When context matters: Extending social cognitive career theory through an examination of career guidance in South African schools

This study extends Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) by examining how socioeconomic context influences the effectiveness of school-based career guidance interventions in South African secondary schools. Using an exploratory mixed-methods design, 240 Grade 10 learners from three socioeconomic school contexts participated in an 8-week intervention with an 8-week follow-up. Learners in low-socioeconomic schools showed transformative gains in career maturity (CM) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), while middle- and high-socioeconomic schools demonstrated protective and reinforcing patterns, respectively. Findings demonstrate that socioeconomic context conditions how career guidance interventions operate, extending SCCT by showing that identical interventions can produce reinforcing, protective, or transformative developmental patterns depending on learners’ structural conditions.