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.

Historically, vocational subjects have been a part of the Australian school curricula for 200 years. In early school curriculum the vocational aspect was considered to be related to the acquisition of manual skills such as domestic science or woodwork, rather than careers. From the 1950s to mid 1980s, vocational education, focused specifically on career and job training, was the responsibility of the technical colleges, which had been established to develop these skills. The concept of high schools targeting identified skills for the future work force, and hence becoming involved in the vocational skill development of youth, developed in the mid 1980s in Australia. Industry influence on governments to make educational decisions based on economic initiatives has increased over this time.Major growth has occurred in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools, with student participation rates in vocational education trebling in the past six (6) years (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training, 2004). This increase is predicted to continue as VET qualifications and the process of accreditation is improved and becomes increasingly user-friendly (Polesel, 2004). The focus on vocational education and industry needs is recognised as an economic necessity for Australia. Schools and teachers, however, need to balance the demands of industry and government with the holistic educational needs of the youth they are entrusted to teach.The school curriculum currently offers a broad range of subject choices that provide for diverse student needs. However the rapid growth of vocational education in schools has impeded effective reflective practices of current vocational programs. Vocational education is experiencing a boom due to the increasing popularity of vocational subjects. The planning and implementation of the diverse subject offerings at school level is often a response to immediate needs rather than in-depth analysis and evaluation. For this reason, it is timely for a critical analysis of the current Hospitality programs in schools to ensure currency and relevancy of content and implementation.The project was localised to one school to enable an extensive and thorough analysis of the Hospitality program. Marymount College is a co-educational Catholic College of approximately 1050 students. Located in the Gold Coast suburb of Burleigh, Marymount College offers a wide range of VET subjects ranging across the five (5) industry areas of Information Technology, Business, Marine Science, Industrial Skills and Hospitality & Tourism.The aim of the analysis will be to suggest what measures need to be implemented in the programs at Marymount College, Gold Coast, Burleigh, Australia, to ensure best practice in Hospitality vocational education. These measures can be constructively applied to other Queensland schools currently delivering vocational education and Hospitality, or to those schools considering introducing subjects associated with Hospitality.

The focus of this inquiry is “The influence of ‘spiritual meaning-making’ on career choice, transition and experience”. Over the past decade there has been an increase in interest in the expression of spiritual belief in work. Most of the writing on the topic is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have lost meaning, and that the problem of meaning in work needs to addressed to enhance the ways in which we organise, and to enhance organisational output and personal wellbeing. Whereas the current writing on spirituality and work often suggests that organisations should provide more meaning, this research took a more humble starting point by asking what meanings individuals with spiritual belief are currently attributing to, and discovering in, their work, and by asking how and whether these meanings determine work behaviour. I argue in this thesis that the concept of meaning-making is central to spirituality. I reviewed the psychological literature on meaning and as a result decided to focus the inquiry on three core elements of meaning; purpose, sense-making and coherence. In order to step back from the organisational agenda, and give voice to the authenticity of diverse spiritual beliefs, I chose to use career, rather than organisational theory, as framework for this inquiry. An additional theoretical framework of ‘agency and communion’ was introduced to conceptualise human motivation beyond its current narrow ‘self’ and ‘doing’ oriented definitions. A combination of ‘collaborative human inquiry’ and ‘narrative’ methodology was chosen to elicit subjective career meanings. Fifteen individuals with diverse spiritual beliefs participated in this research. These included a Buddhist, a Quaker, a Catholic, a Bahá'í, and a Mormon, as well as those not currently affiliated with an organized religion. The findings show that spiritual belief strongly determines career choice, transition and experience. It was found that research participants, in spite of their diverse beliefs, shared four purposes: ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’. When these purposes can be expressed fully, the workplace is experienced to be aligned with spiritual belief, and individuals are contributing fully, especially when diversity of spiritual expressions is acknowledged at the same time. Career transitions are made through an ongoing sense-making process as a result of which the individual may decide that the four purposes are no longer in balance and action is required in order to continue to live meaningfully. This sensemaking is a result of ongoing interaction between the individual and his or her work environment. Coherence is a result of the transrational element of spirituality, when the individual feels his or her work is still aligned with a bigger (divine) plan. This is assessed on an ongoing basis through prayer, asking ‘was this meant to be’ and reframing difficulties and setbacks as opportunities for learning and development. I suggest that it may not be wise to seek collective enactment of the trans-rational as it has no firm basis for collective organisational decision-making. It cannot seek collective expression due to the diversity of beliefs of organisational members. However I strongly suggest that an organisation that wants to align itself with the spiritual beliefs of its members, ensures that the four purposes of ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’ can be fully enacted in the organisation, keeping in mind that spirituality expresses itself in process as well as outcome. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

