A Cultural Formulation Approach to Career ... - ResearchGate
A Cultural Formulation Approach to Career ... - ResearchGate
A Cultural Formulation Approach to Career ... - ResearchGate
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Leong et al. 473<br />
the self in cultural context (Leong et al., 2007). According <strong>to</strong> Lewis-Fernandez and<br />
Diaz (2002), this dimension includes a consideration of how culture affects a client’s<br />
perception of stressors and supports in the environment. This means that vocational<br />
counselors need <strong>to</strong> consider the cultural context in which their client’s vocational<br />
difficulties have arisen.<br />
When considering the vocational development of Asian Americans, an obvious<br />
culturally based stressor is the experience of real and perceived barriers <strong>to</strong> choosing<br />
and implementing a career. Largely owing <strong>to</strong> the persistence of the model minority<br />
stereotype, which portrays Asian Americans as academically and financially successful,<br />
vocational counselors may forget that Asian Americans do in fact face significant<br />
career barriers. The model minority stereotype itself can serve as a career<br />
barrier by contributing <strong>to</strong> occupational stereotyping; an early study, for example,<br />
found that European American college students perceived Asian Americans as significantly<br />
less likely <strong>to</strong> succeed in sales and significantly more likely <strong>to</strong> succeed in<br />
computer science, mathematics, or engineering than European Americans (Leong &<br />
Hayes, 1990).<br />
Sue and Okazaki (1990) argued that many Asian Americans are well aware of<br />
these stereotypes and therefore perceive that such math science-dependent careers<br />
are more accessible, whereas careers that rely on more social and enterprising skills<br />
(such as sales or broadcasting) are likely <strong>to</strong> be more closed <strong>to</strong> Asian Americans.<br />
Given that the careers that are perceived as more open <strong>to</strong> Asian Americans are those<br />
that are dependent on higher education, Sue and Okazaki argued that education is<br />
thus relatively more functional for Asian Americans than for members of other<br />
groups.<br />
Vocational counselors need <strong>to</strong> explore the extent <strong>to</strong> which the model minority<br />
stereotype has influenced the career-related difficulties with which their Asian<br />
American clients present. For example, has the client received messages that mathematics<br />
and science related careers are more appropriate for him or her because he or<br />
she is Asian American? Has the client internalized the model minority stereotype <strong>to</strong><br />
such an extent that he or she perceives his or her lack of interest or aptitude in math<br />
as a personal failure (cf. Lee, 1994)? The overarching question is the extent <strong>to</strong> which<br />
external or internalized messages consistent with the model minority stereotype<br />
have affected the client’s occupational self-concept and restricted the possible selves<br />
(Markus & Nurius, 1986; Oyserman & Markus, 1993) the client perceives.<br />
The model minority stereotype is likely <strong>to</strong> influence the vocational self-concepts<br />
of Asian Americans broadly. Leong and Chou (1994) argued convincingly that less<br />
acculturated Asian Americans would be more likely <strong>to</strong> experience occupational<br />
stereotyping, in part because they may be more susceptible <strong>to</strong> stereotyping by the<br />
dominant culture (cf. Leong & Hayes, 1990); in other words, more traditional Asian<br />
Americans may experience more external barriers <strong>to</strong> what are perceived as nontraditional<br />
Asian American careers. In addition, <strong>to</strong> the extent that less acculturated Asian<br />
Americans have less contact with the dominant culture, they may be exposed <strong>to</strong><br />
fewer role models in other careers.<br />
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