“It Felt Like a Little Community”: Supporting Rural Appalachian College Students

Students from rural Appalachian regions often face increased career development barriers within university spaces. As part of an NSF-funded program, we provided diverse, structured supports for a group of STEM majors from rural Appalachian backgrounds. We utilized narrative inquiry to interview 10 Program participants, which allowed us to explore which supports they described as impactful, including graduate student mentors, their fellow program peers, program coordinators, campus supports, and other various campus faculty. Participants further described being impacted in a variety of ways: as an individual person, in their research pursuits, in their future plans, academically, and financially through the program’s scholarship. Specifically, they described strategies for success and the importance of belonging as impactful. Implications for future college support programming and for how to best support the career development of rural Appalachian college students, along with suggestions for future research needs and limitations to the research, are provided.

Barriers to STEM Efficacy and Outcome Expectations among Native American College Students

Native Americans are severely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In this study, we examined the construal, salience, and relevance of the barriers that Native American college students believe could impact their STEM career preparation. An exploratory factor analysis of the Perceptions of Educational Barriers Scale conducted with 152 Native American college students yielded 8 perceived barrier factors: school expensive, lack of access, lack of preparation, not smart enough, not good at math/science, family responsibilities, discrimination, and lack of support. School expense was by far their greatest barrier, and for men, this barrier negatively predicted their STEM career self-efficacy, with self-efficacy positively predicting their STEM career outcome expectations. For women, lack of support positively predicted their STEM career self-efficacy, with self-efficacy positively predicting and discrimination negatively predicting their STEM career outcome expectations. Results are interpreted in light of social cognitive career theory.

Adolescents’ Family Socioeconomic Status, Teacher–Student Interactions, and Career Ambivalence/Adaptability: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

Using three-wave longitudinal data, this study tested the potential mediating roles of teacher–student relationship quality and teachers’ career support efficacy in the association between Chinese adolescents’ family socioeconomic status (SES) and career development ( N = 1410). Results showed that adolescents’ family SES at Wave 1 was negatively associated with their career ambivalence at Wave 3 via positive associations with both teacher–student relationship quality and teachers’ career support efficacy at Wave 2. Moreover, adolescents’ family SES at Wave 1 was positively related to career adaptability at Wave 3 via its positive association with teachers’ career support efficacy at Wave 2. This study highlighted the important role of teacher–student interaction in adolescents’ career development.

Career Development in Highly Sex-typed Postsecondary Vocational Technical Education Programs: A Social Cognitive Analysis

Using social cognitive career theory (SCCT), we examined the career development of students in sex-typed postsecondary Vocational Technical Education (VTE) programs in the Chilean context. We assessed the moderating effects of students’ socioeconomic background, sex, membership to the sex-atypical group, and the intersection of these attributes across SCCT measures and the model’s predicted relationships. The results showed that students in sex-atypical careers, particularly low-income students, perceived supports and barriers differently, and that supports and barriers have different effects on self-efficacy and outcome beliefs. We also found differences between female and male students in these careers path, which suggests that the former face more challenges. However, we also found that their career development process unfolds similarly, suggesting that strategies designed to support these groups may be equally helpful for female and male students. We discuss the findings in light of prior literature and offer practical implications for VTE institutions.

Assessing Postsecondary Barriers for Rural Appalachian High School Students

Social cognitive career theory indicates that perceived barriers negatively affect career and educational self-efficacy beliefs and may also impact interests, goals, and actions. However, measurement of barriers has produced mixed results, and few quantitative studies explore the perceived barriers of rural Appalachian students. In this series of studies, we explored the perceived educational and career barriers of rural Appalachian high school students. Our goal was to identify perceived barriers, but as initial results were analyzed, we then shifted to how best to measure barriers and how culture impacted the reporting of barriers by rural Appalachian students. The results of our mixed-method series of studies offer ideas on how cultural values and beliefs may skew reporting of contextual influences on career and education.

