St.J ob's
REPORT OF ANINTERNSHIP CONDUCTED AT THE MEMORIAL UNIVERSlTY COUNSEUJNG CENTRE
lNCLUDING ARESEARCHPROJECT : ASTUDY OF CAREER INDECISI ONAMONG SELECTED FIRST YEARUNIVERSITY STUDENTS
BV WaDdaJ.Pelley,B.PE..B.Ed.
ADiDtenllllhipreportsubmitt edtothe~hoolofGnduate
forthedegreeof Muter ofEducarloa
Memo rial Uai.enityofNewfoa udla ud 1997
Newfou udlaad
ABSTRACT
ThisdocwneDtcontains.reportof a Master'slevelcounsellinginternshi p conducted attbt.:Memorial University ofNewfotmdlaDd CounsellingCentreinpartial fulfilment of a Master'sof EducationinEducational Psycbology.Themternshipwas thirteenweeksinduration andran from September 10,199610December6,1996.
ChapterOneofthisreportdiscussesthechoice aCmeinternshi p alternativein the EducationalPsychologyprogram.Within this chapter,discussion focuses upon the rationale.a description ofthesetting. services available attheCCD~imemshipgoals, supervisoryactivities and respoosibil ities.ChapterTwo tncludesacomprehensive summary and discussionofactivitiesthaItheinternparticipatedindwingthe internship placemenL
ChapterThreedealswiththerequiredresearchcomponemof the interns hip.It outlinesthe researchincluding: beckgreund,purpose.significance.literature review.
researchquestions, methodology.results,limitations.anddiscusses thefindingsoflhis researchcomponent-
The purposeofthestudywas to determine career decisionmakiogtendencies amongfirstyear studentsat MemorialUsing the CareerDecisionScale {Osipo w,1980).
theresearcherendea....oured todetermineifsignificance exists between gender and career decisionmaking,betweengeographicbackgrolmdandcareer decisionmaking,aswellas anyinteractionaleffect between genderandgeographicbackgrotmdon career decision making.TheCareer DecisionScale (CDS) bas two subscales:theCareer Certainty Scale
andtheCareerlDdecisiooScale.
Theresults ofthestudyindicatethat00significam main effects exist for
Fndcr
or geographicbackground oneither the Certai ntyScaleorIndecisionScale.However ,an interactio naleffect wasfound(0existbetweentwogroupsODthe CertaintyScale:rural- malesandurban-femaIes.No interactionaleffects exist onthelDdccision Scale.
Finally,Chapter Foursummarizesthe ra:ommendationsandcoocludes by briefly reviewingthe actualinternship placementat theCeensellingCentre
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iwishtoexpressmymos1sincerethanksaedgratitudetoDr.Nannan Garlic.
Faculty internshipsupervisor. forhissupportandassistanceinthe developmentoftbc internshipproposalandreport.aswellas hisfeedbackduring theinternsh ip placement,
I would like to thank the counsellorsandstaffattheUniversityCounselling Centre fortheirsupport. guidanceandunderstandingduringtheinternship placement,I wouldespecially like tothankDr.Elizabeth ChurchandDr.MichaelDoyle.Dr.Churc h setanexampleora highdegreeofbotbprofessionalism andempathy.Dr.Doyle.field supervisor.
was.
outstandingmentorwhowasboth encouragingandchal lenging.I wouldalso like tothank Mr.RennieGaultonfor allowing meto imposeonhis PsychologyclasstoobtainmydataandMr.GerryWhite forhisassistance:withthe statisticalanalysisportionof me research.
Finally.I wouldliketothankmyhusband.JamieRose.Withoutyourunwavering support and undemanding,.the pastyearandahalf wouldhavebeenunbearable.You madeall thedays.nights.andweekends spentatthelibrary.infrontofthecomputer.or withmyhead ina book tolerabl e.Thisdegreewastbc:mostdifficult andyetrewarding thingIha\'e everdone:andIcouldnot haveachieveditwithoutyou.Thanks.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.
ACKNOWUDGEMENrS LIST OFTABLES. LISTOFAPPENDICES
CHAPTERONE INfRODUCTION..
Rationaleforthelntemship.. __ . TheSetting.
InternsbipGoals. Supervision
CHAPTER TWO
THEUITERNSHIP - A DESCRIPTION OFACTIVJ11ES lntroduetioo.
Orientation Activities.
Individual Counselling.. . GroupCounselling.. CareerPlanningCentre InterpersonalProcessRecall.
iv
.. . . .. ... _i ..iii vii
...••.1
. 2
.. .. ..6 .. . . .9
12
. 12
. 12
. 13
.16 ....17 . ..· ...17
Reviewof Videotapes
Supervision Research andReading. MaintainingLogandCase Files TrainingSeminar. CaseConfereocing(Ieservice) GoalAttainment Conclusion.
CHAPTERTIIREE
RESEARCH COMPONENT..
""kground. Statement ofPurpose.. Significance. RcviewofLiterature.
CareerDevelopmentandDecisionMaking CareerIndecision..
GeographicBackgroundImplications.. GenderImplications.
lntcraction ofGendcr andGeographicBackground. ResearchQuestions.
.I.
... . . ...19
. 20
.. . .21
..21 ...22
.. .2J ... ...25
2
s
... .26 . ...26 ..27
.2' 30 ..31 .33
..36 . ...39 ... ..41
Methodology.
TheImtrumcnl. Procedure
ScoringandDataAnalysis. Results.
Limitations .
Discussion
CHAP'IERFOUR
RECOMMENDATIONSANDSUMMARY..
REFERENCES.
APPENDICES.
....41 _..42 .43 .45 . .•.4:5
.54
• •. .5:5
6\
63
68
usr
OF TABLES Tab le 2.LHounAllocatedtolntemship Activities. Tab le2.2:
Summery ofClientCharacteristicsBased onPresenti ngConcern.. Table2.3:
Summaryof ClientCharacteristicsBascdonGenderand PresentingConcern
Table 2.4:
Summaryof'Clie ntCharacteri stics byAge.Gender.andPresenting Concern.
.12
. ...14
..14
...IS TableJ.I:
Meanand StandardDeviationof Age,CeTtai.ntyScale.andlndec1sion Scale ... .46 TableJ.2:
F~uencyof AgesinSample Tab leJ.J:
Frequency of EachType of Hometo wninSample. TableJ.4:
Frequency of EachGenderin Sample TableJ.5:
ReliabilityCoeffi cientofSubscal es.
vii
..46
..47
...47
. ...48
TableJ.6:
Comparisonof Means.StandardDcviarioas..andNumber of Cases for Certainty Sale ByGendeTandGcog<apbicBackground... ... .49 TableJ.7:
Co mparison of Means. StandardDeviations.andNum berofCascsforlndccision
ScaleByGenderandGeographicBackground.. . SO
TableJ.8:
TwoWayAnalysis ofVariancc(ANOVA) forCertai nt)·Scale. Table3.9:
TwoWayAnalysisofVariancc(ANOVA )for lndecision Scale. Table 3.10:
.51
.52
OneWayAnalysis of Variance for Cenainty Scale of MaleSubjectsbyGeographic
Background.. . ..53
Table 3.11:
One Way Analysisof Varianc e forCertai ntyScaleofFema leSubjectsbyGeograph.ic
Background. .54
Table3.12:
One Way Analysisof VarianccforCenainty Scale ofRun.! SubjectsbyGender. .54 Tablc 3.1J:
One WayAnalysisofVarianccfor Certainty Scale of Urban Subjects ByGender.•••55
y;jj
LISf OFAPPENDICES
APPENDIX A
VideotapcI AudiOlap:PermissionForm. APPENDIXB
SummativeEvaluation. APPENDIXC
AnnotatedBibliography_ APPENDIX0
EatingDisorders
weesues .
APPEND IX E
lntakeInterviewForm. APPENDIXF
CaseSumm arySheet. APPENDIXG
Career DecisionScale (CDS) APPENDIXH
lnsttuctorCoosentForm . APPENDIXI
Parricipan tConsentForm• APPENDIX]
Demographic Data..
. ...68
.... .70
..80
. ...91
... .. . ... ...93
... . .95
... .. . .. .97
.99
....101
. 10 3
APPENDIXK
Certificate of ApprovalFaculty Committeefor Ethical Review of
ResearchIn\'OlvingHumanSubjects. . 105
ix
CIIAPTERONE INTRODUCTION Ratioulefor lite bterDsbip
One oftbeprogramoptions available togJlIduatestudentsin Educational P!ychologyatMemoriaJUnivers ity of Newfoundlandisa counselling internship.The internship consists of a twelve-weekplacementinan approved professional setting and is intended topermittheinterntogainvaluab lepracticalexperience.lntems are typically expectedtoparticipa te ina wide varietyof profess ional activities.Inaddition.,theyare alsorequired toconductastudydeemed appropriate.in terms ofconte ntandscope. to such aplacemen t, The studymustbeintegratedintotheinternshlp experienceand provideanopportunityfortheintern to systematicallyexamine.to alim ited extent, some aspectof their professionalactivity.
Theinternshi p wasthepreferred option forthewriterforthe followingreasons: Itwouldallow theintern to gain practical experience in eccasellingandtoapply theoreticalconccpslearned duringthe fonnalpartof theprogram..
2. Itwouldallowthe opporttmity for theinteTD10receivedirect professional supervisioninbothindividualandgroup counselling.
