Current status and future agenda for the theory, research, and practice of childhood career development.

Future Directions: Theory Revision and Regeneration of the Childhood Career Development Literature

One path to theory generation or regeneration would be to borrow extensively from childhood and life span developmental theory and research. Developmental psychologists have much to offer with regard to the understanding and prediction of childhood behavior. Education and cross-national models provide additional resources. Similarly, the in-depth study of children in their daily routines and contexts provide fertile ground for new growth in theory development. Qualitative research methods offer one means of understanding and explaining children's experiences and behaviors in context. For example, a prominent concern of decision theorists is the effect of the sociocultural context on decision making (Klaczynski, Byrnes, & Jacobs, 2001). Beliefs about life opportunities and options, future goals and plans, confidence, and values have long been shown to be influenced by sociocultural factors associated with social class and different educational tracks (Klaczynski & Reese, 1991).

Qualitative research provides a discovery-oriented approach to understanding human experience in a way that brings the researcher closer to the interpersonal and sociocultural worlds of those they seek to understand. Many have argued that qualitative research captures the complexity and meaningfulness of human behavior and experience (Neimeyer & Resnikoff, 1982). Unlike quantitative research that relies heavily on the operationalization of theoretical concepts (etic approach), qualitative research focuses on the thematic generation of categories and meanings that evolve from the people studied (emic approach). As such, qualitative research aims to understand participants' actions within a particular social context. From this understanding, the investigator develops theoretical constructs about the phenomenon under investigation. Grounded theory (e.g., Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) is proposed as one approach to qualitative research that may prove useful in theory revision and regeneration.

Grounded theory is built on the idea that the investigator's purpose is to generate theory grounded in data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Using constant comparison analysis, the researcher begins data analysis early in the data-collection process and uses this initial data analysis to organize subsequent data collection. The researcher relates categories to one another by looking for overarching core categories and propositional hypotheses about action sequences, causes and consequences, and typologies and taxonomies. The emerging conceptual model is tested against extant data and data collected through purposive sampling. Given that this process can be used to develop a theoretical or conceptual statement, it would provide a useful tool in childhood career development theory development and revision.

The revision and regeneration of new theories is suggested as one method to reinvigorate the field. Theories of career development offer minimal direct attention to childhood. Although Super (1990) outlined nine dimensions of childhood career development and a Growth stage to account for the childhood years and tasks, even Super conducted very little work on this model. (See Super, 1990, for a discussion of a report to the Board of Education of Charles County, Maryland.) Gottfredson's (1981, 2002) contribution with regard to circumscription and compromise is noteworthy but falls short of a multifaceted view of childhood career development. SCCT offers an interesting alternative, yet the theory has not been extensively tested with children. Going back to the drawing board to develop theories that offer a more in-depth understanding of childhood career development may prove fruitful in the development of theory-based assessment, research, and interventions.

Schultheiss et al. (2005) provided one example of a qualitative study that aimed to contribute to theoretical knowledge by using a grounded theory approach to explore career development in children from an underserved urban population. The results of this investigation provided a broadened understanding of how children learn about and prepare for work. For example, the findings suggested that some children have already begun to hold ideas about the importance of earning money, providing a home for one's family, balancing work and family, and helping others through their work. The results also indicated that key figures in the child's life have a significant influence on the development of his or her conceptions of work. Other interesting findings suggested that children engage in both autonomous and relational decision making and that health and safety issues weigh heavily on their decisions.

Another investigation lends additional support for the notion that discovery-oriented methods have the potential to aid theory development. Although it was conducted with high school girls, Stuart's (2003) study used a grounded theory approach to gain insight into the career development needs of another overlooked group: girls with behavioral disorders. Specifically, Stuart examined the life experiences that contributed to career aspirations. Findings revealed that in addition to academic disengagement, other factors such as supported employment experiences, family cohesion, family disengagement, mother-daughter relationships, pregnancy and marriage, locus of control, and self-efficacy weighed heavily on the minds of these girls. Pregnancy was an important topic to these girls. They discussed how they were trying to postpone pregnancy, citing peers who were struggling with single and early parenthood and who believed that their career options were restricted due to the constraints of caring for a child. It is interesting that work, parenting, and family matters emerged in both the low socioeconomic status, urban middle-childhood sample (i.e., Schultheiss et al., 2005) and the aforementioned sample of high school girls (Stuart, 2003). These findings suggest, perhaps, that multiple role issues--particularly those related to work and family--need to be considered at even earlier ages than might have been previously assumed.

Future Directions of Childhood Career Development Research

Given the changing needs of the 21st-century workforce--requiring individuals to be flexible thinkers, competent decision makers, and lifelong learners--it is imperative to gain a better understanding of the underlying developmental processes supporting children's learning outcomes in academic (e.g., academic efficacy and achievement) and career domains (e.g., decision making and planning). It is clear that future research must be more inclusive in studying children from diverse socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and special-needs groups. Given that economic and oppressive forces exert a powerful influence on students' academic success and career expectations, students from economically challenged schools face many obstacles in effectively preparing for a successful transition to work (Weinger, 2000). Working from a literature base largely focused on middle-class suburban youth, there is much to be learned about the needs of all children, not just those from more privileged backgrounds. By focusing on students from lower socioeconomic, underprivileged, and ethnically diverse groups and special-needs children, much can be learned about relevant interventions aimed at enhancing the development of those children who are most at risk. Initial findings suggest that both middle-class and poor children perceive a class structure that is powerfully determinative of career success and that strategies are needed to strengthen poor children's beliefs in themselves and their futures (Weinger, 1998, 2000).

Collaborative intervention-based research has been introduced as a best practice model to effectively serve the needs of students in 21st-century schools while simultaneously meeting demands for evidence-based practices (Prideaux et al., 2000; Schultheiss, 2005b). Multidisciplinary collaborative efforts have the benefit of varied professional disciplines informing one another and working together from a strengths-based model. For example, university faculty members possess the research and writing skills needed to plan and implement research and disseminate results. School counselors and teachers have daily interaction and important relationships with children, as well as the skills to deliver instruction and assess comprehension and growth. Without the supportive involvement of either group (i.e., either university faculty or K-12 educators), the other is left with a daunting task to accomplish on their own. Moreover, collaborative intervention-based research provides a powerful means of conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in the lives of children.

The work of developmental psychologists might be called upon to enhance the field's knowledge. Ecological (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and developmental-contextual models (e.g., Lerner, 1995) have been introduced as paradigms for understanding and responding to the needs of today's youth (Whiston, 2002). These models emphasize the interaction of personal characteristics and the context in which the person lives as central to development. Other examples include Byrnes's (1998) Self-Regulation Model of decision making that provides an effective means of identifying the types of skills that should be developed in childhood and points to potential areas for intervention to facilitate these skills. The self-regulated decision maker is one who sets adaptive goals and takes appropriate action to achieve those goals. This process involves generating, evaluating, selecting, and learning from goal-directed choices while simultaneously managing the limitations, biases, and personal tendencies that could interfere with the achievement of adaptive goals (Byrnes, 1998).

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