Implementation of Career Aspiration and Self Efficacy of Underachievers

1. INTRODUCTION

Extant literature involving career development largely focuses on students in middle or high school as they are nearing the ages of employment. However, ideations about future job/career paths germinate in the elementary years. While students in this age-group do not yet face the challenge of final decision-making, the preliminary aspirations they develop may set the direction they consider for career attainment. Important career decisions, such as whether to attend university, polytechnic, college of education, or a technical school or enter the job force directly after secondary school are made during adolescence. These decisions affect the rest of person‘s life; therefore it is important to understand the individual and the social factors that influence the process of adolescent career development. Lent et al., (1994) proposes that career choice behavior is shaped by outcome expectancies, career interest and self efficacy. Career self efficacy plays a mediating role between one‘s background interest and outcome expectancies. Career aspirations depends on one‘s self efficacy level and contextual factors such as family background and learning experience. Counseling can help the students to overcome these career decision making dilemmas. These problems of the students can be possible by counseling intervention to them. Efficacy beliefs also influence the amount of stress and anxiety individuals experience as they engage in a task and the level of accomplishment they realize. Strong self-efficacy beliefs enhance human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways. People with a strong sense of personal competence in a domain approach, difficult tasks in that domain as challenges to be mastered rather than as dangers to be avoided, have greater intrinsic interest in activities, set challenging goals and maintain a strong commitment to them, heighten their efforts in the face of failure, more easily recover their confidence after failures or setbacks and attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills which they believe they are capable of acquiring. High self-efficacy helps create feeling of serenity in approaching, difficult tasks and activities. Conversely, people with low self-efficacy may believe that things are tougher than they really are a belief that fosters stress, depression, and a narrow vision of how to solve a problem. As a result of these influences, self-efficacy beliefs are

Bandura (1986, 1997) has made the strong claim that beliefs of personal efficacy constitute the key factor of human agency. Social reformers strongly believe that they can mobilize the collective effort needed to bring social change. Innovative achievements also require sense of efficacy. Innovations require heavy investment of effort over a long period with uncertain result. 1.1 Need and Significance of the Study Guidance plays a vital role in removing the educational, personal, social mental and emotional problems of the students. Kochhar (2000) considers guidance necessary to help students with specific problems like lack of relationship between ability and achievement, deficiency in school subjects, faulty study habits, and defective methods of learning and poor motivation. The purpose of guidance and counseling services for school children are to improve academic achievement, increase self efficacy, self concept, conflict resolution skills, decrease dropouts and foster positive attitudes towards life. Several studies suggested that thorough examination of students‘ school, family, and psychological background is essential for increasing the probability that students will realistically identify their educational and occupational aspirations and to help them complete the appropriate educational programs (Wahl & Blackhurst, 2000). Bhatnagar, (1992) in a survey of educational research, points out under research gaps and priorities, that the effect of guidance and counseling should be studied on special groups of children such as slow learners, underachievers, the mentally challenged, and the mentally gifted. This study is an effort to help underachieving students in government schools. The study aims to determine if counseling can improve the level of self-efficacy and career aspirations of these students. The investigator made a counseling intervention with underachievers to improve their self-efficacy level and career aspirations as these are the significant correlates of achievement.

Astagi (2013) made an endeavor to inspect the connection between decision of staff viz., Arts, Commerce and Science by undergrads and their financial foundation with conceivable ramifications for word related goals. Information were gathered by controlling an organized poll on the last year/last semester understudies in Gulbarga and Bijapur urban communities. The head finding suggested all things considered correspondence between understudies' financial foundation and the decision of and science courses. This demonstrates the socially and financially happier gatherings keep on receiving the reward of advanced education. Devroop (2011) planned an examination to research the word related goals and word related desires for 211 undergrads studying jazz considered in the United States. Word related yearnings and word related desires were estimated on the Jazz Occupational Prestige Index. Results demonstrated that understudies tried to increasingly esteemed occupations yet expected to be utilized in occupations less renowned while considering the substances of the activity showcase. A little level of understudies (4.7%) sought to instruct while a higher rate (15.8%) expected to be occupied with educating as a calling. The investigation of connections between factors uncovered a low positive connection between word related goals and supports from noteworthy others. The investigation directed by Kaur and Sharma (2012) at U.T. Chandigarh on senior optional understudies with a target to study and look at the word related yearnings of senior auxiliary school understudies concentrating in government and tuition based schools as to sexual orientation and their home condition. The discoveries of the investigation suggested that: (a) No noteworthy contrasts has been found in dimension of word related desire among understudies of government and non-public schools. (b) No critical contrasts have been found among understudies of government and non-public schools with respect to sex. (c) The critical distinction has been found with certain regions of home condition explicitly in territory of discipline and dismissal. Aggarwal (2012) directed an overview to class 12 understudies in a single locale each in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, to increase better comprehension of understudy desires, mindfulness levels, and wellsprings of data, key partners and factors that impact their instruction and profession decisions. The outcome demonstrated that 82% of all respondents said that they had a specific occupation at the top of the priority list when they complete their training. Nonetheless, when requested to be progressively explicit, just 73% of these respondents gave clear responses to what this activity would be. The examination found the immediate connection between mindfulness dimensions of understudies and parent's training. These discoveries mirror the changing goals of understudies in India, the fraying of rank based occupations and the expanding innovative force of occupations which restrains the utility of between generational learning exchange. The outcomes were generally predictable crosswise over sexual orientation. The reactions don't shift generously significant factor in deciding post-school vocation decisions. 63% of respondents "firmly concurred" and another 28% "concurred" that parent and family desires are the explanation behind their decisions.

