Current status and future agenda for the theory, research, and practice of childhood career development.

This article reviews the current status and a future agenda for childhood career development theory, research, and practice. The fragmented nature of the current state of the literature is noted, and a call is made for a reexamination and reconsideration of the childhood developmental pathways of life's work. It is suggested that the study of children's work behavior be rooted in life contexts, most notably, families, communities, and schools.

What is the current state of knowledge in childhood career development, where is it going, and how will we get there? One might even beg the question by asking, "Who are the we that are getting where?" One way to answer these questions is to suggest that "we" are an ever-expanding interdisciplinary group of researchers, practitioners, community and business partners, policy makers, parents, and caregivers moving toward a reconsideration of childhood pathways to work. One of the most remarkable aspects of the current state of the literature is the notable absence of interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. The contemporary study of adult work behavior is rooted in the context of people's lives, that is, jobs, communities, and families. The study of children's work behavior must also be rooted in life contexts, most notably families, communities, and schools. Despite the observation that children spend the majority of their waking hours in school or engaged in school-related work, it seems ironic that so few investigations of children's work behavior have incorporated schools, academic work, or collaboration with educators. Embedding childhood career development within a meaningful and relevant developmental continuum does not necessitate importing concepts and constructs evident in the adolescent and adult literature into the childhood career development literature. Hence, studying adult career constructs in childhood populations (e.g., career maturity) may reflect a historical artifact whose time has come. This assertion does not imply that the theoretical, empirical, and practical literature on these vocationally relevant concepts have no use on the developmental horizon. Instead, it implies the need for a reexamination and reconsideration of the childhood developmental pathways of life's work. In this article, I review the current state of the literature on childhood career development with the aim of identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in support of a future agenda for theory, research, and practice.

Current State of the Childhood Career

Development Field

Theory

Although it is generally acknowledged that crucial career-related concepts and attitudes are first formed in childhood (e.g., Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, & Herma, 1951; Super, 1957), career theorists have placed limited emphasis on childhood career development. Furthermore, existing theory building and research have been predominantly conducted with middle-class suburban youth, thus limiting knowledge of more diverse groups in terms of socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic background. In his life stage model, Super (1957) conceptualized career development as unfolding across the life span from birth to death. The first stage of his model, the Growth stage, concerns children from birth to age 14 years. Super (Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996) described four career development tasks thought to be central to the Growth stage: becoming concerned about the future, increasing personal control over one's life, developing an awareness of the importance of achieving in school and work, and acquiring competent work habits and attitudes. These tasks are assumed to be confronted across three substages: Fantasy (ages 4-10 years; needs are dominant and role playing is important), Interest (ages 11-12 years; likes are the major determinant of aspirations and activities), and Capacity (ages 13-14 years; abilities, training, and job requirements are considered).

Super's (1963) self-concept theory of vocational development also addressed the childhood years. This theory consisted of three elements of self-concept development: formation, translation, and implementation. First, formation, which focuses on exploration, identification with key figures, role playing, and reality testing, was thought to begin in childhood. Second, translation of the self-concept into occupational terms was assumed to occur through identification, experience, and awareness of one's attributes (e.g., interests and abilities). Third, implementation of self-concept, which refers to entry into training or one's first job, was identified as the element thought to emerge during late adolescence and young adulthood.

Super (1990) later proposed a nine-dimensional model of childhood career development. These dimensions (i.e., curiosity, exploration, information, key figures, interests, locus of control, time perspective, self-concept, and planfulness) were assumed to lead to effective problem solving and decision making. Although Super (1990) provided the most comprehensive treatment of childhood career development, little systematic research has been conducted to confirm or refute his theoretical assumptions (e.g., Schultheiss, Palma, & Manzi, 2005). Only recently (Schultheiss & Stead, 2004) has a theoretically and empirically derived instrument been developed to assess the constructs in Super's (1990) nine-dimensional model.

