Careers Work Research Articles

The future of careers-work professionalism: Fears and hopes

Careers work professionalism is a personal commitment framed by an institutional policy. Without the institutional, the commitment is unsupported; without the commitment, the policy is futile. But no professionalism is given once-and-for-all. It is an attribution: meaning what different people say it means – at different times, in different settings, and from different perspectives. The meanings attributed to careers-work professionalism are all contestable. The article probes those dissonances, examining the issues they raise for our credibility, expertise, connectedness and independence. Their resolution has consequences for the public face of careers work, the partnerships we make, stakeholders we consult, research we undertake, developments we create, funding we negotiate and colleagues we attract. We have had too many temporary postponements of fear, we need a sustainable basis for hope.

Sharing experience of careers work in different settings

What do the practices of career support given to individuals in various settings have in common? Whether labelled career advice, career education, career guidance, career counselling, career coaching or career development, what are the differences between them? The answers to these questions could throw new light on practice in the career field and suggest ways to enrich it. However, the relative lack of contact between career professionals working in different settings – such as schools, colleges, higher education, public employment services, the voluntary sector, private-sector career services and the workplace – gives little opportunity to address these questions. We therefore propose that practitioners from a variety of settings should engage in dialogue; and, importantly, that researchers should also take part in this dialogue, and help to stimulate and disseminate learning widely across the whole career field.

The social web and careers work

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Future Law Enforcement Officers and Social Workers: Perceptions of Domestic Violence

This study compares perceptions of domestic violence for college students planning to work in law enforcement with students aspiring to careers in social work and non-law-enforcement criminal justice (N = 491). The study involves students attending four public universities across one Southern state who completed a survey (spring of 2006) measuring whether various scenarios were (1) related to domestic violence, and (2) worthy of being reported to law enforcement. Findings indicate that all student groups (law enforcement, non-law-enforcement criminal justice, and social work) tended to identify the various scenarios as domestic violence (and worthy of being reported) regardless of the person's sexual orientation, violence severity, and offender's or victim's gender. However, law enforcement students are less sensitive to domestic violence when compared with social work and non-law enforcement criminal justice students. Findings reveal that (1) graduate students, (2) female students, and (3) White students (compared with African American students in general) attending majority White universities were more likely to identify domestic violence and its worthiness of being reported.The data in this study indicate that criminal justice programs produce graduates who are reasonably sensitive toward the importance of appropriate domestic violence response but could still improve using the techniques employed within social work programs.

Review: Armies of Peace

ARMIES OF PEACE Canada and the UNRRA Years Susan Armstrong- Reid and David Murray Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 482pp. $65.00 cloth (ISBN 9780-8020-9321-9)Between 1943 and 1947, hundreds of Canadians from all walks of life went to work for the United Nations relief and rehabilitation administration (UNRRA), an obscure international agency established by the allies in November 1943 to aid victims of the Second World War. As Susan ArmstrongReid and David Murray explain in their new book, Armies of Peace: Canada and the UNRRA Years, the organization aimed to prevent a replay of the economic and political catastrophes that destabilized the international system after the First World War. By helping refugees, fighting epidemics, and providing food and assistance at no charge to countries under axis occupation, the agency's architects believed UNRRA would hasten political and economic recovery and lay the foundations for a multilateral trading system. Together, they hoped these efforts would prevent a recurrence of the devastating economic depressions and wars endemic to the first half of the 20th century.Armstrong-Reid and Murray have attempted the first investigation of Canada's participation in this Herculean effort. Using a wide variety of sources from Canadian and international archives as well as the personal papers of key participants, the authors explore Canada's diplomacy and economic policies vis-a-vis UNRRA. The work also examines the role that individual Canadians played in the organization's operations: most of the book actually consists of colourful vignettes of Canadians who worked for the agency in various corners of the globe as administrators, medical specialists, social workers, supply officers, and nurses. The work concludes with an explication of the government's attitude towards UNRRA's dissolution, and a discussion of the postwar activities of the individuals who worked for the agency in Canadian national and international life.While this work offers much insight into the evidence it presents, readers looking for an overarching thesis or argument will be hard pressed to find one. For better or worse, the book is largely anecdotal, and may have benefited from more discipline, contextualization, and criticism. Some readers may also find problems with the book's method of focusing on a nationstate to tell the story of an international organization. Still, these issues do not take away from the exceptional nature of these authors' findings, which are the result of years of research and hard work. Armstrong-Reid and Murray have exposed many of the most intractable problems faced by international agencies, and they have rescued the heart-wrenching stories of many individual Canadians, such as Elizabeth Brown, who in spite of Zionist threats risked her life to repatriate Jewish refugees to Europe from Palestine, and Margaret Kilpatrick, who removed children from German homes to return them to their biological parents.These stories will be useful for scholars, foreign policy practitioners, and individuals pursuing careers in humanitarian aid work. For one thing, they reveal many of the personality traits that distinguish the successful international aid worker from the unsuccessful one: fortitude, resourcefulness, independence, adaptability, and humility. They tell us that these Canadians were usually highly educated humanitarians with a penchant for adventure; more often than not, they were women eager to escape the confines of a male- dominated society. Their experiences, we also learn, shaped the postwar world. Many of these Canadians devoted their careers to international aid work, manning the ranks of a panoply of new UN agencies: IRO, FAO, WHO, UNESCO, and UNICEF. Others sought to change Canada's immigration laws and reform its welfare, social, and medical systems as educators and activists.Historians and other scholars may be disturbed that these facts too often become ends unto themselves. …

