Attributions of educational and professional paths : analysing reasons for adolescent and young adults choices

Abstract

The choice of a specific educational and professional path is a significant decision. In the presented qualitative research, attention was focused on causal attributions and their importance in the process of explaining the decisions made by students of Warsaw general secondary school graduating class. Findings show that: (1) depending on the educational stage, the attribution of choices varies; (2) regarding the earlier educational stage, external attribution is dominant. The knowledge of the specifics of the causal attribution processes in relation to the choice of the educational and occupational path allows of a better understanding and guidance on making these choices.