Gottfredson (1981, 2002) outlined a childhood process of career development that emphasized how children narrow their exploratory behavior and career options through perceived internal and external barriers and cultural expectations related to sex roles and the social valuation of occupations. Gottfredson (1981, 2002) described a four-stage process of circumscription whereby children progressively eliminate unacceptable career alternatives, such as those inconsistent with one's sex role and perceived social status. In the first stage, Orientation to Size and Power (ages 3-5 years), children orient themselves to differences in size and power between themselves and adults. Orientation to Sex Roles (ages 6-8 years), the second stage, refers to children's awareness of gender roles and the likelihood that they will see occupations in terms of the stereotypical appropriateness for their gender. In the third stage, Orientation to Social Valuation (ages 9-13 years), children begin to rank occupations by prestige. Finally, the fourth stage, Orientation to the Internal Unique Self (ages 14 years and older), concerns children's eventual awareness of the occupations that are acceptable to them based on their unique characteristics.

Gottfredson (1981, 2002) also described a process of compromise in which one's most preferred career alternatives are abandoned for ones that are less preferred but are perceived as more accessible. Hence, Gottfredson (1981, 2002) suggested that individuals are often willing to accept a good enough alternative instead of thoroughly examining their values, interests, and abilities. When a compromise is made, it is believed that individuals would give up prestige before giving up the sex type of the occupation. There has been considerable empirical evidence to support Gottfredson's (1981, 2002) propositions related to circumscription and compromise, particularly with regard to sex role stereotyping (e.g., Helwig, 2001).

Social-cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) emphasizes the role of learning in the development of interests. Drawing heavily on Krumboltz's (1996) learning theory and Bandura's (1986) social learning theory, SCCT is based on the assumption that social and cognitive factors play important roles in the career development process. SCCT emphasizes the importance of the interpersonal environment in exposing children to a variety of activities that have relevance to occupational behavior. Through repeated practice, modeling, and feedback from significant people, children are thought to gradually develop skills, adopt personal standards, and be capable of estimating their abilities and the outcomes of their efforts. Although mounting evidence has supported the major tenets of this theory (Fouad & Smith, 1996; Lapan, Shaughnessy, & Boggs, 1996), the focus of this research has largely centered on adolescent and adult populations.

Research

Basic research. The extant empirical literature on childhood career development is fragmented and sparse in comparison with the substantial body of research on late-adolescent and adult career development and work behavior. For example, existing research has addressed the structure of childhood interests (Tracey, 2002), occupational preferences (Stockard & McGee, 1990), occupational aspirations and expectations (Helwig, 1998, 2001; Phipps, 1995; Sellers, Satcher, & Comas, 1999), parental influences on career choice (McMahon & Patton, 1997; Trice, Hughes, Odom, Woods, & McClellan, 1995), and sex role stereotyping and gender differences (Helwig, 2001).

Recent reviews of the childhood career development literature (i.e., Hartung, Porfeli, & Vondracek, 2005; Watson & McMahon, 2005) have yielded tentative conclusions about childhood career development. Hartung et al. conducted a comprehensive review of the empirical vocational literature concerning early to late childhood (ages 3-14 years) using a life span developmental framework. This review was organized around five dimensions that emerged from a content analysis of the articles: career exploration, career awareness, vocational expectations and aspirations, vocational interests, and career maturity/adaptability. The authors concluded that in childhood, steady progress is made across these dimensions and that such progress facilitates the development of personal identity and connectedness to the social and interpersonal world. They also argued that vocational development begins much earlier in the life span than generally assumed and that what children learn about work has an effect on the choices they make as adolescents and young adults. The authors pointed to the need for more systematic research on the childhood antecedents and dimensions of occupational choice and vocational development across the life span.

