Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Major gaps exist in the understanding of career development across diverse population groups and cultures, a lacuna that postmodern career counselling approaches aim to address. Career choices have been historically constrained for many South Africans by the Apartheid system, indicating the prescribing effects that socio-political and economic factors exert on the field of career psychology. Because disadvantaged adolescents are such an under-researched group, research is needed to provide cogent accounts of their experiences. The Systems Theory Framework of career development (STF) was chosen to contextualise the multitude of career influences present in facing a key life transition in Makupula High School learners in the Kayamandi township. The present research examined the complex interplay of contextual influences that impacts this sample of Grade 12 learners in making career decisions, to provide insight into perceived career opportunities, enablers and unique contextual constraints. The research aimed to identify individual, social and environmental-societal level influences present in career decision-making, using the qualitative career measure My Systems of Career Influences (MSCI) as well as individual interviews and a focus group. Respondents‟ accounts of self-awareness, surrounding environmental resources, influences of significant others (parents, teachers and peers), and past, present and future effects were analysed. At an individual level, a scarcity of opportunities for self-reflection and critical thinking was observed, which culminated in limited insight into personal abilities and poor integration of personal information in occupational choices. High self-efficacy beliefs and expectations were noted, with a sense of responsibility assumed for constructing successful career paths. However, high order cognitive processes, such as future planning, were absent, showing the need for career counselling to build career adaptability and resilience. Social level influences were the most prominent influences, indicating the importance attached to family support, although a lack of parental involvement in career planning was voiced due to the low occupational status of parents. The school context provided examples of subject mastery and career information from teachers; in contrast, friends were described as dual entities, being supportive and providing negative influences. A lack of visible local role models and success pathways resulted in career choices being based on media depictions of careers as well as media role models, in the absence of additional accessible career information. The theme of career myths illustrated the need for accurate career information, and the theme of cultural identity emerged. Africentric narratives of overcoming suffering formed resilient mechanisms that were linked to a black racial identity, yet constrained movements away from extended family structures and the township. The reconciliation of “western” career aspirations with rural roots in forming a coherent self-concept may be the greatest challenge in vocational identity development for disadvantaged adolescents. At the environmental-societal level, Kayamandi was discussed as an enabling and disadvantageous environment, and reference was made to the resources and language barriers that were inherent in Stellenbosch town. Lastly, MSCI feedback indicated the necessity of reflection processes, and criticisms were also discussed. Themes that emerged from the learners‟ career stories can assist in providing insight that would aid future career development, counselling processes and the creation of context-specific interventions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar bestaan groot leemtes in die verstaan van loopbaan-ontwikkeling by verskillende bevolkingsgroepe en kulture, „n gaping wat postmoderne beroepsberaders poog om aan te spreek. In die verlede is beroepskeuses vir vele Suid-Afrikaners