Resilience and career counseling : describing the utility of quadrant mapping

Abstract

This article describes the manner in which educational psychology students (n = 11 females) used quadrant mapping when doing career counseling with Grade 9 youths (n=88, 47 = male, 41 = female) in a rural secondary school in South Africa. Quadrant mapping involves a depiction of measured intrapersonal and environmental risk factors and protective resources. The qualitative case study generated data which was based on individual interviews with students during four intervals (documented in field notes), observations of educational psychology interventions by students (documented in field notes), and students’ intervention planning and reflections (recorded in reflective diaries). Students facilitated the interventions (in the form of educational psychology assessment and intervention sessions) with the participating youth. Data was thematically analysed. Students either used postmodern approaches exclusively, or combined postmodern approaches with adapted existing career counseling measures for quadrant mapping. Quadrant mapping is useful for cross-cultural career counseling, establishing assets in resource-scarce settings, as well as for use with groups and in schools.