Vocational Identity Research Articles

Revisiting the conceptualisation and implications of medicine's 'hidden curriculum'.

In medical training and practice, our professional attributes, attitudes, perceptions, character traits and identities are fundamentally shaped by our lived experiences and observations in clinical and para-clinical settings instead of being inculcated through formal curriculum or classroom teaching. For instance, clinical acumen, communication skills and bedside manners are learnt through role modelling and experiential learning in the course of clinical rotations. Likewise, one's attitudes, professional behaviours and inclinations are often also influenced by direct/indirect observations of the actions of others in the medical fraternity in various clinical and non-clinical settings. This is also what is often termed as the 'hidden curriculum' of medicine. In this article, we sought to provide a practical conceptualisation of the hidden curriculum in medical training, which we describe as lived experiences and personal observations of medical trainees and residents in clinical and para-clinical spaces, which shape their perceptions of the medical profession (vocational identity and purpose), patients (patient-physician relationship) and colleagues (intra- and inter-professional relationships), with downstream implications on physician well-being and clinical decision-making. Although this idea of a 'hidden curriculum' has conventionally carried predominantly negative connotations in medical literature, we suggest that it is an inevitable part of medical education and practice, which, through deliberate regulation, can potentially be shaped to create more positive and meaningful effects in the professional development of medical trainees.

A Digital Identity Intervention Incorporating Social Media Activities Promotes Identity Exploration and Commitment Among Emerging Adults

ABSTRACT Identity interventions that support young people by promoting adaptive identity processes have traditionally been designed for in-person group settings, making them time and resource intensive to implement. Here, we examine the feasibility and efficacy of the Bay Area Adult Development Program, a digital intervention program that combines reflection activities (adapted from past positive development programs) with social media activities (designed to leverage the affordances of social media for information access and social connection) to promote positive identity development among emerging adults. Following a pilot trial to assess the intervention procedure, a randomized controlled trial was conducted (Nenrolled = 267; Ncompleted = 141). Results showed that participants who completed both reflection and social media activities experienced increases in personal identity exploration and commitment (i.e. exploration in breadth, exploration in depth, commitment making, identification with commitment) and increases in exploration of vocational identity (i.e. in-depth career exploration), compared to those in the control condition. Moreover, the combination of reflection and social media activities was a more efficacious intervention treatment, compared to reflection alone. We provide evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of a digital intervention for emerging adults while pointing to future research directions on identity development in the digital context.

Narrative construction of vocational identity in university students: The role of influential experiences and significant others in the framework of cultural psychology

This study sought to understand the process of construction of the vocational identity of university students. Assuming cultural psychology as a theoretical reference, a qualitative methodology was adopted, with a narrative perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 participants, male and female engineering, and psychology students from two universities in Colombia about their exploration process, choice, commitment, and reconsideration to the career. In the findings the vocational identity emerges as a product of the negotiation of meanings between the personal dimension and the social dimension of individuals, which allows them to intentionally orient their actions towards the achievement of their life goals. In turn, the negotiation between these two dimensions occurs through psychosocial processes derived from the influential experiences and interactions with significant others. These processes facilitate the appropriation of the folk psychology of a socio-cultural context, a background of meanings about occupational and/or educational practices on which the vocational identity is configured. It is concluded that vocational identity is a process in constant formation shaped by a social scaffolding mechanism; namely, support structures that provided by the relational resource in the context of everyday interactions and that assist in the configuration of vocational identity of young people. It has an important organizing function of experiences, emotions, cognitions, and actions in the occupational and educational spheres. The conceptual model validated by the findings allows understanding the process of negotiation of identity meanings and the construction of possible vocational worlds.

Thematic analysis of vocational identity among gifted young people using turning point narratives

The career choices of gifted students are significant both in terms of their potential contributions to society and their personal happiness and life satisfaction. The aim of this study was to identify themes of the turning points that influence gifted young people’s career decisions and to reveal which factors influence their vocational identity from a Narrative Identity Approach. Data were collected using open-ended questions from 17 (52.94% female, n = 9) gifted young people (age; M = 20.47, SD = 3.69). Data were analysed with reflexive thematic analysis, which identified five major themes (1) individual factors, (2) social factors, (3) giftedness, (4) career goals, and (5) exploration opportunities. Considering the first retrospective study examining gifted students’ vocational identity, career guidance might benefit from tailored interventions that account for their unique characteristics, goals, personal and social factors as well as maximizing exploration opportunities.

