Development of Career Guidance Advocacy Model for Orphans and Abandoned Children

Career guidance advocacy model for orphans and abandoned children was developed in this qualitative study. Children’s occupational goals and the process on how the career aspirations are developed were described from the perspective of 48 children of SOS Children’s Village-Lipa.

The assumptions upon which the CGAM are built are that (1) the orphans and abandoned children’s career aspirations are confined on the few accessible occupations; (2) loving family environmental climate, strongoccupational self-concept, and presence of and sustained positiveexperience with role models shaped the career aspirations (occupational goals) of orphans and abandoned children.; and (3) the process ofdeveloping career aspiration among orphans and abandoned childreninvolves sequential steps: working-out the destabilized self-concept, interpreting and implementing the occupational self-concept, and demonstrating commitment on a relatively stable occupational goal.

CGAM offers framework of career helping for orphans and abandoned children through advocating affirmative life space withconstructive authorities; career opportunity and familiarity; and sustainedpositive experiences. In the realization of the advocacies it is expected thatthe children gain the ability of self-development and behavioral autonomyto set realistic career aspirations.