Dorothy D. Nevill

Work role salience as a determinant of career maturity in high school students

Abstract It has often been contended that vocational or career maturity is largely determined by socioeconomic status and sex. But these, although surely important determinants, may function as such only because they determine commitment to working careers. This latter may itself be the immediate determinant of career maturity. In this study data were collected from some 382 students of whom about 55% were girls, using a Personal Data Blank, the Salience Inventory, and the Career Development Inventory. Measures of career and home commitment were obtained from the second, while measures of career or vocational maturity were derived from the last-named instrument. Canonical correlations and variance analyses were done to examine the roles of SES and sex when combined with career commitment. Four hypotheses received full support, three were partially supported, and one was not supported.

Career Maturity and Commitment to Work in University Students.

Abstract This study examined the relationship between career maturity and commitment to work, sex, socioeconomic status, and college level. Three hundred seventy-two undergraduate students took The Career Development Inventory which measures specific dimensions of career development and The Salience Inventory , a measure of the relative importance of a number of life-roles. Commitment to work was related to both the attitudinal and the cognitive factors of career maturity. Sex and socioeconomic status were not related to career maturity. Seniors and juniors had engaged in more career-planning activities than had sophomores and freshmen. University females were more committed to work and to home than were university males, but expected to realize fewer values than males through the work role. Results were discussed in light of Banduras concept of self-efficacy expectations and implications for counseling.

The Relation of Self-Efficacy and Assertiveness to Willingness to Engage in Traditional/Nontraditional Career Activities

The relation of self-efficacy and assertiveness to the willingness of women to engage in traditional or nontraditional career activities was studied. One hundred and twenty-two undergraduate females took the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (Taylor & Betz, 1983) and the Assertive Behavior Assessment for Women (Osborn & Harris, 1975) and were asked to rate their willingness to engage in the career-related activities of ten traditional and ten nontraditional occupations for women. Strong self-efficacy expectations and assertiveness were related to the willingness to engage in the career-related activities of nontraditional occupations, but not traditional ones. However, regardless of level of self-efficacy or of assertiveness, women were more willing to engage in the career-related activities of traditional occupations. Implications of the results for career counseling are discussed.

Cognitive Structures in Vocational Information Processing and Decision Making.

Abstract The present study tested the assumptions that the structural features of vocational schemas effect vocational information processing and career self-efficacy. One hundred ten male and female college undergraduates were placed into one of four groups based upon whether they were high or low along the dimensions of vocational differentiation and integration (HH, HL, LH, LL). Results indicated that effective vocational information processing was facilitated by well-integrated systems that processed information along fewer channels or dimensions. The importance of schematic organization on the self-efficacy of individuals with highly differentiated systems was also found. Vocational schemas become better organized as career identities develop. These findings underscore the importance of integration as a conceptual tool and call for the investigation of the differential utility of vocational interventions depending on the individuals stage of vocational development.

Sex Roles and Personality Correlates

A list of 1, 000 names, stratified by sex and socioeconomic status, was randomly chosen from the population of a university community. A questionnaire packet consisting of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, and the Personal Orientation Inventory was mailed to those people who indicated a willingness to participate in the study. Analysis of the data revealed a strong positive relationship between androgyny as measured by the BSRI and the two measures of psychological health. The Results were taken to support the hypothesis that the availability of multiple soles to an individual was related to that persons skill in social behavior and to the larger context of healthy personality.

Cognitive structures in vocational development

Abstract The concept of vocational development is discussed in relation to structural changes which occur in the cognitive schemata individuals use to process vocational information. To determine the usefulness of this reasoning, a series of predictions was tested on a sample of 101 college undergraduates. Results indicated that vocational decision-making skills, career exploration, and career planning varied as a function of cognitive structure. Findings are interpreted as supporting the relevance of cognitive schemata to vocational development and are discussed in relation to the larger developmental literature. Directions for future research based on cognitive-developmental accounts of vocational change are also noted.

Career Assessment and the Salience Inventory

The development and use of the Salience Inventory (SI; Super & Nevill, 1985a), an assessment of the relative importance of five life roles, is summarized. This article begins with an overview of Donald E. Supers career development theory, followed by a brief description of the goals of the work Importance Study (WIS) and its development of the SI. A review of research using the SI follows, with emphasis on the utility of the SI in incorporating gender role and multicultural issues into an understanding of career development across the life span. Finally, use of the SI within a comprehensive career counseling model is discussed.

Role Conflict in Women as a Function of Marital Status

Questionnaires on eight role conflict categories (Time Management, Relations with Husband, Household Management, Financial, Child Care, Expectations for Self, Expectations of Others, and Guilt) were administered to 518 women. Marital status was found to be a significant variable with married women expressing more conflict than other women. Never married and formerly married women did not differ significantly from each other. The results further suggested the existence of a generalized role expectation for women and the importance of the husband in marriage.

A Comparison of Student Ratings of Teaching Assistants and Faculty Members

Seven hundred and ninety-nine students in 36 sections of undergraduate analytic geometry and calculus completed an achievement test in both pre and post conditions and an instructor rating instrument in the post condition. Nineteen of the sections were taught by sixteen teaching assistants and seventeen classes by sixteen full-time faculty members. The data were analyzed separately for teaching assistants and full-time faculty. Students rated teaching assistants and faculty members in a similar fashion, both in terms of the level of ratings and the conceptual framework within which these judgments were made.

Career Assessment and the Values Scale.

The Values Scale (VS; Super & Nevill, 1985b) was developed as part of the multinational Work Importance Study (WIS), a project supported by researchers in countries world-wide. The purpose of the WIS was to simultaneously develop career assessment instruments in several languages to facilitate the cross-cultural study of career development. The VS was one of two instruments developed by the WIS, and its purpose is to assess the general values a person seeks to satisfy through various life roles. The VS was designed to provide important information about a clients values for use in the Career Development Assessment and Counseling model (C-DAC; Super, 1983). A clients values are objectives sought in behavior. If these values cannot be satisfied through one particular career role, then the client must consider through what other life roles those values can be satisfied to ensure career satisfaction. The application of the VS to research is also discussed.