8.1 Introduction
The empirical study was undertaken to provide information about the career development characteristics and experiences of a group of senior secondary school students and to provide feedback to schools on possible directions for improvement of the schools' careers services. This chapter presents results relating to the survey of students' career development characteristics and experiences, discussions with parents regarding the role of the school in this process, the staff interviews and the review of schools' documentation relating to their career services. The results are discussed within the overall framework of the research aims outlined in Chapter Six and in relation to issues around the ecology of adolescent career development in New Zealand, a conceptual synthesis of which comprised Part Two of the thesis.
One of the goals of the study was to assess students' career development needs, and the characteristics of these are presented in the first section of the chapter. The schools' perception of their senior students' career development needs is assessed by way of describing the philosophy and nature of their career services. The themes identified in focus group interviews with the sample group of parents are presented as a discussion of parents' views. The salience of career development issues in the life of participating students is then presented through analysis of reported life concerns and this is followed by an exploration of students' career maturity.
A second goal was to explore the link between students' career development and personal development. This was assessed through investigation of the relationship between career maturity and coping strategies, the results of which are presented and discussed in the second section of this chapter.
The third section of the chapter is concerned with the goal to assess each participating schools' careers services and provide informed feedback for improvement at the senior level. In this section students' self reports of their experiences with the school careers service and suggestions for improvement are described together with appraisals by staff members.
8.2 Senior Secondary School Students' Career Development Needs 8.2. 1 School Perceptions
The schools' perceptions of their senior students' career development needs were collected through personal interviews, the review of documentation and general observations in the school settings. Three key themes were targeted, including the schools' philosophy regarding careers assistance, the nature and location of this assistance and personal appraisals of the schools' overall careers services. Each of these themes is discussed in turn, with the first two reported in this section and the third in section 8.3.3.
8. 2. 1 . 1 Philosophy
There were no written statements specifically related to an existing philosophy on careers assistance in either school, although staff generally were in agreement that their careers service was consistent with the general school philosophy. Each school ' s philosophy, which was articulated rather broadly in their School Charter, advocated a 'guidance orientation ' the general nature of which was captured in a statement expressed by a member of the management team at one of the schools:
Our school ' s philosophy is about putting the needs of our students first. [Member of the school management team].
This was expressed more formally in a statement of the school 's philosophy, written in the school prospectus:
The purpose of [the school] is to extend the education, social, cultural and physical potential of each student by offering them the opportunity to celebrate success in a stimulating, challenging and supportive environment in order that they can become confident, valued and contributing citizens of our society.
The guidance orientation in the second school was referred to more directly in their Charter:
The School believes in guiding students during the process of maturing as
they seek to find individual answers in areas of intellectual, social, physical, cultural, and spiritual growth; encouraging them to strive for individual excellence in all they do.
8.2. 1 . 2 Nature and Location of the Schools ' Careers Services
The first school was linked historically to the vocationally-oriented technical colleges set up for trade-based schooling in the 1 930s. Careers assistance at this school was located within the Transition Education Department, an administratively independent department which was also responsible for the coordination of guidance and counselling, health, life skills and special needs. The Transition Coordinator, who had the official title of Head of Department, occupied a management position within the school and was responsible for the various components under the transition umbrella and for the staff members working within these services. Personnel included the transition teacher, transition ancillary staff member, guidance counsellor, careers adviser, special needs teacher and Maori liaison officer.
At the time of the study, the philosophy of transition education in this school was based on the integrated approach which began to emerge in New Zealand toward the close of the 1 980s and which was advocated in the Ministry of Education ( 1 990a) handbook for transition teachers, 'Schools in Transition - Strategies for the Future' . This handbook, alongside the 'Working Papers in Transition Education' (Department of Education, 1 989a) and 'A Beginner' s Guide to Transition Education ' (Department of Education, 1 989b) were cited as key resources in the school's policy statements regarding the organisation, principles and practice of transition education . The objective for the school ' s careers service was, l ikewise, adapted from these sources:
To provide a range of opportunities and experiences which will encourage students to make informed choices about their future education, training and employment options (Extract from school charter).
In the second school, which had its historical roots in the provision of a more classical education, which had best served those moving on to university, careers assistance was located as a service under the guidance umbrella. The coordination of this was the responsibility of the deputy principal. Responsibility was shared between the careers adviser, guidance counsellors, deans and the transition education class teacher, depending upon the particular focus. There were no stated objectives for a careers service, although the careers adviser referred to 'The Gold' (Department of Education, 1 985) as a source used for the school' s career education programmes, and
Strategies for the Future' and 'A Beginner' s Guide to Transition Education ' , both of which she used to develop the class programme and to guide her practice.
