Browsing by Subject "Career development"
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Item Customizing professional identity: a model for early career psychologists(2004) Fitzpatrick, Nicole Danyon; Tharinger, DeborahThe process of becoming a psychologist requires a great deal of time, energy, and training that results in a transformation from student to professional. Likening the developmental process of professional identity construction to the building of a custom home, the current study sought to understand the process whereby early career psychologists begin to “customize” their professional identities. With the understanding that the construction of professional identity is a lifelong developmental process, the current study provides a conceptualization of the important factors comprising customization. After the foundation of one’s professional career has been “laid and framed” throughout graduate training, customization commences. As no two custom homes look completely alike, neither do the careers of two recently licensed psychologists. Qualitative research methods afforded the opportunity to explore professional identity using in-depth interviews with eleven early career child psychologists who had graduated from doctoral training programs within the last two to six years. Upon thorough analysis of the interviews, a theoretical model emerged conceptualizing the decision-making process of early career psychologists during customization. The decision-making process is comprised of three components: connections, weighing options, and settling. Forces of reality and ideals were found to significantly impact decision making. Forces of reality exist outside of the individual and include romantic relationships, family, finances, and health issues. Ideals exist within the individual and are comprised of personal and professional interests, characteristics of self, and goals. Achieving balance between forces of reality and ideals in the context of the decision-making process is discussed. The results of the current study hold implications for training and professional practice. It is hoped that results are used to inform training practices for students and establish mentoring programs for early career psychologists. Psychologists-in-training require time and experience to grapple with the forces of reality and ideals within the supportive context of graduate school. It is hoped that such experiences will result in a shift of priorities for the early career psychologist, placing importance on the need to strive for balance between personal and professional factors, which will facilitate preparedness in making informed professional decisions.Item Social cognitive career theory & the career development of Southeast Asian American college students(2021-05-07) Nguyen, Vinh Tan; Reddick, Richard 1972-; Maxwell, Madeline; Saenz, Victor; Sharpe, EdwinSoutheast Asian American (SEAA) (Cambodia American, Hmong American, Laotian American, Vietnamese American) college students have historically been neglected by higher education researchers, policymakers, and practioners. This has contributed to their marginalization misrepresentation in higher education as well as to them being underserved and underrepresented by higher education institutions. This study uses social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as the theoretical framework for examining the impact of the model minority myth and of social cognitive factors (e.g., parents, family, peers, institutional agents) on the career development phenomenon of SEAA. This study is significant because it adds to the dearth of literature on Asian American career development in general and SEAA in particular. It is also significant because it is one of the few studies that employs a qualitative approach to studying the career development of SEAA through the SCCT framework.Item Understanding Latina adolescents' science identities : a mixed methods study of socialization practices across contexts(2014-05) Jackson, Karen Denise Moran; Suizzo, Marie-AnneResearch on differences in STEM outcomes for females and students of color has been an ongoing educational research imperative, but Latinas continue to be under-represented in high school and college science classes and majors (National Science Foundation, 2011; Riegle-Crumb & King, 2010). The aim of this study was to investigate how Latina adolescents seek to establish themselves as future scientists within their environments and how others help sustain these developing identities. I used a mixed method procedure called an exploratory sequential design that starts with a qualitative stage followed by a quantitative stage (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). In the qualitative stage, 32 college-aged Latinas in science majors participated in focus groups with an additional 12 in interviews. Using Interactive Qualitative Analysis (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004), eight factors of science identity development were identified: home environment, teacher influences, school experiences, environmental factors, media influences, using your brain, emotions, and career planning. Participants saw the first four factors as drivers of their development, with media as an irregular contributor. These social factors were filtered through the individual factors of using your brain and emotions, with career planning as the outcome. The qualitative results were used to develop a survey given to middle school students in the next stage. The majority of the survey consisted of previously validated scales that corresponded in content to the qualitative factors. One new measure was developed to address science-related experiences. In the quantitative stage, 90 middle school Latinas from two central Texas school districts participated in the survey study. Univariate analysis showed differences in science-related experiences by demographic variables of parent occupation, parent nativity, first language spoken, and school district. Multivariate regression analysis found positive emotions about science to be the best predictor of science career related outcomes, and that emotions act as a mediator between science experiences and career outcomes. These results are discussed in light of current career theories.