Career Development in Childhood

Career-related issues that affect child until age of 12

SUPER’S MODEL OF THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

Curiosity:
Desire for knowledge or something new or unusual
Most basic of all needs and drives
Curiosity may develop when there are changes in an individual’s physical or social needs
May be prompted by hunger, thirst, loneliness, and other stimuli
Boredom, wish for excitement, or a desire for stimulation produces curiosity
Curiosity and fantasizing in young children should be encouraged
Exploration:
Act of searching or examining
Is a behavior
Curiosity leads to children exploring their environment
Information:
Piaget: major periods of cognitive development
_ Sensorimotor (birth – 2): infants attend to objects and events around them and then respond to these objects and events
Attending – sensory acts of touching, seeing, smelling, etc.
Responding – motor acts such as biting, hitting, screaming, etc.
_ Preoperational (2 – 7): learn to add and subtract, egocentric, young children cannot tell fantasy from reality
_ Concrete operational (7 – 11): Children think in concrete terms, they do not have to see an object to imagine manipulating it, but they must be aware that it exists
_ Formal operational (12 – beyond): think abstractly

Key Figures:
Adults are important role models
Parents, teachers, public figures are examples
Significant method of learning for children is imitation
Internal versus External Control:
Children begin to experience a feeling of control over their own surroundings
they begin to develop a feeling of autonomy and of being in control of future events
Development of Interests:
Fantasies of occupations are affected by information about the world, and they become interests.
Encouraging children’s emerging interests is helpful in the development of their career maturity.
Time Perspective:
Developing a sense of future
Unrealistic to ask children (especially below 4th grade) to think about planning future vocational training
Self-concept and Planfulness:
Sense of self begins to emerge in late childhood or early adolescence



USING SUPER’S MODEL IN COUNSELING CHILDREN

Typical elementary school guidance problems
_ Lack of academic progress
_ Dyslexia
_ Lack of reading achievement
_ Problems with sight, hearing, or ability

Typical family problems
_ Child abuse
_ Child neglect
_ Issues arising from single parent families
_ Divorce
_ Unwed parents
_ Stepfamilies
_ Working parents

GOTTFREDSON’S THEORY OF CIRCUMSCRIPTION, COMPROMISE, AND SELF-CREATION

A life-stage theory of career development in childhood and adolescence that emphasizes the importance of gender and prestige in making decisions (this gender and prestige emphasis is generally not in any other theories).

Socialization theory - biological factors become less and less important as individuals age.

Modern nature-nurture partnership theory - both biological and environmental factors influence each other and continue to do so throughout the life of the individual.

Niches - life settings and roles that individuals occupy.

Similar to other theorists, Gottfredson’s theory includes intelligence, vocational interest, competencies, and values.

Circumscription - The idea that various factors limit career choices at different ages.
The progressive elimination of unacceptable alternatives, leaving acceptable alternatives
The prediction that gender will influence occupational preferences from the age of 6 and up and prestige will influence preferences at 9 and up
Choices are circumscribed or limited

Four stages of cognitive development (provides a way for one to look at themselves in the world)

1. 3 – 5 years old: orientation to size and power
Children grasp the idea of becoming an adult by orienting themselves to the size difference between themselves and adults

2. 6 – 8 years old: orientation to gender roles
Become aware of the different gender roles of men and women
Their careers choices are influenced by their view of gender roles
3. 9 – 13 years old: affected by abstract ideas of social class
Prestige becomes an important factor in career choice

4. 14 years old and older: orientation to the Internal Unique Self;
Adolescents become more introspective and develop greater self-awareness and perceptiveness toward others
Develop a more insightful view of vocational aspirations as they are affected by the view of themselves, gender roles, and prestige

Gender-stereotyping
Children develop tolerable gender-type boundaries, beliefs that tell them that certain jobs are appropriate for a specific sex
Persuasive gender-stereotyping is found in schools

Compromise: the necessity of an individual to modify his or her career choices because of the reality of limiting environmental factors such as a competitive job market or not having sufficient academic performance to enter an academic program
May have to accept less attractive careers
Concerns the prediction that the earlier a stage occurs, the more resistant it will be to change and the less willing an individual will be to compromise on issues related to that stage
Gender type, prestige, and interest will be compromised (or sacrificed) in such a way that, when making a change in career choice, individuals will give up their interests first, then prestige, and then gender type.
This hypothesis deals with why women have a hard time considering non-traditional careers.

Implications of Gottfredson’s Theory for Super’s Theory
Super’s model does NOT deal with gender bias.

Gottfredson is consistent with the importance of career exploration unrestricted by gender-role stereotyping.
Thus, children should be able to EXPLORE.
Schools should provide non-gender –stereotyping material so that children can gather INFORMATION.
Schools are more likely then to provide an atmosphere that promotes a variety of INTERESTS.
If exploration and information are not gender-biased, the selection of KEY FIGURES is also more likely to be unbiased.
These concepts will eventually affect the child’s SELF-CONCEPT and ability to make career choices.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR CHILDREN OF CULTURALLY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS

Research suggests that African American and Hispanic children may be impeded in their exposure to exploratory activities in finding information that would enhance their development.

Counselors should provide the same opportunities for all children.




THE ROLE OF OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION

School-to-Work – provision of occupational information through the educational system.
1. Infusion of occupational information into the classroom through films, oral reports on occupations, or development of interest centers in class
2. Less formal approach includes group activities such as skits using terms from the world of work, crossword puzzles with work terms, comparing lists of interests, abilities, and achievements with requirements of occupations
3. Community involvement, field trips

Experiential Career Guidance Model
Activities designed for preschool children
Sensitive to children’s limited time perspective
Activities focus on the family and home, such as a play store or library

THE ROLE OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

A few inventories for children, such as Holland’s Self-Directed Search (Form E), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Children’s Personality Questionnaire

COUNSELOR ISSUES

Great gap between the developmental stage of children and that of counselors.