Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)
A youth's career choice is without doubt one of the most
important decisions of his life because according to expectations,
he will spend almost half of his life exercising
his chosen vocation. In order to make a decision concerning
a vocation. a youth requires knowledge. knowledge of his
specific interests. aptitudes. personality and intelligence.
A youth should discover his own identity - he should find
out who he is and in what he believes. This self-knowledge
is a prerequisite for career choice. Inadequate self-knowledge
may lead to an erroneous career choice and that in turn may
lead to work dissatisfaction and a negative attitude towards
labour.
In the process of career guidance, use is principally made
of psychometric testing in order to help the youth gain self knowledge.
The importance of psychometric testing cannot be
underestimated and it is generally accepted that career guidance
cannot take place without it. No research appears to
have been done which determines the youth's self-knowledge
without the use of tests. It is thus necessary to determine
what the youth's intuitive perception of his self-knowledge
is. and then to compare this to the test results.
In chapter two the process of career guidance. as well as
the importance of decision making. and the role the parents
and school play in the youth's career choice, is explored.
Chapter three explores the concept of self-knowledge and
four facets of self-knowledge are discussed: interests.
aptitudes. personality and intelligence. In chapter four
the research design is discussed. Standard ten pupils'
self-knowledge is obtained without the use of psychometric
tests. and these findings are compared with the test results.
The parents' opinions are also taken into account by comparing
their estimation of their child's self-knowledge with
the child's own estimation.