Special Education: From Career Development to Employment

By Edgar Hobbs, Jr

Manhattan School for Career Development assists students with disabilities to develop their academic and vocational skills. Assessments begin upon admission through completion of school requirements. We provide person centered career planning. Students that successfully navigate through our school will enroll in post secondary training programs and obtain employment upon completion.

The Goldilocks Challenge: Getting Postsecondary Education Advice Just Right

By Janet Wall

Go to college and it will pay off. Historically, vocational guidance counselors have been giving that advice for decades. Is that really the best advice in the 21st century? This article provides information on certain realities that should be understood in order to provide the “just right” advice to clients as they make career decisions.

Roadmap to a Fulfilling Gap Year

By Lin Johnson III

Excitement immediately appears with the decision to take a year off between high school and college and do whatever she/he desires. Yet, the opportunity of complete freedom brings along anxiety. This article highlights how gap year students can grow, make a real impact, and do everything with minimal costs, including exploring the role of the career counselor in this atypical choice.

Group Career Counseling: a Lesson Plan for School Counselors

By Candise Leininger

NCDA supports Wyoming’s Department of Education efforts to improve the quality of career services offered to students in schools. Richard Pyle’s three session Group Career Counseling model provides a lesson plan for counselors looking to start an effective and efficient career counseling program in their school. Career Development Facilitation training provides counselors an opportunity to hone their career counseling skills.

Enabling Career Guidance Assessment for All: The Universal Encouragement Program

By Susan Roudebush

Guidance assessments quickly capture a wealth of information beneficial to school counselors, who aspire to provide effective and efficient student support services. This article looks at the Universal Encouragement Program (UEP), a free guidance assessment designed to: identify student interests, concerns and needs, support school counseling program goals, and measure the effectiveness of school counseling program interventions.

Adult Learner - the K-12 Connection

By Marc A. Bertrand

If adult learners acquire necessary skill sets, they may be considered for better paying jobs, and be able to advocate for themselves and their children. A New York school has high expectations as they look to identify the talents of ESL adults towards helping them achieve their maximum potential. In 2008-09, the school received an “unacceptable” rating, which led the school leadership into taking a quality control initiative extracted from a K-12 model to improve student performance.

Cognitive Information Processing Model and Students with LD/ADHD: Prescriptions for Intervention

By Rob Bahny and Abiola Dipeolu

Negative career thoughts are a particular challenge for career practitioners counseling students with learning differences. The Cognitive Information Processing model developed by Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, and Lenz offers a particularly effective framework for identification and remediation of these inhibitors to effective career decision making.

Career Guidance - Creating Career Relevance for Core Courses

By Shantele Raper

The key to a strong career guidance program is building relevance through relationships. Career professionals can help teachers connect students’ math and literacy skills with future work.

Teaching Students How To Make Career Decisions

By Kathy Harris

A northern Canadian territory found a career decision-making program their students needed. Career Focusing™ identifies the specific decision-making skills and steps to make them teachable. Implementation funding support came from a diamond minning company. Read about the partnership and the career decision-making program that, together, are making a difference in schools.

Using Twitter as a Career Development Tool: A Middle School Experience

By Allison Rosemond

The use of social media in career development is growing. Whether by using Facebook to market career development services or when career-seekers use LinkedIn for networking, social media sites are fast becoming a mainstay in the career development process for adults and young adults alike. This article introduces counselors to the use of Twitter as a career development tool for a virtual job shadowing in a middle school.

The Case Method: An Applicable Learning Experience

Book Review by Jackie Piela-Shuster

Reading The Career Counseling Casebook: A Resource for Practitioners, Students, and Counselor Educators (Niles, Goodman & Pope, 2002), proved to be an interesting and applicable learning experience. The individual cases and responses revealed the diversity and richness of career counseling.

Fostering Human Agency: Working with Students in South Korea

By Hyung Joon Yoon and Brian Hutchison

Exercising human agency is vital for one’s development, self-renewal, and adaptability. A one-week intensive career leadership academy based on Albert Bandura’s human agency theory was delivered to a group of South Korean students. The program allowed students to practice and, in turn, increase self-reflectiveness, forethought, intentionality, self-reactiveness. Implications for U.S. 7-12 students are discussed.

