Holland's Integration of Career Theory, Research, and Practice

Abstract

was my professional mentor for more than 35 years, and our periodic phone conversations about the profession, publishers, and people were lively and informative. His ideas initiated many of the topics I have written and presented about. Indeed, inspection of my vita indicates that about 24% of it is on RIASEC theory and its applications. I told Gary Gottfredson (who was John's most frequent collaborator) that I was giving this talk, and he suggested that I should, "Have a good time with it, speak bluntly, and channel John." I need to do that channeling part because the other chapter authors in this section are able to speak in the first person about their theories.Holland visited Florida State University (FSU) twice, once for a career theory symposium in 1968 and 10 years later to examine the tactile board (Figure 1) format of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) we had created for use by persons with visual disabilities (Reardon & Kahnweiler, 1980). Both visits had a big impact on me. This board version of the SDS was a forerunner of later SDS formats (e.g., computer, Internet, Vocational Exploration and Insight Kit, smart phone, and mail-in scoring service).Holland's critique of the woodworker's skills in creating the SDS tactile board version was my first hint at the varied nature of his interests. More evidence of this was revealed later in his SDS results reported by Stephen Weinrach (1996). Holland's scores were R = 26, I = 27, A = 29, S = 26, E = 29, and C = 8 providing a summary code of A/EI. Holland viewed it as AEI/R/S. His high profile elevation and lack of differentiation suggests he was open to a number of occupational options and the eight occupational aspirations provide further evidence of that. His Aspirations Summary Code was SAE with these occupations listed: psychologist/researcher (social psychologist = ASE), writer (AES), research administrator (research worker = IER), vocational counselor (counselor = SAE), college teacher (SEI), counseling

Educational attainment for at-risk high school students: closing the gap

“…Holland’s theory of positive youth development (PYD; Reardon 2017 ) suggests that students who understand their own strengths and interests are more likely to pursue majors and seek out environments that match their interests (Allen and Robbins 2008 ; Burkhard et al 2019 ; Demetriou and Powell 2014 ). The more aligned are students’ vocational preferences with their choices of school, college major, or career, the more likely they are to succeed in college.…”

The Systems Theory Framework of Career Development

“…Lent (2017) emphasized the need to collaborate with practitioners, and working to demonstrate an integration between theory and practice has been an underpinning of the STF since its development. It is interesting that Reardon (2017) noted that Holland had wanted to do more of this. The usability of the STF has been to • demonstrate integration between theories, as well as to extend this project to new and emerging theories;…”

“…The STF has stimulated the development of several qualitative career assessment instruments as well as a quantitative career measure . These theorybased interventions can be used in career counseling and in small group sessions and continue to be tailored to meet the needs of individuals (Reardon, 2017) and diverse groups. These instruments and measures are briefly described in the following subsections, as is their contribution to the integration between theory, research, and practice.…”

Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice: Lessons Learned from the Evolution of Vocational Psychology

“…During this period, the nascent field of vocational guidance provided resources for individuals whose range of options varied considerably, encompassing people who were unemployed to students at the most privileged secondary schools and colleges in the nation (Savickas & Baker, 2005). The level of theory, research, and practice, however, was starting to tilt toward those with somewhat more options in their lives, as reflected in the emergence of a sophisticated testing culture that framed many vocational guidance practices (Pope, 2015;Reardon, 2017). While some of the tests were widely available, especially those used in personnel selection in the military, the costs of a comprehensive battery of tests became a barrier for many seeking to make their way in the world.…”