The impact of the career planning and decision making course on selected aspects of career planning behavior

Abstract

The present study was concerned with career education practices in higher education settings. The major purpose of this study was to determine if the recently published course, Career Planning and Decision- Making (979), which was developed by Appalachia Educational Laboratory, was effective in assisting freshman and sophomore students in choosing or examining their choice of a major and enhancing their career decision making behavior. A secondary purpose of the study was to obtain eva1uative data on this published course. The Harren Assessment of Career Decision-Making, the Rotter Internal-External Scale, and a personal interview, using a structured interview schedule, were used to gather data. The significance of the difference between the groups on the I-E Scale and pretest was determined by analysis of variance using the .05 level of significance. The difference between the groups following the treatment were determined by analysis of covariance with the I-E and pretest as covariates.

Career Planning and Decision-Making was taught during the Winter Quarter, 1979, at a large comprehensive university in Virginia. The population consisted of freshman, sophomore, and transfer students who wer~ enrolled as pre-education majors. From the students who volunteered for the course a random assignment was made to either the control group (N = 21) or the experimental group (N = 21).

An analysis of the data revealed: (1) no difference at the .05 level on the ACDM pretest or the Rotter I-E Scale scores; (2) no difference at the .05 level on either the career decision to attend college or the choice of a major; but (3) significant differences (p < .001) in decision-making styles and choice of occupation. The structured interview revealed that the students perceived themselves as being more effective decision makers and as having made progress in choosing a major and an occupation as a result of the course. All indicated they were very pleased with the course and all recommended that the course be incorporated as a permanent offering, preferably at the freshman or sophomore level. It was concluded that the course, Career Planning and DecisionMaking was effective for teaching career planning and decision-making skills to students in college settings.