Writing Career Development Standards for K-12

By Ray Henson

Preparing students for college and career requires clear understanding of student learning expectations. Forty-five states realized the need for core standards with high order thinking skills resulting in the National Governors Association Common Core State Standards. This article is intended as a guide for writing similar frameworks using the Arkansas state career development standards as an example.

Checklists Enhance School Counseling Services

By Susan Roudebush

Checklists are common within industry. Businesses and health care facilities use checklists for safety and quality assurance purposes. This article discusses the parallel merits of career guidance checklists in schools.

Career and School Counseling: an Essential Component for Adolescent Literacy Development

By Janet F. McCarra and Teresa Jayroe

The importance of adolescent literacy as it relates to school and future employment opportunities cannot be overemphasized. Career and school counseling is an essential component for ensuring students have the necessary skills for success in both of these areas.

The Career Spinner Activity: Career Crossing in Core Classes

By Carol Johnson

Career educators who can make the connection between school assignments and how learning applies to future careers may enrich the classroom by connecting students with opportunities to explore beyond the textbook basics. Using readings, science scenarios, global and historical perspectives, the arts, and writing, students can use this creative strategy to develop a a world of career opportunities.

The Career Institute: A School-Based Collaborative Career Development Program

By Lourdes Rivera and Mary Beth Schaefer

The Career Institute, a collaborative career development program, has been implemented in an early college (a 6th through 12th grade school) during the past seven years. This article describes the program and highlights the impact the program has had on students.

The Challenges of Career Counseling with Undocumented Immigrant Youth

By Cassie Storlie

The career development trajectory of undocumented immigrant youth is irregular and brings unique challenges to career counselors providing services in the schools. This manuscript focuses on the complexities of working with undocumented immigrant youth and the importance of using specific multicultural theories when providing career counseling in the school setting.

Career Development Keys to Post-School Transition Success for Students with ADHD

By Abiola Dipeolu, Jessica L. Sniatecki, and Marvin Lalin

Career counselors possess the skills necessary to assist students with ADHD attain post-school transition success given their unique blend of skills and training. This article will discuss targeted career counseling and development ideas and activities aimed at helping students with ADHD successfully prepare for the world of work.

E-Mentoring: A Middle School Experience

By Sherry Lussier

Seventh-grade students are matched with E-Mentors in the workforce. Throughout the school year, they discuss aspects of a career to which they aspire. The school counselor facilitates the letter exchanges with a secure method of email.

Specialized Vocational Planning for People with Autism

By LaToya B. Gathers

Just like everyone else, kids with autism will eventually need to function in the "real world" and make a living. Vocational training is one way to help autistic children to develop a bankable skill. Vocational training can be obtained through high school education programs, online courses, and local community colleges and even through home activities. This article will focus on specific vocational tools and strategies to help students with autism.

Where Do I Begin?

By Susan Roudebush

Deciding where to begin career development curriculum to engage students can challenge the best school counselor or career educator. This study found that students rank "Know Myself" activities most useful.

Dispelling the Big Myth about the Military

By Janet E. Wall

Counselors and other professionals sometimes advise young people that if they don’t have other career options, they can always join the military since the military takes anyone. Nothing could be further from reality. Too many of our youth – estimated at 75% – are not eligible academically, physically, or morally to enlist in the military.

Parent’s Guide to College and Careers: How to Help, Not Hover

Book Review By Mark Veronica

High school parents can benefit from this 2010 book by Barbara Cooke. High school advisors everywhere would appreciate it if all parents of teenagers read this book!

Preparing Students with Disabilities for Transition to College: A Framework Based on the PATH Model

By Ksenia Wojcieszek-Arjomand and Marie Helene Gosselin

Successful transition-to-college for students with disabilities requires skills to meet individual needs and goals. These include self-advocacy, self-determination, and knowledge of national disability legislature. We present an 8-step framework to guide counselors as they develop individualized transitions plans and necessary skills for students to make a successful college selection and transition.

“Gameworks” An Innovative Approach to Engage Youth-at-Risk in Learning

By Madelaine Currelly

It is difficult to engage youth-at-risk in learning. An unusual methodology called “Gameworks” offers structure, yet uses creativity as the learning tool, through the creation of a board game. Youth work collaboratively, researching and designing board games related to careers.

Using the Family Tree of Careers: Branching Out with Others!

By Carol Johnson

Negotiating for classroom time to give career related presentations to students can present an obstacle for school counselors. By working collaboratively with the teachers to find untapped opportunities, counselors may become more visible in the classrooms.

