Magister Commercii - MCom / One of the most important decisions adolescents are confronted with in the transitioning period from high school to tertiary institutions, is making career decisions. Young adults and adolescents may experience high levels of stress when they are expected to make decisions pertaining to a desired career. The stressful period may be too overwhelming for them.As a result it may have adverse implications on the quality of their career choice. The applicability of career indecision amongst undergraduate university students is considered an inability to choose a university major or occupation (Brogan & Hiebert, 2006).According to Creed, Patton and Prideaux (2006), career indecision is linked to issues related to career development and problems in making career related decisions, society’s expectations and perceptions, as well as the role of the family which may have an impact on the student’s ability to make career choices. In a study conducted by Creed and Patton (2003) it was revealed that age, gender and career indecision were predictors of career maturity knowledge. Joordan, Smithard and Burger (2009) postulate that career indecision influences career related thoughts and career decisions and plays an important role in the way individuals formulate career goals. Gordon and Meyer (2002) are of the view that it is not atypical for individuals to experience a certain level of developmental career indecision, this may be resultant to not having adequate experience and sufficient knowledge pertaining to the world of work. Developmental career indecision amongst students is viewed as a wholesome state which may ultimately prompt the student to explore careers and set goals (Feldt,2010).Brown, Brooks and Associates (1996), delineate that a career choice is an act which replicate an individual’s motivation. This action compels the individual to work toward their goals and to achieve it. As students venture on attaining their goal (career choice) they are confronted with many challenges, some of which include the transition from secondary school to tertiary level and the adaptation to an academic environment.This emphasizes the importance of career guidance, and that it should not be neglected. Stead and Watson (1999) conducted a study on first year university students in the Western Cape which revealed that students from disadvantaged schools were unable to choose study directions at tertiary level due to negligence of not providing career guidance at school level.Resultant to this, students were not afforded the opportunity to make informed decisions pertaining to career choices. Brown et al. (1996) presume the more informed an individual is about career choices and their abilities, the more likely they are to make career choices as they are more prepared to do so.The current study aimed to examine career indecision experienced by undergraduate university students at an academic institution in the Western Cape. The study examined the differences in career indecision based on gender and age, it also examined the relationship between a lack of information and career indecision and lastly access to a career counsellor and career indecision. A biographical questionnaire and the Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) were administered to undergraduate university students. The sample (n = 224) consisted of first, second and third year male and female undergraduate commerce students. The results indicated that there are significant differences in career decision making based on gender and age. In addition, the results revealed that there is a moderate relationship between lack of information and career indecision and findings also indicated a significant relationship between access to a career counsellor and career indecision.The results of the current study should however, be interpreted with caution as a convenience sampling strategy was utilized thus limiting generalizabilty to the broader population of students. Furthermore limitations are put forth and the study concludes with recommendations for further research and for academic institutions for consideration.

This research report is a narrative on my encounter with sport psychology. I used the metaphors of “touring” and “journal” to guide the construction of this narrative. Before embarking on my tour with sport psychology, I introduced myself as researcher (chapter 2, journal entry I) and stated the research problem, question and goal(s)(chapter 3, journal entry II). I then went on a tour with sport psychology. I visited a sport psychology museum to learn more about the history of sport psychology (chapter 4, journal entry III) and a sport psychology library to learn more about the field of sport psychology (chapter 5, journal entry IV). I also attended a sport psychology conference to become better acquainted with postgraduate sport psychology training in Psychology Departments (chapter 6, journal entry V). I also visited a sport psychology department at a university in Australia, to witness the delivery of a postgraduate training programme in sport psychology (chapter 7, journal entry VI), as well as a sport centre in South Africa and a sport institute in Australia, to see how and the extent to which sport psychology was practised (chapter 8, journal entry VII). After my tour with sport psychology I took what I had learnt and adapted the MA (Counselling Psychology) programme at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. This led to the programme having three core modules and two elective modules. The core modules are fundamental psychology, counselling psychology and career psychology. The elective modules are: community psychology and sport psychology. The sport psychology module consists of the following courses: sport psychology, sport management, sport sociology and exercise psychology. The Professional Board of Psychology at the Health Professions Council of South Africa approved this module at the end of 2003 (chapter 9, journal entry VIII). Finally, I also looked at the influence of my experience with sport psychology on my identity as a psychologist (chapter 10, journal entry IX). / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

