Historical Development

and Some Basic Issues

By: Mary Allyson B. Allapitan
Chapter Highlights

• Chronology of career counseling and guidance movement

• Beginnings of the counseling profession
• Early contributors
• Early governmental programs
• Development of professional organizations
• Career counseling from past and future perspectives
• Some basic issues that reflect current and future needs of career counseling
The case for the individual
Career life perspective
Career choice
Working in the 21st century
Lifelong learning
Counseling in a culturally diverse society
Effective use of career information
Focusing on a multiple spectrum of domains
Six Stages of Development from 1890

•Stage one (1890–1919) began the growth of placement services in urban areas to meet the needs of
growing industrial organizations.

•Stage two (1920–1939) marked the growth of educational guidance in elementary and secondary schools.

•Stage three (1940–1959) was a time of significant growth of guidance needs in colleges and universities
and in the training of counselors.

•Stage four (1960–1979) was highlighted by organizational career development. The nature of work
became more appropriately viewed as a very pervasive life role.

•Stage five (1980–1989) was a period of significant transitions brought on by information technology and
the beginning of career counseling private practice and outplacement services.

•Stage six (1990–present) is viewed as a time of changing demographics, the beginning of multicultural
counseling, continued development of technology, and a focus on school-to-work transitions.
A Chronology of Historical Events from Mid-1800s

1850–1920 • The rise of industrialism in the late 1800s significantly changed the way people worked and
lived. Urban areas grew quickly, attracting many immigrants and people from rural areas. Work and living
environments were significantly changed for both men and women. Men worked in factories and women
worked at home.

1930–1950 • The significant events that took place during this time were the Great Depression and World
War II (1939–1945) and its aftermath. Unemployment was a major social issue in this country and in many
others.

1950–1980 • Two events that stand out at the beginning of this period were the Korean War (1950–1953)
and the expansion of the “cold war.”

1980–Present • During this period of time, the career counseling movement continued to flourish and
expanded its services with a greater concentration on the needs of minorities and women. The global
economy became a driving force behind changes in how and where people work.
 A Glance into the Past and a Look into the Future

• This field has been influenced by the foresight,

dedication, and pioneering efforts of many
individuals. Those who came forth with
conceptualizations of career counseling that have
endured for many decades provided the guidelines
for contemporary practices. Other individuals
concentrating on basic research in human
development also contributed immeasurably to the
career counseling movement. The leaders in related
branches of applied psychology and contributors to
technological advancements all played a part in
developing what has become the mainstream of this
movement.
 SOME BASIC ISSUES

• We now turn to identifying some

basic issues in career counseling
that provide a means of
discovering some of the
significant challenges that
currently face the counseling
profession.
 The Case for the Individual

• Vocational counseling was founded on the principle of

individual differences in assets and strengths. Measures of
individual traits were the primary focus of early
vocational counseling. The major goal was to match an
individual’s assets and strengths with job requirements
(Picchioni & Bonk, 1983). From these early beginnings,
vocational counselors gradually and carefully expanded the
scope of human traits used in the vocational choice
process.
 Career Life Perspective

• In the process of clarifying career and life roles an important

perspective emerges from which to evaluate potential careers and
their interrelationships. The strength of lifestyle orientations for
self-improvement through education, leadership roles in work,
financial independence, and participation in community activities
and services are specific examples of discussion topics. In
addition, a comparison of lifestyle factors with skills, interests,
and personality, for example, can point out congruence or striking
differences. An ever-expanding role of career counseling will
certainly include the comprehensive nature of career life
perspective.
 Working in the 21st Century

• The work environment has also experienced dramatic changes in how

work tasks are accomplished. We have witnessed or read about new
diagnostic devices currently used in the healthcare industry. Automobile
mechanics are now trained to use computerized diagnostic equipment to
determine if our vehicle is operating properly. Large distribution
organizations can determine their inventory almost immediately through
personalized software programs. Plumbers use advanced technology to
locate leaks in underground pipelines. Even the amount of wax in your
left ear can be determined by a small camera whose image is enlarged
and viewed on a screen. We do not know, however, how future advances
in technology will change the way we work and live but they are sure to
come. Broadband technology, for example, should offer significant
innovations for the future workplace.
 Lifelong Learning