An Interactive Activity to Address Stereotypes About Career Roles in Middle Schools

By Brian Stevenson

Stereotypes about careers based upon appearance can have a strong influence on how middle school students navigate the career decision-making process. Interactive activities, such as “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover,” are a great way for counselors to encourage career exploration, while dispelling any preconceived notions that form the basis of stereotypes.

Matching Job Descriptions to Personality Preferences

By Melissa H. Windham

Counselors often play various roles in order to fulfill their job descriptions. When counseling departments work together, these duties may be redistributed in order to better match each counselor’s job description with his or her personality. Use of the DiSC® Profile is a beneficial resource to making this possible.

Soldiers Returning from Deployment: Considerations for School Counselors

By Jessica L. Sniatecki

This article provides an overview of potential issues facing children of deployed soldiers and offers suggestions to assist school counselors in recognizing and responding to challenges faced by these students.

High School Counselors: Make the Most of College Admission Visits

By Mark Veronica

High school counselors frequently invite college admissions representatives to visit prospective students at school, but often do not participate in the meeting and miss the full benefit of the experience. This article shares my observations of several visits including suggestions to help maximize the experience.

Building Adolescent Self Understanding as a Bridge to a Brighter Future Aligned with One's Multiple Intelligences Strengths

By C. Branton Shearer

This article describes how a multiple intelligences assessment and educational activities can be employed to enhance high school students' career planning and self-understanding. The goals of this program are to provide students with a realistic sense of hope based on enhanced self-awareness that a valued adult career may be obtained that is aligned with their MI strengths through the utilization of the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales (MIDAS).

Chronic Illness and Career Exploration: School Counselors and Students Navigating the Journey

By Lindsey M. Nichols & Brian Hutchison

Chronic illness impacts the career decisions of up to 125 million Americans. Navigating career exploration can be challenging for students with chronic illness. This article reviews specific needs of students with chronic illnesses, using Super's Life-Span-Life-Space Theory. Information presented is aimed at helping counselors address students' career development needs.

A World of Possibilities: Career Development for Gifted Students

By Jennifer Kass & Marion Cavallaro

Although gifted students may seem to have the internal resources to navigate the career counseling process on their own with little counseling intervention, they have unique needs that school counselors should be aware of to best serve this population.

K-12 Schools Facing New Challenges: The ADAAA

By Vernon Sheeley

The newly amended American with Disabilities Act (ADAAA) (2008) is a revision of the American with Disability Act (ADA) 1990, revised because Congress objected to narrow disability interpretations of ADA by the Supreme Court. This revision has implication and guidance for school counselors, career counselors and other school personnel because they need to comply with this new law in their work.

Twenty-First Century Career Center

By Shelley H. Bock

The goal of career development should be to ensure successful transitions from high school to postsecondary education and into successful placement in the workforce (National High School Center, 2008). Career centers embedded in the overall high school program serve as a conduit to other programming to provide a high-quality career development experience for all learners. This article shares how one state's high school career center is evolving into a career center for the 21st century workforce.

Music as a Career Development Tool

By Herky Cutler

This paper proposes the use of music simultaneously with career interest inventories to engage students, and to help them access what they are interested in, what they value, and what their passion is.

Intervention Implications for School Counselors from a SCCT Perspective

By Mei Tang

Learning experiences, personal backgrounds, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and interests, as predicted in Social Cognitive Career Theory model, are found to be important factors for high school students in their career pursuit. This paper will highlight the findings from a research study about high school students' career aspirations and implications for school counselors to develop career interventions in high school settings

Creative Students and Career Path Needs

By Kate Siner Francis

Students, who have creative personality, often face roadblocks in finding suitable career paths. These roadblocks arise as a result of a common misunderstanding of the creative personality that dominates the American school systems. This article identifies the characteristics of adolescents, who have creative personalities, and provides insights into how career counselors might support these students.

Career Development and Planning: A Comprehensive Approach

Book Review by Ronald Z. Piaseczny and Jessica L. Sniatecki

The third edition of this book succeeds in its mission to not only provide students with the breadth of knowledge necessary, but also does justice to the notion of providing an everyday handbook for counselors.

