Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology
Tina M. Anctil
School-Based Career Development Interventions for Students in Foster Care

Download a printable pdf

Dr. Anctil’s research and scholarship are concerned with how schools can affect positive outcomes for all vulnerable students. Toward this end, she has completed studies using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches with high school and college student populations.

Dr. Anctil examined the impact of school experiences on the self-determination of college students with learning disabilities. Participants expressed high levels of career self-efficacy, believing that through hard work and extraordinary efforts they would eventually achieve career success. Yet none of the participants indicated receiving influential career development services while in high school. Rather, these students–who could be considered the “cream of the crop” for their narrowly defined peer group–were fortunate to have parents or other mentors who instilled in them the belief that they could succeed as future professionals in the workforce.

In collaboration with Casey Family Programs, Dr. Anctil was also the lead researcher on two projects using data from The Casey National Alumni Study. This work focused on outcome analyses of adults who were diagnosed with physical and/or psychiatric impairments while in foster care. As expected, foster care alumni with impairments had significantly less economic, physical health, and mental health than alumni without impairments. Yet, specific services (e.g., mental health services, quality relationships with supportive adults, and independent living and employment services) were found to decrease the impact of risk factors over time.

Through these studies, Dr. Anctil has identified profile characteristics for successful transitions to adulthood for at-risk adolescents. Ultimately, through rigorous experimental research, she intends to develop a body of empirical evidence of school-based career development interventions for vulnerable students. Initially, she will conduct a small, randomized study of a high school-based career development intervention for adolescents in foster care. This study will form the basis for her larger scale empirical studies.

Contact Information
Tina M. Anctil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology

PO Box 642136
Pullman, WA 99164-2136

Telephone: 509-335-2925
E-mail: tmanctil@wsu.edu