The role and relevance of theory in careers professionalisation and practice

ABSTRACT

A new qualification benchmark, the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) Diploma Level 6 in Career Guidance and Development was established in the UK in 2011. This study was conducted to ascertain whether a theoretical nexus is necessary for practice and how this could contribute to the professionalisation of the adult careers sector in England. The study was undertaken with practitioners, all of whom had trained either through the work-based competency route or the academic route. Practitioners were asked to consider their theoretical modalities and how this influenced the embedding of theory within their professional practice. Analysis of survey and case study data revealed that degrees of exposure to theory during initial training affect capacities for theoretical integration during ongoing practice and development.     

The influence of practicum supervisors’ facilitation styles on student teachers’ reflective thinking during collective reflection

Student teachers’ reflective thinking is closely associated with learning and improving practice. Novice student teachers require adequate support to reflect more deeply. The role of ‘others’ in collective reflection and knowledge generation as an outcome creates a platform for deep reflection, addressing both the processes and premises of reflective thinking. Facilitation styles of practicum supervisors could influence the level of student teachers’ reflective thinking during collective reflection. This is a case study using purposeful sampling involving a Malaysian teacher training institution that conducted an undergraduate early childhood programme in collaboration with a UK university. Sources of evidence were interviews, direct observations and documents. Data collected were analysed using both inductive and deductive methods. It was found that facilitation styles influence the depth of student teachers’ reflective thinking during group dialogic reflection. A continuum of facilitation styles from collaborative to instructive typologies was constructed. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Moving beyond “shame is bad”: How a functional emotion can become problematic

Shame research has been divided. At present, the shame literature can be broadly dichotomized into whether it argues for a problematic or functional view of shame. Shame is commonly linked, for example, to aggression, poor health and wellbeing, and psychopathologies such as post‐traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and depression. Some researchers, however, suggest that shame is functional as it serves the purpose of gauging when one's social self is threatened, because of a loss of status or social bonds. To resolve this conflict, shame has been redefined in a variety of ways in an attempt to distinguish functional shame from problematic shame. However, approaches that ever more narrowly define the construct can lead to a defining away of the complexity of the lived experience of shame. In this review, we integrate the conflicting research on shame, examining how shame, as an emotion that evolved for a functional purpose, can become problematic. Avoidance in response to shame can move shame from being a functional social gauge that motivates repair to a problematic emotion, and avoidance is more likely to the extent that shame seems irreparable. Therefore, understanding what factors impact on perceived reparability will be important for understanding how shame can become problematic. How we see ourselves, others, our actions, and the costs of repair are all likely to impact on whether or not shame becomes functional or problematic.     

Predicting support for social action: How values, justice-related variables, discrete emotions, and outcome expectations influence support for the Stolen Generations

The Stolen Generations are Indigenous Australians who were taken from their homes by the State and placed in children??s homes or foster care. This study investigated relations between the values held by Non-Indigenous Australians and willingness to support a hypothetical organization set up to repair the damage caused. Participants (N?=?235) completed the Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire followed by items concerning their perceived responsibility; Indigenous deservingness; feelings of pleasure, anger, guilt, regret, shame, and sympathy; their support for the organization; and how efficacious they expected their support would be. It was found at the bivariate level that support was positively associated with self-transcendence values (universalism, benevolence) and negatively associated with both self-enhancement (power, achievement, hedonism) and security values. A path analysis implied that universalism values influenced support via the justice-related variables of perceived responsibility and undeserved treatment, outcome expectations, negative emotions, and sympathy. This study contributes new information about the effects of values on personal willingness to repair past wrongs.     

Flashbulb memories in social groups: A comparative test–retest study of the memory of French President Mitterrand's death in a French and a Belgian group

Flashbulb memories are vivid and long-lasting memories for the reception context of an important public event (Brown & Kulik, 1977). They are assumed to be triggered by emotional factors (i.e., intensity of emotional feeling, appraisal of the original event) and by social factors (i.e., social sharing of the news, following media debate about the event). The present study investigated the memory for the death of the former President of France F. Mitterrand in two social groups, i.e., French and Belgian people. This study tests whether the flashbulb memory attributes, the memory for the original event, and the impact of the emotional and social determinants of flashbulb memory differed across groups. The results indicated that the flashbulb memory for Mitterrand's death is affected by group provenance, as French people showed higher levels of recall for the flashbulb memory attributes and their determinants than Belgian people. Time impaired recollections in both groups, so that flashbulb memories appear prone to decay and share the same destiny as ordinary memories. The theoretical construct of concern - as the most basic antecedent of emotional experiences and its related appraisal (Frijda, 1994) - is discussed in order to explain the differences in memory of the two social groups.     

Stress,achievement, marriage and social support: Effects on the psychological well-being of physicians entering midlife/mid-career

Abstract

The major aim of this study was to examine the relative contribution of stress, professional achievement, personality, quality of marriage and family life, social support satisfaction, work satisfaction, average hours worked and family responsibilities to the psychological well-being (life satisfaction and psychological symptoms) of medical practitioners entering mid-life/mid-career. Fifty-nine female and 57 male physicians completed interviews, questionnaires, and daily stress records. The results confirm the central role that stress plays in the well-being of physicians. Pearson correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions showed other major variables examined did not explain additional variance in psychological symptoms, but did in some instances (professional achievement, quality of marriage, social support satisfaction for work issues) contribute to life satisfaction. A path model indicating a direct and independent effect of professional achievement on life satisfaction and a specific causal sequence of stress, quality of marriage and social support satisfaction for work issues is suggested.     

Pursuing and Distancing,and Related Traits: A Cross-Cultural Assessment

We previously showed (Bernstein, Santelli, Alter-Reid, & Androsiglio, 1985) pursuing and distancing to be semi-independent constructs sharing variance with the Rathus Assertiveness Scale (Rathus, 1973), the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale, Form V (Zuckerman, Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1978), the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968) extraversion score, and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974). This study extends our findings by administering these scales and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966) to a sample of 203 Indians and 161 Thais (all were English speaking and primarily students at universities where instruction is in English). Our original findings were supported. We also found that locus of control and the EPI neuroticism score are significantly related (p < .05) to pursuing and distancing in our Eastern samples. In general, our Eastern subjects pursued less and distanced more (p < .05). Although unrelated to pursuing or distancing, in general, our Eastern subjects were more androgynous (p < .001) than our American sample.