TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 08 August 2023

DOI 10.3389/feduc.2023.1097993

Career decision-making readiness

OPEN ACCESS among students’ in the system of
higher education: career course
EDITED BY
Antonio P. Gutierrez de Blume,
Georgia Southern University, United States

REVIEWED BY
Elena Tikhonova,
intervention
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Russia
Deb Osborn,
Florida State University, United States
Askar Azhenov 1, Ainash Kudysheva 1*, Nataliia Fominykh 2 and
*CORRESPONDENCE
Gulmira Tulekova 1
Ainash Kudysheva 1
Department of Personal Development and Education, Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan,
[email protected] 2
Foreign Languages Department No 1, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russia
RECEIVED 14November 2022
ACCEPTED 20 July 2023
PUBLISHED 08 August 2023 Career decision-making is a complicated process in which students must
CITATION understand themselves. In this paper, the influence of the implemented “Career
Azhenov A, Kudysheva A, Fominykh N and development” course on the Toraighyrov University undergraduate students’
Tulekova G (2023) Career decision-making
readiness among students’ in the system of
readiness for career decision-making was analyzed. The Career Decision-making
higher education: career course intervention. Difficulties Questionnaire (CDMDQ) and it was used to test the hypothesis that
Front. Educ. 8:1097993. by implementing “Career Development” course the level of students’ career
doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1097993
decision-making readiness would increase. The participants were 104 students at
COPYRIGHT
Toraighyrov University, divided equally into the control and experimental groups
© 2023 Azhenov, Kudysheva, Fominykh and
Tulekova. This is an open-access article (52 students each). The experimental group, unlike the control group, took the
distributed under the terms of the Creative “Career Development” course for 15 weeks. Students were randomly chosen from
Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The humanities (psychology, education, journalism, and social work) and Science,
use, distribution or reproduction in other
forums is permitted, provided the original Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (electrical engineering, computer
author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are science, and metallurgical engineering) fields. The average age of participants
credited and that the original publication in this was 21 years. The results show that there is significant difference in pre-course
journal is cited, in accordance with accepted
academic practice. No use, distribution or and post-course testing in each of the career decision-making difficulties cluster:
reproduction is permitted which does not (1) Lack of Readiness; (2) Lack of Information and (3) Inconsistent information in
comply with these terms. experimental in comparison to control group.

KEYWORDS

career choice, career decision-making, career exploration and development course,

higher education, psychological and educational support, university students’ career
development

1. Introduction
1.1. The problems of career readiness

Selecting a career can be one of life’s most challenging decisions. People often feel
overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to absorb when considering the
numerous career paths they could potentially follow (Gati et al., 2019). As for nowadays,
individuals need to be able to critically analyze various information about the job market and
their own characteristics in relation to the job market almost on a continuous basis. The
information that individuals need to process is often subject to quick changes and is highly
ambiguous, being partial, fragmented, and contradictory (Xu and Tracey, 2014). A considerable
proportion of ineffective career decisions among university alumni are accompanied by
difficulties in justifying them and a lack of confidence in their abilities and place in the

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professional environment. A genuinely conscious choice of profession them need career counseling services and psychological support. For
and place of future employment directly depends on the individual’s successful employment, it is not enough to have only a high-quality
current preferences by forming a sense of professional identity. education and theoretical knowledge. Students need practical skills in
Students’ clear understanding of their inclinations, skills, and abilities communicating with employers, knowledge of the psychological
– which will continue to develop throughout their lives – is essential aspects of interviewing, writing resumes and cover letters, knowledge
(Tang, 2019). of the current labour market and job search technologies.
Seeking a job, employment and planning future career paths are
common problems that university alumni face after getting their
qualifications. Barriers to effective employment of university 1.2. Career decision-making models and
graduates include: theories