The focus of this inquiry is “The influence of ‘spiritual meaning-making’ on career choice, transition and experience”. Over the past decade there has been an increase in interest in the expression of spiritual belief in work. Most of the writing on the topic is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have lost meaning, and that the problem of meaning in work needs to addressed to enhance the ways in which we organise, and to enhance organisational output and personal wellbeing. Whereas the current writing on spirituality and work often suggests that organisations should provide more meaning, this research took a more humble starting point by asking what meanings individuals with spiritual belief are currently attributing to, and discovering in, their work, and by asking how and whether these meanings determine work behaviour. I argue in this thesis that the concept of meaning-making is central to spirituality. I reviewed the psychological literature on meaning and as a result decided to focus the inquiry on three core elements of meaning; purpose, sense-making and coherence. In order to step back from the organisational agenda, and give voice to the authenticity of diverse spiritual beliefs, I chose to use career, rather than organisational theory, as framework for this inquiry. An additional theoretical framework of ‘agency and communion’ was introduced to conceptualise human motivation beyond its current narrow ‘self’ and ‘doing’ oriented definitions. A combination of ‘collaborative human inquiry’ and ‘narrative’ methodology was chosen to elicit subjective career meanings. Fifteen individuals with diverse spiritual beliefs participated in this research. These included a Buddhist, a Quaker, a Catholic, a Bahá'í, and a Mormon, as well as those not currently affiliated with an organized religion. The findings show that spiritual belief strongly determines career choice, transition and experience. It was found that research participants, in spite of their diverse beliefs, shared four purposes: ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’. When these purposes can be expressed fully, the workplace is experienced to be aligned with spiritual belief, and individuals are contributing fully, especially when diversity of spiritual expressions is acknowledged at the same time. Career transitions are made through an ongoing sense-making process as a result of which the individual may decide that the four purposes are no longer in balance and action is required in order to continue to live meaningfully. This sensemaking is a result of ongoing interaction between the individual and his or her work environment. Coherence is a result of the transrational element of spirituality, when the individual feels his or her work is still aligned with a bigger (divine) plan. This is assessed on an ongoing basis through prayer, asking ‘was this meant to be’ and reframing difficulties and setbacks as opportunities for learning and development. I suggest that it may not be wise to seek collective enactment of the trans-rational as it has no firm basis for collective organisational decision-making. It cannot seek collective expression due to the diversity of beliefs of organisational members. However I strongly suggest that an organisation that wants to align itself with the spiritual beliefs of its members, ensures that the four purposes of ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’ can be fully enacted in the organisation, keeping in mind that spirituality expresses itself in process as well as outcome. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

The focus of this inquiry is “The influence of ‘spiritual meaning-making’ on career choice, transition and experience”. Over the past decade there has been an increase in interest in the expression of spiritual belief in work. Most of the writing on the topic is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have lost meaning, and that the problem of meaning in work needs to addressed to enhance the ways in which we organise, and to enhance organisational output and personal wellbeing. Whereas the current writing on spirituality and work often suggests that organisations should provide more meaning, this research took a more humble starting point by asking what meanings individuals with spiritual belief are currently attributing to, and discovering in, their work, and by asking how and whether these meanings determine work behaviour. I argue in this thesis that the concept of meaning-making is central to spirituality. I reviewed the psychological literature on meaning and as a result decided to focus the inquiry on three core elements of meaning; purpose, sense-making and coherence. In order to step back from the organisational agenda, and give voice to the authenticity of diverse spiritual beliefs, I chose to use career, rather than organisational theory, as framework for this inquiry. An additional theoretical framework of ‘agency and