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The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the ways in which employed feminist mothers of adolescent daughters share information about the world of work, and (b) how daughters are influenced by the communication they have with their mothers about careers. The research was conducted in a series of qualitative interviews with eight mother-daughter dyads and two mother-daughter triads. The mothers and adolescent daughters lived in one of two communities in the Southeastern United States. Mothers and daughters were interviewed together and separately. In the process of analyzing data from the interviews, 30 themes emerged. The themes in the category of "Mothers' Attitudes" were: 1) earlier career goals, 2) barriers to occupations, 3) sex discrimination at work, 4) sexual harassment, 5) positive professional experiences, 6) balancing work and family, 7) expectations of others, 8) something to fall back on, 9) division of labor at home, 10) influencing daughters' choices, 11) assessment of daughters' strengths and struggles, 12) workplace challenges daughters may face, 13) definitions of feminism, 14) comfort level with feminist label, 15) developing a feminist consciousness, and 16) feminism and child rearing. "Daughters' Attitudes" were coded: 1) dream job, 2) roads not to be taken, 3) career goals and objectives, 4)attitudes toward subjects in school, 5) influence of teachers and others 6) perceptions of mothers' expectations, 7) perceptions of mothers' work life, 8) career awareness and exploration, 9) fifteen years from now, 10) projected division of labor at home, 11) definitions of feminism, and 12) comfort level with feminist label. "Mother-Daughter Interaction" yielded two themes: 1) frequency and location of communication, and 2) advice and support for daughters' career choices. Recommendations for action included (a)that school personnel recognize mothers' contributions to career development, and (b) that schools and parents work together on eradicating sexism in schools. Some suggestions for areas for future research were (a) math teaching strategies, (b) parents and daughters in extra-curricular activities, (c) mothers in nontraditional careers, and (d) mothers and daughters in different cultures. / Ph. D.

In the next five years, millions of jobs in STEM-related occupations will be available, but with only twenty percent of college graduates earning bachelor's degrees in STEM fields, the pipeline problem persists. Research has demonstrated that students' career awareness significantly influences consideration of STEM careers. According to cognitive and career development theory, career awareness (knowledge of the requisites, routines, and rewards of jobs) develops primarily during the elementary school years. Because early detection of low-level career awareness can facilitate programming changes that will minimize premature circumscription of STEM career choices, an instrument that measures a student's level of career awareness at the early adolescent stage of development is warranted. Building on the conceptual framework of the Career Awareness Inventory developed in 1973, the new Early Adolescent Career Awareness Inventory (EA-CAI) was developed to reflect the contemporary context and constructs for measuring the career awareness of early adolescent learners. The viability of the EA-CAI instrument for use in contemporary educational settings was examined in this research. Results from the research showed that the EA-CAI instrument demonstrated correct terminology, content and construct validity, readability, and reliability. Moreover, the research results showed that early adolescent learners could demonstrate aspects of career awareness in response to EA-CAI items, and that the EA-CAI instrument could measure the career awareness of early adolescent learners on a continuum. / Doctor of Philosophy / Millions of jobs in STEM-related occupations are available, but comparatively few college graduates are earning bachelor's degrees in STEM fields. Research has demonstrated that students' awareness of these career options significantly influences consideration of STEM careers. Career awareness (knowledge about the requirements, routines, and rewards of jobs) develops primarily during the elementary school years. Because early detection of low-level career awareness can lead to educational programming changes that will minimize students' elimination of STEM career choices, an instrument that measures a student's level of career awareness at the early adolescent stage of development is warranted. Building on the conceptual framework of the Career Awareness Inventory developed in 1973, the new Early Adolescent Career Awareness Inventory (EA-CAI) was developed to reflect the contemporary context and constructs for measuring the career awareness of early adolescent learners. This research examined the viability of the EA-CAI and showed that the instrument consistently measured what it was designed to measure--the career awareness of early adolescent learners.