In another review, Watson and McMahon (2005) used learning as a unifying theme to accommodate the dynamic and interactional nature of career development and to highlight the need for a dual focus (on both how children learn and what they learn) about the world of work and their future in it. The authors suggested that how children learn may best be understood as a recursive process between children and a broad array of influences from their social and environmental contexts, such as society (e.g., gender role socialization, socioeconomic status), ethnic background, the media, school, the home environment, and the family. In reviewing what children learn, the authors noted that the predominant topic in childhood career research has been occupational gender stereotyping. They also noted a relative absence of childhood research on self-concept, self-efficacy, career maturity, and values. The authors concluded by specifying three issues contributing to the fragmented nature of the current state of the childhood career development literature. First, the diversity of methodologies makes a cohesive, comprehensive understanding of children's career development learning difficult to achieve. The limited amount of research on childhood career development exacerbates this problem. Second, the diversity of conceptual and definitional issues was acknowledged as limiting the career counseling field's understanding of childhood career development. This problem was said to stem from the observation that although the extant empirical literature identifies career behaviors, it does not explain the process by which these behaviors are learned or the processes through which differences develop across individuals. The focus on identifying behaviors and lack of focus on researching the recursive nature of influences and processes on such behaviors was recognized as a third limitation.

Applied research. Although recent reviews of career intervention studies have focused either predominantly (Baker & Taylor, 1998) or exclusively (Prideaux, Creed, Muller, & Patton, 2000) on high school interventions, a somewhat sparse literature does exist for children. For example, in a meta-analysis of K-12 career education intervention studies, findings demonstrated modest effects. This was thought to be noteworthy given the challenges associated with conducting well-designed experimental research.

Gillies, McMahon, and Carroll (1998) evaluated a 10-week career education program for sixth-grade children. The program, which focused on helping children to acquire a better understanding of self and the diversity of life roles in relation to the world of work, demonstrated only a few differences between the treatment and control groups. The treatment group had a better understanding of the different information sources that could be used to acquire information about: jobs and had a better understanding of how their school learning related to certain jobs. Soudack (1996) examined the impact of a community- based education for work, career, and life program in which students were exposed to community workplaces and workers. Findings indicated that the program had an impact on students' attitudes toward dropping out of school, enjoyment and interest in school, and perceptions of equity in the workplace. Other research has demonstrated positive effects of career education interventions on academic achievement (Evans & Burck, 1992; Peterson, Long, & Biliups, 1999).

Practice

Although the National Standards for School Counseling Programs (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2003) explicitly identified career development as an essential component of K-12 school counseling programs, indications suggest that the career development needs of elementary school students remain largely unmet (Whiston, 2002). Citing large student-to-counselor ratios in elementary schools that employ school counselors and the total absence of school counselors in other elementary schools, some have questioned whether school counseling programs are actually meeting the needs of all students comprehensively (Green & Keys, 2001; Whiston, 2002). Indeed, few elementary schools provide comprehensive developmental career guidance programs as outlined by organizations such as ASCA, the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (1989), the National Career Development Association (Kobylarz, Crow, & Ettinger, 2004), and state education departments (Schultheiss, 2005b). Even fewer programs focus on the career needs of children with special needs and gifted students (Levinson & Ohler, 2006).

Despite speculation about the degree to which elementary school students' career development needs are being adequately met, there exists a paucity of literature that describes various career intervention practices. For example, there have been descriptions of exploratory and experiential activities, such as a visit to a hospital (Beale, 2000) or how to run a restaurant (Beale, 2003), the use of children's literature to infuse career development concepts (Brathwaite, 2002), and multicultural career fairs (Murrow-Taylor, 1999). Other programs aim to enhance career awareness (Schultheiss, 2005a; Young & Thomas, 1996), career exploration (Richards & Merker, 1997; Stein, 1991; Swartz, 2001), and career planning (Lewis, 1997).

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities of the Childhood Career Development Literature

Although there is little urgency for children to make immediate occupational choices, there are benefits to developing a meaningful understanding of the relevance of school-based learning to their future careers (Johnson, 2000). Programs that introduce elementary students to the world of work and help them to understand the connection between what they are learning in school and what is expected in the work world are integral to promoting lifelong learning, a productive educational environment, and future successful transitions from school to work to life. The strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities associated with the current state of the childhood career development literature are discussed as follows, with the aim of suggesting directions for future theory, research, and practice.

