The effects of creative, expressive, and reflective writing on career learning: An explorative study

•Creative, expressive, and reflective writing as a narrative career guidance approach•The effects of a 2-day writing course on the narrative development of third year bachelor students were examined.•The texts were analysed using the Linguistic Index and Word Count (LIWC) program and Dialogical Self Theory.•Career writing contributes to narrative development among Dutch university students.

This study investigates whether creative, expressive, and reflective writing contributes to the formation of a work-life narrative that offers both meaning and direction among students in higher education. The content of writing done by students who participated in a two-day writing course at the start (or in preparation) of their work placements and of a control group who did not take part in the course were compared. Writing samples were analysed using the Linguistic Index Word Count program (Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007) and an instrument based on Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans & Hermans-Konopka, 2010). Results show writing promotes the development of career narratives.