• The study is limited to students of class IX. The students of class IX were selected on the basis that they are mature enough to take their own decisions. • The age and gender of the students studied in the study was controlled. • The study was confined to the government schools in South Delhi only.

4.1 Research Methodology: An experimental research methodology (experimental and control group pre-test post-test design). 4.2 Population: The population of the present study will comprise of students studying in class IX of Delhi.

The sample comprise of 140 students studying in the 9th class within the age range of 14 to 15 years old from the government senior secondary school of South Delhi. Group intelligence test (1990), for measurement of intelligence and General Achievement Test will be administered and sample is selected by purposive sampling method. To understand the sample and their life, rapport building will be done during free periods and lunch break. Before giving them counseling treatment it is necessary to know the reasons for their underachievement therefore Family Environment Scale will be used. The choice of the class IX was based on the rationale that the students of this age group are most likely mature enough to take decisions for themselves and at this class they have career building.

• Group Intelligence Test by Ahuja (1971) is used for measurement of intelligence. • General Achievement Test • Self-Efficacy Scale by Ralf Schwarzer and Malthias Jerusalem (1993), for measurement of self-efficacy will be adopted. underachievers. • Family Environment Scale by developed by Bhatia and Chaddha (1993).

• Descriptive statistics which includes mean and standard deviation. • t-test to find significance of mean difference of self-efficacy, and career aspirations of underachievers of control and experimental group.

5. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY:

• The Career Aspiration mean scores of control group before (pre) and after (post) the interventions were observed to be 5.75 and 4.45 respectively. The standard deviations for pre and post test were 9.52 and 8.50 and t value was 0.09. Career aspiration levels of control group were reduced by 12.75%. It demonstrates an insignificant reduction in career aspiration levels in the pre test and post test results amongst the control group which indicates that there is a need for counseling as for control group also.

• The mean scores of Self efficacy of experimental group before (pre test) and after (post test) were observed to be 13.65 and 28.35 respectively. The standard deviations for pre and post test were 3.03 and 2.75 and t value was found to be 38.17. This illustrates that the self efficacy levels of experimental group have increased by 52.68% as a result of introduction of counseling intervention. • Self efficacy levels of control group were very slightly increased by 5.36% as the

and t value was found to be 0.67. • It demonstrates an insignificant increase in self efficacy levels in the pre test and post test results amongst the control group which indicates that there is a need for counseling as for control group also. • Therefore hypothesis ―there will be no significant difference in the pre test and post test self efficacy scores of the sample.‖ is rejected.

• Teachers can organize various programs on self awareness for students to understand various facets of personality to facilitate the right vocational choice. • At classroom level, teacher educators and counselors can collaborate with teachers in designing a curriculum that help students apply subject content in the areas to career options. • The present study suggests the formation of policy for the students and youth, also for the enhancement of services and role of social work professionals with specific reference to facilitate the role of parents, family, Government, NGO, Career Guidance Centre‘s in enabling students to discover their identity during the vulnerable phase of their life. smoothly on career path. • The focus of policy makers should be in fostering all-round development of youth through providing educational, vocational, personal and career counseling services to students at various stages of the adolescents.

Career counseling is a vital tool for developing the youths. The choice of a career especially among diverse options is usually a Herculean task and is very important to life (Osipow, 2013). This therefore underscores the need to guide the adolescents in planning for careers and making mature decisions. The school system has the responsibility of assisting the youths in making competent career decisions that are appropriate to their abilities, aptitudes, interests and other personality characteristics. Many studies have indicated that most secondary school leavers in India made poor vocational decisions because of unrealistic vocational aspirations.

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