TPC Journal V8, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

160 The Professional Counselor | Volume 8, Issue 2 during their transition to postsecondary education, and ways professionals in the child welfare system and in higher education can be of assistance (Unrau et al., 2012). C. Kirk et al. (2013) found indications that many youth in foster care have aspirations to pursue a postsecondary education. There is a dearth of information about foster care youth who have become successful in adulthood (Hudson, 2013), or their readiness to make a successful transition to adulthood (Lemon, Hines, & Merdinger, 2005). R. Kirk and Day (2011) found that an experiential learning program for youth aging out of foster care located in a college setting increased their knowledge about college admissions and campus life. Pecora, Williams, et al. (2006) found from a survey of 1,609 foster care alumni that foster care youth who received tutoring and independent living training and had employment experiences had high postsecondary education graduation rates. Lemon et al. (2005) compared former foster care youth who experienced independent living programs (ILPs) and were attending 11 different colleges with former foster care youth not attending colleges and individuals with low-income backgrounds who were attending colleges. The findings indicated that the ILP participants were more likely to have acquired concrete skills such as finding employment; managing budgets; attaining housing; developing psycho-emotional skills, such as goal setting; and discovering opportunities for training and education (Lemon et al., 2005). Related recommendations for improving the career and college readiness of foster care youth include individual and group counseling focused on adjustment challenges and negative educational attitudes (Geroski & Knauss, 2000). Kaplan, Skolnik, and Turnbull (2009) also recommended career and college readiness counseling interventions. Conley (2010) defined career ready as possessing the content knowledge and key learning skills and techniques to begin studies in a career pathway. Achieve, Inc. (n.d.) defined college ready as being prepared for postsecondary education training experiences that lead to obtaining credentials such as a bachelor’s or associate degree, a license, or a certificate. The reviewed literature cited above presented foster care youth as being at risk because they lacked the career and college readiness preparation needed for successful transitions from foster care to the postsecondary education opportunities essential for successful futures in the 21st century. Fortunately, there is evidence that group and individual counseling interventions can be helpful (Geroski & Knauss, 2000; Kaplan et al., 2009). The literature cited above also indicated that interventions based on an understanding of the unique circumstances foster care youth experience and focused on enhancing their career and college readiness may improve their potential to have access to postsecondary education opportunities. A critical component of the challenge to achieve career and college readiness seems to be whether or not foster care youth believe they can successfully attain postsecondary education and develop meaningful careers. The general dependent variable in the present study was self-efficacy—that is, an individual’s personal beliefs about his or her ability to perform a specific behavior or achieve a specific personal goal (Bandura, 1997). The specific self-efficacy variable in the present study was career and college readiness self-efficacy (Baker & Parikh Foxx, 2012). The readiness construct was derived from Savickas’ (2011) career construction theory, built on the classic career readiness construct by Super (1990). The goal for the treatment approach in the study was to help foster care youth connect insights with future work and career opportunities and take possession of their lives. The authors’ purpose in conducting the present study was to examine the effects of customized individual counseling interventions on the career and college readiness self-efficacy of a small sample of foster care youth. The research hypotheses for all three participants were focused on the effects of the respective customized interventions across baseline, intervention, and withdrawal phases in a single-case research design.