Family influence on gifted EFL high school students’ career choice intentions in Vietnam - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Family influence on gifted EFL high school students’ career choice intentions in VietnamHong Cao, Dr. Jae Yup Jared Jung, Dr. Susen Smith

2. Presentation outlineCareer choice intentions of gifted EFL high school students in VietnamContext of the studyRationale for the studyResearch questionsResearch designKey findingsDiscussion: Family influence on gifted EFL high school students’ career choice intentions

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4. Context of the studyGifted education in Vietnam:Established in 196576 gifted/ selective/ specialized high schools in over 64 provincesThe total number of gifted high school students was 50,000, accounting for 1.74% of the number of high school students in Vietnam (MOET, 2009).

5. Context of the studyGifted education in Vietnam:Gifted Maths, Physics, Literature, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), etc.Students are selected based on their academic reports and selective exams (Maths, Vietnamese Literature, English, and a subject of their major [i.e., advanced Maths, Physics, English, etc.])Gifted education used to focus mostly on science and technology (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology)Recently, there has been increasing interest in gifted EFL because of the advantages that gifted EFL students might have in both the entrance exam to university and later in the labour market.

6. Background information… Inside the gifted high schools“As students of gifted school, each of us received 55,000 Dong a month, and we must study well to deserve it.”“Before the university entrance exam, our teacher said that we must obtain at least 9.5 (out of 10) in our major … Failing the university entrance exams must not occur with gifted students …”“If I don’t learn hard enough, I will be weeded out from the gifted classes and I will have to learn in a normal class.”

7. Rationale for the studyCareer choice intentions of gifted students?High school students?Gifted EFL students?

8. Research questions and research designWhat are the factors that predict career choice intentions of high school gifted EFL students?How do these factors interact and shape the choices?Phase 3: Quantitative survey study (CFA, SEM) Phase 2: Quantitative survey study (CFA, SEM) Phase 1: Qualitative grounded theory analysis

9. Family influence = Opinions of family members (i.e. parents, siblings, members in the extended family) that may have an impact on a student’s career decision making process.Career knowledgeCareer interestCareer self-efficacyCareer choice intentionFamily influenceCareer prospectsCareer stabilitySocial recognitionCareer choice intention model 1Career knowledgeCareer interestCareer self-efficacyCareer choice intentionFamily influenceCareer prospectsCareer stabilitySocial recognitionCareer choice intention model 2Findings from qualitative analysisCareer SE = Individual’s perception of his/ her ability to perform different career tasks

10. Model 1: Family influence  Career self-efficacy  Career choice intentionCareer knowledgeCareer interestCareer self-efficacyCareer choice intentionFamily influenceCareer prospectsCareer stabilitySocial recognition“I think I’m better at Maths than English, I’m better at numbers than words. So, maybe economics is more suitable to me.” (A-02)“…my parents have always said that I’m stronger in interpersonal communication than technical areas. So, a career in economics may be more suitable to me because it requires communication, which is my strong area” (D-07)

11. Model 2: Family influence  Career choice intentionCareer knowledgeCareer interestCareer self-efficacyCareer choice intentionFamily influenceCareer prospectsCareer stabilitySocial recognition“My parents made that choice for me; and I also like it. I think it’s suitable to me” (D-10)“Most of the decisions (i.e., which school, which class to be in) have been made for me by my Mum. For the decision to be a teacher, my Mum has experienced it, so she knows what it’s like. She also has information about other careers and the current trends; so I think she might be in a better position to make a decision.” (C-04)

12. Findings from quantitative analysis

13. Family influence might have both direct and indirect impact on the career choice intentions of gifted EFL students.The indirect impact on career choice intention was better supported by quantitative data.

14. Family influence on career choice intentions of gifted EFL high school students in VietnamExisting career development theoriesThe historical characteristics of Vietnam

15. Existing career development theoriesMost researchers seem to agree that families have some type of influence on career development amongst adolescents (Brown, 2004; Dietrich & Kracke, 2009).Variables that have been identified as influencing adolescents’ career choice and development include: family structure, roles assumed by each members, the systems of values and attitudes (Palos & Drobot, 2010), family support (Lent, Brown, Hackett, 1994, 2000), family involvement (Tang, Fouad, Smith., 1999), social influence family (Jung, 2014, 2017), etc.

16. Existing career development theories…in addition to their moderating effect on the choice process, contextual factors may assert a direct influence on choice making. (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2000)

17. Existing career development theoriesTang, Fouad, & Smith (1999, p. 151): Family involvement is directly significant only with career choice (.30) and not with self-efficacy (.06).

18. Existing career development theoriesJung (2014, 2017): Jung (2017)

19. Asians and Asian Americans are different because of their different cultural experiences (Fouad et al., 2008)Asians is a diverse group with different sub-groupings, each with its own characteristics.