3. It wouldenable the intern to receive exposure to various theoretical awroaches andtec hniques incounselling
4. Itwould providethe opportunity to conduct a research project focusing onsome aspect of theintern's experi e nceincounselling.
11leSet'tiDg
TheCounselling CentreatMemorial Universlty of Newfoundland wasthesite chosenfortheinternship.Applicatioawasmadeto theCentre in the wintersemester of 1996.This was followedbyaninterviewbetweenthe applicantandDr.Elizabeth Church,Associate Professor inCounse lling,andDr.Elai neDavis,AssociateProfessorin Counse lling.Thisintervi ew was to discusstheintern'sinterestsinandreasons for pumringthe internship at thissetting.After this interView,the intern was offered the internship placement beginning on the first day of classes for the fall semester,1996.Dr.
NonnanGarlie.FacultyofEducation(Educational Psychology).agreed 10bethe Education Facultysupervisor forthemtemshi p.On-site supervision was tobeprovided byDr.MichaelDoyle,AssistantProfessor inCounsell ingattheCentre.
TheUniversityCounsellingCentre was chosen for a nwnberof reasons:
1. Itwouldprovidethe0ppol't\Ulity10haveveryhigh quality professional supervision.
2. TheMUNCounsellingCentreis anapproved andnationallyaccredited internship setting,
3. Access10a faculty supervisor whoiscross-appointed totheCentreandcould behighlyinvolvedinthesupervisionprocess.
4. The career-relatedexperiences involvedare hoped to build on priorpracticum experience asaCareer DevelopmentSpecialistattheCareerInforma tion Resource Centre (CIRC)andasanEmploymentCounsellor withHuman
Resources Develo pmentCanada(HROC).
5. Thequality ofleaming opportunitiesprovidedbytheservices offeredatthe Centresuchas exposuretotheCareerPlanningCentre.lnterpcrsonalProcess RecallTraining. groupcounseUingandindividualcounselling.
6. Itwouldgive theinternthe oppornmity towork withanadultpopulation.This wouldberelevan tto theactualsettinginwhichtheintc:multimatelyintends to work.
A descriptio noftheservices availableat theCentreare outli ned inthe COtP'l'jClling Centre RefmaJandCommu nityResourceHandbook(1994). Accordingto the~(1994),"tbeprimary function of the Counselling Centreisto help students release.develop.ordirecttheirpersonalcapabilities.Throughmdividuali.zed personal counsellinganda widerange of group programs.professionalfaculty attheCentre - with the assistanceof supervised internsandpncticumstudents from the vario uscounsellor trainingprogramson campus~helpstudentsto develop their ownunique resources- (p.s~
Inorderto satisfythisfunction.the Centre offers services in fourmainareas:
Learning EnhancementPrograms,CareerPlanning Centre,lndividualandGroup Coenselling,andCredentialsService.The followingisa description of these services takenfrom the ~ (l 994,p.5-6):
LamiDgEDu.cem~tprograms:The Centre offers anwnbel'ofsho rtcoursesand strUCtuRdworkshops inwhic h students lcam to applygeneral stntegics for handling
univasity-levelworkmorecffecti\'dy.Specifically,theseprogJUIlSprovide trainingin organizationallcchniquestoccsnprebeedstudy materialsand..later.10 reca.l1the materialsforessays,class presentations,andtests. Programs routinelyoffered include Speed ReadingandComprehension,Organizing Ideas forTcnn PapersandEssays.,and OralCo mmuni cation.
CalftrPlaDDmgCen tre:TheCareer PlanningCentre (CPC)isa drop-infacilitywhere students maycomeinformaJIy,without appointment, 10peruse variousbndsof career andeducational.information. Infonoatiooavai lab leinthe CPC can helpbroaden the student'sawarenessof various career altc:mativesandcanprovidedetailedinfo rmati on onthose alternatives. Otherinfonnatio n includes:
1. general careerplanning materials;
2. jobhunting,resumewriting,andmterviewingmaterials;
3. descriptionsof qualificationsneededandentrance requirements for various occupati~
guides 10differentprogramsofstudy available inCanada. theUnitedStases,and theCommo nwealth countries;and,
5. a completecollection of Canadian universityandcollegecalendan.
ladivid ual andGro u pCoa lUdlmliC:Inaddition10 individualizedpersonalcounse lling.
theCentre also offersgroupwork.and specializedtraining programs.Oftenthe intellectualandpersonal growth of many studentsisblockedbysuch phenomenaas fear oftestingsituations, continued bigbleve lsof cognitive and physicallln)USI,..(.fear of
assertingonc:seli,andotherdebilitatingconcerns.ProgramssuchasTest Anxietyand Assenivenes.sTraining areroutinely offered. as~Uasgroupcounselling for avarietyof pcrsona.Ic:oocems.Focussedgroupsare offeredinresponse tostUdentneedsincluding survivorsofsexualabuse,relationshipissues,andcareer planning
CndelltiabService:TheCentreprovidesajob-searchservicefor studentsinthe Facultyof Education.TheCounsellingCentre Credentials Service ooidsall relevant employmentdocumentsinacentralfile.For a small fee.copies arethensent to prospective employersatthe swdent'sreqUCSL
TheFacilities are openMoDday througb.Friday,9&.IIL10 5P.IILWiththe exception ofdle CredentialsServiceandspecialtests,allservices arefreeto ctUTentl.y registeredstudents.
The professionalfaculty attheUniversityCounselling Centre arelistedbelow:
Dr.EIi2abetbChurch.AssociateProfessorinCounselling Mr.Peter Cornish, Assrsam Professor in Counselling Dr.ElaineDav;s,AssociateProfessorinCounselling Dr.MichaelDoyle,Assistant Professorin Counselling Dr.JohnGarland.Associate ProfessorinOKmselling Dr.George Hurley, Director andProfessorinCounselling LesterMarshall,Reading Specialist
Dr.MarkSchoenberg.ProfessorEmeritus Wayne Yetman, AdministnttiveAssistantin Counselling.
'TheCentrealsohasa num berof cross-appointedprofc:ssJona.ls.Theseinclude:
Dr.CheriBethune.,Assoclatc Professor of FamilyMedi ciDe. Faculty ofMediciDe Dr.GaleBurford.Professor.School ofSocial Wort
Dr.Norm Garlic.Professor.FacultyofEducatioo Ms.Kathryn Hustins,As.sociatcProfessor.School of Nursing Dr.RaymondPenney,Associate Professor.DcpanmcntofPsycbology.
lDternsbip Goal!
Themain objectiv e fo r the internshi pwas10gainfurther practicalexperienceto enhanceprofess ional developmen t inthe areaof counselling;specifical lywitha popularionofadults.ThefollowingList ofgoalswereidentifiedtohelp meet this pTimaryobjcctivc.A detailed description oftheseactivitiesis foundintheChapterTwo. Goal.: Tobeeeese familiartritb theeoacensofa uainnitystudeat
po~latioawith respect to penocul.social,academic., aad career dOlll&ias.
Thiswasaccomplished through:a) engaginginindividual counselli ng for12- 1S contact bcursperweek;b) disseminatingoccupationalandacademicinformation to studentsvisitingthe Career Planni ngCentrefOf2-3 hoursperweek; c)readingand developing an annotatedbibliography ofapproximate ly IO-ISjournaLarticlesrelevant to thispopulation.
Goal 2: ToimproveiDdi:\<idllal C'OIIIlSCUiDK skillsbyideutifyiDg areasof penoD.1streagthaad remedialtiaa;areuof peno...1weakness.
Thiswasaccomplished through: a) videotapingall sessions withchents who gave consentfortaping; b)criticall yreviewing'ildeotapes eachweekandmaintaining a logofpenona.l reactionstocounsellingsessions;c) meetingfor2hoursperweekwith thefieldsupervisor(Dr.MichaelDoyle)todiscusscases.reviewsegments oftapes,and receive feedback oncounse llingskills;d) meeting aminimum ofthreetimes during the semester with the faculty supervisor (Dr.Norm.Garlie) 10discuss cases,reviewsegments oftapes.andreceive feedback oa counsellingskiI~e)meetingwiththe fieldsupervisor andfacultysupeTVisormidwaythroughtheinternshiptodiscuss the iDtern'sprogress;
f)meetingwith the field supervisorandfacultysupervisor attheend of the internship10 discussthe intern'sprogressovertheperiodoftheinternship.
GoalJ: To furt herdenlopa personalstyle
or
COUIl!lellingaad to expose the iateruto nrioustheoreticala pproac bestocoumellingand psychotherapy.This was accomplishedthrough:a)attendi ng~InterpmonaJProcess Rcca11Training sessions for aperiodof 8 weeks.This c;ross.professiongroupexperience isdesigned10c:nhanoebasic counselling skillsbyreviewingtapes,pranicipatioginskill building exercises.andapply;ng an inteTactional modelof counselling to one'sown counse llingexperiences;b)furthercompre hensivereadinganddevelopmentofan annotated bibliography(10-1 5 journal articles)in theareaof counselling research.
theories and techniq ues;c) exposure tovarious theoreticalapproachesoftrained professionals at the Centrebymeam of case confereocinganddiscussi ons ; d) attending
weeklyBrief CounsellinguainingseminarsfOl" a period ofSC'VeD.weeks.
Goal 4: Topia f...tller es.perieoceillthe ad ..ia iltntioa aad iDterpretatioa of studanlizm tests aad inve.toria.
