Using Howard's Conceptions of Career Choice and Attainment Theory to Examine Critical Features of Career Readiness

• In Event: 52.036 - Career Narratives to Understand Adolescent Career Identity Development: Exploratory Mixed-Methods Comparative Study Using Three Theories

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The second paper compares Marcia’s identity model to Howard’s career development theory using a stratified random sample of 30 participants from the original sample of youth classified with achieved, moratorium, or foreclosed identity patterns (youth classified as “diffuse” did not provide enough written narrative to be included).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: This paper uses Howard’s Conceptions of Career Choice and Attainment model to reanalyze a random selection of the career narratives used in the first paper. Howard’s CCCA model was derived to demonstrate that young children’s conceptions and understanding of the processes associated with entering a career develop in stages beginning with early childhood and extending into adolescence. Howard’s model describes three broad stages. Association involves fantasy about careers. Sequence refers to how one possesses key skills that need to match with the skills needed in the workplace. However, there is little awareness of how one gains those skills or that one’s engagement in career decision-making is a process onto itself. Interaction involves the extent to which the individual is able to examine and weigh a range of information about self and the world of work as they begin to examine their career goals. Choosing a job/career is a process involving a dynamic interaction of awareness of personal attributes & environmental opportunities. Each stage is further divided into two developmental phases each for a total of six possible classifications and for high school populations.

METHOD AND DATA SOURCE. Using a stratified random sample of 90 youth selected from the original data described in Study 1, this study used a modified grounded theory strategy to classify youth into one of six career reasoning levels described by Howard.

RESULTS: 56 participants were classified in the Sequence stage and 28 in the Interaction stage. More specifically, in the Sequence stage, 31 were classified as Level 3 - External Activities and 25 were classified as Level 4 – Internal Processes and Capacities and for Interaction, 13 were classified as Level 5 – Interaction and 15 were classified as Level 6 – Systemic Interaction.

The cross-tabulations and correlation with Marcia’s career identity results indicates a moderate overlap indicating that the models are addressing both similar and unique identity characteristics (r= .414).

SCHOLARLY SIGNIFICANCE: The results indicate that Howard’s theory of career conceptions and reasoning is related to Marcia’s identity model youth classified as Achieved in Marcia’s model being associated with more complex career reasoning and youth classified as Foreclosed and Moratorium engaging in less complex career reasoning strategies.

Authors

• Eleanor Castine, Boston University

• Sean Flanagan