Enhancing career development of rural learners through group-based career construction counselling

Abstract

The lack of career guidance in schools despite its inclusion in the Life Orientation subject continues to be a challenge, particularly in rural public schools. Life Orientation is not taught effectively in South African schools, even though it is the only opportunity for learners to receive career education (Smit et al., 2015). Consequently, learners receive little or no chance to explore the world of work critically, and they leave Grade 12 undecided and ultimately end up in inappropriate fields and either drop out of university or change from one course to another, thereby greatly extending the time it takes them to complete their studies (Ngoepe et al., 2017). Research has shown that group-based career counselling that is designed specifically for the South African context can be effective in enhancing high school learners’ career development and improve career decision making (Miles & Naidoo, 2017; Maree, 2021). The aim of my research was to explore the influence of group-based career construction counselling on learners’ career development in a rural school. Data was generated by employing multiple qualitative sources to answer the research questions. These include pre- and post- intervention semi-structured group interviews, documents in the form of collages and timelines that were compiled by participants, the researcher’s reflective journal and the Career Interest Profile (CIP version 6 of Maree, 2017). Convenience and purposive non-probability sampling were used to select a group of 15 Grade 9 learners aged between 14 and 18 to participate in the study. A non-linear iterative, thematic analysis process was conducted to identify themes that emerged from the datasets (McMillan & Schumacher, 2014). The findings in this study revealed that the subject choices made in high school are a key element in children’s career development; therefore, addressing the matter early in Grade 9 can offer numerous benefits to young learners, including enhanced self-knowledge. Future research should consider assessing the value of career construction counselling in the changing world of work to benefit learners’ career development in the 21st century and beyond.

Key concepts: Career guidance; Life Orientation; career development; career construction counselling; Career Interest Profile