Adolescent Career Development Research Articles

Career Development in Adolescence: Some Conceptual and Intervention Issues

Vocational Guidance QuarterlyVolume 34, Issue 4 p. 247-254 Career Development in Adolescence: Some Conceptual and Intervention Issues FRED W. VONDRACEK, FRED W. VONDRACEK Fred W. Vondracek is an associate professor of human development, and John E. Schulenberg is a doctoral candidate in individual and family studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Search for more papers by this authorJOHN E. SCHULENBERG, JOHN E. SCHULENBERG Fred W. Vondracek is an associate professor of human development, and John E. Schulenberg is a doctoral candidate in individual and family studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Search for more papers by this author FRED W. VONDRACEK, FRED W. VONDRACEK Fred W. Vondracek is an associate professor of human development, and John E. Schulenberg is a doctoral candidate in individual and family studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Search for more papers by this authorJOHN E. SCHULENBERG, JOHN E. SCHULENBERG Fred W. Vondracek is an associate professor of human development, and John E. Schulenberg is a doctoral candidate in individual and family studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Search for more papers by this author First published: June 1986 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-585X.1986.tb00860.xCitations: 8 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume34, Issue4June 1986Pages 247-254 RelatedInformation

Reviews: E.F. Biller (1985). Understanding and Guiding the Career Development of Adolescents and Young Adults with Learning Disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas

Reviews: E.F. Biller (1985). Understanding and Guiding the Career Development of Adolescents and Young Adults with Learning Disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas

Career development of adolescents: An ecological perspective

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of human development is used as a framework for examining the research on the career development of adolescents. The examination of the four contexts - the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem - provides an additionalperspective to the ontogenic (individual) approach that has predominated the research literature in this field. Among the four contexts examined, some research on the influence of microsystem, including family, school,peer group, and workplace is identified. The amount of developmentally based research drops off quickly for the other systems, although there are other pertinent research and social issues for each system. Research and intervention implications of this perspective are indicated.

Student characteristics and motivational and process factors in relation to styles of career development

In this study student background characteristics and certain personological characteristics, including motivations for schooling and types of learning strategies employed, are investigated in relation to affective and cognitive aspects of adolescent career development. A Career Development Inventory, Learning Process Questionnaire, Word Knowledge test and General Information Questionnaire (addressing demographic and career decision-making topics) were administered to national random samples of 14-year-old and grade 11 students. Canonical correlation analyses distinguished at least three styles of career development (possibly four), and associations with student characteristics suggested the motives and strategies that might plausibly enter into the various modes.

The Black Female Adolescent: A Review of the Educational, Career and Psychological Literature

This article presents a basic overview of the literature on the educational, career, and psychological development of black female adolescents. Adolescence is defined primarily in terms of individuals' attempts to deal effectively with life developmental tasks. As such, adolescence is viewed as that broad period covering the ages of 12 to 21. Emphasis is placed, however, on the early and mid-stages of adolescent development. Comparisons and contrasts are made regarding the development of black female, black male, white male, and white female adolescents.

Dimensions of adolescent career development: A multi-instrument analysis

Dimensions of adolescent career development were assessed by several well-established, objectively scored instruments. Attention was given to the correlations between measures of academic achievement and career development. Correlations among 19 scales administered to 237 eleventh graders revealed three clusters of converging scale pairs, labeled “Certainty,” “Decision-Making,” and “Activity.” Four orthogonal factors were identified and given the following heuristic labels: “Cognitive Resources for Decision-Making,” “Decision-Making Style,” “Systematic Involvement in Career Decision-Making,” and “Decision-Making Stage/Certainty.” Results are discussed in relation to practical problems of instrument selection and score interpretation and in the context of theories of adolescent career development.

Career development in adulthood: Some theoretical problems and a possible solution

Abstract The use of the concept of ‘vocational maturity’ in describing adult career attitudes and competences is considered. Its origins in the study of adolescent career development is described, and its extension to the description of adult workers is discussed. It is argued that the developmental model implied by the term may not be appropriate in an adult context. ‘Career adaptability’ is proposed as an alternative, stressing more appropriately the interplay between the individual and the environment. Some implications for practice are considered.

Career development in adulthood: Some theoretical problems and a possible solution

Abstract The use of the concept of ‘vocational maturity’ in describing adult career attitudes and competences is considered. Its origins in the study of adolescent career development is described, and its extension to the description of adult workers is discussed. It is argued that the developmental model implied by the term may not be appropriate in an adult context. ‘Career adaptability’ is proposed as an alternative, stressing more appropriately the interplay between the individual and the environment. Some implications for practice are considered.

Occupational knowledge and career development in adolescence

In an effort to extend our knowledge of career development, two indices of career maturity were investigated in a sample of 6029 high school seniors sampled from 57 Texas public school districts. The study investigated both the degree to which late adolescents choose occupations whose educational requirements match their stated educational goals and the degree to which students' vocational interests are compatible with their occupational choices. The correlations between educational plans and educational requirements of the chosen occupations were .41 or less. Of the subjects who claimed to have at least considerable understanding of their first choice career, only about half planned to achieve the amount of education appropriate to enter that occupation. Subjects' perceptions of how well they understood their occupational choices were also negligibly related to the compatibility of their vocational interests and their career choices. Although educational understanding and interest compatibility both contribute to realism of occupational choices, the correlation between these two indices of career maturity accounted for less than 1% of the variance.