Research Blog #10

The Overspecialization of Education

Abstract:

The increasing cost of college tuition is causing the demands of the job market to significantly influence the aim of higher education. Employers are demanding graduates that specialize in a specific set of skills. As a result, enrollment numbers are plummeting for liberal arts programs that have historically provided college students with a broad range of knowledge. There is a limit to the benefits of this trend towards a specialized education. Individual college students that are specialized to an extreme degree will forgo the opportunity to learn a broad range of useful skills. This paper seeks to establish the drawbacks of an overspecialized education by discussing the educational theories of John Dewey, David Meens, and Adam Smith. Going forward, the aim of higher education seems to be trending towards producing a workforce rather than developing well-rounded members of society.

Works Cited

Cappelli, Peter. "Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

De, Nikhilesh, Minna Kim, Chloe Dopico, and Nick Huber. "Rutgers Unveils 4-year Plan to Improve School of Arts and Sciences." The Daily Targum. The Daily Targum, 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

Dewey, John. "Democracy And Education." (1916): HathiTrust. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

Malone, TW, RJ Laubacher, and T Johns. "The Age Of Hyperspecialization." Harvard Business Review 89.7-8 (n.d.): 56-+. Social Sciences Citation Index. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

McCreadie, Karen, and Adam Smith. Adam Smith's The Wealth Of Nations : A Modern-Day Interpretation Of An Economic Classic. Oxford: Infinite Ideas, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

Meens, David E. "Democratic Education Versus Smithian Efficiency: Prospects For A Deweyan Ideal In The 'Neoliberal Age'." Educational Theory 66.1/2 (2016): 211. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

Neal, Micki, Carla Fletcher, Melissa Shook, and Jeff Webster. Balancing Passion and Practicality: The Role of Debt and Major on Students' Financial Outcomes. Rep. N.p.: TG Research and Analytical Services, 2012.

Root. "Specialization." Investopedia. N.p., 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

Smith, Adam, Edwin Cannan, and Max Lerner. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. New York: The Modern library, 1937.

Williams, Terri. "Enrollment Down at Colleges of Arts and Sciences - GoodCall News." GoodCall News. N.p., 02 July 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

Woodhouse, Kellie. "Colleges of Arts and Sciences Struggle with Deficits as Enrollment Declines." Colleges of Arts and Sciences Struggle with Deficits as Enrollment Declines. Inside Higher Ed, 4 June 2015. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

Literature Review #5

Citation :

Smith, Adam, Edwin Cannan, and Max Lerner. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. New York: The Modern library, 1937.

Summary:

Adam Smith wrote this famous book in 1776, in which he proposed many of his economical theories. One of his most famous theories proposed in the book is his specialization theory. Smith proposed that the division of labor would contribute to exponential economic growth over time. However, Smith did warn that there was a limit to the benefits from specialization. Many of the theories proposed by Adam Smith in this book are still relevant today.

About the Author:

Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. He is best known for this book, The Wealth of Nations,and for his theory of the invisible hand.

Key Terms:

Specialization (division of labor)

The Invisible Hand

Practical Education

Quotes:

“men are much more likely to discover easier methods when the whole attention of their mind is directed towards that single object than when it is dissipated among a great variety of things”

"The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations, of which the effects are perhaps always the same, or very nearly the same, has no occasion to exert his understanding or exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur”

“He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become”

Value:

This book is hands down my most valuable source. This book is really the foundation for modern specialization and is written by perhaps the most influential economist in history. Adam Smith's proposed limit to the benefits of specialization provides excellent support for my argument.

Research Blog #9 Argument/Counter Argument

Argument:

Colleges are focusing their attention more and more on specialized educational programs. This increased specialization in higher education is damaging to individual college students. In fact, too much specialization stifles an individual’s intellectual growth.

Counter-Argument:

A counter-argument would be that specialization is benfitical to college students. In his essay, Democratic Education Versus Smithian Efficiency: Prospects For A Deweyan Ideal In The 'Neoliberal Age, David Meens argues that specialization is beneficital to college students in todays economy.

“The principle that economic efficiency depends upon ever-increasing specialization means that any country pursuing democratic equality goals of universal general education and the equal treatment of students in a shared environment will thereby become less efficient and therefore less competitive” - David Meens

Research Blog #8 Case

I have found dozens of cases to support my argument. The website "studenetdebtcrisis.org" has been a very useful resource. Below is an excerpt from one of my main cases from 2016:

"I went to college because my high school was a college-prep school. What else was there to do after high school? Go to college. That was my option. I was never informed of other options or careers that didn't need a college degree. I wasn't prepared for a community college to offset some of the cost while I made up my mind. So I ended up a music performance major (because I can be anything I want to be!) and a private 4 year college. Thankfully, I wised up and left before graduation; however, I still have 40,000 in student loan debt... one of these loans is over 20,000 on a private loan with a 8.6% interest rate." 

