Session Information
99 ERC SES 05 H, Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)
Paper Session
Contribution
What kind of process is career change? This study examines career changing in the Finnish context because it is interesting from a research point of view. Finland has a national strategy of lifelong learning and free education for all which makes it an interesting case for three reasons. First, with the help of Finnish case, we can study this phenomenon from a perspective that is not suppressed by extensive market forces but leaves more room for adults’ choices. Second, studying is flexible during all stages of life. Consequently, In Finland, career choices and the transition to adult education and training can be made at any stage of the career. The phenomenon of career change has been studied in the context of changing working life, but not from adult choices perspective. Career change here is defined as movement to a different job that is not part of a current career path. This study specially focuses to the voluntary turnover and vocational change.
In their integrated career change model, Rhodes & Doering (1983) present the determinants of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, which lead to career change. Experiencing dissatisfaction in one’s current job influences one’s thoughts about changing jobs or careers (Carless & Arnup 2010), and it also increases the intention to search for a new career (Rhodes & Doering 1983). There is a positive correlation between satisfaction with work and satisfaction with areas of personal life outside work (Martel & Dupuis 2006). A career change is undertaken because there is an expectation that various aspects of work life will improve after this change. Hess, Jepsen, & Dries (2012) argue that for specific career concerns to be translated into career change intentions, there must be a certain degree of self-perceived ability and opportunity to make those changes (Hess et al. 2012). The individual characteristics of career changers, such as openness to experience and general self-efficacy (Carless & Arnup 2010), are also considered explanatory career-change factors. In other words, self-efficacy is a belief in one’s ability to perform across a variety of situations (Chen, Gully & Eden 2004).
It is conceivable that a career is changed because of the variating needs of the working life, but also in pursuit of employee’s own wishes. Work standards change as working life changes, atypical and precarious work becomes more typical. Developments like this has led to need for constant retraining as people engage in learning trajectories (training, work, employment etc.) throughout the life course. (Glastra et al. 2004.)
Illeris (2003) claims, that adults must constantly re-engage with education and training, and those who do not, risk social and economic marginalization (Illeris 2003). Also, previous studies of Giddens (1990) and Scanlon (2008) have shown that all situations and individuals have horizons of possibility. That is, there are always limitations on the degree to which individuals can remake themselves through the process of change. From a sociological point of view, Giddens (1990) calls the process by which adults make recurring transitions as ‘self-authoring’. The key, of the self-authoring is reflexivity where individuals consider their biographies now and in the future. They make career choices, which are based on an analysis of their life circumstances, competences, and work-life requirements. In his theory of perspective transformation, Mezirow (1991) states that adults make intentional movements to resolve grievances in their lives. They are reflective and think things through critically and ponder things from different perspectives. Moreover, they evaluate the validity of the current view of meaning and examine the validity of other perspectives. Mezirow (1991) defines that meaning perspective is the frame within which meaning making takes place.
Method
In line with the Grounded Theory methodology approach, this study began by collecting data. The open interview method (Creswell 2014; Glaser 1978, 1992) was applied. Interview data were collected without strictly elaborated research questions. The interviews present experiential events that follow one another. In social encounters with the researcher, people told stories with their own words (Fludernik 1996). Data was analyzed by following systematic coding protocol of the Grounded Theory methodology. After analysis, results are presented as categories and subcategories. Also, under each subcategory properties are presented which clarify the subcategories. Instead of describing the results as such, the aim is to conceptualize what has been found. The concepts continue to guide the theoretical discussion. According to Glaser (1978), the Grounded Theory is a methodology that allows a thorough clarification of the phenomenon because it is based on research data. Grounded Theory emphasizes behavior and seeks patterns of behavior, with the goal of conceptualizing human behavior. It is an open approach into unexpected research data, like social encounters can be. Over time, several variations have been developed in the Grounded Theory. This study, however, follows the classical Grounded Theory orientation of Glaser (1978), because of its openness and discipline. Although the method is systematic, it gives space to emergent properties, and researcher’s creativity, especially when discovering new insights into the phenomenon based on collected data. Little research has been done about the career changers’ authentic experiences. The classical Grounded Theory was considered as a suitable method to conceptualize career-change processes based on the social encounters with career changers and openly interviewed data. The Grounded Theory methodology is based on coding and comparing the identified incidents in peoples’ life stories to discover patterns in their life-course (Glaser, 1978). The goal of the analysis was to generate an emergent set of codes and categories, which relate to their properties which fit, work and are relevant for integrating them into an emerging theory (Glaser, 1978). The properties were collated together followed by comparing and grouping them (selective coding) into specific categories. In the analysis, the following categories emerged: elements that trigger career-change; adult choices after vocational education and training; and implementing a career-change as part of life change.
