Talent development, work habits, and career exploration of Chinese middle-school adolescents: Development of the career and talent development self-efficacy scale

This article describes the development of an instrument - the Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale (CTD-SES) - for assessing students' self-efficacy in applying life skills essential for personal talent development, acquisition of positive work habits, and career exploration. In Study 1, data were obtained from a large sample of Chinese middle-school students (N=15,113) in Grades 7-9 in Hong Kong. The CTD-SES is an 18-item questionnaire with subscales containing items that address students' orientations toward developing their own talents, acquiring and applying positive work habits, and exploring their career possibilities. Evidence is provided for internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure of the CTD-SES. Goodness of fit statistics provided support for a three-primary-factor-plus-higher-factor model, and this solution was used in the statistical analyses. The data also indicated that students with plans for university study reported significantly higher scores than those without on all three domains of career and talent development. In Study 2 (N=308) Grade 10 high-ability students' scores in CTD-SES were correlated with scores in career decision self-efficacy and academic performance. The development and validation of CTD-SES is the first step toward investigating career exploration, work habits, and talent development among Asian middle-school adolescents. © 2010 European Council for High Ability.postprin

Developing a career development self-efficacy instrument for Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

A 24-item measure, the Career Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (CD-SEI), was developed to assess career development self-efficacy among adolescents in Hong Kong. The CD-SEI covered six domains representing competencies needed by high school students transiting from school to work in Hong Kong. The confirmatory factor analyses of the responses from 6776 Grades 10-13 students showed that the six primary factors with one higher order factor model was the best fit to the data, though the one general factor model yielded an adequate fit. Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. The data suggested that Hong Kong adolescents had some, but not strong confidence in their career development. Students with plans to study at a university had more confidence in their career development than those who did not have such plans. This is the first study to develop and validate a career development self-efficacy measure for Chinese adolescents. Issues related to comprehensive guidance programming and assessment instrument development from a cross-cultural perspective were discussed. © Springer 2005.postprin

Factors influencing school connectedness: Chinese adolescents' perspectives

This study explored the concept of school connectedness and the factors that may influence its development with a sample of Chinese adolescents. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results indicated that the students fully understood the notion of school connectedness and could identify a number of key influences affecting its development. These factors could be grouped under several domains including teacher care, peer relations, broader school relationships, school disciplinary policies and practices, activities within the school's guidance and counseling program, and opportunities for talent development. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might introduce to enhance and strengthen students' acquisition of connectedness to school. The implications from the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling program in Hong Kong. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Enhancing life skills development: Chinese adolescents' perceptions

This study explored Chinese adolescents' perceptions of their own life skills development and the importance they place on such skills. The study also investigated the within-school and outsideschool influences that may help develop and enhance life skills development. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted, using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results revealed students' awareness of many salient life skills, including those related directly to academic development, 'learning to learn', personal and social growth, and future career planning. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might use to further enhance students' life skills development. Contextual factors influencing the development of life skills appear to include not only experiences within the school curriculum and the guidance and counseling program, but also talent development opportunities, and family and peer relationships. The implications of the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling programs in Hong Kong. © 2010 NAPCE.postprin

The counselling self-estimate inventory (COSE): Does it work in Chinese counsellors?

Counselling self-efficacy is an important construct for research and evaluation in counsellors' competencies and training effectiveness. Larson et al. developed the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) for counsellors in America and examined its factor structure using exploratory factor analysis. They recommended a five-factor model (microskills, counselling process, difficult client behaviour, cultural competence, and awareness of values) and the use of the COSE for future research. However, little research has investigated the validity of the COSE in the context of counselling Chinese students in schools. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory in a sample of 578 Hong Kong secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that while a five-factor model was fairly able to fit the data, the deletion of items related to the awareness of values factor yielded a better fitting model. The discussion of potential uses and limitations of the C-COSE in the context of preparing and supervising school guidance personnel in student counselling is relevant to counselling psychologists and researchers in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.postprin

Life skills development and school connectedness among senior secondary students in Hong Kong: Brief report on follow-up survey

Includes bibliographical references (leaf 18-22)

Connectedness, potential career exploration, work habits, and talent development in Grade 5 primary students in Hong Kong.

Paper PresentationThe Conference also named: CDAA-IAEVG International Career ConferenceOVERVIEW AND METHODS: This paper reports results from focus group interviews and a survey of Grade 5 primary school students in Hong Kong. AIMS: The purpose of the study was to understand the meaning of connectedness and to assess primary students’ connectedness to parents, teachers and peers. The students’ levels of self-efficacy in applying life skills across the domains of career exploration, work habits and talent development were also assessed. Level of connectedness and self-efficacy in applying life skills were then analysed in relation to salient student characteristics. RESULTS: Findings indicated that the students perceive themselves to possess positive efficacy in applying life skills across the three domains. Girls appear more confident than boys in their own ability to develop positive work habits and to acquire other skills necessary to foster their talent development. CONCLUSIONS: The findings also indicated that connectedness is associated significantly with students’ self-efficacy in applying life skills in all areas. Implications for counselling professionals and administrators in Hong Kong primary schools are discussed.The 20th Annual Conference for the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA), Cairns, Australia, 26-29 April 2011