VOCATION AS CALLING: THE ROLE OF GENDER IN VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT AND ACTION AMONG FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

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VOCATION AS CALLING THE ROLE OF GENDER IN
VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT AND ACTION AMONG
FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Cindy Miller-Perrin
• Don Thompson
• Research Conference on Religion and Spirituality
• Division 36 APA Baltimore, Maryland
• April 1, 2005

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Religion and Higher Education

• Higher Education traditionally separates academic
  and religious pursuits.
• Commitment to scientific or research-based
  approaches to knowledge.
• Lack of theoretical attention to faith and
  spirituality in terms of student development.

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Faith and Spirituality

• More recent attention to faith and spiritual
  development among college students.
• Higher Educations mission addresses the whole
  person (Stamm, 2004).
• Most college students interested in religious and
  spiritual matters (Young Young, 2003).

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College Student Development

• College years are critical years in development
  (Parks, 2000).
• College years marked by change in individual self
  and religious self (Lee, 2002).

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Vocational Development

• College students consider issues associated with
  personal identity, faith beliefs, and career
  options.
• Higher education should help students discover
  and pursue their vocational callings (Crosby,
  2004 Dalton, 2001).
• Little empirical work examines the nature and
  development of vocational calling.

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Research Hypotheses

• Vocational Development is the intersection of
  Faith Development and Identity Development.
• Faith and Vocational Development are
  significantly correlated for all students.
• Men and Women discern and act upon vocational
  calling differently.
• Barriers to vocational discernment and action
  differ by gender.

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Method

• Participants 190 first-year college students.
• Private, Christian Liberal Arts
• 55 female 45 male
• Age range 18-20 years (M 18.66)
• 3 African American 13 Asian 72 Caucasian
  10 Latino

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Measures

• Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
• Vocational Discernment and Action
• Vocational Barriers

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Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
Subscales Sample Items
Strength of Belief (alpha .81) I view myself as a religious person. I have doubts about whether my religious beliefs are true.
Faith Behavior (alpha .88) How often do you attend religious services? How often have you read a devotional, religious, or spiritual book in the last year?
Application of Faith (alpha .90) I depend on my faith in God for decision-making and direction. I try hard to carry my religious beliefs into all other dealings in my life.
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Vocational Discernment and Action
Subscales Sample Items
Discernment and Purpose (alpha .76) I have a good sense for my life purpose. I know of the many ways that I can use my gifts and talents within the context of my professional career. I am unsure about what God is specifically calling me to do.
Service to Others (alpha .68) I am motivated to choose a career that will enable me to provide some type of service to others. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and suffering in the world.
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Vocational Barriers
Subscales Barriers to life purpose fulfillment
Personal Barriers (alpha .84) Fear Emotional Problems Self-doubt Lack of motivation
Interpersonal Barriers (alpha .86) A parent A friend A boy/girl friend A teacher or professor
Social and Cultural Barriers (alpha .90) Lack of financial resources Feeling pressure or a desire to get married Feeling that my opportunities are limited by the gender stereotypes of society
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Procedures

• Random sample of 300 students recruited from the
  2002 entering class for Web survey. Response
  rate 68.
• Most survey items required Likert response using
  a 5-point scale ranging from not at all to
  very much.
• Participants received convocation credit for
  their participation.

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Results

• Strong Relationship Between Faith and Vocation
• Significant Gender Differences
• Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
• Vocational Discernment and Action
• Vocational Barriers

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Correlations between Faith and Vocation Scores

• Faith Total Belief
  Behavior Application
• Vocation
• Total .49 .36 .45 .51
• Discern .30 .27 .25 .33
• Service .49 .31 .48 .48
• plt.01, plt.05

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Gender Differences in Faith Attitudes Behaviors

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Application of Faith Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Application of
Faith Items

• I try hard to carry my religious beliefs into all
  other dealings in my life.
• I look to God for strength, support, and guidance.

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Faith Behavior Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Faith Behavior
Items

• Taking part in activities and organizations of
  church or place of worship
• Frequency of prayer
• Finding strength and comfort in religion or faith
• Feeling Gods love directly or through others
• Awareness of Gods presence

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Strength of Belief Scores
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Gender Differences in Vocational Discernment and
Action

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Service Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Service Items

• Plan to enter career that emphasizes service to
  others
• Feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing
  pain and suffering in world
• Motivated to choose career that enables to
  provide service to others rather than career with
  financial rewards or power and prestige

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Discernment Scores
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Gender Differences in Vocational Barriers

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Personal Barriers Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Personal
Barriers Items

• Fear
• Emotional Problems
• Self-doubt
• Need for personal control over life
• Need to feel secure and safe

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Interpersonal Barriers Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Interpersonal
Barriers Items

• Perception that parents prevent females from
  fulfilling life purpose

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Social and Cultural Barriers Scores
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Gender Differences for Individual Social and
Cultural Barriers Items

• Lack of financial resources
• Societal gender stereotypes impose limits

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Conclusions

• The current study provides
• First empirical work to examine characteristics
  of vocational development in a college student
  sample.
• The current study provides support for
  theoretical propositions previously described in
  the literature.

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Conclusions

• Faith attitudes and behaviors are strongly
  associated with vocational discernment and
  action.
• This relationship is consistent across gender. It
  holds true for males as well as females.

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Conclusions

• Faith expression varies by gender.
• Application of Faith
• Females view their Faith as impacting their whole
  lives.
• Faith Behavior
• Females are more likely to practice the habits of
  faithful and religious life.

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Conclusions

• Vocational discernment and action varies by
  gender.
• Females more likely to plan careers of service
  and to feel called to alleviate pain and
  suffering in the world.

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Conclusions

• Experiences with barriers to vocational action
  vary by gender.
• Females perceive a greater number of barriers in
  fulfilling their life purpose
• Personal
• Interpersonal
• Societal