Discusses a program for disadvantaged mothers that enables them to make independent choices leading to work. Covers program objectives, participation barriers, funding problems, the cooperative program model (designed to meet the expectations of multiple funders while maintaining the program goals), and the social and educational context of the…

The study for this article examines growth in various aspects of career development for longitudinal and nationally representative cross-sectional samples of high school students. Implications for practitioners who wish to improve upon normal growth are presented. (Author)

Examined the relationship between decision-making styles and vocational maturity with a focus on the current discrepancy between research and theory regarding the utility of rational decision making. Results were consistent across 177 community college students, in that a reliance upon the rational style was the only significant decision-making…

Measured career attitude maturity of football and basketball scholarship athletes (N=122) and nonathlete male college students (N=80) using the Career Maturity Inventory. Found that athletes were significantly lower in career attitude maturity than nonathletes, with 48% expecting to play professional sports, compared to an anticipated 2%. Found no…

Examined effects of a life-career development course on university students (N=74). The treatment was based on a comprehensive counseling model of change agent career decision making. The participants became significantly more rational, more certain of their major and career choices, and more crystallized in their vocational self-concept. (JAC)

Discusses the relative merits of vocational indecision, as seen from the student's perspective, and presents several models of vocational indecision. Four categories of reasons for indecision are given with ideas on how to remedy each category. (BL)

Administered an instrument containing self-evaluation and development, career-awareness, career decision-making, employment-seeking, and work-effectiveness items to 939 grade 12 students. The results indicated that females obtained significantly higher mean scores than males; Advanced Level students obtained significantly higher mean scores than…

Examined high school students' (N=240) awareness of internal vocational information useful in career decision making and examined the effect of a vocational awareness activity. Results indicated tenth graders were unstable in self-perceived internal information relating to career choice. Appendix contains the Vocational Awareness Scale. (JAC)

Computed four derivatives of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and correlated them with other indices of career maturity for 138 community college students. Accuracy in estimating one's SDS profile correlated significantly with five other maturity indices, but the other derivatives tended not to relate to other career maturity criteria. (JAC)

The author discusses three methodological obstacles to the effective measurement of career maturity. These are: (1) linear versus nonlinear time functions; (2) longitudinal versus cross-sectional developmental data collection designs; and (3) maturational versus error variance on the estimation of test-retest reliability. (RP)

The experiences of a careers education class, using curriculum materials developed by the Schools Council, Careers Education and Guidance Project, are described. (JH)

This study tested Hershenson's hypthesis that different vocational counseling methods would be differentially effective for clients at different levels of readiness. Findings suggest that individual counseling be emphasized with low readiness clients when both options are available. (Author)

Examined the relationship between student (N=153) characteristics and career service requests, utilization, and evaluations. Results suggested that clients' problem-solving appraisal affects their satisfaction and continued use of career services, and vocational identity affects aid-seeking style at a career center. (WAS)

Investigated 142, 114, 112, and 71 students from grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, respectively, to examine career maturity. Found intercorrelations among the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) Attitude Scale and five parts of the CMI Competence Test to be more consistent with Crites' model than those reported by others. (Author/HLM)

Presents a model for conducting research on the career development of special populations. Reviews available research paradigms and offers an alternative framework designed to make maximum use of available data sources while minimizing potential theoretical bias. Presents an illustration of research conducted within the recommended framework.…