Career, not a Job

This research project aims to explore the perceived experience of planning and chance in the career experience of secondary students as they graduate from school and move in to post school pathways and the utility of chance related intervention in high school career education. To acknowledge a relationship between chance and planning in career paths will involve a shift from traditional career counselling, which for much of the past hundred years had been fairly linear, to embracing nonlinear models. One of the cornerstones that career counselling has been built on is that career development is linear and rational (Guindon and Hanna, 2002). Various authors and studies have suggested that we live in a complex world resulting in careers that are not always linear (Baumgardner 1976; Salomone and Slaney 1981; Scott and Hatalla 1990; Betsworth and Hansen 1996; Pryor and Bright 2003) and that in the interest of better serving our clients we need to explore ways to incorporate this into career counselling. Krumboltz (1998) proposes that we need to reconsider our career counselling approach to include the significance of unexpected change. The author does not claim to discredit traditional approaches to career counselling but to investigate supplementing these with an approach that includes both planning and chance. This thesis will investigate existing literature on the role of unplanned events and careers as well as carry out research with secondary to post-secondary students to establish firstly, the perceived experience of unplanned events in their career paths and secondly, the utility of chance related career counselling intervention. The research will take place with students from a comprehensive high school of approximately 750 students in New South Wales from a “realist constructivist” epistemology (Robson 2002). Two groups of studies are proposed. The first studies will involve a phone interview eighteen months after participants have completed high school which will compare their current career pathway with the one planned in school. The second group of studies will explore the utility of chance related career lessons compared to more traditional Trait and factor matching in high school career education settings.

Two questions form the basis of this qualitative study: What meanings do women ascribe to their sex work careers? How are their career goals and aspirations shaped by the regulatory schemas under which they labour? Research continues to explore the complexity of career identity and career trajectories in the contemporary labour market. However, the ongoing refusal to acknowledge sexual services labour as work has limited the extent to which sex work has been explored in terms of broader careers. In order to examine this topic, this study investigates participants’ careers in the indoor Australian sex industry. Fourteen current and former sex workers participated in in-depth life-narrative interviews about their careers; and four support and advocacy workers participated in semi-structured interviews about sex-work career trajectories and work conditions, in three Australian jurisdictions: the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Victoria. Analysis of the data indicates that participants understood their labour as constituting work, and frequently understood their sex work as part of a career. Using Inkson’s (2007) career metaphors to structure the analysis, I examine participants’ meaning-making of their careers as: a story; a legacy of gendered and socio-economic constraints; as intertwined with the life cycle; a carefully crafted and planned construction; a result of matching the right career to the right person (or not); and as a networked practice involving relationships with others. Participants’ narratives demonstrated both the complex construction of career meaning within the life narrative, as well as the agentic and creative configuration of life and career undertaken by participants. Participants’ narratives also revealed the impacts of regulatory schemas on career objectives and work conditions, with these structural forces shaping and limiting career paths. In this thesis I examine the various ways within both legal and illegal sex work, that a specific kind of worker is normalized and controlled (with others rendered ‘deviant’ and denied rights because of this delineation). Moreover, I examine how various forms of regulation and surveillance shape work practices in the area, but also how they potentially shape, produce and limit careers in the sex industry. This thesis highlights the agency demonstrated by participants through their negotiation or resistance of dominant discourses, social norms and regulatory frameworks in attempting to work successfully in the sex industry.

Evaluation of the career planning of athletes, who succeeded in Olympics, in the light of different variables

Global STEM teacher shortages have prompted research and policy aimed at recruiting priority groups including career changers to teaching. However, there remains a need for a deeper understanding of how career changers decide to become teachers, to inform strategies that may address the teacher shortage crisis more effectively. This research uses Margaret Archer's (2012) theories of reflexivity to explore 16 career changers' decisions to become secondary STEM teachers. Analysis of semi‐structured interviews using Archer's reflexive modes (communicative, autonomous, meta‐reflexive, fractured) illuminates how career changers arrive at their decisions to become STEM teachers. Our findings establish that career changers perceive STEM teaching as a profession that aligns with their ultimate concerns of family friendliness, advancement opportunities and positive social change. We identify that the decision to teach occurs through reflexive internal conversations that include discussions with close networks and teachers, self‐reliant deliberations, critical self‐questioning and questioning of others. We consider our findings in relation to international policy initiatives promoted to recruit career changers to the profession and suggest strategies for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to support career changers into STEM teaching careers.