Walking the e-walk: Lifelong learning for all

In 2005 the Centre for Career and Personal Development at Canterbury Christ Church University designed a Certificate in Careers Education and Guidance course delivered by e-learning. The course is aimed at people involved in careers work in schools, many of whom are qualified teachers, and it began in October of that year. This paper will present an evaluation study of the experiences of one group of students who completed the course that year. It will begin with a discussion of the rationale for the course itself and its design in relation to the theory and practice of e-learning and continuing professional development. This will be followed by a critique of the qualitative methodology of the study and an analysis of the data gathered. It will conclude with recommendations for schools and others involved in education who may wish to encourage their staff to engage in CPD through e-learning, and for universities who may wish to develop such provision.

Juvenile Delinquency, the Juvenile Courts and the Settlement Movement 1908-1950: Basil Henriques and Toynbee Hall

This article explores the relationship between the voluntary sector and the juvenile courts in the period c.1908-1950. It specifically examines the relationship between the settlement movement and the early juvenile courts by analysing the Inner London Juvenile Court, which sat at Toynbee Hall in the East End of London between 1929 and 1953. The settlements, which brought young graduates to deprived urban areas to undertake voluntary social work, were heavily involved in boys' clubs. Many of those who began their careers in settlement youth work went on to work with the early juvenile courts, viewing their experience in clubs as a vital foundation for this work. This article focuses on Basil Henriques, a former resident of Toynbee Hall, warden of the Bernhard Baron Settlement in Stepney and magistrate at the Inner London Juvenile Court, and his 1950 book, Indiscretions of a Magistrate. It concludes that, by critically examining Basil Henriques and Indiscretions, it is possible to begin to fully explore the discourses around citizenship, gender, class and race that informed the views and practices of juvenile court magistrates in the period in which the voluntary sector and the welfare state underwent profound change.

Asian Social Workers' Perceptions of Glass Ceiling, Organizational Fairness and Career Prospects

This study examined the glass ceiling phenomenon and its effects on Asian Americans' careers in social work. A model was tested that explored utilizing a national sample of 192 Asian American social workers. Structural equation modeling techniques were employed to evaluate the adequacy of the proposed model's appropriateness to the collected data. Results indicated that the model successfully explained the glass ceiling phenomenon and organizational fairness as mediating variables. This study adds to the literature by investigating the theoretical and observed (or not observed) link between the glass ceiling literature and social justice theory. Recommendations for further study are highlighted along with the call for theory development and empirical work on race and ethnic differences as they relate to organizational behavior, with special attention to the effects of ethnicity and gender.

Integrating Educational Careers in Work and Family

Educational careers are shaped by both work and family roles. This study compares middle-class dual-earner couples in which wives were currently returned to school (N = 124) with couples in which the wives had never returned to school (N = 866). These data are combined with additional in-depth interviews with 24 women who returned to school. Our life course perspective highlights why working women return to school, the resistance they experience in redefining family roles, and outcomes on family and marital satisfaction. Gendered family adaptive strategies, made earlier in the life course, are associated with the decisions to return to school and the negative impact this decision has on family life quality.

A Mirror? A Rainbow? A Check? A Map?

This paper discusses the context of supervision for career practitioners in New Zealand. It examines different ways in which supervision in careers work can be viewed and explores some current frameworks and approaches. The concept of multiple metaphors as a way of describing career supervision is used as an integrating theme for viewing approaches to supervision for career practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Women and the Scottish Clerks' Association: From Contempt to Collegiality

