Career Guidance Theories

Career guidance theories provide insight into how individuals make career decisions and what influences impact on those decisions throughout the course of a person’s life. Most have derived from the different branches of psychology; personality, developmental, cognitive and social. More contemporary theories however consider the sociological influences on career journeys too. Most acknowledge the role of career guidance, although differ on opinion as to when, how often and the resulting impact of guidance. Career guidance practice is informed by theory. Theories are used to devise policies over careers education and guidance and to provide tools for evaluation and amendment of practices.

In 1908 Parsons developed what is considered the first theory of vocational guidance. The ‘talent matching’ approach. Parsons based this theory on three ideas; (a) people are different, (b) jobs are different and (c) by studying both individual and jobs, it should be possible to match them up. This theory implies it is possible to measure individual talents and the skills required for particular jobs, assumes people perform best when matched to a job suited to their abilities and therefore assumes that career decision making is of a rational nature.

Others have developed this theory, sometimes referred to as ‘person-environment fit’ or trait/factor further. Rodger (1952) developed a ‘seven point plan’ with matching at the centre of the process. He devised a set of questions under seven attributes to be asked at interview. The seven attributes are:

1. Physical characteristics 2. Attainments 3. General intelligence 4. Special aptitudes 5. Interests 6. Disposition 7. Circumstances

Jobs are also evaluated against the seven attributes and a ‘best match’ results.

During the 1960s and 70s Holland also developed a matching theory, the occupational classification theory. This theory focuses on individual differences and characteristics that distinguish people from one another. It has been termed a ‘differentialist’ approach and is based on congruence between personality and job environment which leads to job satisfaction and stability. Other central components are; occupational choice is not random but an expression of personality, members of similar occupations have similar personalities and members of similar occupations react similar in different situations. Holland suggests people and occupation types can be placed into one of six categories of interest; realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. Holland and many others have developed psychometric tests that assess these interest types to help people identify careers that they will be best suited to.

The appeal for differentalism/matching theories with career guidance practitioners is the simplicity with which clients can be guided to understand how personalities and interests can correlate with work environments. Psychometric tests are a useful tool for discussion with clients and the outcomes can be a good starting point for career research. The theory however, doesn’t value good careers guidance, rather seeing the practitioner as someone who provides information based on their knowledge of the client and occupational opportunities.

At one point, Rodgers seven point plan was used extensively with UK school leavers, but fell out of favour because of its rigidity and directive nature. Others have criticised Holland’s approach for failures to recognise issues of changes in individuals and environments. The theory assumes a stable labour market and fails to take into account individuals circumstances that require them to change. Additionally it is noted the theory ignores the stages that lead to a career decision and ongoing career developments, treating it as a ‘one-off’ event. Both Rodgers and Holland’s theories have associated gender measures, not useful when regarding equality and breaking down of stereotypes. Criticism is also directed at its very western assumptions of vocational interests, so not allowing for cross cultural use.

An alternative career guidance theory which does take into account processes leading up to a decision and after, stems from developmental psychological, the key concept being people develop through stages throughout their life. These developmental career theories believe career is a lifelong process. They use the same concepts, developmental stages, developmental tasks, career identity and career maturity. Where theorists vary are on the development stages.

Ginzberg (1951) proposed three life stages;

1. Fantasy stage (0-11 years old) 2. Tentative stage (11-17) includes three substages interest, capacity & value 3. Realistic stage (17-onwards) includes three substages of exploration, crystallisation and specification.

Donald Super (1957) developed Ginzberg’s proposal as he believed Ginzberg’s theory failed to consider existing educational and vocational information. He extended the life stages to five;

1. Growth (0 to 15) 2. Exploration (15 to 24 with substages of crystallization, specification and implementation) 3. Establishment (25 to 44 with substages of stabilisation, consolidation and advancing) 4. Maintenance (44 to 64 with substages of holding, updating and innovating) 5. Decline (65 onwards, again with substages decelerating, retirement planning and retirement living).

Super argued that life situations, work skills and occupational preferences and experience altered over time, and that it may not always coincide with chronological ages. However, key to Donald’s theory is a time perspective. The career development process involves the past, present and future. Another key concept of the theory is ‘self-concept’, the process in which an individual develops a realistic concept of themselves and this is then reflected in an occupation that matches this concept.

‘Career maturity’ is another important concept of Donald’s developmental theory. This is the readiness to deal with the developmental tasks appropriate to one’s career stage (Kidd, Jenny, Understanding Career Counselling: Theory and Research and Practice). Super in 1974 identified 6 dimensions to career maturity;

1. Awareness of the need to plan ahead 2. Decision making skills 3. Knowledge and use of information resources 4. General career information 5. General world of work information 6. Detailed information about occupations of preference

Donald developed his theory over many years, producing the ‘life-career’ rainbow, which focused on the different roles individuals have throughout their lives, for example, child, student, spouse, parent or pensioner. In addition he developed the concept of ‘life space’, the four major influencing factors on individuals, home, community, education and work that work together with individuals ‘roles’ at the time. The theory accounts for the changes individuals go through, personal characteristics, mental and physical attributes and the different circumstances people may face throughout life.

