Norman C. Gysbers

A Cluster-Analytic Investigation of Subtypes of Adult Career Counseling Clients: Toward a Taxonomy of Career Problems

Two hundred and seventy-eight adults who ranged in age from 18 to 69 years and were voluntarily in career counseling completed measures pre- and postcounseling to assess career-related variables (e.g., vocational identity) and psychological issues that may affect career concerns (e.g., level of psychological distress). Participant-clients received 1 to 14 sessions of individual career counseling, according to the need of each participant. The counselors were trained to use a holistic method of career counseling that emphasized the importance of considering career and psychosocial concerns together in working with the client. Using cluster analysis, four distinct types of career counseling clients were identified that provides an initial taxonomy of career problems with adult career clients. Pre- and postcounseling differences among clusters were examined. Implications of the findings for career counseling practice and further research are discussed.

The Implementation and Evaluation of Comprehensive School Guidance Programs in the United States: Progress and Prospects

The evolution of guidance in the schools of the United States from a position to a service to a program is described. Then the prevailing structure for guidance, the comprehensive guidance program is presented. This section of the article provides a brief overview of the basic elements of the program. Finally, the article closes with discussion of guidance program evaluation as well as presents the results of several studies that offer evidence of the impact of guidance programs.

Enhancing life skills development: Chinese adolescents' perceptions

This study explored Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of their own life skills development and the importance they place on such skills. The study also investigated the within‐school and outside‐school influences that may help develop and enhance life skills development. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted, using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results revealed students’ awareness of many salient life skills, including those related directly to academic development, ‘learning to learn’, personal and social growth, and future career planning. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might use to further enhance students’ life skills development. Contextual factors influencing the development of life skills appear to include not only experiences within the school curriculum and the guidance and counseling program, but also talent development opportunities, and family and peer relationships. The implications of the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling programs in Hong Kong.

Talent development, work habits, and career exploration of Chinese middle‐school adolescents: development of the Career and Talent Development Self‐Efficacy Scale

This article describes the development of an instrument – the Career and Talent Development Self‐Efficacy Scale (CTD‐SES) – for assessing students’ self‐efficacy in applying life skills essential for personal talent development, acquisition of positive work habits, and career exploration. In Study 1, data were obtained from a large sample of Chinese middle‐school students (N=15,113) in Grades 7–9 in Hong Kong. The CTD‐SES is an 18‐item questionnaire with subscales containing items that address students’ orientations toward developing their own talents, acquiring and applying positive work habits, and exploring their career possibilities. Evidence is provided for internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure of the CTD‐SES. Goodness of fit statistics provided support for a three‐primary‐factor‐plus‐higher‐factor model, and this solution was used in the statistical analyses. The data also indicated that students with plans for university study reported significantly higher scores than those without on all three domains of career and talent development. In Study 2 (N=308) Grade 10 high‐ability students’ scores in CTD‐SES were correlated with scores in career decision self‐efficacy and academic performance. The development and validation of CTD‐SES is the first step toward investigating career exploration, work habits, and talent development among Asian middle‐school adolescents.

Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling Programmes in the Primary Schools of Hong Kong: Teachers' Perceptions and Involvement

Abstract This article describes teachers and Life Education Coordinators perceptions of, and involvement in, the guidance and counselling activities in primary schools in Hong Kong. Respondents who completed a survey questionnaire comprised 367 class teachers and 66 Life Education Coordinators from 82 primary schools. The results indicated that guidance and counselling activities (including guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support) were being implemented in their schools to some reasonable extent. Some differences between teachers and Life Education Coordinators in terms of their involvement and perceptions are discussed. The survey identified a major weakness in the present guidance system in that many teachers who are involved in, and responsible for, implementing a guidance curriculum do not have any training in guidance work. Implications are discussed.

Measuring Evaluation Competency Among School Counselors

School counselors must possess requisite evaluation competency to promote quality and accountability in their comprehensive counseling programs. Despite advances, the field lacks appropriate methods to measure evaluation competency. This article describes the development of a survey designed to measure evaluation competency among school counselors in Missouri and its use in the initial evaluation of a state mentoring program. Findings include initial support for the psychometric properties and four-factor structure of this survey as well as a preliminary assessment of evaluation competencies among participating school counselors. Implications focus on efforts to define, build, and measure evaluation competency in school counseling.

Career Guidance and Counselling in Primary and Secondary Educational Settings

This chapter describes the development and implementation of career guidance and counselling in primary and secondary educational settings covering ages five to 18 years, between 1990 and the present. The author begins with some background information about the administrative authority for career guidance and counselling and whether or not that authority is centralised or decentralised. Some examples of career guidance and counselling programs and practices from around the world are presented. The focus is on what career guidance and counselling knowledge, skills and attitudes, i.e. learning outcomes, children and adolescents are being expected to acquire, along with the delivery systems and methods being used. Some unresolved issues that affect the conceptualisation, delivery and practice of career guidance and counselling in primary and secondary educational settings are discussed in the conclusion of the chapter.

Life Career Development: the Major Focus for Career Guidance Programs

1A speech delivered at the Fifth Annual National Leadership Development Seminar for State Directors of Vocational Education sponsored by The Center for Vocational and Technical Education at The Ohio State University, September 19-22, 1972. *Dr. Gysbers is Professor of Education and Director of Guidance Services, University Laboratory School, University of Missouri-Columbia. To understand life career development and the potential it has for restructuring the process and activities of guidance, it is first necessary to know something about the evolution of the meaning and use of the concept. The first section of the paper will examine some of its antecedents. In this section, you will see a change in the meaning and use of some

Career Education Concepts, Methods, and Processes For Pre- and In-Service Education.

... career education constitutes a new, vitalizing thrust in education. There are, of course, those who will say that it is just another passing fancy and if we don’t pay much attention to it, it will go away and leave us undisturbed. The evidence mounts daily that this is not the general reaction. The increasing public and legislative reaction to Career Education is one of hope that a new paradigm for educational operations has finally been found which will not only provide a basic social return consistent with the anticipated human and financial inputs, but a relevance for youth which will help them find their social identification and secure a sense of mission and destiny as participating members of society ... If we accept Goldhammer’s thesis, then the task is one of defining Career Education and developing appropriate models and resources to fully implement it in the schools. At the present time substantial efforts are being directed toward assisting local school districts to develop compre-