Parents' Perceptions of Career Information Resources

This study examined parents' perceptions of sources of career information for their children. A nationally representative sample of parents of high school seniors indicated that persons working in the seniors' career fields of interest, school counselors, schools, books and magazines, and vocational schools and community colleges were viewed positively as career information resources. Implications for career development professionals are discussed.     

Career Development and School Success in Adolescents: The Role of Career Interventions

Using longitudinal survey data, the present study examined the effect of participation on career development skills in 6 career education experiences and school success among South Korean adolescents (2,473 young men, 2,132 young women; mean age = 15.86 years). Regression analyses indicated that students who participated in career education programs in school once or twice over a 2‐year period had the highest scores in both career development skills and school success. In contrast, there was no relationship between career education, career development skills, and school success for students who participated in career education programs only once or not at all. Results support the influence of career education interventions on students' career development skills and school success. This study provides accountability information on the effectiveness of career education interventions at South Korean secondary schools. The authors offer suggestions about more effective career interventions that can be applied in South Korean high schools.     

Career Needs of Chinese Middle School Students and Implications for School Guidance in the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is in the process of reforming its educational system, and career guidance is one of the innovative strategies being used to make the schools more accountable. For the past 4 years researchers from the University of Victoria (Canada) and East China Normal University (China) have been working on the development of career guidance materials for middle schools. This article examines the results of a career needs assessment of Chinese middle school children, their parents, and teachers by juxtaposing them with a North American (Canadian) sample.     

Contextual Factors Related to African American Adolescent Career Development

African American adolescents’ career development has gained increased attention in light of various barriers affecting their educational and career development goals. The author examined relationships among career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept of 104 African American high school students enrolled in Upward Bound programs. Participants responded to measures of career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept. Results indicated that career decision self‐efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with ethnic identity and academic self‐concept. In addition, academic self‐concept was found to be a stronger predictor of career decision self‐efficacy than was ethnic identity. The results of this study may assist counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents to understand career decision self‐efficacy as it relates to ethnic identity, academic self‐concept, and demographic variables. This research supports the need for continued career‐related interventions within the schools designed to focus on factors related to ethnic minorities to help foster their career development.     

Financial Planning Strategies of High School Seniors: Removing Barriers to Career Success

This study explored the postsecondary financial planning of graduating 12th graders as a barrier to educational and career decision making and success. Seniors planning on pursuing postsecondary education (N = 744) from 16 high schools completed an online survey measuring their plans for financing their postsecondary education. They also provided information regarding their academic achievement, motivation, certainty, and postsecondary goals and plans. Students clustered into 4 distinct financial planning strategy groups. These financial planning clusters were evident across a diverse sample of high schools. Almost half of all graduating 12th graders had limited financial planning strategies. Groupings and strategies employed by students were significantly related to career development theory and research. The critical role for career development services in promoting student success is discussed.     

Whereto Career Development and Counseling?

This article is a call for a greater focusing of theory building and counseling process invention for the career development programs of schools and social institutions.     

Improving Prediction of Significant Career‐Related Constructs for High School Students With Learning Disabilities

Preparing students with learning disabilities (LDs) to make the transition into the world of work is considered an essential preparation that high schools can provide. However, existing services are limited for career development preparation, and available programs rely on assessments normed for samples of students without LDs. This study examined the predictability of critical career‐related constructs of dysfunctional career thoughts, career maturity, and vocational identity in high school students with LDs, using a sample of 139 such students. Data analyses were performed using multiple regression and t tests. Results indicate that it is possible to predict important career constructs for students with LDs using standardized instruments, which can inform subsequent interventions.     

Self-Esteem,Vocational Identity,and Career Salience in High School Students

This study used Super's (1980) life span career development theory to investigate the relations between self-esteem level, vocational identity, and career salience in high school students. Two hundred fifty-one students were randomly selected from junior classes in urban, suburban, rural, and vocational schools. Results indicated that high self-esteem students scored significantly higher than low self-esteem students on vocational identity and career salience (participation, commitment, and values expectations) in school and home or family roles, but they did not differ on work, community, or leisure roles. Implications for life span career counseling are discussed.     

School Counselors Supporting African Immigrant Students' Career Development: A Case Study

School counselors play a critical role in preparing adolescent immigrant students to be college and career ready by attending to the complex variables that promote and inhibit career development. This article provides an illustrative case study of a Somali immigrant student's educational journey to highlight the academic and familial challenges that she encountered while attending U.S. schools. Through this case study, the authors discuss the issues immigrant high school students experience and present culturally responsive practices that school counselors can use to address career development. These culturally responsive practices include developing a strong knowledge of students’ backgrounds and cultures, designing small group interventions that are timely and sensitive to immigrant students’ needs, and strengthening school–family partnerships.     

