The master's thesis discusses experiencing and coping with the rejection of their first choice of studies by adolescents. Choosing a career path is an important step for youngsters and therefore it can cause different stages of stress for them. The youth that get a rejection, can feel even a bigger distress. In that case they have to use different strategies to cope with it and successfully solve their problem. Because the experiencing and coping with non-acceptance is still an unresearched topic, I chose to research it in my thesis.
In the theoretical part, with the theories by Beck (1996, 2001, 2003), Bauman (2002, 2006, 2013), Giddens (2000) and Mirjana Ule (2000, 2002, 2015), I present the risk society in which we now live and the position of adolescents in it. The youngsters’ transitions into adulthood are nowadays uncertain due to the labour market changes, the arising of new workplaces and the disappearing of old ones. Consequently, they have to possess more and more diverse competences, flexibility and adaptations. Another feature of today’s society is individualization, which ascribes responsibility for socially made problems to the individuals. All of that also affect the educational system and individual’s career choosing. In my thesis I also speak about obstacles on someone’s career path and their effect on psychological well-being with the help of the theories of Janek Musek (2015). I acknowledge as well different strategies that young people use for coping with facing obstacles. I give special attention to describing Slovenian school career counselling and the results of researches by different authors in that field.
In empirical part I discuss the results of my qualitative research based on fourteen interviews with adolescents that weren’t accepted on their first choice of studies. With the research I establish how someone’s life’s setting affect their experiencing of non-acceptance. I also show their self-evaluation of distress and what their subjective reasons for such experiencing were. Results indicate which coping mechanisms youngsters use when facing career obstacles and what meaning does the experience have for them. The research shows that different ways of family support are of the most help for adolescents. However, they would also like some actual changes on the vide field of career counselling and some more professional support when dealing with rejection of their first choice of studies.
I see the value of this research in improving the understanding of experiencing and coping with the obstacles on someone’s career path, in the critical view of the youth on career counselling and their suggestions for its upgrade. Concurrently I see the contribution of this thesis on the work of social pedagogues through understanding, empowering and offering professional support to the youth throughout their uncertain career path.
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