ASSESSING CAREER GUIDANCE PRACTICES IN JORDANIAN SCHOOLS: INSIGHTS FROM PRE-VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

JIBRIL ALGHONMIEEN,SAMEER AOWAD KASSAB SHDAIFAT

Youth unemployment and skill mismatches remain pressing challenges in Jordan, partly due to the limited provision of career guidance in basic education. This study examines the current implementation of vocational guidance from the perspective of pre-vocational education teachers, addressing a gap in regional research on how guidance services are delivered and experienced within school settings. Using a descriptive survey methodology, data were collected from 343 government school teachers across urban, village, and Bedouin regions. It is a 33-item questionnaire validated through expert review and gaining a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient score of 0.916. The questionnaire assessed three domains: teacher roles, curriculum integration, and school administrative support. The results showed that moderate levels of implementation of vocational guidance were found (overall mean = 3.44: 5-point Likert scale), with highest ratings for teachers' roles-M = 3.63, followed by curriculum-M = 3.37, and school administration-M = 3.27. There were no statistically significant differences with regard to gender (p > 0.05), while multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences based on school location (p < 0.001) favoring village and Bedouin areas. Such findings shade light on the structural inequalities in access to effective career guidance within an urban setting. This study adds to discussions on educational policy by encouraging reforms in urban schools, improved alignment of curricula with labor market needs, and better training for teachers and administrators on contextually relevant guidance programs.