Issue 26(2)
Career
Development and Counseling: Putting Theory and Research to Work.
(2005). Steven D. Brown
and Robert W. Lent (Eds.). Hoboken
NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Jossey-Bass), 682 pp. Price:
$ 85.00 (hardcover). ISBN
# 0-471-28880-2.
Review by: Deborah
Renner Hull
College
of Nursing
Arizona State
University at the Tempe Campus
Dawis,
Savickas, Brown, Betz, and Gottfredson - the "Big Guns" of career
development are not only cited in this tome, they are chapter
authors. This is the Mother Lode for anyone interested in career
counseling; with its 650 pages of theories, practical applications,
and reference sections, this is a dream text for any doctoral
student or career advisor. With 43 contributors, the author and
subject indexes take up the full 32 pages. Best of all, the book
is organized so that the reader can easily choose a topic of interest
and go directly to it.
As
a recent doctoral graduate whose dissertation was focused on job
satisfaction, my first thought after reading the Table of Contents
was, "Where was this book three years ago when I started my lit
review?" Had this book been available, I would have completed
my dissertation much sooner.
The
value of this book is that it includes not only the fundamental
theories of career development but that it provides a broad base
of applications for use by beginners and long-time practitioners.
A section is devoted to assessment - interests, values, needs,
and abilities - and provides sources of occupational information.
Additional chapters are dedicated to populations where counseling
may be of particular importance - women, people of color, and
youth, the "at risk", the intellectually talented, students with
disabilities, and work-bound - and provide application of interventions
across the lifespan.
A
background in career development theory is valuable to academic
advisors since many students choose a major is based upon which
career is currently most attractive. An understanding of the research
on how career decisions are made will aid the academic advisor
in helping the student take responsibility for his/her decisions.
Assessment
is critical to our lives in academia. Knowing the prime sources
of career assessment can save the student (and the academic advisor)
time, money, and energy in tracking down useful information for
the decision-making process.
Our
colleges and universities continue to attract not only students
straight out of high school but those who are returning after
several years in the workforce or in the home, as well as retirees
who want to complete an abandoned degree program. The information
related to application of counseling techniques across the lifespan
is priceless.
The
book is huge but every page is noteworthy for the quality and
quantity of career development information it provides. This is
a reference volume worth having on the shelf.
