Vocational Identity Development Research Articles

Theme-centered interaction and developmental tasks as research method and pedagogical tool regarding identity development in VET.

This paper presents the methodology of a PhD project on identity development in German dual track VET. The mixed methods approach comprises theory-driven longitudinal case studies using qualitative and quantitative data and a document analysis of curricula. The study was part of a larger design-based research project and aimed to evaluate a newly developed and implemented VET curriculum for the retail sector from the learners' point of view. The new curriculum contained a special competence dimension to foster vocational identity development and a major interest was to investigate the extent to which the curriculum succeeded to do so. The paper will start with a summary and assessment of limitations and advantages of research designs applied in different existing studies examining identity development. The author will then outline identity-relevant theories and approaches that proved to be useful for her research interest. Subsequently, she will describe the resulting design for collecting and analyzing her data. The core result consists of a theme-centered process analysis visualizing the individual state of developmental tasks. With the presentation of three exemplary cases she will illustrate how her approach allowed her to deeply understand the identity of the respective person and at the same time generate general insights about identity development of learners in VET. Finally, strengths and limitations of her approach will be discussed. This research approach is also suited to supporting pedagogical design, representing major added value.

Aspecte conceptuale şi corelaționale ale educației vocaționale din perspectiva prevenirii dificultǎților de adaptare ȋn mediul şcolar

The article presents a comprehensive overview of the scientific content related to the concepts of vocation, vocational education, and vocational identity. It elucidates and explicates the principles of vocational education. Delving extensively into the notion of identity, it emphasizes that it is precisely from this perspective that research on phenomena captured by the vocational identity concept becomes fertile. Arguments are put forth in favor of the Correlation Matrix concerning vocational education from the perspective of preventing school adaptation difficulties. This tool assumes that it will also be beneficial for the student in the future, across various contexts, ensuring the development of vocational identity and the prevention of adaptation challenges in the school environment.

The Role of Emotional Experiences in Commitment Development in Internship Students

ABSTRACT In this study I address the relation between real-time experiences and vocational identity development in psychology students during their practical internship. By means of a multi-method approach I aimed to shed light on the role of salient emotional experiences in commitment development, and on the characteristics of these experiences. In a diary study internship students reported every week about their most relevant experience. For each student the most salient positive and negative emotional experience was selected. Most positive and negative experiences concerned competence-related issues. Salient emotional experiences were related to commitment change for a prolonged period of time. In line with the theoretical models, salient positive emotional experiences enhance the commitment strength, and salient negative emotional experiences reduce the strength. However, many experiences include different characteristics. In particular, negative emotional experiences are characterized by a diversity of both positive and negative characteristics.

VTE Student Burnout from (Covid)-19 Pandemic: Exploring Student and Family Risk and Protective Factors

VTE Student Burnout from (Covid)-19 Pandemic: Exploring Student and Family Risk and Protective Factors

Adults between school and working life

The aim of this study is to examine what it means to be a student in a vocational education and training programme in the municipal adult education system in Sweden and how the interplay between school and working life affects students’ identity formation. To achieve this, 12 students from two different programmes have been interviewed at the end of their education: one group of assistant nurses and one group of floor layers. The results show that learning a vocation and developing a vocational identity is a journey through different practices with whom students both identify and dis-identify themselves. In these processes of identification, students can also undergo personal development in a broader sense or develop an identity as an adult. Understanding adult student identities, in particular how they see themselves as learners, can be beneficial for those working with and in adult learning. Furthermore, what the school teaches may conflict with the expectations and daily demands of working life, creating a divide between practices. Understanding the divide between school and working life, and how students are affected by this divide, can also facilitate the understanding of their vocational identity development process.

Reality checked? Conceptualising the relationship between work experience, abroad experience and university students' work value preferences

