High school students’ perceptions of professional future: results of the application of the sentence completion method
The article focuses on the peculiarities of the professional self-determination of Ukrainian high school students in a risk society and a liquid modernity characterised by uncertainty, social instability and transformation in the field of education and labour. The study is based on empirical data fr...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
NGO “Ukrainian Institute for Social Research after Olexander Yaremenko”
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Український соціум |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ukr-socium.org.ua/archive/no-1-92-2025/high-school-students-perceptions-of-professional-future-results-of-the-application-of-the-sentence-completion-method/ |
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| Summary: | The article focuses on the peculiarities of the professional self-determination of Ukrainian high school students in a risk society and a liquid modernity characterised by uncertainty, social instability and transformation in the field of education and labour. The study is based on empirical data from the national online survey ‘High School Student – 2024’ (n = 2043). The article analyses the results of using the sentence completion method in the survey, which enabled the capture of projective, emotionally charged aspects and revelation of the deep perceptions of students on their professional future. The systematization and analysis of the answers revealed that the key values in the profession for high school students are financial stability, emotional satisfaction from work, professional development, and psychological safety, as well as autonomy and flexibility as requirements for modern professional life. It is demonstrated that a significant proportion of young people perceive their professional future as a space of variability, and are ready to requalify in case of failure, which indicates the adaptive potential of students in response to the instability of the social context. At the same time, a high level of emotional stress, uncertainty, doubt and anxiety in the process of choosing a profession was recorded, indicating the psychological complexity of this process. Analysing the continuation of incomplete sentences given to high school students made it possible to highlight both elements of professional identity and barriers to professional self-determination, including cognitive overload, lack of career guidance support, and the impact of the military situation. The study found that young people consider their professional choice as an individual act that is not tied to family expectations, which confirms the existing trend of individualisation. The results of the study have practical implications for the development of tools to support professional self-determination of young people, in particular in educational policy, psychological services and career guidance programmes. The conclusions demonstrate the need for a deeper understanding of professional identity as a dynamic and emotionally charged process in times of crisis, as well as the need to develop sensitive research approaches to analyzing the subjective dimension of professional choice. |
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| ISSN: | 1681-116X 2518-735X |