A Study On The Relationship Between Social Support,Self-Identity And Career Exploration Among High School Students And Educational Countermeasures

Career refers to the work an individual does,career refers to the process of living and working,and career planning refers to the assessment and analysis of an individual’s comprehensive abilities,which results in a career choice and plan that is suitable for their development.In the development process of career planning,individuals need time to explore their future career direction and choices,which leads to career exploration becoming a key part of the individual’s career planning and development path.During this exploration period,social support,as part of the objective existence,is one of the indispensable factors influencing individuals’ career exploration,and self-identity,as a subjective feeling and awareness,is one of the important factors influencing individuals’ cognition,emotion and behavior in career exploration.High school students are in their adolescent years and the sources of social support formed in their social networks are both subjective and objective,but at the same time,these social supports need to be used autonomously by high school students and transformed into support applicable to them.In addition,high school is a critical period in the formation and development of individual identity,when students are generally in a state of identity confusion,have not yet integrated their selves and are in a state of confusion and uncertainty.Therefore,the introduction of two variables,namely social support and self-identity,in the study of high school students’ career exploration can provide a basis for promoting the development of high school students’ career exploration.This study used the Adolescent Social Support Scale,the Self-Identity Status Scale,and the Career Exploration Scale as the measurement instruments,and used high school students as the subjects of the study.Statistical analysis and processing were conducted using SPSS24.0 with the Process plug-in to produce the following findings:(1)The level of social support of high school students is moderate to high,and the level of self-identity is moderate to high;the level of career exploration is moderate.(2)There are significant differences in social support among high school students in terms of gender(objective support),only child or not(subjective support),living in school or not and separation of arts and science(subjective support and support utilization),and participation in club activities or not;there are significant differences in family residence,student leaders or not,grade level,grade rank,father’s education level,mother’s education level,and participation in career counselling-related courses or not on all dimensions except objective support.No significant differences were found in family structure and whether students stayed behind or not.(3)Significant differences were found between high school students in terms of gender(except for present self-involvement),grade ranking,staying behind or not(except for past crisis),and involvement in club activities or not(present self-involvement only);significant differences were found in terms of living in school or not,separation of arts and science,and receiving career counselling-related courses or not in the dimension of past crisis;no significant differences were found in terms of family place of residence,only child or not,No significant differences were found on the dimensions of family residence,only child,student leader,grade level,family structure,father’s education level and mother’s education level.(4)Significant differences were found between high school students’ career exploration in terms of gender,family residence,only child or not,student leader or not,living in school or not,grade level,grade ranking,father’s and mother’s education level,involvement in club activities or not,separation of arts and science,and whether or not they had received career counselling-related courses;significant differences were found in all dimensions of family structure except for the cognitive dimension;no significant differences were found in whether or not they were left behind.There is no significant difference in the family structure dimension except for the awareness dimension.(5)There is a two-way correlation between social support,self-identity and career exploration among high school students;social support as a whole is negatively correlated with the dimension of past crises in self-identity and significantly positively correlated with the remaining dimensions of self-identity;there is a significant positive correlation between self-identity as a whole and career exploration;there is a positive correlation between social support as a whole and career exploration as a whole There is a positive relationship between social support as a whole and career exploration as a whole.(6)Subjective support and objective support in social support of high school students can positively predict self-identity;the dimension of present self-involvement in self-identity of high school students can positively predict career exploration;social support of high school students can positively predict career exploration.(7)Self-identity partially mediates the relationship between high school students’ social support and career exploration.In response to the above findings,the following educational responses and recommendations can be adopted for practical application:(1)Improve the social support system and enhance the use of support: the school side can meet the needs of the students as much as possible so that they can have a solid pillar;the psychology teachers can use the classroom to help the students adjust themselves in time;the parents can provide certain options for the students but not interfere with their own development.(2)Establishing a self-regulation mechanism and a clear code of self-worth: psychology teachers can set up a series of courses on "self-awareness" to help students discover their own strengths and learn to self-regulate;high school students themselves can make selfdiscovery and adjustments through self-inquiry activities.(3)Establishing career exploration goals and refining career planning approaches:Schools and teachers can conduct regular career counselling activities to provide students with more opportunities.Psychology teachers can help students clarify their future career choices through activities such as group counselling and mock recruitment;parents can provide space and opportunities for them to explore,so that they have the chance to observe and experience;high school students themselves need to realise the lifelong nature of career exploration and learn to explore themselves.