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the degree of variance in work value preferences espoused by university students based on whether the students are in possession of work experience and experience abroad. Vocational identity development (VID) was used as a theoretical lens to explore the extent to which being in possession of experience in these two areas shapes vocational identity.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire (n = 1,188) was employed to measure the relative salience for 8 latent work values constructs and 25 individual-level work values. Respondents were classified into two groups based on work experience and abroad experience, and the differences in work value preferences between these groups were explored.FindingsThe authors' comparison of sample groups revealed that respondents without experience abroad attached significantly greater importance to specific work values (e.g. stability, extrinsic motivation and leisure) than those with sojourner experience. The relative salience of specific work values (e.g. altruistic and extrinsic motivation) was found to be significantly greater for respondents without work experience than those with such experience, however, not to the extent of abroad experience. VID as a theoretical framework was found to be valuable in conceptualising how work value preferences appear to be the outcome of a process of co-construction between an individual and his environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe reasons as to how and why changes in work value salience occur cannot be conclusively established due to the exploratory nature and conceptual design of the present study.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest work and abroad experience play a pivotal role in shaping respondents' work values and, more generally, the VID. This reinforces the need for cooperation between higher education and industry to provide experiential learning opportunities and career guidance to enhance graduate employability and contribute to long-term engagement of talent in tight labour markets.Originality/valueThe value of these findings is that the findings contribute to greater conceptual understanding of the relationship between work experience, abroad experience and work value preferences. This is particularly relevant to academic staff and curriculum developers at a tertiary level in preparing and guiding university students in their interactions with professional practice.

“I only wanted one thing and that was to be who I am now”: Being a trans young adult and (re)negotiating vocational identity

AbstractDeveloping vocational identity as a young adult is a complex feat and may be even more so for transgender people, who have to navigate their professional selves in a largely cisgender and heteronormative world that minoritizes them. This qualitative study explores how transgender youths develop a vocational identity. Through 10 in‐depth interviews in the Netherlands and Belgium, we found that participants had to negotiate favoring education (at the expense of gender transition) or sensemaking their gender identity (at the expense of schooling), while seeking to avoid discrimination. In addition, we observed that transitioning was also an enabling process, facilitating the development of trans young adults' vocational identity. We also found that trans young adults see the (un)attainability of career paths related to anticipated stigmatization and other expectations related to their trans identities. In particular, they mentioned occupations where hegemonic masculinity and gender binarism are praised, while those involving interaction with children and teenagers are not attainable. Organizations celebrating their trans identity and career paths in which the living conditions of other minoritized people are improved were perceived as attainable and desirable. The insights presented here show that even in countries that are considered “progressive” in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, the vocational identity of trans youth is nevertheless influenced by (and at times constrained by) their gender identity. The need for career counselors, educational institutions, and organizations to work on facilitating the future career development of trans individuals and their access to inclusive spaces is discussed.

ПСИХОМЕТРИЧНІ ВЛАСТИВОСТІ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ВЕРСІЇ ОПИТУВАЛЬНИКА "ОЦІНКА СТАТУСІВ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ІДЕНТИЧНОСТІ" (VISA-19)

Background. Vocational identity is considered one of the most important domains of overall identity, and its study is gaining increasing relevance and popularity among Ukrainian researchers. An especially crucial aspect of the research on vocational identity is the study of its development. However, we have identified a lack of Ukrainian methods for researching vocational identity development. This study is dedicated to translating and adapting the English-language Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) questionnaire and examining its psychometric properties and measurement invariance for Ukrainian students. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 458 students from various specialties in their 1st to 5th years participated (62% were female), aged 17 to 22 years (M = 19). The North American Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) questionnaire, developed by Porfeli et al. (2011), was used for translation. Two translators performed both forward and backward translations, and the translated version was presented to the participants via Google Forms. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the questionnaire's factor structure, validity, reliability, and measurement invariance. Results. The shortened version of the questionnaire (VISA-19) was accepted as the primary version, demonstrating the six-factor original structure and good psychometric properties: CFI = 0,954, TLI = 0,943, RMSEA = 0.067[0,060-0,075], SRMR = 0,053, a ranges from 0,69 to 0,81, CR from 0,65 to 0,77, AVE from 0,43 to 0,59, HTMT from 0,057 to 0,856. Metric, scalar, and strict measurement invariance by gender for the shortened version of the questionnaire was established, with ACFI ranging from -0,004 to 0,000, ARMSEA from -0,001 to 0,003, and ASRMR from 0,001 to 0,005. Conclusions. The Ukrainian shortened version of the VISA-19 questionnaire exhibited good psychometric properties and measurement invariance by gender and can be utilized for further research and practical applications.

