A Study of Learning Outcomes Satisfaction with Career Development Education for Junior High School Students in Taipei

[[abstract]]The purpose of this study aimed to understand the learning outcomes satisfaction with career development education for junior high school students in Taipei. Also, this study analyzed the differences among variables of students’ different backgrounds on this issue. The data collection instrument was the quantitative questionnaire. It investigated students' learning outcomes of satisfaction in three dimentions of "self-awareness", "career-awareness" and "career planning". In total, 742 questionnaires were distributed to 20 public junior high school students. 665 copies were received, with 637 effective copies to be analyzed. Data were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 for Windows with methods of descriptive statistics, t-test and one-way ANOVA. Based on the results, major findings are summarized as the followings. First, for junior high school students in Taipei, the overall tendency on learning outcomes satisfaction with career development education was satisfied, which was slightly above average rate. There was still room for school administrators to promote career development education. School administrations can provide richer resources on career development, empower teachers to have expertise, and use positive reinforcement to enhance the effectiveness on career development education. Second, for junior high school students in Taipei, the rate on each dimension of learning outcomes tended to be satisfied, which was slightly above average rate. Among three dimensions of learning outcomes, “self-awareness” scored the highest, while “career-awareness” scored the lowest. School administrations can plan multiple curriculums in order to raise students’ satisfaction rate. Third, there was no significant difference among variables of gender, academic achievement, school size, and social-economic background on learning outcomes satisfaction with career development education for junior high school students in Taipei. This reflected that career development education has been generally accepted by students. School administrations should keep promoting career development education and keep strengthening the relationship among students, parents, and schools in order to care students’ growth and accompany them to explore the career development. Fourth, on the dimension of career planning, students in large-sized junior high schools had a significant higher rate of satisfaction than those in small-sized junior high schools in Taipei. School administrations should make full use of resources. Furthermore, small-sized schools with insufficient human power and budgets should establish a good relationship with the community in order to introduce external resources to career developmenst education. Fifth, junior high students in Taipei who participated in the vocational education program had a significant higher rate of satisfaction than those who did not participated. School administrations can develop curriculums which introduce the vocational education to all the students in order to make students have a deep understanding on the issue of career exploration. Finally, based on the findings, this study provided useful suggestions for school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and researchers for further research in the area of career development education.