High School Counselors’ Support and Latina/o Students’ Career Development Javier Cavazos Vela University of Texas at Brownsville Brandé Flamez Lamar University Ashley Clark Commonwealth of Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services 2 Abstract The current study examined the impact of high school counselors’ support of Latina/o students’ career development outcomes. We used a quantitative, predictive design to explore Latina/o students’ vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Perceptions of investment, accessibility, positive regard, appraisal, and expectations from school counselors did not impact Latina/o students’ vocational self-efficacy or outcome expectations. In addition to a discussion regarding the importance of these findings, implications for school counselors and researchers are offered. Keywords: Latina/o students, school counselors, vocational outcome expectations 3 High School Counselors’ Support and Latina/o Students’ Career Development Despite attempts by educational institutions to increase college and career awareness of the fast growing Latina/o population in the United States (U. S. Census Bureau, 2012), the achievement gap between these students and their peers remains in measures such as grades, test scores, high school completion rates, and college attainment (American Council on Education, 2012). Researchers indicated that this gap may be due to unique individual, interpersonal, and institutional challenges that affect Latina/o students’ career and college readiness, including low expectations from high school counselors (Mallott, 2010), access to minimal college information (Martinez, Cortez, & Saenz, 2013), low family support (Vela, Lu, Veliz, Johnson, & Castro, 2014), and negative experiences in non-advanced placement (AP) coursework (Cavazos & Cavazos, 2010). Although researchers uncovered Latina/o students’ perceptions of these factors, minimal attention has been given to potential effects of these perceptions on students’ vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations have been shown to have an effect on individuals’ confidence to pursue their desired career vocations (McWhirter, Rasheed, & Crothers, 2000). Given the relationship among career interests, career goals, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations (Roger & Creed, 2011), the importance of Latina/o students’ perceptions of high school counselors’ support on their vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to augment current literature regarding the relationship, if any, between Latina/o students’ perceptions of high school counselors’ support and the students’ career development outcomes. 4 Vocational Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy, individuals’ beliefs regarding their abilities to perform specific tasks (Bandura, 1997), has potential to influence numerous outcomes, including career paths and persistence in the face of adversity (Soresi, Nota, & Lent, 2004). As related to career development, vocational self-efficacy refers to students’ beliefs in their ability to accomplish career tasks, such as career exploration and career preparation, which is further related to career interests, career decision-making self-efficacy, and career goals (McWhirter et al., 2000). Amenable to influence from various focused interventions, vocational self-efficacy has been shown to increase as a result of targeted career curricula (Doren, Lombardi, Clark, & Lindstrom, 2013) and other high school career education (McWhirter et al., 2000). While this research demonstrates significant results relative to the effect of career education on students’ self-efficacy, no study found to date investigates the impact of school counselors’ support on self-efficacy. Vocational Outcome Expectations Outcome expectations refer to individual beliefs regarding consequences of specific actions and have potential to influence engagement in behaviors targeted at enhancing desired outcomes (Bandura, 1997). Related to career development, vocational outcome expectations focus on individual expectations about finding employment and career satisfaction (McWhirter et al., 2000). Similar to vocational self- efficacy, research on students’ vocational outcome expectations demonstrated a positive relationship between family support and vocational outcome expectations (Isik, 2013), as well as a positive, indirect relationship between perceived social status and vocational outcome expectations through self-efficacy (Metheny & McWhirter, 2013). 5 These studies demonstrate the potential influence of family support and stature on vocational outcome expectations, which can influence future career behaviors. As a result, it is important to explore how high school counselors influence this important career development outcome. High School Counselors’ Roles and Responsibilities The roles and responsibilities of professional school counselors include helping students with personal, social, and career development (DeKruyf, Auger, & Trice-Black, 2013). High school counselors also can promote social justice in order to eliminate systemic challenges that traditionally impede students from achieving academic success (Barrett, Lester, & Durham, 2011). Because of their role within the academic environment, school counselors are in a unique position to influence students’ future vocational success and to advocate for social justice endeavors and efforts. School counselors’ ability to promote social justice exists at several levels and can be applied to various groups. Social justice begins at the student-level and involves helping students become aware of oppressive practices in order to improve their individual empowerment (Barrett et al., 2011). Cavazos, Holt, and Flamez (2012), outlined effects of narrative therapy on student perceptions. Results of the study, which involved increasing student awareness on the effects of tracking and low expectations on academic goals and self-efficacy, suggested that narrative therapy can help Latina/o students overcome systemic challenges to postsecondary education. While social justice at the student-level involves change in an individual’s self-perception, social justice at the school-level moves beyond the counselor-student relationship to elicit change (Barrett et al., 2011). In demonstrating this potential, Ohrt, Lambie, and Ieva 6 (2009) investigated the potential influence of high school counselors on increasing awareness of potential postsecondary educational programs that can increase student success. Drawing from this study, the authors suggested that high school counselors can provide informational sessions to help students learn about the importance and requirements of advanced placement (AP) coursework. Although social justice initiatives on a school-level have potential to elicit change beyond the student or student-counselor relationship, the opportunity to bring about change expands to what Barrett et al. (2011) defined as broader systems social justice. This level of social justice focuses on policies that impede or oppress students and often includes attempts to change structural policies that unfairly disadvantage specific populations from accessing equal opportunities for success. Related to Latina/o high school students, this could indicate that school counselors identify ways to change policies that impede access and equity to challenging coursework or college information (Villalba, Akos, Keeter, & Ames, 2007). Factors Affecting Latina/o Students’ Experiences With School Counselors The American School