Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [74]-79). Also available on the Internet.

abstract: Although women of color have increased their presence in the workplace, many obstacles restricting career opportunities still exist. It is important that mental health professionals contribute in providing interventions to increase career opportunities for women of color. The purpose of this research is to add to the repertoire of interventions by studying the irrational career beliefs of Black women. This research utilizes the Believe It! program, an online career development program that focuses on altering irrational/maladaptive career beliefs that can prevent young females from pursuing career opportunities. An early study of Believe It! found it to be effective for Caucasian females, however the effects for minority females were less clear. The current study re-examined the effectiveness of Believe It! for minorities by altering the appearance of the animated character within the program. It was hypothesized that young African American women interacting with African American animated agents would display greater rationality in terms of career beliefs compared to young African American women interacting with Caucasian animated agents. Forty-four African American girls between the ages of eleven to fifteen were pre-tested with a battery of assessment devices addressing the irrationality of the girls' career beliefs. The measures included the Career Myths Scale, the Career Beliefs Inventory, the Occupational Sex-role Questionnaire, and the Believe It! measure. Four to eight days later, participants engaged in the online Believe It! Program; they were randomly assigned to either a matched condition (viewing the program with an African American animated agent) or a mismatched condition (viewing the program with a Caucasian animated agent). After completion of the intervention, participants were post-tested with the same assessment battery. MANCOVA and ANCOVA analyses showed that participants in the matched condition consistently benefitted from the matched intervention. Implications for this research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.C. Counseling 2010

Histology as a career offers many challenging and diverse job opportunities but few qualified applicants pursue this vocation. The purpose of this research was to collect data to identify factors impacting this problem. The study investigated the awareness, attitudes and perceptions of community college and university science students towards laboratory health science and histology as a career option. The goal was to develop strategies to identify and recruit potential individuals who are qualified for the histology profession. The researcher surveyed 15 undergraduate science classes from two community colleges and one university in the Midwest. The community colleges and university surveyed offer academic course work necessary for a student to pursue a career in histology. The survey was designed to collect data regarding the student's attitudes toward career preparedness, job opportunities, anticipated salary, and laboratory science employment. Results of this study support the hypothesis that undergraduate students pursuing science degrees are potential candidates for careers in histology but they are unaware of the profession. The study also provides a preliminary needs-assessment to support the development of programs that offer histology training for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing college science degrees.

The tourism industry is often viewed as an industry in which one would not want to be employed. This negative stigma is cause for concern when youth are beginning to make career decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the tourism industry, factors that influence them to pursue a tourism career path, and their participation in a tourism-related education program. Little research exists regarding tourism career development and degree program persistence, and available literature is largely quantitative in nature. A follow-up explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used in this study. Surveys were distributed to students enrolled in tourism-related programs at six American universities; data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Based on findings, four focus groups were held at one university. Results suggested that while students had positive perceptions about the tourism industry, it was not typically their first career choice. Industry experience and specific job characteristics were highly influential on the career decision process. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis; common factors that influence career choice, lack of awareness of tourism-related degree programs, relevance of experience and internships, common areas of program satisfaction, and suggested improvements programs. The implications of this study for educators, industry leaders, and parents are many. Recognizing factors that influence a student to enter a tourism-related career help educators pinpoint where and, to an extent, how to disseminate information about the tourism industry and related educational programs. This information may also be useful for industry leaders as they seek to obtain trained employees, whereas they can determine outlets at which to create awareness of this industry.

