Stories of careers, learning and identity across the lifespan: …

Considering the future narrative of career theory

A research paper by Mary McMahon (The University of Queensland, Australia), Mark Watson (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa) and Jenny Bimrose (University of Warwick, England) who are all also at Warwick Institute for Employment Research

Abstract

This paper is located within the context of the present debate about modern and post-modern career research, theory and practice. It considers the construction of career stories of individuals across the lifespan. The stories told by the children, adolescents, adult women and men illustrate a range of theoretical constructs related to career development and career construction. Importantly, these constructs are derived from both modern and post-modern career theories. This paper demonstrates that individuals’ stories provide for a rich and inclusive narrative that crosses the divide between modern and post-modern career theory. In so doing, it illustrates a possible future direction for the development of career theory.

Career stories are contextually located within the lives of individuals. Beginning in early childhood, career stories represent a recursiveness (ongoing interaction) between life experiences and the individual’s attempts to make sense of those experiences. In essence, individuals continually seek to derive meaning from their life experiences, and their construction of stories represents the primary way in which individuals come to understand their experiences. In the telling of stories, individuals locate themselves as the primary narrator and character of their stories and in this way identity is constructed over time. Thus, storytelling represents a re-cursiveness between life experience, the construction of identity, learning, and meaning making. The agency of individuals is represented in the construction and telling of those stories and, because life is complex and multifaceted, lives are multi-storied. Thus, no single story may adequately represent the totality of an  individual’s life experience.

The following paper considers the construction of career stories of individuals across the lifespan. In so doing, it illustrates a range of theoretical constructs related to career development and career construction and suggests the need for an inclusive and comprehensive future narrative of career theory. In beginning this paper, we would like to introduce the storytellers that you will meet: Annie, Neil and Sally are all children attending middle primary school; Jake, Abbey and Justin are adolescents attending senior secondary school; and Lorraine, Sophia, Marion, Paul, Michael and John are adults who have experienced career transitions.

Full paper (PDF 17pp) published by The Institute of Career Guidance with the support of the ICG Research Committee, September 2010
ISBN: 9-780-90307-630-2

Hazel’s comment:
I saw the date on this and thought “I really can’t published this – it’s getting on for a year old” but then I remembered a recent blog post from Seth Godin which concluded that if something was important and relevant today then it would still be important and relevant tomorrow and, even more importantly from my viewpoint, if it’s new to you then it’s news.
This paper is important, relevant and new to me – it might be new to you too.

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