Helping Students Identify Their True Colors: Career Colors That Is

By Clare Garman

The right picture is worth a thousand words. An activity that allows students to learn and have fun at the same time is priceless. Activities such as "What is My Career Color?" allow students to get up and move, talk with fellow students, and learn about careers and themselves.

Career Counseling in Private Schools: A Counselor's Experience

By Mark Veronica

College placement is just one aspect of multiple job duties at public schools. At a competitive private school, it was the part of the job that was explicitly emphasized to this counselor. New counselors must be alert to each school's priorities and role expectations.

Self-Advocacy and Self Determination Skills for LD Students: Career Counselors Can Help

By Niki Baerman and Abiola Dipeolu

Parents of students with learning disabilities (LD) are often the principle source of support and advocacy for the students' school needs. However, over-involvement by parents can lead to negative outcomes such as deficits in the independence skills of self-advocacy and self-determination for students with LD -- a great barrier to effective post school transition. Career counselors can help students acquire these skills by applying targeted vocational interventions.

Getting Students to Tap into Their Social Networks in a Fun and Interactive Way

By Madelaine Currelly

Networking is essential to success - it is almost impossible to achieve our goals without the help of others. Students can now practice the skill of networking in a simulated networked environment provided in "The Game of Networking" which allows students to practice, play and experience the skills essential to increasing social capital. During this process, the teachers and/or counselors provide constructive feedback.

Helping Students Cultivate Soft Skills

By Aricia E. LaFrance

What are soft skills, why are they important, and how can counselors and teachers in schools help cultivate them soft skills in students?

Preparing Students for STEM Careers

By Angela Traurig and Rich Feller

How can counselors inspire students to solve problems in the frontiers of alternative energy, climate change, nanotechnology and space exploration, while promoting STEM careers...that is a key question in career development.

Instilling Confidence in High Risk Youth

By Aricia E. LaFrance

Helping teens get on track and develop confidence is necessary to seeing them reach their potential.

Enlisting in the Military - A Viable Option

By Daniel R. Van Hoose

As a counselor, what do you need to know about the option of military enlistment? If a student asks for information about the military, what could you tell them? Here, a career counselor, whose first career was in the Air Force followed by thirteen years in Air Force Recruiting Service, shares his perspective.

Career Maturity and Ethnically Diverse High School Students

Brenda Jones, C. Sophia Dominguez, and Beth Durodoye

Successful career development for ethnically diverse high school students rests on their awareness and knowledge of available workforce opportunities. This article will highlight several ways school counselors can effectively assist secondary students in navigating their career decision making processes.

Hands-On Career Awareness Activities for Early Elementary Students

By Marilyn Brink

Elementary career awareness is a difficult topic to teach to kindergarten, first and second grade students. How do you make it meaningful and fun? How do you connect K-2nd academic learning to real career skills? One elementary counselor shares her plans for hands-on career stations.

With All Your Power, What Will You Do? A Strengths-Based Career Unit for Elementary Students

By Kelsey Augst and Patrick Akos

Elementary school students are asked, �With all your powers, what will you do?� in this strengths-based career classroom guidance unit. Students indentified their personal �powers,� or unique strengths and talents, in order to build self-awareness and self-efficacy toward careers of interest.

Using Career Genograms in K-12 Settings

By Donna Gibson

A flexible tool that meets the needs of K-12 career counseling challenges and is developmental in nature is a career genogram.

Marketing Your Career Center... Using a S.W.O.T. Analysis

By Mark Danaher

Has a student ever asked you, �Who are you?� �What do you do?� or responded to your job description with an incredulous, �We have a career center?� Many students tune out during announcements and class presentations. So how do you market your services to those who need it? Try a SWOT marketing analysis tool.

Career Exploration in First Grade

By Debbie Osborn

Having just returned from the �Great American Teach-in,� a state-wide one day event where community members volunteer to teach in a local school, the author shares how she successfully engaged first graders in career exploration.

Are Graduates Ready To Work?

By John Bendt

A survey of U.S. employers in 2007 shows many new entrants to the workforce lack critical skills needed to succeed on the job. This article discusses tools that teachers, counselors and parents can use to persuade and help high school students to become proactive in developing workplace skills required for success.

Parents and Students Talking: How Individual Career Planning Conferences Can Make a Difference

By Eugenia Newell

Individual Career Planning Conferences in Tulsa Public Schools provide an opportunity for parents, students, and counselors to come together to address academic progress and investigate careers. Parental participation in these school conferences ranged from 26% to 92% during the 2006-2007 school year.

