The Impact Of Peer Support On Career Exploration

The financial crisis, higher education popularization, together with industrial restructuring lead college graduates into a more grim employment situation. The remission of the problem needs not only measures taken by government and colleges, but also students’ active career exploration. Informed research suggests that individual personality and family would affect one’s exploration significantly, while whether peers would be a significant factor needs to be identified.The research explored the definition, content and construct of college student career-related peer supports firstly. And then, investigation was made using college students career development condition questionnaire, concluding career-related peer supports scale, career self-efficiency scale and career exploration scale. 650 college students of grade 3 & 4 in Shanghai participated and the data was analyzed subsequently.The result suggests that, firstly, college student career-related peer supports refers to supports from classmates, seniors, friends and lover, who are as similar age and experience as oneself, interacting often, learning together and preparing for career development. And its construct can be divided into information sharing and suggestions, emotional supports and behavior models from peers. The college student career-related peer supports scale presents good reliability and validity.Secondly, the mean of information and suggestion dimension during career-related peer supports is the lowest, yet highest is the behavior models dimension. On career-related peer supports, the score of senior students is significant higher than that of junior students. The score of students born in metropolis is significant higher than that of towns. The mean of problem-solving dimension during vocational self-efficacy is the lowest, yet highest is the information-collection dimension. On vocational self-efficacy, the score of students in ordinary universities is significant higher than that of 985& 211 universities. The score of students born in metropolis is significant higher than that of towns or countryside. The score of students came from family with higher income is significant higher than that of lower income. The mean of intentionality and systematicness dimension during career exploration is the lowest, yet highest is the self-exploration dimension. On career exploration, the score of students in ordinary universities is significant higher than that of 985&211 universities. The score of senior students is significant higher than that of junior students. The score of students came from family with higher income is significant higher than that of lower income. The score of students of nature sciences is significant higher than that of humanities and social sciences. The score of students with distinct development goals is significant higher than that of the opposites.Thirdly, career-related peer supports pose a significant positive effect on one’s career exploration, and career self-efficiency mediates between peer supports and exploration partly.The research holds that, above all, not only distal affordance could be provided by peer supports to promote career exploration indirectly, but also proximal influence to promote directly. And then, career-related peer supports program should be designed and implemented by universities and colleges. At the same time, intentionality and systematicness of student career exploration and problem-solving skills should be strengthened. Furthermore, different guidance or supports should be provided for different groups. Measures should be taken to promote freshmen’s vocational information sharing, goal identifying and external environmental exploring, to help students came from countryside or family with lower income identify themselves, to raise their ability to collect information and solve problems. For students in 985 & 211 universities, correct self-cognition and available career goals should be identified, external environment should be explored actively.