DRAFT FOR RESEARCH PROJECT

Topic: Finding yourself

Introduction:
Everyone has to make some very important decisions throughout different stages of their lives. They try
to make the most appropriate decision, selecting from all of the available options. Some decisions,
particularly those made in puberty, can affect the rest of an individual’s life. One such decision concerns
the choice of career. In this research we will focus upon the factors and circumstances that affect these
decisions.

Literature Review:
Article no.1:
Usefulness and effectiveness of career counseling
Summary:
Career Counseling helps students in choosing the right career path and develop individual interest. A
data was collected by interviewing 600 students who career counseling seminar. In the interview
students were asked how help was the seminar? Also did it help them in recognizing their passion?

The result was that Career Counseling was very helpful for the students and helped them to choose their
future. The students who were confused between two or three fields were able to choose the one field
in which they had most interest. And who didn't have any plans for future were able to figure a good
future for themselves.

Article no.2:
Career decision making difficulties in USA and Turkey
Summary:
Career decision making difficulties experienced by High School students in USA and Turkey differ
depending on an individual’s gender and region.

To Analyze the difficulties and issues faced and how the dynamics are different in USA and Turkey, a
research group was created that consisted of a total of 576 students, including 296 high-school students
in California and 280 high- school students in Burdur. The study includes a total of 296 students,
including 151 females and 147 males studying in high schools in California and the research group of
high- school students in Burdur consists of 287 students in total, including 159 females and 128 males.
To further analyze the data collected from them a permit was obtained of the scale in an effort to make
use of data collection tool for the study. A Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) was
developed and it was used to identify difficulties faced by students in both countries. The pre-decided
scale was then applied to high school students on Berkeley, California during 2011-2012 AND to high
school students in Burdur Turkey in 2012-2013.

It was found that there are significant differences in gender and class variables in the career decision-
making difficulties experienced by high-school students in Turkey and the U.S. The findings of the
research were compared using the data collected.

Article no.3:
Development of Self Awareness in teenagers
Summary:
The hypothesis was that there is mature self-awareness to the adolescent age.

So, the first was a standard questionnaire on self-image of teenagers. Then a test, “Who am I?” was
made to highlight the induvial characteristics of a person and attitudes towards personal ego and its
own system of values. The questionnaire was carried out for assessing the image of self-test and in the
test, subjects were asked to encircle option that suits them and to answer the question “Who am I?” in a
short composition about themselves. The data was obtained after this test computer were selected and
the scores from the two tests were calculated.

The results showed that self-awareness was related to development of the self-image, which is crucial
psychological structure gained in adolescence.

Article no.4:
Family and Peer Influences in college plans of high school students
Summary:
It is common knowledge that influence of parents and other family members do make a lot of difference
in making plans for college, for e.g. we do consider the wishes and perspectives of our parents while
choosing a career path. A research has proven that socio-economic status of parents is one of the major
influences in the sources and variation in college attendance and desires. Data for the freshman year
were gathered in the Fall of 1957 from students (8,900 males and females) in the ten Illinois high schools
reported in The Adolescent Society using self-administered questionnaires in class- room situations. The
data reveal that their high school status as- sums an importance, by the end of the senior year, only
slightly lower than the desires of their parents in the freshman year. Finally, it has been shown that the
importance of social status in explaining variation in college plans varies according to the social climate
of the school: in those high schools where college attendance is highly valued, social status in school is a
more important source of variation in such plans than in those schools in which college-going is not
highly valued.
Article no.5:
Overcoming Barriers to Pursuing Further Education
Summary:
Of the many barriers that prevent adults from continuing their education, psychological barriers are
least often addressed by educators. This is an important area of concern because psychological factors
influence how prospective students respond to other barriers. This qualitative study was conducted to
describe how adults negotiate education-related challenges as they make their way to an adult
education program at a technical college. Drawing on Bandura and others, this study considers goal
setting, motivation, and self-efficacy in relation to social context. The findings illustrate how
psychological factors are influenced by friends and family members. Educators can utilize this principle
to enhance recruitment strategies and student support.

Hypothesis:
Explore reasons why individuals choose not to follow their dreams and the barriers they face.

Objective:
The objective is to find out the different barriers students face in their educational life and how those
barriers affect their choice of career path in late future.

Methods:
Material/Sample:

Questionnaire link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vHfOQ_aALTi698zpmTLAcpVEK5G2s5U9gHFH7RnrXbc/viewform?edi
t_requested=true&edit_requested=true

Procedure:
A questionnaire will be conducted consisting of 10 questions where the identity will be kept
confidential. The set of questions will be regarding the subject interests in the field he/she opted for and
the reasons behind it. It will be a mixture of open and close ended questions. The data will be then
collected by filling of questionnaire by 40-50 students maximum.
Discussion:
Pros:
 Creates awareness in students.
 Makes parents more sensitive to let their kids have more freedom in choosing their careers.
 Increases productivity in society w people choosing careers that they want to work in instead of
forcing other careers upon themselves that they’re not interested in
 Sets example for future students.

Cons:
 Might create confusion among them.
 Leads to argument between parents and students.
 Promotes rebel behavior.
 Invades privacy by asking personal questions in research methodology.