20. The historical characteristics of Vietnam

21. 1000 years of Chinese dominance111 BC to AD 939Since 939 ADVietnamese Independent MonarchiesLate 1880s100 years of French colonization- Indochina1954- 1975US’s control over Sai Gon Communist party in the North1975Fall of SaigonReunification of Vietnam under the Socialist Republic Renovation policy/ Open-door policy19862000Vietnam: globalization and internationalizationBrief history of Vietnam

22. Compared to many other East Asian countries (i.e., China, Japan, Korea), the Vietnamese version of Confucianism is “weaker”When the Vietnamese appropriated Confucianism from China, they “simplified” it and focused on its practical applications, not its philosophical ones (McHale, 2004)With the development of modern society, both the connotation and the expression of Piety (one core value of Confucianism) have changed. (Nguyen & Hoang, 2016)

23. Piety in traditional cultureThe absolute parental role.“Father’s merit is as skyMother’s goodness is as water in Eastern seaHigh mountain and immense seaChildren must have filial piety”“An unsalted fish is soon rotten, so the disobedient child will be spoiled” (Vu Ngoc Phan, 1998, p. 451)

24. New aspects of Piety in current VietnamThe parent-child relationship in the modern society is a bilateral and equal relationship (“children have the right to be wrong”, “dare to be impertinent”, Ho Ngoc Dai, 2000).Children have opportunities to learn and travel, so they may acquire knowledge in more fields than their parents.

25. Respect for parents as well as the related notion of family honour remain at the core of the Vietnamese value system.99% (of those surveyed) think mothers and fathers should be respected regardless of their qualities.Trust for parents“My parents understand me most.” (D-02)“Our parents understand us and always want the best for us.” (B-03)

26. Parental authority is expressed less in decrees than in advice and discussion with the children

27. (Bandura, 1997)Mastery experiences (Performance attainment)Vicarious experience (Modelling) Verbal persuasion (Social persuasion)Physiological arousal (Affective/ emotional arousal)Self-efficacyEncouragement or discouragement pertaining to an individual’s performance or ability to perform (Redmond, 2010)

28. SummaryThe role of family influence on the career decision making process of gifted EFL high school students in Vietnam can be confirmed.However, in modern Vietnamese society (the fading impacts of Confucianism and increasing Western impacts), the relationship between family influence and individuals’ career choice intentions might be better perceived as an indirect one through career self-efficacy.Because of the respect and absolute trust that parents have from their children, parents (family influence) may be an important source of career self-efficacy for high school students.

29. Implication for practiceInform parents and other concerned parties about how specifically gifted EFL students go about making their career decisions.When there is a need to persuade these adolescents to pursue certain careers, parents may focus on the suitability of these careers and work towards increasing adolescents’ career self-efficacy.In the absence of counsellors and psychologists in schools in Vietnam, parents can work more closely with teachers to better understand their children’s strengths and weaknesses and accordingly support them in their career decision making process.Building a sense of trust and mutual respect between parents and adolescents might be an important step in supporting them in the career decision making process.

30. Limitations and implications for future researchOther populations (i.e., other gifted groups, students from other parts of Vietnam especially the South, etc.)Other family factors (i.e., parent-child relationship)Other factors that might influence career self-efficacy

31. ReferencesBandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Macmillan.Brown, M. T. (2004). The career development influence of family of origin: Considerations of race/ethnic group membership and class. The Counseling Psychologist, 32(4), 587-595.doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000004266007Dai, Ho Ngoc (2000). “The article”, Labour Publishing House. Dietrich, J., & Kracke, B. (2009). Career-specific parental behaviors in adolescents’ development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75(2), 109-119.doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.03.005Jung J.Y. (2014). 'Modeling the Occupational/Career Decision-Making Processes of Intellectually Gifted Adolescents: A Competing Models Strategy', Journal for the Education of the Gifted, vol. 37, pp. 128 - 152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0162353214529045Jung J.Y. (2017). 'Occupational/Career Decision-Making Thought Processes of Adolescents of High Intellectual Ability', Journal for the Education of the Gifted, vol. 40, pp. 50 - 78, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0162353217690040Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of vocational behavior, 45(1), 79-122. doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027

32. References Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2000). Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: A social cognitive analysis. Journal of counseling psychology, 47(1), 36. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.1.36Leong, F. T. (1993). The career counseling process with racial‐ethnic minorities: The case of Asian Americans. The Career Development Quarterly, 42(1), 26-40. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.1993.tb00242.xMcHale, S. F. (2004). Print and Power: Confuscianism, Communism, and Buddhism in the Making of Modern Vietnam (Vol. 1). University of Hawaii Press.Paloş, R., & Drobot, L. (2010). The impact of family influence on the career choice of adolescents. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 3407-3411. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.524Phan, Vu Ngoc (1998). Vietnamese proverbs, folk poems and folk songs, Social Science Publishing House. Tang, M., Fouad, N. A., & Smith, P. L. (1999). Asian Americans' career choices: A path model to examine factors influencing their career choices. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(1), 142-157. doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1998.1651Tho, N. T., & Hanh, H. T. (2016). Piety in Traditional Culture and Its Aspects in Vietnam Today. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2 S1), 98. doi:10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p98Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory of organizational management. Academy of management Review, 14(3), 361-384.

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