This is a rough framework that supports my career advising work and practice. I recommend anyone participating in career advising or counselling practice takes some time to really consider questions of Ontology, Epistemology, and Axiology.
Ontology
What is reality – the nature of reality
Influenced by the ideas within Critical Realism reality exists beyond the perception of the individual, but can only be connected with through the perception of the individual (Robertson, 2016), so each person has a different perception of the same reality, and that perception is mediated by relationships. This means that knowledge is constructed and exists only in the construction. That knowledge is not reality, but merely a reflection of it.
Influenced by Indigenous Research Paradigm our connection to reality is through our “interconnected relationship one has to the physical and meta- physical” (Pidgeon, 2019, p. 432). Our relationships mediate our connection with the world and influence our perceptions of it. These relationships are not just with other people, but with the land, social structures, and communities.
So, reality exists, but we do not directly connect to reality, only our relationally mediated connections. This also means that we cannot state explicitly what reality is, only how we perceive it through various means. The way we understand this is through symbols that form together into ideas, such as, but not limited to, language.
Epistemology
How do we understand reality – the knowledge of reality
As our connection to reality is through our perception, Social Constructionism aligns most with this Ontology. Based on perceived reality each of us constructs meaning. Knowledge is a historical and cultural artifact that is impacted by generations of perceptions (Cohen et al. 2004). Because of this, “particular versions of reality lead to particular forms of action, and away from others” (2004, p. 410).
From Cohen et al. 2004, the tenets of social constructionism (2004, p. 409-410):
- a critical stance toward taken-for-granted knowledge
- historical and cultural specificity
- knowledge is sustained by social processes.
- knowledge and social action go together
From all of this we get the idea that “there is not an essential self within a person” (McIlveen & Midgley, 2015, p. 16), but rather the self is the current version of someone who has been impacted by a wide variety of factors in their context (Jarvis, 2007). Things that are part of this context are the land or place we are or have been within, the communities, families, and nations we are or have been part of, and the relationships with any of these or with individuals or groups within them. This includes what we have learned and internalized intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our choices, especially regarding careers, then are affected by our social and cultural contexts.
There are many models for showing the context of a person including Systems Theory Framework for career development (STF) by Patton & McMahon (2014) (figure 1) as well as the Indigenous Wholistic Framework (IWF) by Pidgeon (2014) (figure 2).
Figure 1: STF by Patton and McMahon (2014)
Figure 2: Indigenous Wholistic Framework by Pidgeon (2014)
Working with students on their career development journey requires understanding that their context will be different from yours as it is impacted by different factors. But a career is not just a goal, it is a journey, the goal of career development from a social constructivism perspective must be to equip people for a journey of discovery (many changing paths) rather than building a railway (one path and a common start and end point).
“The idea of careers as continuous narratives, merging past and present, is central to new definitions of career.” (Cohen et al., 2004).
Meaning Making
How then do we create meaning? This is the “social-symbolic processes of meaning-making” (Ferreira et al., 2006, p.20). Our relational and contextual past builds our symbols through which we understand our reality, and our symbols through which we understand reality impact our relational and contextual present and future in an iterative process. This is done through dialogical stance where there is the I and the Other and our meaning creation is created in relationship between the I and the Other. As Frreira, Salgado, and Cunha (2006) say “Meaning is conceived as a process of communication between, at least, two agencies” (p. 28). This communication is continued within the self long after the direct communication with the other with whom the self is in-relationship-with has ended. The communications with others become part of the context of the self.
A way to understand this is through Dialogical Self Theory. The self, as a result of this meaning-making process is not a single self, but a “society of mind” (Healy & McIlveen, 2019, p. 147) created through the past and present relationships, communications, and context. This creates competing “I-positions” (p. 147) which are in dialogue within the self and create a self-identity. Major conflicts between these I-positions or conflicts between these I-positions and a change in context (such as work transitions or changing family circumstances), can create self-doubt or anxiety.