Family Factors Associated with Sixth Grade Adolescents' Math and Science Career Interests

By Sherri Turner and Richard Lapan

The results of a study on parents' support of their adolescents' interests in math and science careers are summarized here. Suggestions for parents of intact and single parent families are provided.

Using Technology to Boost Kids� Education

By Edward E. Moody, Jr.

Podcasts have become an important tool in the acquisition of information. This article describes how students can benefit from downloading podcasts onto their iPod or MP3. Specific podcasts that can be used to enhance vocabulary and math skills are reviewed, in addition to career-related podcasts.

Career Development at the Starting Gate: Target Ages 3-5

by Janet E. Wall

How early is too early when it comes to career development? Many activities, guidelines and programs have been developed for high school and middle school students, and adults. Career development professionals are starting to emphasize career awareness and preparedness for the world of work at the elementary school level. This article proposes that preschool is a legitimate place to start incorporating relevant concepts.

Parent Involvement in Student Career Planning

By Bob Fisher

This article emphasizes the need for school counselors to involve parents in their child�s career exploration process. The author discusses forces driving increased competition in the global workplace and provides resources to empower parents to assist their children in making informed education/career choices.

Career Planning Misconceptions

By Ann Emerson

Students� ability to engage in educational and career planning may be limited by misinformation. The article describes some misconceptions that have cropped up during group career exploration/assessment sessions, and suggests quick and easy responses that provide useful information by correcting the misconception.

Between Pipe Dreams and Pipelines: Where Career Development Professionals Help Most

By Becky Bobek and Garry Klein

Many career development professionals are looked upon increasingly to consider how students� aspirations, achievement levels, and other attributes interact with the requirements of the workforce. This article discusses some of the disparities between students� interests and achievement levels and workforce realities.

Career Awareness Activities for Special Education Students

By Cindy Topdemir

Do you need new, creative ideas on how to teach career awareness to your special education classes? This article provides counselors with some ways to teach career awareness to special education students. Ideas, lessons, and activities which can be used from K-12 are described.

Career Counseling for Plan A and Plan B

By Kenneth Gray

For those planning on college in hopes it will lead to future high-wage employment, the new economic realities make career maturity as important as their academic skills. Career counseling should help clients discover that there are many ways to win; some will require further education, but not necessarily at the university level.

FIRST--Opening Doors to Technology Careers

By Barbara Bolin

As the effects of globalization create concern in the private sector, we hear frequently that America must tap into the creativity, innovation, and problem solving skills that raised our economy to great heights in the 20th century. We also frequently hear that our education system is not sufficiently emphasizing these traits to create the professionals we need. Thank goodness for FIRST!

Lessons from a Ten-Year Career Development Study

by Andrew A. Helwig

A ten-year longitudinal study was conducted examining a number of career development concepts of school children from second to twelfth grade. Occupational aspirations, social values of preference, fantasy occupations, out-of-school activities and other variables were studied through interviews with students every two years. Major findings at the elementary, middle, and high school level are reported as well as questions posed and suggestions for school counselors.

Ingenious Ways to Use Career Information

by Debbie Osborn

Curious about how to motivate students to find and use career information? This article reviews some ideas for making the students� interaction with career information more fun and educating them on how to use specific career information tools.

Turn Your Career Fair Into a Fun-Filled, Informative Scavenger Hunt!

by Andrea M. Pearman

How successful was your last career fair? Were your students 100% engaged on their own or only pretending to be interested because they were required to take part in the event? Were the participating businesses happy with their experiences? This article explores reasons to turn your career fair into a fun-filled scavenger hunt. Ideas are given for organizing the event, coaching your business participants, prize ideas and more.

Early Career Development of African American Boys

by Marc Anderson Grimmett

The early career development of African American boys is enhanced by structured activities based on their specific needs. This article describes a program based on this concept.

Leading Career Development (Psychoeducational) Groups in Schools

by Kurt L. Kraus

Career Development Groups apply unique leadership skills in a psychoeducational group format. This column emphasizes how to organize and implement such groups and advocates for their use in schools at all levels.

