Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
A career guidance training workshop based on a taxi ride metaphor was developed
to train teachers to offer an indigenous career guidance programme to students in
disadvantaged communities. The innovation comprised a trainee's handbook as an
adjunct to the workshop, structured workbooks for students in the classroom, and trainers'
manuals for independent trainers. Principles of developmental research ensured that each
phase was completed sequentially and successfully with the necessary material prerequisites
and methodologies; this guided the process of workshop design and
development through the problem analysis, design, developmental, and evaluation phases.
Theories of career development and planning, and integrative life planning influenced the
psychology behind the taxi ride model, whose objective was to help students gain a sense
of mastery over the process of career decision-making and problem solving, thereby
learning a life skill. The workbook was pilot-tested on two occasions, and four training
workshops were pilot-tested with modifications made after each one. Group work
principles ensured the workshops were experiential and educative. Workshop evaluation
questionnaires further improved the innovation. Knowledge, Attitude and Self-efficacy
scales, formulated in semantic differential form, were developed and refined to measure
the success of the workshops by pre- and post-testing. Three more workshops were run
with no revisions. Two hypotheses were formulated to measure the impact of the study;
results revealed statistically significant changes in the knowledge and attitude scales, and positive changes in self-confidence levels in offering career guidance. There were no
significant pre- and post-test differences between the groups for the biographical factors,
except educational qualifications which did influence the findings. In addition, an
observation schedule revealed that trainees had acquired great skill in applying the
workbook. Limitations of the study included the absence of a control group, and an
impact evaluation of the interactive dialogue between teacher and student. Future research
in turn could focus on the impact the workbook has on the student. The contribution to
psychology is that the indigenous South African practice model incorporates a rational
and emotional process of career decision making, which can be applied by trained
teachers and community leaders, rather than solely by professionals.