A expatriação pode ser entendida pela prática de convidar um funcionário a assumir um cargo pela empresa em um país estrangeiro por um período de um ou dois anos. Essa prática, ás vezes, tem sido estudada somente pela missão em si, enquanto que é um processo amplo e único composto por três etapas: a preparação, a expatriação em si e a repatriação, momento este pouco abordado nos estudos. A repatriação compreende a etapa em que o expatriado volta para o país de origem, tendo que se readaptar ao ambiente de trabalho e social. Dentro da perspectiva profissional, um dos problemas que dificulta a adaptação do expatriado é a questão da carreira, pois, na expatriação, geralmente, os funcionários exercem atividades mais amplas. Assim, quando retornam ao país de origem, muitos voltam a exercer as mesmas atividades de antes da expatriação. Dessa maneira, este estudo tem o propósito de analisar as mudanças ocorridas com a expatriação para os funcionários que tiveram/estão tendo uma experiência profissional internacional e sua relação com as expectativas de carreira geradas com a repatriação. Para atender esse objetivo, foi realizado um estudo de caso na empresa Alpha, na qual foram realizadas 21 entrevistas: dois representantes da área dos Recursos Humanos (RH) e 19 expatriados. Como principais resultados, destacam-se: a empresa, apesar de ter um programa de expatriação há 12 anos, ainda precisa de políticas e práticas mais estruturadas, muito em função de que a internacionalização tomou uma dimensão maior do que a organização estava preparada para suportar, o que tem refletido na área de RH. Assim, as dificuldades em relação à adaptação cultural, família, língua estrangeira sobressaem-se e o expatriado não percebe como a sua carreira está se desenvolvendo nesse momento. Entretanto, a expatriação permite possibilidades para os profissionais e para a empresa, mas também tem muitos desafios a serem superados. Como possibilidades foram destacadas: maior competência para a tomada de decisão, ampliação do network interno, conhecimento de outras culturas, maior aprendizado, desafio profissional, entre outros. E como desafios têm-se: conciliar as expectativas da empresa com a do funcionário, reconhecimento do processo de expatriação, atuação do RH, planejamento da carreira, melhor preparação e acompanhamento da família, treinamento e adaptação do expatriado, práticas e políticas ampliadas e atenção ao perfil dos expatriados. Como principal achado tem-se que os repatriados passam a dar mais valor a sua carreira interna do que a organizacional, pois quando retornam a empresa não apresenta um planejamento para aproveitar esse funcionário em posições que demandem mais responsabilidades, como as na missão. Dessa forma, a carreira fica comprometida no momento em que a organização não reconhece o aprendizado do repatriado e esse busca outras oportunidades no mercado de trabalho. Os que buscam espaço dentro da organização acabam se “tornando um problema” para a empresa. / The expatriation can be understood as the practice of inviting an employee to take a job within his company in a foreign country for a period of one or two years. This practice has been studied only as the mission itself, when it is a broad and unique process involving three stages: preparation, expatriation and a stage that is rarely addressed in studies: the repatriation. The repatriation encompasses the step where the expatriate returns to his country, which requires him the readjustment to social and working place. From a professional perspective, one of the difficult problems in the expatriate adaptation is the issue of career, because in expatriation, generally, the employees are responsible for broader activities. Thus, when they return to their origin country, many of them are responsible for the same activities that they were before expatriation. Thus, this study aims to analyze the changes from expatriation allowance regarding employees who have had/ are having an international professional experience and their relation to career expectations generated from the repatriation. To achieve this objective, a case study has been done in Alpha Company, in which 21 people have been interviewed: two persons who represent the Human Resources (HR) and 19 expatriates. The main results concluded: the company, despite having a 12 year expatriation program, still lacks more structured policies and practices, mostly because that internationalization has taken as a major dimension than the organization was prepared to hold, which has been reflected in the HR area. Thus, the difficulties related to cultural adaptation, family, foreign language end up having a bigger dimension and the expatriate can not perceive how his career is being developed at that time. However, the expatriation provides many opportunities for the professionals and for the company, and also there are many challenges that need to be overcome. The possibilities that were mentioned: more competence for decision making, expansion of the internal network, knowledge of other cultures, higher learning, professional challenge, among others. And as challenges, they indicated: to reconcile the company's expectations with the employee's, more valorization of the expatriation process, greater activity of HR, career planning, better family preparation and monitoring, training and adaptation of expatriate, policies and practices expanded and greater attention to the profile of expatriates. The main result showed that the repatriates are giving much more value to their internal career than to the organizational, because when they return, the company does not have a structure to allocate them in positions that require more responsibilities, as it was required in their mission. Thus, the expatriate’s career becomes jeopardized since the organization does not recognize his learning, and this disregard influences him to seek for others opportunities in the marketplace. And those who seek for a space within the organization, end up "becoming a problem" for the company.

