M Ginevra

Parental Influences on Youth’s Career Construction

Increasingly, scholars are urging that there should be a careful examination of the role of social relations, especially those between parents and children, on the professional development of youth. In this chapter, we first present the recent models and theoretical approaches (e.g., contextual action theory, social cognitive model, and the life design approach) that recognize the need to carefully consider the role that parents play in their children’s career development. Next, the parental support role in their children’s professional development is explored, in relation to socioeconomic circumstances. Poverty, unemployment, precariousness, and underemployment are becoming characteristic of the context even in the richest countries; thus today’s parents find themselves playing their support role in their children’s professional development within much more complex societies. Some parents, especially those with low socioeconomic status (SES), are pessimistic in their overall perception of the economy, and, despite being concerned about their children’s future, may find it hard to plan for it; thus, they do not encourage their children and do not start interactions centered on the future with them.

‘Journey in the world of professions and work’: A career intervention for children

Abstract A structured ten-unit training was devised to stimulate some career adaptability resources such as optimism and hope toward the future, curiosity, career exploration, and occupational knowledge in children. Ten classes, for a total of 154 children (79 boys and 75 girls) with a mean age of 10.65 years (SD = 1.24), were randomly assigned to either the experimental, who was the focus of the intervention, or control group. At post-test the experimental group held significantly more hope, optimism, curiosity, career exploration, occupational knowledge, information, planning, and time perspective than the control group. The pattern of effect sizes strengthens the idea that the training enhanced experimental participants’ some career adaptability resources.

Life Design in adolescence: The role of positive psychological resources

When adolescents face times of crisis, two key resources are determinant for their personal and professional development: career adaptability and courage. Career adaptability is vital to increase adolescents’ ability to accept and handle the uncertainty and ambiguity of the world of work, whereas courage is crucial in this current period of historic change, as it seems to be a key resource for career decision-making in relation to perceived future risks. After a review of international research on these two dimensions, we present a cross-cultural study on the predictive role of career adaptability and courage among French, Greek, and Italian adolescents. Finally, we provide specific suggestions for career counseling and guidance.

School inclusion of children with intellectual disability: An intervention program

ABSTRACT Background: This study evaluated the impact of a structured 10-didactic units intervention on promoting the school inclusion of elementary school students with intellectual disability (ID). Method: The intervention was devised for 152 Italian typically developing (TD) elementary school students that were randomly assigned to the experimental (EG) or to the control (CG) group. Specifically, we examined the positive and negative social behaviours that took place in naturalistic class settings between TD students and their classmates with ID and the positive and negative peer sociometric nominations that children with ID received from their TD classmates. Results: At post-test, the children with ID included in the classes randomly assigned to the EG, received more positive sociometric nominations and social behaviours than peers with ID of the CG, and adopted more positive behaviours towards TD peers. Conclusions: The study highlighted the potential of the intervention to promote the school inclusion of students with ID.

Engaging Parent Strengths for Inclusion: The Power of Optimism, Hope, and Courage

Abstract The chapter will explore steps that might be taken within the context of schools to encourage the creation of an inclusive social environment. In particular, it examines the roles played by parents of children with and without disability, as co-constructing agents of inclusion. Particular emphasis will be placed on parental attributes of hope, optimism, and courage. At this regards, an international review on these parental resources will be reported, highlighting their key role in enabling parents to face challenging child and family circumstances – including disability, living in poverty, or experiencing cultural segregation and discrimination, and in promoting inclusion. Lastly, qualitative and quantitative assessment instruments to assess these resources will be presented and suggestions to promote them will be provided.