Strengths

The current literature has a number of strengths, most notably its life span developmental focus. The introduction of life span theories set the stage for the study of childhood career development. Notions of early childhood precursors to adult work attributes and behaviors have guided the field for years. Similarly, explorations of environmental and contextual influences on childhood career development are beginning to emerge. The study and practice of childhood career development are embedded within disciplines such as counseling and psychology that have an explicit focus on diversity and social justice issues. This context creates an environment for research and practice that is inclusive and sensitive to the diverse needs of all people.

National professional organizations have also accomplished much progress in setting standards for practice. The National Career Development Association recently revised their national guidelines, and ASCA has made great strides in incorporating career competencies across the K-12 continuum. Moreover, recent reviews (e.g., Hartung at al., 2005; Watson & McMahon, 2005) have not only summarized the current state of knowledge but also raised awareness of the need for a less fragmented approach to studying childhood career development. It becomes clear through these reviews that systematic research on the antecedents and consequences of early progress in the career domain is greatly needed.

Weaknesses

A shortcoming of the current literature on childhood career development is that, by and large, it is not theory based. Research and practice lack an organizing theoretical framework. Even Super (1990), who offered the most explicit discussion of childhood career development, conceptualized his theory within the context of limited direct interaction or inquiry with children. Instead, systematic in-depth study of adolescent and adult middle-class boys and men set the standards by which all else was inferred. Similarly, SCCT emerged primarily through empirical efforts with late-adolescent and young-adult college students. This does not imply that such theories should not be tested with children. However, this course of action in isolation would leave the field blind to what might be missed by not initiating the study of childhood career development with an in-depth discovery-oriented examination of the very population the field strives to understand. Discovery-oriented theory-building qualitative research could provide a window into the developmental realm of childhood career development as it naturally unfolds across diverse groups of children.

As has been suggested elsewhere (Prideaux et al, 2000), one factor contributing to the limited research on childhood career development may be an overreliance on school counselors and practitioners who are already overextended, underfunded, and perhaps insufficiently trained in experimental research methods. A concurrent overemphasis on university-based research that is too far removed from the realities of the practice world further contributes to an otherwise disjointed body of literature. This schism comes at a time when contemporary demands for evidence-based practices make explicit the need for programmatic research to substantiate the effectiveness of career invention programs (Schultheiss, 2005b; Whiston, 2002). The importance of bridging this gap with collaborative partnerships is a 21st-century reality. The future of childhood career development theory, research, and practice will need to be accessed via collaborative pathways of multidisciplinary partners.

Opportunities

The opportunities derived from early seamless research and practice across the K-12 continuum could be potentially great. Career research on adults, and by proxy children, has focused on interests, abilities, skills, self-efficacy beliefs, and contextual factors. On the other hand, aspects such as social/emotional development, executive cognitive functioning, affect regulation, temperament, and personality characteristics--relevant to lifelong learning and educational and developmental progress--have long been prominent in the child development literature. The time has come for the confluence of knowledge across professional disciplines. The profound role of individual factors embedded within life contexts (e.g., poverty, violence, discrimination, oppression, family, school, and community) are prime targets for future inquiry. Factors such as self-efficacy, locus of control, emotional and learning disabilities, academic achievement, problem solving, critical thinking, information processing, decision making, planning, interpersonal and communication skills, flexibility, adaptability, and toleration of ambiguity are all ripe for the study of childhood career development theory, research, and practice.

Future Directions: Theory Revision and Regeneration of the Childhood Career Development Literature

One path to theory generation or regeneration would be to borrow extensively from childhood and life span developmental theory and research. Developmental psychologists have much to offer with regard to the understanding and prediction of childhood behavior. Education and cross-national models provide additional resources. Similarly, the in-depth study of children in their daily routines and contexts provide fertile ground for new growth in theory development. Qualitative research methods offer one means of understanding and explaining children's experiences and behaviors in context. For example, a prominent concern of decision theorists is the effect of the sociocultural context on decision making (Klaczynski, Byrnes, & Jacobs, 2001). Beliefs about life opportunities and options, future goals and plans, confidence, and values have long been shown to be influenced by sociocultural factors associated with social class and different educational tracks (Klaczynski & Reese, 1991).

