The perception of subjective vocational success of young adults with prolonged transitions in Switzerland (original) (raw)
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Trends in Vocational Education and Training Research. Proceedings of the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET), 2018
A key requirement for being an integrated member of our achievement-oriented society is the successful transition from school to work. This article aims to present a multi-dimensional point of view on de-standardized vocational orientation processes. Vocational orientation therefore is understood as an active, constructive process of young adults, which are socially and institutionally bounded. Data is based on a mixed-method design with 406 young adults who completed a standardized questionnaire and 12 qualitative interviews. With this design, we aim at answering the following questions: (1) which patterns of risk can be identified and (2) how representatives of different risk patterns describe their individual vocational orientation process. Three groups of risk patterns were conducted by latent class analysis, which differ not just in terms of individual factors but also regarding social resources of family, school and workplace. If we take a closer look at the individual perception of vocational orientation by representatives of these groups, vocational orientation has been perceived differently depending on one's agency.
Swiss Journal of Psychology, 2013
Assessing problems in career decision making among adolescents is important for career guidance and research. The present study is the first to investigate among Swiss adolescents the factor structure and convergent validity in relation to personality of the German-language adaptation of the My Vocational Situation Scale. Two preliminary studies (N = 217) suggested that using a 5-point Likert scale response format would increase scale reliability. The confirmatory factor analyses in the main study with two cohorts (n = 341, eighth grade; n = 303, eleventh grade) confirmed that four main factors, which assess problems with identity, decision making, information, and perceived barriers, underlie the data. The barriers factor was differentiated into aspired vocation and personal situation. Construct validity was supported by significant relationships between favorable personality characteristics (emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, generalized self-efficacy, and internal locus of control) and fewer problems. The results suggest that the vocational identity and barriers scales can be fruitfully applied to research on and the practice of career counseling with adolescents.
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2009
The transition from school to work is a central developmental task with long-term implications for the financial and social status of individuals. We argue that dynamic adjustments of aspirations play a decisive role for a successful outcome of the school to work transition, particularly in the context of the German vocational training system. Latent growth curve analyses conducted on the self-reported occupational aspirations of German adolescents (N = 414) surveyed in a 5-wave longitudinal study during their senior school year support this assumption. Based on expectancy-value-models of achievement, we delineated an adaptive trajectory of aspirations as starting off with relatively high aspirations and subsequently gradually downgrading them until s is attained. Such a trajectory of adjustment should maximize both expectancy (i.e., probability of obtaining an apprenticeship position at all) and value (i.e., training position with promotion potential). Finally, we showed empirically that the trajectory conceptually proposed as most adaptive was characteristic for youth who reported phase-adequate goal engagement strategies as suggested by the life-span theory of control.
Studia paedagogica, 2019
The completion of vocational education and training (VET) and the subsequent school-to-work transition are important steps on the career pathway. The school-to-work transition is a long-term process with unclear boundaries involving a number of potentially difficult aspects. Psychological resources for successful schoolto-work transitions are reflected in the multidimensional psychosocial construct of career adaptability. The goal of the present study was to examine the role of selected demographic and school-related variables in predicting career adaptability and four components of career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence) among VET graduates. Participants in this study were 3,028 Czech students approximately 1-2 months before graduation from vocational education and training, aged from 18 to 26 years (M = 18.97, SD = 1.09). The 24-item Career Adapt-Abilities Scale was used to measure career adaptability. Results from multiple linear regression analyses found that five out of ten predictor variables positively predicted the career adaptability or career adaptability components. These variables were the gained paid work experience in the field of study, one-off or multiple use of career guidance services, male gender, tertiary education of the father, and the field of study completed with a school-leaving examination. The variables that did not statistically predict career adaptability were family structure, maternal education, grades (GPA), repetition of a grade, and change of the field of study. Implications for career guidance are discussed.
A Latent Profile Analysis of Career Competence in German Vocational Schools
Studia paedagogica
Vocational schools are the backbone of Germany's dual training system and it is expected that students in such schools have successfully mastered their first career-related decision. However, previous research suggests that attending a vocational school is often based more on practical considerations than on an informed careerdecision making process. Therefore, questions arise about the state of vocational students' career competences and how to support their development on an individual basis. This study aims to shed light on the developmental patterns of students' career competences at German vocational schools. Latent profile analysis of career competence was therefore conducted with data from vocational school students (N = 453). Data collection took place in 2017 in four vocational schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. The participants were on average 18.20 years old (SD = 1.65), and 48% of them were female. Using a standardized questionnaire, they self-assessed 12 facets of their career competences. The results showed 3 profile groups that followed a similar pattern regarding the 12 career competence facets. They mainly differed in their overall career competence level: low developed, intermediate and advanced. Furthermore, a fourth profile that diverged from the three other profiles in terms of career pattern was identified: highly concerned/little-stress-resistant. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistical differences among these profile groups in the 12 career competence facets. Multinomial logistic regressions showed significant effects from gender and concrete career aspirations on profile affiliation. Limitations of the study, practical implications, and issues for future research are discussed.
Self‐rated competences and future vocational success: A longitudinal study
Assessment & Evaluation in …, 2011
Today, a major goal in higher education is the advancement of students’ vocational competences. To assess the extent to which this goal is met, both competences acquired during university studies and later vocational success need to be measured. In our study, we collected self‐ratings of competences (t1) and indicators of vocational success (t2) in 210 alumni of the Freie Universität Berlin. Using structural equation models along with this longitudinal data, we found that self‐ratings of competences accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in different measures of vocational success five years later.
2003
Abstract The skills, qualifications and credentials generated by educational systems are strongly related to labour market attainment. The centrality of the educational system for the structuring of individuals' life chances has generated a long-lived and intense debate around the proper design of educational systems. The purpose of this article is to examine whether vocational training provided within the educational system protects graduates against employment precariousness over the life course.
International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 2010
A review of new and emerging conceptions of work and career is complemented by a description of a comprehensive systems framework that avoids many of the dichotomies found in current accounts of career development and intervention. This is followed by a description of Ford and Smith’s (Educational Psychologist 42(3):153–171, 2007) “thriving with social purpose” framework, which is offered as a