Thiswasaccomplished by a) administeringandinterpreting testsandlnvemories to clients suchas theStroog Campbelllnterestlnventofy.wescbterAdultlntelligence Scale-Revised,SelfDirectedSearch,Myers-BriggsType lndieator.Beck Anxiety Scale;
b)reviewingthetests availableatthe CounsellingCentre;c)self-administeringsomeof the appropriate tests:d) if possible,assessingthestrengthofcomputer -basedcareer guidancetools suchas DISCOVER.andCHOlCES-CT.
Goal5: To piafurtberespeneeeeingroupdyulIlics.
Thiswasaccomplished by co-leadingan assertiveness traininggroupwithDr.
ElaineDavis.
Goal6: To p.rticipateillnse coafereaciBg "'itll othertrained professiouis.
This was accomplished by perncipencnin'«Cklyone-hourcase presentations withtheother staff members,Eachweek, one counselloratthe Centre. includingthe intern,willpresenta case whileother coceseljoes will offer feedback and suggestions.
Ga.1 7: To cooduct a rese-rcb project "'biell is compatible with tbeinterDslaip aadwill providethe iDlerawilli valuable ia fa rma tio n 00Cllreer ind~isiooamoog post-secoadarystu den ts.
Thiswasaccomplishedby:a)the initialresearchon the topicanddevelopmentof a draft proposal;b) intensiveresearchinthe area ofcarecr decisionmaking;
c) administrationof theCareerDecision Scale(CDS)to selected students infirstyear courses;d)~ooandanalysisofresultsof tbe CDS;e)thecompilationof the finalresearchreportwithrecouunenda:tio;f)regular consultation meetingswitb the Field andfacultyS~andg) submission oftbefinalreporttotheSc:bool of Graduate Studies forexamination.
Sapenisioa
Theresponsibility for supervision of tbeinternwillbeshared bytbeFaculty of Educatio n(Educational Psychology)andthe Memorial UniversityCounse llingCentre.
Spec ifically, supervision willbesharedthroughFacultysupervision byDr.NonnGar lie, aswellas throughField supervision byDr.MichaelDoyle.
Thefield SupeMsorbas the following responsibilities:
toconsultwith theinternandthe facultySupervisor duringtheperiodwhen theinternship proposalisbeing developed;
2. tohaveprimary~ponslbilityfor the ongoingsupeTVi~onofthemtern's counselling activitiesandin conjunction with the trainingDirectoratthe Centre, for the coordinationof alltheintern'sprofessionalcounsellingactivities conductedatthe COWlSCllingCen tre;
3. to facilitatethe intern'saccess toappro priate professionalopportunities and tothe professionalpersonnel at the Centreessential toafullandsuccessful internship experience;
4. 10anange for otherCentre faculty10serve:inanadjW'lC1 supervisoty capacity to
the intern where her professional activities are especiallyrelevantto their particular areas of expertise attheCentre;
to meetwith theintern and the Faculty Supervisor midway through the
internshipperiod to assess the intern's progressanddetermineanychangesin the internship as needed;
6. tomeetwiththeFacultySupervisorat theconclusionoftheinternship to conclude asummativcandprocessevaluationofthe internandher internship.
The FacultySupervisorhas the followingresponsibilities:
to consultwiththe internandthe Field Supervisorduring the periodwhen the internshipproposalis beingdeveloped;
2. to meetwiththe internand theFieldSupervisormidwaythroughthe interns hipperiodto assesstheintern'sprogressanddetermineany changes in the internshipas needed;
3. 10beavailablefor consultationpurposesdwing the internshipwhen required by theintern or field supe rviso r,
4. tomeetwiththeFieldSupervisorat the conclusionofthe internship to concludea swnmativeandprocessevaluation of the internandherinterns hip;
5. toencouragethe comp letionandsubmissionafthe final InternshipReport to the Schoolof Graduate Studies.
TheGraduateInternbasthefollowing responsibilities·
present to the FacultyandFieldSupervisors. earlyinthedeve lopm ent of the 10
intcmsh:ipproposal,awrittenoutlineoftbere:searcbcomponentincludingthe purpose.signific:anc:e.andmethodofinvestigation.oftheareatobestudied.as well asadr2ft ofthereview ofliterature;
2. discussdetailsoftheproposal,withSu:pcn'isoB.and arrange..inconsultation withtheSuperviso rs. detailsnecessaryfortheapprovaloftheproposal;
3. obtain approval fromthe EthicsReview Committee(Fac ulty of Education);
4. keepbothSuperviso rs informedoftheprogressofthc internship andresearch 1\
component;
S. set outto accomplishthegoals outlinedinthelntems hi pGoals section;
6. meetwith theField Supervisor aminimum of once per weekandthe Faculty Supervisor,aminimum. ofthrec timesduringthe semester to discuss cases, reviewscgmeDtsoftapes. and receive feedback on counsellingslcill~
7. meetwith bothSupervisors midwaythrough theinternshi p periodto assess progressand determineany changesoecdedintheinlernship~
8. meetwith bothSupervisorsatthe conc:lusioo.oftheinternshi ptoconclude.
summariveandprocessevaluation of the internandherinternship.
arrangewiththeFac ultySupervi sor a date for submissionofthecompleted Interns hip Report tothe SchoolofGraduateStudies.
10. followtheethica l guideli nessetforallUniversityCounsellingCen tre personnel;
I L followthe Guide linessetbytheEthi calGuidelines for ResearchInvolving Human Subjects.
CHAPTER"fWO
THE INTERNSHIP - A.DESCRIPTIO N OF A.CTIVITIES
Thischapterincludesadescription ofthe various activitiesundertaken duringthe thirteenweekinternship periodbetweenSeptember10andDecember6.1996A summaryoftbc:scactivitiesisprcsemedinTable21.
Table2.I:
Houa
Allog trr!toIntmJsbjpAcbyj tigActivity
IndividualCounse lling Group Counselling Career PlanningCentre(CPC) lme<peBonalProcess Recall(!P RJ ReviewofVideotapes Supervi sion Research and Reading MaintainingLogandCaseFiles TrainingSeminar CaseConf~g(1nservi ce)
TotalHoursAlloca tedto These Activities
Num ber of Hours
103 14 36 20 60 27 70 65 22 12
429 OrittitatiODAdivities
Onthe first morning of the internship,allthreeinterns weretaken ona tour ofthc Centre includinganexplanatio nofallrelevant proceduresandactivities.Thefirst week.
IJ involvedorientati on tothesurroundings.Ths included familiarizin goneselfwiththeOn Timeprogram(computerizedsched ulin g),paper
won.
protocol.client case management.plusmeeting one onoeewithallCounsellingCentre personnel.Actual client contactdidnotbeginWltilthe secondweek..IDdividul COllasdlillg
Owing the internship,the internprovided individual counselling to students on pcnonal. career,andacademic concerns.Theinternwas exposed toissu es socb as:
depress ion; suicidal ideation; relati onshipdifficulties;abuse(sexual.physical .and emotional);low self-esteem;sexuality,eatingdi5Ofders;copingwithalearni ng disability: copingwithschool demands;harassment;timemanagement;drugusc;
financialstress;assertiveness.;andavarietyof eereer-retaredconcerns.. lbe intern counselledatotal of28clientsfor arota!of103hours. Tbe clientsrangedinage from 19to37years.For all clie ntscombined.the mean numberof sessions was 3.68.The number ofsessionsrangedfromoneto thirteen.The mean nwnber of personalsessions was4.3;themean number of career sessionswas1.7 1;while formixed focus clientsthe meanwas6sessions (Table 2.2 ).Threeclientswereseen for ten or moresessions.three:
wereseenbetweenfiveandten times.andthemnainderwere seen lessthan five times.
Therewereeieemale clientsand nineteen female clients.aCtbemale clients.
twowereseen for personalreasons;six.forcareer; andone for mixedfocus (personal andacademic).Themean number ofsessions for malepersonalclie nts was2.Ssessices;
forcareer.1.5;andformixedfocus. 9.Ofthe femaleeuees,eight were seen for
personalreasons; eight. forcareer; andthreeweeeseen formixed focus(two for personaUcareerandone fo rpersonaJIacademic ).Tbemean Dumber of sessionsfor femal epersonalclientswas 6.25;for career,1.88;andformixedfocus 5.0(Tab le2.3).
Table2..2:
Sum maryof Q ign Cba!¥'f1':Jjstjg6a.st:dODPrt;;gntingConcmJ
14
Personal
MixedFocus ComblDed Table 2.3:
Mean Numberof Sessions
4.3 1.71
3.68
Summary ofC lj;n t Cb'TJet ed:mcsRa.g;donGenderand PresentingConcern
Mlli< fmIJJl:
Presenting N Rangeof Mean Number N Rangeof MeanNwnber
Con=n Sessions of Sessions Sessions ofSessions
-
CareerAcademic 0 1-41-2 2.50LSO 1-1-313 6.251.88Mixed 9.00 3- ' 5.00
Focus •
Note:•represents a combination ofpersona.l. careeraodIOfacademic coocems.
"
Table2.4further breaksdownthe client databyindicating theagerangeof clientsbased on their genderandpresentingconcem.Itis evidentfromthistablethat roostclients fallwithintheageranges of18to 20and21to 2S yean.Thiswouldbe expectedsincemost students oncampusare undergraduatestudents.
