2 research outputs found
(How) Do work placements work? Scrutinizing the quantitative evidence for a theory-driven future research agenda
While supervised work placements are increasingly popular in higher education, evidence regarding their effects on career outcomes remain somewhat sparse and atheoretical. The aim of this systematic literature review is to evaluate the effectiveness of placements for career outcomes and to identify any underpinning core psychological processes and to offer a theoretically grounded framework for future research. Drawing on transition theory (Schlossberg, 1981) and career construction theory (Savickas, 1997), we argue that supervised work experiences are central transition experiences that enable social learning processes and trigger changes in a person's identity development as a professional, thereby increasing career resources and employability which in turn affect future career outcomes positively. We screened 2394 systematically selected abstracts across several databases and disciplines. Only quantitative studies that either offered a control-group or a longitudinal design were included, resulting in an in-depth review of 40 studies, applying a rigorous evaluation protocol. Placement participation elicits an overall positive (but small) effect on career outcomes: Graduates who completed a work placement found employment more quickly. Work placements also changed students' perceptions of self-efficacy, their knowledge, skills, and attitudes. We suggest that these changes could be seen as indicative of the proposed social learning processes and identity changes that positively affect career resources. Our review points to several gaps in the literature, and building on existing career theories, we develop a theoretical model and offer new avenues for future research to integrate the heterogenic field of placement research and inform career research in other areas
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“Tying leaders’ identity work and executive coaching research together: an overview of systematic reviews and agenda for research”
Purpose – Despite the interest in leaders’ identity work as a framework for leadership
development, coaching psychology has yet to expose its active ingredients and outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach – To do so, we reconcile published Systematic Literature
Reviews (SLRs) in the field to arrive at a more thorough understanding of the role of identity
work in coaching. Sixty eligible SLRs on identity work and coaching were identified between
2010 and 2022. Four were included in the data extraction after selecting and screening, and the
full texts of 196 primary studies reported therein were analysed.
Findings – Among the coachee-related factors of effective coaching, the coachee’s motivation,
general self-efficacy beliefs, personality traits and goal orientation were the most frequently
reported active ingredients, and performance improvement, self-awareness, and goal specificity
were the most frequently supported outcomes. Our analysis indicates that leaders’ identity
work, as an active ingredient, can be a moderator variable for transformative coaching
interventions, while strengthening leadership role identity could be one of the lasting outcomes
because coaching interventions facilitate, deconstruct, and enhance leaders' identity work.
Further research is needed to explore the characteristics of these individual, relational, and
collective processes.
Originality/value - This study adds value by synthesising executive coaching SLRs reported
coachee-related active ingredients and proximal outcomes. It demonstrates that the role of
leaders' identity work is a neglected factor affecting coaching results and encourages coaching
psychologists to apply identity framework in their executive coaching practice.
Keywords Leadership, identity work, executive coaching, Systematic Literature Review
Paper type Research paper</p