OnlineNursingOwl
← All nursing posts

Psychology · Studypool

theory reflection

Post ID: 3439114

Theory Reflection: Social Cognitive Career Theory Reflection

Goal

The purpose of this theory reflection is to help students gain understanding of how adolescents and young adults develop career interests and make career related decisions through personal reflection on the factors that have contributed to their own career interests and decisions.

Background

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are stages of life where many decisions are made that have significant implications for years to come. Among these decisions, include the often connected choices of academic and occupational pursuits. Many schools have implemented programs that allow adolescents to explore different careers and work values. However, career interests are not developed only through career exploration. A variety of factors, learning experiences, and beliefs contribute to the process of generating career interests and making decisions to pursue a particular career path.

With the aim of explaining how adolescents and emerging adults develop these interests and make career related decisions, Lent, Brown, and Hackett constructed Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) in 1994 as an adaptation of Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. Social Cognitive Career Theory takes into account a person’s identity and background in relation to the experiences they have had. These experiences contribute to a person’s self-efficacy, or what someone believes about their ability to do something. Self-efficacy is a major component of Social Cognitive Career Theory and is directly linked to interest development and decision making.

Resources

The following resources may assist in helping students to understand the concepts of this theory and assignment. The Social Cognitive Career Theory lecture in Module 5 provides additional information and context.

Guidelines for Original Slide

Instructions Part 1:

A single slide template is provided for students to customize using the modality of their choice (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides) to reflect on their identity, experiences, and self-efficacy as they relate to their career interests and decision making. The slide template consists of five main components from Social Cognitive Career Theory which students will write their reflections on.

Students are greatly encouraged to be creative with their slide design; however, all components of the theory reflection (i.e., person inputs, background influences, proximal influences, self-efficacy, and summative statement) must be adequately represented on the slide. Students should also include their name on the slide.

  • Person Inputs: Students will reflect on significant elements of their identity such as gender, race/ethnicity, predispositions, disability/health status, etc. by sharing these elements in a list or paragraph format.
  • Background Influences: Students will share experiences of their family’s history, as well as their own childhood and early adolescence. Some examples of things that students may choose to reflect on include cultural influences, gender socialization, family history, socioeconomic status, role models, and specific opportunities and experiences. As students think about these experiences, they should reflect on how these things have been in the past, not as they currently are.
  • Proximal influences: Students will identify supports and barriers that exist in the present, especially those that are relevant to their decision making. Proximal influences may be people and/or different circumstances and situations that impact and influence decisions in different ways.
  • Self-efficacy: For this component, students should identify a current career interest (e.g., job, career field, academic major) and reflect on their self-efficacy around this interest. Students should consider their current level of self-efficacy (i.e., “Can I do this?”) around this career interest and reflect on what learning experiences have led them to their current level of self-efficacy. Students should not focus on what plans they have to achieve their career interest, or what they expect the outcome to be, but should limit their focus to their confidence in their ability to succeed in their particular career interest.
  • Summative statement: The summative statement is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding of the factors that play a role in career interest development and decision making. Students should write a few sentences that synthesize and summarize their reflections by sharing how these components have influenced or will influence their career decision making.

Templates

PowerPoint: Theory Reflection Template.pptx

Google Slides: To edit this template, click the link and select File > Make a Copy > Entire Presentation https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FjLU9GLjyz_OFtv6FO-ebr_-MNDyK10Tl22vRohObR4/edit?usp=sharingLinks to an external site.

Examples

Examples of completed creative Original Slides are being graciously provided by several undergraduate teaching assistants and may be used to help students generate ideas for their own Original Slides. (Note that in the Discussion Forum, if text appears small, it may help to provide the text beneath the visual slide as well.)



From the Example creative Original Slide above:

Person Inputs: Female, Caucasian Background Influences: Growing up middle class it felt as though my family had just enough to not receive extra help, but not enough to live comfortably. I think seeing how hard my parents worked really impacted my work ethic. My older sister has always been a role model. From a very young age I have looked up to her strength and intelligence. Proximal Influences: Being in middle class I still face many financial barriers such as struggling to pay for higher education. I have been fortunate enough to work for two different ASU professors who have helped me complete graduate school applications and offered me guidance throughout the process. Without this support, I am not sure I would feel confident pursuing graduate school. Self-Efficacy: I am interesting in becoming a clinical child psychologist. I have the skills for this career because I have done well working with kids for 3+ years. Additionally, I have taken child psychology courses the past three years, such as Developmental Psychology and Child Directed Study. Summative Statement: I have always wanted to help children because almost everything they experience is out of their control. I think this is due to my own experiences as a child that I didn't learn to cope wit until I became an adult and was able to reach out for support. Additionally, because I grew up with financial insecurity, I want my own children to never experience that. I think this is achievable by pursuing a career that has a higher salary. Although I am not qualified for this job right now, I plan on receiving the education and licensure to become qualified. As stated before, my work ethic was really impacted by how I saw my parents work, so I am confident I have the drive and work ethic to help me reach my goals.

From the Example creative Original Slide above:

Person Inputs: Female, White, Healthy, Diagnosed with ADHD Background Influences: I grew up in a middle-class family. My mom graduated from high school and started community college, but never finished because she got pregnant with my older sister. My dad was in the Navy and got his undergraduate degree from ASU and an MBA from University of Phoenix. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and my dad worked for financial services companies like Edward Jones, Charles Schwab and Vanguard. Although we never struggled for money, we never lived above our means. I was only able to attend ASU because I received a scholarship. Otherwise, my parents would not have been able to send me to college. Proximal Influences: My current biggest support is my boyfriend who helps me with proofreading and helping me stay focused on the end goal when I feel discouraged. Right now, my income is limited because I can only work part-time while I am still in school. I will not be able to buy a house until I start teaching because of the state of the housing market right now. My parents might be able to help me a little bit with paying for my Master's degree, but I will have to pay for most of it. Self-Efficacy: I want to be a secondary English teacher. I have the experience and knowledge needed for this job because of my undergraduate English degree. My current job with Mesa Public Schools has given me the work experience to thrive in a classroom environment. Summative Statement: Because I come from a middle-class family, I have been able to go to school and save up for my Master's degree. I decided to pursue teaching because of the impact my middle and high school English teachers had on me. I feel confident in my ability to follow this career path because of everything I have already achieved. My parents and boyfriend have been my biggest cheerleaders during my time at ASU and I know they will support me through my Master's program. I am motivated by the thought that some day, I can have as positive an influence on my students as my teachers had on me.

Instructions Part 2:

After completing all components of the theory reflection and proofreading their work, students should download and save their Original Slide as a JPEG (.jpg) file.

  • Google Slides: Go to File > Download > JPEG image (.jpg, current slide)
  • PowerPoint: Go to File > Save As > Select the dropdown menu of file types > JPEG File Interchangeable Format (*.jpg) > Save

Instructions Part 3:

Students will then share their Original Slide in this Discussion Forum, in a virtual, visual gallery.

  • Click Reply below and select Insert > Image > Upload Image to upload the single slide.
  • Click Submit.
  • Take a screenshot as confirmation that the Post was successfully submitted.

  1. CLICK HERE to review the Grading Rubric.

Minimize File Preview

Click here to return to where you were in Module 5.