Evaluation of a Semi-Structured Career Assessment Interview Derived from Systems Theory Framework

Abstract

Current literature indicates that vocational assessment in the field of career counselling and guidance has been dominated by quantitative and empirical methods. Recent criticism of the field from the post-modernist perspective has stimulated the development of theories that account for the presence of a wider range of influences in an individual's phenomenal world with respect to career. This study investigated the practical efficacy of a semi-structured interview (derived from the Systems Theory Framework (STF)) which was developed for application in the career counselling service at a university. Another interview derived from ‘standard’ practice methods was also developed for comparison purposes. Clients of the careers counselling service received either form of interview in an experiment that utilised a pre-test/post-test design. Three measures of outcome (self-exploration, environment exploration and attributional style) were used to assess the two interview methods. The results indicated that the interview based on the STF has some tentative merit as a potential alternative method for career assessment.