This literature review was conducted as part of my master’s thesis assignment. In my initial research project, I was particularly interested in the role of career counselors in the career guidance of adolescents. Through the literature review, I gained new and important insights into the significance and level of research in this field.

Having gone through my own mistakes in choosing a profession, I came to a deeper understanding of the importance of career guidance. Since the first step in making the right career choice is formed during adolescence, I realized that the influence of career counselors and their role at this stage is crucial. This factor inspired me to explore this topic further.

This literature review aims to investigate the role of career counselors in the professional orientation of adolescents. I reviewed numerous studies, academic papers, and books related to the role of career counselors from both international and Kazakhstani perspectives. Being from Kazakhstan, my primary focus was on the experience of career guidance and the role of career counselors in Kazakhstan. However, to broaden my perspective, I also examined the practices of leading countries in the field of career guidance.

The role of career counselors in the career guidance of adolescents differs significantly between Kazakhstan and abroad. In Kazakhstan, the career guidance system is still developing, but in recent years, government programs and projects related to this field have been introduced (Muhamedova, 2022). In the Kazakhstani context, the profession of career counselor is officially titled “pedagogue-career counselor.” A pedagogue-career counselor is a specialist who influences adolescents’ professional self-determination during the career choice process and conducts professional education. In performing this task, the educator prepares students for career choices through career guidance work (Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, March 31, 2022, No. 221)

Methodological recommendations developed by the I. Altynsarin National Academy of Education (2023) indicate that, currently, career guidance work in educational institutions is often organized by subject teachers, psychologists, social educators, and class tutors, and this is usually their additional work. This means they often lack sufficient qualifications to introduce and apply new pedagogical approaches in the field of career guidance. Thus, it can be observed that the position of “pedagogue-career counselor,” as established by law, is not being fully implemented. Qualified career counselors are urgently needed in Kazakhstan, as evidenced by the research of Sadyrova and Abdikeroeva (2016), who studied the career guidance experience of school graduates in Kazakhstan.

An interesting fact was found that students’ use of counseling services is influenced by their understanding of the counselors’ role in the career choice process (Awinsong et al., 2015). This raises the question of how confidently adolescents can seek help from career counselors in Kazakhstan and what significant role they play in society. According to Shi, Liu, and Leuwerke (2014), friendly relationships and accessibility of school counselors are important aspects of career guidance. Thus, the role of career counselors in the career orientation process for adolescents is influenced by their qualifications and their friendly relationship with students.

This review includes a systematic analysis and study of academic works, program documents, legislation, and empirical research. To deeply investigate the role and significance of career counselors in the career guidance of adolescents in Kazakhstan, further literature reviews are planned.

The literature review is aimed at answering the following question:

1. What is the role of career counselors in the career guidance of adolescents?

Based on the research question, the process of the literature review followed a systematic approach. Initially, articles from academic and scientific journals considered reliable sources were examined. When selecting articles, criteria for comparability and reliability were established. Articles related to the research and meeting the reliability criteria were selected according to the recommendations of Zina O’Leary in her book “The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project” (2017). The following key terms were used during the research: “career guidance,” “adolescents,” “career counselor,” and “role of career counselors.” The research utilized resources from the university library, national library, and electronic databases such as Google Scholar, ERIC, and Sage Publications. After the articles were selected based on reliability and comparability criteria, they were grouped and categorized thematically. The initial number of articles was 40, but after analysis, 16 were excluded due to irrelevance and methodological limitations, leaving 24 articles for review. The selected sources were categorized into topics such as career guidance, the role of career counselors, career guidance for adolescents, and the historical foundations of career guidance. To obtain additional information about career guidance in Kazakhstan, government publications and official reports related to the context were also included in the research. One of the main challenges encountered during the research was the differing terminology when reviewing Kazakh and international sources and legislation. The concepts of “career guidance” and “career counselor” were defined differently in the legislation of various countries and were used with varying meanings. These terminological differences created certain difficulties in analyzing and comparing data within the framework of the research. Furthermore, as an initial research project, my in-depth exploration of this topic increased the responsibility for understanding the relevance of the issue and finding ways to address it. The inconsistency in terminology at the initial stage of the research required additional efforts to systematize information, classify the literature, and identify similarities and differences between the legislations, which also took additional time. This review aims to scientifically explore the role and significance of career counselors in the professional orientation of adolescents in Kazakhstan. Specifically, the review focuses on identifying the legislative foundations of career counselors’ activities, the roles discussed in scientific studies, and the practical implementation of these roles.

