The Effects of a Career Education Writing Program on Elementary School Students’ Career Development

This study examines the effect of a career writing program on the career development of elementary school students, capitalizing on the inherent interconnectedness of career education and writing that links individuals to the wider world. The career writing program consists of self-understanding, social competency development, understanding the world of work and occupation, career exploration, and career design and preparation. Lee Jong-beom's (2005) career development test paper was used as the assessment tool. Data analysis involved conducting t-tests on the pre-test and post-test of the experimental and comparative groups. The study’s findings are as follows: First, when comparing the career development scores between the experimental group, which underwent the career writing program, and the comparative group, the former demonstrated significantly higher scores across all sub-areas of career development. Notably, the scores were significantly higher in self-awareness, academics, job search, and career planning—sub-areas of career development. Second, upon comparing the experimental group's pre- and post-test career development scores, it was found that the post-program scores were significantly higher than the pre-program scores in all sub-areas and career development as a whole. Again, the scores were higher in self-awareness, academics, job search, and career planning. The study confirms the positive effect of the career writing program on elementary school students' career development. Moreover, it suggests that it can serve as an effective career education method, enhancing not only the overall level of career development among elementary school students but also the competency in each specific sub-area of career development.