The Theological Exploration of
Vocation among Students
PTEV Final Conference
Lilly Endowment
February 9, 2007
Cindy Miller-Perrin
Don Thompson
Pepperdine University
Research Hypothesis
• Vocational Development is the
intersection of Faith Development and
Identity Development.
– Vocational Development is significantly
correlated with both Faith and Identity
scores over time.
Research Methods
2002-2006
• Student Development
– Faith, Vocation, Identity
• Surveys (N=300; Response Rate=64%83%)
• Interviews (N=150; Response Rate=70%81%)
– Autobiographical Writings
– Vocation Discussion Groups
Results
•
•
•
•
Identity Development
Faith Development
Vocational Development
Significant Predictors
Ego-Identity Status Groups
– Achievement: exploration and commitment
• “It took me a while to figure it out, but now I really know what I
want for a career.”
– Moratorium: exploration without commitment
• “Religion is confusing to me right now. I keep changing my views
on what is right and wrong for me.”
– Foreclosure: no exploration, but commitment
• “My parents decided a long time ago what I should go into for
employment and I’m following through with their plans.”
– Diffusion: no exploration or commitment
• “I haven’t really considered politics. It just doesn’t excite me
much.”
Identity Development
35
30
25
Diffusion
Foreclosure
Moratorium
Achievement
20
15
10
Baseline
First-Year
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Faith Development Measures
Subscales
Sample Items
Strength of Belief
•I view myself as a religious person.
•I have doubts about whether my religious
beliefs are true.
(alpha = .81)
Faith Behaviors
(alpha = .88)
Application of Faith
(alpha = .90)
•How often do you attend religious
services?
•How often have you read a devotional,
religious, or spiritual book in the last year?
•I depend on my faith in God for decisionmaking and direction.
•I try hard to carry my religious beliefs into
all other dealings in my life.
Faith Development
45
40
35
30
25
20
io
r
Se
n
r
ni
o
Ju
or
e
ho
m
op
Ye
rs
t
Fi
B
as
el
in
e
ar
15
Belief Strength
Behavior
Application
Faith Strength & Importance
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
I seek ways to
strengthen my
faith
2
1.5
My faith is NOT
important to me
1
Baseline
First-Year
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Vocational Discernment and
Action
Subscales
Sample Items
Discernment and
Purpose
•I have a good sense for my life
purpose.
•I know of the many ways that I can
use my gifts and talents within the
context of my professional career.
•I am unsure about what God is
specifically calling me to do.
(alpha = .76)
Service to Others
(alpha = .68)
•I am motivated to choose a career that
will enable me to provide some type of
service to others.
•I feel a deep sense of responsibility for
reducing pain and suffering in the
world.
Vocational Development
27
25
23
21
Discernment
19
Service
Senior
Junior
Sophomore
First Year
15
Baselineq
17
Career Choice
4.5
4
3.5
3
Financial
2.5
Personal
Service
Senior
Junior
Sophomor
First-Year
1.5
Baseline
2
Vocational Barriers
Subscales
Barriers to life purpose
fulfillment
Personal
Barriers
•Fear
•Emotional Problems
•Self-doubt
•Lack of motivation
(alpha = .84)
Interpersonal
Barriers
(alpha = .86)
Social and
Cultural Barriers
(alpha = .90)
•A parent
•A friend
•A boy/girl friend
•A teacher or professor
•Lack of financial resources
•Feeling pressure or a desire to get married
•Feeling that my opportunities are limited by the
gender stereotypes of society
Vocational Barriers
25
20
15
Personal
10
Interpersonal
Se
ni
or
Ju
ni
or
rs
t- Y
ea
r
So
ph
om
or
e
Fi
Ba
se
l
in
e
5
Social &
Cultural
Personal Barriers
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1
Personal
Control
1.9
1.7
Selfishness
nio
r
r
Se
ph
o
So
Ju
nio
m
or
e
r
ea
t-Y
Fi
rs
Ba
se
lin
e
1.5
Best Predictors of Vocational Maturity
Faith Maturity
Diffusion & Moratorium
Ego-Identity Scores
Vocational Maturity
Personal Barriers
Conclusions
•
Students experience significant developmental variation over time
–
–
–
–
Strength of faith belief
Faith behavior
Identity development
The sophomore year is a particularly critical milestone
•
Strong Relationship Between Vocation and Faith
•
Strong Relationship Between Vocation and Moratorium & Diffusion Identities
•
Students Perceive Particular Barriers to Vocational Development
–
–
–
•
Emotional problems
Selfishness
Need for personal control
Importance of Examining Gender Differences in terms of Faith Development
and Vocational Barriers
Programmatic Predictors of
Vocational Development
•
•
•
•
•
Mentoring
Selected Readings
Autobiographical Reflection
International Program Experience
Barriers
Lessons & Opportunities for
Nurturing Student Development at
Christian Universities
• Engender faith growth – mentoring, spiritual
nourishment, challenges
• Promote self-discovery – leading to
achieved identity – reflective experiences –
summation as well as formation
• Respect the barriers
• Understand dynamics of gender
• Capitalize on opportunities for impact in the
sophomore year – especially International
Experiences
Final Details
• We found gender differences with regard to faith, barriers, and
service, but not discernment.
• All three subscales of faith (strength of belief, faith application, and
faith behavior) are related to both vocational discernment and
vocation as service (with just a few exceptions) for each of the
assessment time periods (baseline, first-year, sophomore, junior,
senior).
• Identity is also related, pretty strongly, but slightly less consistently
across assessment time periods and only with vocational
discernment, not vocation as service.
• The significant relationships seem to be between moratorium scores
and diffusion scores and the relationship is negative (higher
moratorium and higher diffusion scores are related to lower
vocational discernment).
• Barriers (personal in particular) are also fairly consistently negatively
related to vocational discernment (but not vocation as service) for
most assessment time periods.