ERIC Number: ED648256
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 222
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-8454-1234-8
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Banding Together for Success: Perceptions of Meaningful Work among Kenyan Millennials Who Participate in Mentoring Communities
Claire Kagwiria Ndethiu
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Trinity International University
This basic qualitative study explored how Kenyan millennials perceive the meaning of their work in light of their participation in mentoring communities. The data points to a nuanced pedagogy of vocation that contributes to global theology, higher education, professional development, and the development of societies. These young adults from cosmopolitan Africa displayed intersectionality and integrality in their constructive meaning-making. The findings corroborated perspectives on the integral view of work in the precedent literature, drawn from the arts, education, theology, sociology, organizational behavior, and human resource management. Twenty-seven participants based in Nairobi described meaningful work ideally as the experience of interrelated components that include the desire for personal fulfillment, the intrinsic value of work itself, the conditions of the work environment, and social impact. Second, participation in mentoring communities was formative to developing perceptions of meaningful work. Third, high costs of living related to remuneration, family obligations, periodic national economic crises, and systemic unethical practices have hindered meaningful work experiences. The final category highlighted intrinsic and instrumental theological perspectives of work with perceived hierarchies between church ministry and marketplace professions. Since twenty-first-century young adults make up most of the global workforce, leaders in the workplace can draw from this study to develop intergenerational collaboration within their workforce. Further implications of this study include potential church engagement towards an integral theology of work curriculum, fostering hospitable learning environments that serve as networks of belonging, supporting conceptual contributions from Kenyan millennials and Gen Zs, the consideration of citizenship from a viewpoint of cosmopolitanism, perspectives of meaningful work through the current lens of a global pandemic, and a consideration of an integral theology of work within fractured social systems. This study, therefore, contributes rich empirical data from the southern hemisphere. It will benefit educators who guide younger generations in this millennium characterized by rapid change to flourish and build an equitable world. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Mentors, Age Groups, Success, Foreign Countries, Community Involvement, Young Adults, Work Experience, Work Attitudes, Values, Generational Differences, Job Satisfaction
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kenya (Nairobi)
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Author Affiliations: N/A