Abstract:

Gender-based professional trials that make individuals make their career choices on the basis of whether they fit their gender or not, begin to form from the early school years; they create the ground for gender inequality in society and the business world. Therefore, it is very important that gender-based professional patterns and judgments are targeted from the early periods of life. This study first identifies gender-based judgments of a group of primary school fourth-class students consisting of 60 people, 16 professions requiring education at the bachelor level. Then the impact of a single session class guidance activity, prepared by researchers and aimed at destroying gender-based professional patterns and judgments, on the subject patterns and judgments is investigated. The findings showed that students perceive the construction, computer and machine engineering, pilotity, jurisdiction, banking, scientific humanity and financial consultancy as a male profession; and the nursing as a female profession, and that the prepared guidance activity has reduced the gender-based patterns and judgments to a statistically significant level. In light of the findings, it can be said that career development is a process influenced by gender-based patterns and judgments, and that in all stages, including early stages of the training process, career psychological consultancy services must be provided in order for students to make their field and career choices more effectively. In this regard, it is claimed that the systemic career development interventions aimed at primary school students, in particular women's role models working in professions in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are needed. Keywords: Social gender equality; Women's role models; Career psychological counseling; Gender-based patterns and judgments; Psychological counseling and guidance in primary education.