communion’ was introduced to conceptualise human motivation beyond its current narrow ‘self’ and ‘doing’ oriented definitions. A combination of ‘collaborative human inquiry’ and ‘narrative’ methodology was chosen to elicit subjective career meanings. Fifteen individuals with diverse spiritual beliefs participated in this research. These included a Buddhist, a Quaker, a Catholic, a Bahá'í, and a Mormon, as well as those not currently affiliated with an organized religion. The findings show that spiritual belief strongly determines career choice, transition and experience. It was found that research participants, in spite of their diverse beliefs, shared four purposes: ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’. When these purposes can be expressed fully, the workplace is experienced to be aligned with spiritual belief, and individuals are contributing fully, especially when diversity of spiritual expressions is acknowledged at the same time. Career transitions are made through an ongoing sense-making process as a result of which the individual may decide that the four purposes are no longer in balance and action is required in order to continue to live meaningfully. This sensemaking is a result of ongoing interaction between the individual and his or her work environment. Coherence is a result of the transrational element of spirituality, when the individual feels his or her work is still aligned with a bigger (divine) plan. This is assessed on an ongoing basis through prayer, asking ‘was this meant to be’ and reframing difficulties and setbacks as opportunities for learning and development. I suggest that it may not be wise to seek collective enactment of the trans-rational as it has no firm basis for collective organisational decision-making. It cannot seek collective expression due to the diversity of beliefs of organisational members. However I strongly suggest that an organisation that wants to align itself with the spiritual beliefs of its members, ensures that the four purposes of ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’ can be fully enacted in the organisation, keeping in mind that spirituality expresses itself in process as well as outcome. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

The focus of this inquiry is “The influence of ‘spiritual meaning-making’ on career choice, transition and experience”. Over the past decade there has been an increase in interest in the expression of spiritual belief in work. Most of the writing on the topic is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have lost meaning, and that the problem of meaning in work needs to addressed to enhance the ways in which we organise, and to enhance organisational output and personal wellbeing. Whereas the current writing on spirituality and work often suggests that organisations should provide more meaning, this research took a more humble starting point by asking what meanings individuals with spiritual belief are currently attributing to, and discovering in, their work, and by asking how and whether these meanings determine work behaviour. I argue in this thesis that the concept of meaning-making is central to spirituality. I reviewed the psychological literature on meaning and as a result decided to focus the inquiry on three core elements of meaning; purpose, sense-making and coherence. In order to step back from the organisational agenda, and give voice to the authenticity of diverse spiritual beliefs, I chose to use career, rather than organisational theory, as framework for this inquiry. An additional theoretical framework of ‘agency and communion’ was introduced to conceptualise human motivation beyond its current narrow ‘self’ and ‘doing’ oriented definitions. A combination of ‘collaborative human inquiry’ and ‘narrative’ methodology was chosen to elicit subjective career meanings. Fifteen individuals with diverse spiritual beliefs participated in this research. These included a Buddhist, a Quaker, a Catholic, a Bahá'í, and a Mormon, as well as those not currently affiliated with an organized religion. The findings show that spiritual belief strongly determines career choice, transition and experience. It was found that research participants, in spite of their diverse beliefs, shared four purposes: ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’. When these purposes can be expressed fully, the workplace is experienced to be aligned with spiritual belief, and individuals are contributing fully, especially when diversity of spiritual expressions is acknowledged at the same time. Career transitions are made through an ongoing sense-making process as a result of which the individual may decide that the four purposes are no longer in balance and action is required in order to continue to live meaningfully. This sensemaking is a result of ongoing interaction between the individual and his or her work environment. Coherence is a result of the transrational element of spirituality, when the individual feels his or her work is still aligned with a bigger (divine) plan. This is assessed on an ongoing basis through prayer, asking ‘was this meant to be’ and reframing difficulties and setbacks as opportunities for learning and development. I suggest that it may not be wise to seek collective enactment of the trans-rational as it has no firm basis for collective organisational decision-making. It cannot seek collective expression due to the diversity of beliefs of organisational members. However I strongly suggest that an organisation that wants to align itself with the spiritual beliefs of its members, ensures that the four purposes of ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’ can be fully enacted in the organisation, keeping in mind that spirituality expresses itself in process as well as outcome. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

