The Undecided College Student: An Academic and Career Advising Challenge
MLA Citation: Gordon, Virginia N., and George E Steele. The Undecided College Student: an Academic and Career Advising Challenge. Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2015.
This reading addresses all important topics concerning undecided college students. It acknowledges that there is not one sole cause of indecision in students. This book also addresses the cultural differences in decision making. For example, Americans for the most part make their own career decisions while Taiwanese students conform to familial and societal expectations. Throughout the book there are case studies that investigate why students are undecided and how they can be grouped together to better understand causation including family influences and emotional intelligence.
Author Virginia N. Gordon is an expert in the field of academic advising. She has been a professor of education at Ohio State University for 21 years. Here she proposed an advising position for undergraduates, and was hired shortly after to see her project through. Since then, she has written several books about academic advising including: Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook, Selecting a College Major: Exploration and Decision Making and Building Your Career: A Guide to Your Future.
Author George E. Steele, is an executive director at the Ohio Learning Network. He helps students find educational programs that fit their interests. He also served as a advising coordinator who advised undecided students and major-changing student which gave him a deep understanding of students who enter college undecided.
Key Terms:
Quotes:
"However, the undecided students emphasize the college goal of developing their minds and intellectual abilities more often than that of choosing a vocational or professional goal. Thus, undecided students seem more intellectually and less vocationally oriented" (Gordon & Steele 7).
"The researchers concluded that persons who are indecisive require a different type of counseling than persons who are only undecided about a particular decision. After designing a study to distinguish the effects of counseling on undecided and indecisive students, Heppner and Hendricks (1995) came to the conclusion, that is different approaches are required for clients with different career problems" (Gordon & Steele 14).
"That is, students who indicated higher ability to perceive, access, and generate emotions were more likely to report greater confidence in their career decision-making tasks. Conversely, students who were less attuned to understanding, analyzing and regulating emotions, experience difficulty in committing because they were less aware of how to use their emotions to guide their thoughts and actions" (Gordon & Steele 40).
Value: The information provided in this book helps me better understand the indecision of students entering college and why they decide to pursue the undecided path. I found the first quote particularly interesting because it brings up the idea that undecided students are focused on developing their minds rather than focusing on a specific career. One of the main points that was discussed in this article was the difference between "undecided" and "indecisive." The term "indecisive" refers to a person's ability to make decisions in all situations while the term "undecided" relates specifically to career decision making. After reviewing this literature, I have decided to look deeper into the factors of why students chose the undecided pathway, and wether it turns out beneficial to the student.
MLA Citation: Gordon, Virginia N., and George E Steele. The Undecided College Student: an Academic and Career Advising Challenge. Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2015.
This reading addresses all important topics concerning undecided college students. It acknowledges that there is not one sole cause of indecision in students. This book also addresses the cultural differences in decision making. For example, Americans for the most part make their own career decisions while Taiwanese students conform to familial and societal expectations. Throughout the book there are case studies that investigate why students are undecided and how they can be grouped together to better understand causation including family influences and emotional intelligence.
Author Virginia N. Gordon is an expert in the field of academic advising. She has been a professor of education at Ohio State University for 21 years. Here she proposed an advising position for undergraduates, and was hired shortly after to see her project through. Since then, she has written several books about academic advising including: Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook, Selecting a College Major: Exploration and Decision Making and Building Your Career: A Guide to Your Future.
Author George E. Steele, is an executive director at the Ohio Learning Network. He helps students find educational programs that fit their interests. He also served as a advising coordinator who advised undecided students and major-changing student which gave him a deep understanding of students who enter college undecided.
Key Terms:
- Undecided: Career decision problems
- Indecisive: Problems students encounter with decision making in general. This is often associated with low self-esteem.
- Career Self-Efficacy: the confidence that individuals have in their ability to master specific tasks
- Career Maturity: the readiness of an individual to make informed, age-appropriate career decisions and to cope with developmental tasks.
- Emotional Intelligence: ability to perceive, access and generate emotions.
Quotes:
"However, the undecided students emphasize the college goal of developing their minds and intellectual abilities more often than that of choosing a vocational or professional goal. Thus, undecided students seem more intellectually and less vocationally oriented" (Gordon & Steele 7).
"The researchers concluded that persons who are indecisive require a different type of counseling than persons who are only undecided about a particular decision. After designing a study to distinguish the effects of counseling on undecided and indecisive students, Heppner and Hendricks (1995) came to the conclusion, that is different approaches are required for clients with different career problems" (Gordon & Steele 14).
"That is, students who indicated higher ability to perceive, access, and generate emotions were more likely to report greater confidence in their career decision-making tasks. Conversely, students who were less attuned to understanding, analyzing and regulating emotions, experience difficulty in committing because they were less aware of how to use their emotions to guide their thoughts and actions" (Gordon & Steele 40).
Value: The information provided in this book helps me better understand the indecision of students entering college and why they decide to pursue the undecided path. I found the first quote particularly interesting because it brings up the idea that undecided students are focused on developing their minds rather than focusing on a specific career. One of the main points that was discussed in this article was the difference between "undecided" and "indecisive." The term "indecisive" refers to a person's ability to make decisions in all situations while the term "undecided" relates specifically to career decision making. After reviewing this literature, I have decided to look deeper into the factors of why students chose the undecided pathway, and wether it turns out beneficial to the student.
Very good. This gives you some ideas for helping such students. I especially like the term "self-efficacy," and maybe that would help students be more decisive and less "adrift."
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