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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Zululand, 2010. / Skills development is a crucial issue in South Africa as the economy of the country will only grow if there are people with the right skills and expertise to run all sectors of the economy. This study examined the career choices of Black Grade twelve learners in order to determine whether at this level learners have broadened their career choices to include scarce areas such as, for example, Science, Mathematics and Economics Management Science. The choice of careers is an important sustainable development issue, because without relevant expertise the economy of the country will not improve. Secondly, the demise of apartheid opened up careers which were previously denied to Black people; it is for this reason that the researcher examined the career choices of Black Grade twelve learners in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. The study made use of questionnaires to establish what kind of career choices Black Grade twelve learners made and also to find out whether there was any difference between the careers chosen by girls and boys and also between rural and urban learners. The study found that the general career choices of both males and females had changed by the time they reached Grade twelve, seen against career studies done at Primary school level (Mmema, 2010). In this study, some males currently chose careers that were previously only popular with females in grade seven, such as nursing, information technology, tourism, and computer sciences. Similarly, girls had begun to choose careers that were traditionally popular with the boys, such as mining, land surveying, doctor, civil engineering, prison warden, journalism, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The strategy of the Department of Education in encouraging girls to participate in science projects seems to be working, even though it is at this stage concentrated at urban schools. The study indicated that the Department of Education needed to put more effort into career guidance in rural schools where the learners were not exposed to diverse career choices and information about technology. Learners in the urban areas seemed to be more familiar with career choices in general than the rural learners. Very few males and females intended to choose any of the many apprenticeships available in the trades, with the result that foreign people often take up the trades after following an apprenticeship. This is one of the important factors that cause xenophobia. Many of the sectors of the economy in this country are experiencing crisis. The result is that most of the economy of the country is controlled by people who have not chosen their professions with the necessary foresight and are therefore square pegs in round holes. This poses a serious challenge to the government and also to the Department of Education; they have to make learners more aware of the shortage of skills in the different sectors and prepare them to make wise career choices. As a recommendation, it is suggested that the government put more effort into assisting learners with career choices, particularly in the Black rural areas since Blacks form a two-third majority in the country. Career guidance will also stimulate and increase awareness of the professional and semi-professional careers that are available in the workplace.

A dissertation submitted in the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of requirements for a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2017. / The current study examines the influence of family birth order on the career choices of students at the University of Zululand. The objectives of the study were: • To establish the extent to which family birth order influence students’ career choices. • To determine whether there is a relationship between the students’ characteristics such as age, gender, race and their career choices. Data was collected using both qualitative and quantitative methodology. The convenience sampling was employed in selecting the thirty students for the study. To collect data unstructured, semi-structured interview questions were formulated and a self-administered questionnaire to address objective number two, Interview questions consisted of close-ended and open-ended questions-which were conducted to the students in determining the influence of their family birth order on their career choices. Qualitative data analysis was employed in order to draw conclusion about the influence of the students’ family birth order on their career choices. Research findings led to the following inferences: Family birth order of students has an influence on their career choices. Some students believed that had they been born before or after their original birth order in the family, they would have chosen a different career. Others believed their birth order position had somehow pressured them to choose different a career from what they had always wanted to do. Other students mentioned that even though their birth order was that of a youngest child in the family, they somehow felt the pressure that is said to be expected by the first born in the family; hence they chose careers that were typically assumed by the first-borns. The findings also revealed that some participants chose their careers because their siblings had followed the same career paths and so they felt it was better to pursue similar a career path as their siblings. Age was one of the factors that might have had an influence on their career choices, the students revealed that their age did play a significant role on their career choices, that if it was not for their age they would have chosen their seemingly “dream careers”. The findings revealed that most students felt their race had an influence on their career choices and that they still felt that if they were a different race, more opportunities were going to be offered to them to choose the careers they wanted. The results revealed that there is a gap between career orientation and the students’ career choices. The findings also revealed that there is a need for psycho-career education for students at the university right from before they enroll in their first year. Based on the findings, recommendations for career counseling, psycho-career education, a more active career guidance center were put forward in order to empower students with career guidance and development.

The purpose of this study was to determine what high school principals look for when hiring career and technical teachers, the relative importance of that criteria, and whether certain factors (such as school district size, community size, and years of experience as a principal) affect their opinions toward the selection process. Surveys were mailed to 160 principals and 146 responded, yielding a response rate of 91%. A series of 2-group t-tests and standard regression analyses were used to answer the research questions. The most desired hiring criteria cited by principals (in order of importance) were enthusiasm, an applicant's ability to communicate effectively, an applicant who is student-centered, an applicant's beliefs on classroom management, and their knowledge of a variety of teaching strategies. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine what high school principals look for when hiring career and technical teachers, the relative importance of that criteria, and whether certain factors (such as school district size, community size, and years of experience as a principal) affect their opinions toward the selection process. Surveys were mailed to 160 principals and 146 responded, yielding a response rate of 91%. A series of 2-group t-tests and standard regression analyses were used to answer the research questions. The most desired hiring criteria cited by principals (in order of importance) were enthusiasm, an applicant's ability to communicate effectively, an applicant who is student-centered, an applicant's beliefs on classroom management, and their knowledge of a variety of teaching strategies. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study provided an evaluation of a career development program called the Health Education and Careers Network (HECN). Designed for inner city high school students with and without disabilities the program has been in existence since 1991, focusing on preparing students for education or careers in the allied health care industry. The program's overall goal was to increase the rate of positive high school outcomes, in particular for students at risk for high school drop out, unemployment and other negative post-high school outcomes. Based on anecdotal reports, the program appeared to facilitate successful student outcomes. However, no systematic analysis of the outcomes had been conducted. The researcher collected outcome data on 111 students with disabilities who had participated in the program since 1993 and who had left high school since 1995. She disaggregated the data and performed statistical analyses to evaluate whether there were any differences in outcomes based on race or type of disability. Additionally, she used case profiles of six randomly selected students to offer more insights about the complexity of providing transition services to inner city students with disabilities and the kinds of strategies that might be most effective. The analysis revealed that students with serious cognitive impairments had the highest rate of employment as compared to students with other disabilities, and that white students had the highest rate of achieving a certification and employment in an allied health care field as compared to students from other racial groups. Overall, data from the study revealed that students who participated in the program surpassed the local and national rates on the graduation of students with disabilities, and that independent of race or disability, the program's strategies effected positive transition outcomes for all students. / 2031-01-01

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