Preparing inner-city adolescents to transition into high school.

The study in this article investigated how academic preparation, career development skills, parental assistance, and social/environmental barriers predicted inner-city adolescents' psychological preparation to transition into high school. Results showed that academic preparation, parents' instrumental assistance, adolescents' career development skills efficacy, lack of teacher and peer support, and teenage pregnancy were predictive for both boys and girls. Suggestions appropriate to assist inner-city youth in preparing for high school are offered.

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One of the greatest challenges for professional school counselors is the retention and success of students who are at risk for academic failure (Edmondson & White, 1998). The dropout rate among at-risk students has reached epidemic proportions in many communities. In the inner cities, where students may be placed at risk both by their minority and their socioeconomic status (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000; Turner & Lapan, 2003), high school graduation rates are often less than 50% (Greene, 2002), with many students dropping out of school as early as the ninth grade. These low graduation rates have devastating effects on communities and thus on the nation as a whole. "Children who do not graduate with a high school diploma stand little chance of sustaining themselves or a family in today's economy" (Greene).

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2004) recommends that professional school counselors at all levels make significant, vital, and indispensable contributions toward the academic, career, and personal/social success of "at-risk" students. School counselors should provide proactive leadership in the areas of (a) identification of at-risk students; (b) preventive program planning; (c) individual, group, family, and crisis counseling; and (d) individual educational planning. These efforts should be focused upon the prevention of adolescents from dropping out of school, a decision that can carry with it devastating and lifelong consequences.

Transition theories (Brim, 1979; Graber & Brooks-Gunn, 1996; Schlossberg, 1984) suggest that one way to decrease school dropout rates among entering high school students is early transitional planning and preparation. Preparation of at-risk students, before they begin high school, can help them better adjust to the demands of a new environment. Through anticipatory socialization (Brim), young people can develop the readiness, self-efficacy, perceived support, personal control, and independence to enter into and adjust to high school. This psychological preparation can increase the likelihood that they will orient more successfully to high school, gain more access to high school resources, and adapt to high school more effectively during the post-transition phase (Catterall, 1998; Heppner, Multon, & Johnston, 1994).

Only a few studies have been conducted that investigate the psychological correlates of successful transitioning to high school (Bullis, Davis, Bull, & Johnson, 1997; Carlson, Sroufe, & Egeland, 2004; Jackson, Pancer, Pratt, & Hunsberger, 2000). These researchers have shown that young people with greater positive expectations of success experience greater adjustment, and greater agreement between expected and actual experiences subsequent to transitioning.

In related lines of research, numerous investigators have identified other factors that promote adolescents' persistence with respect to their educational and vocational development. Four primary categories of variables tend to be identified in this research: (a) academic preparation, (b) career development skills training, (c) parental assistance, and (d) skills developed to overcome social and environmental barriers. For example, researchers have shown that academic preparation is predictive of adolescents' graduation from high school (Arbona, 2000; Gregory, 1995; Gutman, Sameroff, & Eccles, 2002). Career development skills training is predictive of adolescents' goal orientation, goal directedness, and confidence in their abilities to pursue chosen career paths (Janosz, LeBlanc, Boulerice, & Tremblay, 1997; Lapan, Gysbers, Hughey, & Arni, 1993; O'Brien, Dukstein, Jackson, Tomlinson, & Kamatuka, 1999). Parental assistance can positively influence young people's confidence that they can succeed in their educational and vocational development (Alliman-Brissett, Turner, & Skovholt, 2004; Turner, Alliman-Brissett, Lapan, Udipi, & Ergun, 2003). Skills to overcome social and environmental barriers can positively influence adolescents' educational plans and career expectations (McWhirter, Hackett, & Bandalos, 1998).

I suggest that in the inner cities, where many lowincome, minority, and single-parent families reside, the study of factors promoting successful transitioning to high school become even more critical, as inner-city adolescents often face multiple challenges such as teenage pregnancy, lack of adequate adult and peer encouragement, and overarching extended family responsibilities (e.g., working to contribute to the economic needs of the family; National Research Council, 1993). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how inner-city adolescents' academic preparation, career developmental skills efficacy, parental assistance, and social/environmental barriers are associated with indicators of their psychological preparation to enter into and adjust to high school.