• The lack of mechanisms to ensure the relationship between the The process of career planning, career readiness, and vocational
labour market and the educational programs; development has been considered through career development
• Human resource policies of many organizations focus mainly on theories such as Super’s Theory, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory,
achieving current results, and not on future development; Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personality, Cognitive Information
• The majority of graduates do not have the necessary skills for Processing Theory, and the Theory of Career Construction.
self-determination in the labour market, career development, or Understanding these established (and newer) career development
negotiation with employers in interviews; theories is vital for effective career counseling and will help support
• University graduates lack self-esteem regarding their vocational students in their career growth (Lent et al., 1994; Brown and Lent,
qualification level (Jones et al., 2017; Mohammed et al., 2021). 2004; Tang, 2019).
Cognitive Information Processing theory researchers point to a
In Kazakhstan there are additional factors that are beyond the strong connection between worry and negative career thinking and
control of university alumni and can be distinguished as additional confusion when making decisions. Worry predicts the degree of
barriers. For example, In Kazakhstan Universities educational readiness for making career decisions and inhibits the implementation
programs (specialities) should be included in the National Classifier of cognitive skills (Hayden and Osborn, 2020). They emphasize the
of Republic of Kazakhstan (NCP RK), National Qualification importance of specific integrated career development programs that
Frameworks (NQF), and Industry Qualification Frameworks (IQF) enhance cognitive information skills that affect anxiety elimination
but usually they are not in in the country’s labour market. The and increase the quality of decision making, even while partially
professional and qualification requirements of most employers in ignoring other important influencing factors such as social
Kazakhstan has gone far beyond the scope of educational programs environment, psychological support, expected socioeconomic status,
and standards. Every year new integrated professions appear, but there etc. (Osborn and Belle, 2019).
are still no educational programs directed towards addressing these Career decision-making difficulties remains a topical issue of
new requirements (National Classifier of the Republic discussion in career counseling and career development,
Kazakhstan, 2019). underscoring the consistent theoretical proposition that career
In addition to professional and qualification requirements (‘hard decision-making problem is an important but challenging
skills’), employers have begun to put forward demands for employees’ developmental task across life-span (Wright et al., 2013;
personal qualities (‘soft skills’). Universities typically place less Mohammed et al., 2021). Our research highlights the remaining
emphasis on the development of students’ soft skills; most are focused high level of career decision-making difficulties among senior year
on hard skill formation, which they regard as the main outcome of students in Kazakhstan and how implementing “Career
educational programs. Ideally, students should have the opportunity Developing” courses may lower the tension of difficulties students
to develop diverse qualities and skills while studying at university face in making career decisions.
(Jones et al., 2017). Recruiters are seeking employees with soft skills Most scientists define career readiness as the ability to successfully
and it is usually more important than the grade point average (GPA). engage in the process of career decision-making and making
Soft skills consist of self-awareness, respect for others, leadership reasonable career choices (Hirschi, 2012). Super proved that young
ability, positive attitude, team-playing, self-confidence, critical people differ from each other with regard to their levels of readiness
thinking, and good communication. Professionals must not only for educational and career decisions. Super suggested that such
master the technical skills of their job but also various soft skills readiness should be based on the development of essential
(Dixon et al., 2010). Hard skills are generally learned through formal characteristics such as attitudes towards career development,
training and education, while soft skills are typically developed behaviours, and cognitions necessary for the formation of a steady
through personal experience and reflection (Dixon et al., 2010). For vocational identity. Based on Super’s theoretical approach, followers
the success of a young specialist in the labor market, both hard and paid attention to the structural components of career readiness,
soft skills are equally important. However, students with strong soft namely, attitudes towards planning, research, competencies in career
skills have a competitive advantage over other candidates when decision-making, and the ability to gather information about
interviewing and creating resumes and cover letters, and getting their professions and career opportunities (Tang, 2019).
first job (Malin et al., 2017). Career readiness is a plan for the development of a career and
University alumni who have specific professional knowledge and personal beliefs, attitudes, motivation, feelings, abilities, behaviours,
skills but no work experience face socio-psychological challenges in and actions that ensure successful career building. A successful career
finding a workplace to suit their preferences and ambitions. Most of can be defined as one that meets the expectations of the individual.

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In western education and psychology, career development and students and graduates. For example, lack of planning skills can lead
career readiness are considered through the prism of career decision- to the loss of direction in the vocational sphere, and a lack of interest
making theories. These theories are grounded on approaches to in the future profession and career makes a choice unconscious. Lack
modeling the process of career decision-making. of reliable and confident information about the chosen profession may
Decision-making is an action in which individuals compare lead to disappointment due to high expectations. These factors
alternatives and attempt to select the most desired outcome (Dixon ultimately lead to indecisiveness and inability to make career
et al., 2010). As stated by Kulcsár et al. (2020) career decision may decisions. Thus, graduate and undergraduate students may miss out
involve choosing an occupation and the associated educational on career opportunities and the chance to gain invaluable experience
training, then a job and then whether to remain in that job or switch (Hirschi and Läge, 2007).
to another one, what formal and informal advanced training to take, Career decision-making is much broader than just choosing a job,
and so on. When facing such decisions, many individuals experience and it is a process that includes understanding one’s desires and needs,
difficulties that prevent decision-making or lead them to choose a deep knowledge of your personality (strengths and weaknesses), and
non-optimal alternative. In career psychology, career decision-making ideas about one’s current and potential development. Gati et al. (2012),
difficulties are defined as “the difficulties encountered by individuals define career decision-making as the process people go through when
while making career-related decisions. They refer to all problems and searching for career alternatives, comparing them, and making a
challenges that need to be addressed prior to, during, or after the choice. Career decision-making competence is a complex dynamic
decision-making process” (Saka et al., 2008). process aimed at planning a career. It is a form of self-expression that
Analyses of the existing career decisions-making models gives us includes beliefs, attitudes, motives, and feelings, ensuring effective
understanding of individual patterns of behavior in career decision- planning of a future career and its compliance with personal
making, gathering information about careers, indecision in the expectations (Mohammed et al., 2021).
process of career decision-making, existing difficulties, career Four key components of career decision-making competence can
maturity, and adaptations to professional life. Current models consider be distinguished to characterize this process:
career decision-making competencies as a dynamic process that has
levels and phases. According to Esbroeck et al. (2005), career decision- 1. Adequate confidence in the career decision-making process;
making models focus on specific decision points along the 2. Ability to be objective in analyzing existing information;
developmental continuum, providing a well-defined framework for 3. Ability to take into account one’s personal experience and
decision-making that can fit any relevant situation. experience of others for successful career decision-making (Gu
The cognitive-informational process developed by Sampson et al. et al., 2020).
(2004, 2014) highlights five stages in career decision-making: (a)
communication (identifying a career problem); (b) analysis Success in career decision-making may be affected by internal and
(highlighting the relationships between problems); (c) synthesis external, objective, and subjective factors. Moreover, the low level of
(creation of alternatives); (d) assessment (assessment of priorities); competence in making career decisions, especially among university
and (e) execution (development of strategies to make a choice) and college students, depends on factors such as unwillingness to
(Hirschi and Läge, 2007). Six stages in the process of deciding on a make career decisions, lack of necessary information, and
career were identified by Germeijs and Verschueren (2006, 2007): (a) inconsistency of information available (Gati et al., 2012). Furthermore,
focus on choice; (b) self-examination; (c) extensive study of the world; most often, a low level of career decision-making competence’s
d) in-depth study of the world; (e) selection of an alternative; and f) development, especially among university and college students,
following the chosen career alternative. Esbroeck et al. (2005) depends on such factors as lack of willingness to make career
proposed the same number of stages in their dynamic model of career decisions, lack of sufficient information, and the inconsistency of
choice: (1) sensitization (awareness of the necessary career activities), available information. Unreadiness in career decision-making may
(2) self-study, (3) environmental research, (4) the study of the depend on a low level of motivation, the indecision of an individual,
relationship between themselves and the environment, (5) and self-doubt. Lack of sufficient information may include lack of
specification (deepening knowledge about career opportunities and knowledge about career decision-making processes (low level of self-
detailed elections), and (6) choice of alternative. knowledge, lack of information about the future profession, an
Another current model of career decision-making process – inability to analyze existing information). Lack of consistency of
‘Examination, in-depth research and selection’ – proposed by Gati available information includes unreliable sources from which student
et al. (2019), is based on three phases: (1) consideration of potential gains information about the world of professions, internal conflicts,
alternatives and narrowing down alternatives based on individual and external conflicts (Kleiman et al., 2004).
preferences, (2) in-depth study of effective alternatives, and (3) The career decision-making models analyzed above include a
selection of the most suitable alternatives. different number of phases, in their content and names. Our research
Hirschi and Läge (2007) identified the key parameters in was based on models suggested by Gati et al. (2012) and Hirschi
successful career development based on longitudinal empirical (2012). Based on Gati et al. (2012), we can point out specific difficulties
research. They stated that critical factors influencing career readiness represented in ten main categories. Difficulties in career decision-
are career decisiveness, career planning, career research, and making can arise both before the involvement process (lack of
vocational identity (Figure 1). Each of these factors is key and has its readiness) and during the decision-making process (lack of reliable
characteristics of expression at various career decision-making stages, information or absence). Hirschi (2012), consider the six phases can
directly affecting the level of career readiness. Therefore, low levels for be nominally subdivided into three stages: before actual decision-
any factor can harm career decision-making and the career life of making (phase 1); during actual decision-making (which includes

