An investigation of the career decision making process of senior cycle students in a rural DEIS school

The overall aim of this study is to investigate the Career Decision Making process of Senior Cycle students in a rural DEIS school. As students prepare to progress from post primary school, they face many decisions in relation to courses, colleges and future options. These decisions may have long term consequences with research highlighting that information about the higher education entry process, courses, subjects, interests and aptitudes been central to a successful transition (Smyth et al., 2011). Having examined existing literature and other published material on the key factors that influence students with respect to their career decisions process, the researcher noticed certain elements that impact on a student’s decision-making process. A post positivist approach was employed by the researcher (Gray, 2014), which involved surveying 87 fourth and fifth year post primary students in a rural DEIS school, using an online questionnaire. The key finding suggests that parents play a very significant role in the life of a student and especially in their career decision making process. The research also highlights the influence of the regular teacher and the provision of guidance counselling as important elements in the decision-making process for students in a rural DEIS school. A distinct finding of this study is that students access a multiple range of sources to inform their choices. A number of recommendations are provided at the end of the dissertation based on these overall findings. To conclude, this research study can enhance the existing body of research that exists in relation to the decision-making process of Senior Cycle students and recommendations are made to inform future policy, practice and research.