Life-World Design: A career counseling program for future orientations of school students

Rather than having one single stable lifelong employment, successful career development has been re-defined as individuals having the psychological resources supporting them to achieve their career goals in the 21st century. Having a strong sense of future orientation a key psychological resource that can support young people to pursue their aspired careers. Based on the life course perspective of career development, the process theory of future orientation and strategic and skills learning development framework, a school-based Life- World Design career counseling program (LWD) was designed to promote students’ future orientation. This research examined the effectiveness of LWD in enhancing the future orientation of secondary school students in Hong Kong during COVID-19. Methods. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted (n = 377; mean age = 15.7). All participants were selected from 8 different schools. Seven outcomes pertaining to the components of future orientation were evaluated with a standardized measurement: (1) Motivation: value, optimism and internal control; (2) Cognitive representation: hopes and fears; (3) Proactive behaviors: career exploration and commitment. Results and Discussion. LWD was effective in enhancing students’ future orientation, namely supporting students to find value in their future careers, fostering their sense of internal control in realizing their desired careers, increasing their hopes and encouraging them to take proactive behaviors towards their aspired careers. While effective, students in the examination and outcome-oriented education system in Hong Kong may be unfamiliar with the explorative and person-centered approach adopted by LWD, resulting in the program's ineffectiveness in enhancing their optimism and decreasing their fears towards their future careers. Research, practice and policy implications were discussed.