Self-Knowledge in Relation to Career Choice of Students in Stand Alone Institutions.

Choosing a career is an extremely important decision. The present study is based on the premise that Self-Knowledge plays a crucial role in career choice of individuals. Self-Knowledge is the cognitive ability of individuals to maturely and accurately appraise their interest, skills and abilities in relation to their career choice. The vocational orientation of Stand Alone institutions manifest in the career choice and preference of the students. Since the career choice of the students in these institutions is already decided, an attempt is being made through this research work to find out the congruence between their self-knowledge and career choice. Thirty two per cent of the population in Stand Alone Institutions of West Garo Hills District in Meghalaya was selected purposively as sample of the study. Part I of the Competence Test of Career Maturity Inventory by Dr. Nirmala Gupta (CMI_G, 1989) was used. The data were analysed with the help of t-test in SPSS. The result showed significant differences in the Mean scores of Self-Knowledge of Male and Female students. Males were found to have significantly higher accuracy of Self-Knowledge than the females. However, it was found that majority of the students lacked accurate Self Knowledge in relation to their Career Choice. From this, it was inferred that the Self Knowledge of both Male and Female students in Stand Alone Institutions was not congruent to their Career Choice.