Pittsburg State University
College of Education
Department of Psychology & Counseling
Spring 2010
Psych 748.01 Career Development
Th 4:00 to 6:00pm
Instructor: Harriet Bachner, Ph.D.
hbachner@pittstate.edu
Office: 205F Whitesitt Hall
Office phone: 620 235-4633
Office Hours: M 1-3pm, T 11am-12:30pm, W 11am-2pm, Th 1-3:30pm, F 10am-12N & by
appointment
Course Description: This course is a study of the concept of career development & of sources of
information related to the world of work. Emphasis is placed on an in-depth exploration of the
theories & practice of career counseling with the primary goal of the clinical application to realworld situations.
Course Outcomes: After completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe their own level of career development as that relates to the various theories of
career development & counseling.
2. Identify & describe the basic elements of the theories & stages of career development &
counseling.
3. Describe various aspects of these theories & stages as they relate to success, mid-life
changes, life expectancy, stress and burn out, & other issues of interest to the class members.
4. Discuss the historical aspects related to concepts & research about career guidance &
development.
5. Apply theory & research about career development to various clinical issues affecting diverse
individuals, their career & personal development throughout the lifespan.
CACREP Competencies: CACREP Standard 4. Studies that provide an understanding of
career development and related life factors, including all of the following:
a. Using career development theories and decision-making models
b. Identifying career, avocational, educational, occupational and labor market information
resources, and career information systems
c. Career development program planning, organization, implementation, administration, and
evaluation
d. Distinguishing interrelationships among and between work, family, and other life roles and
factors, including the role of multicultural issues in career development
e. Providing career and educational planning, placement, follow-up, and evaluation with
students & clients.
f. Using assessment instruments and techniques relevant to career planning and decision
making
g. Identifying career counseling processes, techniques, and resources, including those
applicable to specific populations in a global economy
Eligibility requirements & prerequisites: Psych 748 may be taken by either graduate students or
by upper division undergraduates who wish to gain a basic understanding of the career development
& counseling. The prerequisite is 9 credits of education &/or psychology.
Required text:
Sharf, R.S. (2010). Applying career development theory to counseling, 5th ed. Belmont, CA:
Thomson.
Selected readings & resources are also posted on ANGEL
To assess your learning style, go to the following site: http://www.ldpride.net/learning_style.html
Instructional procedures & activities: The instruction involves a combination of lecture,
discussion of readings & media, & activities in which students are encouraged to be active
participants. Some of these activities use small group format, video, student presentations, guest
speakers, & a field trip to the career center.
Since this course is about career development, this is your opportunity to gain insight into yourself &
your career. Class discussion is vital to the enjoyment of the class. Your participation & sharing of
anecdotal examples help make this class lively & memorable. Come to class prepared to be active in
discussing the readings, your ideas, & experiences that are relevant to the readings & the lecture.
Incomplete policy: The grade of incomplete is not given if students are unable to attend a
substantial portion of the class meetings or to complete most of the assignments & tests. An
incomplete grade is considered only if some urgent unforeseen event prevents the student from
completing one of the assignments or the final exam & the student notifies the instructor before the
final exam. See the PSU Catalog for additional explanation of the incomplete policy.
Check the PSU course schedule & catalog for information on withdrawals, incompletes, & academic
honesty. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion, & falsifying academic
records. See the PSU catalog for more information regarding academic honesty.
Regarding citation of sources: A direct quote is the use of 5 or more words in sequence from
the source. When quoting or paraphrasing one must give credit (reference) to the source using
APA style. Otherwise, it is considered plagiarism. Use APA style in all of the assignments,
particularly when using sources. You are expected to use correct grammar, spelling, & to
proof read your assignments before you submit them. The writing center is available to help
you with your writing style.
Attendance policy: You are expected to attend class regularly & participate in class discussions &
activities, to notify the instructor if you will have an extended absence, to make arrangements to
complete any missed work, & obtain class notes. So if you are absent, I assume that you have a
good reason for not attending class, otherwise you would be in class. Therefore, do not bring me
any written excuse. I do not evaluate the quality of your absence: an absence is an absence, no
matter what the reason. Attendance is considered in the calculation of the final grade. 3 or more
absences result in your grade being lowered by one (1) letter grade. Thus, the calculation of the
grade begins at the total points for a B. It is recommended that you drop the course if you miss 4 or
more classes. The last day to drop a course is April 9 & the last day to withdraw from the university
is May 6.
Although there are some class activities completed in class & these cannot be made-up, it is each
student’s responsibility to do the required work for this course in a timely & thoughtful manner.
