Bromley H. Kniveton

The Influences and Motivations on Which Students Base Their Choice of Career.

The aim of the study was to examine the influences and motivations, on which students base their choice of career. 348 young people aged 14-18 years, completed a questionnaire and took part in an interview concerning their choice of career. It was found the greatest influence on their choice of career was their parents, followed by that of their teachers. There was evidence of gender differences, with same sex parental influences. Although seeking further education was the most popular next step for most respondents, marriage was more important to females than to males. Overall motivation to work was found primarily to involve money, and liking for the job. Very low on the list were long term goals, such as personal development, career advancement, and pensions. Most noticeably, the students considered status was derived from possessions, rather than employment. It was suggested, a consequence of this was that employers options to motivate workers were very limited. It was hoped, the profile of career influences and motives, would be helpful for teachers with responsibility for careers guidance. Teachers, with responsibility for careers guidance, are operating in a rapidly changing society. It is the aim of this study is to provide a current profile of the influences and motives, related to student career choices. According to Alberts et al (2003), choice of career is one of the major areas of concern for young people nearing the end of their schooling. The influences are complex for, Ginzberg et al. (1951) argue, the choice of career is also influenced by the young persons conceptualisation of his or her abilities and preferences, and the pursuit of a match between these and job requirements. This in turn, is influenced by the young persons gender, and place in the family. The interaction between these forces has previously been demonstrated in studies concerning the selection of specific careers, such as nursing (Law and Arthur 2003), but, in the present study, a far more widespread impact will be examined.

A study of perceptions that significant others hold of the inclusion of children with difficulties in mainstream classes

The perceptions of mainstream teachers and parents of other children, and ‘significant others’, are crucial to the extent to which children with difficulties are accepted in mainstream classes. This study examined the views of 507 ‘significant others’ towards the inclusion of children experiencing a variety of difficulties. They were asked to rank how they felt about children with certain types of ‘difficulty’, and given the opportunity to explain their decisions in a subsequent interview. Five main issues were examined, namely the most suitable age for inclusion, the problems faced by parents, the type of difficulty most suitable for inclusion into mainstream classes, the allocation of resources and how resources should be allocated to children with different types of giftedness. Views towards these issues varied depending on the type of difficulty the child experienced. The findings of this study indicate that some children are more likely than others to be readily accepted by ‘significant others’ for i...The perceptions of mainstream teachers and parents of other children, and ‘significant others’, are crucial to the extent to which children with difficulties are accepted in mainstream classes. This study examined the views of 507 ‘significant others’ towards the inclusion of children experiencing a variety of difficulties. They were asked to rank how they felt about children with certain types of ‘difficulty’, and given the opportunity to explain their decisions in a subsequent interview. Five main issues were examined, namely the most suitable age for inclusion, the problems faced by parents, the type of difficulty most suitable for inclusion into mainstream classes, the allocation of resources and how resources should be allocated to children with different types of giftedness. Views towards these issues varied depending on the type of difficulty the child experienced. The findings of this study indicate that some children are more likely than others to be readily accepted by ‘significant others’ for inclusion into mainstream schooling. It is stressed that the perceptions of these ‘significant others’ impact upon how successful any attempt to include children in mainstream classes will be.

An Investigation of Factors Contributing to Teachers' Job Satisfaction:

This study examines by questionnaire and interview whether certain factors are related to satisfaction levels in 155 school teachers. It was found that teachers scoring lower on the satisfaction scale placed greater emphasis on the use of new technologies and of teaching aids in general, and taught larger classes than did those scoring higher on the satisfaction scales. Those scoring lower on the satisfaction scale also had unfulfilled expectations, wanting more involvement on the part of pupils and felt that their own influence on those pupils should be greater. It is also true that some teachers who had higher levels of satisfaction were frustrated by feeling not well enough paid and from being overly restricted by their superiors. It is clear that there is much scope to improve the satisfaction levels of teachers by training, and to eliminate, by good management, factors which can frustrate and irritate unnecessarily. The need to keep class sizes as small as possible, and also to train teachers in the skills needed to involve their pupils in their classroom activities was emphasized.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MOTHER'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SEX EDUCATION OF HER CHILDREN AND HER PERCEPTION OF HER OWN PARENTS’ VIEWS

In the light of widely perceived increasing sexual dysfunction amongst adolescents, the study examines, by means of a questionnaire and interviews, the experience of SO mothers. It was found that there was a correlation between their own experience of learning about sexual matters from their parents and the guidance they gave their own children. It was suggested that this situation would be repeated for the next generation. It was concluded that when sexual dysfunction occurs, the therapist would need to take into account the contribution the attitudinal environment created in the home makes towards parental provision of sex education.

UNDERACHIEVING BOYS: A CASE FOR WORKING HARDER OR BOOSTING SELF‐CONFIDENCE?

This study is an attempt to offer the teacher an approach to help deal with the problem of boys underachievement which is frequently linked with misbehaviour and a negative attitude towards school. It looks at the extent working in pairs can help boys’ performance on a class test. 96 boys in their first year of an ‘A‐level’ course were included in the study. They worked and were tested either in pairs or alone. It was found that those who ONLY worked in pairs did better on the test and were more confident of their answers, than the pupils who had worked alone for some or all of the tasks. This occurred regardless of whether they rehearsed. It was suggested that encouraging boys to work harder is not very effective. More can be achieved by providing an opportunity to work with others and enhance their self‐confidence.

