Information Technology (IT) jobs are in demand in the United States and rural Appalachian communities are attracting IT businesses. The need to fill IT jobs creates a workforce opportunity for these communities where students have limited access to academic and career resources. The Upward Bound and Talent Search programs respond to the academic and career needs of disadvantaged students and aim to educate students about high skills jobs but little is known about interest in IT careers among middle and high school students in rural Appalachia. This study validates models of IT career interest and parental support of IT careers in girls and boys enrolled in Upward Bound or Talent Search in rural communities in Virginia using the theoretical framework of self-authorship. The theory of self-authorship explores the development of meaning-making in individuals and offers a context-specific way to study interest in IT careers. Results indicate interest in IT careers but the path to IT career interest is different among girls and boys. Girls are relying on others for career advice more often than boys and there is direct association between the information sources and interest in IT careers. Parental support is important in IT career interest for both girls and boys. Other important variables indicating an interest in IT careers are computer use and positive attitudes toward IT workers. Receiving information from sources such as parents, teachers, counselors, and friends is especially important to girls. Findings from this study can be used to inform practices and policies for Upward Bound and Talent Search. / Ph. D.

Collaborations to produce innovative models that link postsecondary education to workforce development initiatives have increased as multiple stakeholders respond to the call to develop a diverse, well-prepared STEM workforce. University and industry stakeholders in engineering agree that collaborating to share expertise and implement programs that aim to support the school-to-workforce transition for engineering graduates is critical. However, in light of existing efforts, a more nuanced view of university-industry partnerships from the student participant perspective is needed to provide data to engineering educators and professionals to support effective partnership design and use of resources. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to understand how experiences in the Co-op Development Program (CDP) influence student participants’ subsequent career decision-making with respect to pursuing engineering industry positions. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study examined the role that cooperative education experiences have on how students view and act on the potential employment opportunities that university and industry partners anticipate. Semi-structured interviews with eight former CDP participants, employed in industry at the time of the study, served as the primary data source. Additionally, program related documents, a profile questionnaire, and a conference proceeding were utilized to provide in-depth context of the CDP. Results indicate that all participants voiced a desire to work in the aerospace industry to explore short-term interests or to accomplish longer-term career entry goals. Furthermore, participants most frequently discussed experiences that required them to employ a sense of selfagency to complete work tasks (e.g., guiding themselves through uncertainty, observations of the environments, and interactions with engineering professionals) as learning experiences. Finally, participants primarily connected their learning experiences to their beliefs about what work looks like as a full-time engineer, their abilities to perform in an engineering role, and perceptions of fit across different engineering roles and workplaces. Major contributions of this study include extending the analytic generalizability of Social Cognitive Career Theory, creating operationalized definitions of learning experiences, and linking those experiences to students’ beliefs of the engineering industry pathway / Ph. D. / Persistent calls to the field of engineering education to help develop diverse, well-prepared engineers for the STEM workforce have fostered collaborations across university and industry stakeholders. As stakeholders focus efforts on supporting student persistence at several critical junctures, there has been a renewed interest in supporting the school-to-workforce transition for engineering graduates. With calls to develop a more tech-savvy workforce, innovative approaches to supporting and preparing students to enter the workforce have become even more necessary; thus it is important to understand how university-industry partnerships generate experiences that contribute to students' eventual workforce entry. The structure of the Co-op Development Program and the perspective of eight former CDP participants addressed how learning experiences shaped the career decisions of engineering participants immediately following graduation. A qualitative single case study approach was used and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) guided the study. Major contributions of this study include extending the analytic generalizability of Social Cognitive Career Theory, creating operationalized definitions of learning experiences embedded within that framework, and linking those experiences to how students' beliefs were shaped on their pathway to an early career within engineering industry. The themes identified in this study can help CDP managers and university stakeholders better support co-op participants and potentially allocate resources that will serve as the basis for future co-op design recommendations. Stakeholders may also use findings to promote the role of university and industry partnerships in supporting the student workforce transition. Future researchers may extend the study design across multiple cases and leverage recommendations for qualitative and quantitative investigations to address some of the limitations embedded within this research design and further contribute to the discussion of preparing students for professional work environments through university-industry partnerships. Ultimately, findings of this study give voice to the student partner in university-industry partnerships as themes identified in this study help CDP managers and university stakeholders to establish interventions and serve as the basis for future co-op design recommendations.

