1. Career Guidance in a Changing World 10.-11. 11. 2017, Prague
The Effectiveness of Short-Term Career Development School Program in Middle Schools
Toni Babarović1
Ivan Dević1
Mirta Blažev2
Iva Šverko1
1 Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
2 University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

2. Basic questions How big effects can we expect?
What makes successful career intervention?
How long should it last?
What outcomes should we measure?
What can moderate intervention effects?

3. The effectiveness of career interventions
Several meta-analysis (Choen’s d)
Oliver and Spokane (1988) got the highest effect size of 0.82
Whiston et al. (1998) got an effect size of 0.45
Brown and Ryan Krane (2000) got considerably lower effect size of
The overall effect size of the career interventions ranges from 0.30 to (Whiston, 2002; Whiston & Oliver, 2005; Whiston & Rahardja, 2008)
Effects are small to medium (Cohen, 1988).

4. Key factors of successful intervention
Workshops or structured groups and class interventions are the most cost-effective and most effective if the goal is to serve as many clients as possible.
Brown and Ryan Krane (2000) – successful intervention:
employment of workbooks, written exercises and exploratory homework activities
individualized interpretations and feedback,
occupational and other forms of world of work information
exposure to models
bringing attention to building support for career choices and plans.

5. Are longer more or intensive interventions more effective?
Some studies have shown that interventions that last longer (number of hours and sessions) are more efficient (Oliver & Spokane, 1988)
Other studies failed to confirm this finding (Whiston et al., 1998; Whiston et al., 2003).
Brown and Ryan Krane (2000) - the nonlinear relationship - the effectiveness of interventions is growing rapidly with the first session, the peak is experienced around the fourth and fifth sessions, followed by a dramatic decline in efficiency.

6. Measured outcomes Whiston et al., 2003: Whiston & Rahardja, 2008:
career information seeking (13%), career maturity (10%), number of career choice options (8%), satisfaction with counselling (8%), certainty/decidedness of choice (7%), interviewing and writing skills (6%), career-related knowledge (4%).
Whiston & Rahardja, 2008:
The greatest effect sizes were related to the career maturity, vocational identity and career related skills (e.g. measures of certainty or decidedness)

7. Moderators of intervention effects
Gender
Brown and Ryan Krane (2000) identified only 18 studies (out of 62) that studied gender differences in career intervention outcomes. Only three of the studies determined statistically significant differences between men and women - women show greater satisfaction with career counseling (Mau & Fernandes, 2001) and greater change in vocational identity (Lapan, Gysbers, Hughey & Arni, 1993)
Students’ motivation
It was found that information-seeking intervention was more effective for more motivated students, while individual counselling was more suitable for less motivated students (Borman, 1972).
Students’ school achievement
We couldn't find a study that examined differences in career intervention outcomes between students with higher and lower school achievement.
Age of students
68% of the research included university students, 15% high school students, 13% adults and only 3% of the studies included younger age groups such as middle/junior high school students (Whiston et al., 2003).
This lack of interventions on middle schoolers is particularly surprising given that career interventions aimed at middle school students had the greatest effectiveness of all age groups (Oliver & Spokane, 1988; Whiston et al., 1998).

8. The aims of the study
To explore the effects of a group career counselling program on a different vocational outcomes (career maturity, career decision self-efficacy, career decision-making difficulties) in a sample of 8th graders.
To examine the moderation effects of gender and school achievement on intervention effectiveness

9. Method
A pre–post experimental design was applied. Students who received the intervention were compared to a group of students who did not receive the intervention.
Sample:
8th grade students (13-14 years) from 9 experimental and 4 control schools
Total sample size: 361 (Ne=181; Nc=180)
Attrition
Gender misbalance
PRE- testing M F
total
Control 71 84
155
Exper. 57
119
176
128
203
331
PRE & POST testing M F
total
Control 71 84
155
Exper. 38 80
118
109
164
273

10. Career development school program (eight group sessions)
Study design
Pre-testing
Experimental
group
Control
Career development school program (eight group sessions)
Post-testing
Two months period

