Career Information Resources for Parents of Public School Seniors ...

Career Information Resources for Parents of Public School Seniors: Findings From a National Study Jerry Trusty, Ph.D. Richard E. Watts, Ph.D. Ron Crawford, Ed.D. East Texas State University

There is much empirical evidence supporting the influence of parents on their children's career choices and career development (Birk & Blimline, 1984; Hoyt, 1984; Middleton & Loughead, 1993; Miller, 1987; Otto, 1984; Otto & Call, 1985; Palmer & Cochran, 1988; Penick & Jepsen, 1992; Young & Friesen, 1992; Young, Friesen, & Pearson, 1988). Kotrlik and Harrison (1989) found parents to have more influence than teachers, counselors, school administrators, friends, or persons working in the fleld. Similarly, Peterson, Stivers, and Peters, (1986) found low income adolescents to rely on parents—more than teachers, peers, or other relatives—for career planning. Sebald (1989), in a study spanning the last three decades, examined whether high school students relied on peers or parents for help with developmental issues. Sebald found that high school students almost exclusively relied on parents for help with career development. In a study of 11th graders, Penick and Jepsen (1992) found family functioning variables to be stronger predictors of career development than gender, socioeconomic status, and educational achievement. Parents, therefore, may be high school students' most valuable career development resource. At least, it appears that parents are depended upon heavily for high school students' career development. The role of parents in the career development of their children. The authors thank Jeffrey Owings and others in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement for their work in producing and disseminating NELS:88 data. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jerry Trusty, Department of Counseling and Guidance, East Texas State University, Commerce, TX 75429. Journal of Career Development, Vol. 22(4), Summer 1996 © 1996 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

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however, has largely been ignored by practitioners (Birk & Blimline, 1984). Whereas parents have indicated a strong desire to assist their children in career decision-making, they also report that they often are uncertain of exactly what to do (McDaniels & Hummel, 1984; Otto, 1984; Palmer & Cochran, 1988; Young, 1994). Several authors (McDaniels & Hummel, 1984; Middleton & Loughead, 1993; Otto, 1984; Palmer & Cochran, 1988; Whiston, 1989) have offered models or structures for integrating and enhancing parents' efforts, and these follow various approaches to career development. McDaniels and Hummel, and Palmer and Cochran incorporated Super's approach; Otto took a sociological approach; and Middleton and Loughead, and Whiston operated from a family systems perspective. Whereas all the above approaches are heterogeneous with regard to theory, they are homogeneous with regard to the importance of career information. That is, all the models include a career information component. Also, career information is inherent to career development and career counseling, and it is counselors' professional responsibility to provide accurate and timely career information (McDaniels & Gysbers, 1992). That career development education and information is greatly needed for both children and parents is a premise almost universally agreed upon, especially when viewed in the context of our expanding global economy (Hoyt, 1984; McDaniels & Hummel, 1984; Otto, 1984, 1987; Young, 1994). Computer searches produced no literature examining parents' perceptions or behavior with regard to career information for their children. Because it is well documented that parents are both influential in their children's career development and interested in assisting their children in the successful negotiation of this important developmental task, the question arises: Who and what do parents perceive as their best sources for career development information? The purpose of this study was to determine what and whom parents of public school seniors in the United States perceived as their best sources of career development information. Perceptions of various demographic groups were explored. Also, the relationship between schools' contact of parents regarding their children's career development and parents' perceptions of career information sources was investigated. Method Participants Data employed were from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), the most recent in a series of national

Jerry Trusty, Richard E. Watts, and Ron Crawford

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studies by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The NELS:88 study began in 1988 with surveys of eighth-grade students, their teachers, their parents, and schools. Data were collected again in 1990, 1992, and 1994 (Ingels, Dowd, Baldridge, Stipe, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). The present study utilized parents of students in the 1992 freshened cross-sectional sample, which is representative of 1992 high school seniors. The parent sample, however, is not a strict prohability sample. A Parent Questionnaire was not obtained for 6.9% of parents. Also, the questionnaire was completed by the parent most knowledgeable of the student (Ingels, Thalji, Pulliam, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). Our analysis sample was further defined by including only students currently attending public schools. Parent respondents who did not know of a particular career interest of their teen (15.5%) did not respond with regard to best sources of career information. Therefore, the sample is representative—with qualifications—of 1992 public high school seniors' most knowledgeable parents who knew of a particular career interest of their teen. The analysis sample included 9,659 parents. Instrument The Parent Questionnaire of the NELS:88 was developed by NCES and administered by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), University of Chicago (Ingels, Thalji, Pulliam, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). In the Parent Questionnaire, respondents indicated the job or occupation that interests their teen. Parents were then asked to indicate their best sources of information for finding education or employment in that field. The possible sources which parents could mark as best sources were: (a) their spouse /partner, (b) an other relative, (c) a family friend, (d) their teen's school, (e) their teen's school counselor, (f) their teen's friend, (g) a person in the field (working in the field of interest), (h) books or magazines, (i) vocational school or college, and/ or (j) local business. Respondents could indicate one or more sources as best sources. All items used in the present study were within NCES nonresponse-bias parameters (Ingels, Thalji, Pulliam, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). In the present study, parents' perceptions of career development information resources were explored in terms of (a) socioeconomic status (SES) quartile, (b) race, (c) whether English is the parents' language of birth, (d) urbanicity, (e) the teen's high school program, and (f) whether the school contacted the parent(s) in the current school year with regard to their teen's educational/career plans. The above