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FIGURE 1
Career decision-making difficulties pre and post “career development” course intervention.

phases 2–5); and, after actual decision-making (phase 6). Career The research made by Fouad et al. (2016) was focused on college
decision-making does not have to involve going through all of the students mainly in their junior and sophomore year. Our research is
phases, and the process may not always resolve into an effective mainly focused on students of senior year. Another limitation in
solution. In our study the model proposed by Hirschi (2012) was Fouad et al. (2016) research is that the population was drawn from
taken as a basis for determining which of the development phases college. Because colleges vary significantly in their population and
students are in. The structural model of career decision-making environment, the results may not be applicable for university level.
proposed by Gati et al. (2012) was also chosen as it gives a detailed Career development research is very diverse and is represented by
understanding of the spheres involved in this process such as readiness a significant amount of academic research. Most of them cover case
(motivation, self-confidence, decisiveness/indecisiveness); awareness studies, the study of the consequences and causes of career choice,
(knowledge about the decision-making process itself, about self, about factors influencing the choice and implementation of a career. It also
the future occupation); and, conflicts (lack of information, internal explores the impact and contribution of Career Development courses
and external conflicts). Through this study, we plan to gather to graduate success. However, there is a significant gap in academic
information that will help us understand the state of students’ career research regarding the specific content, tools and level of effectiveness
development at the university. of such Career Development courses and methods for improving
them. The proposed work is focused on closing this gap.
The purpose of career courses is to focus on specific tasks and
1.3. Career courses outcomes activities that promote the development of behavioral and adaptive
components of decision-making (Krieshok et al., 2009; Savickas, 2013;
Western Universities give students diversified support through Taylor et al., 2018).
academic and career counselling, “Career Development” course, and Student career counseling is one of the most critical aspects in the
etc. Universities are proactively staffed with well-trained academic work of the university. Along with the educational process, properly
advisors who help students navigate their ways through this major organized career development guarantees students’ success as
exploration and career decision quagmire (Jepsen and Dickson, 2003; professionals. Career counseling ensures students will have a smooth
Atuahene, 2021). transition from university to vocational life. In 2019, graduates’
As for Kazakhstani students, readiness for career decision-making average employment rate at Toraighyrov University was 80%, a
and overcoming career decision-making difficulties and barriers seem reasonably high level. But a problem arises when we consider
to be one of the critical tasks. The solution to this problem offers the employment quality: in some specific educational programs, the
proposal and introduction into the latest technologies’ educational alumni employment rate in the sphere of their majors is less than 50%
process to develop career readiness, based on modern trends in the (Psychology: 43%, Electrical engineering 38%, Social work: 45%).
Kazakhstani vocational community and the richest and miscelleneous
foreign experience.
Findings given in the research by Fouad et al. (2016), state that 1.4. The purpose of this study
career planning and career development courses had a statistically
significant effect on students’ occupational engagement and aspects of To support students in elimination of career decision-making
student career construction, specifically occupational exploration, difficulties and barriers one semester long elective course (3 credit)
career decision-making, and skilling/instrumentation. was implemented for senior years students. This research is directed

