published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Des études récentes ont démontré l’importance du travail dans la construction de l’identité. Pour les personnes atteintes d’un trouble psychiatrique qui se retrouvent la plupart du temps exclues du marché du travail, l’absence d’un emploi suppose une construction identitaire problématique. Dans cette perspective, ce mémoire vise à mieux comprendre ce processus. Le cadre conceptuel utilisé dans cette recherche se base sur les principes de l’approche théorique de Dubar. Il permet d’étudier la reconstruction identitaire à partir de l’interaction entre l’identité revendiquée par les personnes atteintes d’une maladie mentale et l’identité attribuée par des personnes de leur entourage. En conséquence, cette recherche analyse le discours de 28 personnes atteintes d’un trouble mental ainsi que de celui de 6 intervenants sociaux. Nos résultats démontrent la reconstruction de formes identitaires problématiques. La première forme touche la majorité des personnes atteintes de troubles mentaux. Ces dernières aspirent à réintégrer le marché du travail et vivre une vie normale. Toutefois, les intervenants sociaux les perçoivent comme des malades qui ne peuvent fonctionner normalement. La deuxième forme identitaire est reconstruite dans un rapport de concordance entre les perceptions des personnes atteintes de troubles mentaux et celles des intervenants. Les répondants se perçoivent comme étant des malades. Cette identité est validée par les intervenants. La dernière forme identitaire s’inscrit dans un rapport conflictuel qui touche seulement une personne. Cette dernière se perçoit comme une personne malade, mais cette identité est refusée par l’intervenant qui la perçoit comme une personne fonctionnelle et apte à retourner sur le marché du travail. / Recent research has identified the important role of work in a person’s identity. Given that most people who suffer from mental health disorders find themselves unemployed, the lack of exposure to the work environment has a significant effect on the process of their identity construction. This thesis explores the process of identity reconstruction and resulting identity of people having suffering life altering mental health problems who are then prevented from returning to work. Using Dubar as a starting point, we built an analytical model applicable to our research and then applied that model to 28 subject and 6 counsellor interviews. The interviews, qualitative data issued previously from research conducted from 1995 to 1997, were analyzed using NVIVO and then classified according to the requirements of the model. The model consists of four quadrants resulting from the interaction of the identities developed from self perception and from the perception of others. Our results show the reconstruction of identity of people with mental health difficulties is problematic. The first and largest category consists of people who aspire to lead a normal life including regular work. Their counsellors find them unable to work. Our second group, find themselves in agreement with their counsellors. They feel unable to contribute normally to society because they are mentally sick. Our third category has one participant. This is a person who does not have aspirations for a normal life but their counsellor felt they were capable of working and interacting normally with society.

Alors que le développement durable fait l’objet d’un corpus abondant de diagnostics et préconisations, ses promoteurs soutiennent également une certaine définition de la gouvernance recommandant la prise en compte des projections des habitants et usagers du territoire. Le développement durable est dès lors présenté à la fois comme une volonté de prospective participative (perspectives ouvertes) et comme une vision structurée du futur (perspectives programmées). Nous analysons ce paradoxe dans l'articulation entre aspirations et finalité. De 2009 à 2013, nous avons réalisé une observation participante au sein d’un projet visant l’élaboration participative de critères territorialisés de qualité de vie, conduit sur deux communes menant des politiques d’urbanisme se réclamant du développement durable. La thèse analyse l’existence de dynamiques complexes au niveau micro-territorial, entre la promotion du développement durable comme finalité et les aspirations exprimées : elles sont analysées en termes de leviers d’adhésion et de rejet, mais également de rôle et de paradoxes. Au cœur de ces dynamiques se jouent des processus de transformation sociale, portés par les promoteurs du développement durable comme finalité. La thèse soutient que cette transformation sociale s’appuie sur l’existence chez les acteurs d’aspirations paradoxales ; mais également sur la force du métarécit dans lequel s’inscrit le développement durable qui, créant un discours sur la résilience, se propose comme une voie de dépassement de ces apparentes contradictions. / While sustainable development is an object of an abounding corpus of diagnoses and recommendations, its promoters also support a definition of governance recommending the consideration of inhabitants’ and users’ projections. Sustainable development is simultaneously presented as a will of participative prospective (opened perspectives) and as a structured vision of the future (scheduled perspectives). We analyze this paradox in the articulation between aspirations and purpose. From 2009 till 2013, we realized a participating observation within a project aiming the participative elaboration of territorialized criteria for quality of life. It was tested on two municipalities, leading town planning referring to sustainable development. This thesis analyzes the existence of complex micro-territorial dynamics, between promotion of sustainable development as a purpose and expressed aspirations. They are analyzed in terms of levels of involvement and rejection, but also role and paradoxes. At the heart of these dynamics happens processes of social transformation, such as leaded by promoters of sustainable development as a purpose. This thesis supports that this social transformation leans on the existence of paradoxical aspiration; but also on the strength of the metanarrative of sustainable development, creating a speech on resilience, proposes a way of overtaking these visible contradictions.

