Self-efficacy in the Professional Choice of Adolescents

Summary:

The academic paper “Self-efficacy in the Professional Choice of Adolescents” dives deep into the complex factors and theories affecting career decisions among young people. The study is divided into three major sections, starting with a theoretical foundation elaborating on various career choice aspects. The section discusses career choice through the lens of different psychological theories, such as Anna Roe’s conception and Donald Super’s model of self-conceptual development. These theories provide a nuanced understanding of how vocational behaviours develop and express one’s personality.

Furthermore, the paper examines factors influencing career choices, including individual characteristics, school environment, family, and external conditions. A significant portion of the study focuses on self-efficacy, a person’s belief in their capability to achieve goals. Self-efficacy is influenced by past experiences, vicarious learning, verbal encouragement, and emotional states. This sense of efficacy can mediate various processes such as cognition, motivation, and even decision-making, thus being a central element in career selection.

The paper also explores decision theories like Tiedeman and O’Hara’s career choice theory and Vroom’s expectations model, providing a comprehensive perspective on the stages and styles of decision-making in career choices. The second chapter outlines the research methodology, detailing the purpose, tools, and procedures for collecting quantitative and qualitative data. Finally, the third chapter presents the research findings, leading to actionable insights and implications for educational institutions, families, and policymakers.

Excerpt:

Self-efficacy in the Professional Choice of Adolescents

I. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 1. SCHOOL AND PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE

CONCEPTUAL DELIMITATIONS

School and professional orientation consists of a complex of actions through which it is pursued to establish an optimal relationship between a student and one of the existing professions, involving three components: the student, the profession and knowledge of the professional training system (Lyscuy V., 2000).

To understand its exact meaning and demonstrate its importance, it is necessary to start by defining some basic concepts with which OSP operates, as defined in the Classification of Occupations from Romania (1995).