Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-03T17:35:34.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Challenges of Transitioning into Adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2009

By
Barbara Schneider
Edited by
Ingrid Schoon  and
Rainer K. Silbereisen
Ingrid Schoon
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London
Rainer K. Silbereisen
Affiliation:
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena, Germany
Get access

Summary

The ambitions of young people play an integral role in the likelihood of their successful transition into adulthood (Schneider & Stevenson, 1999). Social scientists have shown that the expectations children (and their parents) have for their futures profoundly influence later educational and occupational success (Hauser & Anderson, 1991; Kerckhoff, 1976; Schoon, Martin, & Ross, 2007; Schoon & Parsons, 2002; Sewell, Haller, & Ohlendorf, 1970). Many of these studies were conducted when only a third of adolescents in high school planned to attend college. What has changed dramatically in the past fifty years is that the overwhelming majority of parents expect their teenagers will not only attend college but also will receive a bachelor's degree (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2005). These high educational expectations are not merely a U.S. phenomenon; the same trends are evident among many industrialized countries throughout the world (Carnoy, 2001). In South Korea, for example, where demand for postsecondary education exceeds supply, there has been a dramatic expansion in shadow education activities – such as tutors and special classes – that wealthier families are using to help their adolescents achieve a competitive advantage for the few selected slots at the most prestigious universities (Lee, Park, & Lee, 2009).

In the United States, high educational expectations are found among all teenagers regardless of their racial and ethnic background and the economic and social resources of their families.

Type
Chapter
Information
Transitions from School to Work
Globalization, Individualization, and Patterns of Diversity
 , pp. 265 - 290
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellah, R., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W., Swidler, A., & Tipton, S. (1996). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bordin, E. S. (1943). A theory of vocational interests as dynamic phenomena. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 3, 49–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnoy, M. (2001). The role of the state in the new global economy. In Muller, J., Cloete, N., & Badat, S. (Eds.), Challenges of globalization: South African debates with Manual Castells (pp. 22–34). Cape Town, South Africa: Maskew Miller Longman.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). The evolving self: A psychology for the third millennium. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1984). Being adolescent: Conflict and growth in the teenage years. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 815–822.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Schneider, B. (2000). Becoming adult: How teenagers prepare for the world of work. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Deil-Amen, R., & Rosenbaum, J. (2002). The unintended consequences of stigma-free remediation. Sociology of Education, 75, 249–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furnham, A. (1991). Work and leisure satisfaction. In Strack, F., Argyle, M., & Schwartz, N. (Eds.), Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 235–260). Oxford, UK: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Grubb, W. N., & Lazerson, M. (2005). The education gospel and the role of vocationalism in American education. American Journal of Education, 111, 297–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guest, A., & Schneider, B. (2003). Adolescents' extracurricular participation in context: The mediating effects of schools, communities, and identity. Sociology of Education, 76, 89–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauser, R., & Anderson, D. (1991). Post-high school plans and aspirations of black and white high school seniors: 1976–86. Sociology of Education, 64, 263–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hektner, J. M., Schmidt, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2007). Experience sampling method: Measuring the quality of everyday life. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerckhoff, A. C. (1976). The status attainment process: Socialization or allocation?Social Forces, 55, 368–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, R., & Richards, M. (1994). Divergent realities: The emotional lives of mothers, fathers, and adolescents. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Lee, C. J., Park, H. J., & Lee, H. (2009). Shadow education systems. In Sykes, G., Schneider, B., & Plank, D. (Eds.), The AERA handbook on educational policy research (pp. 901–919). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Mulligan, C., Wolfe, R., & Schneider, B. (2005). Non-response and population representation in studies of adolescent time use. Electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, 2(1), 33–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
,National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2005). Digest of Education Statistics 2004 (NCES 2005–025). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
,National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2007). Digest of Education Statistics 2007 (NCES 2008–022). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Schmidt, J. (2005). Religiosity, emotional well-being, and family processes in working Families. In Schneider, B. & Waite, L. (Eds.), Being together, working apart: Dual-career families and the work-life balance (pp. 303–324). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schmidt, J., & Rich, G. (2000). Images of work and play. In Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Schneider, B. (Eds.), Becoming adult: How teenagers prepare for the world of work (pp. 67–94). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Schneider, B., & Stevenson, D. (1999). The ambitious generation: America's teenagers, motivated but directionless. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Schoon, I., Martin, R., & Ross, A. (2007). Career transitions in times of social change: His and her story. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 78–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoon, I., & Parsons, S. (2002). Teenage aspirations for future careers and occupational outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 262–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Settersten, R. A., Furstenberg, F. F., & Rumbaut, R. G. (Eds.). (2005). On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRef
Sewell, W., Haller, A. O., & Ohlendorf, G. W. (1970). The educational and early occupational status attainment process: Replication and revision. American Sociological Review, 35, 1014–1027.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sexton, H. (2005). Spending time at work and at home: What workers do, how they feel about it, and how these emotions affect family life. In Schneider, B. & Waite, L. (Eds.), Being together, working apart: Dual-career families and the work–life balance (pp. 49–71). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Smock, P. J. (2000). Cohabitation in the United States: An appraisal of research themes, findings, and implications. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, M. (1958/1904). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (Parsons, T., Trans.). New York: Charles Scribner and Sons.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×