From School to Work: Improving Graduates’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

As boundaryless careers become mainstream, individuals need to enhance career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) during career transitions to secure better employment outcomes and sustainable career development, especially when moving from a school to a work environment. Drawing on social cognitive career theory, this study empirically proposed a moderated mediation model to examine whether proactive personality (measured at Time 1), career success criteria clarity (CSCC, measured at Time 2), and family socioeconomic status (including family income, parents’ educational level, and parents’ occupational level; measured at Time 1) would contribute to CDSE (measured at Time 2). Results based on a two-wave survey of 235 college students showed that: (1) proactive personality positively predicted CDSE; (2) CSCC positively predicted CDSE; (3) CSCC partly mediated the relation between proactive personality and CDSE; (4) the positive effect of CSCC on CDSE was stronger among students with a lower family socioeconomic status. Individuals with strong proactive personalities were more likely to develop salience in career success criteria and in turn became more confident in making career decisions. Therefore, vocational educators in higher education could help to improve students’ CDSE by promoting training programs for proactive thinking, providing successful role models, and encouraging family involvement, especially for students with a lower family socioeconomic status.

Rural Appalachian High School Students' College-Going and STEMM Perceptions

The authors examined perceptions of key social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) variables related to college-going and science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) careers in 10th and 11th graders (N = 892) attending 3 rural Appalachian high schools. The authors examined differences in perceptions related to gender, prospective 1st-generation college student status, and the presence or absence of aspirations to pursue a STEMM career. Young women and young men scored similarly on all but 1 dependent variable, college-going self-efficacy (young women scored higher). Students who had STEMM career aspirations had higher scores on every measure than those who did not. Results suggest examining a 3rd prospective 1st-generation college student status group-students who are unsure of their parents' education level-as a distinct group in future research. By examining the college-going and STEMM attitudes of rural Appalachian high school students, this study advances the literature and informs practitioners on reducing educational and vocational inequalities in this region.

Building on Strengths While Addressing Barriers: Career Interventions in Rural Appalachian Communities

This article describes a model for developing culturally-sensitive career education programs, framed from an ecological contextual understanding (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This framework allows career practitioners to build on cultural strengths and values to meet the career education needs of diverse communities. To illustrate the application of this model, we describe the cultural context of rural Appalachia and offer theoretically-framed ideas of how to meet the population's career education needs.

Adolescents' Future Aspirations and Expectations in the Context of a Shifting Rural Economy

Adolescents' future aspirations and expectations influence the decisions they make as they transition into adulthood. However, less is known about how specific sociocultural factors interact with the formation of future aspirations and expectations and their association with goal attainment in emerging adulthood. The present study begins to fill this gap by using person-centered analysis with high school students (N = 517; 53% female; 92% white) from a rural county undergoing significant economic transition. Its aim was to identify future orientation profiles based on adolescent-reported future aspirations and expectations for success in both education and career. Four latent profiles were identified and labeled: universally high aspirations and expectations; low college aspirations and expectations; lower aspirations than expectations; and universally low aspirations and expectations. Significant gender differences were found. High school males were less likely to be in the universally high profile and more likely to be in the universally low and low college aspirations and expectations profiles. Future orientation profile placement was associated with differences in adolescent experiences in family, school, and community contexts as well as their work and education status and future residential aspirations in emerging adulthood. The findings inform future research and applied efforts focused on rural youth's preparation for adult roles, and on retaining rural youth, a necessity for the vitality of rural communities.

The Strengths-Based Inclusive Theory of Work

This paper describes a new vocational theory—the strengths-based inclusive theory of work (S-BIT of Work). This theory addresses the ever-changing, dynamic nature of the world of work and integrates counseling psychology’s core values of emphasizing vocational psychology, strengths-based perspectives, multiculturalism, and social justice. We aim to provide a holistic vocational theory to inform career and work counseling practice by increasing clinicians’ cultural responsivity, promoting clients’ strengths and optimal functioning, and addressing a variety of vocational challenges across developmental stages. This first article in the Major Contribution includes a discussion of the S-BIT of Work’s core assumptions and theoretical propositions, research supporting the development of the S-BIT of Work, as well as future directions. The second and third articles in this Major Contribution discuss a model of fulfulling work, and the infusion of positive psychology and cultural responsivity in work counseling practice, respectively.

