Effectiveness of career guidance workshops on the career self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career goals of adolescents: an intervention study

ABSTRACT

Studies consistently show the demand among adolescents for structured career guidance support programmes. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the career guidance workshop intervention by examining changes in career self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career goals with 47 high school students in grades 10–12 (aged 16–18 years). Based on a five-step model including self-awareness, career exploration, school and career paths, real encounters, and decision-making, the career guidance workshop combined lectures, discussions, individual activities, and pair and group work. Data were collected through career self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and career goal questionnaires and analysed using a pre- and post-test design with a single intervention group. Results suggested a significant improvement in participants’ career self-efficacy and their career goals. Although the findings on outcome expectations were not significant, the findings also showed an increase after the intervention. Thus, career guidance intervention is considered a valuable basis to improve adolescents’ career decision-making skills.

KEYWORDS:

• Career guidance workshop
• career self-efficacy
• outcome expectations
• career goals
• adolescents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and/or analysed in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Institutional review board statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee on Research, Faculty of Philosophy.

Informed consent statement

Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The authors (s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Liridona Jemini Gashi

Liridona Jemini-Gashi, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Pristina. She has conducted her doctoral studies in the branch of psychology, in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana, with the dissertation: “Factors which impact on the Kosovar adolescents’ decision-making for profession choice.” Dr. Jemini-Gashi has continuously studied the career decision-making process among young Kosovars and the factors that affect this process. The studies she has conducted so far have included several factors, specifying personality traits, career maturity, career self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career goals, as well as the contextual factors, with a focus on family, school and peer support, mental health, and so on.

Dashamir Bërxulli

Dashamir Bërxulli, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology (University of Prishtina). He is also a licensed clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, researcher, and trainer. He holds a doctoral degree from the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Prishtina. Dr. Bërxulli has been conducting active research and publishing activity in the field of personality, gender issues, intimate partner violence, career guidance, mental health, and so on.

Jon Konjufca

Jon Konjufca, a Ph.D. candidate, is a clinical psychologist who is studying personality disorders and electronic assessments at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He is studying different topics such as advanced research methods, measurements using cognitive tasks, and electronic assessment, which has bestowed him with an understanding of both the methods of data analysis and experimental design. MA Konjufca is currently working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pristina “Hasan Prishtina.” He is committed to long-term involvement in the study of the psychosocial determinants of mental health among adolescents.

Laura Cakolli

Laura Cakolli is about to conclude her MA studies in the Department of Psychology at the University of Prishtina. Over the years, she has been engaged in various projects of the Department of Psychology. Recently, her engagement has included assisting and facilitating career guidance workshops.