Qualitative research provides a discovery-oriented approach to understanding human experience in a way that brings the researcher closer to the interpersonal and sociocultural worlds of those they seek to understand. Many have argued that qualitative research captures the complexity and meaningfulness of human behavior and experience (Neimeyer & Resnikoff, 1982). Unlike quantitative research that relies heavily on the operationalization of theoretical concepts (etic approach), qualitative research focuses on the thematic generation of categories and meanings that evolve from the people studied (emic approach). As such, qualitative research aims to understand participants' actions within a particular social context. From this understanding, the investigator develops theoretical constructs about the phenomenon under investigation. Grounded theory (e.g., Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) is proposed as one approach to qualitative research that may prove useful in theory revision and regeneration.

Grounded theory is built on the idea that the investigator's purpose is to generate theory grounded in data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Using constant comparison analysis, the researcher begins data analysis early in the data-collection process and uses this initial data analysis to organize subsequent data collection. The researcher relates categories to one another by looking for overarching core categories and propositional hypotheses about action sequences, causes and consequences, and typologies and taxonomies. The emerging conceptual model is tested against extant data and data collected through purposive sampling. Given that this process can be used to develop a theoretical or conceptual statement, it would provide a useful tool in childhood career development theory development and revision.

The revision and regeneration of new theories is suggested as one method to reinvigorate the field. Theories of career development offer minimal direct attention to childhood. Although Super (1990) outlined nine dimensions of childhood career development and a Growth stage to account for the childhood years and tasks, even Super conducted very little work on this model. (See Super, 1990, for a discussion of a report to the Board of Education of Charles County, Maryland.) Gottfredson's (1981, 2002) contribution with regard to circumscription and compromise is noteworthy but falls short of a multifaceted view of childhood career development. SCCT offers an interesting alternative, yet the theory has not been extensively tested with children. Going back to the drawing board to develop theories that offer a more in-depth understanding of childhood career development may prove fruitful in the development of theory-based assessment, research, and interventions.

Schultheiss et al. (2005) provided one example of a qualitative study that aimed to contribute to theoretical knowledge by using a grounded theory approach to explore career development in children from an underserved urban population. The results of this investigation provided a broadened understanding of how children learn about and prepare for work. For example, the findings suggested that some children have already begun to hold ideas about the importance of earning money, providing a home for one's family, balancing work and family, and helping others through their work. The results also indicated that key figures in the child's life have a significant influence on the development of his or her conceptions of work. Other interesting findings suggested that children engage in both autonomous and relational decision making and that health and safety issues weigh heavily on their decisions.

Another investigation lends additional support for the notion that discovery-oriented methods have the potential to aid theory development. Although it was conducted with high school girls, Stuart's (2003) study used a grounded theory approach to gain insight into the career development needs of another overlooked group: girls with behavioral disorders. Specifically, Stuart examined the life experiences that contributed to career aspirations. Findings revealed that in addition to academic disengagement, other factors such as supported employment experiences, family cohesion, family disengagement, mother-daughter relationships, pregnancy and marriage, locus of control, and self-efficacy weighed heavily on the minds of these girls. Pregnancy was an important topic to these girls. They discussed how they were trying to postpone pregnancy, citing peers who were struggling with single and early parenthood and who believed that their career options were restricted due to the constraints of caring for a child. It is interesting that work, parenting, and family matters emerged in both the low socioeconomic status, urban middle-childhood sample (i.e., Schultheiss et al., 2005) and the aforementioned sample of high school girls (Stuart, 2003). These findings suggest, perhaps, that multiple role issues--particularly those related to work and family--need to be considered at even earlier ages than might have been previously assumed.

