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This diploma thesis deals with an issue of a choice of career and career consultancy at primary schools. In the introduction of a theoretical part the definition of career counselling connected with education system is presented. Further, basic theories of career counselling are introduced. Major part deals with actual empirical findings about the impact on the choice of career and potential positive consequences of systematic career consultancy. Final thesis also presents a conception of career counselling at primary schools as it is enshrined in the Czech law and introduces the structure of career counselling service in the Czech educational system. Empirical part sets a goal in charting the current state of career counselling at primary schools in Ústí nad Orlicí district. For this purpose, a mapping questionnaire on a sample of pupils of the ninth grade and a semi-structured dialogue with educational consultants of primary schools was used. The aim of this thesis is to define the factors that pupils evaluate as significant in the choice of a further education. Simultaneously, it contains the assessment of current practice of career counselling at primary schools by educational consultants, which enables us to compare the both points of view and gain a complex view of the current practice of...

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Anthony Jurich / An exploration of parents’ critical role in their children’s career choices and aspirations was the primary focus of this paper. This includes a brief history of past career counseling techniques, which began in its formative years by assessing the client’s personality to determine proper occupational fit. It has now progressed to the postmodernist view that bases vocational interest and aspirations on constantly changing life roles. Previous research that examined parental influence on adolescent’s career choices, as well as research on the effects of socioeconomic status, gender, and race was included. The paper concluded with how career counselors and parents may use the strength of parental influence upon young adults to provide more effective career development techniques and create stronger partnerships with the young adult’s primary stakeholders.

The single most common decision that people between the ages of 16 years and 22 years need to make is that of their career choice. Research in the field of career guidance has shown that the world of work is changing. It is generally accepted that an individual will be presented with many opportunities in the world of work and these give rise to the notion of multiple careers. To predict accurately what these opportunities might be is impractical and naive, if not impossible. Career guidance counsellors are now expected to understand the interrelationships between occupations and occupational groups; an understanding that is vital when providing a comprehensive and realistic career guidance service. The career guidance processes or programs that counsellors use, need to allow for the identification of base or entry level careers that will provide opportunity for both horizontal and vertical career movement. While the schooling system has traditionally been the primary role player in preparing learners for the world of work, recent budgetary cuts have forced schools to focus on academic subjects, and, as a result, career guidance as a subject has become ancillary to the school syllabus. This situation is unlikely to be remedied unless career guidance becomes an examinable subject as are mathematics, physical science, biology and so on. A literature study surrounding career guidance practices in South Africa and career choice and development theories from around the world, suggest that existing career guidance programs in South Africa need to be restructured to allow for a more comprehensive solution for learners, that need to make a career choice. The "PACE" career guidance program was designed to enhance the career knowledge of learners, increase their self awareness in relation to careers, and ultimately to accelerate the career maturity process. Learners from schools in East London were exposed to the program, with the intention of determining the effect of the program on their career maturity levels. Whilst certain elements which constitute career maturity were not influenced by the program, results obtained from the research indicated a significant increase in the overall career maturity level of these learners. Resulting from this dissertation, recommendations have been made relating to the length of a career guidance program, the point of departure and the point of exit, the importance of balancing realism with circumstances, and the necessity for career guidance practitioners to possess a thorough understanding of careers and the various paths that careers may follow. Suggestions regarding further research in the area of career guidance are also provided. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

This thesis examines the impact of engineering cultures on women engineering students' gendered and professional identities. It is simultaneously focused on exploring how identity shapes, and is shaped by, women's experiences of engineering cultures and the relationship between gendered and professional identities. The research is set within the context of existing research on women in engineering, much of which has focused either on women's experiences in industry or experiences of staff in academia, which does not acknowledge the importance of higher education (HE) as a gatekeeper to the engineering professions. Furthermore, despite numerous initiatives aimed at increasing the percentage of women entering engineering, the proportion of women studying engineering has remained stable, around fifteen percent, for the last few years. The research is grounded in an interpretivist approach, although it adopts a multimethod research design. Specifically it draws upon qualitative interviews with 43 women and 18 men engineering students, a questionnaire with responses from 656 engineering undergraduates and two focus groups with 13 women engineering students from seven departments at one university. These datasets are analysed with the aid of NVivo and SPSS to explore women engineering students' career choices; women's experiences of the HE engineering culture; the relationship between engineering education culture and women's identities; whether there are cultural nuances between engineering disciplines; and, implications for strategies to attract and retain more women in engineering. Key findings from the research are that women and men make career choices based on similar factors, including the influence of socialisers, knowledge of the engineering professions, skills, ability and attributes, and career rewards. However, the extent to which each of these factors are important is gendered. The research also highlights key characteristics of the HE engineering culture, including competition, camaraderie, gendered humour, intensity, more theoretical than practical, help and support for women students and reinforcement of gender binaries. These findings all suggest that women are assimilated into the engineering culture or, at least, develop coping mechanisms for surviving in the existing culture. These strategies reveal a complex and difficult balancing act between being a woman and being an engineer, in claiming a rightful place as an engineer, denying gendered experiences and becoming critical of other women. The research also tackles two key issues, rarely discussed in the extant literature. Firstly the help and support women students receive from lecturers and other staff, and the negative impact this has, and may continue to have, on women. Secondly, the analysis of discipline differences shows that design and technology is significantly different from other engineering disciplines in terms of culture(s) and women's experiences. The thesis concludes that women's enculturation into engineering results in their ‘doing gender' in a particular way. This means that women's implicit and explicit devaluing and rejection of femaleness, fails to challenge the gendered cultures of engineering and, in many ways, upholds an environment which is hostile to women.