Gina chose her major based on her passion for music performance and incurred thousands of dollars in debt. This is a common theme among Generation Me college students that are unaware of the financial consequences of their choice of major. Rising tuition costs should cause students to carefully choose their major by measuring their projected earnings against their projected debt.

Research Blog #7 Frame

Academic Frame: 

My academic frame is based off of the external and internal factors that influence a student's choice of college major. The main external factor being the job market for a certain degree, which can be measured using different methods of analysis. The main internal factor being self-interests or passions.

While the privatization of higher education continues to increase the cost of college tuition, choosing a practical college major becomes more and more important. In order to prevent themselves from falling victim to student loan debt, Generation Me will need to shake the bad habit of making decisions based solely on personal interest and begin to focus their attention on the external factors when choosing their major. It is important that high schools and universities educate students and allow them to make informed decisions when deciding their future.

The article, "Balancing Passion and Practicality: The Role of Debt and Major on Students' Financial Outcomes", offers a framework for making informed college major decisions. In my paper, I will use their "debt-to-income" tool as an example of how students should be choosing their major based on the job market.  In the article, researchers of higher education in Texas use this tool to measure median income of college degrees against the debt that the average student must accumulate in order to achieve this degree. Using this tool, or a similar method of analysis, could save thousands of college students from falling victim to student loan debt.

Unfortunately, research shows that today's college students, Generation Me, are more likely to make decisions based on their own self-interest. Both the article, "Generation Me: Influences of A Students' College Major Choice", and the book, "Generation Me: Why Today's young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - And More Miserable Than Ever", will be useful for explaining how today's college students are making decisions.

Research Blog #6 Visual

This is a graphical representation of the results of a survey conducted in 2012 at nine public universities. In the survey, researchers asked roughly 1800 students who influenced two of their biggest decisions: which college to attend and what to major in while attending college. As you can see parental influence was significant in determining which college to attend. When students were asked who influenced their major, the most common answer was,  "myself".  In my mind, what makes these results so compelling is that "myself" was not actually  an option on the survey.  Students who answered "Other" were given an open ended section to specify what they meant. Of the nearly 1800 students surveyed, 488 of them answered "Other" and then answered "Myself."

While the privatization of higher education causes tuition to rapidly increase, one would expect external factors, such as "Career or Earnings Goals", to be more influential in determining a student's college major choice. However, the results of this study suggest that internal factors, such as personal interest, are the most influential factors.

Literature Review #4

Generation Me: Influences of Students' Choice of Major

Citation: George-Jackson, C.E. (2012). Generation Me: Influences of  Students’ Choice of Major. Project STEP-UP. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Summary: This article written by Casey George-Jackson summarizes a study that was conducted in 2010. In the study, George-Jackson surveyed over 1800 undergraduate students in nine large public universities asking them to identify who influenced their college major decisions the most. The article provides the results with data to back up her findings.

Author: Casey George-Jackson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development at the University of Louisville. Her research examines factors impacting participation in the STEM fields, including students’ initial choice of major. She also investigates postsecondary financial awareness and readiness, including the impact of differential tuition policies on underrepresented students and their families.

Key Terms:

major differences by gender - how gender influences a student's choice of major

major differences by race - how race influences a student's choice of major

major difference by class - how class status ( i.e. Freshman) influences a student's choice of major.

Quotes:

"While parents may most influence the decision to attend college, students' choice of major can be influenced by a number of factors, and most prominently by students' own interests and attitudes towards fields of study."(Page 4)

"Of those who answered Myself... 56.6% were female, 42.2% were male and 1.2% did not specify their gender." (Page 3)

"First major: my parents, current major : myself" (Page 4)

Value: 

This article will provide me with important data to build my case. This study shows that parents and a student's own interests play the most important role in deciding a student's college major. The study was done as recently as 2010

Literature Review #3

College Major Choice: An Analysis of Personal-Environment Fit




Citation: 
Porter, Stephen R., and Paul D. Umbach. "College Major Choice: An Analysis of Person-Environment Fit." Research in Higher Education 2006: 429. JSTOR Journals. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.


Summary:

The article was published in 2006 in the journal, Research in Higher Education. In the article, Stephen Porter and Paul Umbach describe the results of their study. Porter and Umbach surveyed freshman year college students at a selective liberal arts college in order to gain insight into their choice of major. The researchers apply Holland's Theory of Careers to their results in order to explain why students choose particular pathways. Holland developed six models he calls "environments" that people fit into when choosing a career. These models can be used a foundation for developing similar "environments" that college students choose.