Vocational Identity Statuses Among Hong Kong Sub-degree Students: Pattern Identification and Relationship to Career Development and Academic Performance

The process model of vocational identity was well applied in various Western countries to study the vocational identity process and statuses of college students. However, such research is limited in Hong Kong. Moreover, the relation between vocational identity development and academic performance was inconclusive in the literature, and it was also not tested among Hong Kong students. In light of these, the current study aimed to empirically identify and validate vocational identity statuses among a sample of 576 sub-degree students in Hong Kong using the vocational identity process model. Relations of vocational identity processes and statuses with perceived academic performance were also tested. Six vocational identity statuses were empirically derived in the Hong Kong Chinese context. Vocational identity statuses also differentiate perceived academic performance. Moreover, we found that career flexibility and self-doubt were significantly related to perceived academic performance. Implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed.

Research brief: A quantitative content analysis to explore work value portrayals among characters in Belgian adolescents’ favorite TV series

ABSTRACT Occupational portrayals are omnipresent in adolescents’ favorite television (TV) series. Insights regarding such portrayals remain largely lacking. This study aimed to fill this gap via a content analysis of 334 characters across six TV series that are popular among adolescents. This study specifically examined portrayals of work values – qualities that an occupation should satisfy (e.g. skill utilization, earning potential) – because work values are a crucial part of adolescents’ vocational identity that guide career choices and affect well-being. By examining the content of such portrayals, scholars can better understand the potential effects of exposure to such portrayals. Therefore, we examined the extent to which various intrinsic, extrinsic, social, and prestige work values were portrayed as being upheld, violated, or mixed (RQ1). Work values were most frequently portrayed as being upheld among characters with a notable focus on portrayals of extrinsic work values (e.g. the upholding of a safe work environment). Attention was given to differences in work value portrayals according to characters’ job type (RQ2), gender (RQ3), and ethnicity (RQ4). High-skilled white-collar workers, male characters, and White characters were most positively portrayed, with work values shown as upheld in their occupations.

Assessing the Effect of Management Education on Vocational Behaviour

This article presents a two-phase longitudinal study on the effect of management education on vocational behaviour, using Holland’s Typology to test Congruence as a moderator. The Phase 1 sample was 360 male and female South African MBA/MBL and Specialised Master’s university students; the Phase 2 sample was 103 students. The study was conducted in Gauteng Province, South Africa, with participants from Johannesburg and Pretoria. A within- and between-subjects design was employed. The vocational behaviour indicators were career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational identity, work identity, career commitment, and vocational interest/personality. Discriminant Function Analysis identified the Enterprising personality type as the best predictor of the Enterprising type and Social type environments in South Africa. Holland’s fourth working assumption was partially supported. Congruence did not predict vocational behaviour, but t-test results established significant within- and between-group differences in vocational behaviour due to Congruence. Incongruence was not always linked to negative outcomes; nor was Congruence always linked to positive outcomes. Management education did not change students’ vocational behaviour. Keywords: Management education, Vocational behaviour, Holland’s Typology, Congruence (P-E fit)

A Latent Profile Analysis of Protean Career Attitude and Vocational Identity Status

This study aimed to examine individuals with adaptive protean career attitudes in the current era. Data were obtained from surveying 672 South Korean adults in their 30s and 40s, each with at least one year of work experience. Participants were categorized based on their protean career attitudes and vocational identity status, with subsequent exploration of their relationships with meaning in life, differentiation of self, and resilience. Data analysis involved latent profile analysis, maximum likelihood analysis, and BCH analysis. Results revealed three groups: “diffused wanderer,” “organizational adapted citizen,” and “protean career identity.” The study confirmed the influence of meaning in life and differentiation of self within these profiles, along with differences in resilience. This research offers valuable insights into the characteristics of adaptable individuals based on their “protean career identity.”