Students with disabilities/ADA compliance: Students with specific needs/accommodations or
diagnosed disability should let the instructor know as soon as possible. If additional arrangements
are needed, the student may also check with the Kelly Heiskell, Learning Center Director.
Evaluation of student performance & achievement:
A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can.
John Stuart Mill
1. Class participation: You are expected to participate in class activities, including group
activities & discussions. Your attendance & participation also are considered in the final
calculation of your grade. For example, if you are just 2 points (not percentage points) away
from an A, you have excellent attendance (0 absence), & you have participated in discussion
& class activities, you will receive an A.
2. There are 2 tests throughout the semester and a final. These tests cover information in the
readings in the textbook for the most part as well as material discussed in class and notes on
angel. These tests are taken using the angel assessment component and done outside of class.
If you have any difficulty accessing the test or some technical problem with using the angel
assessment, please contact Bachner immediately so as to find a way to rectify the problem.
This fulfills CACREP competencies a, b, c, d, e, and g.
3. Class activity assignment: See attachments at the end of the syllabus. This fulfills CACREP
competencies d, e, and f.
4. Develop your own personal resume or vita or career assessment report. This partially fulfills
CACREP competencies d and e. See attachment at the end of this syllabus.
5. Class presentation: By the 2nd class you are to select one of the theories of career
development & models (see text chapters) that you would like to investigate further. This
fulfills CACREP competencies a, b, d, e, f, and g. See attachment that follows this syllabus.
a. You will work with 1 other student who also has selected that theory.
b. Together, the 2 of you will present information to the class that each of you have
gathered.
c. The entire presentation should be approximately 1 hour.
d. Please be creative & use a variety of methods to convey the information through roleplay, film, use of assessments applicable to the model, case study, or an intake
interview.
e. Select & show a segment of one of the identified video selections from the IRC or
others on the list of video & films relevant to career development. See list on Angel.
f. Rather than submitting a report, prepare examples of the assessments & a copy of
your presentation slides (if you use power point) to distribute to class members.
g. In addition to the above, select a client/student case & develop your own response to
that case.
h. You will then present that case to the class & facilitate a staffing of that case
including handouts with sufficient copies for the class.
There is additional information in course information on ANGEL.
6. Assignments submitted after the due date are NOT accepted.
Student evaluation is determined by the accumulation of points from the above
described assignments & tests with the following point values:
Assignment or quiz
Total points possible
2 tests which amount to
90
Personal resume or assessment report
25
Class activity assignment
25
Presentation with partner
70
Final test
40
Total
250
Points earned
__________
__________
___________
__________
__________
__________
A = 250 - 225
B = 224 - 200
C = 199-175
Please note that the point value of the tests may vary slightly depending upon the extent to
which information is covered at the time of the test.
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with
shades of deeper meaning.
Maya Angelou
Course schedule: Please note that this course schedule is an optimistic projection of what I
would like to cover during the semester. Because we may spend more or less time on a particular
topic, this schedule & the assignments may be changed to fit the needs & interests of the class
members & time constraints.
Date
1/14
Topic
Introductions & overview of the course
Career development introduction
Assignment due
Enthusiastic attitude
Chap. 1
1/21
Visit PSU career services
Complete assessments offered by career services
Theories & models overview
Topic for project
presentation due
1/28
Trait & factor theory
Ethical issues in career counseling
Chap. 2
Bring ethics codes
2/04
Work adjustment theory
Career counseling intake interview
Chap. 4
2/11
Holland’s type theory
Informal assessments & technology
Student presentation
Chap. 5
2/18
Myers-Briggs type theory
Chap. 6
Complete test 1 on Angel
2/25
Rhonda White from PHS speaks
Career development in childhood
Adolescent career development
Career counseling in school settings
Chap. 7
Chap. 8
3/04
3/11
Mindy Cloninger speaks from Career Services
Young adult & adult career development
Adult career transitions
Family issues & dual career
Student presentation
Chap. 9
Chap. 10
Constructivist, narrative, &
relational approaches
Student presentation
Spring Break (Hooray!)
Chap. 11 & 12
3/25
Work/career life issues: stress & burnout
Student presentation
Notes on Angel
Complete test 2 on Angel
4/01
Krumboltz’s social learning theory
Gender issues & career development
Student presentation
Chap. 13
Resume due
4/8
Social cognitive career theory
Student presentation
Chap. 14
Class activity assignment due
4/15
Career decision-making models
Socio-economic perspectives on the labor market
Student presentation
Diversity issues in career counseling
Career counseling & disabilities
Student presentation
Chap. 15
Chap. 3
4/29
Summary of theories with video of case example
Review &/or catch up
Chap. 16
5/6
Final exam
3/18
4/22
Relax & catch up
We will be really moving fast if we actually cover all of these topics. So please realize that I am
being optimistic in this course schedule. What is most important is that we spend time on those
issues that are of interest & most relevant to the class members.