beperk deur die Apartheidstelsel, wat dui op die voorskriftelike impak van sosio-politiese en ekonomiese faktore op die gebied van beroepsielkunde. Gegewe dat daar min navorsing gedoen is aangaande benadeelde adolessente, is navorsing nodig om koherente weergawes van hul ervarings te verskaf. Die Sisteemteorieraamwerk van loopbaan-ontwikkeling (Systems Theory Framework, STF) is gebruik om die menigte van beroeps-invloede te kontekstualiseer wat gepaard gaan met „n belangrike lewensverandering by leerders verbonde aan die Hoërskool Makupula in die Kayamandi-dorpsgebied. Die huidige navorsing het die komplekse wisselwerking van kontekstuele invloede ondersoek wat hierdie steekproef van graad 12-leerders beïnvloed het rakende loopbaankeuses, en poog om die nodige insig te verskaf van waargenome loopbaangeleenthede, ondersteuningsnetwerke (“enablers”) en spesifieke kontekstuele beperkings. Die navorsingsdoelwitte behels die identifisering van individuele-, sosiale- asook omgewings-en-samelewingsvlakke wat loopbaankeuses beïnvloed. Die kwalitatiewe loopbaanmeetinstrument “My Systems of Career Influences” (MSCI), individuele onderhoude en „n fokusgroep is gebruik. Die respondente se weergawes van “self,” beskikbare omgewings-hulpbronne, invloede van betekenisvolle ander (ouers, opvoeders en portuurgroepe) asook die impak van die verlede, hede en die toekoms is ontleed. Die individuele vlak van ontleding het gebreke rakende self-refleksie en kritiese denke aangedui, wat gelei het tot die beperkte insig van persoonlike vermoëns en die gebrekkige integrasie van persoonlike inligting aangaande loopbaankeuses. Die respondente het sterk oortuigings van self-doeltreffendheid getoon, en „n sin van die nodige verantwoordelikheid vir die daarstelling van suksesvolle loopbaanrigtings. Hierteenoor egter het hoë-orde kognitiewe prosesse, soos toekomsbeplanning ontbreek, wat die behoefte aan loopbaanberading getoon het sodat loopbaan aanpasbaarheid en veerkragtigheid ontwikkel kan word. Die sosiale vlak van ontleding het die mees prominente invloede getoon wat die belangrikheid van familie-ondersteuning aandui, alhoewel die gebrekkige betrokkenheid van ouers rakende loopbaanbeplanning geblyk het as gevolg van die die lae beroepstatus van die ouers. Die skoolkonteks het voorbeelde gebied van die vakke wat die respondente bemeester het asook loopbaan-inligting soos verskaf deur die onderwysers; hierteenoor is die vriende beskryf as tweevoudige entiteite wat aan die eenkant ondersteuning bied, maar aan die anderkant ook die negatiewe invloede. „n Gebrek aan sigbare plaaslike rolmodelle en suksesvolle loopbaanrigtings het gelei tot loopbaankeuses wat gebaseer word op die voorstellings van beroepe soos in die media, asook media-rolmodelle in die afwesigheid van aanvullende en toeganklike loopbaan-inligting. The tema van loopbaan-mites het die behoefte aan akkurate loopbaan-inligting ge-illustreer; en die tema rakende kulturele-identiteit het na vore gekom. Afri-sentriese narratiewe van die oorkoming van swaarkry wat gelei het tot veerkragtige hanteringsmeganismes, is gekoppel aan „n swart rasse-identiteit, alhoewel dit ook die bewegings weg van die uitgebreide familie-strukture en die dorpsgebied belemmer. Die versoening van “westerse” loopbaan-verwagtings met die landelike verbondenheit om „n koherente selfkonsep te vorm, kan die grootste uitdaging wees in die ontwikkeling van „n loopbaan-identiteit vir benadeelde adolessente. Op die omgewings-samelewingsvlak van ontleding is die volgende bespreek: Kayamandi as „n bemagtigende én „n nadelige omgewing; die hulpbronne; en probleme aangaande taalkwessies wat deel is van die Stellenbosse gemeenskap. Ten slotte, die MSCI terugvoering het die behoefte aan refleksie-prosesse aangedui en kritiekpunte is ook bespreek. Temas wat geïdentifiseer is in die leerders se loopbaan-stories kan bydra tot die verkryging van insig vir toekomstige loopbaan-ontwikkeling, beradingsprosesse, en vir die ontwikkeling van konteks-spesifieke intervensies.

