Emerging career development theories: a test for school counselors

Professional School Counseling, Oct, 2001 by Andrew V. Beale

School counselors are frequently called upon to help students with their career-related questions and concerns. When counselors begin to formulate plans for working with students, they most likely base their actions on their particular theory of career choice and development. Believing that theory directs practice, Sharf (1997) reminded counselors that, just as counseling theories provide a means for conceptualizing student problems, career development theories offer guidelines for assisting students to achieve their career goals. In addition, McDaniels and Gysbers (1992) noted that a knowledge of career development theory allows counselors to identify, understand, and respond to students' career questions in a systematic and timely fashion. Osipow and Fitzgerald (1996) insisted that counselors who work without a clearly conceptualized theoretical orientation would find it difficult to know what to do to be most helpful to students with career issues. Finally, Capuzzi and Gross (1997) confirmed that career counseling is closely related to personal counseling and requires the same basic competencies, including a thorough knowledge of career development theory.

While many school counselors may recall the theories of Donald Super (1953), John Holland (1959), and Anne Roe (1956) from their graduate school days, what about their knowledge of recent contributions to the career development theory literature? The decade of the '90s witnessed a renewed interest in career development theory with the emergence of several promising new approaches to career choice and development (Isaacson & Brown, 2000; Zunker, 1998). How current are you?

The following exercise is designed to assist you in assessing your knowledge of emerging theories of career choice and development. You will not need a pen or pencil to complete the exercise. Begin with question 1 and see how well you do. Be sure to follow the "Go to ..." instructions following each question; do not simply read the next paragraph. Hint: Once you complete the exercise, go back through it and deliberately give incorrect responses. Hopefully, this will allow you to learn even more.

Emerging Career Theories Questions (and Answers)

1. Based on the sociocognitive theory of Bandura (1986) and Krumboltz's (1979) social learning theory, an approach was introduced by Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994) and builds upon the assumption that cognitive factors play an important role in career decision making. Can you think of the name of this approach?

SCCT     Go to 12
RIASEC   Go to 6

2. Sorry, your information is faulty! This team, comprised of an economist, a psychiatrist, a sociologist, and a psychologist, is generally considered to be the first to approach a theory of occupational choice from a developmental standpoint (Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, & Herma, 1951). But, alas, that was 50 years ago! Let's learn more about CIP; move on to 8.

3. Sorry, you missed the plane (as in Trans World Airlines). Actually, TWA stands for the Theory of Work Adjustment (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984). This approach, which is now referred to as Person-Environment-Correspondence Counseling (Lofquist & Dawis, 1991), reflects the trait-and-factor tradition of the University of Minnesota. While this approach has gained wide-spread acceptance, it is not considered one of the newer emerging theories. Go back and try 8 again.

4. Oops! Your execution leaves something to be desired. This is step 5. Go back to 10 and see if you can identify the second step in the CASVE cycle.

5. The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) model or theory focuses on how individuals make career decisions and how they use information in career problem solving and decision making. This theory was introduced in a 1991 book entitled Career Development and Services: A Cognitive Approach. Who wrote this book?

Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, and Herma         Go to 2
Peterson, Sampson, and Reardon                 Go to 9

6. Wrong answer, but do not despair; a poor start often foretells a strong finish. Maybe you were daydreaming about a visit to the land of tulips and wooden shoes. In any event, you chose John Holland's six modal personality types (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional). Go back to 1 and try again. The odds favor your responding better this time.

7. Exactly! Valuing is that phase of the CASVE procedure that judges each alternative as to its likelihood of success and its impact on others. The five steps that comprise the CASVE cycle are communication (identify a need), analysis (placing problems in a conceptual framework), synthesis (formulating a course of action), valuing (prioritizing alternatives), and execution (implementing strategies). Sounds vaguely like the steps in Williamson's (1939, 1965) trait-and-factor counseling, doesn't it? Oh, well, stick with values as you proceed to a question on a career development model based on the importance of values in career decision making. Go to 19, please.

8. The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) model's perspective on career development is based on 10 basic assumptions. Using these assumptions as a focal point, school counselors provide students with a series of learning events designed to develop their processing skills. In this way, students develop capabilities as career problem solvers. The counselor's function is to identify the students' needs and to develop interventions aimed at helping them to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to satisfy those needs. Gary Peterson and his colleagues stress that career problem solving is primarily a cognitive process that can be improved through the utilization of a sequential process known as what?