A good starting point for parents and students, in discussing potential goals, is for the student to think of possible answers to the question, "Where do I see myself at the age of 25?" Parents should also ask themselves, "Where do I see my child at the age of 25?"
High school students often cannot clearly picture life beyond high school, mostly due to the fact the prefrontal lobes of most high school brains are not quite developed to the point to fully comprehend "the future." Structured questions and discussions can help high school students to develop the capacity to "futurize" more effectively - and to connect how today's actions (or lack of actions) might influence that future.
To access and download a goal-setting self-assessment and worksheet for starting a conversation about the future, please click on:
BRVGS Study Skills Goal-Setting Worksheet
Please note that goal-setting is an ongoing conversation, and not a "You need to decide what you will be and do for the rest of your life right now!" process. There are no "magic answers" for goal-setting, but the ongoing conversations about the future can be an important part of student success.
With that in mind, it is recommended that students and parents visit the subject of long-term goals at least once or twice a year throughout high school.
Researcher Carol Dweck of Stanford has done a great deal of work to show that students who have "Learning Goals" outperform students who only have "Performance Goals."
A Performance Goal is the goal to perform well (and not perform poorly), particularly on measures such as tests, grades, etc.
A Learning Goal (or "Mastery Goal") is the goal "...to learn and master challenging academic material." (Dweck), with a sense of how that knowledge will be used in the future.
To give an example from a school setting,
A Performance Goal in French class would be "I want to get an A on the test or an A in the course."
A Learning Goal in French class would be "I want to learn French well enough to be able to travel to France and have conversations in with the local people."
Students who think about, "Why am I learning this and how will I use this" tend to be able to better set learning goals, and again, to do better in their studies. It is recommended that parents and students discuss learning goals for classes each year.
For more detailed information about Carol Dweck's research and findings, please see: https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/manual/dweck-walton-cohen-2014.pdf