A new perspective for counsellors: from career ideologies to empowerment through work and relationship practices

Travail et dimension relationnelle chez des hommes : un espace ignoré mais réel

“…De plus, la fragmentation de la carrière a fait éclater le cloisonnement autrefois reconnu entre le travail et le reste de la vie. Elle a mis en lumière une forte interaction entre les différentes sphères d'activités dans l'établissement de l'identité et le développement personnel et professionnel Richardson, 2000). Désormais, la carrière se construit en tenant compte du contexte global où les diverses sphères d'activités personnelles et professionnelles s'interinfluencent tout au long de la vie.…”

A Critical Reflection on Career Development

“…Apart from a few notable and stimulating works (e.g., Irving & Malik, 2005;O'Doherty & Roberts, 2000;Richardson, 2000;Woodd, 2000), researchers and practitioners of vocational psychology and career development have produced scant publications that reflexively turn on the torch of critical self-inspection. In the vein of critical psychology, which sets out to challenge traditional assumptions and practices of psychology (e.g., Austin & Prilleltensky, 2001;Baydala, 2001;House, 1999;Larner, 2001), this paper presents a polemic that raises doubts regarding the intentions of traditional career development practice with respect to their allegiance to the client and calls for an alternative perspective for practice in which tacit assumptions underpinning power are made explicit.…”

“…This suspicious attitude echoes Saul's (1997) critique of the encroachment of corporations upon the sovereignty of States and moreover, the sovereignty of individuals caught up in the maelstrom of globalisation. Furthermore, this critical attitude reflects a circumspect view that global economic forces are impinging upon education, not for the sake of the individual, but for corporate success founded upon necessary labour supply (Law, 2000;Richardson, 2000). Is it possible that the profession of career development, in its breathless rush toward scientific status and to receive the accolades bestowed by the OECD for its contribution to the knowledge economy, will become a servant of corporate power distinct from its original role of serving the good of the client individual?…”

“…Traditional theories and practices of vocational psychology have been brought into question through postmodern thought and its adherents' concomitant scepticism of authority and predictability of career and the world-of-work (e.g., O'Doherty & Roberts, 2000;Richardson, 2000), and this has not been a recent phenomenon (e.g., Borow, 1974;Roberts, 1977). Within the sphere of career development, this scepticism is exemplified in the rejection of models of vocational assessment, which, under the aegis of applied science, assert their capacity to 'measure' and 'predict' a person's career through psychometrics and objective techniques (Bradley, 1994).…”

“…Despite their legitimate caveat, these assumptions were the foundation of a corpus of professional practice, which, until the relatively recent advent of postmodern thinking, enjoyed predominance without serious dissent. Furthermore, they arise from an ideology of career that assumes: (a) career is a purely individual endeavour, (b) a person is defined by their career, and (c) formal work is the highway to self-actualisation (Richardson, 2000). Consideration of these assumptions would indicate their potential for irrelevance in the contemporary world of work (Storey, 2000) and the seemingly chaotic nature of career development (Bloch, 2005;Pryor & Bright, 2003), in which career 'choice' is irrelevant amongst the contingencies of socioeconomic class and concomitant limitations upon career opportunities (Gottfredson, 1981;Roberts, 1977).…”