The impact of multiple partnerships on career decision-making : evaluation of a pre-university program for regional high school students

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a program for senior secondary regional students making choices about their future careers. The program provided information and experiences to help students decide whether to pursue their interest in early childhood through studying at their local university. Nineteen students completed a questionnaire to determine their expectations of the program and the results were compared with data from a parallel questionnaire completed at the end of the program. The findings highlighted the importance of multiple partnerships in assisting regional students to decide career directions. Short, innovative programs such as this have the potential to be valuable additions to the present limited opportunities available outside large cities and could impact positively on regional sustainability.