I This paper will trace the evolution of the attitudes expressed by the Scottish Clerks' Association (SCA) towards women in clerical work in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. For women trying to establish careers in office work it was necessary to be accepted as colleagues by men in organisations like the SCA. But, as Sylvia Walby noted, explanations of the increasing presence of women in clerical work in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century have emphasised the role of employers as the main actors in the feminisation of clerical work, while the resistance (or acceptance) by male clerks has been given less attention.' The evolution of the SCA's attitudes illustrates such resistance and then the growth of a kind of acceptance of women clerks in the early twentieth century; but this acceptance was within the context of male clerks' attempts to restructure their occupational group in order to preserve the better jobs for themselves. Clerical work as an occupation was ripe for restructuring due to the changes it was undergoing by the late nineteenth century. Earlier in that century, clerical work had been work mainly for men, in small offices, in close proximity to the owner of the firm. Men in clerical work would expect to support their families through that work, possibly to rise to become businessmen themselves, and to feel secure in their masculinity throughout their working lives. But by the end of the nineteenth century, the intimate, secure, small offices so often portrayed by Dickens were changing dramatically. Expanding enterprises in large-scale manufacturing, finance and transport required much larger offices and many more clerks than Dombey or Scrooge ever required. Even in small enterprises, increasing competitive pressures prompted greater attention to business decisions like costing and purchasing, and thus more thorough and careful record keeping and reporting were needed. In addition, a greater interest by the state in profitability and employment also created the need for increased record keeping and reporting. All of

Dual Diagnosis: An Integrated Approach to Treatment

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewsFull AccessDual Diagnosis: An Integrated Approach to TreatmentRobert E. Drake, M.D., Ph.DRobert E. DrakeSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.DPublished Online:8 Oct 2014https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.53.10.1334AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Amid several recently published books on integrated treatment for persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders, or dual diagnosis, this small volume aims for a unique niche: the health care professional early in training as a student. The authors are all academic social workers, and together they bring a wealth of clinical, supervisory, and teaching experience to the task.Compared with other recent books of the genre, this contribution has a number of strengths. As opposed to edited volumes, it has a consistent style and quality. The authors provide realistic examples and address them in the context of three relevant perspectives: the biopsychosocial model, a problem-solving approach, and a stage-wise approach to behavioral change. The major psychiatric diagnoses are discussed in separate chapters that begin with basic definitions and progress to provide clinically rich comments.Consistent with the authors' backgrounds, the book emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, of working with clients' strengths and environments rather than overemphasizing psychopathology, and of attending to cultural issues. My favorite aspect of the book is the modest clinical wisdom that inheres in each chapter. These authors clearly understand that recovery from dual disorders is a complicated journey that requires time, courage, personal growth, and appreciation of individual and environmental diversity. Clients need supports, skills, and guidance throughout the journey, and these authors are clinician-guides who respect both the process and the travelers.The book also has a few weaknesses. Minimal attention is given to research, and no real differentiation is made between guidelines that are evidence based and those that are based on clinical wisdom or theory. There is also minimal coverage of pharmacological interventions and essentially no attention to the medical consequences of the use of alcohol and other drugs. These problems probably diminish the book's appropriateness for clinical researchers and for psychiatrists in training.Nevertheless, students aiming toward careers in case management, counseling, or social work will find this an exciting introduction to a rich and rapidly developing field. They will not find a better balance of basic information, excellent clinical material, and well-articulated theory.Dr. Drake is professor of psychiatry at Dartmout Medical School and director of the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center in Lebanon, New Hampshireby Ted R. Watkins, Ara Lewellen, and Marjie C. Barrett; Thousand Oaks, California, Sage Publications, 262 pages, $30.95, softcover FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byJournal of Dual Diagnosis, Vol. 13, No. 4 Volume 53Issue 10 October 2002Pages 1334-1334 Metrics PDF download History Published online 8 October 2014 Published in print 1 October 2002

Receptivity to Careers in International Work—Abroad and at Home

More employees now have careers in international work (i.e. across countries) than before, some abroad but increasingly more in domestic jobs with international responsibilities (DJIRs). Theory has not caught up with these trends. This paper uses constructs from social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to propose explanations of how interest develops in careers in international work abroad and at home, contrasting explanations for the two types of work.

Reprint. Careers in science information work

Reprint. Careers in science information work

Careers in science information work

Au Royaume-Uni, on prevoit une recrudescence de la demande en specialistes de l'information scientifique. Les types d'activites et de techniques requis pour cette profession different de ceux du bibliotecaire traditionnel, notamment dans la connaissance de domaines scientifiques et de langues etrangeres. La formation tient compte des evolutions de la profession. Divers types de carrieres, plus ou moins specialisees, sont envisageables, que ce soit dans l'industrie, le commerce, le gouvernement, la recherche ou l'universite. La provenance et la formation initiale des professionnels actuellement en place sont diverses mais une qualification universitaire specialisee est recommandee. La satisfaction professionnelle est elevee ; statuts et remunerations connaissent une hausse rapide.

