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-06
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

The best-selling author of "Flow" and an award-winning sociologist draw on a unique longitudinal study to reveal how adolescents develop attitudes, skills, and expectations about their adult careers.

Author Biography

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is professor of psychology and education at the University of Chicago. He is the author of a number of books, including the bestselling Flow, The Evolving Self, Creativity, and Being Adolescent. Barbara Schneider is co-director of the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, and is professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. She has co-authored a number of books including The Ambitious Generation and Transforming Schools.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	ix
List of Figures	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Preface	xv
PART ONE ADOLESCENT VIEWS OF WORK
The Evolving Nature of Work	3	(18)
Images and Expectations of Work	6	(7)
Preparing Teenagers for Work	13	(8)
The Design of the Study: Sample and Procedures	21	(18)
Sample Selection: Sites and Schools	22	(1)
School Types	23	(2)
Student Selection	25	(2)
Instruments	27	(6)
Data Collection	33	(1)
Base-Year Findings	34	(5)
Envisioning the Future	39	(28)
Expectations of the Future	40	(4)
Expectations for Specific Careers	44	(4)
Occupational Values	48	(3)
Learning About Future Careers	51	(5)
Work-Related Motivations and Future Orientation	56	(4)
The Good News	60	(1)
The Not-So-Good News	61	(6)
PART TWO LEARNING TO WORK
Images of Work and Play	67	(28)
What's Work, What's Play?	69	(6)
What Activities Are Perceived As Like Both Work and Play?	75	(2)
Activities That Are Neither Work Nor Play	77	(3)
``Workers'' and ``Players''	80	(7)
Teenagers' Experience in Paid Employment	87	(5)
The Conundrum of Work in Adolescence	92	(3)
Learning to Like Challenges	95	(18)
The Relationship Between Enjoyment and Challenges: The Flow Model	96	(3)
Flow and the Quality of Experience	99	(12)
The Variety of Challenges in Adolescence	111	(2)
Families and the Forming of Children's Occupational Future	113	(28)
Measuring Support and Challenge	116	(1)
The Relation of Family Context to Adolescent Attitudes and Experiences	117	(2)
Family Context and School Outcomes	119	(9)
Narratives of Family Life	128	(10)
Parenting and Adolescent Development	138	(3)
The Quality of Classroom Experiences	141	(26)
Where Do Students Spend Their Time in School?	142	(3)
How Students Experience Different Classroom Activities	145	(3)
When Optimal Learning Experiences Occur in Class	148	(1)
What Do Students Think About in Class?	149	(1)
Student Experiences in Different School Subjects	150	(4)
What Students Say About School Subjects in Relation to Their Future	154	(3)
How Classroom Experiences Differ by Ability Placement	157	(1)
Individual Differences: Who Experiences Flow in Class	158	(4)
What Is Missing in Academic Classes?	162	(5)
PART THREE TRANSITIONING FROM HIGH SCHOOL
Guiding Students into the Future: Three Schools of Thoughts	167	(32)
Opportunity Structures in High Schools: A Function of Resources	168	(5)
Middle Brook High School: A Tradition of Educating	173	(7)
Del Vista High School: Everyone Can Succeed	180	(7)
Grove High School: School as a Road to Work	187	(9)
Three High Schools-Three Schools of Thought	196	(3)
Paths After High School	199	(14)
Background Characteristics and Paths After High School	202	(2)
The Impact of School Experiences	204	(4)
What Determines the Paths Taken After High School	208	(5)
Making the Transition to Adulthood	213	(24)
Personal Strengths for a Productive Adulthood	215	(10)
Social Supports for a Productive Adulthood	225	(8)
Implications for Educational Policy	233	(4)
Appendix A. Site Descriptions	237	(4)
Appendix B. Instruments	241	(2)
Appendix C. Variable List	243	(14)
Notes	257	(14)
References	271	(8)
Index	279