The careers service resources within both schools targeted students' awareness of career options and of the programmes offered by the school to assist them. At the fourth form level at one school , for example, the Social Studies syllabus included a module on 'Careers ' . This module coincided with a period during the school year when fourth form students were actively encouraged to consider fifth form subject options and their parents to discuss with teachers the range of options available at the fifth form level . This also included an evening at the school where displays illustrating fifth form subjects leading to different educational and occupational paths were also provided. S imilar provision was offered at the second school which also had 'Try a Trade Day ' targeted toward fourth form girls with the intention of encouraging them to think about non-traditional career pathways. In this school, class discussions with the careers adviser were also offered at the fourth form level and this was supplemented toward the end of the year with individual interviews with teachers designated as 'course counsellors' to assist with fifth form course planning.
Perhaps the most 'visible' component of the careers service within each school was the provision of the Careers Resource Room, located in the centre court of one school and the Careers Office which was situated in the Library foyer at the second school. Along with noticeboards and regular guest speakers, these sources were generally accessible to all sectors of the school, as was the availability of the school careers adviser and guidance counsellors with whom students were encouraged to make appointments should they wish to see someone regarding career information, career advice or career counselling. The visibility and seemingly ' open access' to careers information and advice in the schools would seem to communicate to students that links to future education, training and work are an integral part of their secondary education experience, a concept recognised in the policy arena as the 'seamless' education system (Smith , 1 993b), and representing a value which captures much of the motivation underlying the reform of post-compulsory education and training since the mid 1 980s (refer to section 3.4, Chapter Three).
As well as raising awareness, careers-related activities within both schools were intended to motivate and focus students on the need to think about their options for
the future. This was a particular feature of the assistance targeting sixth and seventh form students and was evident in the provision of 'job shadowing' and 'work experience' , LINK, Open Polytechnic courses, and of field trips to various further education and training institutions when students were encouraged to link their current experiences to future plans. These experiences may be grouped under the umbrella of work exploration (B loor, 1 992; Watts, 1 983;) and, as Watts ( 1 983) pointed out, serve a number of developmental purposes for the young person which include increasing awareness of the link between school and future career journeys; providing the opportunity to develop life skills, knowledge and understanding of self and of how ' the world' works; and orienting students toward realistic appraisals for career transitions.
In both schools, work exploration activities were offered as part of individualised student programmes, consistent with policy recommended for this area (Department of Education, 1 989b; Ministry of Education, 1 990b, 1 992), although some aspects, such as work experience and Open Polytechnic courses were available at one school through the sixth form Transition Education class only. This class, which was offered as an alternative one year programme within the school , attracted those students intending to leave school and enter the workforce or link up with specific industry-based training. Many of the themes recommended in 'Working Papers in Transition Education ' were covered in this programme. This included formal classes as well as one day per week of work experience. Students covered units on self appraisal, job sources, job-seeking skills and the workplace. A similar programme was offered at the other school , although as a sixth form subject option and, therefore, as an integral rather than an alternative option for senior students at the school. In addition to vocationally-oriented activities, the class covered units on health and safety, and general life skills (for example, independent living, finance, insurance and the law).
In the main, the focus of careers assistance in both schools was on the provision of information regarding options in school and beyond, plus the provision of exploratory activities aimed at facilitating students' readiness for making decisions and taking steps toward future education, training and employment pathways. This focus was consistent with the need for active exploration, characterising career development during adolescence (Erikson, 1 968; Jordaan, 1 963; Super, 1 957, 1 963, 1 983) which is necessary for the young person to cope constructively with the career development
tasks of crystallisation and specification (Biustein, 1 992; Caple, 1 982; Phillips &
Blustein, 1 994; Vondracek & Skorikov, 1 997 ; Waterman, 1 982, 1 985). Job
shadowing, for example, provides the student an opportunity to explore an occupational preference through observation (Department of Education, 1 989b). Field trips to further education and training institutions enables the student to see, first hand, a possible means toward a particular career goal (Watts, 1 983). LINK and Open Polytechnic courses give students experience in further education settings and, at the same time, an opportunity to enhance their repertoire of knowledge related to an industry of interest (Department of Education, 1 988). Finally, the career module and accompanying class discussion with careers advisers, together with the evening arranged for fourth form students and their parents, afforded students the opportunity to increase their awareness of the possible educational and occupational implications of courses undertaken in the fifth form and beyond (Watts, 1 983).