Future Directions of Childhood Career Development Research

Given the changing needs of the 21st-century workforce--requiring individuals to be flexible thinkers, competent decision makers, and lifelong learners--it is imperative to gain a better understanding of the underlying developmental processes supporting children's learning outcomes in academic (e.g., academic efficacy and achievement) and career domains (e.g., decision making and planning). It is clear that future research must be more inclusive in studying children from diverse socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and special-needs groups. Given that economic and oppressive forces exert a powerful influence on students' academic success and career expectations, students from economically challenged schools face many obstacles in effectively preparing for a successful transition to work (Weinger, 2000). Working from a literature base largely focused on middle-class suburban youth, there is much to be learned about the needs of all children, not just those from more privileged backgrounds. By focusing on students from lower socioeconomic, underprivileged, and ethnically diverse groups and special-needs children, much can be learned about relevant interventions aimed at enhancing the development of those children who are most at risk. Initial findings suggest that both middle-class and poor children perceive a class structure that is powerfully determinative of career success and that strategies are needed to strengthen poor children's beliefs in themselves and their futures (Weinger, 1998, 2000).

Collaborative intervention-based research has been introduced as a best practice model to effectively serve the needs of students in 21st-century schools while simultaneously meeting demands for evidence-based practices (Prideaux et al., 2000; Schultheiss, 2005b). Multidisciplinary collaborative efforts have the benefit of varied professional disciplines informing one another and working together from a strengths-based model. For example, university faculty members possess the research and writing skills needed to plan and implement research and disseminate results. School counselors and teachers have daily interaction and important relationships with children, as well as the skills to deliver instruction and assess comprehension and growth. Without the supportive involvement of either group (i.e., either university faculty or K-12 educators), the other is left with a daunting task to accomplish on their own. Moreover, collaborative intervention-based research provides a powerful means of conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in the lives of children.

The work of developmental psychologists might be called upon to enhance the field's knowledge. Ecological (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and developmental-contextual models (e.g., Lerner, 1995) have been introduced as paradigms for understanding and responding to the needs of today's youth (Whiston, 2002). These models emphasize the interaction of personal characteristics and the context in which the person lives as central to development. Other examples include Byrnes's (1998) Self-Regulation Model of decision making that provides an effective means of identifying the types of skills that should be developed in childhood and points to potential areas for intervention to facilitate these skills. The self-regulated decision maker is one who sets adaptive goals and takes appropriate action to achieve those goals. This process involves generating, evaluating, selecting, and learning from goal-directed choices while simultaneously managing the limitations, biases, and personal tendencies that could interfere with the achievement of adaptive goals (Byrnes, 1998).

Research on the development of decision-making skills rests on the premise that good decisions further one's goals and are accompanied by well-thought-out plans. Planning is a process that is essential to almost all aspects of decision making (Simons & Galotti, 1992). Like decision making, planning includes generating ideas, sequencing activities, prioritizing, and using a bigger and more varied repertoire of existing plans (Galotti, 2005). Despite assumptions linking goals to decision making and planning, there is little empirical evidence supporting these contentions. There is, however, a rich and informative theoretical and empirical literature on goal orientation that has direct relevance to childhood career development (e.g., decision making, planning, academic achievement, and academic efficacy).

Goal orientation theory provides a useful lens through which to view the relation between the learning environment and early adolescent development (e.g., Maehr & Anderman, 1993; Midgley, 1993). There is substantive literature that suggests that personal mastery goals are consistently associated with adaptive patterns of learning (e.g., Urdan, 1997).

Achievement goal theory, developed within a social-cognitive framework, focuses on the aims or purposes that are pursued within an achievement setting (Midgley et al., 1998). This theory concerns the importance of how individuals think about themselves, their tasks., and their performance (Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001). Goals provide a framework within which individuals interpret and react to events and result in different patterns of cognition, affect, and behavior (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Two achievement goal orientations have been described by theorists: the goal to develop ability (labeled as mastery, task, or learning goals) and the goal to demonstrate ability or to avoid the demonstration of lack of ability (labeled as performance, ego, or ability goals; Midgley, 2005). individuals who are mastery or task oriented strive to increase their understanding and skill. Success is defined in relation to the task, and progress is measured in self-referential terms. A performance goal is thought to include both approach and avoidance components. Individuals who are performance oriented strive to gain favorable judgments of their competence or to avoid unfavorable judgments of their competence. Success is defined in relation to others (Midgley, 2005).

