Beroepskeuze zekerheid leerlingen havo-4 en vwo-4

Abstract

Background: In the third year of havo/vwo, students have to make a (provisional) career choice. When the students experience certainty about their career choice, it will contribute to a prosperous academic career and entrance to the professional field. Purpose: This research focuses on to what extent students from Elburg in the 4th year of havo/vwo are confident about their career choices. Besides that, this research also examines which source of help the students have had when they made the decision and to what extent this has contributed to their level of certainty. Methods: A survey was conducted among 164 students in their fourth year of havo/vwo, at a secondary school in Elburg. Results: The students are not completely certain about their career choice. However, the havo students are more certain about their career choice than vwo students. While making the decision, the students’ main help were parents and friends and visits to open days of colleges and universities. Conclusion: Parents have the largest influence in the decision-making of the students when it comes to career choice. Conversations with parents lead to more certainty about the career choices of the students. Other persons and sources of help do not lead to more certainty, as well as the total amount of used help.