Class notes & announcements are posted on ANGEL & emails about various class activities are sent
through ANGEL. So therefore it is necessary to log on to ANGEL & set your email address in
personal information. Otherwise, the emails that I send to you will go to your PSU email address.
If you are experiencing some unexpected event that may interfere with you turning in an assignment
on time, or you have any questions or concerns regarding the course content or evaluation, PLEASE
come to my office in WH 205F, email me at hbachner@pittstate.edu, or call me at 620 235-4633 to
discuss the matter.
Second Semester / Spring 2010
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January 2010
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February 2010
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Mar 04 Commemoration Day
Mar 15-19 Spring Break
Mar 15 Last day to apply for Fall 2010 Professional Education Semester
Mar 15 Midsemester D and F grades due from faculty
Mar 22 Classwork resumes
Mar 23 Grad Finale
Mar 24 Grad Finale
Mar 26 Final day for first draft of thesis and Ed.S. project
Mar 26 Final day to apply for degrees/Spring or Summer graduation
April 2010
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Feb 11 Last day for one-half tuition and fee refund
March 2010
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Jan 14 Classwork begins
Jan 18 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Jan 21 Last day for full tuition and fee refund
Jan 21 Tuition and fees due by 3:30 p.m.
Jan 21 Last day to enroll or add classes without instructor permission
Jan 22 On-line enrollment no longer available
Jan 28 Final day for dropping course without transcript notation
Jan 29 Grade of W recorded for dropped courses
Apr 09 Final day for dropping course unless student withdraws from entire
term
Apr 12-16 Early Enrollment for summer and fall 2010 for current PSU
students
Apr 23 Final day for submission of thesis and Ed.S. project
May 2010
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May 06 Final day to withdraw from entire term
May 10-14 Final examinations
May 14 Commencement 7:30 p.m. College of Education and College of
Technology
May 15 Commencement 10:00 a.m. College of Arts and Sciences and College
of Business
Attachments
Class activity assignment: There are several suggestions from which to select one to
complete. See attachment that follows this syllabus. Related materials are distributed during
the 1st 3 weeks of the semester.
Career Development Activities for Class Assignment
You can select any one of these for your class assignment. Your report should be typed, 3 to
4 pages in length, not including a title page.
1. Attend a career fair at PSU & write a summary of your experience there & what you
saw that was useful to those attending.
a. You can include some examples of employers, agencies that were there & the
quality of information that they conveyed to the attendees.
2. Go PSU career services & complete the Do What You Are assessment & have one of
the career counselors there go over the report with you.
a. Select 2 of the recommended careers that are not counseling (see the list that
indicates you are very interested) & look those up in the DOT.
b. Write a summary of those 2 positions & what you find appealing about them.
Use the perspective that you are undecided about your future career & this is a
way of finding some information.
3. Interview a person who has been in his/her profession for at least 3 yrs. & discuss the
ways in which he/she had made decisions about pursuing that particular career.
a. How & from whom did he/she gather information about this career?
b. What is his/her level of satisfaction in this career & in what ways does he/she
plan to continue to challenge oneself in this career.
c. What are the concerns he/she has about the career & some of the struggles?
d. How does this career fit his/her family & personal life?
e. Are there some impediments from the job to home life or home life to job?
f. What recommendations would he/she give to someone thinking about this
career?
g. What does the future look like for him/her in this career?
h. What are changes in the field & the opportunities for advancements?
4. Select 2 articles from the career journals or counseling journals (there are several at
PSU career services) that are interesting to you.
a. Briefly (no more than 2 pages for each journal) discuss the findings or
information that you find to be useful & how that information impacts your
knowledge of the field of career development & counseling.
5. Visit another career services center at another university, college, or technical school
& summarize the services that are offered there.
6. Read the ethical codes, i.e. ACA, APA, ASCA, AAMFT, focusing on the references
to career counseling & summarize what are the salient points about the field of career
development & counseling.
7. Develop your career life-line.
a. Select a developmental theory to explain your career development.
b. Using that theory, speculate how you expect that you will continue to develop
(see attachment # 74 Real Life Career Patterns).
c. You can extend this life-line into the future to your retirement & beyond.
8. Interview someone at midlife who has made a major career change at midlife.
a. Discuss the issues that contributed to his/her decision to make the change.
b. Explore how the current career is fulfilling at this stage of life
c. What direction does he/she intend to go & what are his/her future pursuits.