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to analyse the influence of the “Career development” course on the third-year students; sixty-nine students (65.8%) as fourth-year
level of students career decision-making difficulties. students. The greatest proportion of students (46.6%) identified their
Research goal is to understand the influence of implemented race as Kazakh; 23.8% as Russian; 14.2% as Tatar; 5.7% as Ukrainian;
“Career Development” course on students career exploration process, 2.8% as German, and 4.8% as multicultural or other. Student
their readiness for career decision-making. The question the study demographics are presented in Table 1.
focuses on is whether it is possible, through a specialized course on Power versus sample size analysis and size effect testing for this
career development, to increase students’ willingness to make carter sample showed a size effect value according to Kohen d = 0.29 and an
decisions at a meaningful level? At the same time, the training course actual power of sample of 0.95, indicating that it is sufficient for a high
includes the most modern and diverse decision-making methods and significance statistical study.
is focused on the practical goals of obtaining a future job and moving
up the career ladder for participants. This issue is relevant since the
majority of students, as evidenced by the analyzed studies described, 2.3. Procedure: data collection and study
make career decisions mainly under the pressure of external design
motivational factors or following circumstances (Kulcsár et al., 2020;
Mohammed et al., 2021). The researchers suggest in this study that this The names and emails of third and fourth-course students were
is due to the lack of the necessary skills and instruments for making obtained from the Students Affairs office at Toraighyrov University.
career decisions, and not due to a willingness to follow An email was sent informing them about the experiment and the
external motivation. course. Additionally, a course description was enclosed in each letter.
A special contribution of the study is the proposal of a new From the pool of volunteers, the selection was conducted by
context of Kazakhstan, where there are practically no specialized placing the student’s identification number in a box. From two
career readiness and career development courses yet, and therefore the hundred and forty volunteers fifty-five were randomly selected to take
influence of such a course is especially noticeable and structurally part in the online course, three of them dropped out and could not
strongly distinguished in the studied indicators. This can be a useful complete the course. For the control group, an equal number of
theoretical and practical contribution for researchers from students (fifty-two) was randomly selected from the rest number of
other countries. the volunteers (Table 2).
The research consisted of two parts. The Career Decision-Making
Difficulty Questionnaire (CDMQ) (34-item) was used to examine the
2. Methods
TABLE 1 Student demographics.
2.1. Research methodology
Experimental group Control group
In this part the sample selection, methods and procedure to Number 52 52

complete the study will be overviewed: population, and sample Gender

selection; description of the “Career Development” course; the  Male 29 30
instrument, the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire
 Female 23 22
(CDDQ); the pre-and post-course survey, and its results.
Age

 18–22 30 29
2.2. Participants selection process  23–27 22 23

 Did not identify

The research sample was selected from a population of students
Nationality
enrolled at Toraighyrov University (third and fourth courses). An
invitation to take part in the research was sent to all third and fourth-  Kazakh 28 20
course bachelor students enrolled at Toraighyrov University, in Spring  Russian 16 8
2020, informing them of the availability of the course. From the group  Tatar 7 8
of volunteers, fifty-two students were randomly selected for
 Ukrainian 1 5
enrollment in the “Career Development” course. An equal number
(fifty-two students) of volunteers was randomly selected for the  German 0 5

control group. The total sample consisted of one hundred and  Other 0 6
four students.  Did not identify
The sample group was undergraduate students (104) in their third
Previous education level
and fourth years of study – 59 (57%) males, and 45 females (43%).
 High-school 82 99
Purposeful sampling was used to ensure that participants who could
best contribute a rich and relevant amount of content to the study  College 87 37
were accessed (Patton, 2002). The following demographic criteria were Course
used in selecting respondence: full-time position, students should  3rd year 62 42
be enrolled in at least 4 courses. The average age of participants was
 4th year 108 93
21 years (SD = 1.41) Thirty-six students (34.2%) were identified as

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TABLE 2 The experimental design: control and experimental groups.

