A review of the 2009 career counseling and development literature indicates that the field remains vital, vibrant, valid, and viable precisely 100 years after its founding. Using the field's 4 fundamental traditions of person-environment fit, life-span development, social cognition, and constructivism-social constructionism as lenses for…

Discusses background of Holland's theory of vocational choice. Critiques the theory in the areas of clarity of statement; parsimonious quality; explanation of important phemonema; comprehensiveness; stimulation of empirical inquiry; ability of theory to help explain, predict, and eventually control phenomena being considered; accounting for new…

Reports on 30 career counseling interviews reviewed using a discourse analytic method. Findings indicate that clients present various dilemmatic themes of career in their talk. Three types of dilemmas were pervasive: uncertainty versus certainty, interests versus practical, and focus versus options. Suggests that career theorists and counselors…

Responds to Brown's critique of author's (Holland) theory of vocational choice. Discusses validation of theories in general and the validation of this theory in particular. Discusses common complaints about and current status of this theory. Evaluates and responds to Brown's advice. Speculates about future of career theory. (ABL)

Examines nature of career problems, drawing out common features that pervade any particular instance. On basis of commonality, proposes common standard for career counseling theory, research, and practice. Notes that significance of identifying common standard is that field is so diverse in theory and practice that there appears to be little basis…

Addresses questions that need to be considered in future theoretical and research agendas about how extant career theories provide conceptual insights into the content and process of school-to-work transition. Questions include (a) "Why are career theories not developed to account for the school-to-work process?"; and (b) "Are the proposed career…

Discusses contributions of Krumboltz & Worthington, 1999; Lent, Hacket, & Brown, 1999; Savickas, 1999; Swanson & Fouad, 1999 to the application of career development theories to the school-to-work transition. Concludes with recommendation that theory-building efforts derived from the individual experience of work-bound youth should be included in…