Constructing career identity: a qualitative study of students’ experiences in a narrative-based college career counseling group

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Rochester. Warner School of Education, 2017.Educational researchers have long noted that identity development is a primary task of individuals during the college age period (ages eighteen to twenty-five; Erikson 1968). However, career counseling on college campuses is often disconnected from explorations related to identity development. The purpose of this study was to develop a narrative career counseling small group program to facilitate career identity development and to understand the experiences of college student participants. The narrative career counseling group explored the process of career identity development through the construction of a career story. The group gave students both a space to frame a career identity and skills to recognize the challenges and benefits of maintaining an identity. Qualitative methods based on a constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) were used to understand the experience of group participants. The program consisted of four small groups of two to six college students per group and was conducted over two workshop sessions. Participants completed reflective writing as well as individual interviews. Results suggested the intervention was useful in facilitating career identity development and also revealed a three-phase model that students experience as they engage in the career identity process