Challenges of Exploratory Students Who Delay Declaration

Challenges of Exploratory Students Who Delay Declaration

Matt Eng Garrett ClaninUniversity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Agenda

● Define Undecided/Exploratory Students

● Understand advising perspectives from two unique units

○ Exploratory Advising Office

○ Student Athlete Advising

● Learn how to incorporate career advising into academic advising

● Solutions in Exploratory Advising Office and Student Athlete Advising

● Discussion

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Decided students who made inappropriate choices of major based on lack of information, lack of thoughtful planning, or lack of a realistic self-assessment of their abilities and interests, might in fact be at a greater risk of leaving college than undecided students.

Cuseo, 20154

What do we mean by “Exploratory” students?● Complex group with varied reasons for inclusion

● Themes/Characteristics

● Types

○ Unstable Decided (Falsely declared)

○ Foreclosed

○ Tentatively Undecided

○ Seriously Undecided

○ Chronically Indecisive 5

Unstable Decided (Falsely Declared)

● High goal instability

● May have mixed feelings (anxiety) about their choice

● Because decision has been made, may not seek help to confirm/reject

direction

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Foreclosed

● Pursuing single path -> Reaching dead end

○ GPA

○ Prerequisites

○ Competition

● May not have considered other options

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Tentatively Undecided

● Self-confident; comfortable with self

● Don’t see barriers to their goals

● May be considering multiple majors/careers

● May have fear of commitment, but believe they will make decision when

ready

● May need help organizing decision making process

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Seriously Undecided

● May have low levels of self-clarity, self-esteem, and career identity

● May be unaware of educational and career options

● May be seeking “perfect” choice

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Chronically Indecisive

● May experience anxiety that impacts many parts of their lives

● May not be fully aware of educational and occupational options available

● Lack motivation to become clear about goals/values

● May seek approval from others when making decisions

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Mānoa Advising Center● 1,573 on record (as of September 16, 2019)

○ 547 Exploratory (EX)

○ 28 Exploratory Arts & Humanities (EXAH)

○ 773 Exploratory Business (EXB)

○ 82 Exploratory Health Sciences (EXHS)

○ 122 Exploratory Social Sciences (EXSS)

○ 22 Exploratory Science, Technology, Engineering & Math [STEM]

(EXST)

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Mānoa Advising Center● Exploratory Courses

○ UNIV 240 and UNIV 340

● Challenges

○ Commute

○ Work

○ Family Obligations

○ Family Expectations

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Student Athlete Academic Services● 500 Student-Athletes; 22 Sports

○ 120-140 Exploratory Students (not including falsely declared students)

● Unique challenges○ Time, Travel, Balancing Dual Roles○ Identity Development○ Unrealistic Career Goals○ NCAA Academic Eligibility Rules

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Student Athlete Academic Services● NCAA Academic Eligibility Rules

○ GPA○ Applicable credits per term/year○ Designate (Declare) Major prior to 5th Full-Time Semester (Junior

Year)○ Percentage of Degree Requirements

■ 40% prior to 5th semester■ 60% prior to 7th semester■ 80% prior to 9th semester

❖ Implications for Transfer Students❖ Implications for Changing Majors❖ Implications for High Achieving Students 15

Career Advising Theories

● John Holland’s Theory of Types and Person-Environment Interactions

● Social Cognitive Career Theory

● Planned Happenstance

● Career Construction

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JOHN HOLLAND RIASEC HEXAGON

● Congruence○ Fit between personality and

work environment

● Differentiation ○ Distinctness among types

● Consistency ○ Connection among types

● Vocational Identity ○ Clear “goals,” “interests,” and

“talents”

https://coloryourcareer.weebly.com

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Using Holland’s Theory

● Looking at incongruence can give insights into major selection

○ A student high in Artistic pursuing a highly Conventional field may be feeling some tension

● Holland’s theory can provide a structure, guidance, and common language to organizing information.

● Limited by the scope of just looking at interests

○ Useful when supplemented by other career theories

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Social Cognitive Career Theory

● Primarily focus on four factors: Personal Ability, Self-efficacy, Outcome

Expectations, and Personal Goals

● Built off Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory.

● Emphasizes human agency (individual vocational behavior) for students to

create own story

● Allows for the shifting of interests over time.

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Social Cognitive Career Theory

Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance [Monograph]. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.