9. Rate yourself on the NCDA career counseling competencies at the beginning of the
semester & then rate yourself later in the semester.
a. Also rate where you would like to be on these competencies.
b. Summarize & discuss your areas of strength & areas for needed growth.
c. Include strategies that you may use to become competent in career counseling
& how you will use these competencies in your career.
10. Visit one of the following 2 sites & explore all that is offered in these sites:
www.career.fsu.edu & www.readyminds.com.
a. Summarize some of the things that you found & explored.
b. What have you gained from spending some time perusing the site?
11. Explore 2 of the online employment databases (see attached Selected Online
Employment Databases) & report on 3 jobs that you found that look promising to you
a. Or report on what you found to be useful & interesting about using this
method of job search.
b. What would you recommend to a client who you are counseling about any
aspect of career development & decision- making.
12. If you are planning to be a school counselor, you can interview a school counselor
who does career counseling & discuss the model that is used & what he/she finds to
be most interesting & useful to the students.
a. Explore what he/she enjoys about this aspect of school counseling.
b. What are some of the limitations or challenges he/she faces.
13. Spend a minimum of 1 hr. per week for at least 4 weeks engaged in an avocation,
hobby, or something that you pursue for just the sheer enjoyment.
a. Write a journal entry for each time that you are engaged in this activity.
b. Summarize the skills that you develop & use.
c. Discuss the enjoyment that you experience when engaged in this activity (see
attached #72 Promoting Wellness through Avocation).
d. Brainstorm ways in which participation in this project or activity may promote
or enhance your career choice.
14. Develop an activity that would be appropriate for the level of children or adolescents
with whom you plan to work if you are planning to be a school counselor.
a. This activity should take no more that 30 minutes.
b. You can then try it out with our class or with a group of children in the school
setting.
c. Write a summary of the experience & include an outline of the activity itself.
15. Select a movie that has some career related theme or work scenes that pose dilemmas
for the character(s).
a. Explore ways that you would help him/her if you were the counselor working
with this person on career issues.
b. What model would be most applicable & why?
16. Address the questions on the worksheet entitled, Do you know your value &
marketability?
a. (See attached #42.)
b. You may have to do some investigation in order to respond to the questions.
17. Using the attached Using the Internet for Job Searches, follow the directions to
complete the learning activity.
a. You can do a job search on anything that you want as is directed in the
questions.
18. Refer to the attachment, Exploring O*Net, which is an opportunity to explore O*Net.
a. visit the CareerOneStop sponsored by U.S. Department of Labor at
http://www.onetcenter.org/overview.html.
b. Follow the directions as indicated on the attachment.
19. Refer to the attached Web Based Career Information for Career Exploration
a. Choose two of the cases and use at least two of the career information
resources listed for each case.
b. Summarize each case & describe how the web resources can be used for each
case.
20. Attend one of the Career Services Spring 2010 Workshops.
a. Summarize the key points that you learned & discuss how this information
would be helpful to a career counseling client.
b. See the attached information card from Career Services.
21. Select at least 3 of the videos from the list provided, view them, & write a brief
summary of each along with your opinion of the video & how the content has or will
affect your career development or work as a counselor.
22. If you have another idea for an assignment of this nature, share that with me.
Career Assessment Report: Test Interpretation and Personal Profile
a. You will complete at least 4 assessment instruments, for example the
Strong Interest Inventory (SII), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI),
the Campbell Interest & Skills Survey (CISS), the Values Scale or any
other of the instruments discussed or available through PSU Career
Services.
b. Write a 4-page paper which includes the following:
i. interpretation of assessment results.
ii. discussion of the implications about the results
iii. copies of all assessment results
iv. goals & recommendations
Items to include in your Resume/vita
____Name & contact information
____Career objective
____Education: include clarification that you are a candidate for Master’s degree with
expected date of graduation indicated
____Professional experience: most recent &/or most related to career objective
____include place & dates of employment
____Duties listed for each work experience indicated
____Professional organizations to which you belong, offices held, committees you serve
on, type of membership, i.e. American Counseling Association – Student member,
American School Counseling Association (If you don’t belong to one, do so before
you begin applying for a position.)
____Community or civic organizations & you could include those you served on during
college
____Specific skills or training that you may have, i.e. Red Cross Crises Training,
proficiency in another language, photography, play a musical instrument
____Military experience, volunteer experience, service to community, state, country
____Certifications & licenses
____Special honors, scholarships, grants, or awards
____Presentations & publications, can include special ones that you have done as a
graduate student
____Avocational interests, hobbies
____References, including professional, not relatives, on a separate page, at least 4
At least one should be able to attest to the quality of work you can do relevant to the
position you are applying
Use Times New Roman font 12
As professionals, you have much to offer & these contributions are significant aspects of
your career & personal life.
