Targeted at the students attending general/academic high school, this study aims to analyze the effects of Grit and Career Decision-making Self-efficacy, as felt by the students themselves, on Career Preparation Behavior, so as to lay the foundation a...
Targeted at the students attending general/academic high school, this study aims to analyze the effects of Grit and Career Decision-making Self-efficacy, as felt by the students themselves, on Career Preparation Behavior, so as to lay the foundation and help high school students to consider and make decisions on going to university and finding a reasonable choice of path for their future. For the purpose of the study, I examined the levels of Grit, of Career Preparation Behavior, and of Career Decision-making Self-efficacy, and verified whether the Grit and Career Decision-making Self-efficacy of the students attending general/academic high school have positive effects on their preparation for their future path.
Grit is defined as perseverance and passion for a long-term goal. Individuals with strong Grit work fiercely toward completing their long-term tasks and maintain their interest and efforts despite obstructive elements, boredom and even failure. The climate of the university entrance system in South Korea has recently undergone some changes. One of such changes is a scheme where the students are reviewed comprehensively in their school performance and achievements where their efforts to prepare for their future path are emphasized. To respond effectively to such change and to the reality of the general/academic high school students whose sole focus is still on the university admission examination, this study uses the existing studies on the effects of Grit and Career Decision-making Self-efficacy on Career Preparation Behavior for the purpose of improving the students' preparation for their future course in a more effective manner.
For this study, a survey was conducted on 439 students - the first, second, and third year (10th, 11th, and 12th grade) in high school - attending general/academic high schools located in Seoul, GyeongGi-do Province, ChungCheongNam-do Province, and JeollaNam-do Province. Because this concept of Grit is fairly new in South Korea, this study addressed the concept and analyzed the defining characteristics of individuals by gender, by grade, and by (desired) future path as they affect Grit. For this, t-test and one-way ANOVA were conducted. It was found that gender was the only element that had any significant effect on grit and that the difference in Grit by grade or by (desired) future path was not significant. In the meantime, the Structure Equation Model (SEM) was used to find out about the causal relationship between Grit, Career Decision-making Self-efficacy and preparation for future path of the students attending general/academic high school. It was found that the stronger the grit was, the more positive effect it had, urging students to prepare more for their future path.
Based on the results, this study addresses Grit as a factor that needs to be considered in designing the career/future education programs that aim to enhance Career Decision-making Self-efficacy and level of student preparation, presenting the teachers with a direction they may want to ponder in providing guidance to their students. This is one of the elements that distinguishes this study from the existing ones.