Vocational Identity Development and Agency of Chinese College Students: Effects of Filial Piety and Implications in Career Education

Balancing family obligations and personal vocational aspirations is vital for college students as stepping into adulthood. By integrating the indigenous psychological and personal-social perspectives, this review article discussed theoretical perspectives and empirical studies on the role of agency and the effects of Filial Piety in college students' vocational identity development. Existing studies and theoretical perspectives indicated that Filial Piety, the core Chinese value of parent-child interaction, may influence college students' vocational identity by shaping specific agentic capacities and the psychological foundation of agency development. This article also reviewed related educational models and effectiveness studies for applications in career education. In conclusion, this article suggested future studies to elaborate on the effects of filial piety on college students' vocational identity and agentic capacities. It also suggested career educational programs to enhance the agency of college students to handle family-related challenges in career development.

Exploratory actions as mediators of the association between career exploration self-efficacy and decisional outcomes: Does exploration type matter?

This study used a short-term longitudinal design to test the social-cognitive model of career self-management's (CSM) theorized pathway in which exploratory actions mediate the association between career exploration self-efficacy and decisional outcomes. The study clarifies the role of exploratory actions in the decision-making process by distinguishing between self-exploration and environmental exploration. College students ( N = 136; 77% female; mean age = 18.71 years [ SD = 1.19]; 47% with undeclared majors) completed an online survey assessing self-efficacy for self-appraisal and self-efficacy for obtaining occupational information. A month later, they reported the frequency of their engagement in self-exploratory and environment-exploratory actions over the past month and completed measures of two decisional outcomes reflecting readiness to make career decisions (vocational identity and need for additional occupational information). The CSM's mediational pathway was supported with respect to self-exploration but not environmental exploration. I discuss implications for the CSM model and for career-development interventions.

College Career Courses and Growth Toward Vocational Identity Achievement Status

This study used a longitudinal quasi-experimental design to explore the intersection of self-regulated learning and career development, while validating a manualized college career course as an effective career intervention. A group of undergraduate students enrolled in a for-credit college career course was compared to students in the general student body on measures of career exploration, career commitment, and commitment resistance to observe whether participation in the career course was associated with growth toward vocational identity achievement as observed by significant increases in both career exploration and career commitment and significant decreases in commitment resistance. Multilevel modeling revealed that the treatment group experienced significantly more growth toward vocational identity achievement compared to the control group. Additionally, career metacognitions were observed to differentially impact the effects of the career course on career exploration, career commitment, and commitment resistance.

Mourning Lycidas in New York: Frank O’Hara’s James Dean elegies as a poetic coming-of-age narrative

ABSTRACT This paper examines Frank O’Hara’s two elegiac poems written on the occasion of James Dean’s death in 1955 and investigates their deep-seated yet intriguingly ambivalent relationship with the tradition of pastoral elegy. O’Hara’s poetry is characteristically marked by immediacy, spontaneity, and intimacy. When confronted by the death of his cultural alter ego, however, O’Hara almost self-consciously taps into the cliché-laden, pity-driven tradition of pastoral elegy both to enact a ritual of mourning for the dead and to address his sense of loss and grief. This paper discusses how O’Hara utilizes the rich thematic and rhetorical conventions of the pastoral elegiac tradition without diminishing the authenticity of poetic mourning. Concurrently, this paper further delves into how O’Hara uses a distinctively self-referential quality coded in the genre of elegy as a vehicle for affirming his vocational identity and establishing poetic authority. I will thus argue that James Dean elegies not only commemorate the truncated life of a rebellious young actor but also depict O’Hara’s own poetic rite of passage.

