The Voices of Career Choices. The Voices of Career GPS - Research study of a large-scale Career Fair for high school youth in Sacramento, CA. USA

      Аннотация: Is the time honored"career fair" a viable educational tool to support high school students in becoming college and career ready? The research in this study examines this question as it pertains to Career GPS, a large scale career exploration event for thousands of students in Sacramento, California - USA. The theoretical basis for the study is drawn from Bandura's seminal research on Social Cognitive Theory and later work by Lent, Brown and Hackett on Social Cognitive Career Theory. Using a mixed methods, single case study approach, the qualitative portion of the research recorded the stories that exited with high school students and adults after experiencing the event. The quantitative portion of the research utilized a liker-scale survey returned by exhibitors and stakeholder/sponsors at Career GPS to determine how they valued their monetary and personnel time investment in the career fair. Research conclusions support student self-efficacy as a strong focal point for career exploration.

Ключевые слова: Career Exploration, self-efficacy, College and Career Readiness, Career Preparation