Attitudes Regarding Career Counseling: Perceptions and Experiences of Counselors-in-Training

The authors explored attitudes regarding career counseling. Interview data were analyzed and conceptualized using grounded theory methods. Peers, faculty, and programs influenced participants' attitudes. Participants' observations regarding instruction and developed understanding of their own career development figured into favorable attitudes regarding career counseling. Data revealed that students did not perceive that they were competent or confident conducting career counseling. Implications for counselor education are discussed. Engels, Minor, Sampson, and Splete (1995) stated that counselors who focus on career development concerns must be prepared to address stress, wellness, change, performance, occupational health, satisfaction, interpersonal and intrapersonal issues, family, leisure, technology, and communication issues with their clients. Other authors (e.g., Flores & Heppner, 2002; Lent, 2001) agreed that it is criticai for counselors to gain proficiency in the practice of career counseling with all populations in order to adequately meet clients' needs. Hartung (2005) further asserted that economic globalization demands that career counseling assist workers worldwide in adapting to the transforming work environment. Hartung (2005) pointed out a shortage of adequately trained career counselors, despite an increasing need for career counseling. To complicate this issue, authors (e.g., Hartung, 2005; Warnke et al., 1993) described interest in career counseling as low and perceptions of career counseling as negative within the profession. According to Watts (2005), a closer look reveals that the counseling profession has marginalized career counseling. While Tinsley (2001 ) remarked that counseling training programs have devolved from training students to offer clients vocational assistance to training them to work with psychopathology, Savickas, Van Esbroeck, and Herr (2005) indicated that master's programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 200 1 ) typically offer one career counseling course, and many doctoral programs do not offer advanced career counseling courses. In addition, few accredited programs have faculty with a career counseling specialty, and "this results in the career course being taught by adjunct faculty or by list-year assistant professors" (p. 79). Conversely, professional organizations recognized the importance of career counseling. CACREP core standards, the Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors (ACES), and the National Career Development Association (NCDA) identified the. essential nature of career counseling, In addition, the ACES/NCDA Commission for Career Counselor Preparation (ACES/NCDA, 2000) made recommendations regarding how counselor educators can enhance skills, knowledge, and attitudes of counseling students in career development. This commission produced publications, and conducted presentations at national and regional professional conferences providing teaching strategies designed to enhance career counseling courses. Researchers have addressed counselors1 interests and attitudes regarding career counseling. Nevertheless, O'Brien and Heppner (1 996) observed that researchers have not fully explained how career counseling attitudes are developed, how these attitudes are influenced, or how these attitudes are implemented in professional practice. In this context, O'Brien and Heppner stated, "we believe that training programs hold the key to increasing interest and improving performance in career counseling among graduate students" (p. 376). In spite of a linkage between counselor training and attitudes toward career counseling, there is a paucity of career counseling pedagogy research found in counseling literature. O'Brien and Heppner suggested that pedagogical strategies need to stimulate interest, involvement, and performance among career counselors. Some researchers explored the impact of career counseling pedagogical methods on students1 skill and attitude development. …