Authors:

Both Paul Umbach and Stephen Porter are professors of Higher Education in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Adult & Higher Education at North Carolina State University, where they teach courses in educational statistics. Both men are also principals at Percontor, an educational research and consulting firm.

Key Terms:

Holland's Theory of Careers - human behavior is a result of the interaction between individuals and their environments.

Environments - six models developed by Holland that can be translated into a typology for academic disciplines—realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional

Quotes:

"Holland’s theory and the notion of student–environment fit may be a useful lens through which to study racial and gender differences in student major choice." (433)

"Because parents’ income, father’s education and mother’s education are highly correlated, we constructed a socio-economic status factor .... Social capital and cultural capital, largely represented by parental influence, have a significant impact on major choice."(434)

"We find that political views and the Holland personality scales are very strong predictors of student major choice."(444)

Value:

This scholarly article is perhaps my most useful resource. I plan to use this study as a foundation for my paper, particularly Holland's Theory of Careers. I hope to create major environments of my own that expand on Porter and Umbach's findings.

Research Blog #5: Working Bibliography

Working Bibliography:

George-Jackson, C.E. (2012). Generation Me: Influences of  Students’ Choice of Major. Project STEP-UP. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Kinsler, J. ( 1 ), and R. ( 2 ) Pavan. "The Specificity Of General Human Capital: Evidence From College Major Choice." Journal Of Labor Economics 33.4 (2015): 933-972. Scopus®. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Kuz’mina, Iu.V. "The Direct And Indirect Effect Of Family Factors On The Choice Of A College Major."Russian Education & Society 56.12 (2014): 53-68. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Porter, Stephen R., and Paul D. Umbach. "College Major Choice: An Analysis of Person-Environment Fit."Research in Higher Education 2006: 429. JSTOR Journals. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Shen, F.C. "The Role Of Internalized Stereotyping, Parental Pressure, And Parental Support On Asian Americans' Choice Of College Major." Journal Of Multicultural Counseling And Development 43.1 (2015): 58-73. Scopus®. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

Twenge, Jean M. Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable than Ever before. New York: Free, 2006. Print.

Workman, Jamie L. "Parental Influence On Exploratory Students' College Choice, Major, And Career Decision Making." College Student Journal 49.1 (2015): 23-30. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Research Proposal

Working Title: What Does Your Major Say About You?

Topic:

The topic that I am proposing research on is the effect that a college student’s background and personality have on their choice of major. I hope to find specific patterns, based on both external and internal factors, of students in certain majors that create major molds. The paper will mainly focus on more recent generations of college students.

Research Question:

How is a college student’s decision in choosing a major influenced by external forces and how is it influenced by internal forces? Do most students in a particular major fit the mold?

Theoretical Frame:

There have been a number of theories over the years that seek to explain the choices that college students make. In particular,  Holland’s Theory of Careers has been applied to a college student’s choice of major in several recent studies. The article, COLLEGE MAJOR CHOICE: An Analysis of Person–Environment Fit, explains that “The basic premise of Holland’s theory is that human behavior is a result of the interaction between individuals and their environments. Applying Holland’s theory, Smart, Feldman, and Ethington suggest that students choose academic environments compatible with their personality types’’(Porter and Umbach  432) Holland’s Theory establishes six environments that “can be translated into a typology for academic disciplines”. (Porter and Umbach 432) Using the environments created by Holland as a foundation my paper will establish major molds that can be applied to students from recent generations to explain why they choose a particular major.  

While tuition costs continue to skyrocket due to the privatization of higher education, one would imagine that class background and economic status would contribute more to a student’s choice of study. Students can no longer afford to sacrifice practicality for passion. On the other hand, it may be more likely that the Me Generation follows their own interest in choosing a major, regardless of the economic consequences.  

Research and Plan:

The article, Generation Me: Influences of Students’ choice of major, written by Casey George-Jackson, documents a study done in 2010 in nine large public universities. In this study George-Jackson asked several students who was their biggest influence in choosing a major. The students were given a list of choices which included: guidance counselor, parents, peers, high school teacher, minister, family/friends, or other. Out of 1,867 different responses, by far the top two responses were “myself” (around 25%) and “my parents”(around 20%). The study goes on to break these two categories down by race and gender, giving great insight into how different cultures result in different major decisions.

A student’s choice of major is strongly influenced by family characteristics. The article, The Direct and Indirect Effect of Family Factors on the Choice of a College Major,  discusses research done on Russian college students that shows how much of a student’s choice of major is determined by their family’s economic resources and how much is a result of cultural factors. Research shows that in most cases parents have one of the heaviest impacts on a student decision making. In a more broad sense, certain cultures place a higher value on specific career choices creating a sense of major stereotypes.