Project HOPE: Sociopolitical Development and SCCT Beliefs of Latinx and White Rural Middle School Students

This quasi-experimental investigation tested whether adding a sociopolitical development (SPD) component to a social cognitive career theory–based (SCCT) career intervention program, Project health-care opportunities, preparation, and exploration (HOPE), was more effective than an SCCT-only intervention among a group of eighth-grade students ( n = 94). Results of the study indicated both intervention conditions were associated with increases in health-care career (HC) and math/science (MS) interests among the participants. Results also demonstrated that gains in HC interests (HCIs) were associated with intervention conditions: students in the SCCT + SPD condition only reported statistically significant gains in HCIs. The study found no statistically significant interaction effects between ethnicity and condition on any of the outcome variables. Results suggest limited support for the effectiveness of SPD-infused SCCT interventions and that more research is needed to better understand how rural students can benefit from SCCT/SPD-based career interventions.

Teacher support for career development: an integrative review and research agenda

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review identified key features of teacher support and its influence on students’ career decision making and development. It also examines the types of research approaches to data collection and analysis in order to provide a more in-depth evaluation of this field of study.

Design/methodology/approach

The review examined 18 studies, the majority being quantitative in design. Cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of teacher support were investigated, and differences in teacher support relative to grade level and gender were considered.

Findings

Results indicated that since 2000, there has been an increase in the number of empirical studies of teacher support in the career development field, the majority involving middle and high school students. The most commonly cited frameworks that underpin the studies are the social cognitive career theory, the career construction theory and Super’s career development theory. The most frequently used instrument for data collection was the teacher support scale (Metheny et al., 2008).

Originality/value

The review will be beneficial to researchers, teachers and policy makers seeking to optimize support systems for students’ career development. The findings contribute to further theory development and have practical implications for the career guidance field. Recommendations for future research and practice are suggested.

A Qualitative Analysis of Career Choice Pathways of College-Oriented Rural Central Appalachian High School Students

To explore the ways context may shape career choices, we used a qualitative approach to analyze interviews with college-oriented high school students from the rural Central Appalachia region of Virginia. Using social cognitive career theory, we analyzed pathways to career choices and relevant contextual factors, using data from 24 interviews. Results revealed that participants’ pathways partially matched the model, though we also found variant pathways triggered by significant environmental influences and incomplete pathways due to variations in possible career plans. Explanatory factors included status as prospective first-generation college student, outcome expectations that included remaining local and having job stability, and an emergent factor of continuing generation Appalachian. The patterns that emerged with respect to contextual factors and career choice pathways highlight the importance of culture and context when examining how students make career choices. This research extends prior research by examining career pathways using student’s own words as data. Moreover, the patterns offer insights career coaches, counselors, and educators can use in supporting students’ post–high school career planning.

Contextual Factors in the Career Development of Prospective First-Generation College Students

Sociocultural influences may affect the academic and vocational development of first-generation college students; however, research in this area remains limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how contextual influences predicted academic and vocational outcomes for prospective first-generation college students. Participants included 142 (62 males and 80 females) high school students from low-income backgrounds enrolled in a college preparatory program. Path analyses tested the fit of a social cognitive career model examining how distal (e.g., ethnic identity) and proximal (e.g., parental support, perceptions of barriers) factors predicted vocational outcome expectations (VOE), vocational/educational self-efficacy, and student engagement. Results found an adequate fit for the social cognitive career model. Ethnic identity predicted VOEs and self-efficacy. Father support and perceived barriers predicted vocational/educational self-efficacy, whereas mother support (MS) predicted VOEs. Additionally, VOEs and MS predicted student engagement.

Financial Stress and Work Hope Beliefs Among Adolescents

This study investigated the relationship of perceived financial stress and strain within the family with work hope beliefs among 119 adolescents in the United States. As expected, higher levels of perceived financial stress and strain related to lowered work hope. Using a test of moderation, we explored how this relationship was influenced by adolescents’ perceptions of support for educational success from their primary caregiver. Results indicated that caregiver support for educational success moderated the relationship between perceived financial stress and strain and work hope such that the negative relationship between financial stress and strain was strengthened among those who reported heightened perceived caregiver support for educational success. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Postretirement Career Planning

Many countries are exposed to challenges due to demographic change. Keeping employees in the workforce beyond retirement age could help counter these challenges. Thus, extending the knowledge on the process of postretirement career planning is important. Therefore, drawing on social cognitive career theory, we develop and test a model for postretirement career planning in this study. An online survey including measures of occupational self-efficacy, interest in occupation-related activities as well as postretirement career outcome expectations, intention, and planning activity was completed by 124 individuals working in different occupations in Germany. Participants were aged 49–65 years and 54% were male. Findings suggest that self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interest are important factors in postretirement career planning. Altogether the predictors accounted for 37% of variance in postretirement career intention and 9% of variance in planning activity. Based on our findings, we discuss options to foster postretirement career planning.