In addition to personal goals, researchers have conceptualized goal structure in relation to classroom and school policies and practices that make mastery or performance goals salient. Research suggests that positive motivational, affective, and performance outcomes are more closely associated with students' perceptions of a mastery goal structure than with a perceived performance goal structure (Kaplan, Middleton, Urdan, & Midgley, 2002).

Considerable literature on family influences on career development was recently integrated by Whiston and Keller (2004). A realistic view of the individual embedded within a family system is fundamental to understanding the nature of how people develop and implement their plans for work (Blustein, 2001; Savickas, 2002). Research suggests that family relationship factors, such as parental attitudes, expectations, and social support, exert a predictable influence on adolescent career decision making (Whiston & Keller, 2004). This evidence points to the importance of systematically studying the role of family influences on children's decision making and planning skills.

Longitudinal research that studies the childhood origins of adolescent career behaviors will also contribute to the field's knowledge. Today, the majority of the longitudinal research has been conducted by Helwig (1998, 2001, 2002) on occupational aspirations. This work could be expanded to consider a myriad of additional factors such as the development of interests, motivation, goal setting, planning, and decision making.

Future Directions of Childhood Career Development Practice

Assessment of individuals and programs must become a central component of career practice. Several authors (e.g., Prideaux et al., 2000; Schultheiss & Stead, 2004; Watson & McMahon, 2005) have pointed to the need for more theoretically driven and empirically sound assessment instruments for use in both research and practice. Similarly, Whiston (2002) and others (e.g., Green & Keys, 2001) have consistently argued for more evidencebased practice. Greater consistency in the use of assessment instruments would greatly facilitate the comparison of individual and programmatic outcomes and the generation of knowledge through research.

Given that preparation for one's life work is an end goal of education, the in-depth study of careers is thought to be appropriate for most academic subjects (Harkins, 2001). In fact, it has been suggested that an effective educational curriculum is one that infuses career-building competencies throughout the school program to encourage integration of skills from all subject areas (Harkins, 2000; Jalongo, 1989; Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991). The goal of this recommendation is to connect school learning with what happens in the workplace and to promote the idea that all curricular areas facilitate the solution of real-world problems (Harkins, 2000). This course of action can potentially thwart a system that seems to produce children who are unable to see the connection between what they learn in school and their future careers (Johnson, 2000).

By infusing work readiness activities throughout the curriculum, teachers can help children build a strong foundation that will be useful to them in the future (Harkins, 2001; Jalongo, 1989; Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991; Starr, 1996). Some career education goals that have been identified for young children include (a) acquiring information, (b) building self-awareness, (c) developing positive attitudes and habits, (d) exploring equity issues, and (e) increasing competencies (Harkins, 2001).

Beginning with a seminal 1960 article (Engle, 2003), a call was made to make decision making and career education central to the social studies curriculum. Hence, considerable attention has been given to the world of work as a construct of vital importance to social studies education (Mamola, 1999). When students are engaged in meaningful exploration and thoughtful consideration of the workplace, valuable economics and life skills are acquired. In 1992, the National Council for the Social Studies named 10 thematic strands that are well suited for childhood exploration of the world of work (Mamola, 1999). These thematic strands are (a) culture; (b) time, continuity, and change; (c) people, places, and environments; (d) individual development and identity; (e) individuals, groups, and institutions; (f) power, authority, and governance; (g) production, distribution, and consumption; (h) science, technology, and society; (i) global connections; and (j) civic ideals and practice.

Other academic content areas ready for infusion of career development concepts include math (Chanter & Welsh, 2000), science, technology, language arts, and health. A recently developed math curriculum titled "Everyday Mathematics" purports to emphasize learning in a social context by infusing math into everyday life experiences (Isaacs, Carroll, & Bell, 2001). Similarly, literature provides a context for the integration of career and work concepts (e.g., Brathwaite, 2002). Broad themes related to self-knowledge, interpersonal skills, and other work-related concepts are highlighted in the language arts curriculum. Finally, the health curriculum is a likely area in which to focus on health and safety issues, stress, goal setting, decision making, sexual harassment, flexibility and adaptability, and interpersonal relationships as they relate to work and work-related topics.

