Description

The Youth, School and Profession Questionnaire [YSP-40] is a self-report instrument designed to explore young people’s experiences, attitudes, and expectations in relation to school, employment, and their future occupational pathways. Its structure draws on approaches used by Verma and Ainsworth (1986) and Gibson and Ogbu (1991).

The questionnaire includes both open-ended and closed-ended questions, allowing for the combined quantitative and qualitative examination of young people’s views.

Thematic Areas

The YSP-40 covers five main thematic areas. The first concerns general and demographic information. The second focuses on school and work, examining young people’s attitudes toward school and the difficulties they experience.

The third area explores young people’s views about occupations, including their vocational interests, factors that encourage or discourage them, the ways in which they choose a profession, and their knowledge of working conditions.

The fourth section addresses expectations and concerns related to the transition from school to the labor market. The fifth examines representations and perceptions of the future, including the difficulties young people expect to encounter and their needs for vocational guidance and support.

Aim

The primary aim of the YSP-40 is to investigate the transition of young people from the educational system to the labor market. By examining experiences, attitudes, occupational choices, and expectations, the instrument contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence adolescents’ vocational orientation and future employment integration.

It may also help identify needs for career counseling and support, particularly among young people facing social or educational difficulties.

Analysis and Use of Data

The instrument has been used in research involving 328 adolescents, including 144 girls and 184 boys, attending the third grade of lower secondary school and the second grade of upper secondary school in western Thessaloniki.

Closed-ended questions can be analyzed using quantitative statistical methods to describe trends and examine possible differences between groups. Open-ended questions can be examined through qualitative or thematic analysis in order to identify recurring perceptions, concerns, and expectations.

The combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches provides a broader understanding of how young people perceive school, employment, and their occupational future.

Scoring

The scoring approach of the YSP-40 varies according to the type of question. Closed-ended questions may be used for the quantitative assessment of attitudes and perceptions, whereas open-ended questions do not necessarily produce a single numerical score and are more suitable for qualitative coding and thematic analysis.

Because the available description does not provide a specific total scoring system or defined interpretive cut-off points, the instrument is better considered a multidimensional research questionnaire rather than a unidimensional psychometric scale with a single overall score.

References

Deligianni, V., Psalti, A., & Bournoudi, E. (1996). Local networks for promoting young people from disadvantaged groups into the labor market. Final Report, CEDEFOP.

Gibson, M. A., & Ogbu, J. U. (1991). Minority status and schooling: A comparative study of immigrant and involuntary minorities. Garland.

Verma, G. K., & Ainsworth, B. (1986). Ethnicity and educational achievement in British schools. Macmillan.