Table2.4:
SummNYgcqianCbwctqjsticsbyAr:C-.mderandPre;s.enringCpng:;m
Mllk f<miI<
Age P C A MF P C A MF
...
18-20 I 2 3
21-25 I 3 I 7 2 2
26-30 I I 3
31~35
36-40 I
Total 2
•
I• •
3KeyPresentingConcerns:
po - e -Cereer A-Academic:
MF -MixedFocus (Personal.Careerand/orAcademic)
Theinternmaintained a confidentialreactionlog fortbedurationof the internshi p.Thepurpose of thelogincludedself-re flectionandclient informa tionsuchas numberofsessions,demographics.,andbasicpresentingproblem.Themaintenance of thislog~tJycontnbutedto the professionaldl:velopment oftbeintern.. Bycompleting
16
thelog entriesattheend ofeach day.itbroughtclosure to the day'sevents, forced the interntothinkaboutbowthe sessions made herfeel,andprovidedvaluableinformation for the completionof tbcreport,
Groa pCoa asd.liag
Owingthe orientation meetingwith Dr.Elaine Davis,she mentionedher willingnesstohave an internco-lead the assertivenesstraininggroup offeredbythe Centre.Thisinternagreedtotheoffer immediately.Itwas an opportunity to leada somewhat~groupwithan experienced leader.
"Theintern spenttwo beers interviewingatotalofseven prospectivegroup mem bersto determineiftheywereappropriateforthis groupex peri en ce.Eight members. live femaleandthreemale.wereeverrtuaI.ly chosenbytheinternandDr.Davis toparticipatein thisgroup.
Tbegroupran forsixweeks with eachsessionlastingrwohoun.Theintern shared co-leedi ngdutieswhich included leadingdiscussionandexercises;assigning ho me work activities;goal setting;reviewinglogs;and.mini-lectures.
After eachsession.the intern metwith Dr.Davisto disc usstheintern' sprogress as agroupfacilitatorand discussanygeneralconcems eitherhadabout groupdynamics.
Upcoming sessionswerealso discussedandleader tasks determined. Ce>leadingthis groupwithan experienced counsellorallo wed the internto gainvaluab leexperienceand further develop groupleader skills;thus.,building on previousgroupcounsellingtraining.
17 CanerPlaDllmeCeatrr
Tbeinternperformedthedutiesof a career information assistant intheCareer Planning Centre(CPC)fOTtwo boonperweek.plusattendedtheCPC weeklymeeting wherecoocemsandquesUOQS~~aDdDeWmaterials introduced.Thetotal timespentonCPC activitieswastwenty-fourhours.. TheCPCis.drop-m facilitywhere students.andthegenera.Ipublic:,can obtainoccupatioaalinfomlation.Rc:sourcesinclude books.pamphlets.videos.andverticalfileswhichcontain occupationalinformationon a widerange ofspecific careers.The CPChasacompre hensivecollecti o n of academic calendars for Canadianuniversitiesand colleges.Inaddition.thereareguidesto study programsintheUnited StatesandCommon...eal.th countries.Final ly,thereis • collection ofbooks on topics such as job hunting, resumewritin g,intervi ewskills.wod abroad,jobareas relatedtospecific degree programs.andothergencn..Icareer planning materi al s.
Theintern'sactivitiesat theCPCconsisted ofhelpingpatro nslocateacademic infonnatiooincludi ng:entrance requirements, aptitudetests,and various alternative programsin differentoccupations; referral to other university services; and suggestion of referral forindividualcareer counsellingatthe CounsellingCentrewheredeemed.
appropriate.
IDterpe:~nalProcas ReaD
lnterpe rsonaJProcessRecal l (IPR) isaczoss..professionaldevelopmentgroup involvingthethree internsfromthe Centre.as wellasthreelimyearFamilyPractise
18 residentsfromthe MUN School ofMedicine.. Elgbl2Y..hoursessionsmadeuptheIPR portion oftheinternshi p.Dr.ElizabethChurch leadthis encounter.The topics covered included:
I.ThreeStageProblem ManagementModel;
2.Trea tment ofRapeVictims;
3.AsscssmcotandTreatmentof'ClientswithBorderline PersonalityDisorder, 4 SexualAbuse~
5.Post TrawnaticStressDisorder, 6.CoupleTherapy;
7.StressManagement;
8.SexualityIssues
Thefocus ofthe IPR encounters can beseparated into twomajor areasofski ll developmen tThesearc:
I. Theability to clearly understandwhatthe clientistryingto communicateinboth oven:andcovertmanners onbothcognitiveandaffective levels;and 2.The ability10recognize andunderstandtheimpactthatthec1iemishavingon us as
professionals(Kagan. Burford.,&.Garland.1988;ascitedinHwiey&GarLand.
1988,p.20).
Inaddition to covering the above cited topics.eachweek participan tspresented videotapes of patients! clients.Thesevideotapeswere usedas alearning experiencefor theparticipan lSin lPR Tapeswerediscussedaa:ording to the skilldevelopmentareas
I"
cited above.Thefocus.quiteoften becamewhatwe.as internswere thinkingandfeeli ng duringspecific: portionsofthe video tape being viewed,
RniewofVideotapes
At the beginningofeachinitialindividual counscUingsession.the intern requestedpermissiontovideotape:thecounselling sessions.Clientswhoagreed were askedto signaconsentform. asperthe regulationsatthe Centre (sec Appendix A).Of thetwenty-eight clientsseen.twelveconsentedto vidcolaplng the sessions (43%).Those whoconsentedrepresentedseYCDofthefOlD1CeD(50%)careee etieetsseen.fouroftbe ten(40%)personalclientsseen.aDdone offoor(25%)ofthemixed focus clients.
Timeconstraintsdid notallowtheinternto vie walltapesintheir entirety. Sixty hours were spent overthe duration of theinternshipviewingthe tapes.Thisamounted to approximately5hoursperweek.Themainpurposeof reviewing the tapes wasto critica.llyself-evaluateandto prepare forsessions wherethesupervisor evaluated the counsellingskills and style oCtileintern. Selectedvideotapes were viewed during supervi sion.,lPR.and TrainingSeminars.Clientconfidentialitywasaprimary conce rn.
Videotapes wereDOtremovedfromthesiteandwereerased at theendaCmeinternship.
Sapervisioa
Fie ld supcMsion fortheinternship wascarriedout by Dr.MichaelDoyle.One hour- bi-wee kl ymeetin gs (total lytwenty-four hours ) werehel d to discuss progress and coocems, aswellas to critically disc uss casesandreviewsegments ofvideotapes.The twoboonspentinsupeMsion.withDr.Doyle,wereinvaluable to the intern's
20 professi onal development.Dr.Doyle wassupportive.challen gin g.andinsigh tful;a com binationthatmade him a commendablementCM'. Dr.Doylecomplet eda summative evaluation oftbis intcm(AppendixB).
Facultysupcnision wascarriedoutbyDr.Nom1aDGarlicwhois alsoacross- appointedfacultymember oftheCounseUingCentre.Dr.Garlicmetwith theinternand Dr.Doylemidwaythroughthesemestertoassessprogress.Healsoattendedone scheduled supervision session. aswell astheintern'scase conferencing presentation.
Finall y,Dr.Elaine Davisprovidedsupervision oftbeAssettiveoess Training group bymeetingwiththeintern onceperweekto discussgroupconcerns,leadership, andupcoming sessions(total3 OOUB)
Research aod Reading
All counsellorsandinternsat theCentrebaveeight bours per weekat their disposalwhichthey can <Ie\-oteto conductingresearch.Atotalof seventyhoW'Swas spenton researchandreading.Thetimewasvaluabletotheinternandwasused to com p letethe research portion oCthe internship,as wellasto work onrequirem entsfor the intemslU preport,Inaddition. timewasspent reading on a variety of topics related to the intemsbip setting; especially those related to clientCODCmISintheintern'scaseload.
AnIlI1DOWCdbibliographyofarticlesandbooksreaddwingtheinternship is presented.in Appe ndixC.Oneappro achto researchthatwasusedregardinga specific clientissue (anorexia)wasusingthe internet to accessinformation. Alist oftbeseapplicab leweb sitesisincludedinAppendixD.
21 MaiataiDiagLogandCueF"lks
For the dUl3tion ofthc internship,theinternmaintained adailylog ofactivities.
Thisservedasasummary of dailyactivities.includedreecticesto events of the day (especiallycounsellingsessions).andhelpedto bringclosuretothe day'sactivities.It wasvery valuable in helping10 compile information for the internship report. A total of 65 holmwasspentinthe areaof maintainingthelogandcase files.
AsrequiredbytheCentre.theinterncompleted an intakeinterviewsumnwy fonn outliningeach client'shistofy.interviewer' sCannulation.. recommended dlspositio n,andactiontaken(AppendixE).In addition.theinternmaintainedcase notes on each clientsession.Theinternalsomaintaineda master list of client names,datesof sessions,andpresenting concem(s)(ie. personal. academic.and/or career).Thismaster listwaspassedon toDr.Doyle at theend ofthcinterns hip.
Towards theendoftheinternshi p, the internwasrequired to completecase summarysheetsonallclients.Thecasesummarysheet entailed abricfoutlineof presentingconcern.datesseen.testsadministered,abriefcase summary.and who terminatedtheeounsetlo r-c tienrrelatio ns hi p(AppendixF). All casefiles~then passed on toDr.Doyle,whoreviewed andco-signedlhem.
