Career Development Interventions and Academic Self-Efficacy and Motivation: A Pilot Study
In the foreword to his education plan for the nation, No Child Left Behind, President George W. Bush noted two student sentiments as key causes of academic failure. These sentiments were low expectations and self-doubt. This pilot study examines the relationship between participation in career development interventions and the inverse of these sentiments—academic motivation and academic self-efficacy. A nationwide sample of 293 youth from 20 high schools was assessed on a variety of variables including academic motivation, academic self-efficacy, and participation in 44 clearly defined career development interventions. Consistent with previous research, this pilot study found little or no predictive relationships between level of participation in the interventions and academic motivation or self-efficacy. However, unlike previous studies, the specific dosage of each of the 44 interventions was assessed. This assessment revealed very low dosage rates across all interventions and all students. The implications of this pilot study for an evidence-based research agenda concerning career development interventions was discussed.
Dykeman, C., Wood, C., Ingram, M., Gitelman, A., Mandsager, N., & Herr, E. L., et al. (2003). Career development interventions and academic self-efficacy and motivation: A pilot study. St. Paul, MN: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Minnesota.