EXPERIENTIAL HIGH SCHOOL CAREER EDUCATION: RELATION TO SELF-EFFICACY AND MOTIVATION

Career education has become an integral part of high school programming in Canada (Gibbons, Borders, Wiles, Stephan & Davis, 2006). Research on school-based career interventions is on the rise throughout North America (Hiebert, 2010; Roest & Magnusson, 2005). The current study is intended to contribute to this growing area by examining the impact of an elective career education class offered in Saskatchewan public schools called Career and Work Exploration 30 (CWE30). CWE30 combines experiential classroom activities and work placements. Experiential learning has long been regarded as an effective way of increasing self-efficacy, as described in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; e.g., Bandura, 1977), a factor shown to play a role in encouraging career exploration and confident career-related decision-making (e.g., Blustein, 1989). Another contributor to active career exploration is intrinsic motivation, described in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the innate desire to seek out knowledge and growth and to therefore engage in activities that foster this development (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Given the complex and relatively nascent nature of research in this area, the chosen methodology was a case study (Yin, 2014). Multiple types of data were collected. Fourteen grade 11 and 12 high school students from Saskatchewan completed the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form (CDMES-SF; Taylor & Betz, 1983) and a motivation questionnaire (adapted from Kerner et al., 2012) at the beginning and end of the second semester of the 2013-2014 school year. Two students and one teacher were interviewed. Further, the class curriculum, student attendance, blank copies of in-class activities, and homework that was assigned were collected. Results included significant differences in scores on the CDMSE-SF from pre to post testing and common themes on the qualitative measures such as frustration with assignments and placement time commitments; excitement about experiential learning; fears and uncertainties related to career decision-making; and suggestions for improvements emerged. Course documents provided further evidence as to the implementation of the CWE30 curriculum and the inclusion of factors thought to promote intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy as described in SDT and SCT respectively. Implications within the current literature as well as for future research are discussed

Experiential High School Career Education, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation

Students’ perceived self-efficacy and motivation in the context of experiential high school career education was examined through an exploratory mixed methods case study of an elective experiential career education class offered in Saskatchewan public schools. Data were generated by having students (N = 14) complete two measures at the start and end of the semester: the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale—Short Form (CDMES-SF) (Taylor & Betz, 1983) and an adapted motivation questionnaire (Kerner, 2011). Classroom assignments, curriculum documents, and interviews with the instructor and two of the students provided further sources of data. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and quantitative data were analyzed using dependent-t-testing. Significant differences in CDMSE-SF scores were identified and common themes emerged across the qualitative data. Findings are discussed as they relate to social cognitive theory, self-determination theory, and implications for practice and future research

Risk and protective factors for self-harm in secure mental health hospitals: a systematic review

Purpose - The current review focuses on how risk and protective factors for self-harm in secure mental health hospitals are captured in the literature. Design/methodology/approach - Fifty-seven articles were included in a systematic review, drawn from an initial 1,119 articles, post duplicate removal. Databases included Psycinfo, Psycarticles, Psycnet, Web of Science and EBSCO host. A thematic analysis was employed, which included a meta-ethnographic approach for considering qualitative papers. Findings – There was a clear focus on risk factors, with eight identified (in order of occurrence); 1.) Raised emotional reactivity and poor emotion regulation, 2.) Poor mental health, 3.) Traumatic experiences, 4.) Personality disorder diagnosis and associated traits, 5.) Increased use of outward aggression – dual harm, 6.) Constraints of a secure environment and lack of control, 7.) Previous self-harm and suicide attempts, and 8.) Hopelessness. Protective factors featured less, resulting in only three themes emerging (in order of occurrence); 1.) Positive social support and communication, 2.) Positive coping skills, and 3.) Hope/positive outlook. Research implications – This includes a proposal to move focus away from ‘risk’ factors, to incorporate ‘needs’, in terms of individual and environmental factors. There is also a need for more attention to focus on developing high quality research in this area

A preliminary study exploring the nature of aggression supportive beliefs in a forensic psychiatric sample

Purpose: This preliminary study aims to investigate and describe aggression supportive normative beliefs among patients of a high secure hospital. Design: Therapy data from a sample of high secure forensic hospital patients (N = 11) who had participated in Life Minus Violence-Enhanced (LMV-E), a long-term violence therapy, was examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). During therapy, cognitions linked to past incidences of aggression were explored using Aggression Choice Chains (ACCs). Findings: IPA was applied to data generated through this process to examine the presence and nature of normative beliefs reported, identifying seven themes: Rules for Aggressive Behaviour; Use of Violence to Obtain Revenge; Processing Emotions with Violence; Surviving in a Threatening World; Do Not Become a Victim; Employing Violence to Maintain Status; and Prosocial Beliefs. Originality: Findings demonstrate that forensic patients have specific aggression supportive normative beliefs, which may be malleable. Limitations and implications are discussed

A Systematic Review into Risk and Protective Factors for Online Sex Offending

With the increased availability of the internet and new technologies, use of the internet to commit sex offences has been well documented. Despite increased interest, no systematic review has yet evaluated the risk and protective factors evidenced for online sex offending among those engaged in such behaviour. The current review aims to investigate this via a systematic review of 43 relevant articles. The emerged focus was on child abuse images. Thematic analysis identified seven risk factors: evidence for cognitive distortions; difficulties with relationships; managing isolation, loneliness, and boredom; psychological traits connected to low self-worth, poor psychological health, and impulse challenges; interest in deviant sexual material; child abuse images as reinforcing for emotions; and developing a hyper-fixation and preoccupation with sex. Limitations and implications are discussed, including the absence of researched protective factors