The diploma thesis deals with the relationship and connections between career guidance and the personal well-being of adults. The aim of the work is to analyse the impact of career guidance on the personal well-being of adults. The theoretical basis of the work is devoted to the current form of career guidance in an andragogical context, the work of a career counsellor and various concepts of personal well-being are introduced. Subsequently, the relationship between career guidance and personal well-being is identified and specific mechanisms of the impact of career guidance on the personal well-being of an adult are described. Part of the diploma thesis is also a quantitative research, which aims to evaluate how clients of career guidance perceive its impact on specific dimensions of personal well-being. It was found that career guidance has the greatest impact on the dimension called self-acceptance and the dimension called meaning of life and has the least impact on the dimension called positive relationships. The results of the research also point to the importance of a form of career guidance in relation to the impact on personal well-being. Key words: career, counselling, career guidance, career education, career coaching, well-being, life satisfaction

The diploma thesis deals with the relationship and connections between career guidance and the personal well-being of adults. The aim of the work is to analyse the impact of career guidance on the personal well-being of adults. The theoretical basis of the work is devoted to the current form of career guidance in an andragogical context, the work of a career counsellor and various concepts of personal well-being are introduced. Subsequently, the relationship between career guidance and personal well-being is identified and specific mechanisms of the impact of career guidance on the personal well-being of an adult are described. Part of the diploma thesis is also a quantitative research, which aims to evaluate how clients of career guidance perceive its impact on specific dimensions of personal well-being. It was found that career guidance has the greatest impact on the dimension called self-acceptance and the dimension called meaning of life and has the least impact on the dimension called positive relationships. The results of the research also point to the importance of a form of career guidance in relation to the impact on personal well-being. Key words: career, counselling, career guidance, career education, career coaching, well-being, life satisfaction

This diploma thesis focuses on career guidance in primary and mainly lower secondary schools. The goal of the thesis is to identify and describe the best practices of career guidance from the perspective of a lower secondary school career or educational counsellor, and also from the perspective of the education system. The theoretical part fulfills this goal by describing inspirational approaches to career guidance in selected European countries (Finland, England and France). Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, the research part examines and describes the work of six career guidance facilitators at four lower secondary schools and one upper secondary school, which were purposefully selected as possible examples of best practice. The outcome of the thesis is a detailed insight into the attitudes and approaches to career guidance of the selected respondents, description of 36 unique career guidance activities, and a set of both systemic and specific recommendations for improving the state of career guidance in lower secondary schools. Although the work is focused on lower secondary schools, its outputs are also applicable to upper secondary schools.

The study aims to examine students on the Natural Sciences program and their thoughts on their choice of program as well as what may have influenced their decision. Semi-structured interviews have been used as a data collection method and a phenomenological approach has been taken to seek answers to the study's research questions. The study shows that there are many similarities between the interviewees' ways of reasoning about their choice. Influencing factors that are prominent among the interviewees are, for example, the importance of the grades for program selection and interest. The study shows that students tend to sort themselves into a compartment based on self-perception and then adapt the program choice. As a theoretical framework for the study, Hodkinson's and Sparkes's sociological theory of career choice has been used. / Studien har undersökt elever på det Naturvetenskapliga programmet och deras tankar runt sitt programval samt vad som kan ha påverkat deras beslut. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har använts som datainsamlingsmetod och ett fenomenologiskt förhållningssätt har intagits för att söka svar på studiens forskningsfrågor. Studien har visat att det finns många likheter mellan intervjupersonernas sätt att resonera kring sitt val. Påverkansfaktorer som visade sig framträdande mellan intervjupersonerna var exempelvis betygens betydelse för val av program samt intresse. Studien visar att eleverna hade en tendens att sortera in sig själva i ett fack utifrån självuppfattning och därefter anpassa programvalet. Som teoretiskt ramverk för studien har Hodkinsons och Sparkes sociologiska teori om karriärval använts.

