The current literature in career theory reflects two key themes: the influence of constructivism and the ongoing drive for convergence of career theories. This chapter briefly overviews the history of career theories, and within the context of the need for a shift in philosophical underpinnings of career theory describes the core principles of constructivism and its role in the focus on convergence in career theory. Second, it explores two recent theoretical contributions which reflect developments in both integration and in the influence of constructivism in career theory. For the purpose of comprehensiveness, the influence of constructivism on the role of these influences in a number of emerging theoretical discussions is also reviewed.
The traditional approach to career needs to be understood in the context of an era in the world of work when vocational guidance was applied to decisions about jobs for life, usually at school leaving age. Indeed, knowledge about the world of work in order to facilitate career decisions at this time ensured that career counselling was largely seen as an objective cognitive problem solving process where matching knowledge about self and knowledge about the world of work was thought to result in a sound career choice. However, world of work changes have changed our understanding of career and career development. While the elements of the systems of influence on individual career behaviour are the same, their nature and their relevance to the individual and his/her career behaviour at different points throughout life are different. Career theories have broadened, new theories have been proposed, and the world of work has undergone dramatic and irreversible change (Amundson, 2005; Brown & Associates, 2002; Patton & McMahon, 2006). In today’s world, people change jobs several times in a lifetime, and occupational choice is only one aspect of a broad array of career challenges to confront. Career theories need to be appropriate for the complexity of individuals living in a complex world.
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Patton, W. (2008). Recent Developments in Career Theories: The Influences of Constructivism and Convergence. In: Athanasou, J.A., Van Esbroeck, R. (eds) International Handbook of Career Guidance. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6230-8_7
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