EVALUATION OF A TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANTS AND THE EFFECT OF AGE AND EXTRINSIC JOB SATISFACTION: CHANGES IN CAREER COMMITMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION Jason Allan Rachel A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Health Related Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Dissertation Directors: Iris A. Parham, Ph.D. & Constance L. Coogle, Ph.D. Home care is a vital component of the United States healthcare delivery system. The demand for home care has steadily increased over the past decade and it is projected that this increase will continue over the next several decades. Moreover, the utilization of Medicaid waiver home and community-based care services has expanded to provide an alternative to the more costly institutional placement. In order to meet this growing demand while maintaining the cost-savings, the system relies primarily on the minimally trained, healthcare paraprofessionals known as Personal Care Assistants (PCAs). The present study examined the career commitment and job satisfaction of PCAs who provide Medicaid waiver home and community-based care services and participated in a 40-hour training intervention. Specifically, the study evaluated differences in preand post-training levels of career commitment as measured by the Career Commitment Measure (CCM), in terms of overall career commitment and the three subscales: career identity, career planning, and career resilience; and job satisfaction as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), in terms of overall job satisfaction and the two subscales: extrinsic job satisfaction and intrinsic job satisfaction, between age groups and groups based on extrinsic job satisfaction. Additionally, the study examined the interaction of age and extrinsic job satisfaction as a moderator on the influence of the training intervention to produce a change in career commitment and the three subscales of career commitment, career identity, career planning, and career resilience job satisfaction. The results of analyses were varied across groups and measures. Specifically, there were no statistically significant differences across age group in terms of changes in career commitment or job satisfaction as a consequence of the training; however, posthoc examinations revealed statistically significant within group changes. A decrease in the overall, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction score from preto post-training for the 40-49 age group was found. Likewise, the 50-59 age group showed a statistically significant decrease in the extrinsic job satisfaction scores from preto post-training. The PCA’s level of extrinsic job satisfaction did have a statistically significant differential effect on changes in overall career commitment and career planning scores as a consequence of the training. The exploration of the interaction of age and extrinsic job satisfaction to influence changes in career commitment as a consequence of the training found statistically significant main effects with respect to levels of extrinsic job satisfaction for overall career commitment, career identity, career planning, and career resilience. However, no main effects for age and no interaction effects were obtained. These study findings have important implications for future research, and the development of training curricula and evaluation. Results provide critical information about this largely overlooked group of healthcare paraprofessionals, which have practical application in more effectively improving job satisfaction through training initiatives, thereby increasing the recruitment and retention of the paraprofessional healthcare workforce.

Objective To explore the status quo of nurses' dementia care-related literacy, caring behavior and career identity, to discuss the effects of caring behavior and career identity on dementia care-related health literacy, and to provide a basis for nursing management and professional training. Methods In this cross-sectional study, totally 650 nurses from 10 Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Beijing who had provided care in departments of geriatrics or neurology were selected by convenient sampling between April and November 2017, and investigated with the General Information Questionnaire, Caring Dimensions Inventory (CDI) , Career Identity Rating Scale and Dementia Care-related Health Literacy Scale. Totally 650 questionnaires were distributed, and 602 valid questionnaires were collected, with a recovery rate of 92.6%. Results The 602 nurses' total scores of dementia care-related health literacy, caring behavior and career identity were (74.79±7.96) , (88.87±5.02) and (84.35±9.14) , respectively. Correlation analysis showed that nurses' caring behavior and career were positively correlated with dementia care-related health literacy, respectively (P<0.01) . Hierarchical regression analysis showed that general information, caring behavior and career identity accounted for 74.5% of total variances of dementia care-related health literacy in which caring behavior could account for 33.2% and career identity 34.2%. Conclusions Nurses' career identity and caring behavior were supplementary to their dementia care-related health literacy, which can enhance their career identity, standardize their caring behavior and improve their dementia care-related health literacy, thus providing better care services for patients with dementia. Key words: Nurses; Dementia; Care; Health literacy; Caring behavior; Career identity

