Case: The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker

Case Introduction/Commentary

Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is an example of a stage theory. In this life-span theory, Erikson describes different crises that individuals must go through in order to develop socially and emotionally. According to Erikson, the crisis that is most relevant for adolescents is that of identity versus role confusion. Students struggle with figuring out who they are and what their role is in society. The following case describes a class and a teacher that have been designed to support the development of identity.

Case from Preservice Teacher

For my observation, I was in a career development class in the business department at the local high school. This class is taken mostly by sophomore and junior students and is designed to help students begin to think about their career paths. It is a popular course in the school. Just last year, they had to open an additional section of the class to accommodate all the students who wanted to take course.

The teacher for the course is Mr. Jones. In his previous life, he was a business executive at a major computer company. He decided that the hustle and bustle of that job was too much for his health so after 15 years on the job he went back to school and obtained his teaching certificate. Mr. Jones' philosophy for the career development class is to provide students a variety of opportunities with different careers.

For example, one day while I was observing, Mr. Jones had invited five people in to talk about their careers. As the people talked, the students learned that although all five of them had graduated with nursing degrees, only two of them were typical nurses. The other three presenters were an insurance adjuster, a trainer for the Indiana Pacers, and a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company. Also, unique to each individual was how they decided to pursue nursing and their current careers. One of the nurses, Glenda, had decided she was going to become a nurse at the age of 4. Her mother had been a nurse and so had her grandmother. She said that she was expected to become a nurse. The trainer, Robert, said he was still not sure what he wanted to do. He said that he had worked as a nurse at a hospital for three years and decided he needed a change. Now he is working for the Pacers, but he plans to go back to school next year to get a counseling degree.

I really enjoyed Mr. Jones' class that day. I think having the speakers was a good idea because it helped the students see that career development takes on many different forms.

Case Questions

1. How does Mr. Jones' philosophy of teaching support students' successful development of an identity?
   
   
2. What identity status (according to James Marcia) would describe Glenda's level of identity development? Give specific examples to support your answer.
   
   
3. What identity status (according to James Marcia) how would describe Robert's level of identity development? Give specific examples to support your answer.
   
   
4. Assume the school has no career development class. What are some specific strategies or approaches that Mr. Jones and/or other teachers in the building could use to support adolescent identity development?