Counseling Association (2012) outlined the availability of social justice initiatives for the equal treatment of and equal opportunities for students of various cultural characteristics in their guidelines for ethical practice. While specific suggestions for empowering Latina/o students were not provided, Villalba et al. (2007) argued that the provision of high expectations directed toward Latina/o students and support to pursue postsecondary education was associated with increased performance and opportunities for success. These factors were further accompanied by an increase in student’s perceived satisfaction with their school counselors. In supporting this view, 7 Vela-Gude and her colleagues (2009) interviewed Latina/o college students regarding their experiences with high school counselors. Results of their study indicated that students engaged in various advanced targeted programs perceived positive expectations and investment from their high school counselors. Additionally, Jodry, Robles-Pina, and Nichter (2004) examined the experiences of Hispanic high school students to determine the impact that school counselors had on communicating high expectations. Results of their study supported the potential impact of high school counselor’s expectations on students and their outcome expectations. One student shared the following response about counselor support: “I’ll be the first in my family to graduate from high school. College, I didn’t think about it really until the counselor said I should” (p. 28). Despite increasing identification of the importance of encouragement and high expectations on student’s self-perceptions and career outlook, several studies revealed a lack of students’ perceived expectations set forth by their school counselors (Malott, 2010; Vela-Gude et al., 2009). Two separate studies uncovered various Latina/o students who reported experiencing low expectations from school counselors. Specifically, Vela-Gude et al. (2009) reported that the majority of Latina/o students interviewed within their study perceived that counselors had low expectations of them. Malott (2010) also revealed similar responses among individuals of Mexican descent in their interactions with their high school counselors. Specifically, some students described low expectations and insufficient attention from school counselors. 8 Purpose of the Study Scholarly articles related to Latina/o students’ perceptions of support from high school counselors are numerous (e.g., Malott, 2010; Vela-Gude et al., 2009). However, few researchers examined the impact of school counselors’ support on Latina/o students’ vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations. The lack of research related to the predictive nature of school counselors’ support and career development remains unknown. This presents a problem given that some Latina/o students reported negative experiences and low expectations from high school counselors (Malott, 2010; Vela-Gude et al., 2009). Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the predictive nature of school counselors’ support on Latina/o students’ vocational self- efficacy and outcome expectations. Professional school counselors may find this information useful when strategizing how to help Latina/o students improve vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations. In an effort to address the dearth of literature regarding high school counselors’ support and students’ career perceptions, two research questions were developed as the basis of the study: 1. To what extent do factors of counselor support (i.e., positive regard, investment, expectations, accessibility, and appraisal) predict Latina/o students’ vocational outcome expectations? 2. To what extent do factors of counselor support (i.e., positive regard, investment, expectations, accessibility, and appraisal) predict Latina/o students’ vocational self-efficacy? 9 Method Participants Students from a local community college and university were recruited for participation in this study due to the schools’ large Hispanic-student population. While both Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals were included in data collection, only participants who self-identified as Hispanic, Mexican, or Mexican American were included in data analysis. Data from the remainder of students who self-identified their ethnic background as other (i.e., African American, Anglo, or Filipino) were removed, leaving a final sample of 122 participants. This sample was composed of 34 males (28%) and 88 females (72%) with the majority of participants self-identifying as Latina/o (45%), followed by Mexican American (40%), and finally Mexican (11%). A total of 71 students (58%) reported being enrolled in one or more AP course during their senior year in high school, while 51 students (42%) did not enroll in any AP course. Instruments Teacher Support Scale-Revised (TSSR; McWhirter, 1996). The TSSR is an unpublished measure that traditionally measures students’ perceptions of teacher support in academic activities (McWhirter, 1996). Given the desire to address high school counselor support as opposed to teacher support, all references to “teachers” in the TSSR were replaced with “school counselors” with the author’s permission. The revised 25-item scale contained various statements which participants were instructed to evaluate on a five point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1). In turn, scores on five subscales relative to students’ perceptions of high school counselors were obtained. These subscales consist of (a) investment, (b) 10 positive regard, (c) expectations, (d) accessibility, and (e) appraisal. Within this scale, investment is best described as students’ perceptions of their teachers’ commitment of time and energy into their future success, while positive regard refers to students’ perceptions of their teachers’ approval and acceptance. Expectations, addresses students’ perception of high school counselors’ positive beliefs about their potential for academic success, while accessibility relates to the extent to which a student perceives high school counselors are available to provide information, guidance, and support (Metheny, McWhirter, & O’Neil, 2008). Finally, appraisal refers to students’ perceptions of high school counselors’ evaluation of their work (McWhirter, 1996). Vela, Zamarripa, Balkin, Smith, and Johnson (2014) used this scale to measure perceptions of school counselor support and found evidence of strong reliability for each subscale: accessible (α = .81), expectations (α = .82), positive regard (α = .90), investment (α = .92), and appraisal (α = .87). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha for each subscale were strong: accessible (α = .80), expectations (α = .87), positive regard (α = .86), investment (α = .93), and appraisal (α = .87). Vocational Skills Self-Efficacy (McWhirter et al., 2000). The Vocational Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (VSSE) measures participants’ confidence in their ability to perform well on specific tasks. Sample items include: “complete a job application correctly,” “describe the basic interpersonal skills required for most jobs,” and “state my career goals.” Participants are asked to respond on a nine-point scale ranging from complete confidence (9) to no confidence at all (1). The mean score of these responses is used to represent vocational skills self-efficacy with higher scores reflective of higher vocational self-efficacy. McWhirter et al. (2000) found a reliability coefficient of .97. Ali and