TRAINING LEISURE CENTRE INSTRUCTORS: CLIENT MOTIVATIONAL PROFILES EXAMINED

Purpose – To investigate the motivations of clients attending leisure centres/clubs. It is noted that training programmes for instructors tend to neglect this, particularly in relation to the gender and age of clients.Design/methodology/approach – In this study 460 recreational athletes including equal numbers of males and females in the two age groups, 17‐27 years and 37‐84, were interviewed and given a short questionnaire concerning their motives for taking part in activities in leisure centres/clubs.Findings – It was found that both gender and age influenced motivations to participate and reasons for leaving.Research limitations/implications – The need for instructors to be made aware of the very different motives driving recreational athletes to attend clubs was stressed, if client wastage is to be reduced.Originality/value – This study shows that gender and age variables influence motivations for participation, with marked differences in motivations between males and females. This article pin‐points ...

Collaborative Testimony by Police Officers: A Psycho-legal Issue

One of the reasons why four men on trial at the Old Bailey in London were acquitted of serious conspiracy and petrol bomb charges some years back in 1983 was, according to the Sunday Times report, that “Eight policemen had compiled their prosecution notes together in a police canteen, in apparent ignorance of rules which forbid joint preparation.” (Shirley, 1983). Although the judge may have thought that the police canteen was an inappropriate venue for the meeting (in fact, the canteen was almost certainly the only room in the Station capable of accommodating eight policemen in any degree of comfort), the main point at issue, of course, was not the venue for their meeting, but the collaboration, especially of such a seemingly large number of collaborators. In this chapter we would like to describe a series of experiments that have systematically explored the effects on the quality of testimony of having two or more witnesses, including police officers, testify to what they have heard.

Adolescent Perceptions of the Importance of Teachers as a Therapeutic Support in Coping with Their Problems.

The aim of this study is to determine the importance with KEYW ORDS which students regard teachers as sources of support in coping with their problems, and whether there is any link between this and the type of problem seen as being of major importance to them. A structured interview was conducted and a questionnaire administered individu-ally to 623 pupils aged 15-19 years, from 12 different schools and colleges. The results show teachers rank rather low in the list of those to whom the pupils will turn for help to cope with their problems. Boys and girls experience very different problems. Girls communicate as a means of dealing with their problems more than boys, who tend to look to themselves for support. The implications for those boys whose main problems concern school are discussed. It is stressed it is important not to neglect the needs of girls, who tend to adopt a lower profile in class.

An Investigation of Parental Protectiveness of Young Children Travelling to School

Summary Teachers in school are expected to provide similar experience for both girls and boys. Parents however, by their behaviour, may not be facilitating this. It has been suggested that sex roles are changing with the advent of the feminist movement. In an attempt to examine actual behaviour towards young girls and boys, children from 27 infant schools were observed attending and leaving school. It was predicted that parental behaviour would reflect traditional sex‐role attitudes by accompanying female children more than male. This was supported. It was observed that, in total, few children travelled unaccompanied.

The very young and television violence

CONCERN about the effects of television centers around the belief that violence portrayed on the screen encourages young people to be aggressive. Preoccupation with the effects of violence has resulted in a lack of perspective as to the effects of television in a more general sense. The aim of this paper is to look at the effects of violence on television but try to keep in mind the broader issues. Perhaps Schramm’s [1] conclusion is the most appropriate starting point “For some children, under some conditions, some television is harmful. For other children under the same conditions, or for the same children under other conditions it may be beneficial. For most children, under most conditions, most television is probably neither harmful nor particularly beneficial”. I feel that effects can usefully be classified into three categories. Firstly, that children can learn (acquire information) from television: secondly, that children may imitate behaviours that they see on television: and thirdly, that children may display interpersonal aggression as a result of watching violence on television. There is some evidence to indicate that television does provide children with an opportunity to learn. Schramm et al. [l] state that learning from television is usually incidental. Children watch to be entertained. In young children watching television gives them a much broader view of life than those who do not, for these are dependent on their own observations of the world around them, because they cannot yet read. With increased age television loses its advantage as a door to information and merely becomes a doorway to fantasy. With increased age those who watch television less should have time to learn and gain experience from other means. Schramm er al. [l] suggest that it is largely the factor of novelty which attracts attention on the media and hence it is with younger less well experienced children that learning from television will have most effect. With very young children they cannot tell reality from fantasy therefore they are influenced as much by television as they are by all the new things around them. As they get older they realize that television is fantasy and they feel less associated with it. Learning is influenced by the amount of identification with specific characters, and the child can store up for future use the opinions and attitudes of these characters, just as they can store up the opinions and attitudes of parents, teachers etc. Brown et al. [2] also suggest that children use television for an information source, as they are virtually always prepared to accept information and the media presents over time a fairly wide range of information about people and places and things. They do, however, suggest that when the information need is specific, television looses its importance in preference to other sources because the child does not have control over when information is broadcast. With increased age the child’s ability to select the most useful medium to acquire information improves and television becomes less important as a source.