Tag: Holland’s Theory

How to Choose Your Major at Penn State Harrisburg

Choosing Your Major Based on Interests and Outcomes That Matter

Kirin Uzar & Bee Yang
The purpose of this consultation project was to aid students at Penn State Harrisburg in choosing a major and a career field that will fit with their values and interest while still having a return on investment. To accomplish this, we used Psychology of Working Theory as well as Holland’s Theory. In matching interests with potential majors, we aim to aid students in finding careers that satisfies their needs for survival and allows the them to meet their self-determination needs as well. This goal was accomplished using our five resources, 1) a narrated PowerPoint video, 2) a PowerPoint, 3) a RIASEC worksheet, 4) a Choosing Your Major Worksheet and 5) a Discussion Question guide.

 

Social Justice Needs: The Cost of Education

The population for our consultation project was prospective college students and first or second year students who are choosing a major and/or career. These students specifically request a large return on investment of their tuition costs for their degree. Our consultation project was for Penn State Harrisburg’s Career Services with Katy Baker. Career and Admissions counselors work with these students to find a major and requested a resource to aid them with these students.

This project aimed to help students find a major that would lead to career that would yield a high return on investment while still fitting with their interests and values. This is important because attending college is more expensive than ever. Forbes (2020) estimates that national student loan debt is over 1.6 trillion dollars and the average college grad owes over $32,000 in student loan debt. Cilluffo (2019) found that 34% of adults age 18-29 report having student loans. When considering adults with a bachelor’s degree, 49% report having student loans. Cilluffo (2019) also report that college graduates with student loans are more likely to report difficulty getting by or just getting by than college graduates without student loans.

Forbes (2020) also estimated that the average salary with an undergrad degree is only $50,000. At this salary, it would be difficult to pay off the student loans, as well as other loans while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle. Thus, these students would like to maximize their return on investment with their college degree to be able to pay these loans as well as achieve their personal self-fulfillment.

To help these students find their interests and careers that match their interests, an online interest profiler O*NET (www.mynextmove.org/interests/ip) was utilized. Students were guided through the interest profiler via a narrated PowerPoint and were tasked with completing the accompanying worksheet titled: Choosing a Major. Completing the interest profiler allows students to find their interests and careers that are common for people with these interests. Upon completion of the profiler, a list of potential careers is provided along with additional information and requirements for each career such as knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and personality traits. Students were then directed to college board (https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/majors-careers) to explore the degrees that are required for the careers that they are interested in. Penn State Harrisburg students were then directed to the list of majors offered on campus (https://harrisburg.psu.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs) and provided contact information to meet with advisors and career counselors.

Theoretical Rationale: Psychology of Working Theory and Holland’s Theory

When considering the population that this consultation project is serving it is important to recognize that these students lack experience in careers. This lack of experience makes the interest focused Holland’s Theory more appropriate than other theories.

Our consultation project utilized Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), Holland’s Theory, and RIASEC scores. Psychology of Working Theory states that people work to fulfill three needs; the need for survival and power, the need for social connection and contribution, and the need for self-determination (Blustein et al., 2008).

Through working, basic survival needs like subsistence, water, and safety can be met. After meeting these needs, working individuals can then achieve their need for self-fulfillment. This is consistent with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1968). Tied closely with survival needs are the needs for psychological, social, and economic power (Blustein, 2006). In working, individuals obtain status, money, and privilege, which allows the worker more control (power) than without working. Working also allows for connection with others in social and cultural environments (Blustein, 2006). Social connections are important as support to avoid negative impacts of social isolation such as heightened sensitivity to social threats, impaired executive functioning, sleep iss,ues, and impaired physical and emotional wellbeing (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2014). Work also provides a feeling of contribution to a larger societal system which offers a greater sense on connectivity (Blustein et al., 2008). Finally, work provides opportunity for self-determination. Work provides money and power which may allow individuals to control other areas of their lives. However, many individuals are not able to select careers that match their personal interests which may impede their ability to express their self-concepts while meeting their needs (Blustein et al., 2008). Blustein (2006) suggested that adding value congruence may promote greater internalization and help self-regulation in work. Value congruence refers to the degree to which the individuals’ values match that of their work environment.