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variables were derived from information from both the Parent Questionnaire and the Student Questionnaire. Analysis Percentages of parents who indicated the various sources of information as best sources, based on the above categories, were examined. Because of the oversampling of particular populations in NELS:88 and because of nonresponse bias, weights were calculated to control for these factors (Ingels, Dowd, Baldridge, Stipe, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). We employed these weights in analyses. Weights, in effect, redistributed the sample to reflect the target population and accounted for at least some nonresponse bias. The NELS:88 study employed a two-stage, stratifled sample design, with schools as the flrst stage, and students within schools as the second stage. The resulting sample, therefore, was not a simple random sample. To correct for this potential bias, design effects for variables were calculated (Ingels, Dowd, Baldridge, Stipe, Bartot, & Frankel, 1994). We utilized mean root design effects (DEFTs) to provide conservative estimates of standard errors for the percentages generated. These standard errors are provided in Table 1 (in parentheses) in the results section. The reader may use these standard errors to produce confldence intervals to determine significant differences between the percentages across rows or columns of the table. For example, the reader could add and subtract the standard error to/ from an observed percentage; add/subtract the standard error to/from another percentage in the same row; and if the two resulting confidence bands did not encompass one another, the reader could be 68% confident that those two percentages differed. By doubling the standard errors for the percentages, a 95% (approximate) level of confidence would be achieved. Traditional significance tests (e.g., chi square) generally produce significant results with such a large N (9,659). Also, traditional analyses do not account for complex sampling designs. Therefore, using the standard errors provided in Table 1 accounts for the sampling design, and provides conservative estimates of error. This practice is also consistent with a practical, rather than statistical, focus in examining best sources of career information. That is, small differences in the perceptions of various groups of parents may be statistically significant, but these differences may be inconsequential in terms of service delivery by counselors and career educators. This study, due to the nature of variables investigated.


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was inherently more practical than theoretical in focus. Although statistical significance was considered in reporting and interpreting results, practical significance was the primary consideration.

Results In viewing Table 1, the most obvious result is that schools, school counselors, and people working in the particular field of interest were perceived by more parents as best sources of career information. This result was consistent across SES quartiles, racial groups, birth languages, urbanicity, and the high school programs of students. School and school counselor were perceived as best sources more frequently than the parents' spouse/partner, other relative, family friend, teen's friend, books/magazines, vocational school/college, or local business. Person working in the field was indicated as a best source slightly more frequently than school, and roughly as frequently as school counselor. There were consistent trends across SES quartiles for all variables except family friend. Across quartiles, spouse/partner, person in the field, and books/magazines were identified as best sources more often as SES increased; whereas other relative, school, school counselor, teen's friend, vocational school/college, and local business were identified as best sources more often as SES decreased. It is important to note a dramatic difference between quartile four and the other three quartiles for spouse/partner, school, school counselor, vocational school/coUege, and local business. With regard to race, parents' perception of their spouse/partner as a best source of career information did not vary across groups. All other sources, however, varied across at least some racial groups. Whites less frequently rated other relative, family finend, their teen's friend, and books/magazines as best sources. Blacks more frequently rated school, school counselor, person in the field, books/magazines, and local business as best sources. Blacks aiid Hispanics more frequently rated vocational school/college as a best source. Blacks, in fact, rated sources as best sources most often (63.4% averaged across sources), whereas whites rated sources as best sources least frequently (50.9% averaged across sources). In examining birth language, frequencies differed only for teen's friend and person in the field variables. Those parents for whom En-

