Language, relationality, and career guidance
a community-engaged psychology perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/ajhece.v2i1.2549Keywords:
career guidance, service-learning, multilingualism, relational-contextual framework, community engagementAbstract
The importance of career guidance in enabling learners to make informed decisions about their futures cannot be overemphasised. Learners in under-resourced schools often face limited opportunities for meaningful support, with English-only career guidance restricting comprehension and engagement. Guided by the RelationalContextual Career Framework (RCCF), this study explores how language and relational dynamics shape career guidance within a community-engaged servicelearning initiative involving Organisational Psychology honours students at Rhodes University. Learner focus groups were used to gather data from high school students, and reflections were used to gather data from career psychology honours students participating in a service learning programme. The results demonstrated that learner comprehension, confidence, and participation were significantly impacted by the use of language and relational strategies. Student reflections highlighted the importance of adapting theory to local contexts, integrating career construction and life-design principles, and navigating multilingual challenges. Students' professional adaptability, reflective practice and cultural responsiveness were further enhanced through service-learning experiences. Findings validate the RCCF as a useful framework for operationalising multilingual, relational, and Ubuntu-informed pedagogies, supporting equitable, socially responsible career guidance in under-resourced schools. Findings also suggest that the RCCF can inform institutional community engagement strategies, providing guidance for culturally responsive, relationally grounded, and ethically oriented service-learning programmes.
References
Adams, A., Booi, M., Mawonga, S., Nkomo, D., & Nosilela, B. (Eds.). (2024). Embedding multilingualism in the curriculum: Using language as a resource for teaching and learning. [PDF]. Rhodes University.
Choi, Y., Han, J., & Kim, H. (2023). Exploring key service-learning experiences that promote students’ learning in higher education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09833-5
Conley, D. T. (2010). College and career ready: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118269411
Cummins, J. (2021). Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency, Linguistic Interdependence, the Optimum Age Question and Some Other Matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 19.
Endres, S., & Weibler, J. (2017). Towards a three‐component model of relational social constructionist leadership: A systematic review and critical interpretive synthesis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(2), 214-236. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12095
Gergen, K. J., & Gergen, M. M. (2015). Social construction and research as action. The SAGE handbook of action research, 3, 401-408. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473921290.n39
Johnson, R., Payne, L., Ley, C., Grady, C. A., Domenech, J., Evich, C. D., ... & Hawes, J. K. (2021). Global service-learning: A systematic review of principles and practices. International Service-Learning and Community Engagement Research, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.37333/001c.31383
Jude, C., & Maree, J. G. (2024). The effect of life-design-based counselling on high school learners from resource-constrained communities. South African Journal of Education, 44(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v44n1a2405
Kotze, C. J. (2025). “I am because we are”: novice teacher mentoring support needs from an Ubuntu perspective. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 14(1), 54-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijmce-02-2024-0011
Lasagabaster, D., & García, O. (2014). Translanguaging: towards a dynamic model of bilingualism at school/Translanguaging: hacia un modelo dinámico de bilingüismo en la escuela. Culture and Education, 26(3), 557-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/11356405.2014.973671
Lattanzi, T., & Di Masi, D. (2025). Service-Learning as a Career Guidance Practice. Reflections from Tutors of the” An Assist Towards Success” Project: A Thematic Analysis. RIDAS. Revista Iberoamericana de Aprendizaje-Servicio, (19), 17-36. https://doi.org/10.1344/ridas2025.19.2
Makalela, L. (2016). Ubuntu translanguaging: An alternative framework for complex multilingual encounters. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 34(3), 187-196. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2016.1250350
Makalela, L., & da Silva, K. A. (2023). Ubuntu translanguaging. Revista Linguagem & Ensino, 26(1), 84-97. https://doi.org/10.15210/rle.v26i1.6804
Mateus, S. G. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism, and Education: Ofelia García and Li Wei. (2014). New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 162 pp. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.965361
Mawela, R. (2024). Addressing the displacement of African indigenous languages. In A. Adams, M. Booi, S. Mawonga, D. Nkomo, & B. Nosilela (Eds.), Embedding multilingualism in the curriculum: Using language as a resource for teaching and learning. (pp. 24-26). Rhodes University.
Mawonga, S., Malimba, N., Phakathi, S., Marire, J., Magadla, S., Dana, Z., ... Williams, A. S. (2024). Multilingual pedagogies in Introductory Economics. In A. Adams, M. Booi, S. Mawonga, D. Nkomo, & B. Nosilela (Eds.), Embedding multilingualism in the curriculum: Using language as a resource for teaching and learning. Rhodes University.
Msimanga, A., & Lelliott, A. (2014). Talking science in multilingual contexts in South Africa: Possibilities and challenges for engagement in learners home languages in high school classrooms. International Journal of Science Education, 36(7), 1159-1183. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.851427
Mtawa, N. N., & Nkhoma, N. M. (2020). Service-learning as a higher education pedagogy for advancing citizenship, conscientization and civic agency: a capability informed view. Higher Education Pedagogies, 5(1), 110-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2020.1788969
Ngubane, N. I., & Makua, M. (2021). Intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice: Transforming South African higher education. Transformation in Higher Education, 6, 113. https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v6i0.113
Padayachee, K., Matimolane, M., & Ganas, R. (2018). Addressing curriculum decolonisation and education for sustainable development through epistemically diverse curricula. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(6), 288-304. https://doi.org/10.20853/32-6-2986
Parra, M. O., & Proctor, P. (2023). The translanguaging pedagogies continuum. Journal of Education, 203(4), 917-924. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220574211053587
Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work, 2(1), 144-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394258994.ch6
Savickas, M. L., Nota, L., Rossier, J., Dauwalder, J. P., Duarte, M. E., Guichard, J., ... & Van Vianen, A. E. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21st century. Journal of vocational behavior, 75(3), 239-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.004
Sefotho, M. P. M. (2022). Ubuntu translanguaging as a systematic approach to language teaching in multilingual classrooms in South Africa. Journal for Language Teaching, 56(1). https://doi.org/10.56285/jltvol56iss1a5416
Siziba, L., & Nhongo, R. (2024). Scaffolding African Language Intellectualisation: The Case of Sesotho and Setswana at a South African University. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 14(6), 1614-1620. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1406.02
Somlata, Z. (2022). Examining the implementation of language policy for access and success of students in higher education in South Africa. South African Journal of African Languages, 42(3), 324-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2022.2139944
South Africa Department of Higher Education and Training. (2020). Language policy framework for public higher education institutions.
Steele, C., Dovchin, S., & Oliver, R. (2022). ‘Stop measuring black kids with a white stick’: Translanguaging for classroom assessment. Relc Journal, 53(2), 400-415. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221086307
Webb, V. (2012). Managing multilingualism in higher education in post-1994 South Africa. Language Matters, 43(2), 202-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2011.61850
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ntombifuthi Centurion Zwane
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