The number of alternative licensure programs has increased significantly over the past decade. Faced with critical shortages of public school teachers in several subject areas, the Commonwealth of Virginia first approved an alternative route to licensure in 1998. In accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, school divisions must ensure that teachers are highly qualified and prepared for classroom teaching. While the majority of alternative licensure programs are sponsored by colleges or universities, the Commonwealth of Virginia allows school divisions to create alternative licensure programs with the approval of the State Department of Education. The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine the effectiveness of a school division sponsored alternative licensure program, in conjunction with supporting induction and mentorship programs, in (1) meeting a large suburban school divisions need for highly qualified applicants and (2) preparing second-career teachers for the classroom. Data collection included (a) individual interviews with alternative program graduates (n = 8), (b) individual interviews with school administrators (n = 8), (c) individual interviews with new teacher induction program coordinators (n = 2), and (d) a review of program documents. Study results found that the program failed in meeting the need of the school division for highly qualified teachers in critical shortage areas; but, succeeded in preparing program graduates for their first-year of classroom teaching. / Ph. D.

This research endeavor contributes to a better understanding of the career development of adolescent mothers by (a) highlighting the contextual considerations; (b) examining the existing body of literature; (c) contributing to the research on adolescent mothers' career adaptability, resiliency, and obstacles; and (c) proposing ways to bridge the research to practice gap. An ecological examination of the contextual considerations associated with adolescent pregnancy and motherhood provided pertinent information on which to base a culturally sensitive framework to examine the career development of adolescent mothers using the concepts of career adaptability and resiliency and an assessment of obstacles that may impede their career development. The culturally sensitive framework was used in two studies conducted to better understand the career development of adolescent mothers. The first was a content analysis designed to provide a better understanding of the published literature and to direct a research study. Content analysis findings revealed the need to develop and implement comprehensive programs for adolescent mothers that are strength-based, responsive to areas of need, and foster career development skills/knowledge and resiliency. Using the results of the content analysis, a study was designed to examine the relationships among career adaptability, resiliency, and perceived obstacles to career development with a convenience sample of adolescent mothers. Results indicated that these adolescent mothers were similar to non-mothering peers in the planning and decision making dimensions of career adaptability but lower in exploration. Traits of personal resiliency and emotional reactivity were comparable to non-mothering peers, but relational resiliency was lower. Obstacles most often cited as impeding career development were pressing immediate needs and educational/career related concerns. Finally, the need to bridge the research to practice gap is discussed including considerations related to practitioners, organizations, and communication. In an effort to bridge the research to practice gap, the Interactive Systems Framework (ISF) is proposed as a model for communicating with practitioners through Synthesis and Translation, Support, and Delivery systems. The model is presented as an example for sharing with practitioners a culturally sensitive framework on the career adaptability of adolescent mothers supported by dissemination and implementation of research findings. / Ph. D.

In 1983 Merriam published a critical review of mentoring literature. Since that time a preponderance of mentoring literature has continued to flow. The purpose of this study was to expand on Merriam's article with a critical literature review of mentoring literature published since 1983. Additionally, this study built upon Merriam's work by focusing on the dynamics of the mentoring relationship as it applies to career development in the business community. Merriam's four criticisms were reviewed and revealed only minor changes since 1983. The literature review was augmented with interviews in the business community in order to look at how mentoring is currently practiced in the field. The interviews consisted of both open and closed-ended questions, which were qualitatively analyzed. After conducting the interview phase of this study, it became apparent that mentoring is valued and respected within the business community as a career development and succession planning strategy. However, it is also apparent that further research is needed with a larger population of diverse organizations. Additional evaluation of organizational dynamics mentoring program goals needs to be further examined in order to validate the viability of mentoring as a career development resource. A concluding section highlights areas for future research on mentoring. / Master of Science

