Career decision-making amongst young people

Summary
Introduction
Information requirements and careers education/guidance
Decision-making skills
Influences upon decision-making
Educational mindsets
Collaboration and the value of sharing knowledge
Curriculum provision and student choice
References

Summary

This article provides an overview of key issues surrounding career decision-making amongst young people. Research has indicated that:

Careers education and guidance was deemed to be most effective when it was comprehensive and impartial, delivered by trained staff who were supported by external professionals, and when it formed a dedicated part of the curriculum.
Young people’s career decision were influenced by a range of factors, including family, teachers, careers specialists, contacts with employers, perception of a subject, finance and their own values and interests.
Young people brought varying perspectives to the decision-making process, suggesting a single approach to guidance would not be suitable for all.
While examples of good partnership practice existed, schools were not always aware of their existence.

Introduction

The Education and Skills White Paper, published in 2005, outlined the need for young people to make their own career choices and set out the subsequent need for the provision of quality, impartial advice to ensure young people make well-informed choices [1]. The 14-19 Implementation Plan followed and this emphasised the necessity of schools, colleges and training providers working together to provide appropriate support to young people [2].

June 2006 saw the publication of the report How Do Young People Make Choices at 14 and 16? (hereafter referred to as Blenkinsop et al), commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), which examined the ways in which young people at ages 14 and 16 made decisions regarding their career options [3]. The study was based on interviews with 165 young people at 14 schools in England between February 2005 and February 2006, in addition to interviews with 67 key school staff, and telephone interviews with 47 parents. This article summarises the report’s key findings and draws on other research where appropriate.

Information requirements and careers education/guidance

According to Blenkinsop et al’s research, students required various types of information. At Key Stage 4, they needed more detailed information on subject options, particularly information concerning subject content, coursework requirements and possible pathways (for example, career routes). The study, however, found that the level of information given to students varied and was not always impartial, with evidence of teachers ‘selling’ their subjects.

The Blenkinsop et al research suggested that careers education and guidance were at their most effective when comprehensive and impartial, delivered by trained staff who were supported by external professionals (eg Connexions), and when it formed a dedicated part of the curriculum. It was evident that, in schools with the most comprehensive and individualised careers guidance and support, students were more likely to make effective career choices, were less likely to change their minds, and were ultimately happier with their decisions.

In a briefing paper published in March 2004, the National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC) identified various functions that schools need to undertake in order to provide high-quality careers education and support [4]. The paper identified a need for careers specialists to work with senior management to set policy and resource priorities for careers education and guidance, to support those involved in its delivery, to constantly review the provision of careers education, and to develop and evaluate careers work.

Decision-making skills

The Education and Skills White Paper said that young people need the skills to make sound career decisions [1]. This issue was also identified in Blenkinsop et al’s report, which noted some incidences of students struggling to cope when faced with unanticipated changes.

Given the sheer range of post-16 opportunities available, the report argued that young people need not only the information but also the skills to ensure they make the best use of that information. Given the emphasis on ensuring students have appropriate information and are able to make the best use of it, the report recommended that emphasis among practitioners should shift away from the outcome of decision-making and more toward assessing the process of it.

Evidence cited in Blenkinsop et al’s report also suggested that young people did not always see the correlation between activities undertaken as part of careers education and guidance sessions and the choices they were making. The study subsequently called for practitioners to make more explicit the links between decision-making skills and the career decisions young people subsequently made.

Influences upon decision-making

In a 1996 NICEC briefing paper, it was reported that young people’s career decisions are influenced by a range of factors and issues, including parents and other relatives, friends and peer-groups, careers specialists, subject teachers, contacts with employers and direct experiences of employment, and individual interests and values [5]. Blenkinsop et al, in addition, identified perceptions of a subject and financial issues as influencing factors. These are discussed below.

Influence of parents and other relatives

Family are found to be particularly influential in providing first-hand knowledge of jobs and work, and can be influential in young people’s decision to remain in education [5]. Early experiences within family, it has been argued, influence the development of interest in certain occupations and whether or not youngsters continue to post-16 education.

Blenkinsop et al’s research noted that both staff and students identified the influence of family upon decision-making. Elder siblings were deemed especially influential, as they were regarded as uniquely placed to access information and the cache of experience. Evidence from teachers surveyed suggested that sibling influences were even more marked in smaller schools, especially with regard to choosing options at Key Stage 4. Moreover, staff were inclined to believe that young people sought their parents’ opinion, reassurance and affirmation, as well as advice. Students also said that their parents acted as useful sounding boards.

Careers specialists

This category included careers advisers and careers teachers. The former were defined as those who regarded their role primarily as assisting youngsters explore their aims and aspirations, widen their ideas and develop realistic plans for the future. They were a source of information about opportunities, especially to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. On the other hand, careers teachers were more likely to be involved in teaching careers education rather than conducting individual interviews.

Subject teachers

Research has suggested that teachers are fundamental to young people’s career decisions [5]. Their role has been identified in relation to youngsters’ decision to enter post-compulsory education and on their choice of courses, and that they can offer useful feedback on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

Blenkinsop et al’s report found that for Year 9 students, a teacher’s personality was an influencing factor, although by Year 11 students were approaching teachers for information regarding subject content, their potential ability and overall guidance on their best options. Young people appeared to be influenced by discusssions with teachers, especially in schools with overall effective support mechanisms. In some instances, however, youngsters felt pressured from teachers to remain in education or choose particular courses in order to increase student numbers.

