Donna E. Palladino Schultheiss

Relational Influences in Career Development: A Qualitative Inquiry

This investigation examined the role of relationships with parents, siblings, and significant others in the career development process. Individual interviews were conducted to clarify the nature of these relationships and their association with career exploration and decision making. The narrative data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods as described by Hill, Thompson, and Williams. One of the most prominent factors in relational influence—particularly across the mother, father, and most important sibling domains—was the relationship as a multidimensional source of support. The results are discussed within the context of the core set of social support functions identified by Cutrona and Russell. Implications for theory and practice and directions for future research are offered.

The Interface of Work and Family Life

Dramatic changes in the workforce and workplace contribute to the need for a synthesis of knowledge on the interdependence of family life, work, and the vocational development of children, adolescents, and adults. Four prominent themes in the work and family literature are reviewed with the intention of providing guidance for all applied psychologists. These include (a) the meaning of work embedded in people’s lives, (b) multiple life roles, (c) work and family navigation, and (d) supportive family systems.

To Mother or Matter Can Women Do Both

Despite a burgeoning interest in the interface between work and relationships, and its origins in feminist thought, crucial aspects of women’s experiences have remained invisible in the face of mainstream discourse in the career field. Many women have and will continue to define motherhood as a career, yet none of our career development theories do so. In this article, an historical, sociocultural, and political framework for the context of the career development of women who mother is offered. Existing career theory is discussed in light of women’s mothering work and a relational cultural paradigm is offered as a theoretical backdrop for the consideration of critical issues relevant to women’s work. Implications for career counseling practice, research, and public policy are offered.

Qualitative Relational Career Assessment: A Constructivist Paradigm

Consistent with calls for postmodern and constructivist approaches to career counseling and assessment, a systematic review of qualitative approaches to the assessment of work and relationships is timely. Situated within a constructivist paradigm, a conceptual rationale for the qualitative assessment of relational influences within the career domain is presented, together with a comprehensive review of the state of the art of current qualitative relational career assessment practices. This review is followed by a recommendation to move the field forward toward a more contextualized view of work embedded within the relational domains of life.

Elementary Career Intervention Programs: Social Action Initiatives

This paper examines several conceptual frameworks that can inform elementary career intervention programming. Equity, social justice, and the development of intrinsic motivation are key concepts in the promotion of social action initiatives aimed at improving academic achievement and expanding future career options for all students. Early career interventions provide the ideal venue for prevention efforts in elementary schools. Relevant career theory forms the basis for the design and delivery of elementary career intervention programming.

Childhood Career Development Scale: Scale Construction and Psychometric Properties.

The purpose of this investigation was to construct a theoretically driven and psychometrically sound childhood career development scale to measure career progress in fourth- through sixth-grade children. Super’s nine dimensions (i.e., curiosity, exploration, information, key figures, interests, locus of control, time perspective, self-concept, and planfulness) served as the conceptual basis for the construction of this instrument. Principal components analyses indicated the presence of eight empirically derived components with adequate internal consistency. The component structure was largely supported by coefficients of congruence between component loadings from two samples. Gender and grade main and interaction effects for the subscales were analyzed. Implications for theory and research are offered.

Women Pursuing Careers in Trades and Construction.

The purpose of this article is to review the extant literature on women in skilled trades and construction to identify specific gaps in our knowledge of the career development processes and needs of this understudied and underserved population. Our aim is to stimulate the interest of scholars and their engagement in research and practice relevant to noncollege women with interests in these occupations. Such research is needed to guide successful career interventions, inform public policy, and promote equal opportunity for women in the pursuit of their careers.

A Relational Cultural Paradigm as a Theoretical Backdrop for Considering Women’s Work

A relational cultural paradigm for vocational psychology has been introduced as a novel paradigm that emphasises the cultural shaping of meaning-making through relationships as central to the understanding of work in people’s lives (Schultheiss, 2007).

Construction and psychometric properties of the Childhood Career Development Scale

The aim of this study was to construct and psychometrically validate a measure of childhood career development for Grade 4 to Grade 7 children. Supers (1990) nine dimensions of career development (i.e. curiosity, exploration, information, key figures, locus of control, interests, time perspective, self-concept, and planfulness) formed the conceptual basis of the instrument. Eight of Supers constructs were supported by means of principal components analysis, with seven being replicated with a second sample. The relationships between grade, gender and the Childhood Career Development Scales sub-scale scores are reported, and implications for theory and research are provided.

An Introduction to Social Constructionism in Vocational Psychology and Career Development

Our aim of this book was to examine the major foundations of a social constructionist approach to vocational psychology and career development. Although social constructionism has a relatively long history with roots in philosophy (e.g., Derrida, 1982; 1998; Foucault, 1970) and sociology (Berger & Luckmann, 1966; Mead, 1934), it first garnered the full attention of psychologists in the early 1980s (e.g., Gergen, 1982; 1985; Harre, 1981), and vocational psychologists significantly later (Collin & Young, 2000; Guichard, 2005; Savickas, 1994; 2000; 2002).