Assessment of Turkish adolescents' future orientations in their life scripts: A qualitative study

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate into Turkish adolescents' future orientations. In the study, both qualitative and quantitative research techniques were used. The research group is composed of a total of 70 eleventh grade students (47 girls, 23 boys) aged between 17-18 years old. The study data was collected through life scripts covering ten years written by volunteer students The students' scripts were analyzed by using the content analysis method. The categories prepared for the content analysis were formed based on the literature. The content categories used were specified as education, profession, relation with the opposite sex, and military service. The analysis of the data was made by using N-Vivo program. The results of the study indicate that although a great majority of adolescents would like to continue higher education, more than half of those do not have clear thoughts about their future professions, relationships with the opposite sex and military service.