Text Messaging As An Adjunct to a Career and Life Planning Class With Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Abstract Career decision making is a difficult process for many. Gordon & Steele (2003) found that for many students, even knowing where to begin can be a daunting process. Students' initial choices in a major or career can be unrealistic because they are often based on little knowledge about academic requirements or job relationships. Research has shown that career interventions are effective (Baker & Popowicz, 1983; Brown & Ryan Krane, 2000; Oliver & Spokane, 1988; Whiston, Brecheisen, & Stephens, 2003), and Brown and Ryan Krane have identified five key elements that contribute to effective career counseling. This study built its interventions on those elements. Students were recruited from a Career and Life Planning class offered at a large Midwestern university, and were given individualized feedback on their interest inventories and strengths. In addition, they were randomly assigned to either a text messaging group (n=23) or a non-texted group (n=29). The texted group received 3-5 text messages each work week for one month about strengths, career assessment results, and information about the world of work in hopes that daily reminders in the form of text messages would aid in the process of students making informed and adaptive career decisions, with increased levels of hope, occupational engagement, strengths awareness, and career decision self efficacy. The study was designed to marry a form of communication that college students engage in on a daily basis, text messaging, with delivering sound career information. Results showed support overall for the course and feedback, but the texted students showed no more gains than did the non-texted group.