Exploring career planning experiences of Indonesian high school students

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored experiences of Indonesian high school students in career planning. The researcher was interested in the strategies used by the Indonesian high school students in career planning and the challenges they have experienced within the process. Based on previous studies, students’ active engagement in career planning are influenced by personal, contextual, and experiential factors. Those factors which appeared in many forms determined their peformance in career exploration and career decision making. Five students from three public high schools in Indonesia participated in this study. Qualitative data was collected from individual interviews and analyzed using thematic approach. The result showed that students engaged in independent explorations and formulated tentative academic and career choices as the main processes in career planning. In addition, lack of career guidance and information were identified as the challenges in career planning. Finally, the findings were discussed in terms of recommendations for educational policy in the context of Indonesia, implications for practice, and for future study.