Blenkinsop et al’s research raised questions over whether or not teachers had the requisite knowledge to provide sufficient information and guidance that young people needed, and identified professional development as a key issue affecting practitioners. The paper argued that teachers tend not to train initially for careers work. It recommended the feasibility of establishing a career education route in initial teacher training be explored, so as to potentially develop leaders for careers work who would have this as their primary focus rather than as an add-on to their main role.

Friends and peer groups

Friends and peers can offer new ideas and provide job information, but they can also exert pressure to conform when making choices [5]. Blenkinsop et al’s research contended that young people were ambivalent about the influence of friends on their career decisions. Although youngsters spoke with friends about options, they didn’t necessarily take subjects just because their friends were doing so.

Contact with employers and experiences of employment

The NICEC’s 1996 briefing paper identified the influence of contact with employers, as it provided useful inside information regarding different jobs and work environments [5]. The paper warned, however, of the danger of bias and over-positive descriptions of what an organisation can offer. Work placements were cited as impacting on career decisions, either by reinforcing choices, suggesting new possibilities, or leading to rejection of an earlier career choice.

Individual interests and values

Career decision-making can be the corollary of an individual’s own interests, values (e.g. beliefs about what is important to an individual) and abilities. Self-efficacy (e.g. lack of confidence in certain subjects) can also affect decision-making.

Perceptions of a subject

According to Blenkinsop et al, students were influenced by their perceptions of a subject, both in terms of enjoyment and usefulness to future jobs or careers. The study noted that significant numbers of both Year 9 and Year 11 students chose their subjects primarily because of their interest in those subjects. Comments from teachers suggested that factors such as usefulness of a subject in relation to potential career paths tended to dominate among Year 11 students’ mindsets. Subject ability also had a significant influence on Year 11 students, with approximately one in five citing their perceived ability as a primary influence.

Finance

Blenkinsop et al’s research also suggested that finance was an influencing factor on students’ career decisions, both in terms of potential income and avoidance of debt.

Educational mindsets

Having thus far considered the influences upon young people’s decision-making, we should now consider the approaches that young people use in the decision-making process. Blenkinsop et al’s report found that young people brought different mindsets to the decision-making process, which can be summarised as:

Determined realists - those with a clear idea of what they want to do and have a realistic view on how to achieve it.
Comfort seekers - those with no clear picture of their future plans.
Long-term preparers - those who have a clearly defined progression plan, though not necessarily aware of the field in which they wish to work.
Defeated copers - settle for what’s in front of them.
Confident aspirationals - optimistic, self-assured and spurred on by ambition.
Indecisive worriers - overly anxious about the future and struggle to envisage career options.
Unrealistic dreamers - believe they will succeed, but feel their success will be the result of luck rather than hard work.

In addition, the study noted that young people’s decisions frequently fluctuated over time, even among those who were very decided about their options in the first instance. The study argued that a single approach to supporting career decision-making in young people wasn’t feasible given the varying levels and types of support young people need at various stages in their school careers. It is perhaps unsurprising, given that young people made decisions in different ways and that mindsets changed over time, that the report recommended that young people would benefit from personalised and individualised support.

Collaboration and the value of sharing knowledge

Blenkinsop et al noted that examples of good partnership practice existed, with institutions operating common curriculum frameworks and timetables, but questions were raised regarding the extent to which schools were aware of the existence of these models of good practice. Further, curriculum provision collaboration between pre-16 and post-16 institutions did not appear to be extensive.

The potential of collaboration as a means of informing future policy, research and practice in careers education and guidance was identified in January 2002 at a conference examining careers education policy and practice across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland [6]. The wider recommendations from the conference were defined as:

Raising the profile of career(s) education - raising profile at national level through strategically targeted press releases, articles or other promotional activities.
Staying in contact - national working groups agreeing to update and inform each other of new developments and initiatives in careers education, e.g. open sessions, posting information on websites.
Future collaborative activities - idea of an annual home international event, with each country taking it in turn to host an event with a specific policy-related, practitioner or research and development focus around an issue of common interest and concern.
European links - enhancing European networks to share good practice.

The need, and indeed value, of practitioners sharing knowledge and collaborating is demonstrated in the creation of the National Guidance Research Forum website, formed to encourage knowledge sharing among career guidance practitioners [7]. A key feature of the website has been the development of a shared knowledge base, following the formation of groups looking at key issues related to their expertise, and providing commentaries on key documents and research findings online.

Curriculum provision and student choice

Blenkinsop et al’s research identified a number of issues concerning curriculum provision and student choice. Curriculum structures varied between schools that were surveyed, with options either being made through open choice, option blocks, identified pathways or compulsory elements. Regardless of structure, however, students felt their choice was restricted.

The study also noted that perceptions of vocational courses were an issue of concern, with such courses not being recognised in the same way as traditional academic courses for admission onto A-level courses. In addition, the research suggested that some schools guided the less academic students down the vocational route or saw vocational courses as ways of re-engaging disaffected students, and so there was evidence that vocational courses were not made available to all. This has important implications for students studying vocational courses, especially in schools where such courses are compulsory.

References

1. 14-19 Education and Skills, DfES, February 2005.

2. 14-19 Education and Skills Implementation Plan, DfES.

3. How Do Young People Make Choices at 14 and 16? Sarah Blenkinsop et al, June 2006.

4. Leading and Managing Careers Work in Schools: The changing role of the careers co-ordinator, NICEC/CRAC briefing paper, March 2004.

5. How Career Decisions Are Made, NICEC briefing paper, September 1996.

6. Career(s) Education in Schools in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, NICEC briefing paper, April 2002.

7. The National Guidance Research Forum: Bringing career guidance research and practice closer together, Warwick Institute for Employment Research bulletin, 2005.

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