Over the past decade, the healthcare landscape has shifted for Ontario’s family physicians as government policies changed the availability of practice and compensation models. The most impacted population are early career family physicians. Given this changing healthcare environment, the factors that drive early career family physicians practice choices are unclear and not well-studied. Therefore, this thesis sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What factors shape family physician choice of practice and compensation models in Ontario? a. How do early career family physicians perceive the availability of practice and compensation models in Ontario? 2. From the perspective of Ontario family medicine residency administrators, how does residency influence family physician practice choices? This study was a part of a broader, cross-provincial study examining family medicine resident and early career family physician practice patterns in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. Nineteen early career physicians and 7 family medicine residency administrators were interviewed for their perceptions and understanding of the factors and policies affecting their (or in the case of administrators, residents’) career choices. In this thesis, I used thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke to answer the research questions. Patton and McMahon’s Systems Theory Framework (STF) provided a systems perspective that was used to model and assess the interactions between emergent themes. The factors that shaped family physician choice of practice and compensation models were divided into micro- and macro-level factors as described by the STF. Micro-level factors were ‘gender’, ‘health’, ‘interests’, and ‘world of work knowledge.’ Macro-level factors included ‘educational institutions’, ‘geographical location’, ‘historical trends’, ‘peers’, ‘family’, ‘community groups’, ‘workplace’, and ‘employment market.’ Finally, two additional factors were found: ‘flexibility’, and ‘financial considerations.’ The interaction between these factors was complex, where many linked themes gave rise to career decisions made by family physicians. A second perspective in the form of residency administrators helped develop a holistic description of these factors. Furthermore, a gap between physician training and practice opportunities after graduation was identified.

This dissertation is a report on research into the development and evaluation of a career assessment and counselling procedure that falls under the aegis of the constructivist, narrative approach: My Career Chapter: A Dialogical Autobiography. My Career Chapter enables an individual to construct a holistic understanding of his or her career. The procedure facilitates an individual writing and reflecting on an autobiographical account of his or her career that is contextualised amidst systems of career influences. The resulting autobiographical text can be used in career counselling, including co-constructive dialogue between client and counsellor. The literature underpinning the research project is described with a wide-ranging discussion of issues that critically pertain to the research endeavour and essentially provide a primary base for the work. Two theoretical frameworks that exemplify constructivism in vocational psychology underpin the research: the Systems Theory Framework and the Theory of Career Construction. From the base of those two theoretical frameworks, narrative career counselling is explicated and exemplars are described. The Theory of Dialogical Self is introduced to inform the design of My Career Chapter and, ultimately, the theory and practice of narrative career counselling. The research is predominantly positioned within a paradigm of constructivism/interpretivism and the results of the studies are collectively interpreted accordingly; but postpositivism and critical ideological paradigms are present in a secondary form due to the mixture of research methods used in the project as a whole. Six empirical studies investigate the experience of My Career Chapter from the perspective of the developer, the counsellor-user, and the client-user; each explicated with two studies respectively. Research methods include autoethnography for the developer's experience, interpretative phenomenological analysis and focus group for the counsellor-users' experience, and quasi-experiment and interpretative phenomenological analysis for the client-users' experience. The studies of the developer's experience of My Career Chapter comprehensively explicate how and why the procedure was developed and emphasise the importance of reflexive science and practice. Crucially, the autoethnographies revealed a nexus of theory-practice-person which underpins the production of My Career Chapter, and critically influences the entire research project. The studies involving counsellor-users affirmed My Career Chapter's alignment with recommendations for the development and application of qualitative career assessment and counselling procedures. These studies also raised questions pertaining to the characteristics of client-users that may mediate the efficacy of the procedure (e.g., age, language ability). Studies of client-users firstly support the conclusion that My Career Chapter is a safe career assessment and counselling procedure, with minimal attendant risk of inducing psychological harm or distress. The procedure was experienced as being helpful as a tool for personal reflection, through its theoretically-derived processes of facilitating clients writing, reading, and hearing and talking their autobiographical manuscripts through in the interpretation phase. There are four dimensions of significance associated with this research project. Firstly, the divide between theory and practice has indeed been much lamented in vocational psychology and counselling psychology. Thus, the overall significance of the research reported upon in this dissertation is significant because it attempts to bring theory and practice together through a reflexive and theoretically informed research process into a career assessment and counselling procedure. Secondly, the research and development process produced a new career assessment and counselling product which will add to the limited range of techniques that fall under the aegis of constructivist career assessment and counselling broadly, and the narrative approach specifically. My Career Chapter complements other procedures. Thirdly, two of the research methods used in the project (viz., autoethnography and interpretative phenomenological analysis) demonstrated their potential as additional qualitative methods for research within vocational psychology. Finally, the research process has enabled the articulation of the Theory of Dialogical Self—from another branch of psychology—into the extant corpus of literature on career development theory and practice.