Career Contentment and Retention of Midlevel Student Affairs - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Career Contentment and Retention of Midlevel Student Affairs Professionals Kira Pasquesi, University of I owa Maureen E. Wilson, Bowling Green State University Debora L. Liddell, University of I owa Amy S. Hirschy, University of Louisville American College Personnel Association Indianapolis, IN – March 31, 2014

Program Outline  Introduce study and define key constructs  Share survey findings  Small group discussions on challenges facing midlevel professionals  Brainstorm strategies and sources of support focused on career contentment and intent to stay in the field

Purpose of Study  Identify factors associated with midlevel student affairs administrators’ professional identity  Examine contributions of career commitment and entrenchment to professional identity

Midlevel Professionals  Position on organization chart  Span of authority  Control of resources  Complexity of programs and services supervised (McClellan, 2012; Young, 1990)

Midlevel in Student Affairs  Report directly to the senior student affairs officer  Direct or control at least 1 student affairs function  Supervise at least 1 professional staff member (Fey & Carpenter, 1996)

Midlevel in Student Affairs  Manage directions from supervisors while providing daily support and guidance to staff members (Rosser, 2004)  Supervising multiple layers of staff while cultivating own professional identity (Roper, 2011)

Research Questions  What factors are associated with professional identity of midlevel professionals in student affairs?  What demographic characteristics and dimensions of career commitment and career entrenchment explain professional identity?

Professional I dentity  Adoption of and commitment to values and practices of the profession  Investment of personal resources (e.g., time, money, effort)  Emanates from an internalized congruence between personal and professional values (Hirschy, Wilson, Liddell, Boyle, & Pasquesi, under review)

Professional I dentity  Items from Survey of Professionals in Student Affairs  Professional Identity Factors  Values Congruence with Profession ( α = .63)  Community Connection ( α = .70)  Career Contentment ( α = .74)

Career Entrenchment  “Immobility resulting from substantial economic and psychological investments in a career that make change difficult” (Carson, Carson, Phillips, & Roe, 1996, p. 274)  Three subscales  Career Investments ( α = .77)  Emotional Costs ( α = .88)  Limitedness of Career Alternatives ( α = .85)

Career Commitment  Psychological link between a person and their occupation (Lee, Carswell, & Allen, 2000)  “One’s motivation to work in a chosen vocation” (Carson & Bedeian, 1994, p. 240)  Three subscales Career Identity ( α = .75)  Career Planning ( α = .69)  Career Resilience ( α = .89) 

Participants  Survey invitations sent to 1,348 ACPA members who identified themselves as midlevel professionals on membership profile  Excluded 24 with fewer than 5 years experience  377 usable surveys  Respondents characteristic of ACPA members

Gender & Race/ Ethnicity Gender Female 255 67.6% Male 119 31.6% Transgender 3 0.8% Racial/ Ethnic I dentity African American or Black 37 9.8% Asian or Pacific Islander 7 1.9% Bi-racial or Multiracial 10 2.7% Hispanic/Latino/Latina 19 5.0% White, Non-Hispanic 304 80.6%

Education & Years in Profession Highest educational level completed Some master's classes or less 4 1.1% Master's degree 185 49.1% Some doctoral classes 93 24.7% Doctorate 95 25.2% Years Worked in Profession (inc. grad) 6-10 years 120 31.8% 11-15 years 108 28.6% 16-20 years 80 21.2% 39 10.3% 21-25 years 30 8.0% More than 25 years

Hierarchical Blocked Regressions  Professional identity subscales (values congruence, community connection, career contentment)  First block: Demographics  Second block:  Career entrenchment (investments, emotional costs, career alternatives)  Career commitment (identity, planning, and resilience)

Career Contentment Results  Years in profession ( β = .100)  Career commitment - identity ( β = .303)  Career commitment - resilience ( β = .458)  Career entrenchment - investments ( β = .150)  Career entrenchment - emotional costs ( β = .164) Adjusted R 2 = .633

Explaining Career Contentment  Midlevel professionals:  In field for a long time  Had a strong emotional connection to it  Were able to adapt to challenges  Had put a lot of time and resources into their profession  Would lose too much by leaving  They were committed to staying in their career

I mplications for Future Research  Examine different paths and priorities of midlevel professionals  Focus on locals, cosmopolitans, and local- cosmopolitans  Explore reasons for turnover

Small Group Discussions  What factors contribute to your level of career contentment and intent to stay in the field?  What are the primary challenges that may influence the retention of midlevel professionals in the field?

Strategies and Support  What are potential strategies to better retain midlevel professionals?  How can professional associations and institutions of higher education further the professional identity development of midlevel professionals?

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Contact  PowerPoint and handout available through ACPA site Kira Pasquesi: Kira-pasquesi@uiowa.edu Maureen Wilson: mewilso@bgsu.edu Deb Liddell: Debora-liddell@uiowa.edu Amy Hirschy: amy.hirschy@louisville.edu

References Carson, K. D., & Bedeian, A. G. (1994). Career commitment: Construction of a measure and examination of its psychometric properties. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 44 , 237-262. Carson, K. D., Carson, P ., Phillips, J. S., & Roe, C. (1996). A career entrenchment model: theoretical development and empirical outcomes. Journal of Career Development , 22 , 273-286. Fey, C. J., & Carpenter, D. S. (1996). Mid-level student affairs administrators: Management skills and professional development needs. NASPA Journal, 33 , 218-231. Hirschy, A. S., Wilson, M. E., Liddell, D. L., Boyle, K. M., Pasquesi, K. (under review). Socialization to student affairs: Early career experiences associated with professional identity development. Lee, K., Carswell, J. J., & Allen, J. (2000). A meta-analytic review of occupational commitment: Relations with person and work-related variables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85 , 799-811. McClellan, G. S. (2012, October 25). Moving to the middle. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com Roper, L. D. (2011). Editor’s notes. In L. D. Roper (Ed.), Supporting and supervising mid-level professionals (New Directions for Student Services, no. 136, pp. 1-3), San Francisco, CA: Wiley. Rosser, V . J. (2004). A national study on midlevel leaders in higher education: The unsung professionals in the academy. Higher Education , 48 , 317-337. Young, R. B. (2007). Still leaders ! Still invisible ? In R. L. Ackerman & L. D. Roper, The mid-level manager in student affairs (pp. 1-25). Washington, DC: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.