Higher education is associated with…

1. Reciprocal Influences of Education on Values Concerning Family, Careers and SocietyMiles KimballColter MitchellArland ThorntonLinda Young-DeMarcoUniversity of Michigan All authors contributed substantially to this paper, and names are listed alphabetically to reflect the substantial contribution of each. Paper available at http://paa2006.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=60182

2. Higher education is associated with… • Individual achievement • Marriage and intergenerational relationships • Divorce, cohabitation, and childbearing • Careers, fulfillment, and community service

3. Focus of Research • Causal Relationships • College Major Values

4. Focus of Research • Causal Relationships • College Major Values

5. Focus of Research • Reciprocal Causal Relationships • College Major Values

6. Theory • Three Streams of Thought: • Science • Developmentalism • Postmodernism

7. Science • Alternative authority structure • Alternative view of life and purpose

8. Developmentalism • Narrative of progress: • Individual over family • Materialism • Equality and Freedom

9. Postmodernism • Rejection of absolute or universal standards • Epistemological doubt

10. College Major

11. Two Fundamental Hypotheses • Hypotheses 1: College major will influence values concerning family, careers, and society • Hypothesis 2: Values will influence the choice of college major

12. College Major

13. Monitoring the Future • High school seniors in the United States • The baseline interview takes place during senior year (Time 0) • Time 1 is one or two years after high school • Time 3 is five or six years after high school

14. How Important Is… (4pt scale) • Family • Having a good marriage and family life • Being able to give my children better opportunities than I've had • Living close to parents and relatives • Career • Being successful in my line of work • Having lots of money • Being able to find steady work • Society • Working to correct social and economic inequalities • Making a contribution to society • Finding purpose and meaning in my life

15. College Major Categories • Natural Science • Social Science • Humanities • Other/Undecided • No College • “Trades” (clerical, vocational/technical, business, education, and engineering)

16. Controls • Year of initial survey (1976-1995) • Region • Gender • Parental education • Political preferences and beliefs • Religion

17. Analyses • College Major Values

18. Figure 1Measurement and Structural Effects Model of Personal Values

19. Table 3Predicting Time 3 Attitude from Time 1 Attitude and College Major at Time 1 LISREL Models (Z – ratios in parentheses) N=4173

20. Analyses • Values College Major • College major stability • Choosing a new college major

21. Table 4 Predicting the Stability of Time1 College Majors Through Time3 for the Time1 Attitude (Z-Ratios in Parentheses) N=4173

22. Table 5Multinomial Logistic Regressions Predicting the Time3 College Major from the Time1 Attitude for Individuals in College at Time1 Who Indicated a Change in College Major by Time3(Trades is the Omitted Category) (Z-ratios in Parentheses) (N=888)

23. Summary and Conclusions • College major changes values • Values affect college major choice • Strong causal nexus between values and major life decisions

24. Table 3Predicting Time 3 Religiosity from Time 1 Religiosity and College Major at Time 1 LISREL Models (Z – ratios in parentheses)

25. Table 4 Predicting the Stability of Time1 College Majors Through Time3 for the Time1 Religiosity (Z-Ratios in Parentheses)

26. Table 5Multinomial Logistic Regressions Predicting the Time3 College Major from the Time1 Religiosity for Individuals in College at Time1 Who Indicated a Change in College Major by Time3 (Trades is the Omitted Category) (Z-ratios in Parentheses)