In Blog #1, I had a few different options of which direction I wanted to go in. After researching all the topics, I decided to further research the pros and cons of the "undecided" major because there is a debate on if it is worth the monetary cost to go to school without a major or concentration.
When looking online, I found a lot of research from universities on how to deal with their undecided students. There are many articles that discuss the pros and cons of entering college undecided. Additionally, I found an article about the origin of indecisiveness along with many studies of students who chose the undecided path when entering college.
Key terms used in articles: advising, options, direction, epidemic, exploratory, specialization, retention, influence, developmental phase, attitudes.
Books and scholarly articles:
- Bad College Advice- the Undeclared Major: Forbes article discussing how expensive and time consuming the undeclared major is and how it is a bad decision for all first-year students. Instead, it suggests that students take college courses in high school to discover their interests.
- * The Undecided College Student: An Academic and Career Advising Challenge: This book identifies who undecided students are (race, gender ethnicity), the history of undecided students, and how to help undecided students declare a major. I feel that this book will provide me with the best information on the topic because it includes a lot of detail that I find helpful.
- “Decided,” “Undecided,” and “In Transition”: Implications for Academic Advisement, Career Counseling, & Student Retention: A scholarly article about undecided students that addresses the myths & realities surrounding this decision. It also provides a section discussing how to enhance an undecided student's first year so that they can choose a path that suits them best.
From this search, one of the biggest issues surrounding entering college undecided is related to the financial cost of taking classes that are not necessarily required for one's future major. This could result in an undecided student needing to spend an extra semester, or even year at a university which requires additional funding that a student may not have. However, another topic that was brought up often was the fact that students usually switch their major at least once in their college career. The pro-undecided side of the debate thinks that going into college undecided will help a student stick to one educational path their entire college career. Researchers now are looking into the reasons why students are undecided and have attributed it to around 50 different factors.
The debate surrounding the undeclared major has two different sides. One side discusses how it is a bad decision to enter college undeclared because taking different classes ends up costing you more money in the long run. On the contrary, I read articles that advocated for entering college undecided and taking introductory courses because it ensures that the student is on the right path.
I'm glad I waited to comment, as I probably would have said more about your idea of "College in the Digital Age." But the issue of choosing a college major is very interesting, and there seems to be a growing body of literature that suggests that those who choose their major early and have the best advice on how to pursue it will have the fastest success. They also tend to be more affluent students -- sort of like the difference between Emma and Taylor from A+H's book: though Emma knew she wanted to be a dentist, she did not really know how to get there and so she was a bit less focused than Taylor was; meanwhile Taylor got all the right advice and did all the right things, so that when she got to grad school she found she was one of the youngest in her class and the best prepared.
ReplyDeleteTwo books that might be of help on this topic are Academically Adrift and Aspiring Adults Adrift, both by the same authors. They discuss how a growing number of college students do not know why they are in college, they are not focused on career goals, and they tend to take much longer than previous generations to establish themselves in careers. Not know what they plan to major in is just one part of that picture, but it seems to be a marker. And different social class backgrounds and parental resources and cultural capital can make a difference. For instance, students who attend poorer school districts tend to get less time with a guidance counselor in school than students at more affluent schools, and they tend not to have as much parental guidance as well.
So related issues are choosing a college major and being "adrift" at college and after -- which is related to the topic of what is often called "delayed adulthood" or "emerging adulthood."
I will give you some links to potentially related blogs.
A number of students have written on choosing a college major, but almost all ended up focusing on the problem of getting more women into STEM fields, which is not really connected to your project. But one student developed a project that is closer to the direction you are taking:
ReplyDeletehttp://youandyourmajor.blogspot.com/
I think his blog would be useful to look at and some of his sources might help you.
Looking at his blog and thinking about Rebekah Nathan's discussion of "liminality" got me thinking about the pluses and minuses of having a strong focus on major when you come to school. Certainly students who really know what they want to do when they arrive on campus -- along the lines of Taylor in Armstrong and Hamilton's book -- and carefully and self-consciously focus on their goal will achieve measurable success, especially if you are measuring by how much they earn (which is easy to measure). But some of those students may not be so happy -- especially those who choose a major their parents want them to do and are not really so dedicated to it, or those focused on money alone who end up getting burned out. Meanwhile, those who really embrace college as a liminal space for self-discovery and take the opportunity to explore alternatives may arrive at a more freely chosen career and life path that makes them very happy, even if they don't achieve quite the financial success of someone like Taylor.
The main problem is that there is just so much financial pressure to get done with college as quickly as possible and to get a lucrative job, so it is hard for most students to even consider the slower path. And students on a professional pathway have so far to go that they feel obliged to hurry along as fast as possible, too, even if they come from wealthy backgrounds. It may be that only Rich Kids Can Afford to Study English/. But for those who can afford the time, there may be long term benefits, both in terms of long-term happiness and potentially economic payoffs too. A study a few years ago suggested that liberal arts majors do eventually make good incomes, and other studies have backed that up.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/22/see-how-liberal-arts-grads-really-fare-report-examines-long-term-data
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/the-unexpected-value-of-the-liberal-arts/535482/
There is the danger of "delayed adulthood" -- of not reaching those social markers of having made the passage to adulthood, such as getting married, buying a home, having kids, etc. But those who see it more as "emerging adulthood" and embrace the journey have opportunities for happiness.
A few students have written on the emerging / delayed adulthood phenomenon also, and their blogs may be of help:
http://maryananikolin.blogspot.com/
http://collegeresearch123.blogspot.com/
The work of Jeffrey Arnett seems especially valuable to look at.