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glish is not their language of birth indicated their teen's friend as a best source more frequently, and person in the field less frequently. Few practically significant differences or trends were found among urban, suburban, and rural groups of parents. One exception was the extent to which parents indicated books or magazines as a best source. Also, urban parents more often identified school, school counselor, and local business as best sources of career information. With regard to particular high school programs in which students were enrolled, parents of seniors in vocational programs tended to indicate their teen's friend, vocational school/college, and local business as best sources most often. Parents of students in college preparation programs chose these least often. Parents of vocational students indicated books or magazines less frequently than college-preparatory or general-program groups. In the sample of parents of public school seniors, 36% reported that schools had made at least one contact with them regarding their teen's plans after high school. The remaining 64% reported that they had not been contacted. Parents who were contacted indicated school and school counselor more often as best sources, 12% and 13% more, respectively. A higher percentage of parents who were contacted also reported books or magazines as a best source. Discussion and Implications Parents of public school seniors appear to regard schools, school counselors, and people working in their teen's particular field of interest as their best sources of career development information. Furthermore, it appears that parents who have been contacted at least once by the school tend to view schools and school counselors more positively as career information resources. The NELS:88 data do not indicate the nature of contact made by the school, but it seems reasonable to assume that counselors were often involved in this contact, because those parents who were contacted indicated counselors as a best source significantly more often. This result, however, should be interpreted cautiously; and it may be incorrect to infer that school contact causes positive perceptions by parents. For example, parents' positive attitudes or behavior regarding schools and school counselors could have contributed to school personnel or school counselor behavior. That is, parents' initial positive perceptions could cause the school to contact the parent. Also, other variables may underlie the school


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contact/parent perception relationship. Determination of cause is beyond the scope of this paper. Regardless of cause, or by whom contact was initiated, interaction between parents and schools seems positive. These data imply that although counselors are generally perceived by parents as a viable career information resource, it may be in counselors' power to enhance those perceptions. The 13% difference between those parents who were contacted by the school and those who were not seems even more dramatic when we take into account the statistical regression (regression toward the mean) characteristics of proportions or percentages. That is, increases toward the upper end of the scale (as in this case), or decreases toward the lower end of the scale are more dramatic than other equal increases or decreases. Several authors (Birk & Blimline, 1984; McDaniels & Hummel, 1984; Middleton & Loughead, 1993; Otto, 1984; Otto & Call, 1985; Palmer & Cochran, 1988; Ritchie & Partin, 1994; Whiston, 1989) have asserted the efficacy of career development groups and individual consultation for parents. These activities can promote career development of students and effective family communication (Middleton & Loughead, 1993; Peterson et al., 1986; Whiston, 1989). Our findings imply a third benefit of this type of counseling activity, namely, enhanced perceptions of counselors and schools by parents. SES seems to be a pervasive variable in parents' perceptions of career development resources. There is support in the literature for the salience of SES in career decision making and career development (Birk & BlimUne, 1984; Middleton & Loughead, 1993; Peterson et al., 1986; Whiston, 1989). Evidence from our study seems to point toward a greater reliance on particular personal resources (spouse/partner, person working in the field) for upper SES groups, and a greater reliance on public resources (schools, school counselors, vocational schools/colleges, local businesses) and relatives for lower SES groups. Parents' perceptions of career information resources also seem to differ with regard to race. The finding that parents from nonwhite cultures tended to rely more on family and friends is consistent with the literature (e.g., Hoare, 1991; Ramirez, 1991). Whites, who generally represent modern culture, tended to rely on people working in the field for career information. Whites may have easier access to that resource. It is noteworthy that racial minorities, especially blacks, rated more sources as best sources. It is perhaps more noteworthy that minority parents perceived school counselors and schools most positively. Minority parents therefore may depend more heavily

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on school counselors and schools for career information for their children. Furthermore, the projected increase in minority populations in the United States, coupled with special career development needs of minority groups, point toward the salience of career information for these populations (Gladding, 1992; Isaacson & Brown, 1993; Zunker, 1994). The reader should note that SES and Race are related, and that our study did not take this relationship into account. Additionally, SES is related to birth language, urbanicity, and high school program. Differences among categories of these variables may be reflections of SES differences. All the above variables are related to the particular career interests of teens, and this variable was not considered. Parents for whom English is not their language of birth appear to rely less on people working in the field for career information. This resource may not be readily accessible to these parents, and school counselors should be equipped to help these parents take advantage of this resource. Given the high regard minority and/or non-English parents seem to have for school counselors, there appears to be strong potential for school counselors helping these parents utilize career information resources. There appear to be few practically significant differences among urban, suburban, or rural parents' perceptions of sources of career information; and the differences which are indicated in Table 1 may be refiections of SES differences. For the high school program variable, parents' perceptions appear to he related to availability. That is, the training of vocational students is often integrated with local business and post-secondary vocational training, therefore, higher frequencies for these sources. In summary, because of the high regard for schools and school counselors as career information sources, there appears to be tremendous opportunity for school counselors and other personnel to impact families in general, and minority and/or lower SES families in particular. The concomitant responsibilities of school counselors seem paramount: (a) to be knowledgeable and current regarding all career information resources, and (b) to facilitate families in accessing those resources. Because of high ratios of students to counselors in most schools, a group or seminar format for working with parents may be the most realistic means of helping families access career information (Otto, 1984). It may be especially important that school counselors and school personnel initiate contact with parents regarding their career development efforts for their teens. Although this type of contact


