Career maturity of grade nine students in British Columbia : a rural/urban comparison
Creators: name: Tesla, George John
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: The investigation studied the comparative effects of geographical location and gender on career maturity and knowledge of occupational information of grade nine students in British Columbia. In addition, the investigation studied the relationship of occupational information to career maturity. One hundred and fifty-two academic students from varying socioeconomic backgrounds were selected for the study. The subjects, none of whom had access to any form of career education program, were drawn from existing classes from two rural high schools and one urban junior high school. The schools in question were selected by district school superintendents, and the classes were selected by local school authorities. In all, eighty-eight rural students (thirty-six male and fifty-two female) and sixty-four urban students (thirty male and thirty-four female) participated in the study. A review of literature related to career maturity revealed mixed and inconclusive results, particularly relating to the variables of location and sex. Studies have shown that a significant positive relationship exists between knowledge of occupational information and career maturity. It was hypothesized that there would be no statistically significant difference in career maturity between urban and rural students nor between males and females, as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory, Attitude Scale. It was also hypothesized that there would be no statistically significant difference in knowledge of occupational information between rural and urban students nor between males and females, as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory, Occupational Information test. The results of the study supported these research hypotheses. In addition, it was hypothesized that there would be no statistically significant relationship between occupational information and career maturity. The results of this study revealed a Pearson r of .40 between the two variables, and this hypothesis was rejected. Reasons postulated for failure to reject the first four hypotheses include the following: (a) Trained counsellors were employed in the rural schools, whereas none existed in the urban school, (b) Recent sociological developments in the sphere of women's liberation movements have greatly increased the variety of occupations available to women. This in turn may have increased the apprehension of-females to make occupational choices, (c) Vast improvements in the communications media and transportation have virtually eliminated the factor of isolation for rural students, resulting in reduction of differences between rural and urban experiences and acquisition of occupational information. A posteriori comparison of the sample's mean scores with the standardization norms on both measures revealed that, while British Columbia students scored lower in career maturity, they scored significantly higher in knowledge of occupational information. This comparison tends to indicate that while students may possess adequate occupational information, they may not possess sufficient career maturity to make appropriate career choices without concurrent help in internalizing that information.