Career Development Theories in Maria’s Case Study

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Career Development Theories in Maria’s Case Study

Career development is a lifelong process of preparing to choose, selecting and    repetitively making choices from available occupation in our lives. Career development is the total constellation of physical, educational, psychological, sociological, economic, and chance factors, joined to shaping a person’s career over a life span. These career development theories may include: happenstance, trait and factor, social cognitive, vocational choice and developmental self-concept. Maria is a waitress and after attending to the previous counseling session, she has stated her need to develop her career in supporting her unborn child. This paper studies the use of social cognitive career theory in developing Maria’s career and defining the roles of the counselor while formulating this theory.

In Maria’s case, I will use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), a decision theory that concentrates on self-efficacy that views a person’s capabilities in their goal attainment. Leung (2008) explains that the theory incorporates three segments as it interlocks career developmental processes models while seeking to explain: career and educational performance and stability, process of making both educational and career choices, and developing vocational and academic interest. These three models emphasize differently around three core variables: personal goals, self-efficacy and outcome expectations. During the career development counseling session with Maria, I would teach her about these three variables to help her in decision making. 

Personal Goals

I will guide her in highlighting her personal goals or real intentions of engaging in different career options. We will together highlight her personal goals as this will help her to be persistent in a given task without tangible external reinforcing. These personal goals will be divided in to two; performance goals which are performance on aims to attain or accomplishment level and choice content goals where she will choose the activities to pursue. 

Self-Efficacy

These dynamic set of beliefs affecting particular activities and performances influence specific behavior initiation, and behavior maintenance while responding to difficulties (Chronister & Mc Whiter, 2003).  During the session, learning experience will be used to help her realize her self-efficacy. These experiences include vicarious learning, social persuasion, personal performance accomplishment, and physiological and affective states. To help her develop her career, personal performance accomplishments will successfully and effectively influence her self-efficacy.

Outcome Expectations

Chronister & Mc Whiter (2003), beliefs about the outcomes or consequences of the performance of a particular behavior. These beliefs include extrinsic reward beliefs that are associated with self-directed consequences, target behavior performance and task performance outcome.

Maria will be able to develop activities that she feels are efficacious as she anticipates for positive outcome from them. According to her, she requires a job that will be able to support and sustain her with her unborn child. These variables will help her in forming of intentions and goals that will help in behavior sustenance. Her career choice will be influenced by the environment surrounding her. Her self-esteem which is low is incomparable to her self-efficacy. She can build her self-efficacy by watching others, emotional factors, accomplishments and verbal persuasive. 

Role of a Career Counselor in Social Cognitive Theory

My role while using this theory is empowering Maria and I will use an empowerment model in applying SCCT in my case. I will help her to identify her life context work dynamic power. This model will assist her in developing skills and capacity in gaining reasonable control over her life, which she will implement devoid of infringing other people’s right. As a counselor I will facilitate critical awareness and reflection of work power dynamics as I facilitate the enhancement, recognition and use of resources and skills at her disposal as I increase her ability to empower other women in similar situations. 

Another role according to Chronister and McWhiter (2003), is applying the 5Cs of empowerment: context, competence, collaboration, community and critical consciousness. I will collaborate with Maria to define her problem as we construct goals as well as flexible collaborative strategies for a change. This will solve her self-doubt, fear and lack of trust through supporting her voice as I encourage her to participate without pressure. It’s my responsibility to detect failure of collaboration which she may show through her silence, lack of investment during the process and confusion while setting goals. In context, it’s my role to understand her culture, economic situation, family structure, surrounding community characteristics, spiritual beliefs and depth of support network. It will allow the counselor to effectively balance Maria’s her short-term needs with long-term educational and career planning. 

In competence, it is important to recognize her resources, skills and experience she has to achieve her goals. Her situation is deleterious and has killed her self-efficacy and non-interactive and she needs to be provided with social persuasion that will increase her work related and education self-efficacy. In critical conscious, the counselor will help Maria in identifying her self-examining ability within her life context and critical analysis of the context to view herself as an actress in that context rather than a person being acted upon. Last but not the least is connecting her with the community by enrolling her in a support group with the same interest who are developing their career after domestic violence. It’s a counselor’s responsibility in cultivating high awareness degree work-related organization and local community, neighborhood action committee and support groups.

References

Chronister, K. & Mc Whiter, E. (2003). ApplApplying Social Cognitive Career Theory To The Empowerment of Battered Women. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 81, 418-423. Retrieved from http://www.access-dv.org/pdfs/Chronister%20&%20McWhirter%202003.pdf

Leung, A. (2008). chapter 6: Big Five Career Theories. International Handbook Of Career Guidance, 118-127. Retrieved from http://www.realtutoring.com/career/bigFiveTheory.pdf