Week 2

After reading the assigned chapter and article for this week, I could not help but question why this was never a component of my education in elementary school, middle school, high school, or postsecondary school. As Brown (2012) introduces the philosophical underpinnings of career development theories by describing the two categories of positivist and postmodern, I felt more inclined to accept postmodern theories.  I agreed that the context in which an individual develops is a strong predictor as to what opportunities the individual may see as possible. Even though some personality characteristics may be inherited, the context and interaction with others holds far greater weight in our later career decisions. I know, personally within my family, I was constantly pushed to attain high grades and throughout childhood I had aspired to become a doctor. Under Holland's theory of vocational choice, I would categorize myself as a combination of investigative and social personality types (Holland, 1997).  I wanted to find a career where I would be able to help others while also pursuing research.  I also found the influence of both  gender and status to be of interest, and I question why particular careers are categorized as masculine or feminine. What exactly about a career makes it more feminine or masculine?  It could be possible that our developmental progression from children to young adults may foster a socially constructed gendered  career perspective. After reading about all the theories and the assessments constructed, I questioned why this information was not available within my school as I began my search for the type of career I would enjoy.

In the Gibson (2005) article, the use of a genogram in aiding a child's development of career interest sounded like a great project to undertake especially for its visual representation of careers held by members of the family. The ability for school counselors to be able to also understand more of a student's family background would be extremely helpful for career counseling.  Not only would students have the opportunity to work with a school counselor, the creation of a genogram would also open further communication about career development within the family (Gibson, 2005). Thus, students would be able to formulate particular areas of interest based on similar personality traits of family members and his/her career choice decision. I feel that the progression of career development throughout elementary, middle, and high school would enable students to explore possible career paths. Although I am an oddity within my family in my choice of what career I have chosen to pursue, I can definitely notice similar personality traits in some of my family members.

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Gibson, D. M. (2005). The use of genograms in career counseling with elementary, middle, and high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 353-362.

Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.