The effects of public service motivation on criminal justice students’ perceptions of vocational fit
This study investigates the relationships between public service motivation and self-reported perceptions of vocational fit among one cohort of upper-level criminal justice students at a Midwestern university, while controlling for race, gender, age, and political orientation. The data come from a s...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Criminal justice studies
Year: 2024, Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 192–208 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | This study investigates the relationships between public service motivation and self-reported perceptions of vocational fit among one cohort of upper-level criminal justice students at a Midwestern university, while controlling for race, gender, age, and political orientation. The data come from a survey administered in the spring of 2021 to criminal justice students in a mandatory class taken between their junior and senior year of their bachelor’s degree program. The findings indicated that increased public service motivations were significantly associated with better perceptions of pre-career vocational fit. Additionally, more conservative political orientations were associated with increased perceptions of fit to criminal justice roles. The study adds to a small but growing body of research applying public service motivation and person-environment fit theory to criminal justice occupations and emphasizes the importance placed on sustaining the value of public service as a possible method of recruiting and maintaining the criminal justice workforce. |
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| ISSN: | 1478-6028 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1478601X.2024.2337440 |
