A Career Education and Development Framework and measure for senior secondary school students

Abstract

Career development learning is increasingly emphasized as a curricular strategy to prepare students for their post-compulsory school transitions to further study or employment. Educators require career development frameworks and resources to support students’ reflective learning. The present research tested a hypothesized Career Education and Development Framework (CEDF) comprising eight factors: The understanding of self; opportunities; influences; goal setting; decision-making; taking action; reflecting/reviewing; and confidence. The hypothesized framework was tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using data from two independent studies with samples (n = 567, n = 272) of senior secondary school students from different schools and jurisdictions. In addition to acceptable overall fit, invariance testing revealed consistency across gender on most factors.