Self-Determination as a Predictor of Career Decision-Making among Senior High School Students
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the relationship between self-determination and career decision-making ability among senior high school students. The research is grounded in a global and national context showing that many adolescents, including Indonesian high school graduates, continue to experience uncertainty in choosing a career path. The study was conducted with Grade XII students of SMA Negeri 3 Banda Aceh using a quantitative, correlational design. The population comprised 346 students, and a sample of 177 was selected through simple random sampling based on the Issac and Michael table with a 5% margin of error. Instruments included the Self-Determination Scale covering autonomy, competence, and relatedness—and the Career Decision-Making Scale, which measures the stages of exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification. Content validity was examined using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR), while reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha, yielding high coefficients (α self-determination = 0.871; α career decision-making = 0.867). The analysis revealed that most students demonstrated moderate levels of both self-determination and career decision-making ability. Pearson’s product–moment correlation produced a coefficient of r = 0.533 with p = 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a positive and highly significant relationship between self-determination and career decision-making. In other words, the higher the students’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness, the more mature their educational and occupational choices. This research underscores that fulfilling the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness plays a crucial role in preparing students for the transition to higher education or the workforce. The findings recommend implementing school-based career guidance programs that foster intrinsic motivation, encouraging parental involvement to support adolescents’ exploratory freedom, and providing broader access to career information.
Downloads
References
Azwar, S. (2012). Metode penelitian. Pustaka Pelajar.
Azwar, S. (2016). Konstruksi Tes Kemampuan Kognitif. Pustaka Belajar.
BPS. (2024). Statistik angkatan kerja remaja Indonesia 2024. BPS. https://www.bps.go.id
Chirkov, V., Ryan, R. M., Kim, Y., & Kaplan, U. (2003). Differentiating autonomy from individualism and independence: A self-determination theory perspective on internalization of cultural orientations and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.97
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012803
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Gati, I., Krausz, M., & Osipow, S. H. (1996). A taxonomy of difficulties in career decision making. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43(4), 510–526. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.43.4.510
Hijri, S. A., & Akmal, K. (2017). Tingkat kematangan karir siswa SMA Negeri di Kota Padang. Jurnal Konseling Pendidikan Indonesia, 1(1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.29210/126700
Insights, H. (2022). Country comparison: Indonesia. https://www.hofstede-insights.com
Lee, S., Jung, J., Baek, S., & Lee, S. (2022a). The relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy, career preparation behaviour and career decision difficulties. Sustainability, 14(21), 14384. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114384
Lee, S., Jung, J., Baek, S., & Lee, S. (2022b). The Relationship between Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Career Preparation Behaviour and Career Decision Difficulties among South Korean College Students. Sustainability, 14(21), 14384. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114384
Mamahit, H. (2014). Hubungan antara determinasi diri dan kemampuan pengambilan keputusan karir siswa SMA. Psikoedukasi, 12(2), 45–56. https://ejournal.atmajaya.ac.id/index.php/psikoedukesi/article/view/316
Pratama, I. Y., & Primanita, A. (2023). Hubungan determinasi diri dengan pengambilan keputusan karir pada siswa SMA di Kota Sawahlunto. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, 7(3), 1432–1440. https://jptam.org/index.php/jptam/article/view/5508
Puger, I. G. N. (2021). Pengujian Validitas Isi Tes Hasil Belajar Yang Dinilai Oleh Subject Matter Expert (SME). Daiwi Widya, 8(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.37637/dw.v8i3.819
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_2630
Santrock, J. W. (2024). Essentials of life-span development (8th, inter ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Santrock, J. W., Mondloch, C. J., & Mackenzie-Thompson, A. (2014). Essentials of life-span development.
Saputro, N. F. (2022). Pengaruh dukungan orang tua, efikasi diri, dan determinasi diri terhadap pengambilan keputusan karir pada siswa kelas XI SMA Negeri 2 Klaten [Universitas Islam Negeri Walisongo]. https://eprints.walisongo.ac.id/19543/
Sugiyono. (2021). Buku Metode Penelitian Komunikasi.pdf.crdownload (pp. 1–718). Alfabeta.
Tiedeman, D. V, & O’Hara, R. P. (1963). Career development: Choice and adjustment. College Entrance Examination Board.
Utari, A. D. (2019). Hubungan determinasi diri dengan pengambilan keputusan karir pada siswa SMA Negeri 1 Kota Sungai Penuh [Universitas Jambi].
Wang, N., Luan, Y., Zhao, G., & Ma, R. (2023). The antecedents of career decision self-efficacy: A meta-analysis of 20 years of research. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1175023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1175023
Copyright (c) 2026 Ismiati, Juli Andriyani, Rofiqa Duri, Reza Muttaqin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right to first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution that allows the sharing of articles published with the acknowledgement of authorship and the initial publication in this magazine.
2) The authors are authorized to make additional contracts separately for distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (for example, publication in an institutional repository or as a chapter of the book), as long as there is recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are authorized and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (for example, in institutional repositories or on their personal pages) at any time before or during the editorial process, as it increases the impact and reference of the published work.
