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Beliefs about Work Held by Low-income Individuals and Entry-level Employers

Cominsky, Cynthia
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1406810308

Abstract Details

2014, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Psychology.
The ability to sustain employment is a critical stage in exiting poverty (McKernan & Ratcliffe, 2002). The number of transitions in and out of poverty testifies to the difficulty some people have in sustaining employment and achieving a level of self-sufficiency. The purpose of the present research was to explore one psychological factor, beliefs about work, which may predict vocational experience. The questions underlying this exploratory qualitative research were twofold: 1) What beliefs about work do low-income individuals hold, and 2) What beliefs about work do entry-level employers hold? The research consisted of two studies. Study 1 was an exploratory study to identify the beliefs about work held by low-income individuals and entry-level employers. It consisted of a series of focus group sessions with low-income individuals, employers of entry-level employees, and staff members of a non-profit job training and placement organization. The results revealed beliefs held by low-income individuals, employers, and workforce development professionals. Based on the results, I proposed a model of entry-level employment. The model includes two components that must occur in conjunction before the potential worker seeks employment, two components that influence the quality of the fit between the applicant and the employer, and two components that influence retention and advancement. Study 2 was designed to validate this model. It consisted of key informant interviews with individuals deemed to have experience with entry-level employment. As a result of Study 2, additional factors were added to the model and the model’s structure was changed to show that it is iterative. Based on this research, the next aim will be to develop an assessment technique that has predictive validity for employment success for low-income populations. Reference McKernan, S. M., Ratcliffe, C., & Cellini, S. R. (September 2009). Transitioning in and out of poverty. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/publications/411956.html
Steven Howe, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Stacie Furst, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Daniel Langmeyer, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
89 p.
Psychology
poverty; employment; workforce development; employees; employers; work ideologies

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cominsky, C. (2014). Beliefs about Work Held by Low-income Individuals and Entry-level Employers [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1406810308

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cominsky, Cynthia. Beliefs about Work Held by Low-income Individuals and Entry-level Employers. 2014. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1406810308.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cominsky, Cynthia. "Beliefs about Work Held by Low-income Individuals and Entry-level Employers." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1406810308

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1406810308
267
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Beliefs about Work Held by Low-income Individuals and Entry-level Employers by Cynthia Cominsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.