This study aimed at exploring the grade nine learners' experience of career counselling at school in order to determine their ability to make informed subject and career choices. The literature review explored career education programmes and the changing world of work in South Africa. The importance of knowledge about career possibilities, personal values, personality traits and individual interests and abilities was highlighted. Qualitative research involved grade nine learners and Life Orientation teachers in individual and focus group interviews. Data analysis led to the following conclusions: Life Orientation teachers are not adequately informed about the purpose and aim of the career counselling process. Most teachers do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to support learners to make informed subject and career choices. Career counselling in grade nine does not meet the needs of the learners. / Educational Studies / M. Ed.(Psychology of education)

This focus of the current study is the role of meaning in life with respect to career decision and anxiety. It was hypothesized that: (1) There is a negative correlation between career decidedness and anxiety; (2) Meaning in life mediates the relationship between career decidedness and state anxiety; and (3) The relationship between career decidedness and state anxiety will be moderated by the search for meaning in life. Participants consisted of undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. Measures include: the Career Decision Scale (CDS; Osipow et al., 1976), the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2006), and the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA; Ree et al., 2000). The results indicate that the presence of meaning in life mediates the relationships between career decidedness and anxiety. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that the search for meaning in life moderates the relationship between career decidedness and anxiety. Future research and practical implications are also discussed.

As it becomes more common for individuals to work in many different jobs throughout their lives, career adaptability becomes more important to understanding how individuals deal with this changing environment. This study examined the history and background of career adaptability and personality, as well as current research in the field. A total of 196 students from a large Midwestern university completed the Career Futures Inventory – Revised and a Big Five measure from the International Personality Item Pool to examine potential relationships between individual personality traits and career adaptability. Pearson correlations, linear and hierarchical regression analyses, and analysis of variance were used to analyze possible relationships. The results of the study indicated that 39.7% of career adaptability was accounted for by the Big Five personality traits. All five personality traits and career adaptability were moderately correlated and neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion predicted participants’ overall career adaptability. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that career adaptability and career agency both predicted major satisfaction above and beyond personality. Key words: career adaptability, Big Five personality, major satisfaction

Research on career indecision has ranged from studying its relation to anxiety and other emotional concerns, to career choice type and locus of control. Although studies have been conducted examining the relationship between career indecision and personality, all have focused on the Big Five personality traits without delving into the facets of personality. This study examined relationships between career indecision and the constructs of personality facets, trait anxiety and depression, and state anxiety and depression. Personality facets including trait anxiety and depression were studied using the Big Five facets measured by the International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg, 1999). Career indecision was studied using the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976). Finally, state anxiety and depression were studied using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995a). The results reported herein indicate that personality facets, state anxiety, and state depression are all significantly related to career indecision, with state anxiety and depression contributing a significant amount of incremental variance in career indecision above and beyond trait anxiety and depression. Future research and clinical implications are also discussed.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between sociopolitical development, autonomous motivation, and educational and career outcomes among low income Latino and non-Latino high school students and to explore the socioeconomic and ethnocultural differences among these relationships. This study is informed by Sociopolitical Development Theory (SPD) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Both SPD and SDT are frameworks that have been applied to the educational experiences of low-income and ethnocultural minority students in previous research. In this study, I tested a model to examine the relationship of sociopolitical development and career and educational outcomes for a diverse sample of high school students as mediated by autonomous motivation, a key feature of SDT. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether the data from a diverse sample of high school students (N = 1196) fit the proposed model. Differences in model fit for subsamples of Latino and non-Latino participants and for lower and higher SES participants also were explored. Results suggest that high school students' sociopolitical development predicts career and educational outcomes, and this relationship was partially mediated by autonomous motivation. Model fit did not vary as a function of SES or ethnicity. Results lend confidence to the utility of SDT and SPD in predicting educational and career outcomes for high school students. Interventions that promote SPD and autonomous motivation are described. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed.