Mangas Jr., David L (2025) Building a knowledge bridge: School counselors collaborating with construction professionals on career development. EdD thesis, Youngstown State University, USA.
Abstract
Globally, the construction industry injects over 10 trillion dollars into the economy annually (Adepoju & Aigbavboa, 2021). Economic growth in the industry requires the emerging workforce to offset the retirements of the baby boomers. School counselors and construction professionals must collaborate to ensure students are willing to explore the construction industry as a viable career option. The purpose of this qualitative research was to gather stories from school counselors and construction professionals to determine what is needed to ensure students have both the knowledge and willingness to explore the construction industry. Preliminary surveys and two focus groups were used to determine the knowledge that school counselors possessed or lacked in helping students become aware of the construction trades. Helpful insights were gained regarding the skills students lack, as well as their misconceptions about the skills needed in the industry and on the job site. With the hope of constructing bridges to match school resources with the needs of the construction trades, the final charge of the research was to collect stories regarding gaps in collaboration between school counselors and construction professionals. Five themes emerged from the research data that will improve future career development efforts: perception of career technical education, introduction of trades as early as elementary school, barriers to participation, influences on participation, and additional resources needed. The findings of this research support career theories and research indicating that career development evolves over a lifetime and that individuals seek joy in their work. This study potentially confirmed a new theoretical construct, legacy growth career theory, which is based on how an individual gains joy from their career through the values, traditions, memories, and assets of the family structure.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | option, economic growth, construction industry, construction professional, survey, focus group, collaboration, qualitative research, elementary school, career |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, decision analysis, professional development, management, research design and methodology, data collection methods, economic development, construction type |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Risk Management, Information Management, Research Practice, Construction Technology, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here