Career Assessment and Counseling for STEM: A Critical Review

Career counselors must continually enhance their knowledge and skills to assist clients contemplating careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Therefore, the authors review STEM disciplines and theory‐driven strategies for assisting diverse individuals to explore, enter, and persist in STEM careers. Appropriate use of career assessments can contribute greatly to this effort. To identify available measures for STEM‐focused domains and constructs, the authors conducted a journal content analysis of stand‐alone STEM‐related career assessments from 1983 to 2016, identifying 39 articles with 153 measures. Notable results included the emergence of social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory as prevailing frameworks for instrument development, a wide variety of disciplines and journals represented, an underrepresentation of minority samples, and untapped potential for cross‐discipline and researcher–practitioner collaboration. Useful strategies and resources for counselors and recommendations for enhancing career assessments and interventions are addressed.     

Following the Rules? Candidate Strategy in Presidential Primaries*

Objectives. The competitiveness of the 2008 presidential primaries in both the Republican and Democratic parties has prompted a reconsideration of the role of delegate‐selection rules in influencing the strategic behavior of presidential candidates. Using advertising and candidate state‐visit data from the 2004 and 2008 presidential nominating campaigns, we reexamine the strategies presidential candidates use when competing for the nomination of their party. Methods. Using the Wisconsin Advertising Project Data from 2004 and 2008, we estimate several multiple regressions designed to analyze the factors predicting candidate visits and advertising. Results. We find that, to a large extent, the rules of the game help predict where candidates allocate their political advertising and campaign stops; candidates consider whether a contest is a primary or caucus, they pay attention to how many delegates are at stake, and they consider whether a state's delegate‐allocation method is largely proportional or winner take all. Yet we also find some differences in how the rules influence frontrunners and long‐shot candidates, and we discover how other factors, including a candidate's access to financial resources, influence the allocation of ads and visits. Conclusion. Our findings offer some of the first empirical evidence for the idea that a state's delegate‐allocation method influences candidates' resource‐allocation behavior. That these rules matter at all is somewhat of a surprise given that the delegate‐allocation methods used by states have become more homogenous within each party.     

Work‐to‐School Transitions in the Age of the Displaced Worker: A Psychology of Working Perspective

Frank Parsons (1909) founded the vocational guidance movement more than 100 years ago within the context of a shift from an agricultural to an industrial workplace. Today, globalization, workforce diversity, and the financial instability related to the Great Recession present numerous challenges to workers across the economic spectrum. In addition to highlighting Parsons's continued influence on career counseling practice, the authors draw on David Blustein's (2006) psychology of working to enhance the understanding of the needs of dislocated workers. Using case examples, the authors demonstrate how to incorporate insights from the psychology of working to address social justice, financial, relational, and self‐determination concerns among this vulnerable population. Counseling strategies for clients in transition, especially those considering educational options, are provided.     

Diverse Pathways of Psychology Majors: Vocational Interests,Self‐Efficacy,and Intentions

The authors examine the differences in vocational interests and self‐efficacy of 254 undergraduate psychology majors organized by 7 career intention groups (e.g., psychological research). The explanatory power of individual General Occupational Themes (GOTs), Basic Interest Scales (BISs), and Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the Strong Interest Inventory (L. W. Harmon, J. C. Hansen, F. H. Borgen, & A. L. Hammer, 1994) and the General Confidence Themes (GCTs) of the Skills Confidence Inventory (N. E. Betz, F. H. Borgen, & L. W. Harmon, 1996) is examined. Results show overall group differences in Holland themes. The BISs, PSSs, and GCTs appear to augment GOTs when used with clients considering psychology or other fields with diverse pathways.     

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., 2001 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.     

Following the "Mail Hawks": Alternative Measures of Public Opinion on Vietnam in the Johnson White House

Scholars argue that public opinion grew in importance duringthe Vietnam conflict, yet most find President Johnson was notresponsive to public opinion during the War. We amplify thesetheories by demonstrating the practical value of public opinionmail sent to the White House on Vietnam, reshaping theoriesabout the constraining role of public opinion in foreign policy.We find that the White House mail, but not opinion polling,favoring escalation of the War had a significant and positiveimpact on President Johnson's policy rhetoric. From these andsimilar findings, we conclude that the Johnson Administrationfollowed core "hawkish" political allies (those individualsdesiring a rapid escalation and quick end to the war) ratherthan those approving of a withdrawal, suggesting mail-gaugedopinion from electoral partners (and core political allies morebroadly) has value in foreign policy making.