‘I Felt Like Being Upgraded’: Emerging Adults’ Experiences of Socioeconomic Resources in Relation to Their Vocational Identity Development in Turkey

The present study aimed to explore how economic and social resources interact with emerging adults’ vocational identity development. Emerging adults ( N = 108) from different socioeconomic backgrounds in Turkey were interviewed. Participants' reflections on the intersection between socioeconomic resources and vocational identity development were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results revealed that access to economic and social resources was described as a mediating factor between vocational choices and identity expression. Participants’ reports also showed that economic and social resources interacted with vocational identity development by affecting vocational exploration, expectations of vocational choices, perceived support and guidance, and future projections. While participants’ socioeconomic background was a significant factor affecting the prevalence of participants’ experiences, connections between the subthemes also indicated different clusters of experiences. Results provide important insights regarding the intersection between socioeconomic resources and vocational identity and the boundary and promoting factors leading emerging adults to pursue their vocational aspirations.

An integrative approach to vocational identity and of the prevention of school adaptation difficulties

The present paper aims to present an integrative model of the development of vocational identity in the prevention of the school adaptation difficulties. The transition to another level of education, regardless of age, implies new obstacles and question marks. The essential dimensions of personal orientation in vocational development (psychological, pedagogical and social) are interconditioned and interrelated with each other. Research has indicated that student career exploration can have a positive effect on school engagement. Also, research has confirmed that students who are engaged in their education, consider school as a valuable experience, and want to participate in school activities are more likely to demonstrate high academic achievement (Klem & Connell, 2004; Want & Halcombe, 2010) and are less likely to drop out of school (Finn & Rock, 1997). Educational counseling / vocational education facilitates, through the steps it involves, the emergence of new cognitions, attitudes and effective behaviors. Also, the various practices promoted in school focus on the prevention of problems that may hinder the development and harmonious functioning of the person.

Vocational Identity Development and the Role of Human Resources Management. A Systematic Literature Review

The development and strengthening of employees’ vocational identity are critical issues in organizations. The absence of professional selfawareness could negatively affect the emotional status of individuals. Moreover, such a condition can lead to a worsening of organizational performance. For this reason, studying the connections between human resources management and identity development is essential. Data and method. This exploratory study performs a systematic literature review starting from SCOPUS and EBSCO Host databases to understand how literature debates these connections. Results. The majority of extracted articles belong to the following fields: human resources management, psychology, and organizational studies. The connections between these three fields represent a clear theoretical framework for understanding how literature debates professional identity development in organizations. The theories considered in the extracted articles are numerous, but the social identity theory and the social categorization theory are the most cited by the authors. Four main themes emerge from the content analysis: motivation, satisfaction, and well-being of employees; the “crisis” status of human resource management; professional identity development in the workplace; the career adaptation of individuals. Conclusions. This study allows confirming how the development of professional identity is critical in organizations. Although the literature shows a considerable interest in vocational identity and human resources management, this study reflects on the possibility of producing further in-depth examinations concerning the connections between these topics. Further studies should explore vocational identity development through a renovated strategic role of human resources management, no more limited to a bureaucratic partner.

Factor Structure of the Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) in University, Liberal Arts, and Community College Students

The Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) measures vocational identity development in adolescents and emerging adults. Although the initial six-factor structure has been confirmed, there have not yet been studies assessing other plausible factor structures. Additionally, the VISA has not previously been examined in some major types of institutions of higher education in the United States. The current study assessed five potential factor structures for the VISA in three college student samples: 857 from a large public university, 196 from a small, private, minority-majority liberal arts college, and 320 from a community college. The six-factor structure was the best-fitting model of the ones examined and showed evidence of multigroup invariance up to the strict level. There were notable latent mean differences across samples, as well as frequency differences for vocational identity statuses. These findings have implications for the appropriate modeling of the VISA and its use within diverse college student samples.

Career Development and Planning: A Comprehensive Approach by Robert C. Reardon, Janet G. Lenz, Gary W. Peterson etal

