COURSE: EDCP 611: Career Development Theory and Programs

INSTRUCTOR: Scott E. Borrelli, EdD, ABPP

E-mail Address: sborrell@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Post: PSC 41, Box 2128 APO AE 09464

Tel: 020 8696 7661 (London)

COURSE DATES (RAF Lakenheath): Term 3; 20/21 Jan, 3/4 Feb, 17/18 Feb, 3/4 March.

Zunker, V. G. (1998). Career Counseling: Applied Concepts of Life Planning. (Fifth Edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Provost, Judith A. (1993). Applications of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in Counseling: A Casebook. Gainesville, FL: CAPT.

AND/OR...

Provost, Judith A. (1990). Work, Play, and Type: Achieving Balance in Your Life. CA: Davies-Black.

Vocational Assessment Packet

Additional Readings: As assigned and provided by the Instructor and from the Internet.

Career and vocational explorations, transitions and decisions are vital personal development processes and milestones in the lifespan of the adult. EDCP 611 presents a survey of career development theories and an examination of career development programs. The course will assist graduate students to understand career development theory and research, the assessment of individual career development processes, and the techniques and skills necessary in the practical application of career counseling. Course focus will include the needs of special populations, settings for service delivery, and professional issues. A systematic investigation of both theoretical and practical topics will be facilitated through both self-assessment opportunities and interviews. Vocational guidance and career counseling with public and private institutions will be explored to provide a comprehensive overview of the specific programs and models available. The course will explore the importance of work for the individual in society and some of the current trends regarding occupational change and the selection of careers. Therefore, students pursuing careers in career counseling as well as those interested in mental health and educational pursuits will benefit immensely from the course experience.

OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the course, graduate students will:

1. Understand the major vocational theories on how they impact on career decision-making;

2. Understand and apply the process of career assessment to individual career development processes;

3. Know when and how to apply specific theories and concepts to different professional situations and populations;

4. Be experienced with some of the major sources of career guidance and counseling materials;

5. Develop appropriate entry level skills and strategies to assist individuals in making positive career, educational and occupational career decision-making;

6. Develop appropriate entry level competencies in acquiring, evaluating, and programming for the dissemination of career information;

7. Understand the role of current research as it tests, refines, and updates theories and applications of career development;

8. Integrate life span developmental theory and transition theory with career development programming;

9. Select and utilize appropriate career assessment instruments;

10. Assess and understand personal career developmental issues;

11. Understand and appreciate issues of diversity as they influence career development, including cultural and cross-cultural issues;

Graduate students should be aware of and follow University of Maryland Graduate Program policies, including those related to Distance Education courses, as stated in the Graduate Catalogue. In addition, students should be aware of the following:

1. Assignment due dates will be strictly enforced;

2. Professional ethics regarding such matters as interpersonal conduct, confidentiality, and communication will be followed;

3. Special needs should be discussed with the professor in a timely and clear manner;

4. Students share in the responsibility for creating and maintaining a positive and dynamic learning experience for themselves and others.

Students are given a variety of assignments as listed in the syllabus which they are expected to complete in a timely manner and must meet graduate level standards in form and content.

Grading is based on a points system according to degree of mastery and competence on all assignments, and on the quality of learning and participation in class discussions and activities. Due dates for assignments are listed in the course schedule. Specific guidelines for each assignment is included in this syllabus. In addition, personal communication with the professor is encouraged throughout the course for guidance, clarification, and support. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the professor of potential or current problems with assignments and any other aspects of the course experience.

Letter Grades will be assigned as follows:

The professor reserves the right to make minor revisions to the course dates and assignments in order to improve the course. Adequate advanced notice (two weeks minimum) will be given.

Introduction and historical development of career counseling;

Read CH1 (Zunker);

DQ#1: Submit Introductory (brief) biography, including work/career history and highlights. format.

Theories of Career Development I; CH2;

DQ#2: Defend the statement:

Career development is a continuous process.

Theories of Career Development II; CH3;

DQ#3: State reasons for your position on the following question:

Are values more important than interests in career choice?

Career Life Planning; CH4;

DQ#4: Complete exercises 1 & 2 (p. 95, Life Planning Workshops) and describe your results in terms of their significance for career life planning.

