INFLUENCE ON DEMOGRAPHICS ON VALUES AND CAREER CHOICE OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS, EDUCATION, NURSING, AND LAW.
Contributors: University of San Francisco.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 179
Subjects: Women's Studies.; Education, Guidance and Counseling.
Description: This study investigated the proposition that women are acculturated into certain careers. Three questions were asked: (1) do career values fall into achievement and affiliative orientations which relate to specific careers? (2) do selected demographic variables influence the career values and career choice of women between the ages of 26 and 60 who are in business, education, nursing, and law? and (3) do demographic variables predict career values?.

Selected demographic variables included age, marital status, number of children, amount of education at the time of career choice, and information on the subject's childhood such as birth order, socioeconomic status, amount of education and occupation of mother and father, and role models. The twenty career values used were taken from the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire and included achievement, social service, advancement potential, compensation, and co-workers.

This was a descriptive study which used a researcher-designed survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 165 women who were equally distributed among the four careers and who volunteered to participate.

The first research question was answered using one-way anovas to determine whether the women in the four careers differed significantly in their values. A combination of analysis of variance and Chi Square techniques was used to answer the second research question. The third research question was answered using multiple regression analysis and discriminant function analysis.

The findings indicated the (1) eight of the twenty values had an achievement or affiliative orientation which differentiated the four careers; (2) career values appeared to be a limited function of socioeconomic level and of the amount of education of the mother; (3) career choice seemed to be a more complex function of characteristics such as education at decision time and socioeconomic level as indexed by the mother's education and occupation; and (4) demographic variables appeared to predict career choice to a greater extent than did career values.

This study supported existing literature in concluding that women are acculturated into certain careers. Since background variables can be mediated, the focus of educators needs to be on curriculum development and implementation to more effectively educate and support women as they make their career decisions.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-07, Section: A, page: 1994.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1988.

School code: 6019.