The diploma thesis deals with the psychological context of career counselling and education in adolescence. Today, only a minimal amount of research interest in the Czech Republic is devoted to career counselling and education, while in several developed countries of the world it is an important social science field. The aim of the diploma thesis is to provide recommendations for career education at secondary schools and to design intervention programs for career counselling for a group of secondary school students. The research questions seek to answer what variables play a role in high school career decision-making, what high school students expect from career guidance and education in schools, and the benefits of sharing a career decision-making process among peers. The qualitative research was chosen to answer the given research questions. Data were collected by the focus group method. The research project involved 29 students from three Prague grammar schools and one secondary vocational school. The results show that high school students' career decision-making is primarily influenced by their values, abilities and skills, interests, personality traits, perceived obstacles and barriers, and social effect. High school students expect guidance, information, acquaintance, a realistic perspective,...

Under vår undersökning har vi tagit del av en artikel och tre rapporter som på olika sätt granskar studie- och yrkesvägledningen inom grundskolan. I granskningen av studie- och yrkesvägledningen enligt rapporterna framkommer det bland annat att antal skolor och antalet elever som en studie- och yrkesvägledare ansvarar för kan påverka kvaliteten på vägledningssamtalet. För att bilda oss en egen uppfattning om det som framgår valde vi att undersöka vilken uppfattning respondenterna har om det som lyfts upp i rapporterna. Syftet med undersökningen var att se om huruvida antalet elever påverkar kvaliteten på vägledningssamtalet samt vilka andra faktorer som påverkar kvaliteten på vägledningssamtalet. Vi valde den kvantitativa metoden och webbenkäter som undersökningsmetod för att besvara våra frågor. Urvalet gjordes bland olika grundskolor med studie- och yrkesvägledare som har hand om olika antal elever.I undersökning ingår respondenter det vill säga studie- och yrkesvägledare från en storkommun, mellanstor kommun och en liten kommun. I resultatet av undersökningen framgår det att respondenterna anser att ett stort antal elever påverkar kvaliteten på vägledningssamtalet men att det inte är den viktigaste påverkansfaktorn. Andra faktorer som respondenternas egen ambition samt antalet skolor de ansvarar för är enligt undersökningen de faktorerna som mest påverkar kvaliteten på vägledningssamtalet.

This study examined the influence of a professional development project on the process of change experienced by four veteran physical education teachers. This study was part of a larger study that included all of the physical educators within an entire school district. The information shared here is from a sub-group of teachers who taught primary-age students. The professional development project was content-based, situated in classroom practice, sustained over time, focused on the design and implementation of standards-based content and assessment into physical education classroom practice. A qualitative methodology was used to investigate the process of change experienced by these teachers before, during, and after participating in this project. Findings were based on project conversations, interviews, multiple classroom observations, questionnaires, and document analysis of materials produced during the project and in the classrooms of these four veteran physical education teachers throughout the three-year span of the project. It was found that the participants changed their thoughts and practices regarding content, instruction, and assessment in an interconnected non-linear manner. Changes include: student learning became a predominant instructional goal; standards were viewed as a planning tool; and assessment for and of student learning became important. Perceptions of self as professional changed from feelings of marginalization to being an important and valued member of their schools. Four major conclusions were drawn from the findings about the features of the professional development project. These are: (a) teaching is an isolated enterprise, and the social context of this project supported change; (b) learning to teach as a situated endeavor and by situating the project in the context of classroom physical education supports change; (c) adequate resources to maintain a sustained focus during implementation of practices supported change; (d) incompatibility of teacher knowledge and beliefs with the intentions of the professional development personnel inhibited change. / Ph. D.

This study wants to investigate internal driving forces of employees who want a career change, what type of career-related support they need to move forward, and how this support can be made available, as well as their thoughts on the potential of career-interventions supporting the career-health of employees. Peavy’s socio-dynamic counseling theory, Antonovsky’s SOC and previous studies on career-counselling and health build the theoretical framework for the study. The CIP-theory was used as a methodological tool to generate empirical evidence. Eight semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with an interview guide built on SOC’s comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. Results show that these employees experience some negative health-effects and difficulties to proceed on their own, hence describes a need for support at different stages of the process. All participants mention meaningfulness as an important driving-force and they express a wish for conversational support to investigate what could be meaningful for them. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka drivkrafter hos anställda som önskar en karriärrelaterad förändring, vilket karriärrelaterat stöd dessa anställda upplever sig ha behov av för att komma vidare och hur stödet kan tillgängliggöras, samt deras tankar kring karriärvägledningens potential för främjandet av karriärhälsa. Peavys konstruktivistiska vägledningsteori och Antonovskys KASAM har använts som teoretiskt ramverk tillsammans med tidigare forskning kring vägledning och hälsa. CIP-teorin har använts som metodologiskt verktyg för att generera empiri i denna kvalitativa intervjustudie. Åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med hjälp av en intervjuguide skapad utifrån KASAMs tre begrepp begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet. Resultaten visar att anställda som önskar förändring kan uppleva negativa hälsoeffekter och svårigheter att på egen hand ta sig vidare och beskriver behov av stöd under olika faser av beslutsprocessen. Samtliga deltagare nämner meningsfullhet som en drivkraft och de önskar samtalsstöd i utforskandet av vad som skulle kunna vara meningsfullt för just dem.

The purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of instructional leadership behaviors from Mississippi secondary career and technical education administrators and teachers in order to assist career and technical education administrators in becoming better instructional leaders. This research was conducted for the following purposes: (a) to determine which perceived instructional leadership behavior teachers consider most important, (b) to determine which perceived instructional leadership behavior administrators consider most important, (c) to determine if a difference exists in perceived instructional leadership behaviors between administrators and teachers, (d) to determine if a difference exists in perceived instructional leadership behaviors between career and technical education teachers and school type, and (e) to determine if a difference exists in perceived instructional leadership behaviors between career and technical education teachers and their career pathway. This study followed a descriptive and comparative research design. A version of the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) developed by Hallinger (1984) was sent to 1,507 Mississippi secondary career and technical education administrators and teachers, and 676 survey respondents were used. Results indicate that both career and technical education administrators and teachers perceive framing school goals as the most important instructional leadership job function. Other results show that statistically significant differences exist between career and technical education administrators and teachers in 7 out of 10 instructional leadership job functions. No statistically significant differences were found between career and technical teachers and school type. However, statistically significant differences were found between career and technical teachers and career pathway in 8 out of 10 instructional leadership job functions.

This research was conducted to determine if characteristics of teachers impact student learning in the secondary career and technical education Allied Health program area. This research was conducted for the following reasons: (a) to determine if teacher participation in professional learning opportunities impact student learning, (b) to determine if the use of curriculum and instruction resources impact student learning, (c) to determine if the implementation of researched-based teaching strategies impact student learning, and (d) to determine if other characteristics impact student learning. The data collected include responses from the fall 2007 MS-CPAS2 Allied Health student scores and survey responses from Mississippi Allied Health Teachers. This survey included: (a) professional learning, (b) use of curriculum and instruction resources, (c) researched-based teaching strategies, and (d) teacher experience. This study found that that students who had teachers who attended one to two face-toace professional learning sessions had a higher student mean score on MS-CPAS2 tests than students who had teachers who attended three or more face-toace professional learning sessions. Additionally, more Allied Health instructors are participating in face-toace professional learning than online professional learning. Although a majority of the participants are not attending the data retreat sessions, those who attend have lower MS-CPAS2 scores than those who do not attend. Recommendations were made to decision makers for future use of funds related to the development of curriculum and instruction materials and the development and implementation of professional learning opportunities. Some recommendations include: (a) creating incentives for teachers and administrators to participate more in online professional learning, (b) the curriculum framework created for secondary occupation- specific programs become a one-stop-shop for strategies that are proven to increase student learning, and (c) teacher licensure requirements should move from only requiring a two year associate’s degree to a four year bachelor’s degree.

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Agriculture teacher demographics continue to shift with an increase in early career and female teachers entering the profession. Female teachers have been shown to report lower student motivation and lower self-efficacy compared to males (Martin, 2006; Hastedt et al., 2021; Tran, 2015; Klaussen & Chiu, 2010). Within agricultural education, early career teachers have reported concerns with student motivation and self-efficacy (Stair et al., 2012; Blackburn & Robinson, 2008.) Even though student motivation has been identified as a major issue, student motivation and its effects on agriculture teachers have not been studied within agricultural education. The purpose of this study was to identify the current perceptions of female early career agriculture teachers in relation to student motivation. A grounded theory approach using semi-structured interviews was used in this qualitative study. An analysis of the data revealed that these teachers have difficulty motivating students in relation to SAE/FFA participation, valuing of the content, and classroom engagement and persistence. Teachers mentioned student teacher relationships, classroom management, and past success as factors that increase student motivation. Teachers also discussed the effects of low student motivation on their careers which included feelings of anxiety, stress, and questioning of ability. It is recommended that teachers in agricultural education focus on improving the adaptive dimensions of valuing of school and persistence. Additionally, stakeholders within agricultural education should offer professional development in the areas of student motivation and SAE implementation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of professional development of principals of schools in the rural Appalachian region of Virginia. The researcher interviewed 13 principals from public elementary, middle, and high schools regarding their professional development experiences. Principals were asked to describe their past and current professional development experiences, identify barriers to accessing professional development, and provide their opinion regarding the importance of professional development that focuses specifically on leading a school in rural Appalachia. Principals reported participation in many different types of professional development. Principals' responses were analyzed to determine the extent to which professional development was on-going, job-embedded, and connected to school improvement goals. Results indicated principals' professional development experiences were seldom on-going, often job-embedded, and somewhat connected to school or district improvement goals. Principals reported the demands of the job, lack of professional development opportunities provided by their school district, lack of knowledge of professional development available outside their district, and being geographically isolated as barriers to their professional learning. The results led to identification of areas for further research. These areas include (a) the role and influence of school division leadership on principals' professional development (b) the importance and impact of incorporating networking and other opportunities for collaboration into the design of principals' professional development, (c) the impact of designing professional development that is on-going, job-embedded, and connected to school improvement goals on initial learning and continued leadership behaviors of principals, (d) the issues relating to the use and non-use of distance technologies for principals' professional development, and (e) the efficacy of professional development designed for teachers in meeting the needs of principals or the ability of principals to translate the content of teachers professional development to knowledge and skills needed by instructional leaders. The researcher also suggested the need for additional research to compare and contrast the professional development experiences of this study's participants with other principals in rural Appalachia as well as principals from suburban and urban school districts. / Ph. D.