institutions, teachers of educational institutions who have built a
Group N Pretest “Career Posttest successful career in their field. Their stories necessarily had to include
Development” three components: (1) building personal motivation and describing
course the context that contributed to building a career; (2) a description of
Experimental 52 52 52 52 the difficulties and how they dealt with them in practice; (3)
Control 52 52 52 information about the context of professional and personal
relationships and communications in the context of career building.
The proposed content and structure of the course allowed students
level of students’ confidence in career decision-making. The to see the connection between theoretical models and real-life
pre-course survey took place both in control and experimental groups examples and at the same time develop their own basic skills needed
from March to June 2020 at Toraighyrov University. at every step of building a career. This approach is designed to develop
Completion of the surveys took approximately 30 min. The motivation, strengthen the determination to build a career and offered
surveys were in the English language. For a better understanding, a sufficient number of skills, knowledge and sources of information
English-language-speaking participants were chosen. The email that for further self-development.
was sent to participants explained the aim of the survey, confidentiality The second part of the research was the post-course survey
information, and the right to withdraw from the survey at any time. (CDMQ). The post-course survey took place both in control and
The hyperlink for the CDMQ was sent to all participants, and they experimental groups in September–October, 2020 at
were asked to sign the consent form and answer the demographic Toraighyrov University.
survey attached to the email. After participants completed the survey,
raw data was downloaded for further analysis.
The “Career Development” course was online, and the length of 2.4. Measures (instruments)
the course was 15 weeks (once a week). Students from the experimental
group only were enrolled in the course. The Course took place during To be ready to build a career in the chosen area, students must
the summer term of June–September 2020 in an online form. be prepared to overcome difficulties associated with career decision-
The “Career Development” course included theoretical, practical making and understand the importance of these decisions as they
and motivational parts. The theoretical part included tools, schemes directly affect all areas of their lives. The questionnaire is aimed at
and explanatory models of optimal behavior and career decision- identifying difficulties encountered by students in the process of
making offered by Super’s Theory, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, career decision-making, especially at the preparatory stage (readiness)
Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personality, and the Theory of Career as career decision-making difficulties may arise at any stage of the
Construction. As part of the theoretical training, participants received career decision-making process (Rochat, 2019).
detailed comparative statistical information on the labor market of Willner et al. (2015) developed the taxonomy of career decision-
their country and specialty, links to forums, special online resources making difficulties and the Career Decision-making Difficulties
dedicated to the communication of hired workers, information from Questionnaire (CDDQ). The taxomony assesses deliberating
job search resources in their country and on the international market, individuals’ career decision-making difficulties, which consists of
the latest analytical articles from open sources dedicated to the labor three major difficulty clusters, divided into 10 specific
market, career features, salaries and features of bonuses received, difficulty categories:
opportunities for self-realization within the chosen specialty.
The practical part included a number of practical tasks related to a. lack of readiness associated with low or lack of motivation,
practical career building. These tasks were given out at each of the 15 general indecisiveness, and dysfunctional beliefs ((1) lack of
sessions, the results of their implementation were checked and motivation Rm, (2) general indecisiveness (Ri), and (3)
discussed anonymously (without specifying whose answers are being dysfunctional beliefs (Rd));
discussed) during online communication. Tasks were distributed b. lack of information about career opportunities and one’s
according to the stages of career formation: search for a suitable abilities ((4) the career decision-making process (Lp), (5) the
vacancy and determination of the most optimal one and corresponding self (Ls), (6) occupations (Lo), and (7) ways of obtaining
to the needs, life goals and perceived abilities; preparation of a resume, additional information (La));
awareness of one’s strengths, determination of personal qualities, hard c. inconsistent information and internal and external conflicts
and soft skills that are necessary for development at the intended place [(8) unreliable information (Iu), (9) internal conflicts (Ii), and
of work; preparation for the interview and options for responding to (10) external conflicts (Ie)] (Tien, 2005).
comments, questions or a possible refusal; behavior in a team and
conflict resolution in a team; search for areas of activity or challenges, CDDQ criteria are divided according to the difficulty level into
the solution of which contributes to career growth; interaction with three groups: salient difficulty, moderate difficulty, and (no difficulty)
managers and adaptation to different types of leadership, followed by negligible (Amir et al., 2008). Items are evaluated on a 9-point Likert-
the leader, etc. These tasks included case studies of real stories and type scale in which 1-point indicates statement does not apply to me
typical communication, psychological and behavioral problems that to 9 stands for fully applies to me. Higher scores mean more difficulty
are encountered in the course of working in business in the process of on the correlated career decision-making difficulty. Results correlate
career growth. with three levels of difficulty in career decision-making: a salient
The motivational part included personal stories and personal (high) level of career decision-making difficulty was correlated with
communication with representatives of business, academic points from 9 to 7; the moderate (average) level of career

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decision-making difficulty was correlated with points from 6 to 4; a - Lack of Readiness - 0.89;
negligible (low) level of career decision-making difficulty was - Lack of Information - 0.84;
correlated with points from 3 to 1 (Willner et al., 2015). - Inconsistent Information - 0.87;
The initially identified 44 difficulties were reduced to 32 difficulties - Overall according to the CDDQ – 0.90.
and represent ten main sub-scales (criteria), which in turn are
included in the three main clusters of difficulties (scales). Students The post-course assessment reliability and internal Cronbach
were given a list of statements regarding the career decision-making alpha coefficient for experimental group was:
process. They were asked to indicate the degree to which each
statement fits them on a scale from 1 to 9. Data analysis was carried - Lack of Readiness - 0.90;
out by calculating the average response score for each criterion (10 - Lack of Information - 0.91;
sub-scales) and each cluster (3 scales). - Inconsistent Information - 0.91;
CDDQ studies for 9 variants of the questionnaire for different - Overall according to the CDDQ – 0.92.
languages have demonstrated Cronbach alpha internal consistency as
high as 0.94, and a median internal reliability as high as 0.79 (Vahedi As it can be seen on Table 3 students likely to show high level of
et al., 2012). Competitive validity studies compared with closely difficulties in all there major clusters of CDDQ. Thus, we can see that
related psychometric instruments, the Career Decision-Making Self- of the Lack of Readiness clusters’ scales students showed the main
Efficacy Scale (CDMSE), demonstrated a statistically significant difficulty in the general indecisiveness scale (M = 6.5, SD = 1.94). As it
correlation, supporting the validity of the instrument. Confirmatory stated by Gati and Saka (2001) the first category, Lack of Readiness,
Factor Analysis for different variants of the CDDQ (32 and 40 includes three categories of difficulties that may arise before the
questions), conducted at different times by various researchers, beginning of the career decision-making process, which should not
confirmed the factor model for 10 scales of the questionnaire and be common for the undergraduate students in their third and forth
approved its high validity (Vahedi et al., 2012; Levin et al., 2023). courses. In our case, general indecisiveness shows students’ concerns
in all types of decisions. The Lack of Information and the Inconsistent
Information clusters include categories of difficulties that may arise
3. Results and analyses during the actual career decision-making process. In the Lack of
Information cluster during pre-course assessment the highest
To test the possibility of using parametric methods for testing arithmetic average was shown in the lack of information about self
statistical hypotheses, the Shapiro–Wilk test was carried out to test the scale (M = 6.54, SD = 1.34). Finally, in the Inconsistent Information
approximation of the distribution in the sample to normal. The test cluster the highest arithmetic average during the pre-course
was conducted based on the results of the pre-course for the entire assessment can be seen in the internal conflicts scale. These results are
sample as a whole, and for the control and experimental groups consistent, because of the high scores in lack of information about self
separately. For the entire sample, W = 1.482; for the control group scale, in other words these are the conflicts within the individual, such
W = 2.011, for the experimental group W = 1.932. Accordingly, all as contradictory preferences or difficulties concerning the need to
three samples, the distribution of values in all three samples should compromise (Gati and Saka, 2001).
be recognized as close to normal and parametric methods should
be used for them.
Initially we calculated the mean for three major clusters and ten 3.1. “Career development” course and its
scales, based on the scoring implemented by Gati and Saka (2001). influence on students’ career-decision
The mean for tree clusters was calculated by the following formulas: making readiness

