Lessons from Life's First Teacher: The Role of the Family in Adolescent and Adult Readiness for School-to-Work Transition

A study examined the nature of family contributions to adolescent and adult learners' readiness for transition from school to work and any variations between the two groups. It used data from national samples of 1,266 high school seniors and 879 adults in one- and two-year postsecondary occupational education programs. Findings, based on an examination of a series of structural models linking family attributes to transition readiness, suggested that both unidirectional adult-to-child actions and the day-to-day relational elements of the family played a role in developing transition readiness for both adults and adolescents. Proactive family characteristics, such as being cohesive or expressive, having an active recreation orientation, and democratic decision making, contributed positively to transition readiness. Inactive family styles, such as being laissez-faire in decision making and/or enmeshed, worked against development of transition readiness. An authoritarian family functioning style made no contribution at all. Family characteristics seemed important in nurturing readiness for transition because families contributed to the development of family members' learning processes that, in turn, were useful in developing transition readiness. The role of their current family in developing transition readiness seemed similar for adults and adolescents. Important differences were found between present family and recollections of past family for adults. (Contains 131 references.) (YLB)