What will I be when I grow up? New study to look at how youth develop their career interests

A new research project funded by CERIC will help to determine the factors that affect the development of career interests among adolescents and young adults, especially those deemed to be “at-risk”.  The project will identify the family, social and environmental factors that influence how children regard future careers and post-secondary education. Research is being undertaken in partnership with the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and Career Trek Inc., a career development exploration program.

The project will involve interviewing a broad range of youth at different developmental stages about their perceptions of values and aptitudes, personal performance accomplishments, vicarious learning via parents, friends and teachers and social persuasion (i.e. the role of social group membership) and how these factors shape career interest.  In addition, this study will examine these same factors in a comparable population that has participated in Career Trek.

The large-scale study will involve 500 participants at five different developmental stages: latency, middle adolescence, late adolescence, young adult and adult. Particular attention will be paid to young people identified typically as academically “at-risk”, a population that is not well understood within mainstream career counselling.

The results of this project are intended to assist school staff and curriculum developers in understanding the career exploration needs of at-risk youth. Findings will also include strategies that parents can use to meet their children’s career development needs.

Project results are expected to be available in 2013.

To learn more, please visit our project page.