A career development client's view of a development approach

In a previous post, I began considering what a developmental approach is in career development (here). It apparently comes from liberal psychology: from Carl Rogers, Mark Savickas, and Donald Super (Hooley et al., 2018). It uses subjective research methods, such as interpretivism, constructivism, and narrative-ism (!), and views life as a "text" whose meaning is negotiated and open to interpretation (Hooley et al., 2018).

I am now wondering if, here in Aotearoa, we truly take a developmental approach to career development? By that, I mean where our "life course [...] is embedded in and shaped by the historical times and places [we] experience" during our lives (Vondracek & Porfeli, 2002, p. 388). And also where "[t]he developmental impact of a life transition or event [depends on] when it" happens to us; where we live in "a network of shared relationships" and "social and historical influences" which develop us; where we have agency to "construct [our] life course through the choices and actions [we] take within the constraints and opportunities of history and social circumstances" (p. 388).

That's a big chain of events. And, for that matter, quite a set of constraints.

It appears our personal development depends on: the time and space we find ourselves within; on our shaping forces; on the society around us; on the constraints of economy, finance, class and inheritance; on our personal agency; on chance; on events outside our control; on events within our control (Vondracek & Porfeli, 2002). No pressure then.

Being developmental means we focus on ourselves: on putting our personal fulfilment and our growth first. This is not about being selfish, but about working out what we could achieve; what we want to achieve (Hooley et al., 2018). We may need support to get to self-discovery, self-actualisation, and the 'flourishing' of our aspirations (Hooley et al., 2018)... and for that we are likely to need help.

Enter professionals: teachers. Career practitioners. Mentors. Coaches. Trainers. Psychologists. Psychiatrists. Social Workers. OTs. Doctors. Surgeons. All trained to help us - as the client - be all we can be. Professionals are our 'sounding board', or perhaps act as a mirror to ourselves, as we work through the process of self-creation, building agency, and forging an identity.

When we are working with professionals, the focus of professionals needs to stay on our choice and our client agency. What we want - as the client - must remain central, ensuring the professional sees us as a "rational actor" in our own life: not trying to coerce or guide us into ideas or outcomes of their own devising (Hooley et al., 2018). The counselling process has no room for a professional-focus, or a task-focus, or an information-focus: it should be all about the client, about us.

But there are some fishhooks to a developmental approach. Our socio-economic and cultural circumstances might not be well understood by the professionals working with us, so we may get poor advice (Hooley et al., 2018). The professionals may see us as 'ambition' and 'growth' when our needs are all about supporting our whānau now (Hooley et al., 2018). Professionals may see us as free - having agency - when we may be constrained by family, faith, culture, inequality, or resourcing (Hooley et al., 2018). Aiming for community or volunteer service may be discouraged due to a professional developmental focus on self-improvement and self-regulation (Hooley et al., 2018).

Professionals adjust us to fit the world of work, not the other way around. The world of work holds its own shape: as a planet we don't stop to think how we could restructure it from an ethical or social justice perspective (Hooley et al., 2018).

While I hear that, in thinking through our - client - understandings of family/whānau/community, service/faith, inequality, and resourcing, perhaps New Zealand career practitioners may perhaps be more culturally and socio-culturally aware of client needs over others? Or at least understand and accept that all these factors are important: even if the depth of the social tie is not deeply understood. So does that make career practice in Aotearoa New Zealand less developmental?

And if career practice here is not so developmentalist, what is our underlying approach to practice? It is an interesting question to ask.

Sam

References:

Hooley, T., Sultana, R., & Thomsen, R. (Eds.). (2018). Career Guidance for Social Justice: Contesting Neoliberalism. Routledge.

Vondracek, F. W., & Porfeli, E. (2002). Integrating person-and function-centered approaches in career development theory and research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(3), 386-397. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2002.1881

* NotebookLM was used to create the image accompanying this post