THE ADOLESCENT TECHNICIAN: A TRAINING MODEL FOR MASTERY AND DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH.
Item
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Title
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THE ADOLESCENT TECHNICIAN: A TRAINING MODEL FOR MASTERY AND DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH.
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Identifier
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AAI8119754
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identifier
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8119754
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Creator
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HAFFEY, MARTHA FRAAD.
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Contributor
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Dr. Charles Guzzetta
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work
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Abstract
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The human service training project for high school students was based on the supposition that an experience in adolescence of mastery in an occupational area, in this case human services, will positively influence the adolescent in the process of identity formation. In this project, identity formation refers to the developmental task of adolescence as defined by Erikson's theoretical model. In particular, this project focuses on the specific process of vocational identity as one aspect of an adolescent's identity. Models of vocational development which have informed this project have been drawn from the results of the Career Pattern Study (Super, et al.) and the Career Development Study (Gribbons and Lohnes). The purpose of the human service training project was to help students master skills in the human service field at a technician level of performance by learning specific practice rules and by applying these rules to practice. The three areas of focus for this project were: (1)the level of performance for high school students in the human services; (2)students' mastery of human service skills according to this program's curriculum and performance standards as well as the student's self-perception of mastery; (3)the relationship of student mastery to identity formation/vocational development.;The project, modeled after a multimethod training concept, consisted of two distinct but interrelated components: work experience in a human service agency under the supervision of agency personnel and participation in a didactic seminar. The training curriculum and performance standards were the main focus of this project and were developed as the vehicle for defining skill development and mastery. The structure of the curriculum was defined in terms of the conceptual level of a technician's level of practice and in terms of the actual tasks performed at the work site.;Eight of a total of nineteen were studied according to ratings on the performance standard form, self-reports of mastery and changes on the crystallization of occupational interests index, consisting of five vocational maturity variables. Results indicated that high levels of performance may have furthered growth in vocational development. In addition, students' perceptions of mastery in performance regardless of actual ratings may have been a factor in career choice. A student's ability to conceptualize performance in terms of specific skills did not appear to influence growth on the crystallization variables specific to developing interests in the human services. In this study, a student's identification of skill as defined by this project's framework, may have contributed to student's perceptions of lowered mastery in human service skill. In the area of skill development, students tended to perform on higher levels in adaptive rather than functional skill areas. Results indicated that variables of time, the broad range of content, method and sample may have influenced outcomes.;Conclusions suggest that the results have implications for the design of training programs with goals which focus on developmental growth or change. Although task analysis may have been useful in defining appropriate competencies and curriculum content for entry into agency practice, for the most part, this analysis did not define the process of applying learning to practice. In fact, an understanding of this process may be more useful in defining content and competencies for programs which emphasize developmental rather than employment related goals. In this training program for high school students with goals of enhancing vocational maturity through mastery of skills in a time-limited period, training which focused on adaptational skills and content would more likely have met stage-specific needs.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.S.W.
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Program
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Social Welfare
