knowledge. Results suggested that the class improved students’ career planning knowledge and helped them map their career path. Other researchers have noted that self-efficacy is an important variable to consider when examining why students engage in career exploration. According to Nauta (2007), high levels of self-efficacy predicted engagement in career exploration activities such as internships, career research, or mock interviews. Most researchers studied the relationship between self-efficacy and engagement in career exploration within underrepresented populations. For example, Gushue et al. (2006) applied this theory to a southeastern Latino/a population of high school age students and Nevill and Schlecker (1988) studied females. Both of these studies concluded that their respective populations had lower self-efficacy concerning career-decision than their Caucasian and male counterparts. Gushue et al. (2006) and Nevill and Schlecker (1988) suggest that teachers, career counselors, and advisers could ease the transition to the working world for students by increasing levels of self-efficacy. For example, teachers can show students how their skills transfer to different careers. This knowledge increases students’ levels of self-efficacy and encourages students to view more careers as viable options. These studies link self-efficacy to both social support networks and career exploration. Increasing students’ levels of self-efficacy through career counseling or exposure to more career-related knowledge increases students’ participation in career exploration. Most importantly for students and their educational institutions, increased participation in exploratory activities can help ease graduates’ transition to adulthood by forming realistic expectations of the work place and can help students discover what they want and/or do not want in a career. that previous research has identified social networks, the different methods of career exploration, and levels of self-efficacy as important variables to consider when studying student participation in career exploration, we test the following hypotheses:
knowledge. Results suggested that the class improved students’ career planning knowledge and helped them map their career path. Other researchers have noted that self-efficacy is an important variable to consider when examining why students engage in career exploration. According to Nauta (2007), high levels of self-efficacy predicted engagement in career exploration activities such as internships, career research, or mock interviews. Most researchers studied the relationship between self-efficacy and engagement in career exploration within underrepresented populations. For example, Gushue et al. (2006) applied this theory to a southeastern Latino/a population of high school age students and Nevill and Schlecker (1988) studied females. Both of these studies concluded that their respective populations had lower self-efficacy concerning career-decision than their Caucasian and male counterparts. Gushue et al. (2006) and Nevill and Schlecker (1988) suggest that teachers, career counselors, and advisers could ease the transition to the working world for students by increasing levels of self-efficacy. For example, teachers can show students how their skills transfer to different careers. This knowledge increases students’ levels of self-efficacy and encourages students to view more careers as viable options. These studies link self-efficacy to both social support networks and career exploration. Increasing students’ levels of self-efficacy through career counseling or exposure to more career-related knowledge increases students’ participation in career exploration. Most importantly for students and their educational institutions, increased participation in exploratory activities can help ease graduates’ transition to adulthood by forming realistic expectations of the work place and can help students discover what they want and/or do not want in a career. that previous research has identified social networks, the different methods of career exploration, and levels of self-efficacy as important variables to consider when studying student participation in career exploration, we test the following hypotheses:
METHODS-2010-Paper-career-explor.docx