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competition, economic ambiguity, diminishing job security, and technological progress, all call for new ways and models to help employees administer their careers (Blustein 2006). The new emerging model of career self-management is the result of a research approach to understand these changes. It attempts to concentrate on the micro-level mechanisms, such as how individuals handle normal developmental duties and also cope with less anticipated incidents. The career self-management model stresses the adaptive behaviours, environmental factors, and person-based aspects that promote their use, unlike other existing models that render career behaviour as a group of personal-difference characteristics (Rottinghaus et al. 2005).
The Career Self-Management Model is considered an expansion of previous SCCT models by focusing on a broader range of vocational adaptability behaviours, reacting to existing career-related challenges, and attempting to integrate vast channels of vocational and psychological research that are still at times discussed as separate entities (Lent & Brown 2013). The model aided this research by enabling further investigations about the lived experiences of females in terms of the challenges they have faced as an under-represented group of employees. It assists understanding of the vocational behaviour and adaptability of the participants given that STEM fields are fast-moving industries where rapid, technological changes are taking place. The model is based on the assumption that individuals are usually able to claim a certain measure of individual control in some parts of their career development. The focus is, therefore, on those processes where individuals are partially able to control their actions to achieve individual and corporate results (Lent
& Brown 2013). Agency is achieved by people’s ability to participate in deliberation, self-reflection, international activity, and self-reaction (Bandura 2006). Such capabilities allow humans to engage to some extent in their vocational advancement and choices. They also offer fundamentals for supporting career services, such as searching, establishing and planning actions. However, these personal capabilities
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don’t imply that individuals have full control over their occupational lives. Humans do not function as independent actors nor are their actions fully driven by environmental factors. Humans’ operations are a result of complex interactions of individual, behavioural, and contextual determinants (Bandura 2006). Thus, SCCT considers peoples’ operations within a social frame, with constantly existing chances to be affected by, as well as to affect, others. Therefore, the model has allowed deeper understanding in terms of how the participants view the occupational challenges and barriers. It also helped in understanding how they were able to deal with these challenges and not resort to quitting the industry like the majority of women.
Since it is an expansion of the SCCT choice content model, the career self- management model utilizes many of the same basic dimensions but defines and conceptualizes them in a novel way. The model presents three deeply linked variables that guide people through their career development: Self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, and personal goals (Brown & Lent 1996).
Variables of SCCT:
Outcome expectations are presumptions related to ramifications of performing an action. They can be neutral, undesired, or admired. There are three kinds of expected outcome expectations: social, which may favour one’s family, material, such as financial gain, and self-evaluative, such as approving one’s self (Bandura 1986).
Social Cognitive Theory proposes that humans are likely do a certain action and sustain it if they believe that they possess the needed competencies to perform the action and that the endeavour will result in a pleasant outcome. In case of questioning her capabilities or expecting unpleasant or neutral consequences, a person may evade or put off doing a certain behaviour, invest little effort, or even give up rather quickly when faced by challenges (Bandura 1986). Self-efficacy and outcome expectations
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advance vocational behaviours both directly and indirectly via the mediating effects on individual goals. According to many theories, to a certain extent, behaviour is instigated by goals. However, specific quality of or kinds of goals particularly facilitate an action. In other words, individuals are motivated to change their goals to actions in cases where goals are definite, unambiguous, and in line with their values (Ajzen 1988). Self-efficacy can also have a direct relation with outcomes, which in our case is occupational commitment, due to the effect it has on assisting the individual to organize actions and persist in the face of obstacles (Lent & Brown 2013).
These personal cognitive factors function along with contextual influences such as social support from managers, peers, or family members. They may facilitate or constrain career behaviour. Contextual supporters and barriers function through many paths. They can directly affect goals and actions or moderate the relations between the two (Lent et al. 2000). They can indirectly affect goals through their relations with self-efficacy and outcome expectations (Sheu et al. 2010). Thus, the existence of supporters may enhance self-efficacy and outcome expectations.
Contextual influences can affect occupational commitment directly and indirectly through the pathway from actions. This is discussed in more details in the section on role models.