The Longitudinal Impact of Career Planning Education on Career Development of Students with and without Special Educational Needs in Inclusive Education of Hong Kong

The major purpose of study is to study the longitudinal effects of annual career-planning programs on the expected learning outcomes among students with and without SEN. Specific research objectives are to 1) compare SEN and regular senior secondary students’ cognitive-person gains from career planning programs in terms of their career decision self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, career-related goals, career planning and career exploration; 2) examine SEN and regular senior secondary students’ perceived career supports on these key cognitive-person variables in career development process; 3) identify the developmental changes of both cognitive-person gains and perceived career supports and barriers to career development needs of students with and without SEN; and 4) review the effectiveness of career planning programs for students with and without SEN to offer recommendations for policy-making and instructional practice. Mixed research methods are adopted. With the quantitative approaches, the project incorporates both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Data will be collected from S.4 to S.6 students in secondary schools at two time points: pre- and posttests before the commencement and after the ending of the annual programs of career planning education in the targeted schools. With the qualitative approaches, in-depth interviews are also designed for finding out about a wide range of stakeholders’ perceptions of career planning education, so as to help analyze the types of support and barriers in the implementation of career planning programs in Hong Kong. The study will include both theoretical advances in career development in an Asian setting and practical implications in addressing the career development needs of adolescents. The outcome will help policy makers and school stakeholders evaluate the impact of current implementations of career planning programs on the career related self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career development needs of students with and without SEN.

Funding Source: RGC - General Research Fund (GRF)