Trends in Career Decision-Making at the Higher Secondary School Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Keywords:
Career, Career Decisions, Career Choices, Higher Secondary SchoolsAbstract
This study is aimed at finding the trends in career decision-making among students at higher secondary school level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This study is conducted in District Dir Lower through narrative research design. The population of this study included all the subject specialists at higher secondary school in District Dir Lower. Total of 20-teachers were purposively selected as sample of this study. Data was collected through the conduction of semi-structured interviews and was analyzed thematically by using Clark and Brown six-step approach. From the findings of this, it is concluded that the trends in career decision-making among higher secondary school students in District Lower Dir is greatly tended towards traditional fields such as medical sciences, engineering and competitive civil services due to sustained parental, social and financial pressure. Furthermore, this study also concluded that emerging and innovative career fields have received marginal attention as a result of limited exposure, guidance and counseling at higher secondary school level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These findings highlight the need for policy reforms in school-based career guidance and counseling services, along with greater investment in infrastructure, teacher training, and awareness programs that can broaden students' understanding of diverse career opportunities.
Downloads
References
Asghar, S., & Ajmal, M. A. (2022). Adolescents’ career decision making: A qualitative study. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(3), 952–967.
Azam, W., Mustafa, J., Khan, K., & Ahmad, D. (2026). Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Interest in Inter-Science Subjects in the Working Folks Grammar School System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Social Science Review Archives, 4(1), 3538–3542.
Din, S., Khan, K., Hussain, I. A., & Muhammad, M. (2026). Factors Affecting the Promotion of College Education in District Khyber, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Social Science Review Archives, 4(1), 2653–2657.
Dương, N. (2022). An assessment of factors influencing career choices among fresh graduates: a survey of students majoring in business and economics. Journal of International Economics and Management.
Keshf, Z., & Khanum, S. (2022). “It is a very difficult process”: career service providers’ perspective on career counseling in Pakistani universities. Heliyon, 8(1).
Khan, K. (2026). Instructional Challenges: English as Medium of Instruction in Primary Schools of District Lower Dir. Social Science Review Archives, 4(1), 785–792.
Kumar, P., & Gautam, D. (2023). Transformative Role of ICT in 21st Century Learning : Enhancing Educational Effectiveness and Equitability. International Journal of Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 11(December).
Onyema, E. M., Esther, U. N., Okpala, C. C., Umoke, C. C., Obioma, N. J., Okoronkwo, M. C., & Edmond, V. U. (2024). The role of emerging technologies in academic career development. Babcock University Journal of Education, 10(1), 36–49.
Rachoin, J.-S., Vilceanu, M. O., Franzblau, N., Gordon, S., & Cerceo, E. (2023). How often do medical students change career preferences over the course of medical school? BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 596.
Sahlberg, P. (2007). SECONDARY EDUCATION IN OECD COUNTRIES COMMON CHALLENGES , DIFFERING. Sharing Expertise in Training.
Subhrajyoti, T. (2023). Career Decision Making of Secondary School Students-A Critical Review. Zenodo, 8(2).
Syeda, K., & Shah, S. M. A. (2025). Factors Affecting Career Choice of Graduates in Pakistan. Pakistan Research Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2).
Usman, M., Khan, R., Khan, W., & Khan, M. I. (2024). An Assessment of Career Guidance Services at Secondary School Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. THE SPARK" A HEC Recognized Journal", 9(1), 156–168.
Zeb, A., Ali, A., & Hussain, M. S. (2025). The Effect of Socio-cultural Factors on the Career Aspirations of Secondary Schools’ Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Journal of Development and Social Sciences, 6(1), 672–680.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Scholar Insight Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain the copyright of their work. All articles in Scholar Insight Journal are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This license permits anyone to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, and to use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the author(s) or the publisher, provided proper attribution is given to the original work.
