Career Development Interventions in the 21st Century by Spencer G. Niles, JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey

From the Publisher

Organized around the National Career Development Association’s competencies, this practical, engaging text examines the full spectrum of state-of-the-art career development topics. Coverage focuses squarely on the application of interventions with real people, using straightforward presentations and cases studies to expose students to all of the essential competencies required for the professional practice of career counseling. The authors’ respect for their field and their long-standing commitment to educating students about career development theory and practice creates a readable, useful, interesting text. It also addresses the wide diversity of career counseling clients and counselors in today’s society, while emphasizing that careers develop over time, rather than in a single “enlightened” moment.

With an increased emphasis on application and implications for practice, Career Development Interventions in the 21^st Century now includes:

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Forewords & Introductions

Table of Contents

Forewords & Introductions

To make the book more readable, most chapters include case studies. Our goal is to help readers connect chapter content with the lives of people represented in the cases. Although the cases are, for the most part, fictional, they reflect the career concerns of people with whom we have worked as career counselors in schools, in community settings, and in higher education. Thus, we are indebted to our clients, in addition to our students, for teaching us about the career development process. We seek to share these experiences with the readers of this book.

Another goal is to convey to our readers the deep respect and long-term commitment we have for career development theory and practice. We emphasize this goal in Chapter 1. As we note in the book, there are few things more personal than a career choice, and we were cognizant of this fact as we wrote each chapter. Making career decisions involves deciding how we will spend one of the most precious commodities we have—our timeon Earth. We realize that these decisions are often very difficult and overwhelming. Thus, we draw upon the work of our colleagues in the field to present readers with "state-of-the-art" career theory and practice. However, the current situation evolved from the past contributions of many leaders in the field. We acknowledge their important foundational contributions in Chapter 1.

Although we cover a wide variety of theoretical perspectives in the book (especially in Chapters 2 and 3), we emphasize that careers develop over time. A decision point in one's career development is just that, a point in time at which one makes decisions based on previous and current career development experiences. Although knowing how to help people at these important points in their career development is crucial, career practitioners can also intervene proactively in the lives of children, adolescents, and adults in ways that facilitate positive career development prior to career crises occurring. Being able to provide assistance in both instances is critical.

We are especially concerned that career development theory and practice be inclusive. Constructing culturally inclusive career development interventions should be standard practice within the field. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. In part because of their historical context, career theories and practices focused primarily on the career experiences of European-American middle-class males. Although we devote a chapter to diverse populations (Chapter 4), throughout the book we also address the need for inclusive career interventions. Our cases also tend to highlight the career experiences of clients from diverse backgrounds. We think both approaches (i.e., having a single chapter devoted to the topic and infusing diversity throughout the book) are needed to begin to more adequately address the career development needs of all people.

The need to provide clients with culturally sensitive career interventions provides an important foundation for discussing career counseling interventions in Chapter 5 and career assessment approaches in Chapter 6. We provide information pertaining to career counseling process and outcomes that reflects the most recent work within the field. We also provide career information, resources, and website references (Chapter 7 and 8) that represent important aspects of the career development process. We highlight the essential considerations in designing and implementing career development programs in Chapter 9. Finally, we highlight developmental approaches to providing career assistance in the schools, community settings, and higher education in Chapter 10 through Chapter 13.

Of course, the desire to engage in ethical practice is also a standard in the field. However, there are many challenges confronting career practitioners. Web-based services such as career counseling and career assessment, the possibility of dual relationships, and theories with deeply rooted value sets present challenges to practitioners as they engage in ethical practice. Thus, we address many of these current ethical challenges in Chapter 14. This is one of the few career development textbooks with a chapter devoted to ethical practice.

Finally, we emphasize the importance of engaging in the ongoing evaluation of career services. This is important for improving service delivery. However, when resources are limited, as they are in many situations, the need for both accountability and the ability to demonstrate effectiveness are great. We present readers with important topics related to the evaluation of career services in Chapter 15.

To make the book even more useful to readers, we use a framework developed by the National Career Development Association (NCDA). Specifically, we use the NCDA's (1997) career development competencies, to guide us in the identification of chapter topics. These competencies appear in the appendix at the end of the book. Please note that in the book's appendix we identify the chapters that are most relevant to each competency category.

The rationale for using the competencies is that if these competencies are deemed the requisite knowledge and skills for providing career development interventions, then we should help readers learn this information and develop these skills. Here again, we also hope that the case studies facilitate the learning process. The Companion Website for the book also contributes to knowledge and skill acquisition, and we hope that readers find this resource to be a valuable tool. The Companion Website will be updated periodically, so we encourage readers to return to it at regular intervals for up-to-date information and web links.

We hope that we have accomplished the goals that motivated us to write the book. We also hope that we have fulfilled our students' expectations. In teaching our career courses, we consider it high praise when students tell us that they have a new respect and appreciation for career development interventions as a result of the class experience. This is what we hope occurs with this book. We invite readers to send us their feedback via the book's Companion Website. We are committed to improving the book in any way that we can. Your comments will guide us in the revisions that we make. Finally, we wish you the best of luck as you embark on a very exciting adventure within the counseling profession.