Engaging Middle School Children in Discourses of Identity, College, and Careers Cerise L. Glenn, Sally Mountcastle, & Crystal Sutton
Jan 04, 2016
Engaging Middle School Children in Discourses of
Identity, College, and Careers
Cerise L. Glenn, Sally Mountcastle, & Crystal Sutton
Turrentine Middle School· Community Partner· Ms. Jennifer
Lombard, Guidance Counselor
· 17 7th grade students from diverse backgrounds
Middle School Students’ Field Trip to
UNCG
Purpose· To understand how middle school children
designated at risk for dropping out construct and interpret discourses of careers, college, and goal attainment
· To introduce discourses of careers and create spaces of community engagement with students, their parents, middle school staff, and students and faculty from UNCG
Purpose Continued· To examine how participation in the program
influences the students’ perceptions of academic achievement, self-identity, and goal attainment
· To provide an opportunity for students to learn about specific careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), social science, and education disciplines that connect to their current interests, strengths, and hobbies
· Program: monthly workshops at TMS and UNCG
· Career Exploration· Connection to Goal Attainment and
Planning· College· Specific careers
Our Project
Theoretical Focus
· Identity Negotiation (Glenn & Jackson, 2010)
· Vocational Occupational Socialization (Myers, et. al., 2011)
Career Exploration· Career Cruising· Connection to
current interests· Centering students’
voices & identities
Mapping the Future Activity
· Exploring careers & future
· Source messaging (family & media)
· Exposure to careers· Career framing
Career Binders
· Student interest focused
· Career exploration:· STEM· Education· Social Sciences· Creative Arts
Careers Matched in Each Category
Career Binders Cont.· Visual
representation of their interests & prospective careers
· Tangible resource to keep
Education· “job talk” from Jennifer
Lombard & Cerise Glenn
· Students’ experiences (during trip at UNCG)
· College/major exploration (at UNCG)
· Tour of Weatherspoon Art Museum
· “job talk” facilitated by Sally Mountcastle
Creative Arts
STEM· Guest Visit:
Kinesiology (at UNCG)
· Binder exploration in May
· College & major exploration (with Crystal Sutton at UNCG)
· Students’ experiences (at UNCG)
Social Sciences
Preliminary Analysis· Connection to messages from family & media· Career focus on salary initially· Foster interest in careers related to career cruising
and binders that they may explore or pursue· Goal of money with helping people also used to
explore new careers, specifically in STEM· Raised awareness of amount of education needed
for specific careers that interest them · Exploring college based on programs/majors (more
so than image and/or media portrayals)
Thank You!!!· Turrentine Middle School· Office of Leadership and Service
Learning· Office of Undergraduate Research· The Graduate School· Department of Communication Studies