The aim of this review is to investigate the importance and role of the profession of career counselors in the professional orientation of adolescents in Kazakhstan, as well as to identify gaps through a literature review. Several shortcomings were identified in the systematic literature review. One of them is that the career counselor service, which is established in legislation, has not reached the level set by the legislation, as shown by the review of domestic research. One of the main issues is the implementation gap, which refers to the difference between what is outlined in the legislation and the actual implementation of the professional orientation system. Although the importance of career counseling has been recognized at the state level in Kazakhstan, its actual realization faces several challenges. Additionally, many government programs and strategic documents aimed at developing the professional orientation system, while well-structured at the theoretical level, are slow in their practical implementation. This, in turn, negatively affects adolescents’ professional orientation in line with labor market requirements and hinders graduates from making informed career choices. All of these shortcomings lead to a misunderstanding of the role of career counselors in schools and the underestimation of their importance in career decision-making. This literature review was conducted not only to fulfill the assignment but also through a comprehensive study of the topic that interests me, allowing me to gather valuable insights. Through this literature review, I realized the importance of aspects such as systematic and critical analysis and the ability to explain in the process of my first research work.

«Ministerstvo obrazovanija nauki RK (2018) Centr Bolonskogo processa i akademicheskoj mobil’nosti. Analiticheskij otchet», Astana, str.14. (In Russian) Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (2022, August 31). On approval of the model regulations for the activities of pre-school, general, technical and vocational, post-secondary, and additional education institutions. 385. (In Кazakh) Andronic, A., Andronic, R., Lepadatu, I., & Tatu, C. (2013). Perceptions regarding the role of school counsellor in Romania a comparative approach. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84 (2013), 1124 – 1127. Berikovna, А. S., Sadyrova, М. С., Montayev, А. В., Imanbekova, B. I. (2016) The change of attitude to the profession of university graduates and young specialists. VOL. 11, 18: 12486-12499. Atici, M. (2014). Examination of School Counselors’ Activities: From the Perspectives of Counselor Efficacy and Collaboration with School Staff. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 14(6), 2107-2120 Awinsong, M., Dawson, O., and Gidiglo, B.E. (2015). Students‟ Perception of the Role of Counsellors in the Choice of a Career. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 13(3), 79-99 Hanımoğlu, E. (2018). The perceptions of students about the role of school counselors on career selection. European Journal of Educational Research, 7(4), 763-774. doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.7.4.763 Holland, J. H., Holyoak, K. J., Nisbett, R. E., & Thagard, P. (1986) Induction: Processes of competency in career counseling. 481–496 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org O’Leary, Z. (2017). The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. SAGE Publications. Poslanie Glavy gosudarstva K.-Zh. Tokaeva narodu Kazahstana «Edinstvo naroda i sistemnye reformy – prochnaja osnova procvetanija strany (2021). https://www.akorda.kz/ru/poslanie-glavy-gosudarstva-kasym-zhomarta-tokaeva-narodu-kazahstana-183048. Sadyrova M., Abdikerova G.O. (2016) «Vybor professii kak osnova professional’noj mobil’nosti vypusknikov vysshih ucheb-nyh zavedeniij.Vestnik KazNU, 2 (57): 169-175. (In Russian) Sadyrova M.S. (2018) Labor values of modern youth of Almaty: realities and prospects. Vestnik KazNU, 2 (65): 116-126.Sadyrova M.S., Abdikerova G.O., Sarsenova A.B., Nuran D.N. (2018) «Professional’nyj potencial vypusknikov vuzov i molodyh specialistov Kazahstana.Almaty, 106. Sadyrova M.S., Muhtarova K.S. (2022) «Trudovye cennosti i trudovaja motivacija sovremennoj gorodskoj molodezhi Kazahstana». S.-Ptb, 10: 30-35. (In Russian) Sadyrova M.S., Muhtarova K.S., Makasheva K.N., Chukubaev E.S. (2022) «Metodologija sociologicheskih issledovanii v regionah Kazahstana». Vestnik Kaznu im. al’-Farabi. Serija psihologii i sociologii, Almaty, 3 (82):138-149. Shi, Q., Liu, X., & Leuwerke, W. (2014). Students’ perceptions of school counselors, 519–530 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org Snell Jr., W. E., Hampton, B. R., & McManus, P. (2012). The impact of counselor and participant gender on willingness to discuss relational topics. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(3), 409-416.