Internally, each individual has a unique set of interests that will have some impact on their choice of major. In her book, Generation Me, Jeane M. Twenge explores the personality traits of the younger generation. Twenge argues that this generation is not only confident, tolerant, and open-minded, but also narcissistic and anxious. The “Entitlement Generation” that Twenge is referring to consists of people born in the 1980’s and 1990’s. These self-centered individuals make up typical current college students and recent graduates. My thought is that self-absorbed students are more likely to follow their own internal interests in choosing a major, rather than external forces.

Literature Review # 2

Generation Me: How Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled, -- And More Miserable Than Ever





Citation: Twenge, Jean M. Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable than Ever before. New York: Free, 2006. Print.

Summary:  Jean Twenge explores why people born in the 80's and 90's are "tolerant, confident, open-minded, and ambitious but also disengaged, narcissistic, distrustful, and anxious". This "Generation Me" is reshaping colleges. Twenge uses the latest research, data, and statistics, to show how American character has shifted towards individualism.

About the Author:  Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and the author of more than 110 scientific journal articles and book chapters. She received a BA in sociology and psychology and an MA in social sciences from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in personality psychology from the University of Michigan. 

Key Terms:

Entitlement Generation

self-esteem

societal-expectations

Quotes:

"Generation Me has grown up thinking that it is more important to "do your own thing" than conform to the group.

"GenMe believes that people should follow their dreams and not be held back by societal expectations.."

 "Work should provide a rich and fulfilling experience as well as make me rich. Of course, this often clashes with reality." 

Value:

Jean Twenges findings will help me to determine "internal forces" that are affecting today's college students on a broad scale. In other words, how has the shift in "personality" of this generation impacted how students treat college (particularly their studies). I hope to find out how a shift toward selfish individualism has influenced recent trends in major choices. 

Lit Review post #1

Parental Influence on Exploratory Students' College Choice, Major, and Career Decision Making





MLA Citation:

WORKMAN, JAMIE L. "Parental Influence On Exploratory Students' College Choice, Major, And Career Decision Making." College Student Journal 49.1 (2015): 23-30. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

This article was written by Jamie Workman in 2015 and published in the College Student Journal. Workman examined a first year living learning community and incorporated Schlossberg’s transition theory,  which discusses transition in terms of four S ’s: situation, self, strategies and support, in the context of freshman college students' transition into college. Workman came to the conclusion that parental influence is a key theme in college students' decision making.


About the Author:

Jamie Workman is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Iowa. She has a bachelor's in education, a master's degree in student administration, and a Phd. in Higher Education. Workman also worked as a director of residence life at Miami University.


Key Terms:

Strategies refer to ways in which individuals cope with the transition.

Support refers to people, organizations, or institutions the person turns to for help with the transition


Quotes:

"As mentioned, several of the students saw their parents as being positive influences in their major and career decision making processes. Laura described her family as the: ...most influential people in your life and they’re the ones that you look up to and respect their advice. It’s important that you have those people in your life to weigh things off of and that they’re going to give you a nonbiased opinion."(page 3)

"Some students feel an obligation to pursue the career paths of their parents or other family members, while others are completely disconnected from their family. " (page 7)

"It could be assumed that students who go against their parent wishes regarding major and career exploration would be at higher developmental levels than those who simply choose based on what their parents believe to be best. "

Value: This article provides strong evidence that your family background has a significant influence in your major choice.

Initial Academic Research Bib

1. The Direct and Indirect Effect of Family Factors on the Choice of a College Major

This article is described as Research on Russian students shows that the choice of a major and career is strongly influenced by family characteristics, and that there are both direct and indirect influences. 

The link to the article is below:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&sid=f8492985-1f40-4dd6-99b1-29d2d4a6f0fc%40sessionmgr106&hid=127

2. The Specificity of General Human Capital: Evidence from College Major Choice,

This article discusses a study done at several prestigious universities that analyzes how a college students major choice relates to there human capital. A main topic in the article that I found both interesting and useful is their discussion of the question "Does your major determine how hard you will work or does how hard you work determine your major?"

The link to the article is below:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=f8492985-1f40-4dd6-99b1-29d2d4a6f0fc%40sessionmgr106&hid=127

3.  PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON EXPLORATORY STUDENTS’ COLLEGE CHOICE, MAJOR, AND CAREER DECISION MAKING

This article explores parental influence on exploratory students' college choice, major, and career decision making. The research began with examination of a first year academic advising model and Living Learning Community. This article will be an extremely useful resources in determining how a student's background affects their choice of major. 

The link to the article is below:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=f8492985-1f40-4dd6-99b1-29d2d4a6f0fc%40sessionmgr106&hid=127