The 21st century has emerged as an era of accountability and standardisation for the teaching profession (Mikulec &amp; Miller, 2012). The current research is comprised of 4 interrelated empirical studies which measure and explore individual differences in perceptions of teacher-student boundaries in the secondary school context from an ethical perspective. This research is timely given it has been 8 years since the Teacher Code of Conduct was introduced in Victoria (The Institute, 2008). While the relationship between teachers and their students has been recognised as a powerful contributor to learning, engagement, and development, the professional limitations of teacher-student interactions have been relatively unexplored. Further, technological advances in the last decade have created new environments that potentially expose teachers to new possibilities and vulnerabilities such as Social Networking Sites (SNS). Within a contingency framework for ethical decision-making (Ferrell &amp; Gresham, 1985) the current research employs a mixed-methods approach and a cross-sectional design. Participants were preservice secondary teachers (N = 288) enrolled at a Victorian university and early career secondary teachers (N = 227) registered in Victoria. All participants completed a questionnaire during class time (preservice) or online (early career) which took approximately 40 minutes. In the absence of a measure of attitudes towards teacher-student interactions and behaviours, the Professional Interactions and Behaviours Scale (PIBS) was developed and validated in Study A. Based upon the Victorian Teacher Code of Conduct, (The Institute, 2008), 5 types of teacher-student interactions were educed from the items; emotional support, physical support, teacher disclosure, connectivity, and befriending. Although average endorsement was modest, early career teachers reported higher endorsement of teacher disclosure and preservice teachers provided greater approval of connectivity and befriending. An opportune international collaboration enabled further comparisons with preservice secondary teachers in Norway (N = 227), who demonstrated greater endorsement of the provision of physical support to students than Victorian preservice teachers. Differences in reported ethical training provided during teacher education are also noted and considered as a context for the development of attitudes toward professional behaviour. Utilising a person-centred approach, Study B explored profiles of trait-like characteristics among the Victorian preservice teachers through cluster analysis. This study proposed that individual differences in personality (Mc Crae &amp; Costa, 2003) and attachment style as defined by Bartholomew (1990) may relate to other personal characteristics such as the need for popularity, domains of contingent self-worth and perceptions of professional behaviour as measured by the PIBS. Preservice teachers described as “responsive resilient” in personality were more likely than “curious &amp; sensitive ambiverts” to endorse teacher provision of emotional support to students. Further, securely attached individuals were more likely to endorse the provision of physical support than dismissive individuals. Study C utilised a mixed-methods approach to explore profiles of teacher-student interactions styles in early career secondary teachers and their responses to ethical dilemmas relating to teacher-student boundaries. Four profiles emerged; “sparing investors”, “reserved professionals”, “relational enthusiasts”, and “supportive ambitious” and in terms of interpersonal goals, professional expectancies and values, burnout, career satisfaction and career aspirations. Few quantitative differences were observed between profiles in terms of ethical decision-making, yet thematic analysis highlighted contextual considerations and protective behaviours as key considerations of early career teachers. Study D explored current and prospective social networking behaviour and found both preservice and early career teachers were highly engaged with SNS, with preservice teachers reporting greater usage. Almost half of participants in both the preservice and early career samples reported negative experiences as a result of online social networking such as bullying or workplace issues. In relation to connecting with students, early career teachers were more likely to accept a friend request from a past student than preservice teachers. Taken together, these studies explore individual differences in teacher-student boundaries as they are perceived by preservice and early career teachers in Victoria. The PIBS is presented as a valid contemporary measure of perceptions towards teacher-student interactions, and differences of experience and culture considered. Implications of the findings are considered in relation to teacher selection processes, the ethics curriculum in teacher education, and regulation of the teaching profession in Australia.

Maintaining an Internal Market: Antecedents of Willingness to Change Jobs

There is a story to tell when considering childhood career development within the broader context of lifespan career development. It is a story of an orphaned stage of the lifespan that for decades has been considered divorced from the realities of career development, for theory, research, policy and practice have chosen to emphasise career development stages where career choice must be made, resulting in a skewed dominance towards adolescence and adulthood. Nevertheless, in the second half of the last century and through to the first decade of the present century, there has been a growing awareness that the foundations of career development, as with developmental psychology itself, are to be found in childhood. This awareness has been predominantly theoretical to date, with major career developmental theorists such as Gottfredson (2002, 2005) and Super (1980, 1990), for instance, describing early developmental tasks that provide children with the foundation for later career development and decision making. The lack of a consistent body of research, policy and practice, however, has led to a persistent call for a greater emphasis on child career development.

A career in elite sports requires a significant investment of time. Professional sportsmen, such as Swiss ice hockey players, are intensively involved in the system of high-performance sports. From junior years through to the end of a professional career, a high investment of time is necessary to develop the appropriate sporting achievements. Building an ice hockey career occurs at the same time as the school phase of vocational training. The high time-demand of sport training can affect the choices and occupational opportunities offered at this time. After the end of the professional career and hockey players are forced to enter ’normal’ working life. How do the careers of professional ice hockey players develop and what influence does their high-performance sports career have on their following working life. This question is investigated examining the hockey and professional careers of 76 former players of the National League A (NLA) who have ended their careers between 1990 and 2005. As part of a quantitative-oriented cohort analysis, the former NLA players were surveyed about their careers and the possible influence of high performance sport. In comparison to the total population of Switzerland, the former NLA players, despite the time commitment to hockey, often reach the first level of secondary school and often achieve higher qualifications. Their training certificates, however, are in part below average, which may be related to the burden of professional hockey. However, this is often compensated by institutional support measures, which have also been expanded in recent decades. The former NLA players stand out in comparison to the total population, and especially to their brothers, with above-average professional positions. They tend to use their prominence and related networks to develop opportunities to work in the professional hockey field, and along with their financial situation, have positive influences on their professional career.

