What do you want to do? |
Students' inability to make a career choice increases dropout risk
For more than half the 17 to 20-year-old student population, choosing a career is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. And the more students feel unequipped to make a career choice, the more likely they are to drop out of school, says Frédéric Guay, Canada Research Chair on Motivation and Academic Success at Université Laval.
"Choosing a career or trade is not an easy task. Students have to find out what they are good at and study the job market,'' explains the professor of education.
According to Guay, uncertainty about future careers may explain the high dropout rate. Specifically, he believes that students who do not know where their studies are leading them are more likely to feel incompetent and drop out of school.
To test this hypothesis, Guay is conducting a number of studies based on a theory of motivation that says feelings of competence and independence are critical to people's psychological well-being. And that these feelings are best nurtured in an environment that gives people the freedom to make their own choices.
So far, Guay and his team have found that girls generally have a better idea of their future career than boys do. They also learned that students who eventually find their ideal career have more "supportive'' friends than the chronically indecisive do.
And how important is parental support? Guay plans to conduct an in-depth examination of the type of educational backing that parents give their children. "It's all well and good to help children with their homework,'' he says, ''but if you force them to do it and control their every move, you won't develop their feelings of independence and competence.''
Source: Découvrir, by Anick Perreault-Labelle. To learn more about the Canada Research Chairs program, visit www.chairs.gc.ca.
