Learning theory of career counseling

Career Counseling Theory Case Study

For this assignment, you will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of career counseling theory by choosing a career counseling theory addressed in Units 1 or 2 and applying it to the case study provided below. Approach the case study from the perspective of your individual specialization (for example, mental health counseling, school counseling, et cetera). You can embellish the case scenario as needed to help you complete the assignment.

Scenario
Taneka, a 17-year-old African-American female, is a high school junior. She is the oldest of three siblings living with her single-parent mother. Her mother has worked for the past 15 years at a manufacturing plant. Her father has not been a part of Taneka's life.

As the oldest child, Taneka has held major responsibilities throughout her life to support her working mother, such as caring for her younger siblings: Derrick, now age 14, and Kenya, age 12. These early duties reinforced development of her natural leadership skills. Taneka has been recognized from an early age for being mature, responsible, and dependable. As her siblings have grown, she has been able to have part-time jobs, most recently as a salesperson at a teen fashion store in the local mall. It was here that she first realized she had a knack for dealing with people, and they responded well to her—employers, co-workers, and customers alike. She was recently approached by her supervisor to consider participating in the company's employee leadership training program.

This has caused Taneka to start thinking about post-secondary education possibilities. Previously she had thought college was out of her reach, due to the limited financial resources of her family and no history of anyone in her family ever attending college. As such, she had not previously given much importance to her grades. Rather than participating in extracurricular school activities, she focused on working. She is on track for graduating with her class next year and has a current grade point average of 2.05.

Taneka is now questioning her previous assumption about college or other post-secondary educational possibilities, but she does not have a clear idea of what she would like to pursue as a career. Choosing a career and a post-secondary program to prepare for it, seeking financial support, and navigating the admissions procedure all remain mysteries to her.

In your paper, address the following:

Argue for one relevant theory to be applied to the scenario. Note:Appropriate career counseling theories include, but are not limited to, Holland, Super, Krumboltz, Gottfredson, Social Cognitive Theory, and Person-Environment-Fit.
Identify the theory you chose and provide a rationale as to why you have selected this career theory.
Describe the key components of your chosen career counseling theoretical framework.
Analyze any challenges you might have applying this theory to the case.
Propose possible approaches for addressing the challenges you identified.
Be sure to include research findings that support your use of this theory (Include a minimum of one supporting reference not provided in this course).
Your assignment should be 4–5 pages in length and include at least three references, including your text. Be sure to indicate your specialization in your paper. Review the Career Counseling Theory Case Study Scoring Guide to understand the grading expectations for this assignment.

CAREER COUNSELING THEORY

Career Counseling Theory and Relationship Strategies

Janine Vereen

COUN5279 – Life Plng & Career Development

January 31, 2016

Professor Fred Wilson

Abstract

The case study chosen is a Taneka, a 17-year-old African American female. She is a high school junior the oldest of three siblings living with her single-parent mother. As the oldest child, Taneka has held major responsibilities throughout her life to support her working mother, such as carrying for her younger siblings, Derrick, now age 14, and Kenya, age 12. Krumboltz Learning Theory of Careers Choice and Counseling (LTCC) would be the best approach for Taneka, since her environmental conditions is interfering with her ability to make a career decision without abandoning her mother and siblings.

The Learning Theory of Career Choice and Counseling (LTCC) was developed by John D. Krumboltz. Career decisions are the product of countless numbers of learning experiences made possible by encounters with the people, institutions and events in a person’s particular environment. People choose their careers based on what they have learned. Krumboltz proposed that there are four main factors that influence career choice, which are genetic influences, environmental conditions and events, learning experiences and task approach skills (e.g., self-observation, goal setting and information seeking) (Mitchell & Krumbolt, 1996). The consequences of these factors and most particularly learning experiences lead people to develop beliefs about the nature of careers and their role in life (self-observational generalizations). These beliefs, whether realistic or not, influence career choices and work related behavior.

Unit 3 - Career Counseling Theory and Relationship Strategies

Career counseling has been regarded as a personal emotional type counseling ( Osipow & Walsh 1990). However, clients attempting to choose careers need more than solutions to their emotional problems. Counselors must be prepared to choose for a client, who is considering a career choice intervention that is appropriate. Taneka needs a career counselor who will be supportive. Supportive therapy helps the client to deal with his or her problem, and provides the client with an understanding and accepting counselor.

The Learning Theory of Career Choice and Counseling helps the client by identifying the origin of his career choices and assist with creating a guide to challenge career related problems. The counselor starts with understanding how a client came to their career related view of themselves and the world and what is limiting or problematic about this view. Once this has been established, the counselor and client can identify what career relevant learning experiences, modeling or skill building will help them redirect their view (Mitchell & Krumbolt, 1996).

The basic tenets of LTCC involve cooperation between client and counselor. They include: (1) Clients need to expand their capabilities and interests with the help of the counselor to explore new activities (2) Clients need to prepare for changing work tasks and, with the counselor help, learn to cope with the stress of learning new skills throughout their careers (3) Clients need to be set free from fear and set free to courageously take responsibility for directing their own career path and making tough career decisions, and (4) Though the counselor is crucial in helping clients attain the first three tenets, the counselor is most needed to provide ongoing counseling where career and personal counseling is blended to help the client deal with all career related concerns including “burnout, underemployment, relationships with co-workers” (Niles & Harris-Bowlesby, 2009) and any other life issues.

Career counselors need to use assessment results of abilities, interest, viewpoint, principles and personality types to search for potential areas for development and to create additional learning experiences (Bimrose, 2004). The intended goal for the career practitioner is to help their clients “to create satisfying lives for themselves" (Niles & Harris-Bowlesby, 2009, p. 79) both now and for the future (Feller, Honaker, Zagzebski, 2001). Krumboltz stated that the way a person thinks ultimately controls his or her actions, including career choices. If a person is unsure on what path they want to take, then it could possibly lead them in the wrong direction. (Krumboltz, 1994).

References

Archer, J, McCarthy, C. 1. (2007). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kirschenbaum, H., & Jourdan, A. (2005). The current status of Carl Rogers and the person­

centered approach. Psychotherapy:Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42(1), 37-51 .

Bimrose, J. (2004, August 29). Learning theory of careers choice & counselling. NGRF –

National Guidance Research Forum. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from

http://www.guidance-research.org/EG/impprac/ImpP2/traditional/learning-theory/

Feller, R. W., Honaker, S. L., & Zagzebski, L. M. (2001). Theoretical voices directing the career

development journey: Holland, Harris-Bowlsbey, and Krumboltz. Career Development

Quarterly, 49(3), 212-24. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from EBSCOhost.

Krumboltz, J. D. (March 01, 1994). The career beliefs inventory. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 72(4), 424-28. Retrieved January 31, 2016 from EBSCOhost.

Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. A. (2009). Career development interventions in the 21st

century. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill/Pearson.

Osipow, S. H., & Walsh, W. B. ( 1990). Career counseling: Contempora1y topics in vocational

psychology.Lawrence Erlbaum Association. Broadwa y Hillsdale, H. J.

Mitchell, L.K. & Krumbolt, J.D. (1996) Krumboltz’s Learning Theory of Career Choice and

Counseling in Brown, D., Brooks, L. & Associates (eds) (3rd edition) Career Choice and

Development San Francisco, California: Jossey Bass