Career Development Interventions Research Articles

The Influence of Work Discipline and Motivation on Employee Performance with Career Development as an Intervening Variable

This research was conducted to measure the influence of work motivation and discipline on employee performance with career development as an intervening variable at Bank Mandiri Bogor. The sample studied consisted of 115 respondents. This research uses qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. Testing is carried out with the system simultaneously and partially. The results of this research show that there is a positive influence of motivation on career development, work discipline has a positive influence on career development, motivation and work discipline together have a significant influence on career development, motivation has a positive influence on employee performance, work discipline has a positive influence on employee performance, development career has a positive effect on employee performance, Motivation, Work Discipline and Career Development together have a significant effect on Employee Performance. The results of the Career Development intervention anova test can increase the strength of the influence of Motivation on Employee Performance, the results of the Career Development intervention anova test can increase the strength of the influence of Work Discipline on Employee Performance

Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Veterans with psychiatric disorders want additional career development services to support their recovery and pursuit of meaningful employment. However, no career counseling programs have been designed for this specific population. We developed the Purposeful Pathways intervention to fill this need. Objective This study protocol aims to (1) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Purposeful Pathways intervention for veterans living with psychiatric disorders and (2) explore preliminary clinical outcome data. Methods A total of 50 veterans who are participating in transitional work vocational rehabilitation services at a Veterans Affairs hospital will be randomized to either treatment as usual or the augmented treatment condition (treatment as usual plus Purposeful Pathways). Feasibility will be assessed via recruitment rates, clinician fidelity to treatment, retention rates, and acceptability of randomization procedures. Acceptability will be assessed via client satisfaction at treatment termination using quantitative and qualitative data collection. Preliminary clinical and vocational outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks (treatment termination), and a 3-month follow-up via quantitative measures assessing vocational functioning, vocational process, and mental and physical functioning. Results This pilot randomized controlled trial is beginning recruitment in June 2023 and is expected to continue through November 2025. Data collection is expected to be completed by February 2026, with full data analysis completed by March 2026. Conclusions Findings from this study will provide information on the feasibility and acceptability of the Purposeful Pathways intervention, as well as secondary outcomes related to vocational functioning, vocational process, and mental and physical functioning. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04698967; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04698967 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/47986

Career and life development intervention for non-engaged youth: Evaluating the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program.

In our study, aimed at examining the effectiveness and impact of the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program, a career and life development (CLD) intervention program targeting non-engaged youth (NEY) in Hong Kong, we employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design to compare changes in career-related competencies between a pilot group (N = 289) and a comparison group (N = 160). We also conducted five focus group interviews with the leaders of nongovernmental organizations, social workers, NEY, parents, and employers to explore the program's impacts on the CLD service provisions. Our quantitative results indicate that the piloting group showed greater improvement in two career-related competencies-youth career development competency and career and life development hope-than the comparison group. Meanwhile, our qualitative results suggest both the benefits and difficulties experienced by stakeholders in the program. The findings thus provide preliminary evidence of the Hong Kong Benchmarks (Community) Pilot Program's positive impacts on NEY and other important stakeholders. The implications of expanding the existing program and theorizing the community-based benchmark approach are also discussed.

Occupational Health of Education Personnel—The Role of Job Crafting and Other Control Strategies on Healthy Ageing at Work

This article looks at the strategies that influence healthy ageing at work from the motivational theory of life span development (MTD). It aims to better understand the influence of job crafting as a selective primary control, help-seeking as a compensatory primary control, positive reappraisal as a selective secondary control, and downward social comparison and downgrading expectation as a compensatory secondary control on healthy ageing at work (work engagement, health, and motivation to continue working after retirement). A total of 386 educational personnel participated in the study. This study used hierarchical regression analysis to test incremental validity, supplemented with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling as a solution to solve the potential error problems caused. The results show that job crafting is positively correlated with healthy ageing at work. Positive reappraisal and downward social comparison showed incremental validity in predicting healthy ageing at work beyond job crafting among the middle-aged group (45-65-years-old); in particular, positive reappraisal was the determinant of healthy ageing at work among the middle-aged group. However, both help-seeking and downgrading expectation did not show incremental validity. This study can contribute to the evolution of career development interventions and human resource management focused on supporting older people at work.

Applications of Intersectionality Theory to Enhance Career Development Interventions in Response to COVID-19.

The school counseling profession has an ethical responsibility to provide and advocate for individual students’ career planning and development, while expanding school counselors’ own multicultural and social justice advocacy to become effective culturally competent professionals. Additional literature is needed to identify how school counselors can adapt their career counseling approaches to fit the unique challenges and barriers of historically marginalized students both during and after the global COVID-19 pandemic. We describe how school counselors can use intersectionality theory as a framework for career development with marginalized populations in response to COVID-19 and its impact on the economic decline.