This diploma thesis entitled "Possible Use of Career Counseling in Secondary school" focuses primarily on the possible way of introduction of career counseling into secondary schools that are within the czech standard eduacational system. The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze both the possibilities of use and ways of realization of career counseling in secondary schools, which is now provided primarily within educational counseling. Aim of the thesis was, based on given research assumptions, to analyze opinions of both students and educational counselor on the level of services provided by the career counseling in secondary school. The first part of the thesis will discuss terms related to the area of career counseling and professional orientation of students. It will also analyze occupation selection theories and career development of students, aspects of counseling process, and it will also list knowledge about adolescence period. There will also be identified those subjects and institutions providing career counseling servises that are situated in the Czech Republic. The research part of the thesis will focus on the topic of career counseling itself, more specificly on its concrete form in one selected secondary school which is part of czech standard educational system. A questionnaire...

Syftet med studien har varit att få en fördjupad kunskap kring alternativt urval genom en ökad förståelse för antagna läkarstudenters upplevda navigering genom den alternativa urvalsprocessen. Frågeställningarna har därför undersökt vilka strategier sökande använder vid antagningsintervjuerna. Och hur de två urvalskriterierna lämplighet och motivation upplevs i relation till den tidigare genomgångna antagningsprocessen samt vad läkarstudenterna menar var viktiga framgångsfaktorer för att lyckas vid intervjuerna. Tidigare forskning har visat att alternativt urval är vanligt förkommande ur en internationell kontext på det medicinska utbildningsfältet, och att studenter som har föräldrar med högskoleutbildning nyttjar utbildning på ett mer obundet sätt, där kapitaltillgångar visat sig vara viktiga i navigeringen av det svenska utbildningssystemet. Det som saknas i den tidigare forskningen är de antagna studenternas självupplevda perspektiv på alternativt urval. En kvalitativ intervjustudie har därför använts som metod för att lyfta fram dessa perspektiv. Studiens resultat har visat att de antagna läkarstudenterna har använt sig av olika strategier, en viktig sådan var att de konverterade tidigare utbildning och erfarenheter till styrkor. Lämplighet och motivation framkom som viktiga begrepp där förmedlingen av hur och varför var centrala i navigeringen. Framgångsfaktorer som lyftes fram i relation till antagningsprocessen var uppväxtmiljö, att lyckas förmedla sin person och skapa en relation till intervjuarna. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av ett bourdieuskt perspektiv där intervjupersonernas kapitaltillgångar, strategier och förhållningssätt till det medicinska fältet och rådande doxa varit centrala punkter. Studiens resultat har bidragit till ny kunskap och insyn i en annars tämligen outforskad värld kring det alternativa urvalet, genom de antagna läkarstudenternas perspektiv. Studien har också pekat på vikten av mer specifik studie- och yrkesvägledning för att fler med olika bakgrund ska kunna få de redskap som krävs för att navigera sig genom antagningsprocessen. / The aim of the study was to gain a deeper knowledge about alternative admission through a better understanding of admitted medical students’ navigation throughout the admission process. It has therefore been explored which strategies applicants use during the admission interviews. And how the two selection criteria aptitude and motivation are perceived in relation to the previously experienced admission process, as well as what medical students point out as important factors to succeed with the interviews. Previous research has shown that alternative admission is commonly used internationally in the medical field of education, and that students who have parents with higher level of education use education in a more unbound way where capital assets have shown to be important in the navigation of the Swedish educational system. What is less known in earlier research is the selfperceived perspective of the admitted students in relation to alternative admission. A qualitative interview study has therefore been conducted. The study result showed that the admitted medical students used different strategies – a critical one being the converting of previous education and experiences to strengths. Aptitude and motivation also emerged as important terms where the mediation of how and why was fundamental in the navigation. The success factors that were raised in relation to the admission process were the upbringing environment, achieving to mediate one’s personality, and to create a relation with the interviewer. The results were analysed with a Bourdieuan perspective where the interviewee’s capital assets, strategies and attitudes toward the medical field of education and existing doxa emerged as key points. The study results have contributed with new knowledge and insight in the so far unexplored field that is alternative admission, from the medical students’ perspective. The results also indicate the importance of more specific study and career guidance, which could lead to that more students with adverse backgrounds learn which tools that are helpful while navigating through the alternative admission process.