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Using Social Cognitive Career Theory

● Allows for personal and environmental influences that affect career development and major selection

● “This cognitive career theory is particularly useful when working with college-age students in addressing two areas of career concern: performance attainment and persistence at overcoming obstacles.” (Niles & Hutchison, p. 85)

● As advisors, we need to address the self-efficacy beliefs, as they affect outcome expectations and personal goals

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Planned Happenstance

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Planned Happenstance

● People who have adopted the planned happenstance model are willing to change plans, take risks, work hard to overcome obstacles, and be actively engaged in pursuing their interests. They may see initially that unplanned events play a role in their careers, but most are modestly unaware that their own actions contributed to the unplanned events from which they benefited. (Mitchell, K., Levin, A., and Krumboltz, J., 1999, p. 120)

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Planned Happenstance

● Four factors influence career decision making○ Genetic endowment and special abilities

○ Environmental conditions and events○ Instrumental and associative learning experiences○ Task approach skills (work habits, problem-solving skills)

● Influence one’s beliefs about self and the world.

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Planned Happenstance● Chance plays an important role in everyone’s career. No one can predict the

future with any accuracy.

● “Planned happenstance theory is a conceptual framework extending career counseling to include the creating and transforming of unplanned events into opportunities for learning. The goal of a planned happenstance intervention is to assist clients to generate, recognize, and incorporate chance events into their career development” ○ (Mitchell, K., Levin, A., and Krumboltz, J., 1999, p. 117)

● Planned happenstance theory includes two concepts: ○ Exploration generates chance opportunities for increasing quality of life

○ skills enable people to seize opportunities 26

Planned Happenstance Skills

● Curiosity: exploring new learning opportunities

● Persistence: exerting effort despite setbacks

● Flexibility: changing attitudes and circumstances

●Optimism: viewing new opportunities as possible and attainable

●Risk Taking: taking action in the face of uncertain outcomes

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Implications for Practice● Celebrating open-mindedness rather than discouraging indecision.

○ How can ambiguity and career flexibility affect student confidence?

●Active role in searching for opportunities○ Guide students to think outside of a linear pathway.

● Encouraging intellectual curiosity

●Using assessment instruments to generate chance events○ Results may show areas or career opportunities previously not thought

about.

●Developmental Dialogue28

Career Construction Theory● Explains the interpretive and interpersonal processes through which

individuals impose meaning and direction on their vocational behavior (personal constructivism and social constructivism)○ Mark Savickas (1997)

● Careers do not unfold; they are constructed as individuals make choices that express their self-concepts and substantiate their goals in the social reality of work roles.

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Career Construction Theory

● Individuals construct their careers by imposing meaning on their

vocational behavior and occupational experiences.

○ Vocational Personality: person-environment fit to match people to

occupations

○ Life Theme: enter profession to implement a self-concept

○ Career Adaptability: career construction is a series of attempts to

implement a self concept with a goal to find the occupational role

that validates self-concept30

Using Career Construction Theory

● Create a safe space for students to examine their personalities,

adaptability, and life themes.

● Apply the career theory to major selection.

● Help student find what matches their personality, that is adaptable to

their self-concept, and into their life theme (who they are).

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Possible Solutions/Strategies● Apply Career Theories

○ Career Goal Mapping

○ Holistic Athletic Career Development

● Real-time academic progress

○ Consider students already with declared majors

● Identifying new options

○ Courses

● Graduation Planning and Timelines

○ Resetting goals

● Acknowledging constraints/factors

● Communication style32

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What questions do you have?

Matt Eng

Assistant Specialist Academic Advisor

Mānoa Advising Center

[email protected]

Garrett Clanin

Academic Advisor

Student-Athlete Academic Services

[email protected]

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ReferencesCuseo, J. (2005). “Decided,” “undecided,” and “in transition”: Implications for academic advisement, career

counseling & student retention. In R.S. Feldman (Ed.). Improving the first year of college: Research and practice. (pp.27-48). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Gordon, V. N., and Steele, G. E. (2015). The undecided college student: An academic and career advising

challenge. (4th ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Books.

Hagstrom, S. J., Skovholt, T. S., & Rivers, D. A. (1997). The advanced undecided college

student: A qualitative study. NACADA Journal, 17(2), 23-30.

Mitchell, K. E., Levin, A. S., & Krumboltz, J. D. (1999). Planned happenstance: Constructing unexpected career opportunities. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77, 115–124.

Niles, S. G., & Hutchison, B. (2009) Theories of career development to inform advising. In K. F. Hughey, D. Burton Nelson, J. K. Damminger, B. McCalla-Wrigging & Associates (Eds.) The handbook of career advising. (68-96). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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