The Impact of Racial Trauma on Black Students’ College and Career Outcomes: An Antiracist Approach

Black students experience a unique form of pervasive trauma based on their racial identity. Discrimination—a social determinant of health (Social determinants of health)—results in racial trauma that negatively affects students’ college and career outcomes, such as career adaptability, career thoughts, career decision making, and postsecondary attainment. We share recommendations for school counselors to adopt an antiracist and trauma-informed approach to implementing career development interventions that address SDOH-related challenges for Black students.

Athletic Identity and Identity Foreclosure Among Student Athletes at an NJCAA Institution

The present study investigated the levels of athletic identity and identity foreclosure among student athletes to explore differences based on gender, race, ethnicity, and sport played. Additionally, the relationships between athletic identity and identity foreclosure were examined. Data were collected from 150 student athletes at a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I institution, and the results were analyzed using reliability testing procedures, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. The following results were obtained: (a) high levels of athletic identity were reported with no significant differences based on demographic data; (b) identity foreclosure levels were low to moderate, with significant differences based on sport played and gender; and (c) a positive relationship was found between athletic identity and identity foreclosure. These findings suggest that student athletes identify with their athletic identity more than they do with their student identity, therefore putting them at risk of academic detachment. Results underscore the importance of understanding the challenges of the student athlete and the importance of academic and career development interventions.

Effect of Career Development Module (CDIM) on Students’ Career Maturity and Decision Making in Saudi Arabia

Human development tasks must be geared toward achieving career planning for adolescents' future careers. Career planning is an important part that will determine the success of adolescents’ future lives. This study examines the impact of a career development intervention module on high school students’ career maturity and decision-making in Saudi Arabia. A quasi-experimental design involving pre-test and post-tests was adopted using forty respondents randomly selected from each of the two high schools assigned into experimental and control groups. Two sets of questionnaires were adopted and used for data collection. An independent t-test showed that a career development intervention module has a significant effect on Saudi high school students’ career maturity and career decision-making. Thus, the career development intervention module significantly improved students’ maturity in career choice and decision-making for future life. As a result, professional career training should be designed around this model to provide counselors with the skills needed to help high school students in Saudi Arabia make better career choices.

Culture of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Nursing Research Training.

Establishing and maintaining collaborative scientific environments that can cultivate and benefit from a full range of talents is essential for the quality and influence of science. Inclusion of research training and career development interventions to expose nursing PhD students, postdocs, and junior faculty to team science stands to prepare graduates to effectively engage with interdisciplinary colleagues to conduct cutting-edge nursing research and compete successfully for precious research resources. To be effective, nursing research workforce development programs need to recognize and share a culture of interdisciplinarity. This project aims to develop, validate, and disseminate a theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous tool for a cultural consensus analysis (CCA) of the culture of interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. Culture can be defined as shared cognitive structures and consensus around culturally correct values, attitudes, and normative behaviors. This mixed-methods study employs CCA to assess construct validity and empirically determine a set of underlying socially learned and shared notions about the cultural domain of interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. The study will include three phases: (a) qualitative data collection and analysis to define the cultural domain of interdisciplinary collaborations in nursing research; (b) validation of the CCA tool with the use of cultural knowledge statements; and (c) application of the CCA tool to assess cultural differences among nursing trainees, junior faculty, and training directors. The study participant pool consists of National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Nursing Research awardees, including training directors of institutional training grants, pre- and postdoctoral trainees with individual fellowship training grants, and junior faculty with career development awards. Qualitative data will be analyzed to formulate cultural statements about the values and behaviors that promote interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. Subsequent survey data will be assessed using matrix algebra, principal component analysis, and the Stuart-Maxwell Marginal Homogeneity Test. The development and validation of a CCA tool is a novel approach to assess, support, and systematically examine interdisciplinary collaboration and team science in nursing research and training. However, the investigation of culture needs to remain value neutral, refrain from being prescriptive, and be sensitive to the emergence and dominance of one "right" culture.

Teacher Evaluation of a Self-Directed Career Guidance Intervention for South African Secondary School Learners Amidst Severe COVID-19 Restrictions.