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may enhance the perceptions of counselors by parents, this result is tangential to the core benefit of counselor contact, that is, access to career information and career development of young people. Limitations of the present study include its descriptive nature, and that relationships among demographic variables and career interests were not taken into account. This, however, would have made the study more complex, and perhaps less practical. Strengths of the study include its large, nationally representative sample, the representation of various demographic groups, and the unique opportunity to examine perceptions of high school students' parents. It seems that future studies designed to explore parents' utilization of career information resources would be particularly worthwhile. References Birk, J. M., & Blimline, C. A. (1984). Parents as career development facilitators: An untapped resource for the counselor. The School Counselor, 31, 310-317. Gladding, S. T. (1992). Counseling: A comprehensive profession (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. Hoare, C. H. (1991). Psychosociai identity development and cultural others. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 45-53. Hoyt, K. B. (1984). Helping parents understand career education. Journal of Career Education, 10, 216-224. Ingels, S. J., Dowd, K. L., Baldridge, J. D., Stipe, J. L., Bartot, V. H., & Frankel, M. R. (1994). Second follow-up: Student component data file user's manual. (NCES Publication No. NCES 94-374). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Ingels, S. J., Thalji, L., Pulliam, P., Bartot, V. H., & Frankel, M. R. (1994). Second follow-up: Parent component data file user's manual. (NCES Publication No. NCES 94-378). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Isaacson, L. E., & Brown, D. (1993). Career information, career counseling, & career development (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Kotrlik, J. W., & Harrison, B. C. (1989). Career decision patterns of high school seniors in Louisiana. Journal ofVocationat Education, 14, 47-65. McDaniels, C, & Gysbers, N. C. (1992). Counseling for career development: Theories, resources, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. McDaniels, C, & Hummel, D. (1984). Parents and career education. Journal of Career Education, 10, 225-233. Middleton, E. B., & Loughead, T. A. (1993). Parental influence on career development: An integrative framework for adolescent career counseling. Journal of Career Development, 19, 161-173. Miller, M. J. (1987). Career counseling for high school students. Grades 10-12. Journal of Employment Counseling, 24, 173-183. Otto, L. B. (1984). Bringing parents back in. Journal of Career Education, 10, 255-265. Otto, L. B. (1987). Parents: Key career advisers. Vocational Education Journal, 62(6), 37-38. Otto, L. B., & Call, V. R. A. (1985). Parental Influence on young people's career development. Journal of Career Development, 12, 65-69.

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Palmer, S., & Cochran, L. (1988). Parents as agents of career development. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35, 71-76. Penick, N. I., & Jepsen, D. A. (1992). Family functioning and adolescent career development. The Career Development Quarterly, 40, 208-222. Peterson, G. W, Stivers, M. E., & Peters, D. F. (1986). Family versus nonfamily significant others for the career decisions of low-income youth. Family Relations, 35, 417424. Ramirez, M. (1991). Psychotherapy and counseling with minorities: A cognitive approach to individual and cultural differences. New York: Pergamon Press. Ritchie, M. H., & Partin, R. L. (1994). Parent education and consultation activities of school counselors. The School Counselor, 41, 165-170. Sebald, H. (1989). Adolescents' peer orientation: Changes in the support system during the past three decades. Adolescence, 24, 937-946. Whiston, S. C. (1989). Using family systems theory in career counseling: A group for parents. The School Counselor, 36, 343-347. Young, R. A. (1994). Helping adolescents with career development: The active role of parents. The Career Development Quarterly, 42, 195-203. Young, R. A., & Friesen, J. D. (1992). The intentions of parents in influencing the career development of their children. The Career Development Quarterly, 40, 198207. Young, R. A., Friesen, J. D., & Pearson, H. M. (1988). Activities and interpersonal relations as dimensions of parental behavior in the career development of adolescents. Youth & Society, 20, 29-45. Zunker, V. G. (1994). Career counseling: Applied concepts of life planning (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.