Tn-iaing Semiaaf
Thisportion of the internshipwassplitbetweentwoseparate topics.Thefirst areawascareer counsellingandwasled by Dr.Elaine Davis.Itlastedfour~ksand totalledeightholn.Themostwidelyusedcareer assessmentinstrumentatthe
22 Counselling CentreistheSuong-Campbel l lnterestInventory.Thisis.computerized interestinventory.Itwasdeemedimportantthai:
a n
internsbeintroducedandmade familiarwiththistestsince wewouldbeusingitwithour careerclients.Panofhis familiarizationprocessincl uded takingthetestoursetvesand going overtheresults.We also completed theSelf DirectedSearch,Destiny,and theMissouriOccupatio nalCard Son.AspartofttlecareercounsellingII3iningseminar.~alsovisitedtheEmployment Centre located in Cougblan Collegeat MUNforatom and explanation of services.Thesccood pottionoftbe trainingseminarwasdevotedto brief counselling. It was heldseven times fortwo hours totallingfourteenbowsfor thesemester.Dr.
Elizabeth Church ledthisbrief counst:llingapproachtopsychotherapy.It centered aroundthe theories of Struppand Binder (1984)and Lubors kyandCrites-Ouistopber (1990).aswell assucci nctlyconsideringsoluti o n- focusedbrief therapy.Brief instructi on anddiscussions wereheldoneach approach.Vidcotapc:s ofinternswereanalyzedusing theSuuppond Bi""'"endthe
Lubomy
ondC~_ h e s.Cue Coarerncing(luenitt)
Duringthecourse ofw internship.the intern participatedintwelveweeklyone- hourcase conferencinWi.nservice sessionswiththecounsellorsat.theCentre.Thistime wasusedtodiscuss Centre concerns,as wellasmeetuniversity personnelsuchas clergy.
Counc ilofthe Stud entsUnion(CSU)executive;AcademicAdvisin g Centrestaff;
StudentRecruitment, Promotion.andRetentionstaff;anda counsellor fro m Sir Wilfred GrenfellCollege.Time wasalsousedforstaffmembersandinternstopresentcasesto
2J theirpeersforinputFollowing theprcsent&tioo.staffmembersaskedquestions.
providedfeedback andmade suggestionsforfutW'eactioo.withthespecific client.
Thetotempeesemedher case onNovemberIS,1996.TheIlClUaIselection aCme clien t case 10beprcsentc:dwasdoneincoosu.Itatioowith01'.Doyleandconsentedtoby theclientThecase conferencing presentationprovided theoppommity fortheinternto domoreconcemrared researchandreceive valuable feedbackfromsta:ffmembcrs.In addition to presenting inform ation about theclient' s issuesand the intervention. the internalso took the approac h of talkingabouthergrowthasa counsellorfrom the contact withthis client
Go:t.IAttaiament
Thischapter presented a descriptio n of'tbe various activities undertake n by the internduring the internshipperiod.Itisevidentfromthe outline of activitiesthatthe intern engaged in a varietyof activitiesthatcontrib utedto.highdegree of professiona1 development.Theintern feelsconfidentthatshe has achieved the goals set outpriorto the onset oCtileinterns hip.Thesevenbroadinternshipgoalsand howeachwasexpected tobeaccomplishedwere specificallyoutlined in ChapterOne.These willbriefl ybere- visited andaddressc:d.
GoalI wasto become fami liaewiththe concerns of aunivers itystudent populationwithrespect to personal,social. academicandcareer domalns .This was attainedthroughengaging inindividualcounsellingfor a totalof 103bours;workingat the Career PlanningCentrefor 36holm;and.developinganannotatedbibliography.
24 Goal2wastoimprove individual eeunse llin gskillsbyidentifyi ngareas of pcnonaJstrengthandremediatingareas ofpenooalweakness.This wasaccomplished through:vldeotaplngclient sessioes;criticallyreviewingvideotapesandmaintai.ning • log ofpersonalreactions to counsellingsessions;and.meetingswithfield and/orfaculty supervisor(s)todiscuss counsellingsessions.reviewsegmentsofupes.. receive feedback 00counsellingskills. aoddiscussthe intern'sprogress.
Goal3wastofurtherdevelop.personalstyle of counsellingand to exposethe intern to varioustheo reticalapproaches tocounselling andpsychothera py.Thiswas achievedthroughparticipatinginInterpersonalProcessRecall andBriefCounselling sessicesLedbyDr.Churc~attending caseconferencingsessionswiththeother counsellorsatthe Centre;and,furtherdevelopment ofaDannotated bibliography.
Goal4wastogainfurtherexperi encein the administrationand interpretati onof standardized tests andinven tories.Thefollowingtestswereadministered tocheats, self administered,and/orreviewed.by theInternStron g Campbelllnteresl lnventory.Self- DirectedSearch.Destiny,MinnesotaMultiphasicPersonalitylnventory-2,Missouri OccupationalCardSort.Myers-BriggsTypelndicator,BeckDepression Scale,and the CareerMaturity loventDly.
GoalSwasto gainfurtherexperienceingroupdynamics.Thiswasachievedby co-leadi ngan assertivenesstraininggroupwithDr.ElaineDavis.
Goal6 wasto participate incase conferenc ingwithother trainedprofess ionals.
Thiswasaclrievedbyparticipationin~klycase conferencing sessions with other
2' cccesenors.Theintern.berseff presenteda caseandobservedotherinternsand ccunsetloesdothesame.
Finally.goal7wastoconductaresearchprojectcompatiblewiththeinternshi p thatwouldprovide theintern withvaluab leinformation on career indecision amon gJXl'5lP sccoodarystudents-Thiswasaccompl ishedthrough researebanddevelopmentof.dnft proposal;administration.interpretation,andanalysis aftheCareer Decision Scale;
regularconsultationwiththefacultysupetvisor,and.compilationandsubmission oftbe finalinternshipreportto the Scboclof GraduateStudies focexaminarion.
CODchuioD
TheexperienceattheMUNCOlDlSClling Centre enabledtheinterntoworkwitha populationof youngadultswithawidevarietyof presentingissues.This experiencewas madeevenmore valuabl ebythedirectsupervisionof an experienced psychologistAsa result,thecounsellingsk..illspossessedbytheinternwereevenmore refined.The opportunitytopartJdpalein professional developmentseminars andactivitiesenabled theintern tofurtherdevelopand enhanceher theoreticalorientation.Inconclusion,the oppo rtunitytointern at the CounsellingCentrewasconstructiveandrewarding;onethat wouldberecommendedtoanygraduatestudentinEducationalPsychology.
CIIAPTER THREE RESf.ARCHCOMPONENT
8ad<gJoaad
Studentswhomakethedecisiontoattenduniversityusuallyfallinto one ofthree categories:havingmade a career decision,intheprocessofmaking a career decis ion,or nothavingmadeanysort of career decisionotherthanwhere theywillattendpost- secondaryscbooIing. With the latter group.the decision toattenduniversitymayhave beeninfl uenced byparents~peerswithoutthe individual baving afirmgraspon where thisdecisionwillicad.
Moststudentshave a guidance counselloraJ:their b.igbschoolthroughwbicbthey canavailof career counsellingservices.Whetheroroat thislastgroupofstudentsused these services orbenefitedfromthemis questionable.TOOitionai career counselling techniques,such&5provis ionof careerinformati o n. use of interestinventori esand aptitudetests.mayhavefailed. Somethingispm.-entingeffectivedecisionmakingonthe panoftheseindividuals.Theseclientscanbequite challengingtocounsel(Larson., Busby,Wilson,Medora.&Allgood.1994a).
Sta te mentofPurpose
Thisstudywasdesignedtodetermine theproportionoffirs:IyearMemorial Universi tyofNewfoundland studentswhocanbecategorizedascareer indecisive.It willfocus onthe comparisonoftheresultsontheCareer DecisionScale (CDS) based on: a)growingupin an wban versusruralenvironment (ie.geographic background);
b)geudc:r, aDd,c)aninte:neti on ofgeogsaphjc background with geodc:rto sec ifany
significant differences existamongthesubjects.
Indecisivestudents mayneedmorethanoccupationalinforma tion and traditional assessmenttechniquesto make an appropriate career decision The methodologyusedin thisstudyallowed fortheearly identificationoftbosestudentswho may~more tmeesive assistanceinpeparingfortheworldofwork..Tomaintainanonymityamong subjects. their names wereDOlrequiredduringdatacollecti on. TelephoneCODtactwith individual subjects aftertheadministrationoftheCDS,however did take place iftbe subj ectwishedto know their resultsonthe test Otherwise,all participantswere informedthatcareer counselling services canbe obtainedattheUniversityCounse lling Centre.
SigDif"acaKe
Alargenumberof MemorialUniversi ty students comefromarural setting.
StatisticsfromtheI99S Fal l semesterwereusedthroughout thestudyand they indicate that,of the students whowerefrom Newfouadjandandwereregisteredas full-time students,43.3%identifiedtheir home town as beingone:ofNewfoondland'sthreeurban centres (StJohn's,MountPearl.andComerBrook)and 56.1% identifiedtheirborne townasbeingnuaI(OfficeoftbeRegistrar,1996).Forthepwposc:ofthisn::sc:arch, urbancentres includedStJohn's,MountPearl,andCorner Brook.. All other communitiesin the provincewereconsideredrural.The1995 statisticswereused becausethestudywas completedinthe Fall semester of 1996 and the statistical bmakdown forthatsemesterwasDOlyet available.
