Secondary school curriculum and career behavior in young adults

Edwin L. Herr, Roland H. Good, George McCloskey, Anna D. Weitz

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Abstract

As part of a larger longitudinal study of the effects of secondary school characteristics on career behavior in young adulthood, findings are presented that were obtained from 1,007 males and females who graduated from high school in academic or vocational curricula in 1972 or 1974. Criterion behavior included the completion of career development tasks in the exploration and establishment life stages as measured by the Adult Form of the Career Development Inventory, certainty about immediate occupational plans, satisfaction with occupational goals, and progress toward meeting them. Significant differences were found in the pattern of career development by curriculum but not by sex, in certainty by curriculum and sex, and in satisfaction by neither curriculum nor sex. The implications for a stage theory of career development are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Original languageAmerican English
JournalJournal of vocational behavior
Volume21
StatePublished - Jan 1 1982

Keywords

  • Curriculum
  • Employment History
  • High School Graduates
  • High Schools
  • Human Sex Differences
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Occupational Aspirations
  • academic vs vocational secondary school curriculum
  • career patterns
  • longitudinal study
  • male vs female high school graduates

Disciplines

  • School Psychology

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