Reviewed by: Career Development and Planning: A Comprehensive Approachby Robert C. Reardon, Janet G. Lenz, Gary W. Peterson etal Seth C. W. Hayden Career Development and Planning: A Comprehensive Approach( 6thedition) Robert C. Reardon, Janet G. Lenz, Gary W. Peterson, and James P. Sampson Jr. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2019, 316 pages, ( $88 hard copy, $44 eBook) Many college campuses are utilizing career planning and development courses to facilitate positive career exploration and decision-making. Desired outcomes include psychological wellbeing, increasing the rates of retention to graduation, increasing the economic efficiency by reducing the number of course and university withdrawals, and leveraging the benefits of group interventions for students' growth (Hansen, Jackson, & Pedersen, 2017). There have been positive outcomes related to these career courses in vocational identity, career maturity, career decision-making, and cognitive development (Reardon, Folsom, Lee, & Clark, 2011). With the positive outcomes attributed to undergraduate career courses, specific resources are needed to guide career exploration and planning in this form of a career intervention. To help facilitate this process, Career Development and Planningwas designed around cognitive information processing theory (CIP; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004). This career development theory examines the domains of knowledge and process related to effective decision-making and problem-solving. The text uses CIP as a foundational structure that guides the content of the resource. This infusion of theory into a text designed for an undergraduate career course is unique. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–5) focuses on the elements of CIP theory such as self-knowledge, options knowledge, and decision-making with an emphasis on the application in typical career situations. Part 2 (chapters 6–10) offers a multidisciplinary overlay of issues that affect career decisions such as economic trends, organizational culture, new work styles, and dual careers. Part 3 (chapters 11–15) provides information on concrete steps for executing a strategic career plan and seeking employment. Common elements of career-seeking behavior covered in this section include interviewing, writing résumés, negotiating, and work adjustment. Though CIP is the primary theoretical basis, additional established career theories, such Holland's RIASEC theory (Holland, 1997), are integrated into the comprehensive approach to career decision-making and problem-solving. The first edition was released in the year 2000; the sixth edition contains updates to sources and new information about occupations and employment as well as revisions to several chapters in which content was removed due to the density of the material that made it difficult for students and teachers to cover within an academic semester. This text is unique as it is designed specifically for use in an undergraduate career development and planning course. It is also situated around a well-researched career theory which adds credibility to the presented information. The information is logically sequenced with broader concepts of self-knowledge and occupational knowledge at the beginning and more specific discussions of job-seeking elements occurring later in the book. This format leads students through processes of selfexploration and occupational exploration prior [End Page 400]to focusing on enhancing specific tasks such as résumé writing, networking, interviewing, and negotiation. A benefit of this text is the attention on the thoughts associated with engagement in career exploration and planning that can, at times, hinder progress. The metacognitive skills of self-talk, self-awareness, monitoring and control, and ways to improve them are examined at length in chapter 5, "Thinking About My Career Decisions." This attention to the holistic dimensions of career development for an undergraduate audience is novel in its execution in the context of an undergraduate career course. The insight of the authors to examine existing research in their analysis of narratives of perceived trends in work is extremely valuable. One example is the discussion of the gig economy in chapter 9, "Alternative Ways to Work." The authors use information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to shed light on the reality of the gig economy. Contrary to what is often portrayed in popular media and in the professional development resources for career practitioners, the proportion of those working in the gig economy has not substantially increased in the US job market: 6...

The mediating effect of well-being between generalized self-efficacy and vocational identity development

This study analyzed the mediating effect of well-being between generalized self-efficacy and vocational identity development in a sample of 724 final year bachelor’s students studying in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Results from a parallel mediation analysis indicated that generalized self-efficacy was indirectly related to vocational identity development through its relationship with four of the six components of psychological well-being (autonomy, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self-acceptance) as well as the cognitive (life satisfaction) and affective (positive affect and absence of negative affect) components of subjective well-being. The implications of these results for interventions and future research are discussed.

Cognitive Processes and Their Associations With Vocational Identity Development During Emerging Adulthood

In the present study, we examined the associations between cognitive processes and vocational identity development. A sample of 318 Korean emerging adults participated in the study. Using three-wave longitudinal data and applying multilevel modeling, we tested within- and between-person-level associations. We found that individuals who are higher in career self-efficacy than others are more likely to be engaged in exploration and commitment. Those who exhibit more dysfunctional career thoughts are less likely to be engaged in commitment but more likely to reconsider their identities. We found a similar pattern at the within-person level: At times when one exhibits high self-efficacy than usual, one is more likely to be engaged in exploration and commitment; however, at times when one exhibits more dysfunctional thoughts than usual, one is less likely to be committed to a career and more likely to reconsider. We discuss the implications of the study results.

Vocational Identity and Career Progress: The Intervening Variables of Career Calling and Willingness to Compromise

Few studies have assessed potential underlying mechanisms related to vocational identity development. Informed by goal-setting and self-regulatory theories, this study ( N = 286 young adults; mean age = 20.5 years) tested the relationship between vocational identity and career goal–performance discrepancy (i.e., the appraisal that unsatisfactory progress is being made in one’s career) and assessed the process roles of willingness/unwillingness to compromise (as mediator) and career calling (as moderator) in this relationship. As expected, we found that a stronger vocational identity was associated with less willingness to compromise and fewer perceptions of career-related discrepancy and that willingness to compromise partially mediated the relationship between vocational identity and career goal–performance discrepancy. Additionally, career calling strengthened the negative relationship (i.e., moderated) between vocational identity and willingness to compromise and strengthened the negative relationship (i.e., moderated the mediation effect) between vocational identity and career goal–performance discrepancy.

