Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
12-1-2025
Year of Publication
2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Education
Department/School/Program
Educational Policy Studies and Eval
Faculty
Kelly D. Bradley
Faculty
Shannon O. Sampson
Faculty
Eric T. Weber
Abstract
This study examined the associations between career exploration activities and career clarity among high school students in the U.S.A. Using data from the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment, collected from a national sample of 15 to 16-year-olds across 154 schools, the researcher first identified student and school factors associated with engaging in career exploration. The study then examined the influence of these activities on career clarity. Specifically, the analysis focused on internships, job shadowing, job fairs, career counseling, completing career questionnaires, researching careers and colleges online, attending college tours, and financing information, and on the level of engagement in career exploration activities on career clarity. The data were survey-weighted and analyzed using negative binomial and logistic regression analyses. The analyses showed that school factors were associated with career engagement. Specifically, access to career information in school was the only factor to show a strong association with career engagement. Further analyses revealed that researching careers online had a strong, positive, and significant influence on career clarity, with students significantly more likely to develop career clarity if they researched careers online. Attending internships, job fairs, college tours, seeing career counselors, researching colleges online, and financing showed a positive but non-significant association with career clarity. In contrast, participating in job shadowing and completing career questionnaires were negatively associated with career clarity, but these associations were not significant. In addition, the level of engagement in career exploration activities did not increase the likelihood of demonstrating career clarity. Contextual factors positively associated with career clarity include gender, family support, and educational aspirations, with educational aspirations exerting the most significant influence on career clarity. These findings highlight the significance of promoting access to career information in schools to increase career engagement and of personalized career exploration strategies to increase career clarity among high school students effectively.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.537
Recommended Citation
Omotilewa, Odunayo O., "FROM ENGAGEMENT TO CLARITY: UNDERSTANDING CAREER EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON CAREER CLARITY AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS" (2025). Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences. 148.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edsc_etds/148
