Context: Adolescence is the training ground for adult life. In a relatively short period, the adolescent will undergo a metamorphosis. During the high school years, the majority of adolescents move from persistent dependence to true independence, from logical thinking to abstract, complex and hypothetical thinking, from impulsivity to…

The adolescents' occupational aspirations is affected by various factors such as intelligence, emotional stability, growth and development, peer group interest, family background, social and economic life and the cognitive maturity to select a career according to the one's interest and needs. Adolescents' career maturity is influenced by the…

This study reviews the current state of career maturity in secondary education--a period of education which is critical for development of this construct, when students are faced with ongoing academic and occupational decisions over the course of their studies. This paper is organized in three parts: first we focus on the concept, models,…

This study surveyed 925 Australian high school students enrolled in grades 8 through 12 on measures of occupational aspirations, occupational expectations, career status aspirations, and career status expectations; it tested the association between these variables and career maturity, career indecision, career decision-making self-efficacy, and…

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…

Examined the relationships between Puerto Rican, Black, and Anglo adolescent children's career aspirations, expectations, and maturity and their parents' career values and career aspirations for them. Results suggest that career behavior differentially affects adolescent children's career development and that parent-child interaction may be…

While Holland's (1973) theory of personality types and vocational identity is widely used, the theory does not specify the developmental antecedents of the six personality types. To examine the relationship between membership in adolescent social cliques and vocational identity in early adulthood, four groups of college students (N=192)…

Females had significantly higher attitude and competency scores on the Abbreviated Career Maturity Inventory, completed by 114 female and 187 male African-American high school students. Educational plans were consistent with occupational expectations; 90% females and 74% males preferred careers requiring degrees, and 89% females and 86% males…

Existing theories of career development are based primarily on observations of white, middle-class males. This has prompted consideration of a separate theory of career development for women. Before a separate theory can be justified, it must be established that sex differences in the career development process do exist. A study attempted to…

Measures of the perception of occupational prestige and vocational maturity of high school students were investigated together with other variables. Correlates of the perception of occupational prestige, showing no sex differences, were vocational maturity, educational level associated with father's occupation, educational level required for the…

To determine aspects of the attitudinal dimension of vocational maturity among rural disadvantaged girls and boys of eastern Kentucky, samples of Grade 8 and 12 students were administered the: (1) Vocational Development Inventory-Attitude Scale, (2) Occupational Aspiration Scale, (3) California Test of Mental Maturity and the Otis-Lennon Mental…

Describes two model programs for high school and college students with learning disabilities that incorporate an experienced-based career education component. Explains programs' five basic premises and describes specifically designed program activities to assess and address learning disabled students' abilities and deficits. (Author/CM)