As the instructional leader, principals must engage in on-going professional development training for their learning and to aid in improving student achievement (Grande, 2012). This quantitative study examined the present baseline of professional development offerings in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The research questions that were explored are as follows: What professional development programs do school divisions provide for principals in the Commonwealth of Virginia? What topics are included in the professional development programs? In what format are the topics delivered? What types of professional development programs are offered to support new principals in their role as the instructional leader? What types of professional development programs are offered to support veteran principals in their role as the instructional leader? To what extent are the professional development training/programs offered in the Commonwealth of Virginia aligned to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards? How do the professional development offerings vary by superintendents' region, urbanicity and division size? Once the data were collected by surveying professional development coordinators or equivalent personnel, the researcher assessed the alignment of the school divisions' professional development offerings with the ISLLC Standards. These standards were designed to provide guidance to state policy makers as they worked to improve educational leadership preparation, licensure, evaluation, and professional development (CCSSO, 2008). The findings were: (1) professional development offerings for principals across the Commonwealth of Virginia are aligned with national standards; (2) school divisions in the Commonwealth provided professional development opportunities for principals with heavy emphasis on instruction as well as shared vision and school culture; (3) there is a low level of differentiation of professional development offerings for principals based on interest or individual need; (4) the professional development training sessions in the Commonwealth mostly consisted of "one shot" sessions with a few on-going learning opportunities; (5) the majority of the professional development sessions offered to principals were provided either by external or in-house presenters with few examples of internal and external partnerships;(6) school divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia that provided professional development training sessions to principals relied heavily on face-to-face interaction and minimally utilized technology to transform the format of professional development opportunities; and (7) not all divisions maintained records of professional development for principals. / Ed. D.

School leaders are charged with the articulation of a clear vision for bringing about school change and providing students with an instructional program that promotes optimal learning (ISLLC, 2015). The purpose of this study was to examine secondary school principals' perceptions of professional development to achieve and/or maintain school accreditation. The study used a quantitative non-experimental research method along with simple descriptive statistics to analyze professional development experiences of principals and principal perceptions. The study included Virginia secondary schools in Region 2. Region 2 consists of 16 different school divisions with a total of 63 middle schools and 53 high schools. The research measured alignment of professional development to national ISLLC standards revealed in the literature review. Further examining relationship among relevance, quality, duration, format and differentiation of professional development for principals and variables such as school accreditation status. The research findings identified professional development experiences that were grouped by the following administrative themes: administrative, culture, data analyzing, instruction and technology. Approximately 99% of the professional development experiences were presented to principals face-to-face. All (100%) of the professional development experiences were aligned with the national ISLLC standards. Principals in the research study participated in only four online professional development experiences. Principals assigned to fully accredited schools accounted for 54.5% of the professional development experiences. Principals assigned to schools rated conditionally accredited reconstituted accounted for 28.7% of the professional development experiences. Implications for practice for improving the work of principals in secondary schools are recommended, as well as suggestions for future research. ' / Ed. D.

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore, the nature and the extent of parental involvement in the career development of young adolescents through the perceptions of disadvantaged young adolescents. The two-fold goals were to identify the role of parents and the awareness of other barriers in the career development of young adolescents. Therefore, qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews was applied to fourteen volunteers (eight boys and six girls) from a Secondary School at Mabopane Township in the North West Province. In accordance with previous trends, parental involvement was revealed by young adolescents to be an important factor and was further categorised as constructive and destructive parental involvement. Furthermore, the effects of parental involvement in the development of the young adolescents’ career self-concept and self-efficacy were revealed. Destructive parental involvement and low household incomes were identified as career barriers. Most young adolescents demonstrated a strong resilience in overcoming these barriers. The study also illustrated a dire need for attention to and funding of career programmes aimed at empowering disadvantaged parents and young adolescents. Keywords: Parents, parental involvement, career, career development, young adolescents, disadvantaged communities, career barriers, career counselling, career self-concept and self-efficacy.

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