¡Apóyenos! Latina/o Student Recommendations for High School Supports

We examined 401 Latina/o high school students’ postsecondary plans and their responses to an open-ended question about how their schools should better help Latina/o students to achieve their plans. The majority of students planned to enroll in postsecondary education or training. Boys and those responding in Spanish were more likely not to plan to continue their education, and those responding in Spanish were more likely to plan to work full time or part time than those responding in English. Themes generated from the open-ended responses include that schools should provide more motivational support, structured programs, and clubs that engage Latina/o students within their schools and communities, academic assistance and support, information related to financial aid, college, and careers, and that schools should eliminate discrimination and racism and increase Latina/o cultural resources. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of several individual and contextual difference factors to the perceived educational barriers of rural youth. Data were from a broader national investigation of students' postsecondary aspirations and preparation in rural high schools across the United States. The sample involved more than 7,000 rural youth in 73 high schools across 34 states. Results indicated that some individual (e.g., African American race/ethnicity) and contextual (e.g., parent education) difference factors were predictive while others were not. Extensions to, similarities, and variations with previous research are discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Integrating Social Class Into Vocational Psychology

Although social class plays a salient and significant role in career development and occupational attainment, social class is underrepresented in vocational psychology theory, scholarship, and practice. Vocational psychologists are in a unique position to meet the career development needs of persons from all social classes by integrating a fuller understanding of social class into their scholarship and practice. This article provides an interdisciplinary review of conceptualization and operationalization of social class, the consideration of social class by theories of career development, the impact of social class upon career development processes, and implications of social class for career counseling and assessment. Through helping vocational psychologists more deeply understand social class and its interconnections to career development and occupational attainment, this article intends to create a springboard for the further integration of social class into vocational psychology scholarship and practice.

The Career Aspirations of Rural Appalachian High School Students

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contributions of several social cognitive career theory (SCCT) factors in predicting the career aspirations of a group of high school students living in the central part of rural Appalachia. Sixty-three high school students completed measures assessing their vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, career decision outcome expectations, socioeconomic status (SES), age, and their perceptions of familial and peer support. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated that 52% of the variance associated with career aspirations was accounted for by the SCCT variables. Findings indicated that the majority of the variance was accounted for by vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, SES, and career decision outcome expectations. Given the cultural considerations of this population, these findings suggest that lower SES rural Appalachian high school students might benefit from targeted interventions that are designed to increase their confidence and expectations about their future.

Measuring Perceived Teacher Support and Its Influence on Adolescent Career Development

This article examines available measures of perceived teacher support and presents findings from two studies exploring the psychometric properties of the Teacher Support Scale (TSS). In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis suggested a hierarchical structure with four first-order factors (Invested, Positive Regard, Expectations, and Accessible subscales) loading onto a single, higher order factor, excellent reliability, and concurrent validity. Perceived teacher support was significantly correlated with career decision-making self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis did not provide replication of the initial model in a separate sample. However, the four, first-order factors explained a statistically significant amount of the variance in question items, and support was provided for their strong relationship to a single, higher order construct of teacher support. Recommendations for future practice and research on the role of teacher support in adolescent career development and suggestions for modifications to the measure are provided.

Contextual Affordances of Rural Appalachian Individuals

Vocational psychology has recently begun examining the career development of marginalized and underrepresented populations. Social cognitive career theory provides a theoretical understanding of how cultural differences, resources, and barriers may affect the vocational choices and actions of individuals from minority populations. Contextual affordances, in particular, provide psychologists with a mechanism through which both distal and proximal environments influence vocational outcomes. This article examines the contextual affordances of Appalachian individuals from a social justice perspective. Implications for interventions and future research are proposed.