Vor dem Hintergrund eines zunehmenden Hausärztemangels in Deutschland und zahlreichen anderen Staaten untersucht die vorliegende Arbeit mit Hilfe quantitativer und qualitativer Methoden aktuelle Einflussfaktoren und Motive im Zusammenhang mit der Entscheidung junger Mediziner für oder gegen eine Karriere als Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin. Die Untersuchung kombiniert dabei im Studienverlauf erhobene Daten zur Teilnahme Medizinstudierender an definierten allgemeinmedizinischen Lehrveranstaltungen mit Daten einer späteren Absolventenbefragung (n = 659). Die Ergebnisse der quantitativen Analysen tragen zur Evidenz hinsichtlich aktueller Einflussfaktoren auf die Berufswahl Allgemeinmedizin bei und unterstützen die Annahme, dass ein praxisorientiertes allgemeinmedizinisches Curriculum, sowohl in frühen als auch in späten Stadien des Medizinstudiums, die Nachwuchsgewinnung im Fach befördern kann. Die Ergebnisse der qualitativen Analysen geben einen weitreichenden Überblick über aktuell ausschlaggebende Gründe sowohl für, als auch gegen eine Karriere als Hausarzt. Implikationen im Hinblick auf die Entwicklung effektiver Strategien gegen die drohende Unterversorgung werden diskutiert.

Studiens övergripande syfte var att undersöka matematikutbildningen och matematikämnets roll i samband med stadiebytet från grund- till gymnasieskolan. Studien styrdes av två forskningsfrågor gällande den bild eleverna ger av matematikämnets betydelse för deras val av gymnasieprogram samt vad som karaktäriserar matematikutbildningen i årskurs 9 och gymnasiets årskurs 1. Den första frågan besvarades via en skriftlig enkät till samtliga elever i årskurs 9 i en större kommun och den andra frågan utifrån videoinspelade lektionsobservationer i båda skolstadierna, kompletterat med elevintervjuer. Resultatet visar att faktorer som goda valmöjligheter för framtiden och möjlighet till ett bra arbete var viktiga för programvalet. Cirka 36 % av eleverna angav att matematikämnet inte hade påverkat programvalet, medan 35 % ansåg sig ha påverkats och då oftast i positiv bemärkelse, dock med tydliga skillnader mellan olika program. I jämförelsen av årskurs 9 och årskurs 1 användes begrepp från Bernsteins teori om pedagogisk diskurs samt den antropologiska teorin om det didaktiska. Analysen pekade på stora likheter mellan de båda skolstadierna när det gäller lektionernas struktur och elevernas frihet att välja uppgifter att arbeta med, vilket kan ha bidragit till att stadiebytet inte upplevdes som särskilt dramatiskt. En uttalad skillnad var fler och längre gemensamma genomgångar och ett högre studietempo i gymnasiet. Studien lyfter fram olika aspekter av och kopplingar mellan elevernas gymnasieval och matematikutbildningens karaktär, som bör ha betydelse för såväl studievägledning som för organisation och planering av undervisning. Den osynliga pedagogik som observerades beträffande kunskapskriterier och uppgiftsval är något som behöver synliggöras i den aktuella debatten om skolans matematikutbildning. / The aim of the study was to explore mathematics education and the role of mathematics in the transition from lower to upper secondary school. The study was guided by two research questions about the affection of mathematics while students apply for a study programme at upper secondary school and what characterises mathematics education in last year of lower secondary and first year of upper secondary school. To answer the first question a survey was given to all students in one municipality in their last year of lower secondary school, while the second question was investigated through videotaped lesson observations at both school levels, complemented by student interviews. The outcomes show that future options and occupation were important factors for the choice of study programme. About 36 % of the students claimed they had not been influenced by mathematics in their choice of programme while 35 % expressed they had, mainly in a positive sense although there were differences between the programmes. The analysis of the classroom observations and interviews was supported by concepts from Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse and the anthropological theory of the didactic, and indicated strong similarities between the levels regarding the lesson structure and students’ freedom to select tasks to work on. However, at the upper level front teaching was more frequent as well as extended in time and the students reported an increased study pace. The study highlights several aspects of and connections between students’ choice of programme and characteristics of the mathematics education during the transition, which should be of interest to career choice advisors and the organisation and design of education. Potential problems related to the invisible pedagogy observed regarding knowledge criteria and selection of tasks need to be raised in current debates on school mathematics.

Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. One of the stereotypes associated with Asians is that they are more likely to choose careers in science, medicine, and engineering rather than social science, inclusive of social work, mass communication, or humanities (Leong & Serafica, 1995; Tang et al., 1999). This occupational stereotyping of Asians is not just a myth in that descriptive studies have shown that only a few Asians choose social work as a career (Lennon, 2005; NASW, 2006). Few studies exist on Asian Americans who do not choose Asian stereotypical career choices, such as social work. Acknowledging this lack of research, the present study was developed to explore the relationships between factors that may influence Asian Americans who choose social work as their career. Based on social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), it was hypothesized that acculturation and family immigration status influenced parental involvement, perceived career barriers, and career outcome expectations of Asian American social workers. A cross-sectional survey design utilizing mixed methods was used in this study. The sample was derived from the members’ database of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Among 1,802 of Asian American social workers in the NASW database, those aged 65 or older were excluded and 900 Asian social workers were randomly chosen for this study. A total of 370 Asian American social workers participated in this study with 41 percent of a return rate. Quantitative data were collected through standardized measurements: the Social Work Career Influence Questionnaire (Biggerstaff, 2000); Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew, & Vigil, 1987); Career Barriers Inventory Revised (Swanson, et al., 1996); and eight items from Tang et al.’s (1999) Asian American Career Development Questionnaire. Also, qualitative data were obtained through two open-ended short questions. The data were collected through a combined method of an online survey with option of a paper mail-return questionnaire. Results of the study found significant group differences among family immigration status groups on perceived likelihood and perceived hindrance of career barriers. The 1st generation group perceived the greatest career barriers and the 3rd or higher generation group perceived the least career barriers among the family immigration status groups. However, there was no significant multivariate effect of acculturation on perceived likelihood and hindrance of career barriers, parental involvement, desire to be a therapist, prestige of the profession, and social change mission of the profession. Qualitative data included participants’ diverse perspectives on what factors influenced Asian Americans’ selecting or not selecting social work as a career. Implications and limitations of this study, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate student participation in collegiate student governance, the impact of that involvement and its influence on career choice for African-American participants, and to enlighten educators about role and value of collegiate student government participation. If participation in student government and involvement in leadership activities is important in the overall development of a student, then the benefits and characteristics of that development may appear after the student graduates and enters society and the workforce (Cress, Astin, Zimmerman- Oster, & Burkhardt, 2001). Studies conducted over the last twenty years have attempted to measure the impact of involvement and leadership development on college students after graduation (Cress, et. all, 2001; Sommers, 1991) but not much has been written about the subject specifically tied to student government (Downey, Bosco and Silver, 1984; Kuh and Lund, 1994; Schuh and Laverty, 1983; Sermersheim, 1996). A qualitative case study/cross case analysis of multiple participants was utilized for this project. Following the collection of data through the use of a written participant profile and oral interviews with each of the survey participants, case studies were constructed and presented in a narrative form to allow the individual personalities of the participants to emerge. The use of cross case analysis allowed the researcher to group the data into themes and highlight patterns that cut across each case, more narrowly defining what related factors were significant to the impact of student government participation and the selection of a particular career choice. x The findings from this study indicate that while the impact of student government participation has an overall positive effect on students who participate, including greater career competency and self confidence, students attribute their choice of career to their chosen undergraduate major or other factors. Study findings revealed evidence that the impact of student government involvement was limited in its direct influence on career choice.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this study is to identify some of the expressed reasons why graduate students in the maternal and child health program of the Boston University School of Nursing choose nursery school as a long term placement. An additional benefit from such a study could be to look at how the knowledge end skill gained from a long term placement in nursery school can be used in nursing. / 2031-01-01