The purpose of this study was to identify the occupational aspirations and expectations of students majoring in jazz studies, and to investigate relationships between students' aspirations, expectations and selected variables including significant others, choice of school, instrument type, academic achievement, academic level, socioeconomic status, age, gender, and early jazz experience. All jazz studies majors enrolled at the University of North Texas during the Spring 2001 academic semester responded to a pilot test questionnaire (return rate 85%, N = 211). Frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations described the students' occupational aspirations, occupational expectations, backgrounds and training in jazz prior to entering UNT, and determined the extent to which parents, relatives, teachers, friends, and role models helped steer them into jazz (Pearson r, Spearman Rho and Point Biserial correlation coefficients provided). The low to moderate positive correlation between aspirations and expectations (r = 0.43) indicated that the two variables were different and measured different types of occupations. Fifty percent of students aspired to be jazz performers whereas 29.7% expected to be jazz performers. While 42% aspired to be engaged in a combination of occupational activities, 48% expected a combination of occupational activities. Only 4.7% aspired to teach; however, almost 16% expected to be engaged in teaching. Low positive correlations were found between aspirations and significant others, expectations and significant others, expectations and gender, and expectations and role models. Respondents indicated that role models (jazz musicians, community musicians, and college instructors) had contributed the most to their decision to major in jazz. Recommendations for educators, researchers, and improvements to the questionnaire are provided.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Judith K. Hughey / Many efforts have been directed towards providing equitable access to higher education for youth from low-income, first-generation families. Despite gains, attendance and graduation rates from college are consistently lower for these students (U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). A variety of initiatives have been implemented to support students' entry into college, persistence to graduation, and increased access to professional careers. One such program is Talent Search, which provides middle school students opportunities to achieve academic success and to become knowledgeable about college and career options. KU Talent Search offers a summer career camp as part of its programming. The Career Horizons Summer Program (CHSP) exists to help students between 6th and 7th grades explore career possibilities, build potential for success in academics and careers, and become more comfortable in a college environment (Dukstein, 2012b). This study examined beliefs about college and careers in a group of 52 students, as well as the impact of the CHSP on the intervention group. Educational aspirations and expectations, and career and college-going self-efficacy were assessed. It was predicted that participation in the camp would result in an increase in college-going and career self-efficacy. The study also provided additional insight into the construct of college-going self-efficacy. Using a quantitative comparison group design, data were collected from camp participants and from students who were eligible to participate but did not. Pre and posttest surveys assessed educational aspirations and expectations and included scales to measure career self-efficacy (Fouad & Smith, 1997) and college-going self-efficacy (Gibbons & Borders, 2010a). Educational aspirations and expectations were high in all participants and a bivariate correlation analysis revealed that career self-efficacy and college-going self-efficacy were highly correlated. Comparisons between the intervention and the comparison group suggested that the CHSP did have an impact on career and college self-efficacy. It is important to understand the characteristics of a successful college and career access program, and to identify interventions that are most impactful. The findings of this study add to understanding of one such intervention and may have implications for specific practices that can increase potential for college success.

