{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/115432"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/115432","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Transitioning from college to work: perceptions from African American graduates on career readiness for their first postgraduate role","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hill, Sara"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun","Hale, Jon","Mason, Curtis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-05","date_published":"2022-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:54Z","subjects":["co-curricular activities","workforce development","African American","higher education","Social Cognitive Career Theory","diversity","equity"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Sara Hill"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115432","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun","Hale, Jon","Mason, Curtis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hill, Sara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2022-05","2022-04-22"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["co-curricular activities","workforce development","African American","higher education","Social Cognitive Career Theory","diversity","equity"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Sara Hill"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115432"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo terms","The student, Sara Hill, accepted the attached license on 2022-04-21 at 17:19.","The student, Sara Hill, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-04-21 at 17:25.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-04-22 at 12:45.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #17897 on 2022-11-11 at 13:42:53","One of the main reasons college students in the United States say they decide to attend higher education is to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to be competitive in today’s labor market. As colleges and universities strategize to implement innovative career readiness support services to keep up with the ever-changing technological demands of the workforce, employers have shared their dissatisfaction with the competency levels of recent graduates. There seems to be a gap between what colleges and universities deem as career ready and what employers expect as they look to recent graduates to fill open positions. Workforce development at colleges and universities often includes co-curricular activities such as internships, career advising, job shadowing, mentoring or simulated experiences. As higher education institutions increase their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, one of the things that has been overlooked is examining the demographics of students who are most and least engaged in co-curricular experiences. This research study investigates how African American and Black identifying graduates perceive the influence of co-curricular engagements on their workforce readiness. This study focuses on identifying which co-curricular activities have the greatest influence on graduates’ self-efficacy as an early career professional, and which co-curricular activities best prepare graduates with the skills and knowledge needed for their first post-graduate role. In a mixed methods study with African American graduates, 44 participants completed an online survey and seven participants engaged in follow up in-depth interviews. The purpose of the study was to determine how co-curricular involvement influenced their transition from higher education into the workforce. Overall, the African American graduates in this study reported feeling underprepared to transition into their career. The findings indicate that the participants with the highest reported level of self-efficacy attributed their confidence to previous simulated experiences and job shadowing opportunities. It was inconclusive as to which co-curricular activity was most effective at providing graduates with the skills and knowledge needed to be effective in their first post-graduate role. Through the lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory, I discuss the findings and share four themes that emerged from the data. Finally, I propose recommendations for how higher education practitioners can better support their African American students in transitioning from college into their first post-graduate role."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Transitioning from college to work: perceptions from African American graduates on career readiness for their first postgraduate role"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pak, Yoon","Kang, Hyun","Hale, Jon","Mason, Curtis"],"dc:creator":["Hill, Sara"],"dc:date":["2022-05","2022-04-22"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-11 without embargo terms","The student, Sara Hill, accepted the attached license on 2022-04-21 at 17:19.","The student, Sara Hill, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-04-21 at 17:25.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-04-22 at 12:45.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #17897 on 2022-11-11 at 13:42:53","One of the main reasons college students in the United States say they decide to attend higher education is to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to be competitive in today’s labor market. As colleges and universities strategize to implement innovative career readiness support services to keep up with the ever-changing technological demands of the workforce, employers have shared their dissatisfaction with the competency levels of recent graduates. There seems to be a gap between what colleges and universities deem as career ready and what employers expect as they look to recent graduates to fill open positions. Workforce development at colleges and universities often includes co-curricular activities such as internships, career advising, job shadowing, mentoring or simulated experiences. As higher education institutions increase their focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, one of the things that has been overlooked is examining the demographics of students who are most and least engaged in co-curricular experiences. This research study investigates how African American and Black identifying graduates perceive the influence of co-curricular engagements on their workforce readiness. This study focuses on identifying which co-curricular activities have the greatest influence on graduates’ self-efficacy as an early career professional, and which co-curricular activities best prepare graduates with the skills and knowledge needed for their first post-graduate role. In a mixed methods study with African American graduates, 44 participants completed an online survey and seven participants engaged in follow up in-depth interviews. The purpose of the study was to determine how co-curricular involvement influenced their transition from higher education into the workforce. Overall, the African American graduates in this study reported feeling underprepared to transition into their career. The findings indicate that the participants with the highest reported level of self-efficacy attributed their confidence to previous simulated experiences and job shadowing opportunities. It was inconclusive as to which co-curricular activity was most effective at providing graduates with the skills and knowledge needed to be effective in their first post-graduate role. Through the lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory, I discuss the findings and share four themes that emerged from the data. Finally, I propose recommendations for how higher education practitioners can better support their African American students in transitioning from college into their first post-graduate role."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115432"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Sara Hill"],"dc:subject":["co-curricular activities","workforce development","African American","higher education","Social Cognitive Career Theory","diversity","equity"],"dc:title":["Transitioning from college to work: perceptions from African American graduates on career readiness for their first postgraduate role"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:54Z"}