Straipsnyje nagrinėjami būsimų psichologų lūkesčiai, susiję su studijų poveikiu jų asmeniniam ir profesiniam gyvenimui. Tyrimo dalyviai – 48 Vilniaus universiteto psichologijos programos pirmojo kurso studentai. Taikant Q-sort metodiką ir atlikus faktorinę analizę buvo išskirtos keturios studentų grupės, besiskiriančios tuo, kokiose srityse (žinių, įgūdžių, vertybių) ir kokiais lygmenimis (intrapersonaliniu, asmeniniu interpersonaliniu, profesiniu, tarpasmeninių santykių) studentai tikisi įvyksiant pokyčių jiems studijuojant. Nustatyta, kad kai kurie studentai sieja lūkesčius su profesinių įgūdžių įgijimu, kiti studijuodami tikisi geriau suprasti save, išspręsti asmenines problemas, yra respondentų, siekiančių griežtai atskirti asmeninį ir profesinį gyvenimą. Tyrimo rezultatai gali būti naudingi modifikuojant psichologų rengimo programas.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: psichologo profesinė karjera, vertybės, lūkesčiai, Q-sort metodika.Beginning of a psychologist’s professionalcarrier: Expectations regarding educationVitalija Lepeškienė, Laima Bulotaitė SummaryThe article deals with the issue of the expectations of the freshmen psychology students regarding the possible impact of the studies on their personal and professional life. Since students’ subjective expectations were the issue of interest, the Q-methodology was used in the research. Forty-eight students (41 females and 7 males) sorted 48 statements answering the question: “How, in your opinion, your studies will affect your future personal and professional life?” The statements were formulated to create a representative sample of the ideas about the influence of the psychologist’s profession on students’ personality qualities, relationships, skills, values and life in general. The statements were meant to represent influences on four levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal [with a the closest people], professional and interpersonal [with wider social environment]) and three areas – knowledge, skills and values.Forty-eight complete Q-sorts were factor analyzed using Q-method factor analysis program for Q methodology, version 2.11; 40 subjects (83%) defined four factors (groups of students) representing different expectations of the students. The views of the factors were briefly expressed as follows: Group I (4 subjects, 10.0%): knowledge is not the most important thing. I want to better understand myself and to grow;Group II (15 subjects, 37.5%): there is no need for me to change. Most important is to acquire professional skills;Group III (8 subjects, 20.0%): it doesn’t matter what kind of a professional I shall become. Solving my own problems is what really matters;Group IV (13 subjects, 32.5%): respect for a human being is the most important value. Work and personal life have nothing in common. Thus, the research revealed different expectations of the students regarding the influence of the studies. A rather substantial percentage of freshmen students expect the studies to help clarify their motifs, resolve inner contradictions, help in the process of personal growth and change in desired direction. Some students have unrealistic expectations regarding the possibility to separate personal and professional life. In order to help the students meet their expectations, the program of training future psychologists must be reoriented so that the students not only could acquire knowledge and skills, but also expand their self-awareness.Key words: psychologists’ professional carrier, values, expectations, Q-sort method.
Career counsellors working at schools are expected to promote students’ social, emotional, academic, and career development (Lindwall & Coleman, 2008). Despite the importance of career counselling at school (Anctil, Smith, Schenck, & Dahir, 2012; Osborn & Baggerly, 2004), school counsellors face barriers to implementing career counselling, including limited time because of competing demands, negative perceptions about career counselling from parents, teachers, and administration, and low school counsellor self-efficacy (Sanders, Welfare, & Culver, 2017). Considering the importance of career counselling and challenging working conditions, studies usually focus on individual antecedents of effective career counselling (Sawyer et al., 2013). Existing research reveals that self-efficacious consultants provide higher-quality career consulting services to various groups of employees (Bodenhorn & Skaggs, 2005; Larson & Daniels, 1998), are more satisfied with their job and experience less stress (Lent & Hackett, 1987). According to Larson and Daniels (1998), self-efficacy is the essential factor of successful career counselling. However, existing studies do not disclose the mechanism of why career consultants with higher self-efficacy perform consulting activities better. Therefore, this study is aimed to analyse the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between job resources (opportunity to develop and feedback), satisfaction with career counselling and goal attainment among career counsellors working at schools. The study was part of the project “Strategies to Utilise and Cultivate Positive Characteristics & Employability Skills in Schools” (SUCCESS, 2017-12-LT01-KA201-035247). In total, 246 school career counsellors from Lithuania, Italy, Ireland, and Greece were surveyed online. Most of the participants (88.6 percent) were female, and their age varied between 25 and 60 years. In all countries, the professional experience of career counselling varied between 1 and more than 10 years.The results of the study revealed the importance of self-efficacy for satisfaction with career counselling and goal attainment. Self-efficacy moderated the relationship between the opportunity for development and feedback and satisfaction with career counselling, i. e. the opportunity for development and feedback and satisfaction predicted satisfaction with career counselling only when self-efficacy was high. Furthermore, the opportunity for development and feedback were indirectly related to goal attainment through satisfaction with career counselling only when self-efficacy was high. In other words, job resources are more important and better used by those career counsellors who rely on their abilities, can remain calm when facing difficulties in their job and find solutions when confronted with a problem. The limitations of the study together with practical implications are discussed.
The technological revolution, the ever-changing economic and political conditions, and the resulting changes in life and work environments impede career planning for young people and pose challenges for career counselors in career orientation. Nowadays, career counselors have to not only assist students in planning and implementing individual, social, academic, and career goals, but they must also help the school community to ensure the effective functioning of schools in general. There is a lack of studies focusing on various aspects of career counselors’ professional activities, with the existing studies providing inconsistent or even contradictory results. Another problem lies in the huge gap between the theoretical, methodological, and methodical career counseling models and real counseling experience. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of analyzing and comparing the characteristics of career counselors’ professional activities in Lithuania, Italy, Greece, and Ireland. The study was part of the project “Strategies to Utilise and Cultivate Positive Characteristics & Employability Skills in Schools” (SUCCESS, 2017-12-LT01-KA201-035247).In total, 289 school career counselors from Lithuania, Italy, Ireland, and Greece were surveyed. Most of the participants (90 percent) were female, and their age varied between 25 and 60 years. In all countries, the professional experience of career counseling varied between 1 and 10 years.The results of this study revealed that across different countries, career professionals with different educational backgrounds perform career counseling. In Lithuania, career counselors are mainly psychologists, in Italy – teachers, in Ireland – consultants, and in Greece – teachers, psychologists, and consultants that carry out career counselling. The results have also shown that in all these countries career counselors perform various career counseling activities: career information, career assessment, career education, and career consulting using (non)psychological methods, although the frequency of these activities and the subjective readiness for them is different across countries. The counselors in all countries are satisfied with their jobs. Despite the existing differences in needs for professional development, all counselors expressed a higher-than-average need to develop their career counseling competencies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.