Future counselors’ career motivations, perceptions, and aspirations
Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
ISSN: 2042-3896
Article publication date: 9 October 2019
Issue publication date: 20 January 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the career motivations of future counseling professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
Students completing their Masters of Counseling (n=174) responded to a 30 min survey about their career motivations, counseling career choice satisfaction, planned persistence in the counseling profession and perceptions of the demand and reward structure offered by counseling work. Motivational profiles were educed using hierarchical cluster analysis and compared via MANOVA.
Findings
Four distinct profiles were identified: “moderately engaged with family values,” “lower engaged,” “altruistic with family values” and “multiply motivated.” Clusters differed in their perceptions of the demand and reward structure offered by a counseling career, and their level of satisfaction with, and planned persistence in the profession. Cluster composition was unrelated to age, gender or pursuit of previous careers.
Practical implications
Implications for educators pertain to capitalizing on career motivations for different types of entrants, to tailor recruitment and professional preparation.
Originality/value
The authors add to existing literature by drawing on the theoretical lens of expectancy-value theory in a person-centered approach, to the study of counselor motivations, professional perceptions and career choice satisfaction.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by Monash University Small Grants: 2015 (Investigators alphabetized: Angelika Anderson, Kate de Bruin, John Ehrich, Brett Furlonger, Nick Gamble, Kate Jacobs, Nicky Jacobs, Leonie Kronborg, Louise McLean, Dennis W. Moore, Shane Phillipson, Sivanes Phillipson, Andrea Reupert, Paul W. Richardson, John Roodenburg, Penny Round, Umesh Sharma, Tristan Snell, Sandra E. Stewart, Pearl Subban, Janene Swalwell and Helen M.G. Watt), and 2016 (Furlonger, Jacobs, Morris, Reupert, Snell, Stewart and Watt). The authors thank Derek English, Zoe A. Morris, Samantha Fredericks, Jay Jayawardene, Lamitta Lakkis and Laura Ricketts for assistance with data collection and entry.
Citation
Poon, D.B., Watt, H.M.G. and Stewart, S.E. (2020), "Future counselors’ career motivations, perceptions, and aspirations", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 155-170. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-02-2019-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited