We surveyed Australian adolescents and parents to test differences and congruence in perceptions of adolescent career development tasks (career planning, exploration, certainty, and world-of-work knowledge) and vocational identity. We found that, for adolescents (N = 415), career development tasks (not career exploration) explained 48% of the…

Career and technical education (CTE) is a form of educational service that is centered around preparing students for the workforce. At its core, CTE is intended to bridge the gap between high school education and postsecondary employment by teaching employment skills to students while they are in high school. CTE is vital in transition planning…

Describes a series of psychometric analyses of the Career Development Inventory (CDI), using latent trait measurement models, with a sample of 680 Australian high school students. Results suggest that, although some modifications are needed, the CDI has generally desirable psychometric properties. (JAC)

Australian high school students (n=377) completed the Career Development Inventory and a work commitment measure. Commitment was moderately correlated with career development. Commitment and the knowledge component of career maturity were strongly related for females. Females had higher work commitment scores than males. (Contains 39 references.)…

Adolescents across the five years of high school (169 females and 164 males) completed a survey that identified occupational status aspirations and expectations coded into six types-- realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, or conventional--according to the RIASEC model (Holland, 1997). As the focus of the study was to explore…

Investigated the relationships between career maturity and career curriculum in 38 Melbourne metropolitan secondary schools (N=2280 students) using an Australian adaption of the Career Development Inventory. Results confirmed that schools with career education programs achieved higher gains in student career maturity. (JAC)

This article reports on a study investigating the career development of hard-of-hearing high school students attending regular classes with itinerant teacher support. We compared 65 hard-of-hearing students with a matched group of normally hearing peers on measures of career maturity, career indecision, perceived career barriers, and three…

Hypothesized that students who continue full-time study after high school have higher levels of career maturity, psychological well-being, and academic achievement while at school. Surveyed 254 Australian seniors and 132 of these students 9 months after graduation. Found that students who proceeded to full-time further study scored higher in all…

The present study investigates the career maturity of 1090 high school students in Years 8 to 12 in Australia (n = 656) and South Africa (n = 434). Scores on the Australian version of the "Career Development Inventory" were analysed. While a developmental explanation for career maturity was supported, gender differences between countries…

The learning of decision-making (DM) skills and appropriate attitudes is an important objective of career education. This study provides an empirical test of theoretical links between aspects of DM styles and vocational maturity (VM) in adolescence. Approximately 260 Australian students in grades ten and twelve answered questionnaires measuring…