a review of working world: careers in international education,exchange, and development

Sherry L. Mueller and Mark Overmann. (2008). Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 246 pages, $24.95 List, ISBN 978–158901–210–3.     

Finding order and direction from chaos: a comparison of chaos career counseling and trait matching counseling

Chaos career counseling, based on the Chaos Theory of Careers (R. G. L. Pryor & J. E. H. Bright, 2003a, 2003b), was compared with trait matching career counseling and a wait list control. Sixty university students who attended the Careers Research and Assessment Service seeking career advice were randomly assigned to the chaos intervention, the trait matching intervention, or a wait list control group. Both chaos and trait matching counseling had a positive impact; however, chaos counseling had a more lasting effect. Overall, results support using the chaos counseling approach as a valid alternative to trait matching approaches. Implications for counseling practice as well as future research are discussed.     

A Case-Study of the Careers Service Placement Function

A number of models of the placement function of the Careers Service are presented. Various hypotheses generated by the models are tested, using data collected from Careers Service records. Specifically, a multivariate analysis is performed to show which personal and social characteristics are associated with a higher probability of being submitted for a permanent vacancy. The implications of the analysis for the Careers Service are discussed.     

The Careers Service and Schools: A Changing Relationship

The changing relationship between the Careers Service and schools is examined. From a base-point in the 1960s and early 1970s, the implications of the changing context are explored: notably the much greater difficulties which young people have experienced in entering the labour market, the advent of new transition programmes, and the political pressures associated with the economic recession and the growth in unemployment. The effects of these changes on careers education in schools, and on the activities of the Careers Service, are described, as are their implications for the relationship between the Careers Service and schools. Finally, a typology for defining this changing relationship is outlined as a basis for further research.     

Career guidance in Wales: retrospect and prospect

Deregulation of the LEA Careers Service followed by the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 led, through consultation, to the establishment of a bi-lingual all-age career guidance service under the banner of Careers Wales. The article traces the history of career guidance in Wales from 1974, showing how it has taken a very different path to England, gaining a positive outcome from an independent review of Careers Wales in 2004 and an accolade from the OECD. Current strengths, especially the innovative use of technology, are explored, and challenges for the future are investigated, including the contributions of other guidance providers. Priority is currently being given to the development of common pan-Wales standards. The need for a stronger research culture is recognised. Most crucial of all, in the authors' opinion, is the maintenance of client entitlement in the face of financial restrictions.     

Supervision in careers guidance: Empowerment or control?

Like many other professions, careers guidance is currently undergoing rapid and radical change. But the Careers Service is still operating to nationally agreed 'core training objectives' which determine both initial training (Diploma in Careers Guidance Part I) and supervisory training (Diploma in Careers Guidance Part II). Recent changes influencing guidance practice and training are outlined, and the predominant mode of current supervision within the Careers Service is identified as 'managerial' in character. This is explained in terms of both the historical development of the service and its funding mechanisms. A model for supervisory practice for the future is presented, identifying three essential elements: organisational commitment, contractual agreement and an explicit framework.     

Career guidance in Northern Ireland: retrospect and prospect

The history of careers guidance in Northern Ireland has many similarities but also many differences from experiences in other parts of the UK. The Careers Service has remained within central government for the duration, and this has provided a degree of consistency in service provision over time. In line with the Department for Employment and Learning's Corporate Plan for 2005-2008, the new Careers Service for Northern Ireland will aspire to be an all-age guidance service. The development of careers education provision in the education sector is examined, as is the emergence of adult guidance as a province-wide provision. Issues considered include staffing, training, evaluation, targeting need, the merits and demerits of locating the Careers Service within the Civil Service, and potentially conflicting responsibilities to clients and to the employing department.     

Vikings on the seine: Policy challenges confronting careers guidance in Denmark

Careers guidance in Denmark is related to three sets of changes: (1) demographic changes; (2) value changes; and (3) technological changes. The Danish historical and political background is described. The implications of the politicisation of guidance are discussed.     

