THE EFFECT OF COUNSELING WITH THE CAREER DECISION KIT ON THE SELF-ACTUALIZATION OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO SEEK CAREER COUNSELING
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of career counseling with the Career Decision Kit format on the self-actualization level of college freshmen and sophomores. The counseling intervention was conducted in the School of Science at Purdue University and lasted for one semester. The control subjects were 21 students who did not wish to receive career counseling. The experimental subjects were 24 students who sought out the career counseling services of the Office of Science Counseling. All subjects were pre-tested with the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) in order to assess their level of various factors of self-actualization prior to intervention. Eight weeks after the pre-test each control subject was readministered the POI without any other contact during the interval. For the experimental group the treatment was conducted in a six stage, self-progression of weekly sessions across an average interval of eight weeks. Upon completion of the treatment the experimental subjects were re-administered the POI to assess the effect of the Career Decision Kit format on self-actualization levels. The Career Decision Kit is a self-administered, developmental program which incorporated self assessment of values, interests, and capabilities in academic, employment, and social milieus with comprehensive occupational information and decision making skills. The results indicated that at the pre-test level the experimental subjects showed a lower tendency for all but four factors of self-actualization than did the control subjects. These trends supported the need and the potential for self-actualization in the lives of the students who sought career counseling. The implication of a sex and "intelligence" factor was also considered. At the post-test level the experimental subjects showed higher tendencies for 11 of the 12 factors of self-actualization than did the control subjects. These trends supported the effectiveness of the Career Decision Kit in facilitating the tendency towards self-actualization. Further findings indicated that the Career Decision Kit main effect of academic orientation was instrumental in enhancing Spontaneity and Synergistic Awareness (p (LESSTHEQ) .01), as measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory. The main effect of sex was instrument in enhancing the factor Spontaneity (p (LESSTHEQ) .05) while the main effect of group membership was instrumental in enhancing the factor Inner-directedness (p (LESSTHEQ) .05). Low academically oriented females in the experimental group indicated a higher growth in Inner-directedness (p (LESSTHEQ) .05) than did their control group counterparts. Group membership as an effect on self-actualization reached significance with respect to Inner-directedness while indicating meaningful trends for Existentiality, Spontaneity, Self-regard, Self-acceptance, and Synergy. These results indicate that the Career Decision Kit format does indeed begin the facilitative process of self-actualization. It also indicates that more is needed to develop the process than just the Career Decision Kit format. These results demonstrated that a systematic, self-programmed career counseling format like the Career Decision Kit may facilitate the movement toward self-actualization in low academically oriented students in general and low academically oriented females in particular during their freshmen or sophomore years of college.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.