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It has been suggested that school guidance counselors should lead the way in devising opportunities for students to explore a variety of career clusters. Yet, in a conference devoted to counseling and career planning in high schools, several counseling practitioners lamented the difficulties associated with assisting students in career planning. These difficulties are due largely to a lack of understanding of different career development theories and models. Based on the forgoing, this article discusses some career development theories and their implications for career and guidance counseling practitioners in high schools.
For most people, particularly the youth, the period during and beyond high school is marked by important career decision-making that are, like most in life, not irrevocable. In most cases such decisions are accompanied by pressure generated by expectations and by peer group anxieties tied to an "unfortunate lack of reality testing" (Noeth, Engen, & Noeth, 1984 p. 240). While some of them battle with choosing an occupation and finding their first full-time job, others are faced with choosing a college and a course of study that will lead to a satisfying career. As the youth of today strive to find places for themselves in the world of work, they are faced with considering not only the kind of job they will hold, but also the kind of work environment which will provide them personal satisfaction and growth. Also as the world of work becomes more complex, and technologically dynamic, the career decision-making processes the youth undergo also become much more complex. Determining what to do next in their lives remains an important but arduous developmental task for the youth leaving secondary school. In fact, in response to pressure to make a definite career choice, some commit themselves prematurely. They tell the world what they would like to be without an idea of whether they can handle the required subjects, whether they have the required talents or special aptitudes, what the training is actually like, and whether the day-to-day work is compatible with their chosen field (Stone & Wang, 1990). Many of them take courses from various curricula areas, without any idea of where such courses lead, career wise. As a result, they graduate without adequate preparation necessary to fit into the world of...