Career Counseling:
Foundations, Perspectives, and Applications
edited by David Capuzzi and Mark Stauffer
Chapter 12
High School Counseling:
Preparing Youth for College,
Careers, and Other Alternatives
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
Anita Young
High School Students
Hurley and Thorp (2002) found:
•
Students unaware of career development
•
Lack of guidance by adults
•
Decisions based on emotion rather than
opportunity
High School Statistics
• High school completion and college
enrollment rates vary substantially by both
race/ethnicity and income.
• Over 80% of all jobs require at least some
education after high school, but only about
70% of students graduate from high school.
• 30% need reading and math remediation.
Students Unprepared?
• Only 28% of students at 2-year colleges
earn a degree within three years.
• 56% of students at 4-year institutions earn
a bachelor’s degree within six years (Hurley
& Thorp, 2002).
• Students, both graduates and dropouts,
are deficient in career-planning skills as
they enter the labor market or transition to
post-secondary education.
Economic Context



Little job stability
 Average of 10.5 jobs between ages
18 to 40
Work is independently contracted,
temporary, on-call, and part-time.
Jobs not requiring higher education are
fewer and less likely to offer economic
security.
Economic Context (cont.)

Job transitions may be an intentional
choice by college graduates to explore
career options, whereas for young people
without college degrees, job transitions
may be necessary for maintaining
employment and may indicate economic
vulnerability.
Career Development of High
School Students
•
•
•
•
Super's vocational development theory
Holland's vocational theory
Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s social cognitive
career theory
Astin’s sociopsychological causal model of
career choice
Super
Exploration period (ages 14-24), individuals
explore different possible career choices
and become aware of their interests and
abilities. Individuals develop their
vocational goals based on interests and
abilities, and prepare to acquire
necessary skills as well as experiences
for employment.
Social Cognitive Career
Theory (SCCT)
(Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994)
1. Self-efficacy
2. Outcome expectations
3. Goals
4. Contextual supports and barriers.
Environmental factors
Career Development Factors
 Perceived social support
 Racism and barriers for minority students
 Awareness of sex types and prestige levels
 Career self-efficacy and self-confidence related
to gender
Career Development Factors
(cont.)
Work values
 Exploration of work values
 Perceived rewards of work
 Transition period to adulthood
 Intrinsic vs. extrinsic work values
Career Development Factors
(cont.)
Work Role Salience
 Work-role salience represents the relative
importance of work and career in an
individual’s life.
 Work role facilitates career exploration.
Career Development Factors
(cont.)
School to Work Transition
 The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994
funds activities in three arenas: school-based
learning, work-based learning, and connecting
activities.
 Integrate academic and vocational learning
 Integrate school-based and work-based learning
 Integrate secondary and postsecondary education
Career Development Factors
(cont.)
Career Maturity

An individual’s readiness to make
well-informed, age-appropriate career
decisions, and to shape one’s career
carefully in the face of existing societal
opportunities and constraints.
(Salami, 2008)
Career Development Factors
(cont.)
Career Maturity (Salami, 2008)
 Obtain and convert information to selfknowledge
 Decision-making skills
 Convert career information to world-of-work
knowledge
 Integrate knowledge of self and world-of-work
 Implementing obtained knowledge
Access to Career Services
Race to the Top and Blueprint for Reform
(a) Enhance and reward principal and teacher
effectiveness
(b) Build data systems that inform parents and
educators about student achievement and
guide instruction
(c) Develop college- and career-ready standards
and assessments aligned to those standards
(d) Implement effective interventions and support
Access to Career Services
(cont.)
 Gates Foundation Public Agenda report—
Can I Get a Little Advice Here
 Poor ratings for college prep
 Lack of connection reported —“just another
face in the crowd”
 ASCA—what can go wrong with bad student to
counselor ratios
Career and College Counseling
in High School
American School Model Counselor
Association (ASCA) Model (2005)
Three domains:
1. Academic
2. Personal/social
3. Career counseling
Career and College Counseling
in High School (cont.)
ASCA model—“Academic” domain:
(a) Learning across the life span
(b) College and other postsecondary
preparedness
(c) Relating academics to life at home and
in the community
Career and College Counseling
in High School (cont.)
ASCA model—“Career” domain:
(a) Self-awareness
(b) Making informed decisions
(c) Achieving career goals
Career and College Counseling
in High School (cont.)
Herr and Cramer (1996) five-stage model:
 Stage 1: Develop a program rationale and
philosophy.
 Stage 2: State program goals and behavioral
objectives.
 Stage 3: Select program processes.
 Stage 4: Develop an evaluation design.
 Stage 5: Identify program milestones. (p.310)
Career and College Counseling
in High School (cont.)
Ninth Grade—Freshman Transition School
Counseling Program






orient and prevent isolation
goal-setting strategies
transcript interpretation
time management skills
graduation requirements
individual learning styles
Career and College Counseling
in High School (cont.)
Tenth Grade
 Steps to prepare for college
 Decision-making and goal-setting should be
clear
Eleventh and Twelfth Grade
 Empowerment
 Informed decision-making
Counseling for College
1. Getting started
 Naviance
2. Prioritizing college choice/interest
 Safety, comfort, and reach schools
3. Gather information
4. College admissions testing
5. Financial aid and scholarship
School to Work
1. Apprenticeship
2. Job Shadow
3. School to Work Transition Programs
References
American School Counselor Association. (2005). ASCA National Standards for
Students. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Herr, E.L. & Cramer, S. H. (1996) Career guidance and counseling through the
lifespan (5thEd.). New York: Harper Collins.
Hurley, D., & Thorp, J. (2002). Decisions without direction: Career guidance and
decision making among American youth. Washington DC: National Association of
Manufacturers.
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D., and Hackett, G. (1994), Toward a unifying social cognitive
theory of career and academic interest, choice and performance. Journal of
Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.
Salami, S. O. (2008). Gender, identity status, and career maturity of adolescents.
Journal of Social Sciences, 16, 35-49.