Based on Schlossberg's (1984) recommendation that the study of transitions requires the simultaneous analysis of individual characteristics and external conditions, I chose structural equation modeling, which can be used to analyze the relationships between sets of predictor and criterion variables simultaneously (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993). I hypothesized that among inner-city middle school adolescents, their academic preparation, career development skills efficacy in three domains (career planning and exploration, relating to others in career and academic contexts, and understanding the links between school and work), and parents' assistance in four domains (instrumental assistance, verbal encouragement, emotional support, and role modeling) would be positively and differentially related to their psychological preparation to transition into and adjust to high school (Hypothesis 1); that perceived social and environmental barriers (lack of significant adult encouragement, lack of peer encouragement; lack of ability, lack of motivation, lack of academic preparation; teenage pregnancy; family responsibilities; gender and ethnic discrimination; leaving home; and lack of money) would be negatively and differentially related to their psychological preparation (Hypothesis 2); and that there would be no significant differences between African American and Native American participants in their psychological preparation.

METHOD

Participants

Participants were 147 eighth-grade students from one inner-city middle school. School administrators reported that 96% of these adolescents lived at or below the poverty level. Of these adolescents, 55.8% (n = 82) were boys, and 44.2% (n = 65) were girls; 47.6% (n = 70) were African American, 2.7% (n = 4) were Asian American, 6.1% (n = 9) were Hispanic/ Latino, 40.1% (n = 59) were Native American, and 3.4% (n = 5) reported as being of mixed heritage. The mean age of the participants was 13.05 years (SD = .70). Graduation rates in this school district at the time of data collection were comparable to those in other major metropolitan areas in the United States, with fewer than 50% of the students predicted to graduate from high school on time (Metro Trend Watch, 2001).

Procedures

I gathered the data during the first 4 weeks of the spring semester. Testing took approximately 30 to 45 minutes per student. Students were recruited from their social studies classes by their teachers. No students declined to participate. No research incentives were provided for participation.

Instruments

Psychological preparation to transition was measured using a modified version of the Career Transitions Inventory (CTI; Heppner, 1991). The original version of this instrument is a self-report inventory designed to measure adults' perceived preparation to make a career transition. The modified version (which was adapted by me and two Ph.D. students) is a self-report inventory designed to measure middle school students' perceived psychological preparation to transition into high school. Once the modified version was developed, Heppner reviewed it to verify that the items measured constructs equivalent to the original version, and changes were made in the new instrument as per her suggestions. The modified version has a Flesh-Kincaid grade level of 6. The 40 items of the modified inventory are rated on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 6 = strongly disagree). Twenty-two items are reverse scored. Sample statistics for all scales used in this research are reported in Table 1.

Five scales made up the original instrument: Readiness, Confidence, Support, Personal Control, and Independence. In the current sample, a confirmatory factor analysis revealed this same five-factor structure in the data using the modified version (with the absolute values of the standardized path coefficients ranging from .17 to .73 [p < .05] for all variables, and adequate goodness-of-fit measures [RFI = .81, IFI = .86, TLI = .84, with values closer to 1 indicating greater fit; Bollen, 2002]). A second confirmatory analysis revealed an additional two-factor structure in the data (Readiness/Confidence/ Support [RCS] and Control/Independence [CI]) with absolute values of the standardized path coefficients ranging from .13 to .46 (p < .05), and adequate goodness-of-fit measures [RFI = .97, IFI = 1.00, TLI = .99, with values closer to 1 indicating greater fit, Bollen]). Because goodness of fit was greater for the two-factor solution than for the five-factor solution, the two-factor solution was chosen. Thus, two scales (to represent the two factors in this solution) were constructed to be used in subsequent analyses of the data. These scales were constructed using mean scale scores for each participant.

The RCS scale measures adolescents' expectations that they are ready, willing, confident, committed, and have the support to go to high school and to adjust to high school. A sample item is "Going to high school may be too complex a process for me to work through" (reverse scored). The CI scale measures the extent to which adolescents expect that their own efforts, creativity, capabilities, and personal choices will positively affect their educational outcomes. A sample item is "Luck and chance will play the major role in my successfully making it through high school" (reverse scored).

Construct validity of the modified CTI was tested in a subset of the current sample (n = 68). Results showed that the RCS scale correlated negatively with a measure of anxiety (math anxiety [r = -.47, p < .001] as measured by the Fennema-Sherman Math Attitudes Scale [FSMA; Fennema & Sherman, 1976]) and positively with several other measures of educational and career support (mother support for math [r = .49, p < .001] and teacher support for math [r = .45, p < .001] as measured by the FSMA; and emotional support for career development [r = .32, p < .01] and instrumental support for career development [r = .29, p < .05] as measured by the Structured Career Development Inventory [SCDI; Lapan, 2004]). The RCS scale also correlated positively with academic achievement (r = .32, p < .01), as measured by the SCDI. The CI scale correlated positively with Rotter's (1966) Internal/External Locus of Control Scale (r = .35, p < .05) and with the number of hours worked at a job per week (r = .31, p < .05).

