Faith, Vocation and Career Development in Specific Cultural and Gendered Contexts

The faith development theory (FDT) of James Fowler has been strongly debated interculturally. It refers to an in-depth understanding of the conceptualisation of God, human core values, meanings and beliefs across the life span and refers to the stages and ascriptions of vocation in life. Faith has been described as an important factor in career development universally.

Research has highlighted that the exploration of faith and career development has hardly been researched from an in-depth qualitative, autobiographical perspective in selected cultural contexts. However, this is needed to understand the interlinkages of faith and career development and their positive effects and motivational factors from cultural perspectives.

The aim of this autobiographical study is to explore the FDT in the context of the self, cultural (and gendered) contexts and Greenhaus et al.`s (2010) career development model.

Methodologically the study anchored in Dilthey`s modern hermeneutics and uses an autoethnographic, reflexive study approach of a single case to increase in-depth knowledge on FDT and career development in cultural contexts. Qualitative quality criteria and ethical considerations are applied.

Findings show that faith development and vocation inform strongly the stages of career development, depending on the contexts in terms of culture and gender. Both, faith and vocation, are motivational factors which contribute to career choices, decision-making and achieving career objectives in early career. They impact on the management of career crises, success, failure and motivation and support career mentoring, support of colleagues in middle and later career stages in cultural adequate ways. Faith and vocation further on support smooth transitions regarding career stages and generally contribute to mental health and well-being.

Conclusions respond to the questions on how the conscious development of faith and vocation in life can contribute to career development in specific cultural contexts, as well as on success, mental health and well-being in times of crisis. Recommendations for future research and practice are given.