2.
Itwasofinterest to seeifgeographicbackgroundhadany signjficant effect on student'sabilitytomakeeffective career decisions.This decision making abilitywas determinedbytbeirsc:ore()Qthe Career Decision Scale(Osipow.1980XAppc:odix G).
TheCareer Decision Scale(CDS )is thepremier scalecitedinthe career indecision literanae(Rojewili.1994a,1994b;Fouad.1994;Chartrand&:.Camp, 1991;Meier.
1991).The Career DecisionScalewasthefirstpublishedscale thatattemptedto measurethe antce:ederltSor componentsof careeriDdecision{ChartraDd&:.Camp.1991~ Itidentifies barricn that arc preventing anindivlduaJ.frommaking career decisions.It canbeusedas a basisfor career counselling.to monitortheeffectiveness ofcareer counse llingprograms,andfo rresearchoncareer indecisiveness (Meier. 1991).It isa 19- Ite m, self-report measurethatprovidesatotal score ofcareerindeci sio nOsipow(1980) comc:odsthe CDSisbestinterpreted as awUdimensiooaJmeasureof career indecision (as citcdinChartrand&:.Camp,1991).
Peoplewhogrow upinan urban enyjronment mayhave accessto a wider variety of career infonnation than thosewho growupinruraJ.settings.Infact.Rajewski(l994a) maintains thatnuaIstudents often experience unique and difficult burien tosuccess ful career preparation. Hegoes00to statethat-problems aredue:to
....,de
gapsbetween rum! and urban erees intheavailability of school and community resources,post- secondary educational opportunities,.em ploymentoptions,and accesstoneeded programs and services-(p.357).Anunderstanding of relevantdifferences ofurbaIV rural b6ekgroundonthepert of eccnsetlcesWill facilitateaccuratecounsellor intervention.29 Inaddition 10 considering geographic background.thisstudylook edat the effect ofgenderon careerdecisionmaking.The writer wasinten:sledin seeingifgender bas anysignificant effectin thestudent'sability10make effective careerdecisions.with regardtothe score00the CDS.Statisticsfrom the 1995 Fallsemest er indicatethat,of thestUdentswhowen:fromNewfoundlandandwereregisteredasfull-timestudents.
42.5%wereidentifiedas maleand57.5%wen:identified as female(Officeoftbc RegistJar.I996).
Gender is alsoanimportantissuewithregardto careerdevelop mentandcareer counselling(Gab.Osipow,&:Given, 1995).Anunderstanding of relevantgender diff~incareerdevelopmentonthepanof counsdlon shouldalso facilitate accurate counsellor intervention.
Thethirdcompariso n investi gatedinteracti on betweenurbanIruraJbackground and gender.Conceivablybeingfrom •I'Unl1environmentandbeing female,for instance.
couldputthe student at •furtherdisadvantagewithregardto career decision making.
Review ofLneratere
Thereviewofliteratureis presentedin thefoUowing fannatI)adiscussionof decisionmaking as it relates to career development; 2)degreesandtypes of career indecision;3)geographicbackground implications for decisionmakiDg;4)gender implicati ons;and finally,4)the interaction ofgenderandgeographicbackground.
Ceree e DevdopmeataadDecisioaMakia&
ChartrandandCamp( 199t)definedcareer developmentas'"thefonnatioo.of a work identity orprogrcss1onof career decisions,and/orevents as influenced bylifeor wOfkexperience., education., oo-the--job training.01"otherfacton..(p.2).They went on 10 indicatethatresearchinto careerdecisionmakingisa micro-analysis ofcareer development,withthe focus being on specificprocessesbywhichvocational decisions aremade.HerrandCramer(1992)stated"Dedsioos are not simplybenign.independent behaviorsthatpesoesemitimpulsively...(they)are likethetipoftheK:ebcrg;they symbolize.but donotdescnbeallthe hidden meaningsofa choice,thefactors thatshape it, orthehopeor despairthat attended theparticular decisiontaken "(p.164).
Decisionmakingisalearnedprocesscrucial 10careerchoice.Bergland(1974) listeda seriesofstagesthat decision makers shouldbehelpedto negotiate:I) Defining theproblem;2) Generatingahematives; 3)Gatheringinformation; 4) Developing informationseekingskills;S)ProvidingusefulSOW"CeSofinformati~6)Processing information;7)Makingplansandselec:tinggoals;and,8)Lmplementing and evaluating plan (as cited in Herr&Cramer,1992,p.609).
Theabovedecisionmakingprocessisquitesimil ar 10theDecision Making Modeloutlined inCahill(1993).Thiscareer explorationprogramhas been usedin Newfoundl and highschoolsthroughadistance educati onprogramdesignedfor young women.Thisparticularmode ldescribeddecisionmakingaccording 10 the following steps:"I)Define exactly whatitisyouhaveto make. decision about;2)Gather allthe
3\
information you need rtgardingthissituation;3)Identifyallyour poss ible choices;
4)Choosetheoptionthatseemsbest foryou(coosideringthe advantageSofeach);
5)Decide bowtoputyourchoiceinto action;and.6}EvaJuatehowwellyourplanis workingandmake changes to theplanif necessary"(p,67)
Diffic ultiescanarise~withintheprocessofdecision making.Doeof thecounsellor'srolesisto help identifytheconfrooting issue orproblemandprnvidc::
assistance tobelptheclient overcom eit.Unnoticed.thisproblemwill likelyimpedethe clientfrommakin ganeffective decision;in thiscase, a career decision.Animportan t questionfor counsellorsandreseerebers becomes"wbarpm.entseffectivedecision making onanindividualbelT"or likewise'"whatarethe antecedentsthatimpede career choi ce ?" (Herr&Cramer,1992).
CareerIlIded sioa
Tberearevaryingdegreesofcareerindecis10nand associatedissues.lucasand Epperson(1988)collectedand analyzed da1a onundecidedcollegeundergraduates.Five typesofundecidedsubjects emerged from their study:a)welladjustedstudentswho wereworkingontheir vocationaldecisio n;b)studentslessinterest edin careers;
c)studentswholacked motivariOlltobeginthe decision makingprocess;d)veryanxious students whowen::unclearabouttheirdecision;and.c)well-adj ustedstudentswho\1oUe close 10decidingbutmainlyinterestedinleisureactivities.
Vondracek..Hostetler.Schulenberg,andShimizu(1990) collectedandanalyzed data usingtheCereerDecision Scalewithjuniorandseniorhighstudents. They
J2 identified fourtypesof career indecision: a)studentswhoexperiencedconfusionand lack ofexperienceincareer decisionmak:ing;b)studentswhooeedcdsupportin decision making; c)studentswhofoundseven.Joccuperiooal alternativesattractive;and d)thosewithserio us career indecision, excessiveanxiety,andextemallocus of control.
Inasimil ar study,WanbergandMucbiDsky(1992 ) divided undergraduate college studentsinto
row-
groupsbased on decidednc:ssandst1Jdc:rJu'coocems:confident decided,anxiousundecided.concerneddecided.andindifferentundecided.Finally,Cohen.Chartrand.andJo wdy (1995).dividedsubjectsof theirstudyinto four careerindecisionsubtypesorgroups. Theseinclude:
a)ready todecide.dc:scnbedashavinglow anxiety,highself-esteem,and good vocationalidentity.b) developmem:al lytmdccided,chanacterized as emoti onall y stable butDOtyethaving a clearpictureofthemselves ortheworld ofwork;
c) choice anxious, characterizedbyreportsoftugh choiceanxiety,littleneedfor career information,andlo wvoc atio nalidentity; and d) chronically indecisive, cbaractcrizcdbyreports of lowvocationalidentity.a highneedforcareerandself lnformation, lowgoaldirectcdncss.andlowself-esteem(p.440).
Meier (1991) makesa validpointthatshouldbestressed. Being undecidedisnot necessarilya negative statetobeavoided,eventhoughthis viewpointseems tobe inhemJlinmuchof tbc literarure.1be vocationaldecisioeprocessmayresemblea loopwhereindjvidualstryonadecision.much like anarticle ofclothing,anddeterminc:
ifitfits.Ifthe decisionisinappropriate,itisimportant toencouragesucb individualsto tacklethedifficulttask ofrc:-deciding"(p.149).
33 Rojewski (l994a) distingui shedquitenicelybetweenindividualswhoare undecidedabouttheircareersandthosewhoare,bynature.generally indecisive.He statedtba!beingundecided&bootanoccupatiooisaoormaI.temponrydcvc:lopmcma1 stage.Thesepeople areDOtexperiencinggrc:alstressorpressure~ngtheircareer- related.decisions.They are merely gathering informationaboutthemselves.ccccpanons, theworldofwork,and/orthedecisionmakingprocess.Ontheotherband,individuals who are indecisivearethoughtto havecertaintraitsor characteristicstbat preventthem frommabDgcarcer orany majordccisioasCorthatmatter.Beingundecidedmightmean thatoneisin theprocessof making a decision,bt4there isnorealproblems being experienced,Itiswhenthe indecisivenessprevents the individual from ultima tely making a decision,thatthereis aproblem.Therefore.theremust be a clear distinction betweencareer"undecided'andcareer'indecisive'.