Introduce Career Assessments Packet and the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory

Resource Information Systems; CHS. 5&6;

DQ#5: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a two dimensional classification system, and a cluster system.

Assessment in Career Counseling; CH7;

DQ#6: Review Assessment Packet, and locate and describe career sites available on the Internet.

Career Resource Centers; CH8;

DQ#7: Defend the following statement:

A CRC is an essential facility for current career counseling programs.

Early Life Developmental Patterns; CH9;

DQ#8: Defend the following statement with examples to support your points:

Individuals have a profound capacity at different stages of development.

INTERVIEW #1 DUE (see pp. 484-485,and CHS 20 & 21).

Adolescent Development and Settings - School Guidance Programs; CH10;

DQ#9: Discuss strategies you would use to convince a school class that life and career planning are essential goals.

Young Adult Development and Settings - Higher Education Career Counseling; CH11;

DQ#10: Using the CCOIS model, develop a module to introduce high school students to career information resources.

Work Perspectives; CH12;

DQ#11: Describe your personal work ethic and the roots of its development.

Adults in Career Transition; Special Issues - Families; CHS 13 & 17;

DQ#12: Compose a list of the ten dominant needs in your life today. Project how these might change over the life span. Identify major sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction and their impact on the quality of your life.

INTERVIEW #2 DUE (see pp. 484-485,and CHS 20 & 21).

Adults in Organizations; Special Issues - Multicultural groups; CHS 14 & 18;

DQ#13: Either develop a counselling component that gives an orientation to the realities of working in an organisation or one for person's planning to retire.

Gender and Exceptionality Issues; CHS 15, 16, 19;

DQ#14: Develop a list of the early socialization processes that promote gender-role stereotyping. Explain how this informaiton can be used in career counseling programs form en and for women.

Special Issues:

DQ#15: Referring to the Case of What Was Left Unsaid (pp. 513-515), discuss how the interviewer could have probed for more background information. Identify several cues to the client's problems.

SELF-ASSESSMENT Paper Due.

CAREER COUNSELING INTERVIEWS 1 & 2

In preparation for these assignments, familiarize yourself with the information in CH 20 and 21 of the class text. These readings suggest guidelines for format, organization, and interviewing strategies. For the first interview, you will interview an adolescent or young adult. For the second interview, you will interview an individual in mid-life or later adulthood. In each write-up, you will present the interview results along with a summation of your learning from doing the assignment and present to the class. You will be expected to use career inventories and assessments as part of your interview.

CAREER SELF-ASSESSMENT

This will involve a self-assessment of your own career development, utilizing (at least) the three assessments which are included in your Assessment Packet. These currently include the Myers-Briggs Type inventory, the Strong Interest Inventory, and the Campbell Interest and Skill Inventory. In additional to organizing the results of these assessments once you self-administer them, you will include an in-depth section on your own reflections, questions, and projections of your career path. Review text CHS 20 and 21 for guidance. Additional guidelines for this assignment will be offered once the course has begun.

CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (DQ)

A collection of fifteen questions/activities drawn from primarily from the readings will provide discussion material and opportunities for application on each of the four weekends. Review these questions in advance, and type up both your responses and additional insights and questions you might have related to these questions and readings to stimulate small group discussion. Include additional references and resources from journals and the WWW. Bring these completed assignments into class on each Saturday morning, and expect to leave them with the Instructor. Each question can be answered in one typed page.

Dr. Scott E. Borrelli is a licensed psychologist and National Certified Counselor and School Counselor. He is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and holds Diplomate, Board Certification in both Clinical Psychology and Counseling Psychology. Dr. Borrelli has been Assistant Professor with Boston University, and has been on the faculty of the University of Maryland in Europe since 1993.

Dr. Borrelli has taught and practiced psychology, counseling, and psychotherapy for over twenty years, in a variety of settings and with a wide range of populations. Settings include mental health centers, university counseling centres, community mental health clinics, industry and business, hospitals, elementary and secondary schools. He has special interests in health and wellness psychology, testing and assessments, psychopharmacology, clinical hypnotherapy, issues of multiculturalism and diversity, and EMDR. He holds an integrative/eclectic professional orientation, rooted in the belief in each individual's innate ability to problem-solve, cope creatively, and live well. Originally from Boston, he now lives in London.

Return to: Graduate Programs Syllabi