This study examines school and work barrier beliefs about the limitations of education for future career rewards and perceived supports for attaining the educational and career aspirations of low-income, inner-city, African American, Hispanic/Latino(a), and Caribbean immigrant youth. The authors find that higher levels of school andwork barrier beliefs are associated with lower aspirations, particularly for minority youth who are less recent immigrants. The authors described workshops designed to constructively challenge counterproductive school and work barrier beliefs by expanding participants' learning about accessible sources of support for attaining their school, work, and life goals. Results indicate that participants endorse two types of support sources: contextual supports (relational and community resources accessible in their environments) and personal resources (psychological assets within the individual). The authors propose that personal resources be conceptualized from social learning theory as facilitative task approach skills (e.g., productive work habits, learning-oriented performance expectations, helpful cognitive processes, beneficial problem orientations, self-regulated emotional responses, and other personal assets).
Arbona, C. (2000). The development of academic achievement in school aged children: Precursors to career development. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology(pp. 270-309). New York: Wiley.
2.
Benson, P. L., Galbraith, J., & Espeland, P. (1998). What kids need to succeed: Proven, practical ways to raise good kids. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.
3.
Blustein, D. L. (2001). The interface of work and relationships: A critical knowledge base for 21st century psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 29, 179-192.
4.
Brown, S. D., & Ryan Krane, N. E. (2000). Four (or five) sessions and a cloud of dust: Old assumptions and new observations about career counseling. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology(3rd ed., pp. 740-766). New York: Wiley.
5.
Constantine, M. G., Erickson, C. D., Banks, R. W., & Timberlake, T. L. (1998). Challenges to the career development of urban racial and ethnic minority youth: Implications for vocational intervention. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 26, 82-95.
6.
Dryfoos, J. G. (1995). Full service schools. Revolution or fad?Journal of Research on Adolescence, 5, 147-172.
Graham, S., Taylor, A. Z., & Hudley, C. (1998). Exploring achievement values among ethnic minority early adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 606-620.
9.
Holland, J. L. (1996). The occupations finder(SDS, Self-Directed Search, Form R, 4th ed.). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
10.
Jackson, M. A., & Nutini, C. D. (2002). Hidden resources and barriers in career learning assessment with adolescents vulnerable to discrimination. The Career Development Quarterly, 51, 56-77.
11.
Kenny, M. E., Blustein, D. L., Chaves, A., Grossman, J. M., & Gallagher, L. A. (2003). The role of perceived barriers and relational support in the educational and vocational lives of urban high school students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 142-155.
12.
Kenny, M. E., Waldo, M., Warter, E., & Barton, K. (2002). School-linked prevention: Theory, science and practice for enhancing the lives of children and youth. The Counseling Psychologist, 30, 726-748.
13.
Krumboltz, J. D. (1991). Manual for the Career Beliefs Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
14.
Krumboltz, J. D. (1994). Improving career development theory from a social learning perspective. In M. L. Savickas & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Convergence in career development theories (pp. 9-31). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
15.
Krumboltz, J. D. (1996). A learning theory of career counseling. In M. L. Savickas & W. B. Walsh (Eds.), Handbook of career counseling theory and practice(pp. 55-80). Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.
16.
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children. American Psychologist, 53, 205-220.
17.
Mitchell, L. K., & Krumboltz, K. D. (1996). Krumboltz's learning theory of career choice and counseling. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development(3rd ed., pp. 233-280). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
18.
Murdock, T. B. (1999). The social context of risk: Status and motivational predictors of alienation in middle school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 62-75.
19.
Murdock, T. B., Anderman, L., & Hodge, S. (2000). Middle-grades predictors of student motivation and behavior in high school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 327-351.
20.
Ogbu, J. U. (1989). Cultural boundaries and minority youth orientation toward work preparation. In D. Stern & D. Eichorn (Eds.), Adolescence and work: Influences of social structure, labor markets, and culture(pp. 101-140). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
Ogbu, J. U. (1990). Minority education in comparative perspective. Journal of Negro Education, 59, 45-57.
22.
Ogbu, J. U. (2003). Black American students in an affluent suburb: A study of academic disengagement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
Paavola, J. C., Cobb, C., Illback, R. J., Joseph, H. M., Torruellaa, A., & Talley, R. C. (1995). Comprehensive and coordinated psychological services for children: A call for service integration. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
24.
Schorr, L. B. (1997). Common purpose: Strengthening families and neighborhoods to rebuild America. New York: Anchor.
25.
Solberg, V. S., Howard, K., Blustein, D. L., & Close, W. (2002). Career development in the schools: Connecting school-to-work-to-life. The Counseling Psychologist, 30, 705-725.
26.
Steinberg, L., Dornbusch, S. M., & Brown, B. B. (1992). Ethnic differences in adolescent achievement: An ecological perspective. American Psychologist, 47, 723-729.
27.
Turner, S. L., & Lapan, R. T. (2003). The measurement of career interests among at-risk innercity and middle-class suburban adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 11, 405-420.
28.
U.S. Department of Education. (1996). Urban schools: The challenge of location and poverty (NCES Publication No. 96-184r). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