• One of the major counseling goals of lifelong learning is to provide each

client with a knowledge base and skills that can be used for current and
future concerns and needs. Decision-making and communication skills, for
instance, are good examples of skills that can be nurtured and used over the
lifespan. Survival skills and networking techniques may be essential during
periods of low employment. Information resources that can be accessed for a
variety of client interests can be used to locate career projections or leisure
and recreational needs. Finally, clients should periodically evaluate their own
career development in an effort to determine their individualized learning
needs. These suggestions are representative of an almost endless number of
potential learning opportunities that can assist clients now and in the future.
Counselors will find some challenging situations when promoting lifelong
learning that including becoming an advocate for learning programs in a
client’s community.
 Counseling in a Culturally Diverse Society

• The counselors will be challenged to meet the needs of an

increasingly culturally diverse society. Counselors modify
their procedures, techniques, and tools and learn culturally
appropriate ones. Assessment instruments, for example,
have to be carefully scrutinized to determine if they are
culturally appropriate. The call is for career counselors to
not be culture-bound. The role and scope of career
counseling should include techniques and tools that are
more sensitive to different cultural values and concerns.
 Effective Use of Career Information

• In the not-too-distant past, career information consisted of a collection

of unappealing, drab files and books containing technical-oriented
descriptions of work tasks. In the last three decades, there has been an
explosion of published career information materials in the form of
colorful books, files, audiovisual resources, and computer-based
programs. In addition, we now have computer-generated career
information and a vast array of Internet resources. It is not unusual to
find sections in the local newspaper that are devoted to job openings,
a list of online sources of job information, and the usual want ads. The
point here is that we now have at our disposal a variety of current
career information resources. The significant challenge, however, is
how can we most effectively use career information.
Focusing on a Multiple Spectrum of Domains

Counselors focus on sets of client concerns. Some concerns will involve career-related problems and
others may represent personal ones that are interrelated to multiple life roles, including the work role.
Within this framework, counselors focus on a multiple spectrum of domains of the “whole person” as in a
holistic approach to counseling. Career and personal concerns are considered inseparable and interrelated.
We use the example of a depressed client to illustrate the interrelatedness of personal and career concerns.
 Case 1-1: The Depressed Worker
• Alma, a worker in her late thirties, told her career counselor that she wanted to change jobs. Alma
was currently doing secretarial work in a large firm, a job she had held for two years. Her reasons
for seeking a change were somewhat vague: She stated, “I just don’t like it there anymore.” And,
she added, “I’m very depressed.” Depression can come from a variety of sources, and it can be
work-related, nonwork-related, or both. As Lowman (1993) points out, however, depression can
both lower work performance and affect nonwork factors. In Alma’s case, work seems to be at the
center of her problem. Many aspects of work have been found to influence depression, such as
problems with supervision, overly demanding work, the ambiguity of authority, lack of social
support, and corporate instability (Golding, 1989; Firth & Britton, 1989, cited in Lowman, 1993).
The career counselor was able to determine that Alma’s depression was related to a poor
relationship with her immediate supervisor. Alma also perceived that her work was demanding
and that she received little feedback support.
 Case 1-1: The Depressed Worker
• If the counselor determines that the client is
suffering from work-related depression, the
counselor and client focus on concerns the client
has about the work environment and other life roles.
When job change is the best choice, the client must
reevaluate goals, change values, and develop
abilities. The client and counselor seek solutions to
the current concerns with the work environment and
requirements to determine a future work role.
SUMMARY

1. The career counseling movement was embedded in changes in our society, especially in the work role.
Career counseling was created to meet the needs of society during transitional periods of change. Its
growth was influenced by a number of variables, factors, and events. Some key influences include the rise
of industrialism, the needs of war veterans and their families, social reform movements, studies of human
development, growth of urban areas, the measurement movement, federal acts and initiatives, studies of
career development, changing demographics, growth of technology, and global market forces

2. Some basic issues in career counseling include the case for the individual, career life perspective,
working in the 21st century, counseling in a culturally diverse society, effective use of information, and
focusing on multiple spectrums of domains.