Career development skills was measured using the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Survey (MCGS; Gysbers, Multon, Lapan, & Lukin, 1992). This instrument measures adolescents' confidence that they possess career development skills. The MCGS instrument consists of three scales, each scored on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = low confidence, 7 = high confidence), with higher scores indicating greater confidence. The MCGS was originally normed on 3,271 middle school students (Lapan, Gysbers, Multon, & Pike, 1997). Constructs represented by the three scales in this instrument have been positively associated with vocational identity, career decidedness, and academic and nonacademic indexes of self-concept, and negatively associated with more referrals to the principal's office and lower expectations for achieving life goals (Lapan et al., 1993; Multon & Lapan, 1995). Internal consistency estimates for the MCGS scale scores in this original sample ranged from .71 to .88.

Career planning and exploration efficacy was measured using the 10-item Career Planning and Exploration Efficacy Scale. A sample item is "I am confident that I know how to explore careers in which I may be interested." The confidence to relate to others in career and academic contexts was measured using the 31-item Understanding of Self and Others Self-Efficacy Scale. A sample item is "I am confident that I respect other people even though they may be different than me." The confidence in understanding the links between school and work was measured using the 20-item Educational and Vocational Development Self-Efficacy Scale. A sample item is "I am confident that I know how academic skills, such as math, reading, and science, relate to my career goals."

Parental assistance was measured using the Career-Related Parent Support Scale (CRPSS; Turner et al., 2003). The CRPSS consists of four scales that measure parents' instrumental assistance, verbal encouragement, emotional support, and career-related role modeling. Each of these scales is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 3 = neither agree or disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating more agreement. Internal consistency estimates for the CRPSS scale scores in the original norming sample ranged from .78 to .85 (Turner et al.). Constructs underlying the four scales in the CRPSS have been positively associated with career decision-making self-efficacy and career decision-making outcome expectations (Turner et al.).

The Instrumental Assistance Scale is a 7-item scale that measures parents' assistance in developing their adolescents' educational and vocational skills. A sample item is "My parents help me pick out classes that will help me in my career." The Verbal Encouragement Scale is a 6-item scale that measures parents' encouragement of their adolescents' persistence regarding educational and vocational development. A sample item is "My parents told me they expect me to finish school." The Emotional Support Scale is a 7-item measure of parental assistance and encouragement regarding educational and vocational issues. A sample item is "My parents talk to me when I am worried about my future career." The Career-Related Modeling Scale is a 7-item measure of the extent to which parents demonstrate skills and describe circumstances that lead to successful educational and vocational development. A sample item is "My parents have taken me to their work."

Academic preparation and social/environmental barriers were measured using the Perceptions of Barriers Scale (POB; McWhirter, 1997). The POB is a 28-item inventory rated on three 4-point Likert scales: a measure of the perceived likelihood that adolescents will experience specified barriers during high school (1 = definitely a barrier, 4 = definitely not a barrier); a measure of the perceived magnitude of these barriers (1 = a very big barrier, 4 = not a huge barrier); and a measure of the perceived difficulty of overcoming these barriers (1 = definitely difficult, 4 = not difficult at all). Barriers as measured by the POB have been related to gender-role attitudes, educational plans, and career expectations among Mexican American and European American boys and girls (McWhirter et al., 1998).

In order to determine the most relevant factors of the POB in this present sample, an exploratory factor analysis, with a Varimax rotation, was conducted, using the summed ratings for each of the POB items. Ten factors emerged, with eigenvalues > 1, accounting for 75.72% of the total variance explained. Each of the item ratings loaded at > .40 on their respective factors. Thus, no item ratings were deleted from further analysis. The factors that emerged were (a) lack of academic preparation (4 items, e.g., "not being prepared enough"), (b) lack of significant adult encouragement (2 items, e.g., "teachers don't support my plans"), (c) lack of peer encouragement (3 items, e.g., "friends don't support nay plans"), (d) self-perceived lack of ability (3 items, e.g., "not talented enough"), (e) self-perceived lack of motivation (2 items, e.g., "lack of motivation"), (f) teenage pregnancy (2 items, e.g., "having children"), (g) family responsibilities (3 items, e.g., "having to work while going to school"), (h) gender and ethnic discrimination (3 items, e.g., "racial/ethnic discrimination"), (i) leaving home (3 items, e.g., "not wanting to move away"), and (j) lack of money (3 items, e.g., "not enough money"). The items identifying each of these factors, except for lack of academic preparation, were scaled, and mean scores for each scale were computed. To aid in interpreting the results of this investigation, items representing lack of academic achievement were reverse scored before they were scaled tO reflect no lack of academic preparation.

