Super (1969), stated that the choice of a career and the development of that career are very significant processes of developing and instigating an individual’s self-concept. According to him, self-concept as a result of intricate interactions among other factors, including physical and conceptual progression, individual proficiencies, as well as environmental features and incentive. This theory is comprised of five phases and sixteen sub-stages (Freeman, 1993) . The five stages of the Super’s model include growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance together with detachment. These phases are spread out all through an individual’s lifetime hence the theory name. However, in middle school, an individual would still be undergoing the growth phase because of the exploration step onsets at the age of 15 years. During the growth stage, children in middle school also undergo some sub-stages like interest and capacity. This is the point in the lifetime of a child when they begin to identify likes and dislikes as the bases for career choices and integrating more reality. At this stage in middle schools, children are more dedicated to their own interest and those of their parents during this stage.
In the United States, there are several career development programs in middle schools however some of the programs are found to face challenges because they were designed for high school students. Some of the programs that are implemented include career counseling programs which are explored in middle schools and help the enable the movement into career preparation and planning in high school. Career counseling is necessary in middle school in order to motivate the undeveloped adolescents to make primary career choices, to formulate them to take anticipated high school programs, and to prepare them for impending career trails (Lapan et.al, 2016). The career that incorporates post-secondary college with career choices in middle school has the possibility to offer upkeep and inspiration for students. This type of program of study associates directly with the inclusive school counseling program.
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Ideally, the establishment of connections between a student’s academic preparation and possible career options benefits students in various ways and school counselors are essential guides in the career exploration process. However, school counselors can face barriers to implementing career counseling, including limited time because of competing demands, negative perceptions about career counseling, and low self-efficacy by the school counselor. Further, there is evidence that the desires to spend more time on counseling apply directly to career counseling following research studies that have been carried out in different school settings. However, some studies have also shown that school counselors are uncertain about the importance of career counseling.
Summarily, career development in the school setting takes nothing more than whatever Super’s theory highlights about career development. Super’s theory is very clear on the role of career counselors and some of the drawbacks that affect career consultation in the school settings as discussed above. Further, it is clear that school counselors have got different training expertise and personal self-efficacy principles that affect the provision of a career counseling program (Lapan et.al., 2016). During the creation of a career development program, therefore , it is important for a school counselor to create a program that puts up to the age levels of the students and understanding that not every student learns at the same place. It is also significant for the school counselors to take into account that Super’s theory and the stages it involves help them in the production of a program that fits the needs of all the students.
References
Freeman, S. C. (1993). Donald Super: A perspective on career development. Journal of Career Development, 19 (4), 255–264
Lapan, R. T., Marcotte, A. M., Storey, R., Carbone, P., Loehr ‐ Lapan, S., Guerin, D., ... & Wilson, L. (2016). Infusing career development to strengthen middle school English language arts curricula. The Career Development Quarterly , 64 (2), 126-139.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2014). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (Vol. 2). Springer.
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2016). Counseling and psychotherapy: Theories and interventions . John Wiley & Sons.