The South African government’s COVID-19 pandemic risk mitigation strategies significantly limited social contact, which necessitated a novel approach to existing face-to-face career guidance practices. The Grade 9 Career Guidance Project, originally developed as a group-based career development intervention, required radical adaptation into a self-directed, manualized format to offer career guidance to Grade 9 learners from low-income communities amid a global pandemic. The adaptation and continuation of the project was deemed essential as secondary school learners in low-income communities have limited career guidance support. Furthermore, a close collaboration with the teachers at eight resource-constrained South African secondary schools was vital for successful implementation. To assess the success of the adaptation to a self-directed format, a mixed-methods design was employed, and Life Orientation teachers’ evaluative feedback was solicited (n = 11). Favorable quantitative results were obtained; majority of teachers agreed that learners enjoyed the booklet (manualized format) and that it was deemed an adequate substitute to the previous contact-based format of the Career Guidance Project. This was also confirmed by the qualitative findings revealing teachers’ satisfaction with the booklet’s content, specifically that the booklet is complementary to the Life Orientation curriculum. Qualitative findings identified specific contextual barriers that contributed to some learners struggling to use the booklet optimally. The results suggest that it is feasible and acceptable to implement a self-directed career guidance intervention among secondary school learners amid a global pandemic. Teachers recommended ways to integrate the booklet, resources, and contact sessions as a preferred way forward. These findings have important implications for similar resource-constrained settings that may not have readily access to in-person career guidance and counseling human development.

Mental Health of Female Adolescents With Disabilities: Considerations for Career Development

Female adolescents with disabilities are at an increased risk for mental health concerns, which can negatively impact their self-determination, making transition to postschool opportunities difficult. We analyzed two waves of survey data from 366 female adolescents with disabilities, recruited from 26 U.S. public high schools, as part of a randomized controlled trial of a career development intervention. Participants with mental health concerns evidenced a slower increase in self-determination over the follow-up period than those without such concerns. Individuals assigned to the intervention condition experienced significant gains in self-determination compared with the control. Findings suggest that mental health concerns can operate as a barrier to growth in self-determination skills among this population, though targeted interventions can help in boosting these skills.

Utilizing Social Cognitive Career Theory to Enhance the Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations of Students with Disabilities Through Career Development

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) is a valuable framework when developing applicable and appropriate career development interventions for students with disabilities. The use of SCCT in developing interventions will enhance the self-efficacy and outcome expectations of K–12 students with disabilities, thereby leading to more purposeful, realistic, and positive career beliefs and behaviors. This article explores the self-efficacy and outcome expectations of students with disabilities and discusses possible interventions for school and college counselors.

Embedding Life Design in Future Readiness Efforts to Promote Collective Impact and Economically Sustainable Communities: Conceptual Frameworks and Case Example

This is the first of two sequential papers describing the design and first-year implementation of a collaborative participatory action research effort between Sociedad Latina, a youth serving organization in Boston, Massachusetts, and Boston University. The collaboration aimed to develop and deliver a combined STEM and career development set of lessons for middle school Latinx youth. In the first paper, life design and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals are described in relation to the rationale and the design of the career development intervention strategy that aims to help middle school youth discover the ways that learning advanced-STEM skills expand future decent work opportunities both within STEM and outside STEM, ultimately leading to an outcome of well-being and sustainable communities. In addition to providing evidence of career development intervention strategies, a qualitative analysis of the collaboration is described. The second paper will discuss two additional frameworks that guided the design and implementation of our work. As an example of translational research, the paper will provide larger national and regional contexts by describing system level career development interventions underway using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological and person–process–context–time frameworks.

Work Values and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs at Work

This study investigated the mediating role of basic psychological needs at work in the association from work values to job satisfaction. Using a four-factor model of work values, we tested how each work value factor was related to basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration at work. The sample included 228 workers (72% female) surveyed twice over a 7-week interval. Results showed that need satisfaction at work was positively predicted by intrinsic and social work values and negatively predicted by extrinsic work values. Need frustration at work was positively predicted by extrinsic and status work values and negatively predicted by intrinsic work values. Also, need satisfaction fully mediated the relationship from intrinsic, extrinsic, and social work values to job satisfaction. These findings suggest that organizational and career development interventions aiming to enhance employees need satisfaction at work should aim to promote growth-oriented work values endorsement rather than instrumental work values.

Exploring the construct validity of the Career Well-being Scale for its potential application as a career development tool in the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic career space

Background: There is limited empirical research on the construct and measurement of career well-being. Individuals’ career well-being is of great relevance in counteracting the unsettling effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the concomitant shift into increasing remote and digital means of working.Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the construct validity of the career well-being scale (CWS) and its usefulness as a career development tool in challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: The CWS was administered to (N = 290) managers (71%) and staff (29%) employed in the services industry across South Africa (70%), Europe (15%) and Africa (15%). The construct validity of the CWS was explored by means of confirmatory factor analysis.Results: The results corroborated the three-factor multidimensionality of the CWS and that the scale has a hierarchical structure (i.e. the three sub-scale factors can be represented by a higher level factor of career well-being).Conclusion: This study contributed to the career development research literature by validating the usefulness and multidimensionality of the CWS for the study sample. The CWS may potentially be useful in career development interventions focused on restoring clients’ perceived loss of autonomy and work volition when facing adversity and career distress.