Vocational Identity and its Relationship to Psychological Well-Being and Career Thoughts among University Students

The clarity of vocational identity is an important focus of professional guidance since it is related to many factors, such as career thoughts and psychological well-being. This study examines the relationship between vocational identity, psychological well-being and career thoughts among students at Hashemite University in Jordan, as well as any gender or faculty specific differences in vocational identity, psychological well-being and career thoughts. Randomly selected male and female students (n= 680) aged 18 to 22 completed questionnaires on vocational identity, psychological well-being, and career thoughts. There was a positive correlation between vocational identity and psychological well-being, and its subscales (autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relationship, purpose in life, and self-acceptance), but a negative correlation between vocational identity and career thoughts and between vocational identity and career thoughts subscales (decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, and external conflict). Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in the levels of vocational identity by gender, with males favoured but not by faculty. Finally, variables related to gender and faculty had no significant effect on psychological well-being or career thoughts. The results confirm a positive correlation between vocational identity and psychological well-being but a negative correlation between vocational identity and career thoughts. The results also confirm the level of vocational identity among male students was higher than that of female students. The results of this study can be used in the counseling and career guidance process for university students.

The Impact of Vocational Identity on the Professional Well-Being of Vocational College Teachers from the Perspective of Huang Yanpei's Educational Philosophy: The Mediating Effect of Work Engagement and the Moderating Role of Social Support

The Impact of Vocational Identity on the Professional Well-Being of Vocational College Teachers from the Perspective of Huang Yanpei's Educational Philosophy: The Mediating Effect of Work Engagement and the Moderating Role of Social Support

Effects of E-Mentoring on Japanese clerical employees’ vocational identity during teleworking

ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of e-mentoring on vocational identity during teleworking; it clarified the relationship between teleworkers’ vocational identity and e-mentoring compared with that of non-teleworkers according to career stage. An online survey was conducted and measured vocational identity and mentoring function (career function and psychosocial function). Collected data from 419 clerical workers (211 teleworkers, 208 non-teleworkers) who had a mentor or a protégé were analyzed. The results of multiple-group structural equation model suggested that in the early career stage, it was especially important for teleworkers to receive psychosocial functions from mentors as protégés. At the late career stage, it was necessary for teleworkers to provide psychosocial functions to protégés as mentors; at that stage, it was important for non-teleworkers to offer career functions. The results also suggested that toward developing vocational identity, the mentoring relationship was more important for teleworkers, who easily become isolated, than for non-teleworkers.

Approaching Graduation: Vocational Identity Profiles of Last-Year University Students and Their Links with Volunteering and Personal Values

ABSTRACT The last year of university is a developmental milestone, as students are approaching choices which might impact their long-term career development and psychological wellbeing. Despite vocational identity’s relevance for successful career development, there is limited research on its relations with volunteering and personal values as students approach graduation. This study aimed to (1) identify vocational identity statuses in the last semester before university graduation, and (2) analyze the relations between status belonging and volunteering and personal values. The total sample consisted of 653 university students (M age = 24.15, SD age = 4.97, 76.6% females) who filled in questionnaires during the last semester of university. Latent Profile Analysis identified five vocational identity statuses, suggesting an overrepresentation of disengaged vocational identity statuses. In addition to this, education-related volunteering and other-oriented personal values were associated with belonging to adaptative statuses (i.e. achievement, foreclosure), in comparison with less adaptative ones, whereas the reverse pattern was observed for the self-oriented value of self-enhancement. These results support the potential contribution of education-related volunteering and personal values in the context of important career transitions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The role of social support on vocational school students’ career choices

<span lang="EN-US">Strengthening career choices for vocational students is essential in preparing them to enter the world of work. Many studies highlighted the importance of career choices that are by the areas of expertise for vocational students and even examine the mechanism for strengthening their career choices. However, limited studies still focused on testing models for forming career choices by involving social support, career self-efficacy, and vocational identity in an integrative manner. Therefore, this study investigated the model of developing student career choices by applying for social support, career self-efficacy, and vocational identity. This study used structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis with Amos 18 software. The study results revealed that social support, career self-efficacy, and vocational identity factors directly influence vocational students’ career choices. In addition, career self-efficacy mediates the effect of social support on career choice. Finally, vocational identity moderates the interaction of the independent variables (social support and career self-efficacy) and the dependent variable (career choice). The results of this study provided important implications for lecturers to implement learning strategies that aim to strengthen vocational students’ career choices.</span>

