Factors Influencing the Career Decision Making Process in Secondary School in Vietnam

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the stages of career decision making process and emphasizes the influencing factors in each period of secondary students at the time of enrollment in Vocational and Technical Education Institutes (VTE). The analysis of documents reveals that career decision making process consists of four stages: (1) needs identification; (2) information search; (3) evaluation of alternatives; and (4) choices. Different factors impact each stage, such as personal interest, expectations & ability (self-motivated, academic performance; self-efficacy); family context (income/finance, geographical location, experiences); Schools’ career ready (career counselor’s orientation, teacher’s recommendation, career aspirations); professional educational system (quality of VTE training and employments; career transition); social - economic (study fees, career prospects, career value; national trend of labor market; and the mass media). This study suggests that the above factors play a crucial role in designing suitable policies and career ready program for secondary students in the Vietnamese context