The focus of this inquiry is “The influence of ‘spiritual meaning-making’ on career choice, transition and experience”. Over the past decade there has been an increase in interest in the expression of spiritual belief in work. Most of the writing on the topic is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have lost meaning, and that the problem of meaning in work needs to addressed to enhance the ways in which we organise, and to enhance organisational output and personal wellbeing. Whereas the current writing on spirituality and work often suggests that organisations should provide more meaning, this research took a more humble starting point by asking what meanings individuals with spiritual belief are currently attributing to, and discovering in, their work, and by asking how and whether these meanings determine work behaviour. I argue in this thesis that the concept of meaning-making is central to spirituality. I reviewed the psychological literature on meaning and as a result decided to focus the inquiry on three core elements of meaning; purpose, sense-making and coherence. In order to step back from the organisational agenda, and give voice to the authenticity of diverse spiritual beliefs, I chose to use career, rather than organisational theory, as framework for this inquiry. An additional theoretical framework of ‘agency and communion’ was introduced to conceptualise human motivation beyond its current narrow ‘self’ and ‘doing’ oriented definitions. A combination of ‘collaborative human inquiry’ and ‘narrative’ methodology was chosen to elicit subjective career meanings. Fifteen individuals with diverse spiritual beliefs participated in this research. These included a Buddhist, a Quaker, a Catholic, a Bahá'í, and a Mormon, as well as those not currently affiliated with an organized religion. The findings show that spiritual belief strongly determines career choice, transition and experience. It was found that research participants, in spite of their diverse beliefs, shared four purposes: ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’. When these purposes can be expressed fully, the workplace is experienced to be aligned with spiritual belief, and individuals are contributing fully, especially when diversity of spiritual expressions is acknowledged at the same time. Career transitions are made through an ongoing sense-making process as a result of which the individual may decide that the four purposes are no longer in balance and action is required in order to continue to live meaningfully. This sensemaking is a result of ongoing interaction between the individual and his or her work environment. Coherence is a result of the transrational element of spirituality, when the individual feels his or her work is still aligned with a bigger (divine) plan. This is assessed on an ongoing basis through prayer, asking ‘was this meant to be’ and reframing difficulties and setbacks as opportunities for learning and development. I suggest that it may not be wise to seek collective enactment of the trans-rational as it has no firm basis for collective organisational decision-making. It cannot seek collective expression due to the diversity of beliefs of organisational members. However I strongly suggest that an organisation that wants to align itself with the spiritual beliefs of its members, ensures that the four purposes of ‘developing and becoming self’, ‘union with others’, ‘expressing self’ and ‘serving others’ can be fully enacted in the organisation, keeping in mind that spirituality expresses itself in process as well as outcome. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Secondary Education / Steven R. Harbstreit / John Deere Corporation sponsors 16 schools within the United States that are designed to educate students to become future agricultural equipment technicians. At the time of this study, the schools’ enrollments were at a less-than desirable level, 80% capacity. However, the company was receiving feedback that dealerships needed technicians. The need to determine the disparity between the need for technicians and the level of enrollment led to the pursuit of this study. The researcher sampled 306 John Deere agricultural service managers across the continental United States to determine: (a) if the dealerships truly needed technicians, (b) the methods dealerships were using for locating technicians, and (c) the service managers’ perceptions of the John Deere (JD) Ag Tech program. The study also analyzed the relationships between the service managers’ perceptions of the JD Ag Tech program and five independent variables: (a) number of technicians employed at John Deere dealerships, (b) number of stores dealer-organizations own, (c) distance between John Deere dealerships and the closest JD Ag Tech school, (d) number of JD Ag Tech students John Deere dealerships have sponsored, and (e) service managers’ age. The results of the study indicated that John Deere service managers did plan to hire technicians over the next 12 months as well as over the next three years. However, it was also determined that 60% of the service managers were only somewhat knowledgeable or unfamiliar with the JD Ag Tech Program. For the service managers that had experienced sponsoring JD Ag Tech students, those service managers were satisfied with the JD Ag Tech graduates. The researcher’s recommendations focused upon two areas. The first was to improve the marketing of the JD Ag Tech program to insure that all John Deere service managers become familiar with the program. The second recommendation was to focus on improving the “student” component of the partnership, by recruiting the students earlier in their high school careers, and having the partners work together to target high caliber students.

