Science for Education Today, 2026, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 7–28
© Pezhemskaya J. S., Piskunova E. V., Kandaurova A. V., Gutnik I. Y., 2026
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Specifics of schoolchildren’s self-assessment of readiness for career choice: A combination of career awareness components with informational and motivational-volitional deficits

Pezhemskaya J. S. 1 (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), Piskunova E. V. 1 (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), Kandaurova A. V. 1 (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), Gutnik I. Y. 1 (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)
1 Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia
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Abstract: 

Introduction. The article presents a study of the issue of readiness for career choice among secondary school students, with a focus on self-assessment of readiness, which is a significant indicator of professional self-determination and reflects the degree of awareness in choosing a future field of occupation. The aim of the study is to identify the specific features of self-assessment of readiness for career choice among adolescent and senior school students in the current context of labor market transformation.
Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the study includes: (1) L. S. Vygotsky’s cultural-historical approach, as interpreted in contemporary research on professional self-determination under labor market transformation, emphasizing the connection between career choice, age-related developmental tasks, the formation of professional identity, and the social situation of development; (2) the self-determination theory of E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan; and (3) I. Gati and N. Levin’s career decision-making difficulties model. A survey was used as a research tool. The study involved 5,066 students in grades 7–11 from different regions of the Russian Federation. Both qualitative-quantitative and frequency analysis methods were used for data processing.
Results. It was found that school students’ self-assessment of readiness for career choice is related to their perceptions of possible career trajectories: most respondents are oriented toward higher education, with low perceived attractiveness of vocational secondary education and a pronounced interest in entrepreneurship and self-employment. It is shown that a significant proportion of students highly rate their understanding of their own resources (life goals, achievements, abilities), while simultaneously experiencing a lack of knowledge about the requirements of future professions and the labor market situation, as well as a need for additional information. A predominance of a positive emotional attitude toward the career decision-making situation was identified (confidence, feeling of support, perception of choice as a space of opportunities), alongside feelings of uncertainty, confusion, and being lost among some students, indicating a combination of elements of career awareness with informational and motivational-volitional deficits.
Conclusions. The obtained results illustrate the multidimensional structure of self-assessment of readiness for career choice among secondary school students: a combination of well-formed elements of career awareness (goals, awareness of achievements, basic knowledge about professions) with significant informational and motivational-volitional deficits (uncertainty, lack of regional information, and difficulties in practical preparation).

Keywords: 

Professional self-determination; Career choice; Self-assessment of readiness; Adolescent and youth school students; Career awareness; Career goals; Informational and motivational-volitional deficits.

For citation:
Pezhemskaya J. S., Piskunova E. V., Kandaurova A. V., Gutnik I. Y. Specifics of schoolchildren’s self-assessment of readiness for career choice: A combination of career awareness components with informational and motivational-volitional deficits. Science for Education Today, 2026, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 7–28. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15293/2658-6762.2604.01
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Date of the publication 31.08.2026