Exploring the Structure of Career Narratives: The Application of the Narrative Identity Assessment Model

In career construction theory, career narratives play a central role in establishing vocational identity. This study investigated the factor structure of career narratives by applying the narrative identity assessment model. In total, 521 young adults participated in the job search. They completed an online survey comprising self-reported measures of career adaptability and job search intensity. Career narratives were also collected, with a career-turning point as a prompt. Career narratives were rated based on exploratory processing, meaning-making, change connections, affective tone, contamination, agency, communion, elaboration of facts, contextual coherence, and chronological coherence. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized three-factor structure. Three factors were differentially associated with career adaptability. Only the motivational and affective themes were related to job search intensity. These findings suggest that the factor structure model of career narratives provides a complementary understanding of vocational identity.

The Relationship Between Personality Factors, Vocational Identity and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

Context: Adolescence is the training ground for adult life. In a relatively short period, the adolescent will undergo a metamorphosis. During the high school years, the majority of adolescents move from persistent dependence to true independence, from logical thinking to abstract, complex and hypothetical thinking, from impulsivity to consideration and from a diffuse feeling about one's own person to a reasonably defined self-identity. Adolescent's vocational identity formation during high school is an extremely important process in vocational and career counseling, because it helps them to make rational choices regarding the choice of a career gaining an increased level of career maturity. Methods: The present study had as participants 300 Romanian teenagers which belong to the following paths of studies/profiles: formal sciences (specializations: Mathematics-informatics and Natural Sciences), services (specializations: Economics, trade, tourism and food) and humanities (specialization: Philology). The tools used in the adolescent evaluation process were Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy-Short Form Scale (CDMSE-SF), the Vocational Identity Status Assessment (VISA) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-3). Results: After the interpretation of the obtained results, the following aspects were demonstrated: The identity status career commitment correlates with the personality traits - neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness, and regarding the career decision-making self-efficacy it correlates with the self-evaluation process, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, career planning and the problem-solving process. Identity status identification with career commitment correlates with personality traits - extraversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness, and from the perspective of the career decision-making self-efficacy, it correlates with the process of self-evaluation, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, solving problems and career planning. The identity status career commitment flexibility correlates with the personality traits neuroticism and conscientiousness, and from the perspective of the career decision-making self-efficacy it correlates with the problem-solving process. Identity status career self-doubt correlates positively with the personality trait neuroticism and negatively with conscientiousness, the process of self-evaluation, obtaining information about self and professions, setting goals, career planning and problem solving. Conclusion: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between vocational identity, personality factors and career decision-making self-efficacy. The results demonstrated that certain personality traits, respectively certain components of career decision-making self-efficacy are predictors for the adolescent's vocational identity formation.

Vocational identity in decision-making for terminating/continuation of pregnancy following non-invasive prenatal testing and hypothetical diagnosis among Japanese university students.

The use of prenatal testing in Japan is expected to increase. However, there are ethical concerns regarding pregnancy termination upon the detection of fetal chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. Furthermore, factors associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome after prenatal screening remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between decision-making among university students following a hypothetical positive result of Down syndrome in prenatal screening and their perception of their future career development defined as vocational identity. This cross-sectional study included 256 individuals (109 men, 143 women, and four who preferred not to answer). Self-anonymous semi-structured questionnaires were distributed to collect information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, vocational identity, and decision-making following a positive prenatal screening result of Down syndrome. Vocational identity was assessed using the Vocational Identity Measure. Women students were more likely to intend to continue the pregnancy (76.9%, p < 0.05); however, students without siblings (68.2%, p < 0.01) and men and women students with higher scores for vocational identities who were raised in an academically oriented family were more likely to intend to terminate the pregnancy (p < 0.05). Therefore, gender and vocational identity were associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome. Further qualitative and quantitative studies on factors associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome are necessary to eliminate the burden and social barrier, including gender division of labor and the effect of vocational career for people wishing to parent a child with Down syndrome.