Denna uppsats syftar att undersöka hur yrkesprogrammen på gymnasieskolan förhåller sig till olika könsnormer på individnivå. En kvalitativ intervjustudie används för att ge en personlig inblick hur individer reflekterar över sin gymnasietid utifrån könsnormer, valprocessen och studie- och karriärvägledares påverkan. Genom att tillämpa teorier från Linda Gottfredson och Erving Goffman kopplas dessa till individers begränsningar, kompromisser och självuppfattning samt de olika rollerna en tar i en grupp eller i en klass. Vi har sett hur könsnormer ser ut och hur dessa påverkar en individ. Resultaten visar att alla har lagt märke till könsnormer på de olika yrkesprogrammen. Könsnormer finns i gymnasieskolan och visar sig på olika sätt. Studien ger insikt i hur olika teorier kan användas för att analysera och problematisera olika normer i gymnasieskolan. / This essay aims to investigate how the vocational programs in upper secondary school relate to different gender norms at the individual level. A qualitative interview study is used to provide a personal insight into how individuals reflect on their upper secondary school years based on gender norms, the selection process and the influence of a study and career counselor. By applying theories from Linda Gottfredson and Erving Goffman, these are linked to individuals' limitations, compromises, and self-perception as well as the different roles in a group or in a class. We have seen what gender norms look like and how those affect individuals. The results show that everyone has noticed gender norms in the various vocational programs. Gender norms exist in upper secondary school and manifest themselves in different ways. The study provides insight into how different theories can be used to analyze and problematize different norms in upper secondary school.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och jämföra studie- och yrkesvägledares sätt att arbeta i småstadsskolor respektive storstadsskolor. Studien genomfördes i tre högstadieskolor i Stockholm läns förort och respektive tre högstadieskolor och en F-9 skola i liten stad och by Dalarnas län. Forskningsfrågor: Vi vill få svar på våra forskningsfrågor – hur arbetar studie- och yrkesvägledare med vägledning i småstad respektive storstad för att säkerhetsställa att verksamheten följer de nationella styrdokumenten som finns och vad är det som skiljer respondenternas arbetssätt. Metod: Som metod har vi valt en kvalitativ skriftlig enkät och innehållsanalys av kommunernas arbetsplaner. Genom att låta fyra studie- och yrkesvägledare besvara en enkät har vi fått en tydligare bild om hur det kan se ut i verkligheten. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det finns mer likheter än olikheter i studie- och yrkesvägledarnas arbetssätt och indikerade på vikten och behovet av djupare förståelse för vägledningsuppdraget i och för SYV:s roll i att uppnå den eftersträvade kvalité och likvärdighet. Slutsats: Med tanke på studiens storlek drar vi inga generaliserande slutsatser. Utifrån enkätstudien och den empirin vi fick från respondenterna kan vi dra slutsats att det är inte så markant skillnad om studie- och yrkesvägledare arbetar i småstad eller i storstad. Det som egentligen spelar roll är synen på uppdraget i sig och förståelsen från alla involverade parter i både storstads- och småstadsskolor. / Method: As a method, we have chosen a qualitative written questionnaire and content analysis of the municipal work plans. By having four study and career counselors answer a questionnaire, we have got a clearer picture of what it might look like in reality. Results: The results show that there are more similarities than differences in the study and career counselor’s working methods and indicated the importance and need for deeper understanding of the study and career counseling assignment and for their role in achieving the desired quality and equivalence. Conclusion: Given the size of the study, we do not make any generalizing conclusions. Based on the survey study and the empiricism we received from the respondents, we can conclude that it is not so significant difference if study and career counselors work in small towns or in big cities. What really matters is the vision of the mission itself and the understanding of all parties involved in both metropolitan and small-town schools.