Career Decision-Making among Secondary School Students: A Systematic Review of Household Education Expenditure, Parenting Style, and Self-Perception across Gender and Locality in India and Beyond

Abstract

Career decision-making at the secondary school level represents a critical developmental juncture with lasting implications for educational and occupational trajectories. This integrative review synthesizes global and Indian research published between 1983 and 2025 to examine how household education expenditure, parenting style, and self-perception influence career decision-making, with specific attention to gender and urban–rural disparities. Employing an integrated review design that combines systematic search procedures with thematic and narrative synthesis, over sixty peer-reviewed studies from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were analyzed. Findings indicate that household education expenditure structures access to quality schooling, supplementary learning resources, and career information, thereby shaping opportunity pathways and reinforcing socio-economic inequalities, particularly in rural and marginalized contexts. Parenting style emerges as a central psychosocial determinant: autonomy-supportive and authoritative practices enhance career exploration and career decision-making self-efficacy, whereas controlling patterns constrain adolescent agency. Self-perception especially self-esteem and perceived competence functions as a mediating mechanism linking family context to career planning confidence. Persistent gender norms and urban–rural disparities further condition these relationships through differential investment patterns, exposure to guidance systems, and institutional access. Despite expanding scholarship, significant gaps remain, including limited longitudinal and mixed-methods research, insufficient region-specific evidence within India, and underdeveloped integrated theoretical frameworks. Empirical evaluation of career guidance reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 remains scarce. Future research should prioritize interaction-based and longitudinal designs and micro-level regional studies, while policy must strengthen equity-oriented counseling systems, expand trained guidance personnel in underserved areas, and promote autonomy-supportive parental engagement to ensure inclusive and informed career development.