- Lack of readiness (Rm + Ri + Rd)/3; The Career Development course was designed to support students
- Lack of Information (Lp + Ls + Lo + La)/4; in the career development process so they make informed and
- Inconsistent Information (Iu + Ii + Ie)/3. appropriate career and educational decisions; to integrate self-
knowledge into future professional lives, set goals, and develop
Finally, mean of career decision-making difficulties questionnaire strategies to achieve them. The course was included three
was calculated by using 10 scales (Rm + Ri + Rd. + Lp + Ls + main modules:
Lo + La + Iu + Ii + Ie)/10 (Gati and Saka, 2001; Willner et al., 2015).
Table 3 shows the pre-course and post-course assessment - Career and Self Awareness – this module was directed to assist
descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) for control group. students in identifying their strength, skills, interests, and goals
Table 4 shows the pre-course and post-course assessment with relation to their chosen majors. As a practical part students
descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) for used self-assessment tools to better understand themselves.
experimental group. - Career Exploration – this module helped to explore their future
In Table 4 we can view the pre-course and post-course assessment career fields, gather information about their professional
(experimental group) descriptive statistics on the CDDQ (3 clusters, opportunities and future occupation. As a practical part, students
10 scales). For the reliability analysis Cronbach alpha reliability developed their career and life long and short term plans, and
coefficient was used. The higher values of Cronbach alpha coefficient solved different case studies related to the career search.
indicates that the survey is more reliable. The pre-course assessment - Decision making and Implementation – this module was directed
represented reliability coefficient as following: to help students transit from education to employment or

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TABLE 3 The pre-course and post-course assessment descriptive statistics for control group.

Scales Pre-course assessment n = 52 Post-course assessment n = 52

M SD (standard Cronbach M (mean) SD (standard Cronbach
(mean) deviation) alpha deviation) alpha
Lack of readiness 5.0 1.73 0.84 6.0 1.01 0.90

Motivation 4.3 1.5 0.89 5.6 1.14 0.91

General indecisiveness 6.3 2.1 0.85 7.3 0.94 0.92

Dysfunctional beliefs 4.41 1.7 0.83 5.1 1.15 0.90

Lack of information 5.95 1.17 0.89 5.8 0.64 0.91

About the process 5.7 1.1 0.85 5.5 0.78 0.92

About self 6.8 0.9 0.89 6.2 0.67 0.90

About occupations 5.9 1.5 0.79 6.0 1.62 0.91

Ways of obtaining additional information 5.4 1.2 0.71 5.5 0.85 0.90

Inconsistent information 5.2 1.06 0.87 6.06 0.55 0.91

Unreliable information 5.1 1.5 0.81 6.2 1.23 0.91

Internal conflicts 5.30 0.78 0.7 5.9 0.89 0.89

External conflicts 5.2 0.9 0.89 6.1 1.43 0.92

Overall difficulties 5.38 1.32 0.93 5.95 0.90 0.92

TABLE 4 The pre-course and post-course assessment descriptive statistics for experimental group.

Scales Pre-course assessment n = 52 Post-course assessment n = 52

M (mean) SD (standard Cronbach M (mean) SD (standard Cronbach
deviation) alpha deviation) alpha
Lack of Readiness 5.11 1.2 0.89 2.7 1.01 0.90

