Date Approved

3-16-2018

Embargo Period

3-18-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Johnson, Ane Turner

Committee Member 1

Pulliam, Nicole

Committee Member 2

Sisco, Burton

Keywords

career counseling, first-generation, grounded theory, self-disclosure

Subject(s)

Educational counseling; First-generation college students

Disciplines

Higher Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services

Abstract

Financial security is cited among reasons why first-generation college students pursue higher education (Bradbury & Mather, 2009; Brooks-Terry, 1988; Shelton, 2011; Walpole, 2003), but the emphasis on perceived value of a bachelor's degree fails to account for the importance of career planning (NACE, 2014; Parks-Yancy, 2012). The purpose of this qualitative, grounded theory study was to examine how career counselors use their personal experience to support first-generation college student. The study was inspired by Knox and Hill's (2003) therapist self-disclosure types and their use in the counselor/client discourse. The findings suggest that first-generation college students benefit from hearing their career counselors' stories, particularly in the context of choosing a major and planning for a career. Further, in examining the findings within broader social theoretical constructs (Glaser, 2005), the themes that emerged from the data have the potential to inform a theory of career development that places counselor self-disclosure at its core.

Download

Share

COinS