A basic interpretative research design (Merriam, 2002) was used to investigate the research question, What is the experience of being involved with music while also employed in a professional occupation? This study contributes to the research on meaning and purpose in life and in work. Three professionals, one man and two women, were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants were invited to provide a brief personal history and describe areas of life and work that they found challenging as well as rewarding and / or meaningful. Narratives were developed from the participants interviews. <p>Themes that emerged from the data included the participants experiences of meaning and purpose. All three participants identified their salaried employment as providing meaning in their lives. Their experience of music included a transcendent dimension, a sense of connection to others, a higher self, or to God. Factors that may have encouraged or prohibited the participants achievement in work or music included early learning experiences, exposure to role models and mentoring opportunities, financial concerns, socioeconomic status, social support, psychological traits, and self-efficacy beliefs. <p>This study has relevance for individuals seeking meaning and purpose in their own lives. The narratives exemplified the lives of three individuals with the coping skills, resiliencies, and strengths required to thrive personally and professionally and attain a high level of achievement in more than one area. The narratives may also interest individuals interested in pursuing a career in the arts, music in particular. <p> This study is also relevant for parents, teachers, and career counsellors who want to facilitate the development of potential and encourage high achievement in their children, students, and clients. Career counsellors might benefit from a greater understanding of the aspects of life and work that affect the individuals experiences and ability to pursue a high level of achievement. Early recognition of talent, followed by parental support and discipline as well as professional recognition would be a good start. Encouragement in the form of acknowledgement and financial assistance would continue to develop the individuals ability. However, external resources would not be sufficient without the internal resources, such as responsibility, courage, optimism, hope, perseverance, autonomy, and self-acceptance. Further study could research the application of positive psychology to enhance the development of talent and/or achievement.

The purpose of this study was to empirically support and elaborate upon an integrative theory of career development by examining the worklife adjustment and career development experiences of new Canadian immigrant professionals. In focusing on the participants’ subjective views, the study provided an understanding of the lived experiences of this unique life-career transition, and in so doing, aimed to elaborate upon existing theories of career development towards the development and empirical substantiation of a comprehensive, diversity- and culturally- sensitive integrated meta-theory of the career development of immigrants in Canada. A qualitative methodology was employed and transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The central themes within the narratives that emerged were contrasted against an integrative career development theory and career development theoretical constructs, with the goal of elucidating the role and function of such constructs in immigrants’ Canadian career development. The study’s findings and contribution of a diversity- and culturally- informed, integrated, and enriched meta-theory of career development have implications for career counselling, cross-cultural, immigrant, and vocational psychology literature and practice.

A basic interpretative research design (Merriam, 2002) was used to investigate the research question, What is the experience of being involved with music while also employed in a professional occupation? This study contributes to the research on meaning and purpose in life and in work. Three professionals, one man and two women, were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants were invited to provide a brief personal history and describe areas of life and work that they found challenging as well as rewarding and / or meaningful. Narratives were developed from the participants interviews. <p>Themes that emerged from the data included the participants experiences of meaning and purpose. All three participants identified their salaried employment as providing meaning in their lives. Their experience of music included a transcendent dimension, a sense of connection to others, a higher self, or to God. Factors that may have encouraged or prohibited the participants achievement in work or music included early learning experiences, exposure to role models and mentoring opportunities, financial concerns, socioeconomic status, social support, psychological traits, and self-efficacy beliefs. <p>This study has relevance for individuals seeking meaning and purpose in their own lives. The narratives exemplified the lives of three individuals with the coping skills, resiliencies, and strengths required to thrive personally and professionally and attain a high level of achievement in more than one area. The narratives may also interest individuals interested in pursuing a career in the arts, music in particular. <p> This study is also relevant for parents, teachers, and career counsellors who want to facilitate the development of potential and encourage high achievement in their children, students, and clients. Career counsellors might benefit from a greater understanding of the aspects of life and work that affect the individuals experiences and ability to pursue a high level of achievement. Early recognition of talent, followed by parental support and discipline as well as professional recognition would be a good start. Encouragement in the form of acknowledgement and financial assistance would continue to develop the individuals ability. However, external resources would not be sufficient without the internal resources, such as responsibility, courage, optimism, hope, perseverance, autonomy, and self-acceptance. Further study could research the application of positive psychology to enhance the development of talent and/or achievement.