Career guidance in Scotland: retrospect and prospect

Devolution of powers to Scotland has accentuated pre-existing divergence from the rest of the UK with respect to education, training and career guidance provision. Scotland now has an all-age national careers service—Careers Scotland. It is suggested that it is unlikely that a national, publicly-funded careers agency would have been established in the absence of devolution. The article outlines the development of career guidance in Scotland over the last 25 years and how the pre-existing Scottish context and the new context of devolution have impacted upon it. The role of Careers Scotland and its relationship with other providers of career guidance in Scotland are examined. Other key issues considered include: the allocation of resources based on need; relationships with local authorities and schools; and training and professional identities in an increasingly diverse UK guidance context.     

The Careers Service: Past, Present and Future

The history of the Careers Service is divided into a number of phases: pre-1919, the inter-war years, the early post-war phase, and 1973 onwards. The latter period is analysed in particular detail. External influences upon the service-including developments in the education sphere, theories of vocational guidance, and legislative changes are reviewed. Changes in economic orthodoxy which have influenced developments in economic policy and thereby the operation of the labour market are emphasised. The potential future role of the Careers Service is considered.     

Applying Chaos Theory to Careers: Attraction and attractors

This article presents the Chaos Theory of Careers with particular reference to the concepts of “attraction” and “attractors”. Attractors are defined in terms of characteristic trajectories, feedback mechanisms, end states, ordered boundedness, reality visions and equilibrium and fluctuation. The identified types of attractors (point, pendulum, torus and strange) and their relevance to career development are described. The attractor concept is then applied to major barriers in career development and life transition by a consideration of closed and open systems thinking. It is contended that ultimately the context of human experience is an open system and that career development difficulties arise when closed systems thinking is used in an open systems reality. The practical counseling applications and counseling research evidence using attractors are briefly reviewed. The additional potential contributions of the Chaos Theory of Careers to the career development field are also outlined.     

All-age guidance—public,private or welfare service?

The emphasis upon the creation of a culture of lifelong learning propels the issue of accessibility to guidance for adults into the limelight. The Careers Service and other careers guidance providers have demonstrated a communient to all-age guidance in the absence of a coherent policy or resource framework. Following 'contracting out', Careers Services are wrestling with the ambiguities inherent in the 'private company-public service' equation. These are compounded by the continuing absence of clarity at policy level regarding the development of all-age guidance. The central question remains that of how a service, with benefits accruing to the individual, the community and the economy, is most appropriately funded and delivered.     

Careers research in Europe: Identity and contribution

This guest editorial introduces the special section of the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology ‘Careers research in Europe’. Contributing to the aim of the special section to highlight the value of the European careers research for the benefit of the global community of career scholars, as well as towards advancing researchers' understanding of contemporary careers, the guest editorial discusses two themes. The first theme concerns the importance of incorporating cultural context in career studies. The second theme concerns the value the European multilingual and multicultural context offers for career studies. It is suggested that the value of European research can be seen in the diversity it offers to views on careers. It includes: (a) diversity of social, political, and economic environments; (b) diversity of cultures; and (c) diversity of theories and methods that can be used in career studies.     

The impact of career websites: what's the evidence?

ABSTRACT

Careers provision for young people in the UK is being re-formulated on the basis of a central role for career websites but this policy is based on unproven assumptions about their value. In this article we consider the use and impact of the two main career websites in Scotland on pupils' career management skills. We found that pupils at risk of not achieving positive post-school destinations were less likely to use the websites, as were minority ethnic pupils. Although similar in functions, the two websites differed in their effect: one had no impact while the other impacted on only one aspect of pupils' career management skills. Careers policy needs to be informed by more extensive research on career websites.     

Applying Chaos Theory to Careers: Attraction and attractors

This article presents the Chaos Theory of Careers with particular reference to the concepts of “attraction” and “attractors”. Attractors are defined in terms of characteristic trajectories, feedback mechanisms, end states, ordered boundedness, reality visions and equilibrium and fluctuation. The identified types of attractors (point, pendulum, torus and strange) and their relevance to career development are described. The attractor concept is then applied to major barriers in career development and life transition by a consideration of closed and open systems thinking. It is contended that ultimately the context of human experience is an open system and that career development difficulties arise when closed systems thinking is used in an open systems reality. The practical counseling applications and counseling research evidence using attractors are briefly reviewed. The additional potential contributions of the Chaos Theory of Careers to the career development field are also outlined.     