Learning through experiential activity provides a context for learning and offers preparation for real-world tasks that will be faced in adulthood (Harkins, 2000). Harkins has suggested that starting in the early grades, children need to develop work readiness skills through the integration of knowledge acquisition and its practical application. Direct, simulated, and vicarious experiences help children to connect school-based learning to the tasks they will undertake as adults. To effectively prepare young people for their future careers, education must connect the world of childhood play and the adult workplace within the context of experiential learning (Harkins, 2000).

Levinson and Ohler (2006) have outlined two levels of intervention for childhood career development that are worth emphasizing: systems-level interventions and individual-level interventions. Systems-level interventions refer to those interventions that are designed to be a regular component of K-12 education, such as career education and school-to-work transition programs. Comprehensive career guidance programs aim to serve this purpose with programs implemented by school counselors and other school personnel. School-to-work transition programs are an example of programs that aim to meet the career needs of all students. In practice, however, many have suggested that these programs rarely focus on the developmental needs of elementary students (e.g., Whiston, 2002). The time has come to acknowledge that career development and transition services must emphasize a process rather than a single event or series of events (Levinson & Ohler, 2006). This process, as suggested by early career theorists (e.g., Super, 1990), must begin in early childhood.

Individual-level interventions should be targeted for students who have not profited from system-level interventions or have not met career development objectives in a timely manner (Levinson & Ohler, 2006). Individual-level interventions are designed to supplement group career education programs with the aim of empowering students to cope effectively with career development tasks. As Levinson (2002) suggested, individual-level interventions should provide accommodations needed for success, the promotion of advocacy skills, and the improvement of self-efficacy.

A population that needs future attention with regard to individual-level career development interventions is students with disabilities, including those with learning and behavioral disorders. Meeting the needs of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders as they transition into adulthood is a challenging task (Benitez, Lattimore, & Wehmeyer, 2005). Career outcomes for youth with these disordes are typically affected by poor social skills, social stigma, mental illness, academic failure, and higher unemployment levels (Benitez et al., 2005).

As such, Levinson (2004) has suggested that career development programs for students with special needs should ensure the following: (a) planning for postschool adjustment that begins early in a student's education; (b) individual education plans that specify transition services; (c) integration of students with and without disabilities; (d) curricula that focus on relevant and functional life skills; (e) instruction that takes place in the community; (f) curricula that focus on academic, vocational, and social skills; (g) program planning based on a comprehensive, transdisciplinary vocational assessment; and (h) transition programs that include work-based learning activities, adult world orientation, and supportive adults.

Summary and Conclusion

Through this discussion of the current status of the childhood career development literature, it becomes clear that career theorists have placed limited emphasis on childhood developmental processes. As evident in the review conducted by Watson and McMahon (2005), the extant literature identifies career behaviors but does not explain the process by which these behaviors have been learned. These authors called for a dual focus on how children learn and what they learn. What has been argued in the present article is the need to reexamine the childhood developmental pathways of life's work for all children, not just those from more privileged groups. One suggestion for theory regeneration was to borrow extensively from childhood and life span developmental theory and research. Collaboration across disciplines, settings (e.g., university and schools), and nations was encouraged. A second suggestion is that qualitative research methods should be used as a means of understanding children's experiences and behaviors in context.

Within the realm of research, scholars are urged to be more inclusive in studying children from diverse socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and special-needs groups. Sociocultural contexts, including the family, should be studied more closely. Finally, longitudinal research designs could contribute much to the field's knowledge of the emergence of developmental processes over time. Future practice agendas could include infusing career-building competencies throughout all academic subject areas; learning through experiential activities; and replacing fragmented, isolated interventions with an integrated process of intervention.

The time has come to move toward the study of the developmental processes of children's work behavior rooted within life contexts. A reexamination and reconsideration of theory, research, and practice will require coordinated efforts of multidisciplinary professionals, concerned community members, and families.

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Donna E. Palladino Schultheiss, Department of Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning, Cleveland State University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Donna E. Palladino Schultheiss, Department of Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115 (e-mail: [e-mail]).

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