International Journal of Multidisciplinary Thought, CD-ROM. ISSN: 2156-6992 :: 2(4):177–184 (2012) Copyright c  2012 by UniversityPublications.net LEARNERS WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS PREPARE TO CHOOSE A CAREER CHOICE IN BOARDING SCHOOL IN LATVIA Olga Urtane, Svetlana Usca and Velta Lubkina Personality Socialization research institute of Rezekne Higher Educational Institution, Latvia The society of the 21st century knowledge requires educated and competent people. In this context in Latvia there has been brought up the question of how to provide the conditions in order not to lose a potential human resources and also learners with mental health disturbances would select the appropriate specialty qualification and would be able to function equally in contemporary society. This article describes learners with mental health disturbances who attend boarding school, internal and external preparedness to choose a career, analyzes the results of the questionnaires. Keywords: Mental health disorders, Career choice, Internal preparedness, External preparedness. Introduction In order to succeed in a knowledge-based society and economy, a person must be able to learn in different ways all his life and effectively adapt to changing situations (Schools for the 21 st century, 2007). Such requirements to the individual are also raised by the situation in labor market of Latvia and European Union, because in the information society, peoples skills and knowledge play a crucial role in achieving a high standard of living. It is important to guarantee the acquisition of proper professional skills, learning and preparation for successful participation in labor market. (Education development concept for 2007.-2013) The real situation shows that time limit restricts school graduates while choosing the next level of education, which will determine their future career, so schools are often chosen in last minute, thus making an inadequate decision. Students lack knowledge of the labor market, places of employment, education institutions, and restrictions of particular professions. Students with mental health problems learn in boarding schools. They mostly come from social risk families or are orphans. They have poorly developed social skills, problems with communication, inadequate self-evaluation and deficient awareness of their abilities and knowledge. Therefore it is important to provide them with appropriate structured information and advice which will motivate them to choose education and occupation according to their own wishes and abilities. The aim of the article is to analyze characterizing factors of internal and external career choice readiness of learners with mental health problems and to study the results of questionnaires. 177