The life and career game Who You Are Matters!® among university students: a bricolage in postmodern career counseling
Date
2020
Authors
Canji, Martha, author
Carlson, Laurie, advisor
Dik, Bryan, committee member
Feller, Rich, committee member
Jennings, Louise, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Career counseling has been expanding from traditional trait and personality models to constructivist models that emphasize subjective experiences, holistic interventions, psychological resources, narratives, and context. This study examines the narrative life and career game Who You Are Matters!® to learn about player experience, stories, and actions gaining a deeper understanding of the processes of storytelling and storylistening in life and career exploration and goal setting. Participants in the study were female, first-year, second-year, and/or first-generation college students who ranged between 18-23 years of age. Experiences and stories are explored through multiple lenses including well-being, psychological capital, agency, and transformational learning. Gratitude and broaden-and-build are also briefly examined as contributing factors that amplify player benefits. The findings are presented loosely as a bricolage that shapes the construction and interpretation of meanings and patterns that inform career exploration in game play. Findings suggest that the structure and context of game play focuses and funnels intentional goal setting and action through six synergistic themes. The study demonstrates how the game Who You Are Matters!® is efficacious in promoting life and career exploration, engendering psychological capital, and cultivating well-being, answering the National Career Development Association's call for more creative and holistic interventions that equip and inspire action and agency.