Career Counseling in the Community College: Career Indecision Research

1
Career Counseling in the Community College
Career Indecision Research
California Community College Chancellors
Conference April 11, 2002

• Merril A. Simon, Ph.D., NCCC (simon_merril_at_smc.edu
  )
• Esau Tovar, M.S. (tovar_esau_at_smc.edu)
• Santa Monica College
• 310/434-4012

2
Need for Project

• High probationary rates
• Low persistence rates
• At-risk population
• Replication with larger sample with pilot
  study

3
Career Indecision Research Questions

• Does Career Indecision at Orientation to college
  impact first semester retention rates?
• Does Career Indecision at Orientation to college
  impact persistence from semester one to two?
• Does Career Indecision at Orientation to college
  impact success of community college students?

4
Funding for Study

• Fund for Institutional Improvement--State of
  California Chancellors Office Competitive Grant
  (Santa Monica College, J. Gonzalez original P.I.
  currently E. Tovar)
• Matriculation Grant (SMC)
• Title III Federal funding

5
Career Theory Considerations

• Krumboltz
• Super
• Holland

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Intervention (1)

• Orientation
• Provided by team of  counseling and instructional
   faculty
• Four hours (Cohort 2) 7.5 hours (Cohorts 3A,
  3B, and 4) versus a control group Orientation
  of  two hours in length

7
Intervention (2)

• Orientation (continued)
• Available for course credit
• Utilized both social integration and involvement
  opportunities by the students.

8
Study Group

• Five cohorts of randomly selected entering
  community college students at a large, urban,
  diverse institution.
• Fall 1999 Spring 2001
• Spring 2000 Fall 2001
• Fall 2000
• All indicated that they planned to transfer to a
  four-year institution as their initial goal at
  application
• CFI Study Group 512 student participants

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Student Information Collected

• Demographic information collected
• Including gender, ethnicity, age
• Level of expressed commitment to major (high,
  medium, low)
• Career Factors Inventory
• First semester retention rate
• First semester GPA (success rate)
• Persistence rate to second semester

10
Career Factors Inventory

• Twenty-one items
• Purports to measure level and type of career
  indecision.
• Normed previously on university and high school
  students, adult populations, and prison inmates.
• Norms were established by a validation study
  completed within our study (Item 21 deleted).

11
Career Factors Inventory(Chartrand Robbins,
1997, Consulting Psych. Press) Four Factor Scales

• Need for Career Information (NCI)
• Need for Self-Knowledge (NSK)

• Career Choice Anxiety (CCA)
• Generalized Indecisiveness (GI)

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Terminology Definitions as used in this study

• Retention Completion of units by students who
  are enrolled at the time of the census date.
• Persistence
• Continued enrollment by students in the semester
  following the initial enrollment.

• Success Achieving an overall GPA in enrolled
  classes of over 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale).

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Primary Hypothesis

• Being more career decided will impact the
  retention and persistence of entering community
  college students in a positive direction.
• Based upon Preston Hamptons dissertation results
  with Calif. Comm. College under-represented
  students.

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Overall Demographics

• Gender
• 54 females
• 46 males
• Age ranges
• 4 lt 18 yrs
• 91 18-22
• 5 gt 22

• Ethnicity
• 39 Hispanic
• 14 African American
• 14 Asian
• 23 Caucasian
• 3 Filipino
• 1 Native American
• 6 Declined to State

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Summary of Findings

• Impact of Career Indecision Type Level
• Success
• Retention
• Persistence

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CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Ethnicity

• Minority vs. Non-Minority
• Statistically significant difference with respect
  to Career Choice Anxiety
• Non-minority are more anxious

• Possible explanation
• High vigilance may create higher anxiety, but
  that anxiety is productive toward reaching
  students goals.

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CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Ethnicity

• African-Americans vs. Caucasians
• African-Americans are less likely to have career
  choice anxiety (13.4 vs. 15.8 score average)
• No statistical differences between Hispanics,
  Filipinos, Asian and Caucasian

16
15.5
15
14.5
14
13.5
13
12.5
12
African
White
American
18
CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Ethnicity

• Minority vs. Non-Minority
• Found that there is greater Generalized Career
  Indecision in minority students (14.2) vs.
  non-minority students (12.2).

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CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Gender

• Male vs. Female
• There is a statistically
• significant difference between the
  generalized
• indecisiveness of males (13.7) and of females
  (14.0).

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CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Age

• Age Groupings
• The Need for Career Information (NCI) was
  significant across various age groups.
• Interpretation
• Students who are younger perceive they have a
  higher Need for Self-Information (NSI) than do
  older students.

21
CFI Findings Consideration of Career Indecision
with Age

• Age Groupings
• The Need for Self Knowledge (NSK) was significant
  across various age groups.
• Interpretation
• Students who are younger perceive they need more
  career information than do older students.

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Factors Related to Academic Success
23
Findings related to GPA

• African American males and females earned the
  greatest proportion of GPAs of lt 2.0.
• African American males are 2-3 times more likely
  to earn GPAs below 2.0 as compared to Hispanic
  and Caucasian males.
• Hispanic males are 2 times more likely to earn
  GPAs below 2.0, compared to Caucasian males.

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Findings related to GPA

• African American males and females are less
  likely to earn GPAs gt 3.0.
• African American males are 4-6 times less likely
  to earn GPAs gt 3.0.