Rural High School Youth's Access to and Use of School‐to‐Work Programs

Rural youth face numerous barriers that may limit career exposure. School‐to‐work (STW) programs are one tool used to increase exposure and facilitate connections between school and work. Using a nationally representative data set, the authors investigated whether rurality relates to the availability of STW programs and rural youth's program use. Results indicate that most schools provide school‐based services (e.g., career plans/career majors), but few schools offer work‐based services (e.g., internships). Rural schools were more likely to offer vocational–technical prep programs and job shadowing but were less likely to offer school‐based enterprise. After controlling for program availability, the authors found that rural students were less likely to take part in job shadowing and community service. Conclusions are offered for career development research, policy, and practice.     

The Institutional Development of Social Work Education

This overview traces the institutional development of social work education through its first century of existence, covering antecedents, early training schools, disparate philosophies, and repeated expansion. The discussion focuses on factors that have shaped the development of social work education, among them external funding, the career goals of students, and various internal tensions resulting from conflicting visions.     

Career Guidance in Singapore Schools

Career guidance in Singapore schools went through 3 stages of development. The focus in the 1st stage was on information‐giving. A curriculum approach was adopted in the 2nd stage when career education became part and parcel of the school curriculum. The 3rd stage saw the integration of career guidance with information technology and the shift of the role of the career teachers from “expert” to “facilitator.” To meet the challenges of the new millennium, there is a need to train professional career counselors, develop indigenous resource materials, and promote a new concept of career development among students.     

Parental Behaviors and Adolescents' Career Exploration

This study examines the influence of parental education and behaviors on adolescents' career exploration. The participants were 236 9th-grade students in German middle-track schools. The results indicated that parental authoritativeness, openness to adolescents' issues, and concern with promoting career exploration significantly related to the career exploration by their children, independent of parental educational background and adolescent gender.     

The Career Development Facilitator Project: Then and Now

The National Career Development Association (NCDA) has consistently been involved in the professional training of individuals who provide career development services for youth and adults. It has provided outstanding leadership in the field of career development. NCDA's impact on the training of professionals and paraprofessionals working in the career development field is evident in its support of the Career Development Facilitator (CDF) project and delivery of CDF training. This article provides a history of the CDF project, its development and expansion from national to international use, current developments in the project, and its impact on the careers of those involved.     

Kenneth B. Hoyt—Visionary,Statesperson, Leader,Activist

Kenneth B. Hoyt passed away on August 27, 2008. He leaves a comprehensive legacy of insights and initiatives about the relationship of education and work, the importance of career development as a mission of schools, and the role of school counselors in these important processes. This article reviews Dr. Hoyt's 50‐year‐long body of work.     

School counseling practices related to postsecondary STEM participation

This qualitative exploratory cross-case analysis analyzed the beliefs and practices of high school counselors related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academic advisement, postsecondary planning, and career participation. Interviews were conducted with high school counselors (N = 13) who were purposively sampled to represent a diversity of schools in terms of demographic variables. Findings indicated that high school counselors perceived that (a) sociocultural factors influenced student preparation for STEM, career planning, and decision making; (b) students’ STEM-related career goals and academic behaviors were sometimes misaligned, and academic advisement often mediated this tension; and (c) their professional STEM knowledge, beliefs, and practices were influenced by professional preparation, workplace characteristics, and their academic experiences. Implications include the need for early, sustained high school STEM counseling and academic advisement; accessible professional development in STEM preparation and careers to promote multiple pathways and reduce school counselor bias; and encouraging family involvement in STEM career decision making.     

Development of a Culturally Specific Career Exploration Group for Urban Chinese Immigrant Youth

A rapid increase in the number of Chinese immigrants and the specific challenges faced by low‐income Chinese immigrant youth attending urban schools warrant culturally sensitive school‐based interventions and services. However, research and services are limited for this population because of cultural biases in traditional career theories and the “model minority” myth suggesting that Asian students are excelling. The authors developed and implemented a culturally specific career exploration group for low‐income Chinese immigrant youth to address their career concerns with respect to multiple social and cultural factors and to provide social support. Implications for future program development and research are provided.     

Infusing Career Development to Strengthen Middle School English Language Arts Curricula

An approach is presented for strengthening middle school standards‐based English language arts (ELA) classroom instruction by infusing theory‐ and research‐supported career development constructs and practices. Over an 8‐week period, 90 urban 7th graders participated in an integrated ELA–career development curriculum. Career agency emerged as an important construct for students. It was related to key markers of ELA achievement (i.e., standardized test scores, grades, and positive change in 6th‐ to 7th‐grade test scores) and elaborated on in nuanced ways by students in their written narratives. Four themes related to career agency were identified in student writings: time perspective, challenges of self‐direction, career development, and social and emotional development. Advantages for students and schools related to synergy, scale, and sustainability are discussed.     

Current Status and Future Agenda for the Theory,Research, and Practice of Childhood Career Development

This article reviews the current status and a future agenda for childhood career development theory, research, and practice. The fragmented nature of the current state of the literature is noted, and a call is made for a reexamination and reconsideration of the childhood developmental pathways of life's work. It is suggested that the study of children's work behavior be rooted in life contexts, most notably, families, communities, and schools.