D.Litt. et Phil. / A career guidance training workshop based on a taxi ride metaphor was developed to train teachers to offer an indigenous career guidance programme to students in disadvantaged communities. The innovation comprised a trainee's handbook as an adjunct to the workshop, structured workbooks for students in the classroom, and trainers' manuals for independent trainers. Principles of developmental research ensured that each phase was completed sequentially and successfully with the necessary material prerequisites and methodologies; this guided the process of workshop design and development through the problem analysis, design, developmental, and evaluation phases. Theories of career development and planning, and integrative life planning influenced the psychology behind the taxi ride model, whose objective was to help students gain a sense of mastery over the process of career decision-making and problem solving, thereby learning a life skill. The workbook was pilot-tested on two occasions, and four training workshops were pilot-tested with modifications made after each one. Group work principles ensured the workshops were experiential and educative. Workshop evaluation questionnaires further improved the innovation. Knowledge, Attitude and Self-efficacy scales, formulated in semantic differential form, were developed and refined to measure the success of the workshops by pre- and post-testing. Three more workshops were run with no revisions. Two hypotheses were formulated to measure the impact of the study; results revealed statistically significant changes in the knowledge and attitude scales, and positive changes in self-confidence levels in offering career guidance. There were no significant pre- and post-test differences between the groups for the biographical factors, except educational qualifications which did influence the findings. In addition, an observation schedule revealed that trainees had acquired great skill in applying the workbook. Limitations of the study included the absence of a control group, and an impact evaluation of the interactive dialogue between teacher and student. Future research in turn could focus on the impact the workbook has on the student. The contribution to psychology is that the indigenous South African practice model incorporates a rational and emotional process of career decision making, which can be applied by trained teachers and community leaders, rather than solely by professionals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10092 |
| Date | 12 September 2012 |
| Creators | Todes, Karyn |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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