National Career Development Association (NCDA) is excited to release the re-imagined 7th edition of their influential guide to career assessment. Re-conceptualized and renamed to "A Comprehensive Guide to Career Assessment," the "Guide" contains important information career counselors, educators, and practitioners will find…

The authors extend findings from qualitative research on the effects of action research by reporting two linked quantitative studies (N = 80 and 105). They found that teachers who participated in collaborative action research experienced statistically significant improvements in attitudes to educational research and teacher efficacy. The pre-post…

Career development practitioners understand that the value of career and employment services extends beyond attachment to the labor market. However, "soft" outcomes such as increased self-efficacy and improved ability to manage transitions are difficult to measure. Convincing funders and policy makers of the significance of such outcomes…

Highlights need for collaboration, integration, and expansion in designing evaluation models for career development programs. Outlines fledgling evaluation model that began to emerge at Symposium on Issues and Solutions for Evaluating Career Development Programs and Services. Notes that model addresses dimensions critical in evaluation of career…

Since 1999, the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) has provided funding to provincial school authorities for projects designed to improve student learning and performance. Conducted in three-year cycles, this unique approach has successfully helped to initiate approximately 1,600 grassroots projects led by school districts, teachers,…

Advocates evaluation of career development programs and services through multidimensional approach utilizing adaptations from methodologies found in evaluating cognitive instructional programs. Focuses on accessing various forms of knowledge necessary in career decision making through introspective, retrospective, and observational procedures.…

Survey of career and employment counseling showed that little counseling evaluation was being done in schools, colleges, universities, community agencies, or Canada Employment Centres. Absence of evaluative information places service at risk of being discontinued. Those in leadership positions have to be convinced of need for more and better…

Presents a comparison of counselor training programs in 16 countries with relation to issues such as occupational choice or career development, professionals or technicians, labor utilization or career satisfaction, and information or relationship. Uses examples from the various countries to provide possible responses to these issues, and outlines…

Overview of five recently published evaluations of career development interventions designed specifically for women suggests that these programs need to be more systematically evaluated and reported. Given the limited extent to which existing substantive and methodological knowledge appear to be informing practice, two major strategies are…

Presents action-theoretical approach to evaluation of career development programs based on constructionist epistemology. Propositions from action-theoretical perspective center around career and action as related, interpretative constructs. Propositions give rise to implications for evaluation of career programs that address ongoing nature of…

Evaluated effects of "Wheel of Fortune," a vocational program for adolescents. This program was developed in the United States and tested on secondary students in Quebec. Results indicated a positive increase with respect to work values on the climate scale of the Perron and Dupont Work Values Questionnaire. (Author/BEF)

This is a report on a pilot project in occupational exploratory training sponsored by Canada Manpower. The project is an attempt to cope with the problems of Manpower clients who are undecided about an occupational goal, and to help prevent the placement of clients in programs unsuited to them. This report provides a background to the project,…

Makes case for using performance assessments in career development interventions conducted in the classroom. Examples are drawn from "Pathways," a recently developed Canadian program for career development. Limitations of performance assessments are discussed, followed by recommendations for practice and research. (Author)

The inspiration for this document came from the "Creation and Mobilization of Counseling Resources for Youth Project (CAMCRY)" sponsored by the Canadian Guidance and Counseling Foundation (CGCF), which sought to provide the ideas and resources requisite for launching a nationwide initiative in career development and career counseling.…

Professional evaluation of career counseling programs is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes more limited and accountability more pervasive. This digest describes a Canadian approach used by an outside team to evaluate seven small career counseling programs. Evaluators addressed two basic goals: appraise the effectiveness and…