Geognphk BadgrolllDdImplic=atio u
Quite often, students growingup insmallerruralsettings have more limited access to career developmcminformation and services thanthose who liveinanurban centre.Somerun.lissues which could interferewithsuccessful career development might include:geographic isolation,feweremployment opportunities, lack of ec:onomic vitality,restrictedaccess to communityservices.limitedcurriculum.restrictedaccess to acceleratedacademic programs,and lower educationalandvocationalachievement (Rajewski.1994b~Hall&.Kelly,199').Fortheseandotherreasons.peopleliving in ruralareastendtobemore economically,educationally,andvocationallydisadvantaged
34 than theirurbancounterparts.lDhisstudy onpredjcting career matwity attitudes, R.ojavsk:i(1994b)determinedthattbedcgreeofcareer iDdccisionwastheslngIe most importantvariable forcareer immaturesubjectsamonghissampleofnnlyouth.
Acounter argument can be made,boweverthatruralJUIbandiscrepan cies are diminishing. Thisdecrease maybedue toinfluencessuch as standardized education;
improveduansporwioD andioauscdcontactwithlargercentres;as~Uas accessto varioustypeSof media whichtransmiturbanculture,lifestyl es.aDdinformation torura.I
&!US(Poole, Langan-Fox& Omcdei,1991).Widespread endeavours are ongoing. such as Creation and MobiJi.zationofCounse llingResources forYouth(eAMCRY) whichis aninitiativeof tbe CanadianGuidance andCounsdlingFoundationaimedatimproving careercounselling servicesforyouthwiththegoalof enablingthemtoeffective ly enter thelabour market (Hiebert, 1992).Asafme publicationdateof Hiebert'sarticle.41 CAMCRY projectswere:nearingcompletion or already completedat18collegesand I.D1iversities acrossCanada..
Jeffrey. Hache,andlehr(1995)gathered information to determineandaddress career-relatedneeds ofrura.lyoung peoplein Newfoundland Theyperformedaneeds assessmentaimedatgatheringdata00issues of concern,commentson."ailablc resources,5OW'CeSofsuppon, triedaDdusedsolutionstoproblems.,unsuccessfu]
strategies,andexpecta tio ns.They used a "bottomup"strategy togatherdata. They went dim;tlyto parents, young people.andinformedothers who livedinrura.I settingsand wereknowledgeableaboutthe rura.Isituati on.ThefollowingSC'm1themeswereurived
3S atand.innan,used to developspecific support products 10 addressthecareer related needs ofrun.lyouth:-I)career-retered needs ofruraJyouth;,2)career-rda1edoec:dsof nnJ _ 3)SCC<>Ddary scbool "..,...,....lattdneed>;4)""".SCC<>Ddarylnining ODd
educationalneeds;S)community-basedneeds for careerInforman c n; 6) community needs forsupportservices;and,7}suggestions offeredbyrespondents 10~career- relatedneeds- (p. 57).
Ina relatedstUdy,LehrandJeffrey(1996) examined. the role playedbyparentsin career identificationand career seeking activities ofrural youthinNewfoundland.They focused on the perspectiveofparents'needsinhelping their children makeinfocmed career decisions.This researchwasbasedon the assumption.that~do significan tly influence theirchildren'scareer choices .andthus should be considered imponan t agents inthetaskofbelpingyoung people make infonned career choices"
(p.241).Theautbonascertainedthat rural parents believe thattheirchildren havethe abilitytocompetewithurbanstudents.butthaitbc:separentslackIrnowkdgcofdi'lel"Se careers,ready access to career infonnation,aswellasany supportnetwo rks onalocal and distantlevel.Theauthors concludedthatprograms shouldbe devised to aid parents inhelpingtheir children make effecti ve decisionsbyfocussingupondevelopingeffective networksamongeach otherandcomnumication skillswiththeir children.
Counsellorsneedto take geographicbackground intoaccount when providing careercounscUingservicesto clients.Accordingto CahillandMartland( 1993 ).many assumpbooscommonlyheldby careerCOI.DlSeUorsIRbasedonDOI1IISofcareer
36
developnentfromanUlban-lndusbialperspectiveandare.therefore.lncompanb le or unsuitablefor usewithcareerclientsinpcripbcJal regions oftbeCOIJrltfy.Rural residentsarequiteoftenexposedto a'different reality'andmay havedeveloped different social and economicstructuresandcareer-rela tedconcepts.Indeed.theirvalues.
practises.andsocial order are quite differentthantheir urban counterparts(Cahi ll&.
Manland.1993).Growingup inarural environmentm&X haveput theclien tat. disadvantagewith regardtocareerdevelopncntandcareerdecisionmaking.
Counsellingmayhaveto helptheindividual compensatefor disc:repancies ordiffermces inearly careerdevelopment opportunities.
GflIder lmplial tlo u
Littledoubtexiststhatgenderisanimportantdetermining vari able in an individual'scareer development. The issue of genderdifferenceswithregard to career counsellingbasbeenwide lyresearched (Mathieu.Sowa &:Niles.1993;Cook.1994;
Leung&:Plake.,1990;and.Gari.Osipow&.Givan.1995).Fouad(I994)exam ined researchon vocationalchoicebased 00 gender.She coochJdedthatresearchhas focused ondifferences betweenwomenwantingtoworkatan occupation andthoseDOtwanting toworkat an occupation; on differencesbetweenmeDand women;and.on choicesto moveintooccupations traditionallydominatedbytheoppositesex. Meier(1991) found thatgender differenceswere demonstratedin a variety of career outcomes.These includedarestrictedrange of occuptUional alternatives forwomen,over-representanoe ofwomeninlow-paying occupations.andgreater differences for womenbetween
37 abilities and achievement
Gati etal(1995)attempted to identify possiblesources ofthe observed differencesinthe career choices of women and men. They used the term'aspect'to refer to"anypersonalfactor.consideration. oraiteri onthatis rdcvantto the individualfor comparingand evaluatingalternativesintheprocess of career decisionmakin g" (p.294).
Theirmajor finding revealedthattherewereconsiderab legenderdiffere ncesinthe within-aspcct pn:fermcesthatmight definetheborders oftheac:c:eptablealternatives;
for example.
worong
hours.worbngcooditions.degJttofsc:cwity.possibilityfor advancement, and fringe benefits.LarsonetaI(l994 b)investigatedgenderdifferences inpsychological problem sin thecareer decisionmakingprocessof collegestudents.Theseresearchersusedthe CareerDecision Diagnostic Assessment(CO DA).anlnstrumentthatprovidesthe counsellorwithboth a general measure of psycbological blocks to career decision making (ie.thetotalCODAscore)andfive specific measures of psychologi calblocks (life goal awareness.decisionanxiety,authority orientation, luck&fate orientatio n, and secondary gain).ResultsindicatedthattherewereDOgenderdifferencesinglobal level s ofproblems of careerdecision making.However.womenreportedII10Rproblemswith life-goalawarenessandauthority orientationthanmen.Men reponed more problems withsecondarygainmotivationsthan didwomen.
Luzzo(1995)studiedtheeffect ofgenderdifferences ofcollege students'career matmity.Hisfindingssuggested that perceptionsofbarriersto careeraaainment,.whic h
3 .
might initiall ybeviewed as problematic.mayserve as a motivating force in many students'career developmenLBergeronandRomano(1994)examinedthreelevels of vcx::atiooaluxIeducat:iooaIindecisionamonguniversitystudents:decided.tentati~ly decided,aDdundecided.NosigniflCU1teffectsM:R:lXtcnniDedfor gender.
VanBuren,Kelly,and (WI(1993) staled:...women'soccupati onal choicesare influenced byperceptions of gender appropriatellC$$,pre-market educationand training restncti ngqualifi cati oo ofwomen. beliefthat certainjobs an:DOtavailable 10women, anticipation offamilyobligatioos..andignonux:cof availableceeces"(p.101).Thereis astrongneed for specificcareer counselling inte:rVentionsthatwill persuadeyoung women toconsider both theissueof penonaJsatisfaction and the economicbenefits of nolrtraditiona!occupationalchoice.Theseauthorsstressedthatmodellingisimponant (f youngwomensee nontraditionaloccupationalchoices actuallybeing made by both men andwomen.itwillbe.convincingargwnentfortbc:m10alsopursuethese aven ues
Genderdifferences., ifthey exist(and the researchisconflictin g),mustbe recognized not only by researchers but also by career counsellors.,whoshould take into account thespecificcharacttristics of eachsexand tailor the counsellingprocesstotheir needs.Fouad(1994)suoogtyurgesthatcareerchoicemodelsdevelopedformen may DOtapply towomen'scareer choice.Ifcounsellonhave.betterUDderstandingofgender differences.itmayhelp them improvethequality oftbeir counselling for all clients.
whichwould in tum improvethequal ity of thecareer decisions made bythe client.
