Techniques For Enhancing Self Efficacy - 1485 Words

While techniques aimed at enhancing self-efficacy may be beneficial at all developmental stages, they may be particularly influential during early adolescence, as occupational aspirations become established and perceptions of aptitude may increasingly influence students’ sense of which career options are attractive and viable (Brown, 2002). Self-efficacy beliefs and goal attainment are central to the development of academic-career interests and to the collection of occupational opportunities that students view as possible careers for themselves. School counselors can optimize the development of students’ academic and career interest and competencies through a number of cognitive implications using SCCT. It is important to confirm that†¦show more content†¦Counselors can also encourage students to reconsider the outcomes of past performance experiences and invite them to look at their past and present successes in a way that promotes, rather than overlooks, p erceived ability. A school counselor can facilitate mastery of goals in several ways. First, the counselor can keep the student focused on the progress of skill development rather than on ultimate skill attainment. It is also important to focus on acknowledging the students’ performance, encouraging them to attribute successful experiences at skill development to internal, stable factors (e.g. ability) rather than to internal, unstable (e.g. effort) or external (e.g. luck, ease of task) factors (Brown, 2002). When setting goals with students, both in group settings and individually, the counselor should ensure that the goals are specific, measurable, realistic, attainable, and timely. If students do not set realistic goals, failure to realize them may have a negative impact of their self-efficacy and future outcome expectations. Similar to most traditional counseling theories, career counseling theories were predominately developed based on the behaviors of â€Å"white, middle-class, and able-bodied heterosexuals† (Career Counseling Issues, n.d.). Therefore, there may be numerous assumptions embedded in these career-counseling theories. Brown (2002), states