Abstract
M.A. (Psychology)
The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the career decisions of Black rural and urban high school students. Holland's (1985) structural-interactive career theory was decided upon as the main theoretical base. The reason for this decision is based on the simplicity of the theory as well as the fact that research into the applicability of the theory to Black South Africans is needed.
Holland's theory (1985) is based on the assumption that all people and work environments can be characterised into one of six types; namely the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. Each is dominated by certain likes and dislikes as well as certain attitudes and skills. Based on this theory is the Self-Directed Search (50S) which is used to indicate the resemblance of the person to each of the six types. The SNUG guide to career choice workbook (Scheepers, 1996) which is based on the 50S, was used in this study to investigate career choices.
The nature of the study can be classified as empirical involving the use of quantitative data-collection methods. The research design and the paradigm of the study can be typified as quasi-experimental. The sample consisted of 144 grade 12 Black high school students. Two schools within the Northern Province region in Giyani and two schools from Gauteng province in Soweto participated. There are two main groups namely the rural (Giyani) and urban (Soweto) groups. The SNUG workbook included a biographical section together with a brief exploration of how an individual chooses his or her career.