Bindung und Karriere – Zum Zusammenhang von Bindungsstil, Karriereaspiration und beruflicher Selbstwirksamkeit am Beispiel angehender Lehrkräfte

The main objective of the present research was to examine the relationship between a
person’s attachment style and his or her career aspiration and to analyze the importance of
his or her vocational self-efficacy for this relationship. This was performed by means of a
sample of teacher education candidates. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c)
and social-cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994) were used as the underlying
theoretical concepts. The latter provides with its model of career choice a framework model
supporting the existence of a relationship between personality related variables and career
aspiration. A subordinate objective of the present research was to examine to which extent
attachment style could be and should be considered as a personality related variable in this
model.
The study is based on the data of a total of 381 students (bachelor degree) and 514 pre-service
teachers in traineeship. Using structural equation modeling, two competing hierarchical /
nestled models (primary structural model and alternative structural model) were tested for both
of the cohorts. Attachment style, with its two dimensions avoidance and anxiety, was assessed
utilizing the Bochumer Bindungsfragebogen Scale (BoBi; Neumann, Rohmann & Bierhoff,
2007). Career aspiration with its four domains planned effort, planned persistence,
professional development aspiration and leadership aspiration was assessed with the
German version of the Professional Engagement and Career Development Aspiration Scale
(PECDA; Watt & Richardson, 2008). Teachers self-efficacy, as a specific form of vocational
self-efficacy, was measured using the German version of the Scale for Teacher Self-Efficacy
(STSE; Pfitzner-Eden, 2015).
For the cohort of pre-service teachers in traineeship the primary model best fit the data, finding
direct negative effects between the two attachment dimensions and teacher self-efficacy as
well as direct positive effects between teacher self-efficacy and the four domains of career
aspiration. The relationship between attachment style and career aspiration was completely
mediated by the variable of teacher self-efficacy. For the cohort of students results did not
allow to draw a clear conclusion. Overall, the present research confirmed the relevance of the
attachment style as a personality related variable within the model of career choice. Theoretical
and practical implications of the results, as well as their limitations are discussed.