Gender was included as a status variable in this analysis to detect gender differences in adolescents' responses. Boys were coded 1, and girls were coded 2.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling (SEM), using maximum likelihood analysis, was used to explore relationships among the variables. As reported in Table 1, the testable statistical assumptions underlying SEM were met (i.e., continuous, nontruncated variables; normal distribution of data; and low measurement error). Goodness-of-fit measures indicated an adequate fit of the model to the data: CMINDF = 2.19, RMSEA = .090, IFI = .98, and TLI = .97. For CMINDF, values in the range of 2 to 3 indicate an adequate fit of the model to the data (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993); for RMSEA, values < .1 indicate an adequate fit (Browne & Cudeck, 1992); and for IFI and TLI, values very close to 1 indicate a good fit (Bollen, 2002). Figure 1 shows the relationships between the indicators and the criterion variables. In order to facilitate the interpretation of this figure, only significant paths (p < .05) are shown. Correlations, covariances, and the full path model are available upon request. Beta weights (signified by the symbol [beta]), as shown in Figure 1 and in the text following, denote the magnitude of relationships between the predictor and the criterion variables, with larger absolute values indicating stronger relationships.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Readiness/Confidence/Support

Academic preparation had the largest positive effect on the adolescents' RCS scores ([beta] = .42). Parents' instrumental assistance also had a positive effect ([beta] = .15); and lack of teacher support ([beta] = -.22), lack of peer support ([beta] = -.39), and teenage pregnancy ([beta] = -.15) had negative effects. Gender ([beta] = .31) had a positive effect, indicating that girls had more readiness, confidence, and overall support to transition into high school than boys. Career development skills efficacy (for any of the three skills areas measured) was not significantly related to the RCS scores.

Control/Independence

Academic preparation had the largest positive effect on the CI scores ([beta] = .45). Career planning and exploration efficacy ([beta] = .19) and understanding the links between school and work efficacy ([beta] = .14) had positive effects, as did parents' instrumental assistance ([beta] = .26). Understanding self and others in career and academic contexts efficacy ([beta] = -.36) had a negative effect on the CI scores, as did lack of teacher support ([beta] = -.13), lack of peer support ([beta] = -.20), and teenage pregnancy ([beta] = -.15). There were no significant effects of gender on the CI scores, indicating that there were no differences between boys and girls on their sense of personal control and independence.

Ethnic Differences

Results of a t test with p set to .05 indicated no significant differences between Native Americans' and African Americans' psychological preparation variables.

DISCUSSION

Results show that academic performance, career development skills efficacy, supports from significant others, and social/environmental barriers are related to inner-city adolescents' psychological preparation to transition into high school. Among these predictors, academic preparation was most strongly associated with both RCS and CI. Parents' instrumental assistance was a positive predictor of both RCS and CI; and lack of peer support and lack of teacher support were both negative predictors. Greater efficacy for career planning and exploration and for understanding the links between school and work was positively related to greater CI, but not to greater RCS. In addition, understanding self and others in career and academic contexts had a negative relationship to adolescents' perceived CI.

Finally, the anticipation of teenage pregnancy was negatively related to both RCS and CI. This finding is consistent with previous research showing that rates of teenage pregnancy among inner-city adolescents are at least 34% above the national mean (National Research Council, 1993), and it extends those findings by demonstrating that the prospect of teenage pregnancy is negatively related to inner-city middle school adolescents' expectations that they can successfully enter into and adjust to high school.

Other variables in this study were not significantly related to adolescents' RCS or CI (caring for families of origin, the prospect of leaving home, lack of money, and self-perceptions of abilities and motivations did not relate to RCS or CI). This suggests that providing interventions to help inner-city adolescents develop skills to overcome these barriers are not as critical to their psychological preparation to transition into high school. Further, there were no significant differences between African American adolescents' and Native American adolescents' psychological preparation indicators. This suggests that African American and Native American students from inner-city schools are in equal need of school counseling programs designed to promote their psychological preparation to transition into high school.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

Although this study was a correlation, results suggest that there are ways that school counselors can increase inner-city adolescents' psychological preparation to transition into and adjust to high school. These are (a) increasing academic preparation by increasing the provision of academic counseling, (b) increasing peer support through a cohort model of middle school to high school transitioning, (c) providing parent and teacher training programs to enhance adolescents' transitional competencies, (d) using work-based learning to increase specified career development skills, and (e) providing education and support around adolescents' expectations of teenage pregnancy.