Career decision-making is complex and dynamic. Cognitive factors that influence career choice are of interest to researchers. In particular, negative career thoughts and career self-efficacy have been found to influence career decidedness. Similarly, cognitive expectancy has been linked to career decidedness through the locus of control construct. Where locus of control has demonstrated salutogenic stress reducing properties in health literature it has also been widely used in career research. Other cognitive expectancies could contribute to the literature pertaining to career choice. In particular, sense of coherence has begun to make inroads to career psychology. Where career decision-making research has been universally conducted with student populations, little has been conducted with adults. Because of developmental factors, student based research may not readily generalize to non-student adult based populations. Researching the career indecision of non-student adults could broaden the literature. Establishing the relationship between career thinking (negative career thoughts & career decision-making self-efficacy) and salutogenic functioning (locus of control & sense of coherence) would provide initial research into the nature of career indecision in non-student adults. A survey design assessed the relationship between career thinking and salutogenic functioning in an adult, career decision-making milieu. Two hundred and twenty five unemployed career undecided adults were sampled from community based career exploration programs. Correlative and regression analysis were conducted on career thinking and salutogenic functioning measures. Data analysis indicated statistically significant findings between career thinking and salutogenic functioning. In particular, negative career thoughts, career decision making self-efficacy, locus of control and sense of coherence were all found to have significant correlations between each other. Career thinking and sense of coherence strongly correlated with level of education, while locus of control negatively correlated with age. Regression analysis indicated that sense of coherence demonstrated stronger relationships to career thoughts than locus of control. Further, sense of coherence significantly predicted negative career thoughts and career decision-making self-efficacy. Locus of control maintained a weak and non-significant predictive relationship with negative career thoughts or career self-efficacy. Results suggest that sense of coherence may contribute to further understanding of career decidedness in adults. Implications for Industrial/Organisational psychology are discussed. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil.(Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Career decision-making is complex and dynamic. Cognitive factors that influence career choice are of interest to researchers. In particular, negative career thoughts and career self-efficacy have been found to influence career decidedness. Similarly, cognitive expectancy has been linked to career decidedness through the locus of control construct. Where locus of control has demonstrated salutogenic stress reducing properties in health literature it has also been widely used in career research. Other cognitive expectancies could contribute to the literature pertaining to career choice. In particular, sense of coherence has begun to make inroads to career psychology. Where career decision-making research has been universally conducted with student populations, little has been conducted with adults. Because of developmental factors, student based research may not readily generalize to non-student adult based populations. Researching the career indecision of non-student adults could broaden the literature. Establishing the relationship between career thinking (negative career thoughts & career decision-making self-efficacy) and salutogenic functioning (locus of control & sense of coherence) would provide initial research into the nature of career indecision in non-student adults. A survey design assessed the relationship between career thinking and salutogenic functioning in an adult, career decision-making milieu. Two hundred and twenty five unemployed career undecided adults were sampled from community based career exploration programs. Correlative and regression analysis were conducted on career thinking and salutogenic functioning measures. Data analysis indicated statistically significant findings between career thinking and salutogenic functioning. In particular, negative career thoughts, career decision making self-efficacy, locus of control and sense of coherence were all found to have significant correlations between each other. Career thinking and sense of coherence strongly correlated with level of education, while locus of control negatively correlated with age. Regression analysis indicated that sense of coherence demonstrated stronger relationships to career thoughts than locus of control. Further, sense of coherence significantly predicted negative career thoughts and career decision-making self-efficacy. Locus of control maintained a weak and non-significant predictive relationship with negative career thoughts or career self-efficacy. Results suggest that sense of coherence may contribute to further understanding of career decidedness in adults. Implications for Industrial/Organisational psychology are discussed. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil.(Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of the dissertation was to examine the relationship between career adaptability, sense of coherence (SOC) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), and whether there were any demographic differences, namely age, gender and race, between the constructs. The Career Adapt-ability Scale South Africa (CAAS-South Africa), Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ-13), Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (CDSE-SF) and a demographical questionnaire were applied in a convenience sample comprising 317 undergraduate students at a residential university in South Africa. The results indicated a moderate positive relationship between career adaptability, and SOC, and a strong positive relationship between career adaptability and CDMSE. CDMSE predicted career adaptability with a variance of 43%. SOC did not emerge as a significant predictor of career adaptability. No gender differences were found. This study makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature and practice, showing that CDMSE and SOC can have an impact on the career adaptability of undergraduate students. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study explores career maturity, self knowledge and career knowledge and how they influence career decision-making processes among psychology honours students at a South African institution of higher learning. A mixed method approach was used to collect data among (N=62) students who were asked to fill in two career development questionnaires namely, the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) and the Career Development Questionnaire (CDQ). 10 scales were measured using the CDDQ. Analysis of the CDDQ revealed moderate difficulties on the General Indecisiveness, Dysfunctional Beliefs and Occupational Information scales. Pertaining to the CDQ, 5 distinct scales which explore the levels of Self information (Self knowledge), Decision making, Career information (Career knowledge), Integration of self information and career information, and Career planning were assessed. Analysis of the CDQ revealed that respondents had adequate levels of career maturity. The results of the content analysis on the qualitative data indicate clinical psychology to be the most popular in relation to other fields of study, followed by research psychology counselling psychology and psychometry. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