This consultation project aimed to add value congruence with PWT by utilizing Holland’s Theory and RIASEC scores.

A picture showing the six Holland dimensions; Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Realistic.
Retrieved from https://personalityjunkie.com/holland-code-riasec-career-interests-myers-briggs-types/

Holland’s Theory states that personalities and interests can be split into six dimensions represented in the RIASEC scores. Each dimension describes a broad field of similar careers. Each dimension also describes individuals and their preferences, values and motivations (Spokane et al., 2002). Matching the individual’s interests with potential careers that are congruent with these interests may lead to greater internalization and self-regulation in work as discussed by Blustein (2006).

Holland’s theory is suitable for college students because college students often have a lack of work experience and are not going through a work adjustment. Interests and values are a good starting point due to this lack of experience. Additionally, Holland’s theory is straight forward and is visually appealing. The population that is being served by this project is specifically requesting the best return-on-investment as possible from their college degree. Therefore, it appears as though students requesting this service are primarily focused on meeting the need for survival and having their job/career meet their financial demands. By utilizing Holland’s theory and the RIASEC codes, our project aims to transition these students from a perspective of surviving to a future that would also allow them to thrive in a career that meets their survival need and their self-determination need.

Resources Needed

  • Preferably, a professional with experience/knowledge about career counseling theories and/or an individual that has worked through the video on this topic. 
  • A computer with internet access is needed to access this consultation project.  
  • A list of potential majors at the university at which this consultation project is being utilized.  

Delivering Services

Delivery of this project can be applied to many settings; admissions events for prospective students, First Year Seminars, and one-on-one advising/career counseling appointments. To ideally implement this project, the students’ advisor should sit through the process with the student or have a meeting scheduled shortly thereafter the student has completed the worksheet. Delivery is straightforward:

  • The “Choosing Your Major Worksheet” should be downloaded or printed to document RIASEC scores, potential careers, and majors of interest.
  • Based on preference, the student and advisor can either follow along with the PowerPoint or the narrated video.
  • After completing the worksheet, the student and their advisor should consider the “CC Discussion Questions”, and make any more necessary appointments (e.g., Office of Student Aid).

Expected Outcomes: A Plan for College

  • Students will become knowledgeable in their personality type and careers that are best suited to their type. 
  • Students will narrow down several careers of interest based on matters of importance such as financial outlook and projected growth in the field. 
  • Students will have a major chosen to discuss with their advisor who can then instruct on how to declare a major and what classes to take. 

These outcomes can be measured by consulting the completion of the student’s “Choosing Your Major” worksheet.

The Finished Product

All components of this project can be accessed on Penn State’s Box website. The folder on Box includes:

  • A PowerPoint, and a video that provide instruction on how to choose a major based on career outcomes.
  • A worksheet to follow along with the video and/or PowerPoint, with spaces to write down the students’ RIASEC scores, potential careers, and majors of interest.
  • A handout with more information about RIASEC scores.
  • A list of discussion questions with links to further information that the student should consider with their advisor(s).
References

Blustein, D. L. (2006). The psychology of working: A new perspective for career development, counseling, and public policy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Blustein, D. L., Kenna, A. C., Gill, N., & DeVoy, J. E. (2008). The psychology of working: A new framework for counseling practice and public policy. The Career Development Quarterly, 56(4), 294-308.

Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S. (2014). Social relationships and health: The toxic effects of perceived social isolation. Social and personality psychology compass, 8(2), 58-72. doi:10.1111/spc3.12087

Cilluffo, A. (2019). 5 facts about student loans. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/13/facts-about-student-loans/

Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Spokane, A. R., Luchetta, E. J., & Richwine, M. H. (2002). Holland’s theory of personalities in work environments. Career choice and development, 4(2002), 373-426.