„Maður er bara sinn eigin skapari“: Staðbundin starfstengd sjálfsmynd íslenskra ungmenna í hnattvæddum heimi

Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna upplifun íslenskra ungmenna af mótun eigin náms- og starfsferils í hnattvæddum heimi í því skyni að öðlast innsýn í starfstengda sjálfsmynd þeirra. Frásagnarnálgun McAdams (2015) var beitt þegar tekin voru viðtöl við sex 22 ára ungmenni. Niðurstöður sýna að marg- og síbreytileiki vinnumarkaðar, minna starfsöryggi og hverfult efnahagsástand veldur þátttakendum óvissu og óöryggi sem flækir starfsferilsþróun þeirra. Heimssýn þeirra er hnattræn en staðbundin menning er þó ríkjandi í starfstengdri sjálfssögu þeirra. Sagan byggist á hefðbundnum gildum fjölskyldu og nærsamfélags sem birtast í frásögnum af eigin vinnusemi, stundvísi, samskiptahæfni og mikilvægi tengslanets. Niðurstöðunum er ætlað að auka skilning á starfstengdri sjálfsmynd ungs fólks og áskorunum við mótun náms- og starfsferils í hnattvæddum heimi.

KEY Careers: Increasing Retention and Graduation Rates With Career Interventions

The purpose of the study was to investigate how promoting participation in KEY Careers, a career intervention program available to all incoming matriculates, influenced 1-year retention and 4-year graduation rates compared to nonparticipants at a singular institution. Archival data of 14,099 matriculates from the 2011–2014 freshman fall cohorts were utilized to examine the significance of a career intervention program on 1-year retention and 4-year graduation rates for various student demographics through an analysis of covariance. The results of this study suggest student participation in a career intervention program causes a statistically significant increase in 1-year retention and 4-year graduation rates regardless of gender or race. The discussion of this study is focused on why vocational identity development is significant at the beginning of the college experience and includes suggestions for how university administration can proactively infuse career development into their practices to benefit students of all backgrounds.

Implications of parent-child relationships for emerging adults' subjective feelings about adulthood.

Little is known about the role of parents in promoting their children's successful transition to adulthood, particularly for college students who may maintain stronger ties to parents than other emerging adults. The present study therefore investigated longitudinal implications of parent-child relationship qualities during emerging adults' first year of college for their feelings about the upcoming transition to adulthood 3 years later, as well as implications of 3 types of parental control (behavioral control, psychological control, helicopter parenting) for these associations. Multilevel models indicated that emerging adults who reported less negativity in their relationships with mothers and fathers felt more like adults 3 years later compared with emerging adults with low-quality relationships, while high levels of psychological control and helicopter parenting had detrimental implications for their vocational identity development and perceived competence regarding their transition to adulthood. However, nuanced interactions between parent-child relationship quality and parental control indicated that behavioral control had positive implications for outcomes if it occurred within the context of high-quality relationships, or when utilized with sons. The present study highlights the complex role that parents may play during college students' transition to adulthood, and future work should continue to examine ways that clinicians can incorporate parents as a potential resource for promoting emerging adults' successful transition to adulthood and the workforce. (PsycINFO Database Record

Pathways From Caring and Engaging Adults to Youth Vocational Identity: The Mediational Roles of Career Search Self-Efficacy and Goal Capacity

This study examines the role played by access to caring and engaging adults, career search self-efficacy (CSSE), and goal capacity in the development of youth vocational identity. The study used a bootstrapping approach to analyze data, collected from a survey of 1,579 youths enrolled in 14 U.S. high schools, to test a hypothesized serial multiple mediation model. Results indicate both direct and multiple indirect pathways from adults influences to the youth vocational identity. Two specific pathways of influence were found through CSSE and goal capacity respectively. Additionally, a serial multiple mediation effect was found whereby CSSE and goal capacity collectively mediated the relationship. This indicates that greater access to caring and engaging adults contributes to higher CSSE, which accounts for a higher level of goal capacity, and eventually leads to the better vocational identity in youth. These findings establish notable implications for practices that are discussed in closing.