This research study explores how future educational and occupational aspirations are constructed by young Sikh adults. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten young Sikh adults, both their parents, and their teachers at one school in West London to investigate how future aspirations are constructed, which resources are employed, and why certain resources are used over others. In some previous research on aspirations and future choices, Sikhs have either been ignored or, instead, subsumed under the umbrella category of 'Asian' and this study seeks to address this. Furthermore, the study seeks to shed light on how British-Sikh identities are constructed and intersected by social class, caste and gender. This is important to explore since it can have an impact upon how young adults are structured by educational policy. A 'syncretic' social constructionist framework which predominantly draws upon Pierre Bourdieu's notions of habitus, capital and field, along with the cultural identity theories of Avtar Brah and Stuart Hall, is employed to investigate the construction of identities and aspirations. In addition, the study contains ethnographical elements as it is conducted on my 'own' Sikh group and at my former secondary school. Consequently, I brought a set of assumptions to the research which, rather than disregard, I acknowledge since they highlight how I come to form certain interpretations of phenomena over others.

This study is a critical ethnography that examines the relationship between the racial-identity, coping strategies and educational aspirations of two African American males who live (and attend school) in a predominantly White community. The participants reside in a Northeastern state where the African-American population is below 3%. Although they live in different parts of the state, symbols like the Confederate flag were regularly seen inside and outside of both high schools. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the primary interpretive framework used in this study. However, theory from educational psychology and sociology were also included. Through semi-structured interviews, on-site observations, and artifact analysis (e.g. high school transcripts, SAT scores, and samples of creative writing), this research advances the understanding of how being Black in a predominantly White community affected the participants' identity, coping strategies and educational experiences. Similar to how any system functions, the participants' identity, coping strategies and educational aspirations were nested and dependent upon each other. This included a number of balancing and re-enforcing feedback loops. Although this study is qualitative and cannot be generalized, the experiences of the participants were similar. The difference was in their coping strategies. The predominant culture that currently exists in most communities and educational institutions is deeply embedded in racism. This is systemic. It is time all institutions move forward and embrace diversity. Similar to the earth's resources, race relations must be sustained if we are to create a prosperous world for future generations. Key Words: achievement, acting-White, agency, aspirations, identity, racism, resilience, stereotyping and self-efficacy.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Steven Harbstriet / Colleges of agriculture across the country are challenged to produce more graduates in order to meet the increase in employment opportunities in the areas of agriculture, food, and renewable natural resources. To attract students from areas with the most growth, urban communities, this study identified factors such as exposures to agriculture, college factors, and career aspirations that influenced urban students to major in agriculture and enroll in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University (KSU). The accessible sample consisted of 125 students currently majoring in the College of Agriculture (agriculture students) and 18 students no longer majoring in the College of Agriculture (non-agriculture students) who completed the online questionnaire. Students from both groups were predominately female, non-minority students from the state of Kansas who entered KSU as incoming freshmen. The majors most represented were animal sciences and industry, pre-veterinary medicine, and food science and industry. The mean ACT score for agriculture students was 26.23 and 24.81 for non-agriculture students. For both groups of students, having a relative who worked in a field related to agriculture (grandparents, parent/guardian, aunt and uncle) was influential when they chose their academic major. A higher percentage of agriculture students had a relative who worked in a field related to agriculture or in production agriculture, compared to non-agriculture students. Career opportunities for graduates, hands-on-learning opportunities, friendly atmosphere in the College of Agriculture, visit to campus, quality and reputation of college faculty, availability of academic programs, and affordability of KSU were college factors most influential among the sample of students. Least influential factors were interaction with alumni, agriculture related camps and competitive events on campus, and ability to take online courses. Agriculture students were more influenced by career aspirations specific to career interests, such as working with people and animals, being able to use their creativity, or work with their hands. Non-agriculture students were influenced by broader career aspirations, such as having a job they enjoyed or being able to advance in their career.