Developing a self-directed career guidance intervention for South African high school learners amidst severe COVID-19 restrictions
African Journal of Career Development
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Developing a self-directed career guidance intervention for South African high school learners amidst severe COVID-19 restrictions | |
| Creator | Jäckel-Visser, Michelle Rabie, Stephan Naidoo, Anthony V. van Schalkwyk, Izanette van den Berg, Francois J. Streicher, Chantel | |
| Description | Background: South African schools have been severely impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. State-imposed restrictions to mitigate the spread of the infection have significantly limited direct interpersonal contact, curtailing the existing career guidance and counselling activities in schools. Crucially, in low-income settings, the social distancing regulations implied that in a year of increasing anxiety and uncertainty, many high school learners would have had to make important career-related decisions with limited or no tacit career guidance.Objectives: In response to these challenges, this study developed a self-directed career guidance intervention to provide continued career guidance support for Grade 9 learners amidst the unfolding global pandemic.Method: A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was employed to evaluate feasibility and acceptability of the intervention amongst a sample of 498 learners across eight high schools in the Cape Winelands district, Western Cape province, South Africa.Results: Favourable quantitative results were obtained assessing learners’ experiences of participating in the intervention and on the perceived impact of the intervention on their career preparedness. Participants reported a mean score of 41.25 (out of 50) for acceptability of the intervention. In addition, they reported a mean score of 17.1 (out of 20) for perceived impact of the intervention on their career preparedness. In terms of feasibility, qualitative findings revealed that the intervention improved learners’ self-knowledge and career directionality.Conclusion: The mixed-methods results confirm the feasibility and utility of implementing a self-directed career guidance intervention amongst secondary school learners. Whilst learners reported positive evaluations of the self-directed career guidance booklet, they also expressed the need for one-on-one or group engagement with the intervention content. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2021-12-10 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajcd.v3i1.40 | |
| Source | African Journal of Career Development; Vol 3, No 1 (2021); 8 pages 2617-7471 2709-7420 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/40/193
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/40/194
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/40/195
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/40/196
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