Evaluation of Career Guidance Programs

The International Handbook of Career Guidance is intended to provide practitioners and researchers information concerning how to both implement and evaluate career guidance internationally. Dennehy (2003) argued that career guidance must be lifelong, accessible, and meaningful for all individuals. This can be achieved through the national and international levels of collaboration of policy-makers, researchers, trainers, practitioners and other stakeholders to guarantee the integration and evaluation of career guidance services and to ensure that the services are comprehensive and quality driven. This chapter will focus on the evaluation of career guidance programs by first examining the current research related to the effects of career guidance programs or interventions with a focus on general trends on the effectiveness of career guidance. Consistent with other chapters in this volume, the definition of career guidance is quite broad and will include various interventions or programs that are designed to facilitate career and, to some extent, academic and personal development. Second, the authors will discuss how current practices regarding the effectiveness of career guidance programs can be translated into evaluating various programs in diverse settings. This discussion will not provide a list of approved evaluation tools, but will focus on the complexities of thoroughly evaluating career guidance programs with an appreciation of cultural considerations. We will conclude the chapter with recommendations for further research and evaluative studies and provide suggestions on how career counsellors or guidance specialists can work with researchers or scholars to enhance the overall quality of the evaluation of career guidance programs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Indiana University, USA Susan C. Whiston & Ilene M. Buck

1. Susan C. Whiston