The Influences of Career Counseling Programs on Career Decisions of High School Students at Two Publicly-Funded Special Schools in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Kazakhstani state mainstream schools do not offer career counselling programs (CCP) to help high school students make informed choices and decisions for their careers. However, publicly-funded special schools (PFSS) started in 2009 have introduced CCP as part of their curricula. Due to the fact that CCP has been implemented in PFSSs quite recently, there is a lack of research on how such program helps students make informed career decisions. This study adopted qualitative research design to explore how the CCP offered at two PFSSs in Kazakhstan influences career choices of high school students. In this study one-on-one and focus group semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used as primary data-gathering tool to address the central research question “How does the Career Counseling Program at two publicly-funded special schools in Kazakhstan help high school students make their career decisions?” Participants selected through purposeful sampling with maximum variation included current students, graduates, career counsellors, parents, and people from the leadership team. The study has come up with a number of findings about the implementation, benefits and challenges of the CCP. In addition, the findings point out a number of ways in which the CCP helps students make informed decisions about their future careers. The potential barriers and challenges to establishing and effectively delivering CCP within the PFSSs include shortage of career counseling staff, lack of capital and human resources, and over expectations from the CCP by students and others. Thus, the study may contribute to the existing literature by exploring how the CCP functions in the Kazakhstani context and how students benefit from it. The recommendations made in the study may also be useful for the schools, policy makers, and practitioners for further improvement of the CCP in PFSSs and possible expansion of the program to the mainstream schools in Kazakhstan.