Linking Work Values Profiles to Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration.

The association between work values and key motivational variables has been repeatedly supported in previous studies. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding intraindividual patterns of work values and how combinations of work values relate to other motivational variables. This study aimed to identify profiles of work values based on a four-factor model (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, social, and status). It also investigated how profile membership relates to basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration at work using a self-determination perspective. A sample of French Canadian adults (N = 476) participated in this study by filling out an online questionnaire. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct work values profiles. Results showed that participants in more positive profiles (i.e., high level of intrinsic, social, and status work values) generally reported higher level of need satisfaction and lower level of need frustration at work than participants belonging to more negative profiles (i.e., low level of intrinsic, social, and status work values). These results support the importance of considering work values in organizational and career development interventions, and to do so using a person-centered approach, to better understand need satisfaction and frustration at work.

Career Development Intervention Module: Towards Enhancing Unskilled Workers in Malaysia

This study validated and tested the reliability of Career Development Intervention Module (CDIM) meant for unskilled workers within the context of Malaysia. The module was developed based on Intelligent Career Model (ICM), with incorporation of Sidek’s Module Development Model (SMDM) at the time of the development process. The content validity of the developed module was determined by gaining feedback from a panel of five experts during the module development phase. The reliability test was performed via pilot test that involved 30 unskilled workers in a vehicle assembly plant. The participants were composed of young employees who had joined the selected company for less than three years and yet to obtain certification for their skills. The validation analysis revealed that the panel of experts was in agreement with the suitability of the developed CDIM for unskilled workers in order to improve their career competencies. The outcomes of the pilot test displayed that the objectives of each sub-module (Knowing-Why, Knowing-How, and Knowing-Whom) were successfully met. Therefore, this study ascertains that the developed CDIM is indeed suitable for unskilled workers, especially towards enhancing their career competencies

Beyond the Individual: A Group-Based Career Development Intervention Implemented in Resource-Constrained Schools in South Africa

ABSTRACT In South African high schools, many learners have limited support in making career related decisions to prepare them for the world of work after school. An important early transition for career-related decision-making is at the end of Grade 9 when learners are expected to decide which subjects they will select for the last phase of high school. Grade 9 is also the juncture where adolescents may decide to exit their formal schooling and enter the labor market. To support Grade 9 learners in making informed career-related decisions, this study examined the effectiveness of a group-based career guidance intervention implemented in eight secondary schools located in resource-constrained communities in the Western Cape, South Africa. The intervention aimed to improve learners’ career decision-making readiness and aid in making subject choices and subsequent career choices. The intervention consisted of interest assessment conducted in a group-format with the learners, after which a workshop was facilitated to share relevant information pertaining to their interests, other career attributes and pending subject choices. The results of this study demonstrate a significant impact of early adolescents’ career adaptability and ability to engage in the career decision-making process. These results show promise in the implementation of group-based career intervention, supporting learners to make informed decisions in relation to their career paths.

Counselor Trainees' Interprofessional Self‐Efficacy After a Career Development Intervention

Career development is a lifelong process of learning, working, and transitions that move a person closer to their preferred future. This study investigated the use of a career development intervention to help counselor trainees in a master's program and allied health students with integrating new perspectives in their future careers. This qualitative study with a diverse group of 12 participants provides important insight into career thoughts, career self‐efficacy, and potential career development opportunities through interprofessional engagement career interventions. The findings are novel and have never been addressed in an empirical study for counselor trainees.

Exploring processes of change in a life-design career development intervention in socio-economically challenged youth

Previous research has sought to identify the underlying processes and mechanisms that lead to lasting changes in a client’s career development, yet more research needed to understand what elicits effective changes. The present research will explore how life-design career counselling supports change in a group of disadvantaged South African adolescents. The present research study will focus on a post-intervention qualitative strand, which included evaluative worksheets completed post-intervention (n = 265) and a focus data six months later (n = 6). Braun and Clarke’s (2006) content analysis was used to group themes according to the Career Construction Theory (CCT) and process constructs of narrative career counselling. Qualitative findings provide evidence that the intervention had elicited long-term changes in career development and facilitated reflective processes. Implications and recommendations for research and practice will be discussed.