Career Development Theory Research Articles

Donald Super's Contribution to Career Guidance and Counselling in Japan

Dr Donald Super's contributions to career guidance and counselling in Japan are summarised within the framework of his career development theory from 1960 to 1990. The first part is related to the theoretical frame of reference of career guidance in the secondary school. The second is focused on developing a theoretical and practical basis for career counselling for the adult population. It is concluded that the importance of his approach has increased in the changing Japanese society.

Subjective quality of leisure & worker well-being: Validating measures & testing theory

For many workers, leisure is a highly valued part of life. Yet, workers' leisure experiences have largely been overlooked in the career development and work-life literatures. This paper addresses the question of when workers' leisure experiences—and compatibility between work and leisure roles—are important for workers' overall subjective well-being (SWB). We draw on Super's life-span, life-space theory of career development to posit that the subjective quality of workers' leisure experiences—and lack of conflict between work and leisure roles—is important for SWB, especially when leisure roles are highly salient relative to other roles. In three studies, we develop and validate scales to measure the subjective quality of leisure (i.e., leisure affect and leisure satisfaction) and test our hypotheses using a heterogeneous sample of working adults. Results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of our new measures and suggest that the subjective quality of workers' leisure experiences influence workers' overall SWB beyond the effects of the subjective quality of job and family experiences—often regardless of levels of relative leisure role salience. However, work-leisure conflict does not appear to substantially influence overall SWB beyond the effects of work-family conflict, even when relative leisure role salience is high. We discuss implications for the career development and work-life literatures.

A Theory for Everything? Is a Knowledge of Career Development Theory Necessary to Understand Career Decision Making?

Career decisions are complex ones. Whether clients plan their career in a systematic way, carefully considering their options and making an informed choice or build their careers their own way seizing opportunities, taking chances and profiting from chance and serendipity, career guidance professionals need a least a cursory knowledge of career development theory to adequately understand these decisions. As practitioners, we do not work with homogenised groups, we work with individuals with varying levels of internal and external constraints on career choice. Career decisions are not always made in a considered and informed way. Evidence from Brimrose (2006) suggest that only 25% of the population use a strategic or rational approach to career decision making. In fact, Gladwell (2005) suggests intuitive decision making may be more effective. As Mitchell (2003) attests careers are seldom planned but are often developed by being aware of and acting on the landmarks that appear on the way (Mitchell, 2003, p.4). This dichotomy has led to certain amount of ambivalence to career theory from practitioners. Kidd, et al, (1994) found that practitioners were virtually unanimous in their dismissal of the value of theories of guidanceit was frequently described as airy-fairy or wooly (Kidd, et al, 1994, p.391). Closs (2001) argues that practitioners should focus on meeting the needs of clients and not concern themselves with theory. While development theory can attempt to explain the past experiences, quantifying chance and clients ability to profit from it, is more difficult. However, an understanding of career development theory can help us adapt our professional practice to individual need.

PROPOSALS FOR STRATEGIES IN THE CURRICULA OF TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES

<p>Into the past 20 years, in Romania is registered a continuous decrease of the birth rate. At this problem it has to be added the youth wish to work in economics and laws systems, where the length of time study is smaller (only 3 years), gaining the possibility to own rapidly a salary. In those conditions, technical universities have to challenge greater provocations. The paper propose a solution, partially applied in “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacau, to solve some of these new problems using a few solutions such as: “virtual” higher education and distance learning methods in order to achieve as much as is possible from the goals presented in known theories of career development. In the mean time, the strategy of the staff is presented, to make the university attractive for the youth, in order to continue the educational activity and to form better and better qualified specialists, able to face the new techniques technologies in manufacturing and product analysis. A model of curricula for the first two academic years in technical high schools is proposed.</p>

Preferred careers of senior high school students in Ghana: a revisit of Holland’s career development theory

The study investigated the preferred careers of senior high school (S.H.S) students in Ghana using Holland’s classification of work environments. The participants comprised 364 SHS students who were selected from four senior high schools in Koforidua through the use of multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analysed with the use of frequencies, percentages and rank order. The findings of the study showed that Social careers prevailed as the most preferred among SHS students in Ghana. Artistic careers were ranked second, followed by Conventional and Enterprising careers respectively. Investigative careers were the least in rank order. The implications for counselling for these findings were emphasised.

Theories of Career Development: Educational and Counseling Implications

Career Development is a continuous lifelong process of developmental experiences that focuses on seeking, obtaining and processing information about self, occupational and educational alternatives, life styles and role options. Put another way, career development is the process through which people come to understand them as they relate to the world of work and their role in it. This career development process is where an individual fashions a work identity. In educational development, career development provides a person, often a student, and focus for selecting a career or subject to undertake in the future. Educational institutions provide career counsellors to assist students with their educational development. It is imperative when educating the young people that the current school systems assist and consider the significance of this responsibility for the youth and their future. The influences on and outcomes of career development are one aspect of socialization as part of a broader process of human development. Theories and research describing career behavior provide the “conceptual glue” for as well as describe where, when and for what purpose career counseling, career education, career guidance and other career interventions should be implemented. In educational development, career development provides a person, often a student, and focus for selecting a career or subject to undertake in the future. Educational institutions provide career counsellors to assist students with their educational development. The current paper will focus on the various theories related to career development and their educational implications.

