Effects of a Vocational Exploration Group Program With Incarcerated Youths

• NCJ Number: 72144
• Author(s): C S Bercun
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 151 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. University of Florida - doctoral dissertation

Annotation

This study examined the effects of the Vocational Exploration Group (VEG) counseling approach on over 200 incarcerated juveniles in 2 Florida correctional institutions and demonstrated the need for implementation, and further study of this short-term treatment program.

Abstract

The VEG concept of small group task sequences leads participants to understand their relationships with the world of work and to take concrete steps toward achieving specific job goals. Prior to this study, which examined the effect of VEG on participants' attitudes toward the working world, on their perceptions of their own employability, and on the initiation of behaviors oriented toward achieving a job goal, VEG had not been used with juvenile delinquents or in a correctional setting. The sample consisted of 2 groups of 120 subjects randomly selected from 2 coeducational training schools. Each group of 60 control and 60 experimental subjects was further divided into sections of 30 pretested and posttested youth and 30 youth who received only posttesting. The experimental subjects were then assigned to three experienced VEG (leaders). The independent variables examined were institution, pretest status, sex, race, control or experimental group, and VEG leader. Dependent variables relating to subjects' attitudes toward work and their vocational prospects were measured by a Career Maturity Inventory, Employability Perception Inventories, the World of Work Inventory, and self reports. Results indicate that the VEG experience had some effect on the world of work alienation attitudes of the subjects, particularly males. The standardization of the program and leader training was supported by the failure to attribute differences in the findings to VEG leaders. The highest posttest scores on the Career Maturity Inventory were achieved by females and whites. VEG's impact on perceptions of employability was greater for males than females, and these posttest scores were highest among whites at one institution. At the end of the project, 78 percent of the VEG participants indicated that they wished to see a counselor. The appendixes include additional materials on VEG techniques, the employability and world of work inventories, and data on Florida's juvenile justice system. Tabular data, 94 references and survey instruments are provided.