Career choices and development among Chinese vocational college students

Abstract

The study determined the career choices and development among Chinese vocational college students in order to propose a plan of action for students' comprehensive career guidance.It described the profile of the respondents in terms of sex, major, and place of origin; determined the respondents' career choices in terms of personal reasons, social factors, family factors, and school factors; identified the respondents' career development in terms of clarity, confidence, challenge, and change in one's career; tested the differences in responses when grouped according to profile; tested the relationship between career choice and career development; and proposed a plan of action for students' comprehensive career guidance.The descriptive method was used in this study with 500 vocational college students with different profiles.Reliable and validated questionnaire was employed to gather data.The gathered data was analyzed using a one-way ANOVA, t-test, and a quantitative descriptive study technique.Based on the findings, majority of the respondents are male majoring in English living in rural areas.Most of the respondents agreed on the indicators regarding career choices in terms of personal reasons, social, and school factors.There was a disagreement in terms of family factors.Most of the respondents agreed on indicators regarding career development in terms of clarity, and confidence and disagreed on indicators pertaining to challenge, and change in one's career.Findings showed highly significant relationship between career choice and career development.Recommendations for future research were proposed to monitor the progression of vocational students' career development across a specified period to offer valuable insights into the dynamic nature of career aspirations, choices, and progress.