Career Guidance for Youth

Big Brothers Big Sisters: A Post-High School Resource Guide

By: Jennifer L. Finn and Mike P. Posteraro Jr.

This project aimed to provide a step-by-step guide for high school students to ease the burden on figuring out post-high school plans. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Harrisburg makes it their mission to “create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships” for their youth. It cannot be assumed that all teens have access to the resources they need to navigate the uncertainty of post high school planning. Therefore by providing a resource manual with steps needed to successfully narrow down an individual’s interests and meet the requirements of each of the three most common post high school paths, we felt that we could account for this need.

Social Justice Needs: Inner City Youth of Harrisburg

(Data USA, 2020)

Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BBBS) provides mentorship to children between the ages of 6 to 18, who need positive role models, to help them realize their potential and build their futures (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2020). Within the workplace, having a childhood ethical role models were the most commonly reported type of ethical role model by ethical leaders, and childhood modeling showed the strongest positive relation on ethical leadership (Brown & Treviño, 2014). According to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, studies show that children who have role models are more likely to improve in school and in their relationships with family and friends. They also state that children with role models are less likely to skip school, use illegal drugs or alcohol, drop out of school, or commit crimes (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2020). Researchers found that mentors show a strong net influence on educational success for children and youth (Erickson et al., 2009). Mentors provide positive effects on successful health promotion and overweight prevention interventions for low-income, African American adolescents residing within urban communities (Black et al., 2012). This is important because Harrisburg city’s population is made up of 51.8% of Black or African Americans (United States Census Bureau, 2020), the median household income in Harrisburg, PA is $35,300, the median property value is $82,100, and the poverty rate is 29.9% (Data USA, 2020). At the same time, only 72.10% of Black or African American children in PA graduate from high school compared to 92.5% for Asians and 90.4% for Whites (Department of Education, 2020). Also, only 20.2% of adolescents in Harrisburg, PA graduate from a 4-year college (United States Census Bureau, 2020).

(Data USA, 2020)

 

Big Brothers/Big Sisters’ programs include community-based mentorship consisting of one-on-one activities with children, school-based, helping children with incarcerated parents, children of military families, and a “Bigs in Blue” programs involving one-on-one mentorship connecting children and youth with police in their communities (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2020). After they stated that they needed a resource guide to provide a template on how to pursue their post-high school aspirations, we got to work because resources are one of the many aspects that impacts the effectiveness of mentorship (Erickson et al., 2009). Subsequently, the Big Brother/Big Sisters Resource Guide was born.

 

Theoretical Rationale: Holland & Super

The two career theories that align with this resource guide and our population’s needs are Holland’s Theory & Super’s Life-Span, Life Space Theory.

Holland’s theory postulates that there are six personality types – Realist, Investigative, Artistic, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC). Holland also talks about a term called consistency where he assumes that people want their highest personality types to be adjacent to each other. So, when people take an interest assessment, similar to the one included in our guide, they want their personality types to be next to each other. Another assumption is that people search for environments that suit their interests. Furthermore, Holland asserts that people strive for congruence, which is the degree of match between a person’s personality type and environment’s personality. Interventions include receiving feedback from one’s environment to discover interest/preferred activities and competence and getting students to think about their interests and careers. Conversely, Holland believed that people’s personalities stay the same and he didn’t explicitly provide a guide on how to offer support guidance (Department of Education, 2020).

Super’s Life-Span, Life Space theory supplements the facets that Holland didn’t explain. Super’s theory professes that people’s personalities, abilities, values, self-concept, and preferred occupations. Simultaneously, Super coined the term “career maturity.” This refers to one’s decision-making readiness in childhood and adolescence. Incidents that can affect career maturity include language barriers, trauma, socialization, and available resources.

Additionally, Super stated that one’s (Jones, 2019) vocational development is dependent on their self-concept, which is developed through experience and over time. Furthermore, Super postulated that people progress through life stages. During the growth stage, adolescents learn decision-making and competence. During the exploration stage, people develop a realistic self-concept and explore occupations. Interventions operate under the concept that people prefer careers in which they can find satisfaction in expressing themselves and develop their self-concept. They include helping students identify and set goals, clarify their self-concept, and expose them to a plethora of careers – Providing resources and knowledge of career choices (Department of Education, 2020).