This dissertation adopts a career theory approach as a research lens to explain the choice to become an entrepreneur. As opposed to intentional theories, which are general psychological theories applicable to a range of human behaviors, career theories deal specifically with how individuals form career goals and convert them into action. Adopting a career perspective, this study looks at entrepreneurship as one of several careers individuals pursue during their lifetime. In particular, the aim is to understand the conditions in which individuals enter entrepreneurship, and to what extent individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions are translated into action. To answer these questions, this study extends career theory to the realm of entrepreneurship, proposing that the environment is an important explanation to illustrate why some individuals and not others engage in entrepreneurial action. The research is conducted in the under-investigated context of student entrepreneurship, which considers the creation of new ventures by students and university graduates. A unique dataset has been created that concerns entrepreneurial intentions and subsequent behavior for almost 1/3 of all students who graduated from 64 Italian universities in the fall of 2014. This dissertation provides a new perspective on the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, focusing on new connections among previous concepts and exploring the practical information of these concepts. The purpose is to contribute to a current conversation that looks at entrepreneurship as a career choice that an individual can pursue during his or her lifetime. In building on existing models of career choices, we aim to extend this growing stream of literature, and in doing so, we contribute in different ways to the entrepreneurship theory.

Objective To investigate the teaching effect of career planning course in medical students through questionnaire survey and interview. Methods A total of 54 medical students of the classes of 2017 and 2018 were selected as research subjects, and the career planning course was implemented. Questionnaire survey and interview were performed before and after teaching to measure career maturity index and evaluate the teaching effect of this course. SPSS 15.0 was used for data processing, The t-test was used for comparison before and after teaching. Results All medical students had significant increases in the scores of self-recognition, occupational understanding, information application, personal adjustment, and professional attitude after teaching. As for information application, the score of career maturity was (3.71±0.99) before teaching and (4.01±0.93) after teaching, and there was a significant change after teaching (P=0.015), while there were no significant changes in the other dimensions after teaching. Male students had significantly higher scores of self-recognition, occupational understanding, personal adjustment, and professional attitude than female students, while female students had a significantly higher score of information application than male students. There was a significant difference in professional attitude between male and female students (P<0.05). Conclusion The career planning course for medical students can provide help and inspiration for career development, but some of the teaching contents needs to be optimized and improved. Key words: Medical student; Career planning; Career maturity; Teaching effect

Purpose : This study was designed to examine the effects of self-esteem and adjustment to college life on career preparation behavior in 209 paramedic students attending two colleges in G Metropolitan City and provide the basic materials of career development program. Methods : Data were collected from Sep. 7 to 12, 2011 and SEI Form B made by Coopersmith, adjustment to college life by Baker and Siryk, and career preparation behavior by Kim were adopted and revised. Results : There was significant difference in self-esteem and adjustment to college life between gender, but there was no difference in career preparation behavior. Self-esteem and career preparation behavior were graders difference, but there was no in adjustment to college life. There were positive correlations between self-esteem and adjustment to college life. The most significant influence on career preparation behavior of paramedic students was academic adjustment, followed the social and emotional adjustment. Conclusion : For the effective career preparation behaviors, career guidance methods and programs that induce academic, social and emotional adjustment to be available in adjustment to college life of gender and grade.

This review examines competing perspectives relating to (a) the range and prevalence of different theoretical approaches to the study of career success and (b) the need for a theoretically differentiated understanding of the antecedents of objective career success (OCS) versus subjective career success (SCS). Furthermore, the review complements the assumption that OCS and SCS are only ultimate outcomes of careers, proposing instead that career success also acts as an antecedent to other career and life outcomes. Against the backdrop of an organizing resource management framework, we present and critically evaluate the results of a systematic analysis of the theoretical approaches used to empirically study the antecedents of OCS and SCS. Furthermore, we develop a taxonomy of outcomes of career success. Our review findings show a theoretical heterogeneity with some dominant theoretical approaches within research of antecedents of career success. Moreover, past research started to adopt different theoretical...

Determination of career planning profiles of Turkish athletes who are ranked in the Olympics