This exploratory study investigated the occupational decision-related processes of senior high school students, in terms of the extent to which they may be amotivated in choosing a future occupation. Data were gathered using a newly developed questionnaire, which was largely adapted from a number of psychometrically proven instruments, and…

Incorporating J. D. Krumboltz's (1979) social learning theory of career decision making, the author explores career development issues for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) adolescents and young adults. Unique challenges for the GLBTQ population are discussed, specific recommendations for effective career counseling with…

There is a need for research in the area of career choice of minority students in the United States. This descriptive study examined the factors that may influence Native American and African American high school students' career choices. These factors include such variables as parental educational level, family composition, and potential grade…

The authors believe that many teacher educators are charged with teaching and advising those seeking initial teacher licensure. They must make a concerted effort to have students reflect seriously on the meanings they are constructing of their work. They need to ask them to gauge continually their confidence in their career choice when they are…

We began this series by addressing the challenges of career advising in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. In this article, we define human capital and suggest that advisors encourage students to utilize the principle of maximizing human capital when making decisions. We describe the personal traits and attitudes needed to…

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 article reviews some of the reasons for the turbulence in the recently globalised economy. The article provides a backdrop and advocacy for counselors assisting their clients in the development of a well articulated career identity. The purpose of the article is to provide educators, school counselors, and career counselors with the tools for…

Medical schools can assist students by providing them with quality career counseling to help them choose a medical specialty. Many schools use interest inventories to help identify students' specialty interests. This study examined the predictive validity of one such inventory, the Medical Specialty Preference Inventory (MSPI). In a longitudinal…

Career development is a lifelong process beginning with career choice. However, career choice alone does not guarantee career success. Rather than focus on choosing a career, the theory of work adjustment (TWA) focuses on the process of becoming an exemplary employee through each stage of an individual's career. Within TWA, employee relationships…

Among the plethora of career theories and counseling practices, human emotion continues to be underrepresented. The paucity is evoking discontentment. For many career specialists, a distal role for emotionality has become untenable. This study demonstrated emotional intelligence (EI) associates with familiar constructs within the career…

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…

The purpose of this study was to explore correlates of chronic career indecision with multivariate modeling. We examined the effects of neuroticism and negative career thoughts and feelings on lack of information, which is one of the core elements of chronic career indecision. The sample included 310 first-semester students who had entered…

The purpose of this article is to initiate an effort to establish the constructs calling and vocation within counseling psychology. First, updated definitions of calling and vocation, developed with an eye toward stimulating research and providing useful practice applications, are proposed. Next, the authors explain how the constructs apply to the…

This research investigates science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) high school opportunity structures, including student experiences with math and science course sequences and progress, college guidance and counseling, and STEM extracurricular activities (Weis and Eisenhart, 2009), specifically related to STEM fields and career and…

This study assessed 43 gifted adolescent females in the United States and Germany over a 4-year period (in 7th or 8th grade and again during the 11th or 12th grade). Factors that were examined included the daughter's career selection, the prestige level and the education required to pursue that career, and the impact of the mother's gender role…