Developmental theories have had a major impact on career guidance. Donald’s ‘career maturity’ concept led to an emphasis on careers education with focus on developing people’s ‘career maturity’, by developing self awareness, creating opportunities for and helping the decision making process. Developmental careers guidance attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of career development that allows individuals to move through the stages gaining self awareness and decision making skills. Opposed to the ‘matching’ theory’, psychometric tests are used as facilitating tools for self understanding to the client not to provide information to the careers adviser. Importantly, the theory allows guidance to be focused on the particular developmental stage of an individual.

However a major criticism of the theory is its fragmented nature and failure to fully integrate economic and social factors. It also fails to account for the different challenges faced by women, ethnic groups and those in lower social economic groups. Additionally, the theory has not been tested for modern times. Although Donald developed his theory over many years, its initial concepts were developed in the 1950s, very different social context that is applicable today.

Structural theories by contrast, explain career development in terms of the social environment of an individual especially background as a determinate of social and economic position, how this affects opportunities for education and work in connection with the labour market. Roberts (1968) was an advocate of this view when he proposed the ‘opportunity structure’. The theory looks at how young people make career decisions and suggests that rather than individuals choosing their occupations, social variables play a more important role in providing vocational opportunity. Roberts argued ‘momentum and direction of school leavers careers are derived from the way in which their job opportunities become cumulatively structured and young people are placed in varying degrees of social proximity, with different ease of access to different types of employment’ (Career Guidance for Schools, Report of Effective Career Guidance, Jenny Bimrose).

This implied career choices to young people are limited (or enhanced) by their social circumstances and the opportunities these social circumstances allow for. Roberts argued against the concept of individual choice, but that career decisions are based on opportunity. This implied career guidance would have little impact on individual aspirations. According to Roberts career guidance is a straight forward matter of providing information, looking at clients’ immediate needs and ensuring placement. He suggested the key objective for careers guidance should be to ‘service the labour market’. The idea that career guidance could facilitate individuals was not necessary; it should simply focus on the immediate opportunities open to them

Roberts’ theory of opportunity structure was not warmly received by the guidance community. As a sociologist Roberts focused on the social concepts of careers guidance challenging psychological viewpoints. Peter Daws (1977 &1992) criticised Roberts’s theory for not only its limiting views of careers guidance but also for being conservative and inevitable. Daws argued careers education and guidance is capable of supporting individual social mobility.

However, Roberts defended his theory emphasising the influence of labour market conditions on job seekers. Research comparing depressed and non depressed labour markets and comparative labour markets with other countries suggested similar constraints on young people as; distance to work, qualifications, informal contacts, ethnicity, gender and cyclical and structural factors. Roberts (1997) recognised young people were prolonging their entry into work by entering further and higher education. He termed this along with other life events as ‘individualisation’, acknowledging a certain amount of ‘choice’. He maintained though life chances were still dependent on social class and educational achievement.

Despite Roberts view of the limited use of careers guidance, the opportunity structure theory has been helpful in understanding the social constraints in which career guidance operates and the need for helping clients understand and explore the constraints affecting their decisions. In contrast to Roberts view then, careers education and guidance can be seen as a tool for breaking down some of the social constraints affecting career decisions in young people.

Other theorists have attempted to combine the influences of psychological and sociological theories into one. In 1981 Bill Law published his ‘community interaction’ theory. Law developed the theory in response to career decisions made in changing social climates which neither psychology nor sociology could offer reasonable explanations and examining previous research into careers decisions. It is classed as a mid-range theory as it tries to encompass both psychology and sociology in its concepts. A key concept of the theory is how the exchanges that happen between individuals and their communities influence the decisions an individual makes. The term ‘community’ is used to describe the different types of groups an individual may belong too for example, family, neighbourhood, ethnic group, peer group and even school, that can have an influence in the individual. The theory is concerned with ‘self concept’ within the community groups. A strong influence on Law’s theory was Bandura’s (1997) social learning theory, which assumes learning happens by observation, reward and punishment on behaviour. Law developed five modes which communities influence the individual

1. Expectations – the pressures of different groups 2. Feedback – the messages individuals receive regarding their suitability for different occupations 3. Support – the reinforcement of aspirations, strengths and weakness 4. Modelling – examples and understanding of others 5. Information – observations and direct contact with work environments.

The community interaction theory allows career guidance to understand outside influences on the ‘self’. It allows practitioners to understand social barriers, gender and ethnic limitations on decisions. That working with others to provide a wide range of information sources can too influence individual decisions and raise aspirations, that challenging ‘self concepts’ increases social mobility. Careers education in schools (as one of the community groups) is also important when looking at the five modes of influence.

Another theory developed from Bandura’s social cognitive learning theory is the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Lent, Brown & Hackett). Although it is in contrast to the community interaction theory because it believes the individual is at the heart of the decision making process and environmental factors of other theories are over emphasised, although SCCT does also address social and economic factors. SCCT lends its self to career guidance, as it recognises opportunities for interventions as life progresses and circumstances change. The theory is predictive and causal in its nature and provides understanding of gender and ethnic influences and of individuals belonging to other minority groups on career decision making.