This thesis deals with the career choices of young adults (ages 18 through 40) with mobility impairments and the experiences they had throughout their career-selection process. The purpose of the study was: To find the inhibitory and furthering factors of the career choices of people with mobility impairments from their own perspective, with a special focus on how various factors affected the process over time. The method for collecting the results of this study was biographical interviews. The main theories of the study were Sense of Coherence, Self-efficacy, Learned Helplessness, Social Role Valorization and The Four Rooms of Change. The results show that mobility impairment affects career choices and that the effect is more often inhibitory than it is furthering. Structural factors, such as how the respondents are treated by other people, as well as rules and material barriers (stairs, mal-functioning elevators, etc.) are found to be more limiting than the body itself. Being over-protected is a main inhibitory factor which can contribute strongly to low self-efficacy and drainage of self-image for the respondents.  The goal of the respondents is to obtain independence and a job based on their own terms, and not a social care career. This goal was found to form a vital resistance resource versus adversity and obstacles. The respondents consider themselves to be overprotected by society (by parents, teachers, career counsellors, employment officers, etc.) in relation to their career choices, and they would like not to be. / <p>Forskningsfinansiärer: Torsten Söderbergs Stiftelse och Ragnar Söderbergs Stiftelse</p>

The study deals with young people with visual impairment and their choices of upper secondary school, what is behind and how they are affected by other aspects and other people around them. It also describes how these students experience the career counseling they received for the election. This has been the purpose of the study and was examined through qualitative method and interviews with five young people aged 15 to 21 years with severe visual impairment or blindness. The results and conclusion is that these young people are greatly affected by their parents in choice of upper secondary school and that the school’s attitude to the pupil has a major impact on whether the pupil chooses the school. Most students report that they are satisfied with the career counselling they received in elementary school, but it also occur shortcomings. The basis of the work was Careership theory thanks to its concepts about turning points and routines, mainly in young people's lives such as the transition from elementary to upper secondary school.

The experience of the life work journeys of urban Aboriginal young people in Canada is largely unknown. This group faces multiple challenges in entering the labour force from social and economic disparities to cultural discontinuity. This qualitative case study collected stories from urban Aboriginal young people who are in search of meaningful and sustainable work. Using group interviews set within Indigenous sharing circles, 25 youth living in Victoria, British Columbia shared their stories of the supports, challenges and barriers they face in their life work journeys. In collaboration with community partners and knowledge keepers, the stories were reviewed to identify a relational model of life work shared by these young people. Participants identified their relations as their foundational support, and spoke to the role of work, education and culture in their career development. The results have important implications for theory, research and practice regarding counselling and researching with Aboriginal youth. / Graduate

Little is known about the unique experiences of Indigenous people in their work life journeys. In particular, there has been very little research with young males on this topic. In this qualitative study, eight young Indigenous men shared their stories regarding their search for and engagement in work, and completed an exploration of their Possible Selves. The research question was "what are the supports, challenges, and obstacles experienced as you search for and maintain work?" Thematic analysis identified four meta-themes related to their work life experiences: relational supports; work experiences; education; and culture and work. The results have important implications for theory, research and practice in regards to work and career development with young Indigenous men. / Graduate / 0525

The purpose of this study was to empirically support and elaborate upon an integrative theory of career development by examining the worklife adjustment and career development experiences of new Canadian immigrant professionals. In focusing on the participants’ subjective views, the study provided an understanding of the lived experiences of this unique life-career transition, and in so doing, aimed to elaborate upon existing theories of career development towards the development and empirical substantiation of a comprehensive, diversity- and culturally- sensitive integrated meta-theory of the career development of immigrants in Canada. A qualitative methodology was employed and transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The central themes within the narratives that emerged were contrasted against an integrative career development theory and career development theoretical constructs, with the goal of elucidating the role and function of such constructs in immigrants’ Canadian career development. The study’s findings and contribution of a diversity- and culturally- informed, integrated, and enriched meta-theory of career development have implications for career counselling, cross-cultural, immigrant, and vocational psychology literature and practice.

