Chapter 11 - Work Flashcards
11.1 Describe the main forms that work has taken for adolescents in traditional cultures.
Adolescents in traditional cultures have typically worked alongside their parents, the boys in work such as hunting, fishing, and farming, the girls in work such as gathering, child care, and household work.
11.2 Explain how globalization has both positive and negative effects on adolescents’ work in traditional cultures.
Because of globalization, virtually all traditional cultures are moving toward industrialization. The result in many countries is that people in traditional cultures, especially adolescents, are being subjected to hard work in terrible conditions for very low pay, such as on commercial farms and plantations, in factories, and in commercial sexual exploitation. However, participation in the industrialzing economy allows adolescents to contribute to their families and provides adolescents with skills and contacts that may lead to a better economic future.
11.3 Summarize the types and conditions of adolescent work in the West before 1900.
Before industrialization, adolescents in the West typically worked alongside their parents, boys with their fathers mostly in farming, girls with their mothers mostly in child care and household work. During the 19th century, adolescents made up a substantial proportion of the workforce in factories.
11.4 Explain how the frequency and types of adolescent work changed in the West from the early 20th century to the present.
In the early 20th century, adolescents were more likely to be working full-time than to be in school, because their economic contribution was needed by their families. However, with each decade, the proportion of adolescents in school rose and the proportion working full-time declined. Since World War II, the proportion of American adolescents in part-time work has risen steeply, so that by now over three-fourths of high school seniors have had a part-time job. American adolescents are more likely to work part-time than adolescents in other developed countries, because their schools are less demanding.
11.5 Summarize adolescents’ workplace experiences in Canada and the United States.
Adolescents’ jobs usually involve repetitive and monotonous service work that does not develop skills they will need later in the workplace. They spend their time at work about equally with adults and with other adolescents, but their relationships with the adults usually are not close and supportive.
11.6 Identify the ways working in adolescence is related to psychological functioning, and specify the number of hours per week where the relation becomes evident.
Working in adolescence is related to a variety of negative outcomes when it involves more than 10 hours per week. The negative outcomes include depression, anxiety, less sleep, and less exercise. If adolescents learn new skills at work—which happens rarely—then working is related to higher well-being and self-esteem.
11.7 Describe how working promotes problem behavior in adolescence.
Working many hours per week during adolescence is associated with problem behaviors such as substance use and vandalism. According to one study, about 60% of working adolescents engage in occupational deviance, such as stealing things from work.
11.8 Summarize the positive effects of working on adolescent development.
Adolescents report many benefits from working, such as time management, money management, and developing social skills. However, many working adolescents also report fatigue, less leisure time, and thinking about work during class.
11.9 Identify the skills adolescents need to learn to be prepared for jobs in today’s economy.
The “new basic skills” include reading and math at least at the 9th grade level, communicating effectively orally and in writing, collaborating with diverse groups, and using a computer for word processing and other task. However, close to half of American 17-year-olds lack reading and math skills even at this basic level.
11.10 Summarize the areas where job growth is likely to be strongest in the next decade, and describe the range of approaches countries are using to prepare adolescents for the workplace.
In the United States, job growth in the decade to come is projected to strongest in service sectors such as health care. Many countries are developing programs to train adolescents and emerging adults for the economy of the future. Countries emphasize features distinctive to their conditions, such as the achievement of basic literacy in India.
11.11 Describe the Job Corps program, and summarize the research on its effectiveness.
Job Corps is a federal program that pays emerging adults a monthly stipend while training them in the skills for a job. Evaluations of the program indicate that graduates are employed more hours per week, have better literacy and numeracy skills, and are less likely to be arrested, compared to a control group.
11.12 Identify the main characteristics of apprenticeship programs in Europe.
European apprenticeships coordinate school-based training with the needs of employers to prepare adolescents for a wide range of jobs. Entry is at age 16, and programs last for two to three years.
11.13 Summarize Super’s theory of occupational development and identify its limitations.
Super’s widely used theory of occupational development focuses on adolescence and emerging adulthood as an important period containing stages of crystallization, specification, and implementation. However, many careers do not follow such a linear path, and the theory does not account for how young women must adjust their work paths to accommodate family responsibilities.
11.14 Summarize Holland’s theory of occupational choice and identify its limitations.
Holland’s theory describes six personality types and the jobs to which they are likely to be best suited. However, most people have personality characteristics that fit into more than one type, and most occupations can be performed with success and satisfaction by persons with a variety of personality characteristics.
11.15 Describe the typical experiences of emerging adults in looking for a job.
Most emerging adults spend several years changing jobs frequently as they seek identity-based work that will not only pay well but will also fit their identity and provide personal fulfillment. Their work explorations often are haphazard and unsystematic.
