This study examined how high school course-taking patterns (i.e., career and technical education [CTE] vs. academic vs. no concentration), personal characteristics embedded in a social cognitive theory framework (e.g., self-efficacy, academic expectations), and contextual variables (e.g., parental expectations, socioeconomic status [SES]) interact…

Affective occupational commitment (AOC) during training is considered to prevent occupational turnover and positively influence later work-related outcomes and learning processes. However, little is known about AOC development in a training context. This study examines antecedents and consequences of AOC and its development during vocational…

Learning difficulties have been found to dilute the possibilities that young adults have in their educational careers. However, during the last few decades, education has become increasingly important for employment and overall life satisfaction. In the present study, we were interested in the effects of mathematical and reading difficulties and…

Given the complex and rapidly changing nature of the current work environment, individuals' capabilities to effectively influence their environment and regulate their behavior may be critical to career success. Drawing from the model of emergent interactive agency (Bandura, 1989), the current research examines this perspective, focusing on…

This paper investigates early employment influences on postsecondary expectations and enrolment for working men and women who have recently completed high school in the United States. We find that young workers still have very high expectations for postsecondary education, but that women are more likely to enrol. However, this difference is…

A cooperative education experience (or internship placement) is an essential component of the curricula of vocational higher education. The efficacy of internship placements has become one of the major concerns facing those who develop education curricula. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the relationships among the…

The dissertation aims to tackle one of the most pressing questions facing the merit pay system researchers and practitioners: Why do merit pay raises have such a small effect on employees' satisfaction, commitment and job performance? My approach to the study of this question is to develop explanatory frameworks from two perspectives: cognitive…

We tested the incremental impact of a job-related set of variables for explaining a utility judgment training effectiveness variable, that is, course completion skill preparedness, beyond background and course-related variables. Our respondents were two different emergency medical service samples, 415 basics and 742 paramedics, from the 2008 US…

The purpose of this study was to examine correlates of being at expected grade level in reading in the third grade. Participants for this study were a nationally representative sample of African American children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Multilevel modeling was conducted to determine significant predictors of academic…

The present study investigates the impact of role modeling as perceived by proteges on their personal learning (i.e., relational job learning and personal skill development) and work-to-family enrichment (WFE). Results from a two-wave field survey of 173 proteges in the People's Republic of China indicate that role modeling positively affects…

Although research indicates that making progress on personal work goals predicts positive job attitudes, little is known about the role of conscientiousness in moderating this relationship. Congruence theories suggest that job attitudes will be more dependent on goal progress when employees are high in conscientiousness, whereas compensation…

Tested hypothesis that interest congruence is more closely linked with job satisfaction for workers with clearly defined interests as opposed to workers with poorly defined interests. Results implied that congruence is a moderately efficient predictor of satisfaction when between-occupation sources of variance are excluded by research design.…

Study of 436 adults showed that job and occupational change were not significantly related to person-work environment fit or job satisfaction at intake. At ywo-year follow-up, those who changed jobs/occupations were significantly more satisfied than nonchangers. (SK)

A 3-year study of 82 young professionals found that work-related well-being was predicted by selection (commitment to personal goals), optimization (application of goal-related skills), and compensation (maintaining goals in the face of loss). The degree of compensation predicted emotional well-being and job satisfaction 3 years later. (Contains…

Investigated degree to which secondary school variables of grade point average, involvement in school activities, knowledge of interests and abilities, knowledge of different occupations, amount of part-time work, and vocational attitude maturity at grade 12 were able to predict career certainty, career maturity, satisfaction with occupational…