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur stereotypiska hotet mot kvinnors karriärambitioner uppfattas påverka deras framgång i organisationen. Metod: I studien används en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en hermeneutisk forskningsansats. I studien genomfördes tio semi-strukturerade intervjuer som analyserats enligt en tematisk analys. Slutsats: Studiens slutsats överensstämmer med tidigare forskning vad gäller de tre huvudkonsekvenserna från stereotypiska hot. Kvinnor upplever låga karriärmöjligheter, separerad identitet och ökad oro. Studien påvisar även stress som en konsekvens av en längre tids upplevelse av separerad identitet, vilket tidigare forskning inte funnit. Konsekvenserna gav oss en djupare förståelse av hur kvinnornas framgång iorganisationen påverkas av stereotypiska hoten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: För att få en ännu djupare förståelse föreslår vi till fortsatt forskning att undersöka hur stereotypiska hot påverkar en organisation under en längre tid, genom att använda longitudinell metod. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till en djupare förståelse hur stereotypiska hotet mot kvinnors karriärambitioner påverkar deras framgång i organisationens. / Aim: The aim of the study is to create a deeper understanding of how stereotypical threats for women's career ambitions perceived influence their success in the organization. To understand the women and the organization we designed research questions for this purpose; How does gender stereotypes in leadership impact women's idea of leadership? How does the stereotypical threat impact women's career aspirations to climb in the organization? How do women experience that their success is influenced by stereotypical threat in leadership? Method: The study used a qualitative research with a hermeneutic research approach. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, analyzed with a thematic analysis. Conclusions: The study's conclusion is consistent with previous research regarding the three main consequences of stereotypical threat. Women experience low career prospects, separate identity and increased anxiety. The study also found stress as a consequence of a longer experience of separate identity, which previous research has not found. Consequences gave us a deeper understanding of how women's success in the organization is influenced by stereotypical threats. Suggestions for future research: To get an even deeper understanding, we suggest further research to investigate how stereotypical threat affects an organization for a long time, using the longitudinal method. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how the stereotypical threat to women's career ambitions affect their success in the organization.

Introduction: As many recently qualified South African doctors pursue specialisation and sub-specialisation, projections indicate that the critical mass of medical practitioners required to support primary healthcare will continue to dwindle, with wholly inadequate numbers to sustain the country's proposed National Health Insurance plan. Little is known, however, about what newly qualified doctors on the verge of making career choices think of the speciality of Family Medicine (FM) and how these young doctors actually decide on what career options to pursue. Objectives: This study describes the career intentions of newly qualified doctors working in the four southern districts of Gauteng Province, the factors that influence their career aspirations, and their views on FM as a specialty. Methods: This is a descriptive cross sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire, which targeted 502 participants (interns N=396 and community service doctors N=106) in 2013. Results: Out of 368 questionnaires returned, 342 were eligible for analysis. More than two thirds (68%) of the respondents graduated from medical schools located in Gauteng Province. Only 5.3% were working in primary healthcare (PHC) facilities. The most chosen specialties were: surgical (32.2%), internal medicine (14.3%), and paediatrics (12.9%). FM was the least chosen specialty by only eight respondents (2.3%). Only 44% had ever considered FM as a career. Of these, 77% agreed that they were not well enough informed about the FM registrar-training programme to select this discipline. Only 16.8% thought they would be job satisfied working in a PHC facility, while 53.4% believed that FM would not be financially rewarding. Conclusions: A serious human resource shortage looms large in primary healthcare if most newly qualified doctors have no desire to enter general medical practice or work in PHC settings. This study highlights the need to urgently address current undergraduate, internship and registrar training programmes in South Africa with a view to marketing FM and making generalism attractive. / AC 2016