روانشناسی حرفه ای و مشاوره شغلی : اختراع آینده

Vocational psychology has amassed a mature and impressive scientific literature. It has also made a number of professional and political strides in recent years. However, several weaknesses, or gaps, are also apparent (e.g., certain issues or populations have been understudied, linkages to other domains of inquiry have often been missed, and less attention has been paid to contextual and cultural variables than is desirable). A plethora of threats and opportunities await vocational psychology in the next decade. Some of the threats (e.g., the availability of Internet-based career services) also pose great opportunities, depending on how we plan for, and respond to, them. Within this context, I suggest a revised mission statement for vocational psychology, focusing on many of the field's traditional strengths, unfulfilled promises, and new challenges. In addition, a set of goals is offered to encourage advances in several old and new areas of vocational inquiry and practice.

Vocational psychology has amassed a mature and impressive scientific literature. It has also made a number of professional and political strides in recent years. However, several weaknesses, or gaps, are also apparent (e.g., certain issues or populations have been understudied, linkages to other domains of inquiry have often been missed, and less attention has been paid to contextual and cultural variables than is desirable). A plethora of threats and opportunities await vocational psychology in the next decade. Some of the threats (e.g., the availability of Internet-based career services) also pose great opportunities, depending on how we plan for, and respond to, them. Within this context, I suggest a revised mission statement for vocational psychology, focusing on many of the field’s traditional strengths, unfulfilled promises, and new challenges. In addition, a set of goals is offered to encourage advances in several old and new areas of vocational inquiry and practice.

As I had suggested earlier, my mission for the field is, perhaps, not radically different from what has characterized vocational psychology in the past. It maintains continuity with the field’s historic strengths and accomplishments, yet it also aspires to improve our performance in areas in which we have previously underachieved or contributed little more than rhetoric. I will close with a list of goals for implementing my broad aspirational statement. Given space considerations, my list will focus more on goals and less on specific strategies; it will also highlight a scientific agenda more so than a practice-focused one because I believe that, when push comes to shove, the scientific realm is where we may make our most unique mark as a profession. This does not ignore the excellent direct service that many vocational psychologists provide, but it acknowledges that goodpractice requires good science and that vocational psychologists may be in the best possible position to build and maintain a solid scientific foundation for vocational practice. Following, then, from my SWOT analysis and mission statement, I would offer the following set of 12 goals for vocational psychology over the next decade. This list is not prioritized; I think that all of the items are important and may provide the basis for a “report card” on which we can assess our collective progress. In short, I would advocate that we strive to: ² Continue our basic research and theory on the central concepts and processes of career choice and development, including efforts to test competing models; seek theoretical convergence; and examine the interplay between person and contextual influences on career behavior ² Expand our understanding of cultural and other diversity dimensions as they relate to career development ² Increase understanding of how career choice counseling works and for whom it works more and less well (cf. Brown & Krane, 2000) ² Develop more potent methods for assisting clients who have either been difficult for us to attract (e.g., men and racial/ethnic minority group members) or help (e.g., those evidencing chronic indecision or negative affect) ² Expand our range of career interventions beyond career selection to include career adjustment and other pre- and postcareer entry outcomes ² Enhance our study of occupational wellness, health, well-being, justice, and work/family interface issues as well as problematicworkplace outcomes and events (e.g., occupational stress, burnout, violence, and sexual harassment) ² Improve our understanding of differentwork transitions (e.g., school-to-work, work-to-work, welfare-to-work, and work-to-retirement) and translate this knowledge into psychoeducational, advocacy, and other interventions ² Expand our theory and research on social/contextual barriers and support systems, as well as barrier-coping strategies and resilience in the face of occupational adversity ² Build better ties to the literature in related scientific domains (e.g., organizational psychology) and better partnerships with professions providing complementary services (e.g., school and career counselors and K–12 educators) ² Continue to explore, and to utilize, the Internet and other technological advances (e.g., video conferencing) as media for enhanced research, service, and training opportunities ² Continue our tradition of using sophisticated and diverse methodological tools in our research investigations and increase the reporting (and accurate interpretation) of effect sizes in quantitative research studies ² Increase efforts to “internationalize” vocational psychology (e.g., nurture collaborations and information-exchange with vocational psychologists in other countries) As I look over this list, I am aware that each item could well be elaborated into more specific topics and implementation strategies and that many other worthypriorities could be added to the list. Yet, there is something useful in framing even general goals to the extent that they help individuals and groups to organize and motivate their actions. I will be eager to glimpse the collective progress we make toward these suggested goals and will be just as eager to see what visions of vocational psychology may be conjured by those summoned to celebrate Journal of Vocational Behavior’s next historic milestone.