Self-efficacy, perceptions of barriers, vocational identity, and the career exploration behavior of Latino/a high school students.

This study examined the relationship among career decision-making self-efficacy, perceptions of barriers, vocational identity, and career exploration activities in a sample of Latino/a high school students. Results showed that career decision-making self-efficacy was related to students' vocational identity and career exploration activities. Additionally, the results indicated that perceptions of barriers for this sample was significantly related to vocational identity but not to career exploration activities. These results offer some support for the recent literature highlighting the importance of social cognition in career development (e.g., Lent et al., 2002). As with other studies that have found various types of self-efficacy to be related to Latino/a career development (Bores-Rangel et al., 1990; Church et al., 1992; Flores & O'Brien, 2002), students in the present study who were more confident in their ability to accomplish tasks related to career decision making were also more likely to have a clear vision of their goals, strengths, and interests. These students also reported more career exploration activity. On the other hand, consistent with predictions based on the SCCT model (Lent et al., 2002; McWhirter et al., 1998), the perception of a greater number of obstacles among students in the present sample was related to a less defined career identity. The lack of relationship between perceptions of barriers and career search activities may be an artifact of the low reliability of the four-item Barriers subscale. It is also possible that the influence of perceptions of barriers is mediated by another variable not included in this model, such as parent or teacher support.

Implications

These results have theoretical implications for current models of career development. Although the entire SCCT model was not tested in this study, these results support the model's assertions that social cognitive variables such as career decision-making self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers may be relevant for Latino/a populations. This emphasis on cognition may be seen to complement, rather than supplant, existing models of career development. For instance, Gottfredson (2002) has noted the phenomenon of circumscription of career choice. Self-efficacy and perceptions of barriers may be part of the mechanism by which that premature elimination of occupational alternatives occurs. If so, these constructs may indicate an important focus for counselors seeking to counteract gender and ethnic bias. Similarly, these results illuminate the potential contribution of cognitive factors to Holland's idea of a stable and consistent "vocational identity" (Holland, 1997; Holland, Daiger, et al., 1980) and Super's construct of "career maturity" (Super et al., 1996). In the latter case, for instance, part of what may be impeding a student from engaging with developmentally appropriate tasks may be low levels of self-efficacy or a greater number of perceived barriers. Thus, the findings of the present study suggest that the social cognitive perspective may enhance the heuristic value of existing career theories when applied to Latino/a students.

In addition, these results have practical implications for teachers and counselors involved in career education with Latino/a high school students. The findings indicate that career decision-making self-efficacy may significantly influence their career development, not only in relation to vocational identity but also in relation to concrete career exploration behaviors. Thus, counselors may work with students by inquiring about their self-efficacy beliefs and by working to enhance their career decision-making self-efficacy. For instance, counselors may wish to assess Latino/a students' confidence in their ability to undertake tasks associated with career exploration as a part of career-related interviews. Career educators might incorporate strategies designed to help these students gain a sense of mastery and increasing self-confidence in specific career-related tasks as they endeavor to guide students in exploring their interests and in obtaining more information about the world of work. In addition, as suggested earlier, counselors may want to explore, or at least consider, social cognitive factors when working with students on areas of potential difficulty specified by traditional career theories (e.g., vocational identity, vocational maturity, career commitment, knowledge of the world of work) or when trying to help students broaden the scope of their interests (i.e., working to counter circumscription).

Similarly, the findings suggest the importance of gathering information regarding Latino/a students' perceptions of barriers in discussions about career interests, goals, and plans. As numerous authors have recently observed, if students perceive barriers to a career as insurmountable, there will be little motivation for them to engage in career exploration (e.g., Brown & Lent, 1996; Lent et al., 1994). A counselor or teacher who is aware of a Latino/a student's perceptions could begin to help the student assess the accuracy of those perceptions and to identify goals the student perceives as realistic. Thus, counselors and teachers should strive to help students manage their perceptions of barriers while simultaneously becoming aware of actual barriers as they enact their career plans. Training for career educators and counselors should emphasize the relevance of these variables and should focus on helping trainees become aware of how to address issues related to perceptions of obstacles and self-efficacy with these students.

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

Given the paucity of empirical research on the career development of Latino/a adolescents, this initial exploratory study deliberately tested a simple model. Thus, it is possible that some other superordinate variable not included in the design may account for the variance reported previously. Additional research is needed to gather more information about the variables included in this study (e.g., differences in the types of barriers perceived, antecedents to self-efficacy) as well as other factors affecting the career development of Latinos/as. There are also limitations with the measures used. For instance, the low reliability associated with the Barriers subscale may have affected the results. Similarly, although the measures used in this study are commonly used by career researchers, their validity with Latino/a students has not yet been demonstrated, in part because of the dearth of career-related research with the Latino/a community. Do Latino/a students interpret and respond to the questions asked in these instruments in the same way as the Anglo American students with whom the instruments were originally used? Thus, the results reported must be interpreted with caution until additional research confirms or disconfirms the utility and appropriateness of these measures for Latino/a students.

Further inquiry is needed to explore the complexities of Latino/a career development. For instance, a limitation of the present study is that it did not examine within-group differences by ethnicity. Because the Latino/a population in the United States is composed of a variety of ethnic subgroups, it would be important for future research to investigate the differences between these groups and how these differences might play a role in high school career development. Differences in racial or ethnic identity or perceived social support may also have important implications for career development. Because the study used a correlational design, no causal inferences may be drawn. Finally, this study did not account for the influence that real-world barriers such as poverty and racism may have on the career development of the participants surveyed. For some of these students, economic necessity or denial of opportunity may play a greater role than self-efficacy or vocational identity in determining an initial occupational choice.

Summary and Conclusion

Given the growth and relative youthfulness of the Latino/a population, understanding factors that affect the career development of Latino/a adolescents is vital for career counselors and educators. For this sample of Latino/a high school students, the results indicated that greater career decision-making self-efficacy was related to a more defined vocational identity and greater engagement in career exploration tasks. In addition, perception of more career obstacles was related to a less defined vocational identity. On the basis of these findings, it seems paramount to assess and address the beliefs of Latino/a students about their capacity for career exploration and their perceived barriers to potential careers as an integral part of vocational guidance and career education.

References

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