Standardized career course curriculum: Effects on negative career thoughts

Abstract

College students today face numerous pressures, which complicate a student's career decision-making process and make it imperative that career development practitioners utilize interventions that are empirically proven to enhance outcomes related to career development. This study examines a theoretically based career course and assesses negative career thoughts and metacognitive knowledge of students at the beginning and end of the course. Rooted in cognitive therapy theoretical concepts, cognitive information processing theory highlights how negative thoughts can have a detrimental impact on one's behavior and emotions. The best-fitting mixed linear model with random intercepts for 78 students with complete data observed significant improvements in negative career thoughts without being differentially impacted by instructor effects. Additionally, students with lower estimations of their career-related knowledge at the pre-test had smaller changes in negative career thoughts at post-test. These results are unique because despite various instructors teaching, the reduction in negative metacognitions remained stable across all sections.