Axiology
The work of career advising or career counselling involves helping people to understand their past and plan their future. This work is done in-relationship-with between the advisor and the client. However, when separate from professionally certified or licensed counselling there must be a line past which the advising does not cross into the personal counselling area. By using the principles of Reciprocity, Relevance, Responsibility, and Respect (Pidgeon, 2014) we are able to do this work in an ethical way. This is explained by Pidgeon (2019) as “What part of reality is worth finding out more about and what is ethical for me to do to gain this knowledge?” (432). In this it is the focus on the persons connection with their career planning, how their past, context, and perception affects it. When there is an issue of personal counselling involved, the person should be referred to a personal counsellor.
Key Theories
The key theories in my practice are:
| Theory and recent publication | Early work | Epistemology | Brief overview |
| Happenstance Learning Theory (Krumboltz 2009) | 1999 | Social Constructivist Theory | Career paths are formed by seemingly random events and influences, so the goal of career development is to prepare people to generate chance opportunities and to prepare people to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. A method that can be used to guide the practice of the career development/counselling/advising interview. |
| The Chaos Theory of Careers (Bright & Pryor, 2019) | 2008 | Systems Theory | Career paths are complex systems impacted by many different influences, and trying to simplify them gives a result that is not necessarily reproducible. Failure is normal, and the goal of Career Development is learning to plan and adapt. A method that can be used to understand how each individual’s path will be different. |
| Career Construction Counselling (Savickas, 2016) | 2005 | Social Constructivist Theory | We build stories around our career paths (why, how, why not) and those stories when reflected on can help overcome failures or pains in the career path. Those stories are how we perceive our past, present, and future, and they change over time and help us develop our identity. A meta theory that can be used to guide the practice of the career development/counselling/advising interview. |
| Systems Theory Framework (Patton & McMahon 2014) | 1999 | Systems Theory | A way of conceptualizing the open system that the individual exists within that impacts decisions made. A meta theory that can be used to understand the context of the individual. |
References
Bright, J. E. H., & Pryor, R. G. L. (2019). The Chaos Theory of Careers: Emerging from Simplification to Complexity, Certainty to Uncertainty. Asia Pacific Career Development Journal, 2(1), 1–15. http://asiapacificcda.org/Resources/APCDJ/A0002_1_001.pdf
Cohen, L., Duberley, J., Mallon, M. (2004). Social constructionism in the study of career: Accessing the parts that other approaches cannot reach. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(3) pp. 407-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2003.12.007
Ferreira, T., Salgado, J., & Cunha, C. (2006). Ambiguity and the dialogical self: In search for a dialogical psychology. Estudios de Psicologia, 27(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1174/021093906776173216
Healy, M. & McIlveen, P. (2019) My Career Chapter: The Dialogical Self as Author and Editor of a Career Autobiography. In Nancy Arthur, Roberta Neault, Mary McMahon (eds.) Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice.
Jarvis, P. (2006). Towards a comprehensive theory of human learning. London: Routledge.
Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 17(2), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072708328861
McIlveen, P. & Midgley, W. (2015). A Philosophical Consideration of Qualitative Career Assessment. In McMahon, M., Watson, M. (eds.) Career Assessment : Qualitative Approaches. BRILL p. 13-20.
Patton, W., McMahon, M. (2014). Career Development and Systems Theory: Connecting Theory and Practice. Sense Publishers.
Pidgeon, M. (2014). Moving Beyond Good Intentions: Indigenizing higher education in British Columbia universities through institutional responsibility and accountability. Journal of American Indian Education, 53(2), 7–28.
Pidgeon, M. (2019). Moving between theory and practice within an Indigenous research paradigm. Qualitative Research, 19(4), 418–436. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794118781380
Robertson, P. J. (2016). Identifying and Measuring Capabilities for Career Development in NEET Young People. Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques, 47(2) p. 83-99. https://doi.org/10.4000/rsa.1738
Savickas, M. L. (2016). Reflection and reflexivity during life-design interventions: Comments on Career Construction Counseling. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 97, 84–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.001