Clarification of Students' Career Interests and Its Effect on Self-Concept

Abstract

Given the importance of careers in Western society, surprisingly little attention has been given to career development as an integral part of adolescent psychological development. This study investigated the impact of clarifying career interests on adolescent self-concept. Fifty-five Year Nine students attending a rural high school took part in a school-based career development program. Pretest and post-test measures were taken utilising the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale. Two groups of students were allocated to a career intervention that involved a career interest test followed by specific career exploration, whereas a third group was allocated to a control condition. One intervention group was allocated to a longer period of exploration between the intervention and the post-test. A significant increase in self-concept scores was found for the longer exploration group. A similar trend was evident for the shorter exploration group, but this effect was not significant.