Syftet med detta arbete var att skapa en bild av studie- och yrkesvägledares egen syn på behov av och möjligheter till kompetensutveckling, detta i förhållande till de kunskaper och färdigheter som de själva och gällande bestämmelser säger behövs för att klara av yrkets utmaningar. För att uppnå syftet och för att få svar på frågeställningarna valdes en kvalitativ intervjustudie med 15 stycken utbildade yrkesverksamma studie- och yrkesvägledare och 5 stycken skolledare. När det gällde kompetensutveckling uttryckte samtliga respondenter i studien framförallt att för dem innebar det annat än kunskaper som utvecklas genom utbildning. Det de såg som kompetensutveckling var snarare egenskaper, erfarenheter och värderingar hos vägledaren som kunde utvecklas genom arbetet och samspelet med klienter och kollegor. Denna brist på kunskap hos vägledarna själva om de kunskaper de kan utveckla sina kompetenser inom kan ses bero på det faktum att studie- och yrkesvägledare inte har en arbetsbeskrivning för sitt yrke. Hade vägledarna haft en sådan skulle det vara enklare för dem att veta och visa på vilka kunskaper de bör ha i yrket, och vad de behöver kompetensutveckling inom. Att ungefär hälften av respondenterna saknade utvecklingsplan tyder även det på behovet av detta. En utvecklingsplan skulle då kunna kopplas till arbetsbeskrivningen för att få större tyngd. Respondenterna är rörande överens om att grundutbildning, återkommande kompetensutveckling och livslångt lärande tillhör de viktigaste framgångsfaktorerna för dem för att klara sig i sitt yrke i dagens snabbt föränderliga samhälle.

The future work force will be expected to transition from the familiarity of their school environment into an unfamiliar and unstable career world. Organisational changes have shifted the terms of employment from an employee practicing a life-long vocation to now becoming part of a contingent work force. This infers that employees may have to forfeit their reliance on the company to shape their identity development in lieu of self-management. The acknowledgement of these changes has created a ripple effect in the career counselling field as career practitioners increasingly begin to experience the limitations of traditional career approaches in addressing their clients’ evolving career needs. Subsequently, a post-modern framework to career counselling has been introduced to guide career counselling practices in the 21st century. My study focused on the use of two such approaches, namely life-design counselling and career adaptability. This study was based on a socio-constructivist paradigm, which had developed from an interpretivist worldview. The nature of my research study lent itself well to a collective case study, which involved the participation of five learners from an independent school context in a major South African city. Qualitative data collection, analysis and interpretation techniques were used to explore the effect of life-design counselling on the career adaptability of the afore-mentioned participants. Prior to attending eight group-based life-design counselling sessions, the participants were asked to attend an individual pre-interview. They were also asked to participate in a post-interview upon completion of the last-mentioned sessions. The identified themes generated from the qualitative data collected were as follows: responses related to career adaptability and the related sub-skills based on the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012:357); family/significant others’ influences; financial and economic considerations; components related to emotional intelligence (Bar-On, 2007); adolescent development; school life; childhood dreams, and reflection on the process of life-design counselling. Findings suggest that the participants from my study appeared to benefit from the implementation of a life-design counselling intervention aimed at improving their career adaptability. With this study I aimed to contribute to the field of career counselling by highlighting the specific factors that were likely to influence the career trajectory of the five participants and to demonstrate the positive effect of life-design counselling on their career adaptability. Recommendations have also been made for further research and practice. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Educational Psychology / Unrestricted