College career courses and learner outputs and outcomes, 1976-2014 (Technical Report No. 55)

Career course literature in 157 documents traces the history, development, design, and effectiveness of career courses in colleges and universities. It includes reviews of 88 studies in 80 reports or articles in 133 documents regarding the effectiveness of the career courses, primarily in the U.S. More than 25,333 participants were involved in these studies from 1976 to 2014. A review of 88 results or findings has been framed in terms of the outputs and outcomes of career course interventions. We reviewed 64 results of career course output studies using measures of career thoughts, career decision-making skills, career decidedness, vocational identity, and the like. In this analysis, we found 58 (91%) reporting positive gains in measured output variables, and 6 (9%) reporting no changes in output variables. We also reviewed 25 results or findings of career course outcomes such as persistence (retention) in college, graduation rate, cumulative GPA, and job satisfaction or satisfaction with field of study. In this analysis we found 23 (92%) reporting positive gains in measured outcome variables, and two (8%) reporting no changes in outcome variables. The majority of the studies (59 of 88, 67%) used control or comparison groups to strengthen methodological rigor. This report concludes with an analysis of this body of research and implications for further research and practice in this area.