SCCT’s key concepts are;

1. Self-efficacy - the individuals’ beliefs about their ability to succeed. This is provided via several sources; personal performance and accomplishment, vicarious learning (observation of others, role models), social persuasion and physiological and emotional states. This begins in early childhood.

2. Outcome expectations – the individuals’ beliefs regarding the outcome of performing particular behaviours.

3. Personal goals – the individuals determination to take on an activity or influence an outcome

It assumes contextual factors (background) and individual characteristics influence learning experiences and self efficacy. (www.uky.edu/education/EDP/love/learning-social)

The learning sources of self-efficacy include personal factors, such as race, ethnicity, gender, physical appearances (disabilities) and special abilities like intelligence or musical ability for example. Environmental conditions are also a source of self-efficacy learning and include socioeconomic status, job/training opportunities, social policies, technological advancements, family influences, community influences, religion, values, expectations, gender roles, roles models and education systems.

Key constructs of the theory are; 1. Interest development model – Individuals are attracted to activities they are good at and successful in.

2. Attitudes & values, tied in with self-efficacy and outcome expectations.

3. Choice model – this relates to establishing goals, taking action, attainment determining future direction

4. Performance model – the quality and persistence of behaviour.

The theory predicts individuals will reject possible career choices due to faulty self-efficacy or outcome expectations and because of perceived barriers. This is where careers guidance can intervene. Providing strong and varied role models and combing this verbal and social persuasion and examining barriers can modify self-efficacy. Individuals acquire new successful experiences. Guidance can also help address emotional states by addressing any underlining anxieties regarding choices and performance. Career guidance can help with goal setting, which helps to organise, guide and sustain an individual aims.

The assumption that self-efficacy can be modified and because social cognitive careers theory recognises the influence of social and environmental factors means it is a good framework for the development of careers guidance practices.

A contemporary approach to careers theory is the boundaryless career. Whereas traditionally careers were seen as linear and stable with job security and employees staying and progressing with one firm, the changing working environment through technological advances and globalisation has caused a shift so that the traditional career is no longer viable. Career paths are now discontinuous and move across the boundaries of employers and even sectors. Key concepts of the of theory are;

1. Occupations interlink with other areas of individual life 2. Career is under individual control 3. Movement across employers breaks from traditional assumptions 4. Opportunities will be rejected for personal reasons

The theory considers careers are influenced by socioeconomic, culture and personal factors. It accounts for the physical movements of individuals within their careers. The theory highlights key skills required in the modern workplace; transferable skills, personal identification with meaningful work, job learning, the importance of networking, peer learning and individual responsibility.

The theory proposes where traditionally a career was in the hands of and progressed by an organisation it is now the responsibility of the individual and boundaryless mentality is an attitude that can be developed. Individuals develop ‘social capital’, such as networks that help facilities boundaryless. The theory recognises not everyone has the same degree of boundaryless and some individuals (from minority groups) may not be boundaryless at all and this could have negative effects on the individuals such as feeling less successful.

The theory is very western in its culture and wouldn’t be useful or transferable to other cultures. Critics of the theory argue the concept of the theory is difficult to measure, and too much emphasis is given to physical mobility, which is not necessarily linked to social mobility. The theory also assumes individuals are capable of proactive behaviour. However, the boundaryless career is a contemporary concept which is responsive to shifting boundaries (Arthur, 2008).

No one theory on its own provides the complete framework for careers guidance. No one theory actually acknowledges the very complex nature of career decision making, assuming in the end, all decisions are made rationally! I recognise elements from most the theories mentioned in my work, particularly the social cognitive careers theory, although I do believe there is increasing socioeconomic and political influences in career guidance. I use matching theory in the form of online tests on sites like Plotr and Kudos, but not as a stand-alone concept, I work with students and develop goal plans, which if necessary detail any barriers to and actions for achievement of their goals. Theory strands are also event in government policy on careers education/guidance, although these seem to be based on social and economic needs, including the use of labour market information in guidance. Using local labour market information suggests there are elements of opportunity structure in career decision making for young people. Both SCCT and community interaction theory consider the importance of providing opportunities for observation and modelling, our careers education programme in school aims to do this, by linking with industry, inviting speakers into school and the work experience programme. This is also reflected in the newly established careers and enterprise company set up by government.

As the job market and working patterns continue to change, so do will career guidance theories develop to account for these changes and how decisions are/should be made in an ever changing environment.

Resources

Concept of Boundaryless careers, Essays UK (November 2013) www.ukessays.com
Social Cognitive Career Theory of Career Choice, Hackett, Professor & Provost www.uky.edu/education/EDP/love/learning-social Career Guide for Schools, Report on Effective Career Guidance, 2008
The Career Counselling Interview, Kidd, J M (1996) Birkbeck
The Career-learning Network, Building on what we know, community interaction and its importance for contemporary careers work, Bill Law 1981, 1993, 2009, www.hiholhiho.com
Contributions from Jenny Bimrose, Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick.
Understanding Career Counselling, Theory, Research and Practice, Jennifer M Kidd, 2006

Written Summer 2015