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Findings Related to Success

• H Students who are more career decided will
  be more successful.
• Not found to be true in general, BUT there is a
  statistical significance reported by different
  age groups on the Need for Career Information
  (NCI) scale
• Overall, must reject the hypothesis, but looking
  at individual items on the CFI, found the
  following results

Students under 18 18-22 have the highest NCI
scores 22.1 20.4, as compared to those over 22
years of age.
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CFI Findings Career Indecision and
Grades/Persistence

• 100 Probability of Persistence, if
• Good Student GPA of 3.0-3.49
• Possess a greater Need for Self-Knowledge (score
  of 16-20).
• Possible Explanation
• Self-awareness and ability combine to predict
  persistence.

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Results Related toRetention
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Findings related toRetention

• Males only retention rateEthnicity x Retention
• African-American males 73
• Hispanic males 83
• White males 91
• plt.05 level.

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Findings related to Retention

• Females only retention rateEthnicity x
  Retention
• African-American females 92
• Hispanic females 89
• White females 91

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Findings related toRetention

• 91 Probability of Retention, if
• Generalized Indecision was higher (9-25 points)
  
• Possess average to very high degree goal
  commitment.

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Findings related to Retention

• 91 Probability of Retention, if
• Decision-making is more challenging (Item 4,
  score 2-5)
• Are more relaxed about career decision-making
  (Item 8, score 1-3).
• 81 Probability of Retention, if
• Decision-making is more challenging
• Feel more tense about making a career decision
  (score 4-5).

32
Findings related to Retention

• 94 Probability of Retention, if
• Need to clarify personal values (Item 3, score
  5).
• 74 Probability of Retention, if
• Lesser need to clarify personal values (score
  1-4)

33
Findings related to Retention

• 100 Probability of Retention, if
• Individual takes moderate amount of time in
  making decisions (Item 18, score 4).
• 63 Probability of Retention, if
• Very quick or very slow at making decisions
  (score 1-3, 5)

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Summary of Career Related Factors Impacting
Retention

• Higher Probability of Retention
• The greater the need to clarify values
• Perceiving decision making is challenging
• Taking your time in reaching decisions.

35
Results Related to Persistence
36
Findings related toPersistence

• Males only persistence rate Ethnicity x
  Persistence
• African-American males1,2 50
• Hispanic males1 68
• Caucasian males 2 68
• 1,2 plt.05 level

37
Findings related toPersistence

• Females only Persistence rate Ethnicity x
  Persistence
• African-American females1 74
• Hispanic females2 72
• Caucasian females1,2 62
• 1,2 Approach plt.05 level

38
Findings related toPersistence Rates

• Persistence x Career Choice Anxiety
• Non-persisters had a lower mean score (14.9) in
  career choice anxiety.
• Persisters had a higher mean score (16.0) in
  career choice anxiety.
• Possible interpretation
• Relates to vigilance or drive of student

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Findings related to Persistence

• 99 Probability of Persistence, if
• First semester GPA of 2.5-2.99 or 3.5-4.0
• Under 22 years of age
• High Career Choice Anxiety (score of over 30)
• 60 Probability of Persistence, if
• First semester GPA of 2.5-2.99 or 3.5-4.0
• Under 22 years of age
• Low Career Choice Anxiety (score of 11-15)

40
Findings related to Persistence

• 99 Probability of Persistence, if
• First semester GPA of 3.0-3.49
• Greater Need for Self-Knowledge (score 16-20)
• Possible Explanation
• Self-awareness and ability combine to predict
  persistence.

41
Findings related to Persistence

• 81 Probability of Persistence, if
• Physical manifestations of career choice anxiety
  as expressed through tight breathing.
• 70 Probability of Persistence, if
• Physical manifestations of career choice anxiety
  as expressed through loose breathing.
• Possible Explanation Vigilance?

42
Findings related to Persistence

• 93 Probability of Persistence, if
• Little physical manifestation of anxiety (Item
  12)
• No need for greater self-knowledge thru work
  exploration (Item 13, score 1-2).
• 66 Probability of Persistence, if
• Little physical manifestation of anxiety (Item
  12)
• Greater self-knowledge thru work exploration
  (Item 13, score 3-5).
• Possibly explained by the fact that they wish to
  focus on their college experience vs. on
  employment alone

43
Findings related to Persistence

• 91 Probability of Persistence, if
• Greater physical manifestation of anxiety (Item
  12)
• Being moderately certain on decision making (Item
  19, score 3.
• 73 Probability of Persistence, if
• Greater physical manifestation of anxiety (Item
  12)
• Being highly certain or highly uncertain on
  decision making
• Note More uncertain students, find career
  decision-making more difficult.

44
Summary of Career Related Factors Impacting
Persistence

• Higher Persistence Rates
• Higher Career Choice Anxiety
• Physical manifestation of anxiety (tight
  breathing)
• Greater Need for Self-Knowledge
• Who am I what are my values?
• Being moderately certain about making most
  decisions

45
Career Counseling in the Community College
Career Indecision Research
California Community College Chancellors
Conference April 11, 2002

• Merril A. Simon, Ph.D., NCCC (simon_merril_at_smc.edu
  )
• Esau Tovar, M.S. (tovar_esau_at_smc.edu)
• Santa Monica College
• 310/434-4012