These papers represent continuing advances in the study of educational and occupational life-paths in psychology. In this commentary, I discuss the findings of each paper within a developmental systems theoretical framework. In doing so, I highlight the continuing need for psychologists to expand their view of the spectrum of psychological…

The Computing Research Association revealed that the percentage of American women in computer science and related fields remains low and stagnant, while other fields, like mathematics, science, and chemistry are seeing growing enrollment of women. Some researchers suggest computer-science programs are stacked women and the way they learn, but…

Teaching practice is an integral component of teacher training. It grants student teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment. We explore the experiences of student teachers in the Vaal University of Technology Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) during their 10 weeks' teaching practice in the Vaal area. In this…

This paper reports on an exploratory investigation of the perceptions of information and communication technology (ICT) as a field of study and work in German secondary schools. A total of 160 students from five secondary schools in Lower Saxony participated in the study in February 2007, and four teachers of the students were interviewed. The…

The Seventh School Curriculum Reform in Korea was introduced in 2000 to prepare school-aged Koreans for an information and knowledge-based society. The reform effort emphasises information and communication technology (ICT) in the K-12 curriculum and a learner-centred pedagogy. This study examines the contributions of ICT, specifically,…

It is a well-acknowledged fact that the role of women in society has been changing worldwide over recent decades and South Africa has not been exempt from this trend. Dramatic changes--politically, socially, economically and educationally--have occurred in South Africa since its first democratic, non-racial elections in 1994, which have affected…

This article draws on the first two years of a longitudinal study of young people's pathway and career-related experiences and perspectives. It argues for a richer conceptualisation of young people's transition to study, training and employment than what simple school-to-labour market models allow. We present four clusters of young people's…

Project FUTURE is one component of a multifaceted approach in the Northwest Texas region to target Hispanic and African-American youth, encouraging them to go through school with a desire to complete education programs leading to professional credentialing in teaching. Project FUTURE inspires students to believe that they can attend Texas Tech…

Women and men are still segregated into different occupations. There has been a marked underrepresentation of women in science and technology fields for many years, despite some increases in the number of women earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in science. The notion of possible selves can be applied broadly to the problem of why the…

Business educators have long been prepared for service in a wide range of settings; however, these settings have been concentrated in secondary education, teaching business subjects at the 7-12 levels with the emphasis on high school programs. Thus, for so many of those in the field of business education, their career path was quite simple: earn a…

Objective: The authors describe the evolution of a novel national training program to develop minority faculty for mental health services research careers. Recruiting, training, and sustaining minority health professionals for academic research careers in mental health services research have proven challenging. Method: Over the past 8 years the…

Through study of 32 students' narratives about coping with external threats to their career goals (e.g., denial of admission to the major of their choice), this study examines the following issues: (a) the coping mechanisms student use when faced with threats that loom large, (b) the relation between coping methods employed and whether the goal is…

This study examined the influence of social cognitive variables on African American adolescents' interest in environmental science. The sample consisted of 132 (57 male, 75 female) high school seniors enrolled in an urban scientific and technical high school from which 95% of graduates continue in higher education. Results of the regression…

This study examined the problem of the professional and life self-determination of students enrolled in higher pedagogical educational institutions, with Ulianovsk Pedagogical University serving as the base. The objectives were the following: (1) to study the reasons that the students in the different stages of their schooling (the first and fifth…

This study focused on examining the persistent aspects of career decision-making difficulties, using the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties scale ("EPCD"; [Saka, N., Gati, I., & Kelly, K.R. (in press). Emotional and personality-related aspects of career decision-making difficulties. "Journal of Career…