Career Paths of Health Workers

This article presents an evaluation of an innovative, three-year graduate program to prepare workers from educationally disadvan-taged backgrounds for professional careers in social work in an urban health care system. It analyzes the contributions to the Social Work Health Careers Opportunity Program (SWHCOP) of a course designed to provide: an overview of health care issues and policies; beginning knowledge, values and skills for social work practice in health care; and an opportunity to acquire or strengthen skills for graduate education, including oral and written communications, problem-solving, and critical thinking. This article considers the practice, policy and teaching implications of such an educational program for increasing access to professional careers in social work for members of educationally disadvantaged communities.

“When I Grow Up I'd Like to Work in a Place Like This”: Museum Professionals' Narratives of Early Interest in Museums

ABSTRACTAs part of an exploratory research study, museum professionals were asked to share their stories about pivotal learning experiences in museums. Several offered personal narratives of how they first became interested in museums and started down the path toward careers in museum work, or had their imaginations opened to the possibility of broader life horizons. This group of stories seemed to be grounded in particularly vivid memories and frequently elicited strong emotions in the telling. The narratives are evidence of the impact of early museum experiences on people who later found their way into museum careers, and suggest avenues for further study of the roots of museum careers as well as other ways museums profoundly affect people's lives. The stories can also reveal to the teller, as well as to researchers and others, what stands out in their memories and the importance they assign to those memories. By attending to the thematic and emotional content of these narratives, both narrator and colleagues can find clues about where their beliefs and values really lie and, therefore, where their and the profession's time and resources might be most productively invested.

The Real World: Words and Things

The dysfunctional family that is American anthropology muddles on. A case in point: a much publicized forum on "public interest anthropology" at the 1998 American Anthropological Association meetings, concerned with demonstrating how anthropology can make a contribution to significant national policy debates, managed to avoid any reference whatsoever to applied anthropology. When challenged about this omission, one panelist explained helpfully that applied anthropologists, being of necessity "supplicants" in the marketplace, lacked the independence needed to play a useful role in policy debates. One might have thought that his applied colleagues-having spent their careers in work shaped by policy decisions—would be in a good position to comment on matters of public policy, but apparently not.

The Implications of BSW Students' Experiences with Danger in the Field Practicum

BSW students from eight social work programs were surveyed to determine the extent to which they had encountered danger in the field practicum. Approximately one-fifth of the respondents reported at least one incident in which they had been verbally or physically assaulted. An experience with danger had only a limited influence on students' career attitudes; however, their attitudes were influenced by their evaluations of how well their agency and school handled the incident. Particularly noteworthy were the findings that students who entered the field with heightened concerns for their safety as well as those who had been involved in riskier practice activities in the placement expressed greater discomfort about their future careers in social work, regardless of whether they had actually been assaulted.

What a Woman Ought to Be and to Do: Black Professional Women Workers during the Jim Crow Era

What a Woman Ought to Be and to Do: Black Professional Women Workers during the Jim Crow Era. By Stephanie J. Shaw. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Pp. xvi, 347. Foreword, preface, acknowledgment, introduction, conclusion, sources, appendices, notes, index. $47.50, cloth; $16.95, paper.) Stephanie Shaw's What a Woman Ought to Be and to Do Black Professional Women Workers during the Jim Crow Era makes a significant contribution to the study of African American and women's history. Focusing her research on approximately eighty black women who pursued careers in teaching, nursing, social work, and other professions, Shaw shows how African American communities empowered their daughters (and themselves) through child-rearing and educational practices designed to develop socially responsible individualism (p. 3). Women like Mary Church Terrell, Janie Porter Barrett, Angelina Grimke, Layle Lane, and Septima Poinsette Clark were encouraged to strive for individual achievement not just for its own sake, but so that they might reach positions of wealth or influence that would enable them to help others. Because assistance in gaining access to education and other advantages was often provided by outside their immediate families, black professional women were imbued with a sense of their duties to [their] race (p. 69). They knew they were expected to use the knowledge and skills they acquired to become community leaders and work to improve the lives of others who had not been so fortunate. As Clara Jones's grandfather told her before she left for college, You're going to get your education, and its [sic] not yours; you're doing it for your people (p. 38). Shaw's sample group encompasses three generations of women born between the 1850s and 1930s. The first two generations, she suggests, viewed their role within the traditional framework of the Progressive Era: shaping working-class and poor into more acceptable members of society by encouraging them to adopt mainstream American values such as hard work, thrift, and sobriety. At the same time they often provided useful resources for black communities and helped establish institutions like schools, hospitals, and libraries where none had existed before. In the third generation Shaw perceives a shift toward a more militant attitude and a reconceptualization of the problems facing African Americans. In the 1930s and 1940s black professional women turned their attention away from the race to uplifting white society. …