Young people's perceptions of their vocational guidance needs: I. Priorities and pre-occupations

In spring 1981, 1,712 pupils in the third, fourth and fifth years of secondary education at 20 comprehensive schools in England completed a questionnaire about the priorities they gave to different aspects of vocational choice and preparation. Fifth-year pupils were followed up one year later, and perceived needs again recorded. Consistency between year-groups, and between fifth-year and follow-up, was high, suggesting that the perceived needs of even the third-year group were based on a realistic appraisal of the tasks they faced in entering employment. Systematic differences in ranked priority were found, however, with those who had left school giving much greater priority to work experience and less to discussions with family and teachers than those still at school. All ages reported considerable anxiety about finding work, with levels of rated anxiety on the other items being greatest amongst the third-year pupils.