11. Intervention program
Adaptation of School career development program Exploring Future Options (Perry & Van Zandt, 2005; Babarović & Šverko, 1999)
8 group workshops, 45 minutes-per-session, once per week, through 8 weeks.
Three modules: Self-knowledge (3 sessions), Career and Occupational Exploration (3 sessions), and Career Planning (2 sessions)
A parental guide to career decision-making
Portfolios for students
Career plan – at the end of the program
Conducted by master students of psychology (in pairs), educated and supervised by experienced career counsellors

12. Outcome measures Instruments applied pre & post intervention:
Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire – Revised (CDDQ-R: Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996)
Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSE-SF, Betz & Taylor, 2012)
Career Readiness Scale (CRS, Babarović & Šverko, 2016).
Demographic and school variables

13. CDDQ Lack of Readiness Lack of Motivation Indecisiveness
Lack of Motivation
Indecisiveness
Dysfunctional Beliefs
Lack of Information
Lack of Knowledge About the Process
Lack of Information About Self
Lack of Information About Occupations
Lack of Information About Ways of Obtaining Additional Information
Inconsistent Information
Unreliable Information
Internal Conflicts
External Conflicts
Median subscales reliability around .70 in both rounds
CFA – 10 factor hierarchical structure confirmed

14. CRS CDSE Self-Appraisal Decisiveness Occupational Information
Goal Selection
Making plans for the future
Problem Solving
Decisiveness
Active involvement
Independence
Importance
Readiness to compromise
Subscales reliability from .60 to .75 in both rounds
EFA – 1 factor structure observed
Subscales reliability from .55 to .90 in both rounds
CFA – 5 factor structure confirmed

15. Moderators Gender School achievement
8 item scale combining objective (e.g. GPA) and subjective measures (self- evaluations)
Clear one factor structure
Students were divided into two groups by median score - High and Low achievers

16. Results

17. CDDQ Lack of Readiness Lack of Motivation Indecisiveness
Lack of Motivation
Indecisiveness
Dysfunctional Beliefs
Lack of Information
Lack of Knowledge About the Process
Lack of Information About Self
Lack of Information About Occupations
Lack of Information About Ways of Obtaining Additional Information
Inconsistent Information
Unreliable Information
Internal Conflicts
External Conflicts
Effect sizes (p.Eta2) up to 5%

18. CRS CDSE Self-Appraisal Occupational Information Goal Selection
Making plans for the future
Problem Solving
Decisiveness
Active involvement
Independence
Importance
Readiness to compromise
Effect size (p.Eta2) 2%
Effect size (p.Eta2) up to 4%

19. Lack of information total score effect

20. Career readiness total score effect

21. Additional results No significant moderation effects
the intervention equally effects boys and girls, as well as low and high achievers
No negative effects

22. Discussion and conclusion
Career intervention had small positive effects on career related outcomes
Intervention reduces decision making problems related to lack of information
Intervention increases career decision making readiness: decisiveness, independence, problem solving and readiness to compromise
Intervention equally effects boys and girls & high and low achievers – no moderation effects

23. Discussion and conclusion
The results are in line with previous findings:
The biggest effects were expected in career maturity, certainty of career choice and career decidedness (Whiston & Rahardja, 2008)
The effect sizes are comparable: Choen’s d .30 to .60 in meta-analysis are equivalent to Eta2 .02 to .08 (.02 to .05 in our study)
The observed effects related to the reduction of career decision making problems (lack of information) is highly expected due to the content of intervention (Self-knowledge module; Career exploration module).
The increase in decisiveness and independence and problem solving skills in career decision making are related to the content of Career planning module.

24. Why are the effects relatively modest?
Attrition of the participants in experimental group
Self-selection of participant in experimental group
More girls
More concerned about career
More aware of career decision-making problems they face
Specific time of intervention – second semester of 8th grade is tipping point for choosing the high school - both groups are somehow engaged in career decision making
No control for previous career intervention in schools

25. Conclusion
Short term career intervention in middle school have small but significant positive effect on career decision making capabilities of students
It equally effects boys and girls, and low and high school achievers – suitable for everyone
It is relatively inexpensive and short, and can be incorporated in regular school curriculum
It can be conducted by school psychologist or by other school teachers
It can be conducted more extensively and throughout longer time period (7hr and 8th grade), and possibly yield larger possitive effects

26. Thank you for your attention!