Career commitment, aspirations, and expectations of Black college students
Chung, Yiu-Man Barry
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22196
Description
Title
Career commitment, aspirations, and expectations of Black college students
Author(s)
Chung, Yiu-Man Barry
Issue Date
1996
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Harmon, Lenore W.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Black Studies
Education, Guidance and Counseling
Language
eng
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of career motivation among Black college students. Career motivation variables included career commitment and the socioeconomic level and race-traditionality of career aspirations and expectations. Three sets of predictors were examined: (a) demographic variables (sex, parents' education, socioeconomic level and race-traditionality of parents' occupations, family income, community size, marital status, and parenting status); (b) locus of control, racial identity attitudes, and perceived occupational opportunity; and (c) eight noncognitive variables.
Participants were 231 randomly selected Black undergraduate students (71.4% females) at the University of Illinois. They completed a mail survey containing all of the measures for the variables under study. Career commitment was assessed by the Career Commitment Scale (Farmer, 1985). Career aspirations, expectations, and demographic variables were assessed by multiple-choice or open-ended questions. Responses about occupations were coded on the socioeconomic level and race-traditionality dimensions using the Socioeconomic Index (Stevens & Cho, 1985) and the Black Traditionality Index (developed for this study). Locus of control was assessed by the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966). Racial identity attitudes were assessed by the Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (Parham & Helms, 1981) and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992). Perceived occupational opportunity was assessed by the Perceived Occupational Opportunity Scale and the Perceived Occupational Discrimination Scale which were developed for this study. Noncognitive variables were assessed by the Noncognitive Questionnaire (Tracey & Sedlacek, 1984). Hypotheses were tested using correlations, structural equation modeling, and multiple regression analyses.
Results suggested that demographic variables were largely unrelated to career motivation variables. Locus of control and racial identity attitudes were predictive of perceived occupational opportunity and career commitment, but perceived occupational opportunity was not predictive of career commitment. Noncognitive variables were predictive of career commitment. Collectively, locus of control, racial identity attitudes, and noncognitive variables were predictive of career commitment after controlling for demographic variables. All predictors examined were not predictive of career aspirations and expectations. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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