Reuben, Shanya.Bobat, Shaida.Mkhize, Njabulo.2026-01-262026-01-2620232023https://hdl.handle.net/10413/24264Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The current study explores the career guidance experiences of learners attending a school situated in a rural area. The researcher's motivation stemmed from her personal interest in the subject matter. Her aim was to make a contribution to the existing body of knowledge that explores the career guidance experiences of young individuals residing in rural regions. The researcher posits that enhancing the caliber of education in rural locales will enable the youth in these regions to make judicious career choices and foster their role as conscientious contributors to the nation's economy. A comprehensive analysis of the existing literature reveals an inadequate amount of information in the South African context pertaining to the career guidance experiences of learners in rural locales. The objective of this study is to ascertain the encounters and obstacles faced by learners enrolled at High School X, situated in a rural locality in Eshowe. The focus is primarily on Grade 12 learners, as there is a dearth of South African research on this particular group of learners in rural schools. This study delved deeper into the methods by which learners obtain career-related information and the limitations they encounter in terms of career guidance counselling and decision making. This research is a qualitative study that employed snowball sampling to select participants from a single rural high school located in Eshowe, KwaZulu Natal. The research utilised semi-structured interviews as a data collection method and applied thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data. The present study was framed by utilising social constructionism and career construction theories as theoretical frameworks. The theory of social constructionism elucidates the cognitive processes through which learners in rural educational institutions perceive, comprehend, and construct their social environment. The aforementioned theory facilitates comprehension of how the rural context influences the professional trajectories of young people. The second theoretical framework, known as "career construction," elucidates the process by which individuals establish a professional trajectory through their actions, which are shaped by the interplay between personal factors and the social milieu. The findings of the research indicate that learners attending rural schools encounter difficulties with regards to career guidance due to various factors such as the unavailability of subject choices and a career guidance counsellor, inadequate financial resources allocated to rural schools, substandard infrastructure, inadequate road networks and transportation, insufficient access to electricity, and a dearth of learning resources. The study highlights several challenges, including the discouragement of female learners in rural schools from pursuing science and engineering professions. The study revealed that participants identified positive career guidance experiences wherein their families, schools, classmates, and friends served as career advisers and role models. These individuals provided support to the participants in selecting their subjects and careers. Research has indicated that young people tend to prioritise the pursuit of their career passions over occupations that are currently in high demand within the job market. Insufficient access to dependable information regarding scarce skills and employment opportunities post-graduation is a prevalent issue among youth residing in rural regions. Additionally, it was found that career fairs, campus tours, and online resources were deemed significant sources of career-oriented information for addressing obstacles related to career guidance. The research suggests that the provision of career guidance counsellors in schools located in rural areas can be an effective strategy to address the negative experiences that young people encounter with regards to career guidance. The research suggests that it would be beneficial to provide assistance and motivation to young people residing in rural regions to pursue professions that necessitate rare abilities and are presently propelling the 21st century economy. These professions include careers in information technology and engineering, among others. It is imperative to implement measures aimed at fostering supportive and enabling working environments for young girls to gain the confidence to make informed career choices while also taking action to address gender discrimination in the workplace. Additional measures ought to be implemented to allocate greater financial resources towards rural educational institutions or to assess the efficacy of the current funding allocation in such schools.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Career guidance.Rural schools.Career guidance experiences.Thesis