Resources You’ll Need

The biggest thing you will need for the resource manual is a computer with internet access in order to access the required sites that are noted in the resource guide. Depending on the route the client decides to take, will dictate the resources they will need to utilize. For the college route, access to collegeboard for SAT registration will be essential. Though, this resource will not be relevant for the trade school or military route. The college route will also require access to PHEAA, FAFSA, the commonapp, and the specific university of interest’s website. The trade school route will also require access to PHEAA and FAFSA, but in addition will require access to tradeschool.net and the trade school of interest’s website. Lastly, the military route will require a different direction for internet. For an individual that chooses to enter a branch of the military, they will need to utilize the listed websites in the manual in order to obtain recruiter information for the specific branch. Information on the requirements for these specific branches will note additional websites needed to apply.  Other materials will include access to study materials such as SAT prep books, ASVAB study materials, and a gym membership for military fitness exams.

Delivering to Big Brothers Big Sisters

Prior to the COVID-19 quarantine, the initial plan for delivering the resource manual to BBBS was through an in-person experience. We aimed to meet with Amy Rote and some of the available teens to present a kit that included a printed and bounded

(BBBS, 2020)

copy of the resource manual, Penn State stress balls, and motivational quotes.Though, the sanctions of quarantine made this plan unfeasible. Therefore, we opted for a digital delivery of the manual to Amy Rote via email upon the completion of the final project. We also included information of social justice needs and theoretical rationale behind our manual for her to use when she presents the resource manual to mentors and mentees.

Expected Outcomes

In order to track the outcomes and impact of our resource guide, a longitudinal study or retrospective study would be best to measure this data accurately. We would need to keep track of who utilizes the resource manual as a post high school planning tool and follow up with them after their post-high school planning was complete and they had begun whatever post high school endeavor they chose. This retrospective study would evaluate the ease of comprehension, the usefulness, and the accuracy of the resource manual when initiating post high school plans. A longitudinal study would be a good way to track the success rate of students who utilized the resource manual versus students who had not utilized the resource manual.

The Resource Manual

Resource Guide Spring 2020

References
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. (2020). About us. https://www.bbbs.org/about-us/
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. (2020). Programs. https://www.bbbs.org/programs/
Black, M., Arteaga, S., Sanders, J., Hager, E., Anliker, J., Gittelsohn, J., & Wang, Y. (2012). College mentors: A view
from the inside of an intervention to promote health behaviors and prevent obesity among low-income, urban, African American adolescents. Health Promotion Practice, 13(2), 238-244. https://www-jstor-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/stable/26739556
Brown, M., & Treviño, L. (2014). Do role models matter? An investigation of role modeling as an antecedent of
perceived ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(4), 587-598. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42921459
Data USA. (2020). Harrisburg, PA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/harrisburg-pa/
Department of Education. (2020). Cohort Graduation Rate.
https://www.education.pa.gov/DataAndReporting/CohortGradRate/Pages/default.aspx
Department of Education. (2020). Overview of career developmental theories.
https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K12/Career%20and%20Technical%20Education/CEWStandards/Resources/Pedagogy/Overview%20of%20Holland%20Bandura%20and%20Super.pdf
Erickson, L., McDonald, S., & Elder, G. (2009). Informal mentors and education: Complementary or compensatory
resources? Sociology of Education, 82(4), 344-367. www.jstor.org/stable/40376056
Jones, S. (2019). Mentorship in business and life. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesmarketplace/2019/04/26/mentorship-in-business-
and-in-life-2/#27f01a535699
Smith, P. J. (2009). The impact of childhood health on adult labor market outcomes. The Review of Economics and
Statistics, 91(3), 478-480. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25651
United States Census Bureau. (2020). Quick facts Harrisburg city, Pennsylvania.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/harrisburgcitypennsylvania