Career Development Curriculum for First-Generation Middle School Students

by Cathleen M. Barrett

A career development curriculum designed to encourage individual interests and provide new learning opportunities for a group of first-generation Mexican-American 7th grade students is presented. Experiential activities used to increase self-awareness through exploration of the impact of family influence, personal choices, and career information/opportunities are described.

Marketing Your Way to Program Success

by Stephanie Sarkis

Need some ways to market your career program? Several strategies are presented in this article to attract student interest.

The School Counselor�s Role in Supporting Teen Moms with Career Development

by Mary-Beth Muskin

This article presents strategies for school counselors working with teen mothers through their pregnancy and beyond.

African American Female College Students Talking about Career Development

by Angela D. Coker

In a qualitative study, eight African American female college students explore K-12 experiences related to career planning and development. Study participants explored career planning experiences with school counselors, examined family variables, and discussed the importance of hands-on role models. Implications for providing career counseling during the K-12 years are discussed.

Using Web-Based Career Resources to Enhance Career Counseling

by Mary E. Ghilani

The Internet can be a very effective tool in helping students to explore their occupational options. Students (and their parents) now have the means of researching careers from sources all over the world on a 24-7 basis, and subsequently make more thoughtful, informed choices about their career path. The author provides basic introductions, helpful tips and specific resources for school counselors who use the Internet as a career exploration tool.

Assisting Undecided College-Bound Students

by Delila Owens and Robert Bastanfar

This brief article addresses four career development interventions that can be used to work with undecided college students or high school students preparing for college. The four interventions are career exploration, counselor feedback, modeling, and support building.

Addressing Needs and Barriers of At-Risk Elementary Students

by Rebecca A. Newgent, Sang Min Lee, and Ashley F. Daniel

Failure to adequately support and nurture many students, especially at-risk elementary students can lead to social, emotional, and academic/career distress. The ASCA National Model (2003) encourages school counselors to assist students with their career development goals. Strategies for school counselors working with at-risk students are provided.

Positive Psychology Techniques for K-12 Career Counseling

by Louis V. Paradise and Dawn Romano Ironside

Traditionally, K-12 career counseling programs have focused on psychometric matching between person and career, but often not on the emotional needs of the whole student. This article suggests the alternative approach of positive psychology. Several positive career counseling techniques are presented that focus on positive life aspects, signature strengths identification, and self-esteem enhancement.

Federal Financial Aid Update for School Counselors

by Gaylynn L. Becker

Do you understand the Federal Financial Aid process, components, and amounts? This brief update can prepare school counselors to answer many questions about federal financial aid.

Make a Career of Making a Difference

by Julie G. Hayes

School counselors have the responsibility and privilege of helping students evaluate what they know about themselves and translate that knowledge into a career. Having an understanding about what occupations are in demand can help. School counselors should encourage students who have aptitudes and interests in the appropriate areas to consider the O&P (orthotics and prosthetics) field as a career option, based on the information below.

Making Connections with Student Interests

by Janet E. Wall

Our interests inspire how we interact with our environment and with others. Interests drive our life planning decisions. Because interests are so central to our lives, it is vital that career development professionals help individuals make connections between their interest areas and common life experiences. Connections can be made by integrating and actively associating a person�s interests with school subjects, hobbies, people, out of school activities, education and training, and occupations. This article provides some ideas for accelerating the integration of interests with life choices.

21 Strategies for K-12 Career Development

by Debbie Osborn

School counselors at the K12 level are expected by the ASCA National Model and often by their schools to include career development services and activities. This article offers 21 strategies and several weblinks identified by the author as valuable.

The Long Term Positive Career Impact of Studying Abroad

by Rita Schreyer

School counselors and parents have a powerful tool in their kit to help build an impressive resume for students looking to get into competitive schools and looking to set themselves apart from other job candidates after college: study abroad. In the eyes of a corporate recruiter, there are many points to consider in deciding on studying abroad, and selling that choice upon completion.

5 Easy Ways to Incorporate Career Development into School Counseling

by Susan Marconi Harrell

The various educational and occupational options beyond high school present a formidable challenge to students. As school counselors, we are professionally obligated to assist each student in determining his or her career path. A myriad of tools are available and easily accessible. With frequent demands on our time, we must take full advantage of all opportunities in order to provide our students with a complete career counseling experience.

