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There is considerable diversity in the literature regarding age and gender differences on career maturity and career decision status. There is also a dearth of data on high school samples. The present study reports cross‐sectional data from 1,971 Australian adolescents, ages 12.51‐17.99 years, who completed the Career Decision Scale (S. H. Osipow, C. G. Carney, J. Winer, B. Yanico, & M. Koschier, 1976) and the Career Development Inventory (Australian; J. Lokan, 1984). Results illustrated a developmental progression in career maturity, although a less uniform pattern emerged with gender differences. Findings regarding career indecision also presented a complex picture and highlight the need to focus on other demographic and contextual factors.

The Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994), measures of career maturity, career decision-making, career goals and wellbeing were administered to 504 high school students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated bidimensionality rather than unidimensionality for the LOT-R, with the two factors of optimism and pessimism being largely unrelated. Those with high optimism reported

The practice of career counseling has been derived from principles of career theory and counseling theory. In recent times, the fields of both career and counseling theory have undergone considerable change. This article details the move toward convergence in career theory, and the subsequent development of the Systems Theory Framework in this domain. The importance of this development to connecting theory and practice in the field of career counseling is discussed.

An Australian sample (N ¼ 467) of high school students was administered scales tapping optimism, self-esteem, career expectations, career goals, career planning and career exploration. The study tested a career mediational model based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and cognitive-motivational-relational theory (CMR). It was hypothesized that the stable person inputs of optimism and self-esteem would predict career planning and career exploration through the variables of career expectations and career goals differentially for young males and females. For males, optimism and self-esteem influenced career expectations, sequentially predicting career goals, career planning and career exploration. A different pathway was identified for females, with optimism directly influencing career goals, which subsequently predicted career planning and career exploration. Self-esteem predicted career expectations, which then directly influenced career planning and career exploration by bypassing career goals. Results are discussed in the context of SCCT and CMR.

The present study examined the reliability, content validity and cultural equivalence of the short form of the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy Scale (CDMSES-SF: Betz, Klein, & Taylor, 1996). In response to calls to conduct studies using the measure with high school age samples (Luzzo, 1996), data were gathered from two samples of high school students, one from Australia and one from South Africa. The findings were in accord with earlier studies in that they failed to find five factors. Three factors were found with each sample, however these factors were different in each sample, and different from those reported in samples of US college students, suggesting cross-cultural differences in the construct. The authors suggest that a more parsimonious version of the CDMSES-SF is possible, that the CDMSES-SF does not adequately reflect its theoretical origins, and that cultural equivalence cannot be assumed.

This study assessed 166 high school students in Grade 8 and again in Grade 10. Four models were tested: (a) whether the T1 predictor variables (career knowledge, indecision, decision‐making selfefficacy, self‐esteem, demographics) predicted the outcome variable (career planning/exploration) at T1; (b) whether the T1 predictor variables predicted the outcome variable at T2; (c) whether the T1 predictor variables predicted change in the outcome variable from T1−T2; and (d) whether changes in the predictor variables from T1−T2 predicted change in the outcome variable from T1−T2. Strong associations (R2=34%) were identified for the T1 analysis (confidence, ability and paid work experience were positively associated with career planning/exploration). T1 variables were less useful predictors of career planning/exploration at T2 (R2=9%; having more confidence at T1 was associated with more career planning/exploration at T2) and change in career planning/exploration from T1−T2 (R2=11%; less confidence and no work experience were associated with change in career planning/exploration from T1−T2). When testing effect of changes in predictor variables predicting changes in outcome variable (R2=22%), three important predictors, indecision, work experience and confidence, were identified. Overall, results indicated important roles for self‐efficacy and early work experiences in current and future career planning/exploration of high school students.

Three hundred and sixty-seven secondary school students across five year levels (8-12) were assessed for levels of career maturity (attitude and knowledge), work commitment, work value, career decidedness (indecision and certainty), career decisionmaking self-efficacy and self-esteem, and indicated their age, gender, socioeconomic status, school achievement and work experience. Using two multiple regression analyses, the predictor variables were able to account for 52% of the variance of career maturity attitude, and account for 41% of the variance of career maturity knowledge. Self-efficacy, age, career decidedness (certainty) and work commitment were the main predictors of career maturity attitude. Age, gender, career decidedness (certainty), work commitment and career decidedness (indecision) were the main predictors of career maturity knowledge. Results demonstrated the importance of examining two aspects of career maturity (attitude and knowledge), and were discussed in the context of Super's (1957Super's ( , 1990) theory of career development.