This study explores career maturity, self knowledge and career knowledge and how they influence career decision-making processes among psychology honours students at a South African institution of higher learning. A mixed method approach was used to collect data among (N=62) students who were asked to fill in two career development questionnaires namely, the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) and the Career Development Questionnaire (CDQ). 10 scales were measured using the CDDQ. Analysis of the CDDQ revealed moderate difficulties on the General Indecisiveness, Dysfunctional Beliefs and Occupational Information scales. Pertaining to the CDQ, 5 distinct scales which explore the levels of Self information (Self knowledge), Decision making, Career information (Career knowledge), Integration of self information and career information, and Career planning were assessed. Analysis of the CDQ revealed that respondents had adequate levels of career maturity. The results of the content analysis on the qualitative data indicate clinical psychology to be the most popular in relation to other fields of study, followed by research psychology counselling psychology and psychometry. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education / Kenneth F. Hughey / This study investigated the impact of a seven-session career intervention in a First Year Experience course on the dysfunctional career thoughts, locus of control, and career decision self-efficacy of underprepared college students. The career intervention was based on the cognitive information processing approach to career decision making (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996; Reardon, Lenz, Sampson, & Peterson, 2000; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) and utilized the CTI workbook (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996b). Participants in the study were full-time freshmen enrolled in remedial academic courses at a small, open-enrollment institution. The study was a Nonequivalent Control Group design with delayed posttest. Ten hypotheses were identified and tested. The Career Thoughts Inventory, the Rotter IE Scale, and the Career Decision Self-Efficacy-Short Form were administered at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. ANCOVA was used to analyze differences between the mean scores by group for each of the dependent variables. In addition, dependent t-tests were used to examine the differences between the mean scores within group for each of the dependent variables. Results of this study indicated that underprepared students who participated in the career intervention significantly improved dysfunctional career thoughts on all variables from pretest to posttest. Further, improvement in dysfunctional career thoughts was maintained four weeks after the intervention. Significant differences were also found at posttest between the treatment and control groups for CTI Total and Decision-Making Confusion. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between dysfunctional career thinking and locus of control, indicating the participants with higher levels of dysfunctional career thoughts also had a more external locus of control. Locus of control was not significantly different from pretest to posttest in the treatment group; however, locus of control did become more internal following the intervention. At delayed posttest, locus of control of the treatment group was not significantly different from Rotter’s (1966) normative sample while the control group continued to be significantly more external than the normative sample. While career decision self-efficacy was not significantly different from pretest to posttest, students’ scores indicated confidence in their ability to perform career tasks.

The primary objective of the study was to explore the relationship between career anchors, job satisfaction and organisational commitment using a sample of 86 employees at four Information Technology companies in South Africa. A secondary objective was to determine whether individuals from various gender, race, position and age groups differed significantly regarding their career anchors, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The instruments used were the Career Orientations Inventory (COI), Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) and Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). The research findings indicated that career anchors are partially related to participants’ job satisfaction and organisational commitment and participants’ levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment are significantly related. The findings also showed that demographic groups differ significantly regarding their career anchors, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. It is recommended that interventions aimed at improving individual career decision making and organisational retention practices take cognisance of how these variables relate to individuals’ career anchors, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The study is concluded with recommendations for Industrial and Organisational Psychology practices and further research.

Career exploration and decision making can be a stressful experience, and is often accompanied by dysfunctional thinking regarding the world of work and one’s place in it. Individuals who are able to modify their negative career thoughts are more likely to navigate career exploration successfully. Factors which may influence a person’s ability to cope with dysfunctional thoughts include cognitive ability (IQ) and the inadequately explored construct of emotional intelligence (EI). Establishing the validity of EI by demonstrating its relationship to important outcomes is necessary. This study sought to determine the extent to which IQ and EI were associated with negative career thoughts and negative career thoughts change as a result of career exploration. This correlational study measured IQ using a standard measure and EI using an ability-based instrument. In addition, negative career thoughts were measured both before and after a career exploration program. One hundred ninety three unemployed adults between the ages of 25 and 60 participated in the study. Significant correlation relationships were found between IQ and aspects of negative career thoughts post program. Only one branch of the EI model, managing emotions, was seen to correlate significantly with all aspects of negative career thoughts, both before and after career exploration. No correlations were found between either IQ or EI with negative career thoughts change. Regression analysis indicated that IQ predicted overall negative career thoughts as well as decision-making confusion, but only after career exploration. Overall EI scores did not predict negative career thoughts. However, among the four branches of EI, managing emotions predicted negative career thoughts both before and after career exploration for all of global negative career thoughts, decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, and external conflict. Neither IQ nor EI predicted negative career thoughts change. The results show that the ability to manage emotions is associated with reduced dysfunctional thinking both before and after career exploration, suggesting that EI managing may be a psychological resource that individuals use in coping with stress. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)