This paper presents a critical argument to the profession of career development for the purpose of stimulating reflexive consideration on the myriad influences that impinge upon practitioners. The paper suggests that given the current skills agenda in the Australian economy, it may be timely to reflexively consider career development practice. The…

The study was designed to consider the motivations of career changers and the perceived outcomes of their career change. Data were collected from a sample of career changers (N = 81), approximately half of whom had used the services of a career coach. The analysis showed: firstly, that the reported outcomes associated with career change appeared…

Adolescents across the five years of high school (169 females and 164 males) completed a survey that identified occupational status aspirations and expectations coded into six types-- realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, or conventional--according to the RIASEC model (Holland, 1997). As the focus of the study was to explore…

Distinctive styles of client decision-making have emerged from case study research into the effectiveness of career guidance. This paper explores some findings from the third year of a longitudinal study currently underway in England, which relate to the ways clients approach transition points in their careers and make the decisions that move them…

Factors identified by 16 participants during in-depth interviews as influencing selection of speech pathology as a career were described using the Systems Theory Framework (STF, Patton & McMahon, 2006). Participants were highly likely to identify factors from the individual and social systems, but not the environmental-societal system, of the STF…

The purpose of this paper is to examine four case studies on the effects of injuries on adult career development. The four cases are taken from published judgements in the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Supreme Courts. Each case is analysed in terms of the person's background, the key issues and the demonstrable impact on…

The present study examined the occupational aspirations and career development influences of children attending Years 6 and 7 at a sample of rural and remote primary schools in the central western region of Queensland. Data was collected by means of the "Revised Career Awareness Survey" (McMahon & Patton, 2001). Australian and New Zealand Standard…

This paper documents the initial development and validation of a brief quantitative measure of career development influences based on the Systems Theory Framework (STF) of career development (McMahon & Patton, 1995; Patton & McMahon, 1997, 1999, 2006). Initial exploratory factor analyses of pilot study data revealed a six-factor structure based on…

The Systems Theory Framework (STF) is presented as an integrating and organising concept for the predominant theories of career. In order to test the integrative capacity of the STF, this research merges the STF's theoretical element of story with the Theory of Dialogical Self's model of personality. Implications for the practice of career…

Holland believes that specific personality types seek out matching occupational environments and his theory codes personality and environment according to a six letter interest typology. Since 1985 there have been numerous American studies that have queried the validity of Holland's coding system. Research in South Africa is scarcer, despite…

Gottfredson proposed that most people share an understanding of the world of work based upon the sex type, social status and type of occupations. Individuals use these three dimensions to organise their view of the world of work. There is as a consequence, she argued, a common cognitive map of occupations. She depicted this map graphically. This…

This paper explores the currently highly topical issue of Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS). Specifically, it focuses upon career advisers' perceptions of VETiS, their advising practices as pertaining to this program and their views of others' perceptions of VETiS. It draws upon a national research project and data derived from…

This study investigated a qualitative career assessment and counselling procedure that was founded upon a constructivist, narrative approach to career counselling, "My Career Chapter: A Dialogical Autobiography" (McIlveen, 2006). Counsellors were trained in the use of the procedure and then applied it to themselves in an intensive workshop format.…

The Systems Theory Framework (STF) facilitates the inclusion of relevant aspects of multiple existing theories within an integrated framework, wherein relevance and meaning is decided upon by each individual. Patton and McMahon emphasise that the application of the Systems Theory Framework in integrating theory and practice is located within the…

Since its first publication more than 15 years ago, the Systems Theory Framework (STF) has become an established metatheoretical framework in the international career development literature. Ten years into its history, the first review of its development was published. The present article overviews the expansion of the STF literature since that…