A STUDY AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAREER PLANNING AMONG CHINESE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THROUGH INTEGRATIVE GROUP COUNSELING

Abstract

This study aims to: 1) investigate the structural components of career planning among Chinese university students and develop a localized career planning scale tailored to this population; and 2) design an integrative group counseling program to enhance students’ career planning competencies. A mixed-methods approach was employed, comprising two sequential phases. Phase 1: A total of 400 valid responses were collected using proportionate stratified random sampling. Based on empirical data analysis, six key dimensions of career planning were identified. The developed Career Planning Scale for Chinese University Students demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.96) and good model fit, validating the structural integrity of the measurement model. Results revealed that the overall level of career planning among participants was moderate (M=3.48, SD=0.58). Phase 2: This phase includes quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. The research randomly assigned twenty students to an experimental group (n=10) and a control group (n=10). Participants in the experimental group underwent an 8-session integrative group counseling intervention. After intervention, methods such as descriptive statistical analysis, repeated Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were employed. Post-test and follow-up results showed significant improvement in the experimental group across all career planning dimensions (p < 0.001). No significant changes were observed in the control group. This indicates that integrative group counseling effectively enhances students’ internal career planning abilities. These findings support the utility of group counseling as a practical intervention for strengthening university students' career development.

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