Expected Outcomes
Career-change does not cause discontinuity between person’s original and current career. On the contrary, several acquired vocations expand the career opportunities and existing capacity. They also increase the opportunities to consolidate the position in the labor market. In addition to employment opportunities, personal skills expand and can be used in new ways in acquired vocations, and after a career change there is an opportunity to continue working either in the previous job or in a new vocation. Particularly, certain characteristics of work are highly valued, such as experiencing meaningfulness at work, self-guidance at work and the opportunity to make independent decisions in work tasks. In conclusion the results of this study show, that when making career choices, adults firstly experience uncertainty about his or her abilities, secondly measure the permanence of areas of interest, thirdly assess the current and long-term potential of alternative vocations. Eventually, adults will do their best to find the most suitable job to building their own life. Self-authored career-change is about seeking a suitable and meaningful work, making independent choices, and re-orienting career and life. Besides, the impact of the change on the future is critically assessed as life is expected to change with it. Career-change is a multifactorial process that is difficult to fit directly from one stage to another. This study shows that one’s personal life situation must be suitable to support career change. Family, social relationships, financial security, and an awareness of the option of changing careers influenced career change. Moreover, parallel changes in life were crucial triggering elements in the process. Career-change is also the response to the need for change caused by the conflict between work and other life. Above all, a changing career can be viewed as part of a life change.
References
Carless, S. A. & Arnup, J. L. (2010). ‘A longitudinal study of the determinants and outcomes of career change.’ Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78(2011), 80–91. DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.09.002 Chen, G., Gully, S. & Eden, D. (2004). ‘General self-efficacy and self-esteem: Toward theoretical and empirical distinction between correlated self-evaluations.’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 375–395. DOI:10.1002/job.251 Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: SAGE Publications. Fludernik, M. (1996). Towards a ‘natural’ narratology. London: Routledge. DOI:10.1515/jlse.1996.25.2.97 Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity. Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: University of California. Glaser, B. G. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis: Emergence vs forcing. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press. Glastra, F., Hake, B. & Schedler, P. (2004). Lifelong learning as transitional learning. Adult Education Quarterly 54, no. 4: 291_307. Hess, N., Jepsen, D. M. & Dries, N. (2012). ‘Career and employer change in the age of the ‘boundaryless’ career.’ Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81(2), 280–288. DOI:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.10.009 Illeris, K. (2003). Adult education as experienced by learners. International Journal of Lifelong Education 22, no. 1: 13-23 Martel, J.-P. & Dupuis, G. (2006). “Quality of work life: Theoretical and methodological problems, and presentation of a new model and measuring instrument.” Social Indicators Research, 77(2), 333–368. DOI:10.1007/s11205-004-5368-4 Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Rhodes, S. R. & Doering, M. (1983). ‘An integrated model of career change.’ The Academy of Management Review, 8(4), 631–639. DOI:10.2307/258264 Scanlon, L. (2008) Adults’ motives for returning to study: the role of self-authoring, Studies in Continuing Education, 30:1, 17-32.
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