8.2.2 Parents ' Perceptions
It is widely accepted that the family plays an important role in the career development of their children (B lustein et al, 1 99 1 ; Meeus, 1 993; Spokane, 1 99 1 ; Trusty
& Watts, 1 996; Wilkes, 1 985; Young, et a! 1 997). Young people seek parental advice in
such areas as career planning (Meeus, 1 993) particularly when long-term goals are involved
(Spokane, 1 99 1 ). In the particular circumstances of the study described here, a group of 2 1 parents of sixth form students at one of the participating schools volunteered to participate in a focus group discussion of their child's career development needs and their expectations of the school in this process. Two key themes were identified by parents as worthy of
discussion with regard to these issues. The first related to recognition of changes in
society and the accompanying diversity of challenges presented to young people. One
dimension of this point related to the need for young people to be cognisant of the link
between their school experiences and future possibilities, the essence of which was captured in the following statements:
There's so much choice out there for kids these days, I think its important that kids know the link between what they're doing at school and the outside world
[Mother with three sons, 2nd, 5th and 6th Forms].
I know Michae1 would rather be pumping petrol - he works after school as the casual forecourt assistant - or doing 'nothing' with his mates, so how do you
get the message across al:xmt how important it is to get a good mark in maths
because maths is generic isn't it? All he sees is homework and project work
and it's all unpaid work to him and I can see his point, but how do I get him to
see mine? [Mother, one daughter 4th Form, one son, 6th Form]
Within the context of this discussion, parents were generally in agreement that schools have a responsibility to encourage this link:
Education is all about variety isn't it? And about giving things a go . . . An education shouldn' t be just concentration on the schooling side ... ... . [Father,
two daughters, 6th and 7th Forms]
This example mirrored research in this area which has shown careers work in schools and people working in high school seniors' fields of interest are perceived by parents as extremely valuable and viable careers resources for their children (Trusty &
Watts, 1 996). In the case of the present study, parents considered careers information and advice to be especially instrumental in this process. A rather perceptive comment by one parent captured this we11:
It's all about opportunity ... .! mean, I can give my daughter all of the
information she wants to know about [my profession] because it's what I do, but I can't give her the same quality of advice about a dozen other areas she might be better suited for. . . Choice is a11 about knowing the different options and how to sort out the pros and the cons of the different options. . . She doesn't have choice if all she knows about is what I do. [Father, one daughter, 6th Form]
The second theme discussed by the group related to parents' awareness of, and involvement with, their school's careers service. Much time was spent with this theme on identifying and clarifying components of this service and there was consensus on the point that the school needed to have a clear policy regarding careers assistance, including what the school provided, to whom it was available, and at what point parents were expected to
be involved if at all. Parents were well aware of the school's Careers Office and generally
considered the school to have a well resourced careers information base. At least two
thirds of the group had had some contact with the Careers Adviser or Form Deans in relation to their children's school subject options or plans beyond school. Within this context it was not so much access to information about options, but how young people use
this information in career planning, that concerned parents. Such concern was expressed rather despondently by one of the group:
Just last week Melanie was down about what she would do next year ... [and]
it's not that she doesn't know what's out there because there's about a dozen things she's interested in and probably quite capable of doing very well in. Its direction she needs, like what are the most appropriate possibilities, the most realistic... and assurance. She needs to hear from someone who can be objective, someone who knows her, yes, but someone who doesn't have that personal attachment.. .. . [Mother, one daughter, 6th Form]
Although this section is descriptive of a small group of parents' perceptions, several implications for schools were suggested. The parents' considered the school to be an important environment for young people's career exploration and development, and generally were open and encouraging about their children consulting sources outside the family. They also, however, wished to be more directly involved in the process and were clear about wanting to know how to take advantage of sources in the school to assist in their child's career development.
Alongside school experiences, parents are an important influence in the young person's career development and behaviour (B lustein, et al 1 99 1 ; Kush & Cochran, 1 993; Palmer & Cochran, 1 988; Vondracek, et al 1 986; Young, 1 994; Young, et a] 1 997). Young et al' s ( 1 997) analysis of parent-adolescent career conversations showed that parent and family variables involved in career development were active, intentional and ongoing processes. Parents' involvement in structured career development programmes for high school seniors has been linked to increases in career maturity (Palmer· & Cochran, 1 989) and to the young person's sense of agency regarding a career direction (Kush & Cochran,
1 993).
Involving parents in the facilitation of career outcomes has thus been well supported and is certainly in line with the existing philosophical orientation in this country's current educational policy to decentralise administrative responsibility and encourage reciprocal partnerships between school and community in the educative process (refer section 3.4 in Chapter Three, Part Two).
8.2.3 Career Salience among Students
The process of deciding on a career direction is a key developmental task during
the secondary school years (Blustein,
1 992;
Erikson,1 968;
Jordaan,1 963;
Super,1 957;
1 963; 1 98 1 ).
An answer to the career question is generally considered by young people tobe the most important in cultivating an identity, or a sense of who they are and where they
'fit' in the world (Arnold,