Students' career exploration: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Career exploration refers to the exploration of the environment and the self with the aim of gathering career-related information. On the basis of Lent and Brown's (2013) model of career self-management (CSM), the current meta-analysis examined the antecedents and outcomes of career exploration among college students (K = 109, N = 34,969 students). We found support for the applicability of the CSM model to the context of students' career exploration. Specifically, positive associations were found for the association of the three core person-cognitive variables self-efficacy for career exploration and decision-making (rc = 0.52), outcome expectations (rc = 0.31), and career-exploratory goals (rc = 0.42) with career exploration. Results of path analyses suggest that the effects of both self-efficacy and outcome expectations on career exploration are mediated by career-exploratory goals. Further, in line with the CSM model, career exploration was positively related to career-related support (rc = 0.33) and negatively related to barriers (rc = −0.15). Moreover, career exploration was associated with important career-related outcomes, such as career decidedness (rc = 0.22), and perceived employability (rc = 0.35). Exploratory moderator analyses revealed that some relationships are influenced by sample (i.e., age, gender, cultural background) and measurement (e.g., publication date) characteristics. The findings of this meta-analysis highlight several implications for the further development of the CSM model, future research on students' career exploration, and career development practice.