THE IMPACT OF AVAILABILITY OF CHILD CARE ARRANGEMENTS ON THE CAREER PATHS AND EVENTUAL JOB SATISFACTION OF WOMEN IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

CHERYL LEIGH WEILAND STECZAK, Purdue University

Abstract

Vocational development theorists have suggested that occupational choice is a means by which a woman implements her self-concept. To the degree that a variety of options are available, occupational choice influences one's total life adjustment and serves a key function in the evolution of one's career. Many factors are known or have been hypothesized to contribute to the career development of women who are employed. When the employed woman is also a mother, however, another dimension impacts upon her career development which has implications for her occupational and vocational choices. Because she is laden with responsibilities of child-rearing, the employed mother's choices can be severely limited. Also, her career path is often less stable and less predictable than that of the woman who does not have children. As a result, employed mothers represent a segment of the labor force which faces unique and compelling problems and whose skills and resources are either underutilized or neglected. This issue is of direct concern to vocational educators. The present study utilized data collected as a part of the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS), conducted by the Ohio State University and the Bureau of the Census. The NLS followed the movement of 4,531 women (1,978 employed women without children, 1,952 employed mothers with preferred child care, and 601 employed mothers without preferred child care) from adolescence and into adulthood. This research study utilized only those women from the nationwide multi-stage, stratified, proportionate, random sample who were employed in 1975. Measures of association, the chi-square examined the effect of selected variables which encompassed age, marital status, occupational/educational status, socio-economic status, occupational/educational goal, high school curriculum, income, attitude of husband, occupation of respondent's mother and number of children requiring child care. The career patterns of employed mothers and employed women without children were found to be very different. The employed mother has a career path that is less stable than the employed woman without children. She is more likely to be employed in non-professional and non-managerial occupations and less likely to be able to participate in occupational opportunities which would prepare her for occupations with higher levels of income, benefits, and personal satisfaction. It appears that an increasing number of employed mothers are competing for the same part-time, low-income, entry-level occupations. To the degree that occupational choice does affect total life adjustment, it would seem that fewer employed mothers than employed women without children are becoming all that they desire; nor are they realizing the fullness of their potentialities. The result is that a valuable human resource among mothers who choose to work is being wasted. The results of this study appear to indicate that the employed mother or future employed mother needs not only vocational guidance, but also realistic career information. Several issues are relevant for the vocational educator, such as: (1) identification of potential early employed mothers, (2) personal counseling for self-actualization, (3) emphasis on life planning in addition to career planning, (4) preparation in the area of work adjustment skills, (5) providing greater opportunities for more actual work experience and on-the-job tryouts, and (6) advance the development of child care research and facilities for employed mothers.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Vocational education

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