Career Certainty Research Articles

The Effect of a Computer-Assisted Career Guidance System on the Career Development of South African Students

In this study the authors focused on the effect of a newly developed computer-assisted career guidance (CACG) system in South Africa on the career maturity, career certainty, career indecision and problem-solving appraisal of South African students. A Solomon four-group design was used and 84 final year high-school students were randomly assigned to two experimental and two control groups. The Attitude Scale of the Career Maturity Inventory, the Career Decision Scale and the Problem Solving Inventory were used as outcome measures. A two-way ANOVA indicated that exposure to the program had no effect on the outcome measures used. In a follow-up study 49 students in a lower grade level (Std 9) were randomly assigned to either a control or experimental group and the same outcome measures were used. An analysis of covariance indicated that exposure to the program had an effect on attitudinal career maturity and career indecision, but no effect on the career certainty and problem-solving appraisal of subjects. The results of the two studies suggest that CACG interventions need to take into account the career development stage and career readiness of students.

Person reliability evaluated in the context of vocational interest assessment

This study investigated the theoretical meaning and practical utility of a person reliability index widely used in the context of vocational interest assessment, namely, the within session profile stability index. Ninety-five university students completed the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS), the Career Decision Scale, and the WAIS-Clarke Vocabulary Test. They were retested with the JVIS and Career Decision Scale 4–6 weeks later. In addition to within session profile stability, measures of interest crystallization, career certainty, career indecision, and across session person reliability were calculated. The results indicated that person reliability is a unidimensional construct. That is, the within session profile stability index was highly predictive of across session person reliability and moderately related to interest crystallization. Although within session profile stability was unrelated to career decisiveness, its practical utility as a measure of the reliability or stability of an individual's responses to a vocational interest inventory was readily established.

Kuwait University and its evaluation program

As the only institution of higher education in Kuwait offering a four-year degree pro- gram, Kuwait University is expected to provide its society and its rapidly changing labor market with professionally trained Kuwaiti nationals in fields requiring up-to-date scientific and technical knowledge. Its location in the Arabian Gulf region requires KU to honor and preserve the Arab and Islamic tradition. Thus, the success of KU graduates in the job market and in society will de- pend on a combination of scientific knowledge and appreciation for local and regional values. With the introduction of the graduate studies program, KU is on the threshold of becoming a ma- jor institution of research and scholarship. With this step forward, KU increases its responsibility to offer a diversified academic program designed to meet the specialized manpower requirements of Kuwait as a major commercial center in the Middle East. To evaluate its programs, KU established the Center for Evaluation and Measurement in 1977 which introduced the Course and Instructor Evaluation project, and later expanded its activities through the KU Academic Evaluation Committee, to include program evaluation. The office of the Vice-Rector for Research was established in 1981 to encourage, support, and develop scientific research activities at Kuwait University. At present, KU has fully realized the importance of educational reform. A few of the issues, identified in this paper, can be outlined as follows: 1. The need for an admission policy to recruit more students competent in general subject matter knowledge as well as in English proficiency, and to assign them fairly to the subject areas of choice. 2. The need to design a research oriented curriculum with stronger emphasis on general educa- tion as required of an undergraduate studies program rather than stressing professionalism. 3. The need for an instructional program that deemphasizes students' total reliance on memori- zation and examinations for completing course requirements. 4. The need to improve instructional and research facilities, as well as make them available to stu- dents and to train students in their proper use. 5. The need to reappraise employment conditions for non-Kuwaiti teaching staff providing them with job security and career certainty. 6. The need for an administratively and financially independent KU, and long-range plan for a campus to accommodate the increasing number of students, faculty, and support staff. This report is based on studies conducted at the Center for Evaluation and Measurement and on the status reports of several foreign consultants, members of the KUAE Committee, who evaluated various departments. The author has highlighted those issues and added his interpretations in vari- ous areas of the academic program dealing with admission and recruitment of students and their career preparation, as well as curriculum, instruction, faculty, research, facilities, and introduction of graduate studies at Kuwait University.

Antecedents of educational/career preferences and choices

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of social reinforcement, modeling, direct reinforcement, and words and images on the acquisition of career-related preferences. The study also examined the mediating role of career decision-making skills (CDMS) on the factors influencing preference. Finally, the combined influence of career-related preferences and CDMS on certainty about career choices was investigated. A total of 47 college students completed a questionnaire describing antecedent factors influencing their preference for a major or a career and evaluating the degree of influence of each factor. Students' scores on a vocational maturity inventory were the basis for dividing them in high and low groups. Students identified social reinforcement as the most important antecedent for their career preference. Results indicated that CDMS mediate the influence of models and direct reinforcement on career preference. Career-related preference was a better predictor of career certainty among low than high maturity students. Findings support and extend a social learning theory of career development.