Transforming identities and co-constructing careers of career counselors

Abstract

Career construction theory (CCT) provides a compelling framework for making sense of the turbulent landscapes in which career transitions take place and a practical tool to facilitate individual adaptation to change. However, the career development and support needs of career counselors in the integration of this theory into their own career development, alongside their practice with clients, are overlooked. Here, the focus is on supporting the continuing professional development of career counselors for the enhancement of career counseling practice, through the provision of an open access online learning program about the changing world of work, with facilitation of dialogue and reflection. The adaptive responses of an international group of participants facing challenges of identity transformation in the workplace, which emerged as they worked through the online learning resource, are examined. Four hundred and two international participants registered, with 86 actively engaging in the online course, with content analysis of their online dialogue providing insight into the processes of psycho-social adaptation to the career-related challenges they faced. The learning design and course delivery were underpinned by a theory of professional identity transformation (PIT), with a commitment to supporting participants both individually and collectively to shape their evolving roles and identities in ways compatible with their life themes. In order to progress toward that goal, processes of co-construction, also central to career construction theory, emerged strongly from the content analysis of data.