The ASCA National Model[R] (2005) calls for service provision in three areas: academic, personal/ social, and career. Various authors have noted that personal/social and career counseling may be provided to students more often than academic counseling (Paisley & Hayes, 2003). The results of this present study suggest that in the inner cities, where many students do not have basic reading, writing, math, or study skills (Metro Trend Watch, 2001), academic counseling should be increased in order to increase transitional competencies and expectations of transitional success.

Cohort transitioning has been used successfully at the college level to increase student retention (Lucas & Robinson, 2002). Cohorts can provide adolescents with preestablished peer support systems during post-transition. However, in larger school systems, students often are transferred to many different high schools, and they begin their high school experiences in classes in which they have very few peer supports. I recommend that school counselors advocate for cohort transitioning to high schools in larger inner-city school districts, and that cohort support groups (in which transitional strategies and plans can be discussed) be offered both prior to students entering high school and during their first year of high school.

Prior to graduation from middle school, counselors can help parents and teachers prepare to assist in their adolescents' transitioning. Parents and teachers should be helped to understand the psychological preparation, and the psychological consequences, that adolescents can experience during their transition to high school. In addition, middle school counselors can help parents increase their adolescents' expected transitional competencies as they increase their instrumental assistance (such as structuring homework times and providing opportunities for educational and career-related skills development).

Many states allow young adolescents to work part-time jobs as part of their school curriculum. This work-based learning can help adolescents explore careers and understand how their education is related to work. School counselors can work with students to help them choose the work-based learning experience that would most benefit them, and counselors can offer career exploration groups to help students discuss what they are learning and how their experiences can relate to their later careers.

Finally, the results of this study suggest that school counselors can assist inner-city middle school students in examining and discussing the meaning of teenage pregnancy, the risks of teenage pregnancy, and strategies to avoid teenage pregnancy in order to help them make more informed choices. Structured experiences, such as group counseling dealing with teenage pregnancy and parenthood, should be provided. As well, attention should be given to individual students who are struggling to cope with the demands of teenage parenthood as well as the demands of finishing middle school and high school.

The overall results of this study suggest that school counselors can help prepare inner-city middle school adolescents to successfully transition into and adjust to high school through providing services in the areas of academics, career development, building support systems, and specific help in relevant problem areas, such as becoming a teenage parent. Helping adolescents to increase their academic preparation for high school, and to build positive, healthy, and productive support systems with peers, parents, and other adults, can be important ways to promote the success and retention of inner-city students at risk for academic failure.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

A limitation of this research is that all variables were self-report. Further research could examine relationships among adolescents' psychological preparations to transition into high school, and what is observed, such as post-transition grade retention, graduation, and psychological adjustment. Another limitation is that structured equation modeling is correlational research, which means that although related variables vary together, causation can in no way be implied by these research results.

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Dr. Sherri L. Turner is an associate professor with the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. E-mail: [e-mail]

Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, Alpha Reliabilities, Skewness,
and Kurtosis for All Test Variables for the Entire Sample

                            M      SD   [alpha]    Sk     Ku

Readiness/confidence/      4.19   .71    .85      .47   -.70
  support
Control/independence       3.28   .67    .70      .57    .53
Career planning            5.55   .68    .86     -.94   1.10
  and exploration
Understanding              5.80   .68    .95     -.30    .99
  self and others
Educational and            5.62   .78    .92     -.99   1.12
  vocational development
Parents' instrumental      4.34   .57    .83     -.97   1.04
  assistance
Parents' verbal            3.86   .74    .78     -.94    .90
  encouragement
Parents' emotional         3.85   .67    .82    -1.01    .50
  support
Parents' career-related    4.10   .52    .90    -1.20    .50
  modeling
Academic preparation       2.38   .71    .86     -.19    .55
Lack of adult support      2.52   .54    .82      .48   -.08
Lack of peer support       1.71   .66    .80      .64   -.70
Lack of ability            1.95   .77    .89      .64   -.26
Lack of motivation         2.23   .85    .86      .14   -.81
Teenage pregnancy          2.39   .54    .75     -.14   -.65
Family responsibilities    2.19   .69    .80     -.04  -1.07
Discrimination             2.18   .91    .88      .33   -.90
Leaving home               2.27   .69    .82     -.07   -.82
Lack of money              2.52   .94    .82     -.19  -1.03

Note. M = mean; SD = standard deviation; [alpha] = Cronbach's alpha;
Sk = skewness; Ku = kurtosis.