Parental Behaviors that Influence Adolescents� Career Development

by Briana K. Keller

How do parents� actions relate to adolescents� career development? This article discusses the findings from a research study regarding the relationship between specific parent behaviors and the career maturity and decision-making self-efficacy of middle school students. Suggestions for school counselors who work with young adolescents or parents of adolescents are offered.

Developing Students� Career Skills and Academic Proficiencies While Centering on Character

by Robert Orndorff

With today�s �academic proficiency� expectations, school counselors are finding it difficult to sell teachers on the need to incorporate career development and character education. Ironically, focusing on �character� provides a vehicle for teachers and counselors to develop students� career skills, character traits, AND academic proficiencies, all within one integrated effort!

Increasing School Counselors� Impact on the Achievements of Hispanic/Latino Students

by Carlos P. Zalaquett

The Successful Hispanic/Latino Students research project suggests the themes school counselors should consider when counseling students to pursue further studies and develop a career. A list of suggested actions for counselors to impact the academic and career achievements of Hispanic/Latino students is also included.

School-to-Work Transitions for Youth with Disabilities: The case for a central coordinating agent

By Susanne M. Beier

The graduation experiences of one student with a disability are presented, which highlights gaps in the organization of federally mandated transition services (IDEA, 1997). Suggestions for improving the system are listed, including the need for a central agent to coordinate school-to-career transition services and for a school or career counselor to be an integral part of the Master Treatment Team.

Film as a Multicultural Teaching Tool

by Laurie L. Williamson

The author provides a discussion format for using film to promote multicultural acceptance and understanding. An example is given for use in a course focusing on life and career planning.

A Career Exploration Guidance Plan for Elementary Students

by Nicola Dayes and Natasha Khan

This proposal is for a career guidance lesson plan with the purpose of helping elementary students launch their imaginations involving careers. Students will have the opportunity to explore different careers, some familiar and some not, to increase self-awareness, and to begin to understand the importance of staying in school.

Career Pathways� Let The Journey Begin!

by Phyllis J. Nelson

Come with me on my own pathway journey-from counselor to author. As a K-12 certified counselor, I have developed a career pathway guidance system for students in grades K-3. Learn why pathways are important and how the birth of the Pathway Pals has resulted in my own personal growth.

Career Development of First-Generation College Students: Pioneers in Our High Schools

by Lynn Wiljanen

First-generation college students are the first members their family to pursue higher education. They are pioneers bridging the culture of their family and pursuing a further schooling. A career development model of their unique challenges, opportunities for career growth, and the role of the career counselor are discussed.

Simple Ideas for Making Career Education Fun

By Clare H. Garman

As a result of a career move, I found new challenges in teaching career education to an inner city 9th grade population. Helping others to find a career focus had always been a rewarding and enjoyable experience. However, my interest was not even remotely shared by my audience. Then I recalled that the most important objective for adolescents was to have fun; and of course to eat, preferably junk food. After a brief regrouping and an attitude adjustment, I returned to the classroom armed with coupons for prizes, candy, some ideas and a whole lot of fun.

Guidance Counselors Effect the Future of Nursing

by Susie Nena Popstefanov

This article provides counselors with information about the nursing field, as well as tools for increasing interest in careers in nursing. The author's recent study indicated that high school students hold generally positive opinions of nursing. However, they lacked information about expanded role opportunities, leadership, research and advancement in the field. These students also indicated that they received the least information about nursing as a career choice from their guidance counselors.

Adolescents and Self-Directed Career Development

by Jane Pilling-Cormick

This article describes an ongoing study being done at the secondary school level with students completing a mandatory 10th grade Career Studies course and invites readers to become a part of this exciting project. We are using the Self-Directed Learning Perception Scale (SDLPS) to track levels of self-directed learning and discovering how that style of learning can help us build stronger career education programs for adolescent students.

School Counselor Practicing What He Preaches

by Kevin Quinn

Reading the course description and counseling students based upon limited information are the norm for most student scheduling procedures. But what if the counselor were also a student? The working knowledge learned within the confines of the classroom allows the school counselor to fully understand and appreciate the course content by learning first-hand exactly what is being. This learning model allows the school counselor to collaborate more effectively with both students and faculty.

Teacher Externships Work!

by Deborah Bilzing and Monica Butler

If students are to be educated for careers of the twenty-first century, every teacher needs to be able to glimpse into the work-world future. The Teacher Externship Program provides teachers with work site learning experiences that can then be applied in the K-14 classroom.