Investigation of perceived career obstacles resulting from field selection in vocational high schools in the student context

The purpose of this research is to examine the students' views on career barriers perceived by students studying at vocational high schools due to field selection. A convergent parallel mixed research model was used in this research. Screening for quantitative research; Phenomenological design was used for qualitative research. The study group of the research consisted of students studying at vocational high schools in Siirt province in the 2021-2022 academic year. A total of 630 students, 318 girls and 312 boys, participated in the quantitative research. 34 students participated in the qualitative research. Simple random sampling method was used for quantitative research. For qualitative research, criterion sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used. Personal Information Form and Perceived Career Barriers Scale were used for the quantitative study in data collection; Semi-Structured Interview Form was developed for the qualitative study. A computer package program was used to analyze the quantitative data collected in the research. For qualitative data, content analysis method was used. Considering the quantitative findings obtained as a result of the research, it was determined that while there was a significant difference in the variables of gender, grade level and mother's education level in the scale findings of vocational high school students, there was no significant difference in the variables of field, grade point average, number of siblings and father's education level. Looking at the qualitative findings obtained from the research, 4 themes were identified based on 4 interview questions. In the theme of vocational high school and field selection, the category that most of the students focused on was "coming unwillingly". In addition, most of the students stated that they had to choose the vocational high school and the field they are currently studying due to lack of scores. In the theme of future career plans, the category that students emphasized most was "negative". In the theme of career obstacles, the category that most of the students emphasized was "gender". Additionally, most of the students stated that vocational courses were a career obstacle. In the theme of application when choosing a field, the category that students focused on most was "misapplication". Based on the research findings, suggestions are presented for researchers and practitioners. Keywords: Field Selection, Career Barriers, Vocational Education, Vocational High School