Exploring the Perceived Understanding of 12th Grade Students in Ilam Province About Their Career Future

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Business Management, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Literature and Human sciences, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran.

3 Organizational Affiliation: PhD, Department of Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

Abstract
Objective: This research was conducted with the aim of understanding how twelfth grade students in Ilam province perceive their future careers.
Method: This qualitative research was based on thematic analysis strategy based on Clark and Brown's (2006) structured approach. Participants were invited for interviews using a purposive non-probability sampling method, and in this regard, 48 of them were interviewed in a semi-structured manner, based on the theoretical saturation principle.
Results: The students' conceptual model of their future career goals was structured by identifying 59 primary codes, 12 sub-codes, and 5 main themes, including the idea of increasing financial wealth, not building entrepreneurial capacity, drivers of unemployment, transitioning from business to knowledge acquisition, and consciously choosing a future career.
Conclusions: The results indicate that policymakers in the country's education system, while believing in the new preferences and attitudes of this generation, should take action to transform this system from the perspective of moving from theoretical knowledge to skill training, cultivating entrepreneurial thinking and ability, providing role models to families, and identifying and guiding potential interests and capacities.

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