It's 2009: The current millennial generation, the i-Kids, the "Digital Natives," the Net Generation students are now approximately ages 8 to 27. Many of these students are entering their years of career exploration while others are actively involved in career and technical education (CTE) programs in school or college. The millennial…

Conceptual differences between self-efficacy and ability self-estimate scores, used in vocational psychology and career counseling, were examined with confirmatory factor analysis, discriminate relations, and reliability analysis. Results suggest that empirical differences may be due to measurement error or scale content, rather than due to the…

Districts face increasing pressure to improve students' mastery of curriculum in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Yet the number of students enrolling in science and math courses drops dramatically in middle and high school. At Sylvester Middle School, Chinook Middle School and Cascade Middle School of the…

A series of activities were undertaken to understand the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers and increase their participation in these fields. "AccessSTEM" collaborated with key stakeholders to conduct a "Capacity-Building Institute"…

The taking of a "gap year", immediately after completing their secondary school education, to explore life before embarking on formal studies or starting their career, is a growing phenomenon among young people in South Africa. This research study explores the experiences of three young people who engaged in a gap year and focuses on the…

Interest differentiation and elevation are supposed to provide important information about a person's state of interest development, yet little is known about their development and criterion validity. The present study explored these constructs among a group of Swiss adolescents. Study 1 applied a cross-sectional design with 210 students in 11th…

Minnesota's Intervention for College Attendance Program (ICAP) is a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations and community-based organizations. Funded programs focus on increasing the access and success of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education by strengthening their…

This study examined the relation of religious support to social support, career exploration, and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) in a sample of 133 undergraduate students involved in religious organizations. Religious support correlated significantly with social support and CDSE but not career exploration. Regression analyses indicated that…

This article examined the implementation of an occupational skills training partnership developed between the Oregon Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and four local community colleges. Case study methods were used to describe the pattern of services provided to rehabilitation consumers and document the resulting changes in the…

This autobiographical essay by a retired biology professor reminds teachers and students that pursuing a demanding career specialty--even a very satisfying one--need not stifle detours into byways of speculative curiosity where one can be "surprised by joy."

A Draw an Engineer Test was used to capture the perceptions of engineering held by two similar groups of 6th grade African-American students. Forty-four students who had graduate level engineers in their classrooms during a prior school year as part of a GK-12 project were matched to 44 students who had not. Matching criteria included race,…

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) recognises the importance of individual differences and contextual influences in the career decision-making process. In extending the SCCT choice model, this study tested the role of personality, social supports, and the SCCT variables of self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goals in explaining the career…

Young adults today experience an extended adolescence, a period of time now commonly referred to as emerging adulthood, in which they delay undertaking the roles traditionally associated with becoming an adult in contemporary society. College has the potential to become the mentoring environment needed for emerging adults to consider their future…

The Careers Project is a study of the preparation all students in public middle and high schools receive to explore career options and the relationship between that preparation and California's state and regional economies. The California Research Bureau (CRB) undertook this research at the request of a bipartisan group of members of the…

Interpretation of interest inventories deepens self-knowledge, promotes career exploration, and assists counselors in understanding a client. This article highlights findings from the studies that appear in this special issue of the journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, with implications for encouraging clients'…