39 Inkradioa ofGeaderaadGeocrapltica.dlgrou.d Poole. Langan.FoxandOmodei (1991)!itlJdjcdcareer orientationinwomen from varied geographic backgrotmdsinAustJalia. They foundthat differencesexisted among lbc:segroupsand madeseveral gcnera.Ii2ationsaboutthe determinants ofcareer orientation.1bcsevariableswhich can have adirectorindirectinfluence include:
..educatiooa.lattainment. socialclass.parentalaltitudes,parentalandmaritalstatus.
occupati onalexpectationsandaspirations., external constraims.,'affect'variablesofwork satisfaction,traditional sex-roleexpectations.and prioritizing ofpartners'careen"
(p.988).Basedonthesevariables.theauthondeveloped atbeomica1model which attemptstoexplai n'"boweducationalandoccupatiooa.I~andskillsarc acquiredand bowselection ofcourses. ccccpeaoes,andfields ofworkaremade- (p.989).Itwould beinterestingtoseeiftbeirmodelisappticabl eandif tbcresultscan begeneralizedwithwomeninnaaJandurban areasofCanada asopposed toAustralia.
Rojewski(1995).studiedtheimpactof at-riskstatusinexplainingoccupational aspiratio nsand expectationswithmaleandfemalerural students.Itisinterestingtonote thatbediscoveredruralWOOleDappearedtomaintainhigher occupllriooalaspirations thantheirmaleCOWltcl'plUU. Itisnotewonhy that his samplewere deemed'at-risk'and wereDOtdrawnfrom the generalruralstudentpopulation.
Hall,Kelly,and Van Buren(199 5)studied, amongotherthings.the effect or community of residenccandsex on adolescentoccupationalinterests usingHolland's VocationalPreferenceInventory.Theylooked at priorresearchinthe areaandfound
40 twostudies (Middleton&.Grigg,1959;Sewell&;Ornstein,196 5)that foundevidence of a positive relationbetweenthesizeoftbe community ofn:sideoceandlevel of occupationalaspirationinboys.butnotingirls(ascitedinHall,Kelly,andVan Buren.
199 5). The results ofthestudyinquestionindicateda significantinteractionbetween community of residenceandsex onadolescentcareerinterests.
Asimilarstudyexaminedtheeffects of genderaDdcommunity of residenceOQ four types of career indecision (career decision.making diffusion.needforemotional support fromsignificantothers related tocareerdecision makin g. approacb-approach conflict,andperception ofexternaJbarrieR)among academicallytalented highschool students(Hall '" Kelly,1995).They madeseveralCOOCIUSloosbasedonthisstudy.They foWICI noevidence toconcludethat boysnor girlsneededgreatersupportfor career dec ision makingamong thesehighachievers.They alsoconcludedthet,amon gthis group,noI'UJa1Iwbandifferencesexisted.Themoststrikingcooc:lusioowasthat high achiC'Ving urban femalesappearedtobeinneedof agrQtdealofcareereducation.
counselling,guidance, and supportfrom parents,teachersand.counsellors.HallandKelly summarized theirfindings...."withinthepopulationofhigh achievementstUdents.the experience ofcareerindecisionvariesatdifferentlevelsandat differentagesandis influencedby thesocio-cultural variableofcommunity of residence"(p.299).
Aswithgender andgeographic backgroundseparately,when thesevariablesare combined. some individualsmaybeplaced atadisadvantage.It wouldbeneficial for the career counsdlor tobeaware of possibleinteTactiooswithttgan:Itocareer decision
41 making among these specificpopulations.
Rae:arc hQaestio as:
Whatisthemain effectofgrowingupinaDurban vsruralenvironmen ton the career decisionmakingabilityofselected Memorial Uni versityof Newfoundland studr:nts(asmeasuredby theCareerDecisionScale)?
2. Whatisthemaineffectofgen&:Ie£onthe decisionmaking abilityofselected Mem orialUniversi ty of Newfoundlandstudents(asmeasured by theCareer Decisio n Scale) ?
3. Whatisthe interactioneffect ofgrowingup in an urban\'Sruralenvironmentand genderon the career decisionmakingabilityofselectedMemorial Universityof Newfoundlandstudents (asmeasuredbythe CareerDecisionScale)?
Methodology
TheCareerDecisionScale(Osipow,1980)wasgiventofirst yearstudents in Psychology1000.Thisgroupwaschosen for three:reasons.Tbemain reasonwasthat urbanversusruralbackgroundmightbemore evidentamong theseyounger studentsthan among thosewhobavespent longerperiodsoftimeintheUni versitysetting.SecondlY. many studentschoose10completean introductoryPsyt;ho logy courseDOmatterwhat theirintended major.Flna.Ily,itwasone of thefewcowsc:sthatoff ered a largeenougb classsize (ie.samplesize)tothe investigator sothat data collectioncouldbecom pleted quicklyandefficientlyinoneundertaking.Dr.PatriciaCanningrequestedMr.Rennie GaWton.course instruc:torallowtheinvestigator tousehisCOUISCasthesample.
42 The IDstrumeDt
TheCareer Decision Scale (COS) (Appendix G)iscomposed of 19items.the first18requirea self-rating.These 18 items are of a 4 point liken-type.Aratingof I indicatesalowsimilarity ofthe student10theitem and. ratingof4indicateshigb similarity.Item 19isan open-endeditemwhich provides thestudentwiththe oppo rtunitytoclarify orexpand uponprioritems.ItemsIand2 comprisetheCe rtai nty Scale.whichprovidesa measure ofthedegreeofccnainty thai thestudentfeelsin havingmade. decisionaboutamajorandanoccupation. Ahighscore onthe Certainty Scale indicatesthatthe subject is relativelycertain.Items3through18constitute the lndecision Scale,a meas ure of career indecision.Ahighscore onthe Indecision Scale indicates thatthe subjectisrelativel yindecisive.
Scoring ofthcCDSinvolvesthe calculation oftotaJratingsfofquestionsIand2 (CertaintyScale)andquestions3to18(Indecision Scale).This willprovidethe raw scores feeeach Scale.Four normativegroups are availablefor calculationof applicab le perce ntilescores fromtheserawscores.These are collegestudentsbasedORgradeand gender: high schoolstudents based ongradeandgender, adultsincontinuing education programs;and..womenreturningtocollege.Fcetbepwposcsoftbis study,thecollege student nonnative data was used to calculate the percentile scores fortheCertainty and IndecisionScales
Osipow(l980)providesabrief descriptionofbowto interprettbeCDS.He states an..examination ofthe results shouldfirstbeginwiththe Certainty Scale.High
43 Certai nty Scale scoresindicatecertaintyofchoiceof occupationandschoo l major.
Certai ntyScale scoreswhicharea1the ISth percentileorless shouldbeconsidcn::d sig:nifkanLThissuggeststhattheirxhviduaIisuncertainabouttheselecti on of an occupation andforamajor.HighIodccisioo Scale scoresiodK:ateindecisionwith regard tooccupationalchoice.Scoreswithvaluesequalto orexceedingthe 8Sthpercentile shouldbeconsideredsigni fican t, indicatingaseriouslevel of indecision"(p.6).
TheCDSbasbeenreportedashaving aet.qDble validityand reliabil ity scoresby a numberof resc:arclaen(Hartman.,F~ua,&:Jenkins.1986;Rojcwski,1mb.Larsenet el,1994~Rojewski.1994b ).Osipow(19 87)citedstudiesthathave established test- retest reliabilityfor the CDSat.82and.9Ofortwo separate samplesof college students.
ConcUJTentandconstructvalidityfortheCDShasbeen"demonstratedbystudies showingthescale'sexpected relationshi psamong avarietyofhypotheticalcccsmets,the scale'sab1lity todifferentiate careerdecidedandundecidedgroups.and thescale's sensitivity to relevantchanges followingtreatment designedtoreduce career indecision - (Osipo w,1987,p.11).
~Atotalof108studentsfromPsychology1000wen:asked to completetheCareerDecision Scale(CO S)in.groupsetting..Fifty-sixwere&omarural.
background and fifty-twowerefrom an urban background.Fo rty-sixparticipantswere maleandsixty -two werefem ale.Allwereclassified as tim-yearstudents.
44 Therespondcrn::sprovided information ontheirhighschool populationandtype.
aswell as information on their guidance counsellors.Themean high school population was578studc:n6(SIl-301). Thehighscbooltypeswried from KiDderg:anen(K)to level
m.
Grade 7 to LevelIII.LevelltoLevelm.
anda classlfication referredto as other.Thecorrespondingpercentageswere 22.2%.8.3%.49.1%.and IS.S%.respectively.This information was not providedby1.9% ofdlcrespondents.97.2%of therespondentsbad.guidance counsellorattheirhighSoCbooI.while 2.8%did net Amongthe~tswho badaca:sstoaguidance counsellor.70.4%statedtbasthey availed of career counselling services.Among thosethatavailed oftheseservices.
64.8%were satisfied withthecareercounselling providedbytheir guidance counsellor;
21.3%afthe respondents wen:notsatisfiedwiththese services.Therewerealso a numberofntissingcasc:swiththisquestioothatamownedto13.9%.
~MemorialUniversi ty of Newfoundland.St. John's.Newfoundland, Canada.inE-I020 (0.A.HickmanBuilding).
DataCollectionOnSeptember 25.1996,theresearcher administered the CDS to thesubjectsinagroupformat.00 averageittookapprolcimately10-15minutesto complete. Prior consentfromthecourseinstructor,Mr.Rennie Gaultonwasattainedby written contact twoweeksinadvance(AppendixH).Thesubjects'written consentwas obtained immediately prior to completion ofthc CDS.Alongwiththe consent form (AppendixI),all participantswereasked to providecertaindemographicdataform (Appendix 1).The demographic dataiDeIuded:age.gender,name ofbornetown.
