Social Cognitive Theory and the Career Development of African American Women

Abstract

No comprehensive model of the career development of racial and ethnic minorities has yet been developed; even less attention has been devoted to models of the career development of racial and ethnic minority women. One of the more promising career theories that may prove satisfactory in accounting for ethnicity in career development is Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory (Lent & Brown, 1996; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). In this article, the authors selectively review the literature on African American women's career development to clarify how social cognitive mechanisms may be operating. The primary focus of this conceptual analysis is on the central elements of social cognitive theory, namely, self‐efficacy and outcome expectations. Implications for counseling are presented.

Career motivation of secondary students in STEM: a cross-cultural study between Korea and Indonesia

“…In particular, our finding showed that career self-efficacy and career interest had strong correlations with large effects for most groups. This result is consistent with the findings of previous research showing that self-efficacy plays a role in career development in Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Hackett & Bryars, 1996). Thus, educational strategies that can improve students' self-efficacy about a STEM career could be effective for both Korean and Indonesian students' STEM career development.…”

“…In particular, it has been reported that the underrepresentation of women in STEM is closely related to their low self-efficacy in math and science subjects (Hackett & Betz, 1989). In addition, Hackett & Bryars (1996) found that students' belief in whether they have appropriate capacities for a STEM career is an important factor in career development. Thus, career self-efficacy, belief in oneself related to career decisions, goals, and career behavior, was also considered to be a cognitive factor of career motivation in this study.…”

Factors Related to Early Termination From Work for Youth With Disabilities

“…The concept of self-efficacy for youth with disabilities has been studied in a number of venues. For example, research has shown that having previous vocational experience is related to higher levels of self-efficacy (Benz & Halpern, 1993;Hackett & Bryars, 1996;Wehmeyer, 1999). In addition, involvement in the transition process (for example being involved in IEP meetings) has been shown to increase the self-efficacy of youth with some disabilities (Wehmeyer & Lawrence, 1995).…”

Preparing Inmates for Community Re-Entry: An Employment Preparation Intervention

“…SCCT has been utilized to describe and assess the career development of members of marginalized groups, and has been found to be empirically supported with diverse populations (Chartrand & Rose, 1996;Chronister & McWhirter, 2003;Hackett & Byars, 1996;Morrow, Gore, & Campbell, 1996). SCCT's attention to environmental factors (e.g., poverty, oppression, discrimination), and interactions among the characteristics of the individual and his/her multiple environmental contexts, situate the theory as an ideal theoretical foundation for developing a job-preparation intervention for prerelease inmates.…”