Motivation 4.4 1.30 0.85 2.13 1.14 0.91

General indecisiveness 6.5 1.94 0.89 3.87 0.94 0.92

Dysfunctional beliefs 4.44 1.74 0.79 2.1 1.15 0.90

Lack of Information 5.4 0.87 0.84 2.99 0.64 0.91

About the process 4.57 0.94 0.89 2.85 0.78 0.92

About self 6.54 1.34 0.85 3.37 0.67 0.90

About occupations 5.75 1.34 0.83 2.9 1.62 0.91

Ways of obtaining additional information 4.95 1.4 0.88 2.91 0.85 0.90

Inconsistent Information 4.93 0.35 0.87 2.27 0.55 0.91

Unreliable information 4.6 1.54 0.88 2.43 1.23 0.91

Internal conflicts 5.30 0.78 0.87 2.42 0.89 0.89

External conflicts 4.90 1.3 0.86 1.98 1.43 0.92

Overall difficulties 5.1 1.54 0.90 2.61 0.53 0.92

graduate education. As a practical part, students learned how to variable was considered to be statistically significant at 0.05
write a cover letter, resume, went through mock interviews, significance level for pre-course and post-course assessment for three
searched for networking opportunities. Additionally, they clusters and CDDQ (overall scoring). The t-test showed statistically
prepared individual career life plans. significant decrease in difficulties in career decision-making that
students face after they attended the Career Development course.
To analyze and understand the significance in difference between Figure 1 shows us the pre and post “Career Development” Course
pre-course and post-course assessment means in the experimental assessment results and mean difference. The Mean difference between
group a paired Students’ t-test was used in three main clusters ((1) pre-and post-course results in the experimental group are as following:
Lack of readiness, (2) Lack of Information, and (3) Inconsistent Lack of readiness – 2.41 points, Lack of Information – 2.46 points, and
Information) and overall subscales (CDDQ) results. As it can be seen Inconsistent Information – 2.76, and 2.51 points in overall
in the Table 5 of the given article, the differences for each analyzed difficulties CDDQ.

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Thus, the research results show positive impact of the Career graduation and subsequent employment, students often change
Development Course on the students’ level of difficulties in career jobs (and even occupations) within a short period of time that is
decision-making, as we can see a significant decrease CDDQ results: also supported by academic research (Tien, 2005; Sampson et al.,
pre-course assessment (M = 5.1, SD = 1.54) to post-course assessment 2014; Malin et al., 2017). This is concerning and led to our
(M = 2.59, SD =0.53) at the two-tailed p value 0.0065, t = 5.2, p < 0.05, investigation of the severity of the problem, and a desire to
95% CI for mean difference (From 1.2509 to 4.1051). develop effective ways of supporting students in their career
Table 6 Shows the pre-course and post-course assessment results development, by implementing Career Development course.
for CDDQ for experimental and control groups. Analysis of the work of the University Career Center and the
As it can be seen from Table 6 the experimental group showed results of the CDDQ allowed us to suggest ways of enhancing
positive changes the Lack of readiness scale showed−2.41 point and students’ career development level.
changed from the moderate level of career decision-making difficulty This research was based on the taxonomy of the career-decision
to low level of career decision-making difficulty, as for control group making difficulties developed by Gati et al. (2019). The research
the level of difficulties students show on the Lack of readiness scale results showed significant decrease in the level of difficulties in
grew for 1 point. Both experimental and control groups showed career decision-making for students who attended and completed
changes in the Lack of Information scale. In comparison experimental the course for the whole period of 15 weeks (one term). The success
groups’ results changed significantly - 2.41 and after the course and effectiveness of such career development courses has been
students show low level of difficulties they have in being informed proven in a number of studies (Jepsen and Dickson, 2003; Fouad
about their future occupation. et al., 2016; Atuahene, 2021), but the results obtained are much
The comparison of the Career Decision Making Difficulties higher than those demonstrated in other papers. As a result of this
Questionnaire’s overall results show the significant changes in the course students’ self-efficacy and confidence in career decision
experimental group from 5.1 to 2.61 (−2.49), which means students process increased too.
show low level of career decision-making difficulties and are ready to The research goal was reached as the results show positive
choose their career paths. At the same time control group showed influence of implemented “Career Development” course on students
slight negative change (+0.57) and show moderate to high level of career exploration process, their readiness for career decision-making
career decision-making difficulties. by reduce of the career decision-making difficulties. The study
As we can see from Table 6 t-test showed statistically revealed that the highest level in career decision-making difficulties
significant decrease in difficulties in career decision-making that students faced were in such scales as General Indecisiveness, which
students face after they attended the Career Development course means that students face all type of concerns about their future lives;
in an experimental group. The obtained empirical value of t Lack of Information about Self, which means that their career or
criteria Student (18.3) is in the zone of significance for major choice was made weather intuitively or by the influence of
experimental group. external factors such as family, school, friends, society; and Internal
At the same time t-test showed no significant changes in the Conflicts scale, which means that students have contradictory
results of pre-course and post-course assessment for the control preferences or difficulties concerning the need to compromise (Gati
group. The obtained empirical value of t criteria Student (2.3) is in the and Saka, 2001).
zone of insignificance for control group. The other important notion which was revealed during the
study was that senior years students (3d and 4th course) showed
high level of career decision-making difficulties in the first cluster
4. Discussion Lack of Readiness, which is more common for those who are in
the beginning of the career decision-making process (Amir et al.,
Interest in this study arose from analyzing the experience of 2008; Gati et al., 2019). Most of the studies on career barriers
the Career Development Center at Toraighyrov University. After concern graduates or look at preventive interventions for

TABLE 5 Pre-course, post-course assessment scores: means, t-test (experimental group).