Employers for the types of positions to which you are aspiring are seeking versatile, flexible,
& talented people in & out of the specific profession who demonstrate leadership, civic or
community involvement, & dedication.
Show this in the most succinct & professional manner on your resume/vita.
Career Development Formats for Resume
Name
Address
Phone Number
email address
Career Objective
Education
list highest degree first
Counseling, Teaching
or Related Experience
list experience most closely aligned with the type of counseling
or mental health work that you want to do. Include place
where you worked, the dates you were there. List specific
duties, responsibilities, or accomplishments.
Other Career
same as above
Experience
Related
Community
Experience
same as above
Professional
any
Here list your membership status in professional associations,
Affiliations
license or certification that you may have
Scholarly Interests
Here list any areas that you have investigated or are interested
in learning more about or research
Personal
Here identify any hobbies, or simple info about your life, i.e.
married, one daughter
Professional
List any presentations that you have done or any publications
Presentations
& Publications
References provided upon request
You should provide at least 3 references on a separate page & select
ones that would be most relevant or able to speak about your abilities in the position to which
you are applying. Do not use relatives.
Professional References
Include name, position, address, phone number, and email address
Another Format for a resume
Name, address, & contact number(s)
Objective of the resume or career objective &/or goal
Education
Experience – work/job experiences: place the most recent first, include specific duties
Additional information about experience, skills, or training, i.e. computer experience, oral or
written language ability
Honors/awards/ professional affiliations
Availability to begin the job
At least 4 professional references
Use Times New Roman 12 as the font
Criteria for Career Development Project Presentation
1. Select a career development/counseling theory & the model that accompanies that
theory. See chapters 2 through 14 in your text for the various theories/models.
2. Work with a partner throughout this project. The responsibility of developing your
handouts & the presentation to the class should be equally shared.
3. You are to present theory/model in some creative & interesting way so as to enhance
understanding of the theory.
4. Include some assessment(s) that is(are) congruent with the theory/model for the class
members to have & possibly take.
5. You can do role-plays, case summary with opportunity for the class members to
process the case, or some other experiential activity. You can also select a scene
from a film that has some work related theme to show in class & relate to your theory
or model in some way.
6. Prepare a packet of handouts for the class members to have that would be useful to
them in working with clients regarding career development.
7. This project is worth 70 pts. for each student & your presentation can be up to an hour
in length. You will be evaluated on the inclusion of the following criteria:
a. Handouts, i.e. power pt. slides, include some references & resources, not
including your textbook as a reference
b. Discussion of recent studies or literature reviews about the career
counseling/development model/theory
c. Resources for the students to use, i.e. web sites, organizations, assessments,
professional sources, journal articles
d. Examples of assessments that may be used by a counselor when using this
model
e. A creative or fun class activity to enhance knowledge of the theory & model,
i.e. role play, scene from a movie. This activity distinguishes or clarifies the
important components of the model/theory.
f. Clarity of presentation & ease in transition from topic to activity
8. In addition to the above, select a client/student case & develop your own response to that
case.
a. You will then present that case to the class & facilitate a staffing of that case
including handouts with sufficient copies for the class
9. Discuss any other questions that you may have with me in class that I may have not
included in the above. The objective is that these presentations can be fun & also
provide an avenue for you all to easily identify the important aspects of the theories,
models, & relevant assessments for use in your future counseling practice.
Evaluation criteria for Career Development & Counseling Presentation
Name_____________________________Date____________________________
Presentation topic___________________________________________________
This project is worth 80 pts. for each student & the presentation can be up to an hour in
length. You are evaluated on the inclusion of the following criteria:
a. Handouts, i.e. power pt. slides, include some references & resources, not
including your textbook as a reference
_______12 points
b. Discussion of recent studies or literature reviews about the career
counseling/development model/theory
_______8 points
c. Resources for the students to use, i.e. web sites, organizations, assessments,
professional sources, journal articles
_______8 pts.
d. Examples of assessments that may be used by a counselor when using this
model
_______10 pts.
e. A creative or fun class activity to enhance knowledge of the theory & model,
i.e. role play, scene from a movie. This activity distinguishes or clarifies the
important components of the model/theory.
_______10 pts.
f. Case presentation
_______12 pts.
g. Clarity of presentation & ease in transition from topic to activity
_______10 pts.
________Total points earned