Chapter 1: Theories Of Career Development: Core Concepts and Propositions

Career theories reflect the historical context from which they emerge. Generally, theories emanating from the United States emphasize a psychological orientation that highlights how intraindividual variables influence career development. Career theories emphasizing the contextual influences shaping career development processes are less prevalent. Moreover, some career theories stress the career development process (i.e., they describe how careers unfold over time) and other theories describe important factors contributing to the content of career decision-making. Person and context variables as well as process and content orientations collectively provide the most complete picture of career development theory and practice. Although no one career development theory achieves this lofty goal, there is much to be gained from examining each theory independently and then considering how each theory enhances our overall understanding of career development processes.