Content-based language instruction has gained widespread acceptance as an effective approach in a range of educational settings for adults and children. It is premised on the belief that language and content are inextricably linked and that learning is enhanced through an integrated approach. Yet the nature of the relationship between content and language, and how integration can be achieved in the content-based language classroom, continue to be points of divergence for both researchers and practitioners. One approach to this question draws on research in form-focused instruction (FFI), which describes various instructional options that draw learners’ attention to form in primarily meaning and content-based classrooms. While widely accepted that FFI has a positive impact on language learning outcomes in a variety of contexts, FFI research in content-based language programs for adults has been limited. This study investigated the effect and effectiveness of FFI in a content-based language program designed to prepare adult newcomers to Canada for employment in a specific workplace sector. Two groups of adult learners participated in the study. One group of 16 adults received content-based instruction integrated with FFI while the other group of 20 adults received the same content-based instruction with a focus on meaning only. A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test/delayed post-test design was adopted for this comparative study in order to measure language and content outcomes. Language measures included an error correction task, a cloze task, and oral production tasks. Content outcomes were measured via content tests. In addition, a retrospective awareness protocol was designed to assess learners’ awareness of language and content in their instruction and to explore the relationship between this awareness and language development. ANOVA and ANCOVA results indicated that there was no advantage for the participants receiving form-focused instruction on language outcomes but a significant benefit on the content knowledge tests. Analysis of the retrospective report data indicated that the participants were able to identify the focus of the instruction they received. However, no relationship between awareness of language and language development was found. These findings are discussed in light of previous research and in terms of their implications for content-based language instruction.

Content-based language instruction has gained widespread acceptance as an effective approach in a range of educational settings for adults and children. It is premised on the belief that language and content are inextricably linked and that learning is enhanced through an integrated approach. Yet the nature of the relationship between content and language, and how integration can be achieved in the content-based language classroom, continue to be points of divergence for both researchers and practitioners. One approach to this question draws on research in form-focused instruction (FFI), which describes various instructional options that draw learners’ attention to form in primarily meaning and content-based classrooms. While widely accepted that FFI has a positive impact on language learning outcomes in a variety of contexts, FFI research in content-based language programs for adults has been limited. This study investigated the effect and effectiveness of FFI in a content-based language program designed to prepare adult newcomers to Canada for employment in a specific workplace sector. Two groups of adult learners participated in the study. One group of 16 adults received content-based instruction integrated with FFI while the other group of 20 adults received the same content-based instruction with a focus on meaning only. A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test/delayed post-test design was adopted for this comparative study in order to measure language and content outcomes. Language measures included an error correction task, a cloze task, and oral production tasks. Content outcomes were measured via content tests. In addition, a retrospective awareness protocol was designed to assess learners’ awareness of language and content in their instruction and to explore the relationship between this awareness and language development. ANOVA and ANCOVA results indicated that there was no advantage for the participants receiving form-focused instruction on language outcomes but a significant benefit on the content knowledge tests. Analysis of the retrospective report data indicated that the participants were able to identify the focus of the instruction they received. However, no relationship between awareness of language and language development was found. These findings are discussed in light of previous research and in terms of their implications for content-based language instruction.