CHICANO CAREER MYTHS: THE EFFECTS OF AN EXPERIMENTAL INTERVENTION ON STUDENTS\u27 CAREER MATURITY AND CAREER MYTHS

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a career workshop intervention on career myths of Chicano high school and college students and to measure the subsequent effects on their career maturity. One hundred Chicano high school and college students participated in this study. A 2 x 2 pre-post repeated measure control group design was employed. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The factor of primary interest was a career counseling intervention approach with two levels, high school and college, and treatment and control. The career counseling approach was designed to increase realistic career attitudes (myths) and career maturity. The experimental treatment group met for a 60 minute workshop. The workshop was designed as a three part lecture presentation which addressed the concepts of career myths, career maturity, and influence of the Chicano culture. Participants in the control received no career counseling during the study, but they did complete the pre-post-test criterion instruments. The criterion instruments utilized were the Inventory of Career Attitudes, an assessment of possible Chicano specific career planning attitudes; the Career Maturity Inventory-Attitude Scale, an assessment of attitudes towards career decisions. Pre-post-test measures were computed on the entire sample. A two-factor, repeated measure analysis of variance was used to assess the effect of a career counseling approach. The analysis of variance revealed: (a) a significant main effect for the experimental treatment, and (b) a significant difference between educational level. A test of proportions indicated more treatment students initiated contact with presenters or counselors than did control group students. Although a career counseling workshop appears effective, the results indicate that further investigation is warranted. The implications of this study may help counselors address the career needs of Chicano students