Guidance systems across Europe: heritage,change and the art of becoming

Guidance systems exist within learning, working and welfare cultures, which are upheld by prevailing institutions and stakeholders. Implementing a lifelong approach questions rooted codes and idiosyncrasies of the sectors across which guidance is distributed. To support individuals' careers, unlock their potential and increase their contribution to the economy i.e. support their process of becoming, lifelong guidance must strive for effective systems' integration across policy fields, cultures and organisations. This article departs from national experiences and discusses how cultures and institutional contexts generate resistance to change, but can also be the departure point for the successful development of lifelong support to people's careers.     

Testing times: careers market policies and practices in England and the Netherlands

Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has expanded, with a growing assumption that market-based goods and services ensure greater responsiveness to consumer choice and offer better and/or more innovative services for lower prices. In this article, we do not intend to give a comparison of trends in England and the Netherlands. We only examine the impact of market principles applied to career guidance provision in both countries. Findings indicate such provision for young people is on a steady decline. Lessons learned from these two nations indicate that a market for quality career services does not exist in schools and colleges. As a result, marketisation and privatisation of career services have led to an impoverished and fragmented supply of services. Greater attention by governments in career guidance policies for young people (and adults) is necessary to reduce the widening gap between ‘the haves and have nots’ in society. Failure to reduce labour market mismatch through new forms of careers dialogue is not only damaging and costly for individuals, families and employers, but for the taxpayer too.     

‘If you look the part you’ll get the job’: should career professionals help clients to enhance their career image?

This article presents a critical exploration of the role of career professionals in supporting people to reflect on and enhance their appearance, attractiveness and self-presentation (career image). The article is conceptual and based on a review of the broader literature on career success, appearance and attractiveness. It explores the evidence for a relationship between attractiveness and career, and the authors propose a conceptual framework in which career image is comprised of three elements (interpersonal skills, aesthetic presentation and beauty). The paper examines a possible role for career professionals in relation to this and then critically examines this role and concludes with the proposition of a research agenda in this area.     

A holistic perspective on career development in UK female soccer players: A negative case analysis

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine career experiences of UK-based female youth soccer players from a holistic perspective with a view to producing a grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer.MethodologyA Grounded Theory methodology (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was used. Negative case (Denzin, 1989) former female soccer players (N = 13), their best friend (N = 13), soccer coaches (N = 4), and teachers (N = 8) took part in semi-structured interviews about factors associated with talent development and career transitions in female youth soccer.ResultsMultiple social agents (players, team-mates, peers, teachers, parents and siblings) need to optimally interact to ensure that an optimal talent development and learning environment is created. This will provide a supportive holistic talent development environment, lead to adaptive player-level changes, and a greater chance of successful athletic and dual career development.ConclusionsThis study presents a rich understanding of the dual careers of players who did not make it in female soccer. By considering their perspectives alongside of a range of important social agents, we have been able to construct a substantive grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer. As a result, these findings may contribute to policy and practice development in UK female youth soccer.     

Comparing two career adaptability measures for career construction theory: Relations with boundaryless mindset and protean career attitudes

We examined the constructs underlying the Career Maturity Inventory-Adaptability Form (CMI-C) and the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS). Data from 852 university students indicated that the second-order factors for both scales correlate .43, suggesting that they measure different yet related constructs. All three subscales of the CMI-C correlate most with the “concern” subscale of the CAAS rather than with the corresponding subscale. It appears that the CMI-C is a measure of particular career adaptability for choosing a career whereas the CAAS is a global measure of career adaptability for dealing with all of the tasks of vocational development across the life span. Regression analyses show that the CMI-C does not add to the prediction of boundaryless mindset and protean career attitudes over the CAAS. Relationships between the CMI-C and CAAS with entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career motivation profiles showed that the CAAS is more strongly related to boundaryless mindset and protean career attitudes, while the CMI-C appears to relate to more traditional (professional and leadership) career motivations.     

与领导关系好就能获得职业成功吗？一项调节的中介效应研究

采用结构化问卷, 在2个时点进行2轮问卷调查, 共收集到206份问卷。根据Edwards和Lambert (2007)推荐的程序, 检验了领导-部属交换与下属职业成功间的调节的中介效应模型。结果表明：(1)网络能力、人际影响、社会机敏性、外显真诚4种政治技能调节了领导-部属交换对下属职业成功的直接效应和总效应; (2)在上述4种政治技能的调节下, 心理授权在领导-部属交换与下属职业成功之间起着部分中介作用或完全中介作用; (3)人际影响调节了领导-部属交换对下属心理授权的作用, 外显真诚调节了心理授权对职业成功的作用。     

使命感的影响效果

使命感(calling)作为一个前沿主题, 近年来受到理论界和实务界的广泛关注。根据PRISMA申明推荐的文献搜索流程, 保留国内外使命感的影响效果相关文献, 对这些文献进行系统梳理和分析, 总结出使命感影响效果的三种变量类型：职业心理与状态、职业技能与能力以及职业过程与产出。未来研究应进一步探索使命感消极影响, 关注双刃剑效应; 分析使命感文化差异, 探讨跨文化比较效应; 构建使命感团队模型, 延伸研究层次; 追踪使命感变化, 构建动态模型。     

Exploring the relationship between secondary traumatic stress,professional identity and career factors for counsellors

This study used a correlational research design to explore the relationship between secondary traumatic stress, counsellor professional identity and career factors, including work setting and amount of counselling experience, among counsellor practitioners. A sample of 1,218 counsellors completed an online survey including the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Professional Identity Scale in Counseling and career factors. Career factors included context of work environments including years of experience, licence status, type of practice and work setting. Multiple regression analysis with forward selection demonstrated that, out of all the variables, professional identity emerged as the best predictor of secondary traumatic stress. One-way ANOVA showed significant group differences in the level of counsellors' secondary traumatic stress based on work setting, level of experience, type of practice and gender. Discussion explores how career and personal factors impact counsellor experiences of professional identity and secondary trauma in mental health settings.     

Are support and social comparison compatible? Individual differences in the multiplexity of career‐related social networks

Social networks are crucial for helping people in their careers. Moreover, social identity is reflected in and influenced by individuals’ networks. To date, there is little knowledge on how these different functions of networks might interact. A survey in which 450 individuals provided information on 2,499 contacts in their social networks indicated both multiplexity and segmentation in networks. Contacts tended either to provide psychosocial support only or to provide instrumental support and serve as a standard for social comparison. The segmentation was stronger for individuals with an independent career orientation than for promotion‐oriented individuals. These findings contribute to the literature on social networks and careers by providing insights into how career orientation affects the multiplexity in career‐related social networks.     

Academic promises and family (dis)enchantments: clues for guidance and counselling in higher education

Family has an undeniable influence upon the career construction of higher education (HE) students, since it is a primary source of their socialisation. This article presents a qualitative analysis of 30 interviews conducted with first-year students, aimed at understanding the relationship between family sociocultural status and career choice and the perceived meaning in the family of the enrolment of one of their elements in HE. Results show that HE students came mainly from economic, cultural and social upper classes. It was a ‘logic path’, for who would inherit in the adult age, not only the economic capital, but also the relational capital. The educational and economic resources of the students' families are key factors in the choice to pursue HE studies, rather than the professional world.