Scale / outcomes Lack of readiness Lack of information Inconsistent information CDDQ

Pre-course M1 5.11 5.45 5.03 5.1

SD1 1.2 0.87 0.65 1.54

Post-course M2 2.7 2.99 2.27 2.59

SD2 1.01 0.64 0.67 0.53

N 52 52 52 52

95% confidence interval of this difference From 1.9392 to 2.8875 From 1.4065 to 3.5085 From 1.6085 to 3.7048 From 1.2509 to 4.1051

Mean difference 2.41 2.46 2.76 2.51

t - criteria 21.89 7.4 10.90 5.2

df 51 51 51 51

Cohen’s d 1.32 1.05 1.81 1.42

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TABLE 6 The comparison of pre-course, post-course assessment results

of experimental and control groups.
4.2. Recommendations for future research
Scale / Pre-course Post-course Change We consider it is appropriate to further reproduce this
outcomes study in other educational organizations. These organizations
Mean SD Mean SD
should have differing education levels and involve students from
Lack of EG 5.11 1.2 2.7 1.01 −2.41
different educational programs to determine the degree of
readiness CG 5.0 1.73 6.0 1.01 +1 institutional influence.
Lack of EG 5.4 0.87 2.99 0.64 −2.41 Future research could also focus on external and internal factors
information CG 5.95 1.17 5.8 0.64 −0.15 that influence students (encourage them, or push them away from
career counseling support). For example, further study of the cultural
Inconsistent EG 4.93 1.18 2.27 0.55 −2.66
characteristics of Kazakhstani students could determine the extent to
information CG 5.2 1.06 6.06 0.55 +0.86
which these factors influence students’ career decision-making
CDDQ EG 5.1 1.54 2.61 0.53 −2.49 competence and vocational identity. The present study also addresses
CG 5.38 1.32 5.95 0.90 +0.57 questions about the level of students’ education and their work
experience. The third and fourth year undergraduate and graduate
students who already have experience in the chosen profession were
first-year students (Jones et al., 2017; Malin et al., 2017; interviewed. Differences in accessing reliable information related to
Mohammed et al., 2021). The course proposed here is beneficial vocational activities and career opportunities for undergraduate and
in that it can be implemented at any stage of education and has graduate students who already have work experience should
been tested on those students who are almost not affected by be studied.
other researchers.
With the help of the CDDQ were identified specific spheres that
should be developed through Career Development course. For 5. Conclusion
example, it is clear that students lack information or do not have the
skills to analyze and implement the information they already have The career decision-making process can be devastating process for
about their future career or profession. As a result, researchers can see unprepared students. Choosing major or profession should not be one
internal difficulties among students such as understanding themselves, and only decision in persons career path and knowledge about
their needs, strengths, and weaknesses, which is consistent with the opportunities in future occupation and education give students
difficulties identified by earlier studies (Gati and Saka, 2001; Atuahene, necessary tools necessary for professional and personal success and
2021). These findings indicate the need to develop a special career growth. The suggested Career Development course is one of the
course, which will be directed at developing career decision-making possible solutions that gives students an opportunity to explore
competencies among students (Gati et al., 2019). A career development themselves through knowing their strength and potentiality; to learn
course should be directed at supporting students in their search for how to gather critically analyze and obtain information about their
opportunities in their future vocational occupations (Hirschi, 2012; future occupation; to find solutions to existing internal and external
Xu and Tracey, 2014). conflicts about choice of their majors. The course uses the tools and
Additionally, we suggest developing career counseling practice at theoretical background of the main theories of career development
the university. The main focus of one-to-one sessions should and is focused on increasing motivation and practical training of the
be support for students in understanding their strong and weak sides skills necessary at each of the steps of building a career. The results of
and finding their intended career paths. It is vital to support students the proposed course showed a two-fold reduction in the main factors
in developing life-long skills that they can use to seek a job and make associated with career difficulties according to The Career Decision-
career changes. The last years of undergraduate studies are the period making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDMDQ) on all major scales
when a greater number of students should already have a clear idea of (Lack of Readiness from 5.11 to 2.7; Lack of Information from 5.4 to
what they are going to do in future and should be ready for career 2.99; Inconsistent Information from 4.93 up to 2.27). These results far
decision-making. exceeded the predictive expectations of the researchers. In practice,
the results obtained can be applied at universities and colleges of any
professional orientation to increase the readiness of graduates to build
4.1. Limitation a career and increase motivation for learning. Career course
developers and instructors can use the approach and structure
As this study was conducted in only one university, it remains described in the “Career Development” course to quickly improve the
unclear whether the institution’s nature affected students’ quality of career decision-making and career readiness of
characteristics and their degree of involvement in career their students.
development and making career decisions. Among other
limitations of the study, one should also consider the possibility of
the influence of the charisma or personality of the instructors in Data availability statement
the implemented course, which could have an additional effect on
changing the thinking of the participants. Also, certain filters were The original contributions presented in the study are included in
used for the sample, which limit the generalizability of the results the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed
to a wider sample of students. to the corresponding author.

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Azhenov et al. 10.3389/feduc.2023.1097993

Ethics statement Conflict of interest

The Scientific and Technical Council and the Ethical Commission The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
of Toraighyrov University approved the conduct of the study by absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
protocol No. 01318 and certified its compliance with the required be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
standards of ethics and protection of participants.

Publisher’s note
Author contributions
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
AA and AK conceived of the presented idea. AA developed the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
theory and performed the computations. NF and GT verified the organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
analytical methods. AK encouraged GT to investigate and supervised reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
the findings of this work. All authors contributed to the article and claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or
approved the submitted version. endorsed by the publisher.

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