Professional socialization of youth in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Professional orientation of young people, the formation of their interests and needs is an important component of the socialization process. Crisis phenomena are manifested in the contradiction between organized and spontaneous processes of professional socialization, an increase in the rate of unemployment among young people, modern demands of young people and the real level of career guidance work, vocational training and employment of young people, which became the basis for researching the processes of professional socialization of young people. The sample consisted of 2315 respondents, of which 934 respondents were interviewed in Hungary according to the quota sample, 1381 respondents according to the probabilistic sample in Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. The research was carried out using a student survey (in cooperation with the Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, University of Debrecen (CHERD-Hungary)). The results of the study indicate that young people come to a situation of choosing a profession without a certain motivation, knowledge about the world of professions, having vague ideas about their future profession. Graduates rely on the opinions of others, are influenced by parents or teachers. The result is often a false choice of a future profession. Hungarian (77,5%), Romanian (75,7%) and Serbian (76,3%) students are the most independent in making decisions about studying in higher education; Ukrainian students (50,8%) who are guided by on the opinion of parents and teachers. A common feature for Ukrainian, Hungarian, Serbian and Romanian students is the enrichment of their knowledge (average score 3,28) and a prestigious, well-paid job (average score 3,05), for Slovak students the most characteristic motive for getting an education is budget funding (2,94 points) and the requirement of graduates by employers (2,0 points). It has been determined that young people have a high willingness to work to ensure their own material well-being. The prospect of further research is the development of recommendations for strengthening work in the field of vocational guidance for young people, contributing to the solution of the issue of devaluation of professional values.