Positive Psychological Factors of Career Development among Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy, confidence and exploration factors of career development among undergraduate students. Also, it was hypothesized that Gender, Education status, Nature of study, Type of family would make significant differences in career self-efficacy, career confidence and career exploration. The study was conducted on 194 undergraduate students by the direct administration of career self-efficacy scale, the scale of career confidence, the scale of career exploration behavior-short form and personal information form. Among them 134 were males and 60 were females. The data were subjected to Karl Pearson’s product moment correlation and one way ANOVA. The result revealed significant positive relationship among self-efficacy, confidence and exploration factors of career development and significant demographic difference in these variables among the undergraduate students. Female undergraduate students were found to have more career self-efficacy, confidence, career exploration behaviors than male undergraduate students. Undergraduate students without arrears are found to have more career self-efficacy and self-confidence than students with arrears. Career exploration behavior does not significantly differ between students without arrears and with arrears. The hosteller undergraduate students were found to have more career self-efficacy and career exploration behavior than the day scholar undergraduate students. Career confidence does not significantly differ between hostellers and day scholars. Students of nuclear family have more career self-efficacy than joint family undergraduate students. The results are interpreted based on the career development theories.

Choice of Academic Major at a Public Research University: The Role of Gender and Self-Efficacy

Females are underrepresented in certain disciplines, which translates into their having less promising career outlooks and lower earnings. This study examines the effects of socio-economic status, academic performance, high school curriculum and involvement in extra-curricular activities, as well as self-efficacy for academic achievement on choices of academic disciplines by males and females. Disciplines are classified based on Holland’s theory of personality-based career development. Different models for categorical outcome variables are compared including: multinomial logit, nested logit, and mixed logit. Based on the findings presented here, first generation status leads to a greater likelihood of choosing engineering careers for males but not for females. Financial difficulties have a greater effect on selecting scientific fields than engineering fields by females. The opposite is true for males. Passing grades in calculus, quantitative test scores, and years of mathematics in high school as well as self-ratings of abilities to analyze quantitative problems and to use computing are positively associated with choice of engineering fields.

Applying the Chaos Theory of Careers as a Framework for College Career Centers

The chaos theory of careers (CTC; Pryor & Bright, ) has emerged as a career development theory to describe the reality of career development and account for the changing nature of work in the 21st century. Integrating CTC into a coherent framework accessible to practitioners is an ongoing process. In recent years, CTC has gained traction within some college career centers. Although techniques and interventions have been discussed to address some of the primary issues, no overarching framework has been conceptualized. This article proposes a model to conceptualize CTC in an accessible framework for college career centers, students, and beyond.

Vale Emeritus Professor Audrey Collin: A tribute

This special tribute to Emeritus Professor Audrey Collin has a particular Australian flavour as her work has had a significant influence on a number of Australian researchers and thinkers. However, it is a mark of her influence that she has worked intensively with colleagues from around the world and has had a strong influence across a number of areas of career development, in particular career development theory.

"Women ""Sensemaking"" Organizations and Their Careers: A Qualitative Study of Women's Engineers"

Current theories of career development (CD) do not adequately address women whose careers develop differently than men’s (Sullivan & Arthur, 2006). While women’s workforce participation rates indic...

Career development within the context of the South African National Qualifications Framework

This article presents a descriptive account of the national approach to career development that is being introduced in South Africa through the establishment of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and Career Advice Service by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the Department of Higher Education and Training. The article attempts to reflect on the approach followed by arguing for the recognition of the underlying career development theory and also by inviting constructive engagement from both the South African and international career development community. By recognising the emerging (also referred to as qualitative) approach to career counselling that is gaining favour in the international context, the article explores the influences on this emerging South African career counselling model. In particular, consideration is given to the important influence on the model through learnings from a career counselling centre established in the 1970s during the apartheid era, similar developments in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, as well as the findings of a comprehensive review of the career counselling landscape commissioned by SAQA in 2009 (Flederman 2009). The unique association of the national approach to career counselling with the South African NQF is put forward as a distinguishing factor with significant potential that needs to be further exploited.

Viewing Adolescents' Career Futures Through the Lenses of Socioeconomic Status and Social Class

This study examined socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived social class as predictors of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations in a sample of 100 high school students from 2 midwestern high schools. SES was measured using caregivers' occupation and education, and subjective social status was assessed using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status–Youth Version (Goodman et al., SES and perceived social class made independent contributions to educational aspirations, whereas SES made an independent contribution to occupational aspirations and expectations. The authors discuss the importance of SES and social class in career development theory and research and provide practical implications based on the present findings. Overall, this study highlights the importance of measuring SES and social class as distinct constructs and the need for future work to identify the unique impacts of these variables.

