Disparities in Career Attitudes among Postgraduate Students

in Pascana, Clara (Ed.) Psychology Applications & Developments II (2016)

The preparation of students’ future career trajectories is a dynamic process in relation with social and educational determinants. Our objective is to analyse the associations between generic employment ... [more ▼]

The preparation of students’ future career trajectories is a dynamic process in relation with social and educational determinants. Our objective is to analyse the associations between generic employment capabilities, career attitudes and related factors among postgraduate students. All masters’ students registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES) database in Luxembourg were contacted by post to participate in an online questionnaire. The five point scale questionnaire was scored as follows: 1) Dynamic Career Attitudes (DCA); 2) Employability Soft-Skills (ESS); 3) Search for Work Self-Efficacy (SWSES); 4) Quality of Life domain Autonomy (QLA); and 5) Socio-demographic characteristics. The data were analysed using bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models. 481 of the volunteers (26.4 years; SD=5.5) were predominantly women, Luxembourgish, unemployed and had less than or equal to six months of job experience. The higher the ESS, SWSES and QLA scores, the higher the DCA score was. Nationality, being unemployed, having less than six months job experience and being in the first year of a Master’s degree programme were associated with a lower dynamic career attitude score. The Dynamic Career Attitudes scale seems to be an appropriate instrument to evaluate the efficacy of the university career services programme. [less ▲]

The welcome and integration contract of Luxembourg: satisfaction with the quality of services according to non-EU immigrants

in Pracana, Clara; Wang, Michael (Eds.) International psychological Applications Conference and Trends (2016)

Evaluating satisfaction with the quality of services is a central concern of social and educational programs, whose mission is to adhere as closely as possible to the needs of the population. Based on ... [more ▼]

Evaluating satisfaction with the quality of services is a central concern of social and educational programs, whose mission is to adhere as closely as possible to the needs of the population. Based on methodological and investigator triangulation methods, our aims were to analyze the level of satisfaction with the Welcome and Integration Contract of Luxembourg (Contract d’accueil et d’integation CAI) and its respective activities (citizenship courses, language courses and an orientation day). First, 233 out of 1084 Non-EU immigrant beneficiaries responded to a self-administrated questionnaire. Second, 11 semi-structured focus groups with 50 volunteers were conducted around four themes: Quality of activities, organization, availability of support personnel and utility of the information received. More than 72% of the participants were very satisfied with the quality, organisation and availability of personnel, in regard to the information session and the civic courses. Divergences exist because various needs were recognized. Potential activities to reduce the quality gap were proposed, for instance the creation of an interactive online platform where the beneficiaries could regularly get information and, exchange experiences and/or help each other whenever possible. The dynamism and interactivity in the focus groups revealed that the users would like to actively contribute to improving the process. Indeed, the needs and requirements of each immigrant group cannot be totally covered by these activities as they stand. Involving users in the strategy and action plans would help create more accurate solutions. [less ▲]

The integration process of Non-EU citizens in Luxembourg From an empirical approach towards a theoretical model

in International Journal of Social Welfare (2015), 9(11), 3868-3875

Integration of foreign communities has been a forefront issue in Luxembourg for some time now. The country’s continued progress depends largely on the successful integration of immigrants. The aim of our ... [more ▼]

Integration of foreign communities has been a forefront issue in Luxembourg for some time now. The country’s continued progress depends largely on the successful integration of immigrants. The aim of our study was to analyze factors which intervene in the course of integration of Non-EU citizens through the discourse of Non-EU citizens residing in Luxembourg, who have signed the Welcome and Integration Contract (CAI). The two year contract, offers integration services to assist foreigners in getting settled in the country. Semi-structured focus group discussions with 50 volunteers were held in English, French, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian or Chinese. Participants were asked to talk about their integration experiences. Recorded then transcribed, the transcriptions were analyzed with the help of NVivo 10, a qualitative analysis software. A systematic and reiterative analysis of decomposing and reconstituting was realized through (1). The identification of predetermined categories (difficulties, challenges and integration needs) (2). Initial coding – the grouping together of similar ideas (3). Axial coding – the regrouping of items from the initial coding in new ways in order to create sub-categories and identify other core dimensions. Our results show that intervening factors include language acquisition, professional career and socio-cultural activities or events. Each of these factors constitutes different components, whose weight shifts from person to person and from situation to situation. Connecting these three emergent factors are two elements essential to the success of the immigrant’s integration – the role of time and deliberate effort from the immigrants, the community and the formal institutions charged with helping immigrants integrate. We propose a theoretical model where the factors described may be classified in terms of how they predispose, facilitate and / or reinforce the process towards a successful integration. Measures currently in place propose one size fits all programs, yet integrative measures which target to the family unit and those customized to target groups based on their needs would work best. [less ▲]

Life Satisfaction between Non-Luxembourgish and Native Luxembourgish Postgraduate Students

in Sociology Migration and Integration (2015)

Life satisfaction (LS) is a potential key to social progress and contributes to the functioning of individuals. In Luxembourg, the postgraduates who receive financial aid from the government are ... [more ▼]

Life satisfaction (LS) is a potential key to social progress and contributes to the functioning of individuals. In Luxembourg, the postgraduates who receive financial aid from the government are registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education. In order to obtain the financial aid, one of the criteria dictates that one of the parents of foreign students should have been working in Luxembourg for at least 5 years. In this country, which is built on migration (46% of the resident population consists of foreigners), is the basis on which our scientific questions are raised: (1) between non-Luxembourgish and native Luxembourgish students is the LS different? (2) What respective relationships exist with mental health-related factors, career attributes, socio-economic characteristics, and LS? (3) What are their associations of mental health (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perception of financial situation and career attributes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) on LS? Between 2012 and 2013, 644 postgraduates were contacted by post to complete an online questionnaire in English or French. Foreign postgraduates who are settled in Luxembourg (born in Luxembourg and did not have the Luxembourgish citizenship, N=147) and native students (born in Luxembourg and had the nationality, N=284), were compared. Postgraduates who were born in Luxembourg but did not have the citizenship or were not born in Luxembourg and had the Luxembourgish citizenship were excluded. A single item measured LS (1 = not at all satisfied to 10 = very satisfied) same as in the European quality of life survey. Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear models were used, in which only significant relationships (p< 0.05) were integrated. Between the two groups, no differences exist between LS’ indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives), both of which is higher than the European indicator 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). However, non-Luxembourgish students are older than natives are (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years), perceive their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents have an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, father’s education is related to postgraduates’ LS and the higher is their level, the greater is their contribution to LS. Whereas for the native students, the better their health satisfaction, and career optimism is, the higher their LS are. For the both group, mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability, and planning are linked to LS. The higher their psychological quality of life is, the better is their LS. Good health and favourable attitudes related to the job market enhance their LS. [less ▲]

Life Satisfaction of Non-Luxembourgish and Native Luxembourgish Postgraduate Students

in International Journal of Social Welfare (2015), 9(11), 3852-3857

It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university ... [more ▼]

It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator. [less ▲]