Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers in this special issue and some issues surrounding choosing management as a career. A jointly developed questionnaire is also presented. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is descriptive in nature. Findings: It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to expand their perspectives…

This article examines available measures of perceived teacher support and presents findings from two studies exploring the psychometric properties of the Teacher Support Scale (TSS). In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis suggested a hierarchical structure with four first-order factors (Invested, Positive Regard, Expectations, and Accessible…

In an era of teacher shortages, what would motivate individuals to become teachers when the demands on teachers are greater than ever and there are plenty of alternative occupations from which to choose? This paper presents the findings of a study of student teachers' motivations to be primary teachers and their commitment to teaching after their…

Vocational psychology has recently begun examining the career development of marginalized and underrepresented populations. Social cognitive career theory provides a theoretical understanding of how cultural differences, resources, and barriers may affect the vocational choices and actions of individuals from minority populations. Contextual…

Individual (gender and acculturation), microsystem (social support), exosystem (socioeconomic status), and macrosystem (racism) variables were examined as predictors of career decision-making self-efficacy in a sample of 85 Vietnamese adolescents in the Washington, D.C., area. English language acculturation and peer support accounted for unique…

Incorporates occupational choice into a model of wage determination and self-employment activities. The self-selection model stresses managerial ability and capital market imperfections in determining an individual's choice between wage and self-employment. Results show different earning structures and partly confirm the human capital model.…

Notes that Career Services Center at University of California-San Diego has conducted career surveys of graduating classes since 1982 and has learned how to conduct survey and use survey data. Discusses how to get started in conducting a graduate survey. Explains how to design survey instrument, draft questions, test survey, distribute survey,…

This study of 91 young adults, who had been identified as intellectually gifted as adolescents, found that out-of-school activities in adolescence were significant predictors of later vocational choice. Subjects whose adolescent out-of-school activities matched their adult occupations had a higher level of work accomplishment than other subjects.…

Presents statistics on the status of female faculty members in China. Reports that in 1987, women comprised just over nine percent of the faculty. Indicates that women are most prevalent in the medical sciences and agronomy but scarcest in engineering and law. Predicts that more women will enter higher education careers. (SG)

Presents profiles within the disciplines of neuroscience, mathematics, and chemistry characterizing how each field extends different atmospheres for women. Offers short reports on key issues that women face as they climb the career ladder, including the special problem of finding mentors. Mini-profiles of successful females and what it took for…

This paper outlines a technique for enhancing the effectiveness of careers thinking by identifying and challenging tacit beliefs about career success. These beliefs can be understood as social scripts, i.e. cognitive structures that simplify common decision scenarios. An important contribution of careers counselling is to enable clients to…

Reviews Lotus Coffman's 1911 survey showing surprising parity in men and women teachers' salaries. Women's inability or unwillingness to work after marriage resulted in distinctive male and female career paths in education. Women, relegated to their "real" careers as wives and mothers, did not remain teachers long enough to compete for…

The Jackson Vocational Interest Survey was administered to 10,134 high school college-bound students to appraise the degree to which student profiles for different academic majors could be clustered in a meaningful way. The clustering approach showed definite advantages over the traditional item-based scoring, resulting in more reliable score.…

Collected demographic data, intentions to engage in science, and attitudes of urban, middle school students. Reports results in terms of family variables, students' educational and career plans, internal attributes (self-concept, science anxiety, and achievement motivation), attitude toward science teachers and other students, friends' attitudes…

Examines career orientations in young women from high- and low-SES backgrounds, using a longitudinal data set collected from 1973 to 1982 which was analyzed using LISREL modeling. SES distinctions emerged in political attitudes, occupational interests, senior school achievement, and professional attainment, as well as motivational tendencies and…