In the study reported on here we explored the influence of life-design counselling intervention on high school learners with career indecision who hail from resource-poor contexts in rural South Africa. Purposeful sampling was used to select 17 participants from a resource-constrained area. A mixed-methods group-based intervention embedded in…

This article reflects on several factors that influence the art and science of career counselling in different contexts. An adapted systematic literature review was implemented to examine developments in the career counselling field and to explore innovative career counselling strategies that have universal relevance and sustainability in the…

This article reports on how intervention research based on integrative career counselling enhanced the existential experience of a gifted learner. The participant of this study was a purposively selected gifted 17-year-old girl learner in search of a career that would help her experience meaning, purpose, and hope in and through her career-life.…

The role of student support in enabling successful student outcomes is widely acknowledged. However, student support functions and the structures within which they reside often emerge independently at universities, and are seldom designed with integration in mind, leading to systemic inefficiencies. This paper draws on systems thinking to develop…

Higher education in South Africa has focused extensively on widening access to further inclusivity and to economic development. However, as students need to persist and succeed in their studies, access alone is not enough. Furthermore, the responsibility of higher education to help students succeed does not end with graduation; institutions need…

This article reports on the influence of counselling for self- and career construction on the career counselling needs of an adolescent boy with Tourette's disorder. Purposeful sampling was used. The study adopted an explanatory, single-participant study design. A qualitative paradigm was employed and an integrative, QUALITATIVE-quantitative…

The rapid worldwide expansion of enrolment in higher education (HE) has led to greater diversity among students, with more first-generation learners, HE returnees, and disadvantaged groups. Yet, inequalities in participation persist and have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of flexible learning pathways (FLPs) can help HE…

This article reports on the influence of integrative career construction counselling on the narratability and career resilience of a young female learner. The 14-year-old participant was purposely selected from people who had sought career counselling in a private practice context. An explanatory, single-case study design was adopted using a…

Purpose: South African Black graduates experience a transition challenge between the higher education context and the labor market system. The study focuses on rural Black students' perceived work readiness and assessment of labor market access in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: Focus groups and unstructured individual interviews were…

In this research we investigated whether creativity and career assessment are a contradiction in terms or whether, through creative thinking, their potential complementarity in career guidance and counselling can be realised. The research demonstrates the creative application of the systemic Integrative Structured Interview (ISI) for the…

This article reports on the effect of life-design counselling on a purposefully selected learner from an environment challenged by disadvantages. An instrumental, single-case study approach was followed and collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data proceeded simultaneously. Intervention comprised assessment and dialogues and…

This article reports on integrative career counselling provided to a creative young man selected purposefully. An explorative, descriptive, instrumental, single case-study approach was followed, and two recently developed questionnaires (one qualitative and one quantitative) were used to collect the data. A career construction counselling…

The purpose of this study was to explore how life-design-based counselling can influence young learners' academic self-construction within a group context. The study involved a qualitative mode of enquiry with 12 participants. Life-design-based intervention strategies, together with various (postmodern) qualitative techniques, were used to gather…

The study examined factors influencing career decisions using a sample of high school learners in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A mixed-method approach was utilised. In the quantitative phase of the study, a sample of 536 high school learners in South Africa filled out the Career Interest Inventory (Fisher & Stafford, 1999) in…

The concept of decent work is intuitively desirable, an ideal to strive for, and a human right. Awareness of the decent work agenda has been raised in career counselling and is posing challenges about what role, if any, career counselling can play towards the achievement of sustainable decent work for all. Feeding into the social justice values of…