Career Counseling and Family Therapy

Mark Savickas, PhD, has taught career counseling at Kent State University for 40 years while also serving as a professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University. His 80 articles, 45 book chapters, and 500 presentations to professional groups have dealt with vocational behavior and career counseling. He published Career Counseling (2011) and edited Convergence in Career Development Theories (1994 with R. Lent), Handbook of Career Counseling Theory and Practice (1996 with B. Walsh), Vocational Interests (1999 with A. Spokane), the Handbook of Vocational Psychology (2005 with B. Walsh) and the four-volume Major Works in Career Studies (2012 with K. Inkson). An interview with Mark Savickas, PhD, relating to his contributions career counseling revealed many connections between career and family counseling, including the how career concerns are a part of the family constellation. The interview examined the evolution of the career construction interview and similarities in the narrative processes that serve as a foundation for the theory.

Exploring the work lives of adults with serious mental illness from a vocational psychology perspective.

Current vocational services for adults with serious mental illness remain largely atheoretical and disconnected from mainstream vocational psychology research and practice. This study explored the perspectives on work of adults with serious mental illness, compared perspectives of young and older adults, and assessed these perspectives for the applicability of a well-established theory of vocational psychology. A national sample of 76 individuals with mental illness engaged in the workforce completed a semistructured questionnaire. We applied the principles of a participatory approach to consensual qualitative research methodology in the study design and data analysis. Results yielded a large number of categories, which clustered under domains representative of the primary constructs of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, 2013). These domains included the antecedents of self-efficacy, namely, personal accomplishments, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physical or emotional states as well as additional constructs of outcome expectations, personal goals, and contextual barriers. The SCCT model will likely provide a useful framework to bridge the gap between career development theory and vocational services for individuals with mental illness.

Living, working and earning for people with disabilities in Australia

The purpose of this article is to consider the extent to which disabilities are likely to affect the length of a career and earnings potential. The net worklife expectancy for persons with a profound, severe, moderate or mild disability in Australia was determined. This was compared this to those with no disability. Tables for five-year age groups to age 65 are produced for males and females. There is a marked theoretical reduction of worklife capacity at all levels of disability and across every age group. The net effect of restricted vocational potential is likely to be a reduced worklife and diminished earnings for those with disabilities. This finding is considered in the light of current career development theory and practice.

The Systems Theory Framework of career development: 20 years of contribution to theory and practice

The development and sustained contribution of the Systems Theory Framework to career development theory and practice is well documented in national and international literatures. In addition to its contribution to theory integration, it has added to the growing literature on connecting career theory and practice, in particular for non-Western populations. In addition, it has been the basis of the development of a broad array of constructivist approaches to career counselling, and indeed specific reflective career assessment activities. This article begins with a brief history of the Systems Theory Framework which is then followed by a rationale for its development. The contribution of the Systems Theory Framework to theory and practice is then described prior to concluding comments by the authors.

Theoretical Paper Positive psychology: A movement to reintegrate career counselling within counselling psychology?

Content & FocusIn the UK career counselling has tended to evolve separately from the counselling psychology profession. Elsewhere, notably in North America, counselling psychology does embrace career issues. This paper explores the contested boundaries between career and therapeutic work, and identifies positive psychology as a movement that transcends the divide. There is potential for positive psychology to reintegrate a career focus into counselling psychology.ConclusionsAlthough it does not provide a general theory of career choice and development, positive psychology has resonance with career counselling. It provides a rigorous conceptual and empirical foundation linking vocation to wellbeing. An evidence-based career counselling is beginning to emerge. Positive psychology presents a challenge to the current boundaries of the UK counselling psychology profession by demanding a holistic view of well-being that encompasses work and career.

Career adaptability and perceived overqualification: Testing a dual-path model among Chinese human resource management professionals

Based on career construction theory, the current research examined the relationship between career adaptability and perceived overqualification among a sample of Chinese human resource management professionals (N=220). The results of a survey study showed that career adaptability predicted perceived overqualification through a dual-path model: On the one hand, career adaptability positively predicted employees' perceived delegation, which had a subsequent negative effect on perceived overqualification. At the same time, career adaptability also positively predicted career anchor in challenge, which in turn positively predicted overqualification. This dual-path mediation model provides a novel perspective to understand the mechanisms through which career adaptability affects perceived overqualification, and demonstrates the coexistence of opposite effects in this process. In addition, the results also showed that the effects of perceived delegation and career anchor in challenge on perceived overqualification were stronger among employees with a higher (vs. lower) level of organizational tenure. These findings carry implications for both career development theories and organizational management practices.

An intersectionality and hope-based career development model for female international marriage immigrants in Korea

Since the late 1990s, Korea has been experiencing a trend of international immigration with a dramatic increase in international females moving primarily from less-developed southeast Asian countries to marry Korean men. This growth in marriage immigrants has resulted in social and cultural change, and a diverse workplace. Appropriate career development models or theories for this population are lacking. Such a model or theory is needed to reflect their burdens when it comes to career development. The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual model of career development for female international marriage immigrants to Korea through the use of intersectionality and hope theory. Particularly, an individual’s positive psychological perspective based on hope theory was emphasized. The resultant model may also apply to other developed countries in southeast Asia.