1. David S. Shen-Miller Ellen Hawley McWhirter Anne S. Bartone
Career Counseling:
Foundations, Perspectives, and Applications
edited by David Capuzzi and Mark Stauffer
Chapter One Historical Influences on the Evolution of Vocational Counseling
David S. Shen-Miller
Ellen Hawley McWhirter
Anne S. Bartone

2. Definitions
Work
Vocation
Career

3. Career 5 Tenets Individualism and autonomy Affluence
An open structure of opportunity based on assumptions of merit
Work as the central role in people’s lives
Logical, linear, and progressive development of work and career
(Gysbers, Heppner, Johnston, and Neville, 2003)

4. Stage One: The Beginning
Middle 1800s to early 1900s
Industrial Revolution
Urbanization
Labor unions grow in strength
Unskilled labor
Engineer Frederick Taylor
Scientific management

5. Stage One: The Beginning
Extreme conditions of the workplace
Children in Labor
Women’s role in work
Gender/race/class differences
Protestant Work Ethic
Social Darwinism

6. Stage One: The Beginning
Two Social Reform Movements
Progressive Movement
Educational Reform Movement

7. Stage One: The Beginning
Progressive Movement
Women’s suffrage
Regulation of industry
First child labor law 1908

8. Stage One: The Beginning
Educational Reform Movement
Mass entrance into schools
Child saving movement
Factory and corporate schools

9. Stage One: The Beginning
The beginnings of vocational guidance
Frank Parsons
Vocation Bureau in Boston
School-to-work transition
Choosing a Vocation (1909)
First vocational conference in Boston

10. Stage One: The Beginning
The beginnings of vocational guidance
1913 National Vocational Guidance Association (NVGA)
1913 U.S. Department of Labor

11. Stage One: The Beginning
The beginnings of vocational guidance
Jesse Davis
Guidance in the schools
John Dewey (1916)
Integration of two tracks
college preparatory
vocational education
Diversity in education

12. Stage Two: Calls for Measurement, and Vocational Guidance in the Schools (1914-1929)
WWI and its aftermath
Women’s right to vote (1919)
Automobiles, skyscrapers, and airplanes
Large-scale immigration and legislation

13. Stage Two: (1914-1929) Vocational Instruments and Psychometrics
Army Alpha and Army Beta tests
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
NVGA’s “Principles and Practices of Vocational Guidance”

14. Stage Two: (1914-1929) Legislation
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1918
Smith-Hughes Act of 1917
Veteran’s Administration (VA)

15. Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Stage 3: ( ) The Great Depression and the Expectations of a Nation
Massive immigration into the U. S
1929: The U.S. stock market crashed
Roosevelt Administration’s New Deal
Organized Labor strengthened
Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor (AFL)

16. Stage 3: (1929-1939) The “child study” movement
Social Security Act, 1935
Jewish Vocational Services
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (1939)

17. Stage 4: World War II, More Testing and Major Theoretical Influences (1940-1957)
Military and Non-military assessment
MBTI, Strong’s Interest Inventory
Occupational Outlook Handbook (OHH)
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (1939)

18. Legislation GI Bill of 1946 George-Barden Act
Stage 4: ( )
Legislation
GI Bill of 1946
George-Barden Act

19. Stage 4: (1940-1957) “Vocational Guidance” replaced
Developmental perspectives
e.g., Erickson
New psychological theories
Maslow, Rogers
New Career Theories
Super, Ginzberg, Ann Roe

20. Stage 4: (1940-1957) Division of Counseling Psychology in 1952
American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA) in 1952

21. Stage 5: 1958-1970: The Space Race, Civil Rights and the Great Society
Boom for counseling
Von Bertalanffy’s (1968) “systems theory”
Work Adjustment theory

22. Stage 5: 1958-1970 Legislation in general
Minority groups and women issues addressed and involved in vocational legislation, along with the emergence of affirmative action
Barriers to vocational success were overtly considered for the first time
Vocational guidance became even more integral to legislation aimed at reducing economic or occupational woes.

23. Stage 5: 1958-1970 Most Significant legislation
The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958
Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963
Civil Rights Act of 1964

24. Stage 5: 1958-1970 Other Significant legislation
Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

25. Stage 6: The Boom Years Continue (1970-1979)
Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War
Surge in popularity of vocational counseling
Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1974
Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council
1973 Rehabilitation Act
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1977

26. Stage 6: (1970-1979) NOICC and SOICC
SIGI Plus, DISCOVER, Career Information System (CIS), Guidance Information System (GIS)
Generalizability concerns of testing

27. Stage 6: (1970-1979) Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model
Bandura’s Social learning theory
Krumboltz’s theory
Life Career Development theory

28. Stage 6: The Boom Years Continue (1970-1979)
Public perception of the profession
National Board of Certified Counselors: National Certified Career Counselor
National Career Counselor Exam in 1983

29. Stage 7: 1980-1989: Inclusion of a Wider Culture
Growing recognition of diversity
Decreasing power of organized labor
Women’s entry into the workplace in greater numbers
Legislative focus on connecting youth with vocational training

30. Stage 7: 1980-1989: Inclusion of a Wider Culture
Career decision-making
Life Career Theory
Theory of circumscription and compromise
Theories challenged to reflect Diversity
1984: the NVGA officially changed its name to the National Career Development Association (NCDA)

31. Stage 8: 1990-Present School-to-work (STW) transition
Increasing diversity in the workplace
Discrimination and sexual harassment

32. Stage 8: 1990-Present Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS)
School-to-Work Opportunity Act (STWOA)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Secretary’s Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)

33. Stage 8: 1990-2005 Multicultural contributions
Revision of many theories
e.g, examination of TWA and Holland’s Theory
Multicultural contributions
Contextual understanding of career choice
Blustein and Spengler’s (1995) Domain-Sensitive Approach
Gysbers and Moore’s (1973) Life Career Development theory

34. Stage 9: The Present World and Work Environment changing rapidly
International economy and recession
Downsizing, specialization, outsourcing, and increased use of temporary labor
Assessment of measures across cultural groups
World Wide Web and new ethical challenges
Advocacy

35. Stage 9: The present Cultural formulation approach Happenstance Theory
Emancipatory communitarian approach
Other theories related to diversity
“Voids in legislation”
Joint symposiums – IAEVG-SVP-NCDA

36. References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Krumboltz, J.D. (1979). A social learning theory of career decision making. In A.M. Mitchell, G.B. Jones, & J.D. Krumboltz (Eds.), Social learning and career decision making (pp ). Cranston, RI: Carroll Press.
Super, D.E. (1953). A theory of vocational development. American Psychologist, 8, Von Bertalanffy, L. (1968). General systems theory: Foundation, development, application. New York: Braziller.