Book reviews and books received

Thinking about doing some research? Dorothy Stock Whitaker and J. Lesley Archer: Research by Social Workers: Capitalizing on Experience. London: Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work. 1989. €8.

Changing careers Stewart Ranson and Peter Ribbins: Servicing Careers in the Post-Employment Society. Lewes: Falmer, 1988. €18.95 (hardback); €9.95 (paperback).

Assessing the Careers Service Michael Carley: Performance Monitoring in a Professional Public Service: the Case of the Careers Service. London: Policy Studies Institute, 1988. €7.95.

The school's role in guiding adolescents Judith Ryder and Lesley Campbell: Balancing Acts in Personal, Social and Health Education: a Practical Guide for Teachers. London: Routledge, 1988. €11.95.

Abused women Derek Jehu, Marjorie Gazan and Carole KJassen: Beyond Sexual Abuse: Therapy with Women Who Were Childhood Victims. Chichester: Wiley, 1988. €34.95.

A psychological view of General Practice Eric Button: Psychological Problems in Primary Health Care. London: Croom Helm, 1988. €12.95.     

Mentoring and professional development in careers services in higher education

Mentoring is examined as a support mechanism for trainees undertaking new in-service professional qualifications for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS). An initial pilot scheme proved that mentoring was viable in the AGCAS context. An outline is presented of how the transition was made from a pilot group of eight trainees in one region to a national scheme, providing mentors for over fifty trainees. The selection procedure for mentors, the process of matching them with trainees, the regional network for induction training and support, and the documentation associated with the mentoring scheme, are described.     

The New Careers: A Book Review

Book reviewed in this article: The New Careers: Indiuiduat Action & Economic Change by Michael B. Arthur, Ken‐ Inkson. and Judith K. Pringle     

Increasing nontraditional career choices in women: Relation of attitudes toward women and responses to a career intervention

This study examined whether 80 college women, grouped according to their scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS; J. T. Spence, R. Helmreich, & J. Stapp 1973 Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 2, 219–220), were differentially affected by a videotape career intervention. The videotape was entitled “Women: Choices and Changes,” and it focused on career development, broadly defined. It was developed as part of Project Born Free. A variety of outcome measures were used, including a brief measure of career decidedness, a measure of the traditionality of the women's own career choices and of the career choices they selected for their hypothetical daughters. In addition, two measures of self-efficacy were used, the Vocational Self-Efficacy Scale (Hackett & Betz 1981) and the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy Scale (K. M. Taylor & N. E. Betz 1983 Journal of Vocational Behavior, 22, 63–81). The results indicated that AWS scores were related to the traditionality of the careers chosen for the subjects' hypothetical daughters and to self-efficacy. Increases were found for the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy Scale and on career decidedness. Careers chosen by the women for themselves and for their daughters were more non-traditional after the videotape intervention. These results are discussed and their implications for career counseling and future research are examined.     

Is guidance an applied science?: The role of theory in the careers guidance interview

Some of the findings of a study investigating careers officers' use of theoretical models in the careers guidance interview are discussed. Data were collected through visits to institutions offering Diploma in Careers Guidance courses, a large-scale questionnaire survey of careers officers, and semi-structured interviews and group discussions. There was evidence that in initial training, theory is used to support, rather than determine, the development of skills. Results also suggested that practising careers officers are familiar with a fairly wide range of theories, although in their interviewing they tend to apply broad principles of theory, rather than specific elements. Careers officers who trained some time ago were less familiar with theories than were those who trained more recently, and there was no support for the hypothesis that long service leads to a greater recognition of the relevance of theories generally. Familiarity with guidance and counselling theories appears to be more influential than knowledge of career theories on the way careers officers think about interviewing. Overall, the findings cast doubt on the view that careers guidance is an applied science.