The purpose of this study was to understand why African American males decided to enter the counseling field, how they sustained themselves, and how they perceived their role as African American male counselors in the counseling field. This study described the experiences of African American male counselors while exploring the history of males in…

A student's expectation for a positive outcome for their future career development is referred to as career optimism. Career Services, a common university department, utilizes the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to understand how students form career interests and make educational and vocational choices. Then Career Services can assist…

Career counselling in German-speaking countries lacks assessment instruments that are based on a systemic approach. As nobody lives in a vacuum, all individuals are affected by their surrounding systems, such as parents, friends and politics. The My System of Career Influences, (MSCI) is an assessment instrument that is based on the systems theory…

Drawing from Social cognitive career theory, we examined how types of contextual support (e.g., parental support and number of career counseling sessions received) influence persistence. In addition, we test the roles of career self-efficacy and career decidedness as mediating mechanisms in the relationship between these types of contextual…

Purpose: This study adopts an action research approach with the aim of improving the process of career decision making among undergraduates in a business school at a "new" university in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilised unfreezing techniques, multiple case studies in conjunction with the principle of analogical…

This study examined how student interns made meaning of their internship experience. Through their narratives, valuable constructs about work they developed through their internship experience and which may not have been ascertained by current performance evaluation tools were made visible. In the words of the student interns, it was possible to…

Discusses the role of chance in career choice and provides some guidelines for career counselors. Suggests that counselors discuss the impact of chance during counseling sessions rather than assuming that logical, rational career planning is possible or desirable. (JAC)

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of the correlates and problem areas affecting career decision making and specifically to test the validity of the O'Neil, Meeker & Borgers' (1978) model. A cross-sectional sample of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students (N=1,436) responded to the Career Factor Checklist (CFC) and…

The chaos theory of careers emphasises continual change, the centrality and importance of chance events, the potential of minor events to have disproportionately large impacts on subsequent events, and the capacity for dramatic phase shifts in career behaviour. This approach challenges traditional approaches to career counselling, assumptions…

Surveyed former peer advisors (N=201) to determine the perceived effects of a specific peer advisement program on choice of undergraduate major, selection of a career and selection of further graduate or professional training. Results suggested that peer advisement programs may have different appeals for different types of students. (LLL)

This study assesses factors predictive of the range of possible occupations considered by 166 African American high school students. There are no differences in the number of African American representative occupations (those in which 13.5% or more employees were African American) considered compared to nonrepresentative occupations (those with…

The study determined influences on the career decisions of vocational agriculture students and their vocational and nonvocational peers. Data were collected from all seniors in Louisiana public high schools. Parents were the top influence among all types of students; vocational agriculture teachers were a major influence to their students. (CH)

This literature review on vocational choices, decision making, vocational assessment, and career counseling (325 references) focuses on preentry individual behavior. The review finds a predominantly white male heterosexual referent, need to recognize multiple factors affecting behavior, and importance of appropriately powerful statistical…

This study of 368 female undergraduates examined self-efficacy and role model influence as predictors of career choice across J. L. Holland's (1997) 6 RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) types. Findings showed that levels of self-efficacy and role model influence differed across Holland types. Multiple…

Discusses seven factors that influence students in setting career goals, including: (1) monetary reward; (2) type of work; (3) level of responsibility; (4) type of environment; (5) social needs (self and family); (6) ego satisfaction/prestige; and (7) security. (RC)