COUN 5355

Career Development and Planning

 

Fall 2006

 

Instructor: Jacqueline Cooper, PhD                                   Classroom: ED 4009                                             

Telephone:   245-7628                                                            Meets: Th 6:30 – 9:15 pm

Email :   JC41@txstate.edu                                                    Office: ED 4026

Office Hours:   T & Th 2 – 4:30 pm. Other times by appointment.

 

Course Description:

 

This course provides a practical and theoretical approach to career counseling and vocational development. This course introduces students to career development theories and engages students in the broad discussion of the role of work in the lives of people.   Our course is driven by active participation by all members, not solely imparting information on my part.   We all can learn from each other through open dialogue.  

 

Course Objectives:

 

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Analyze the interrelationships among and between work, family and other life roles as it relates to career and career development (CACREP IIK: 4d; CC: C2)
2. Identify and describe relevant career development theories (CACREP IIK: 4a; 2e)
3. Identify and describe career assessment measures (CACREP IIK: 4f)
4. Understand the role that diversity plays in work and in people’s lives (CACREP IIK: 2a; 2b; 4d; CC: C2)
5. Understand career development for special needs populations (CACREP IIK: 4h)
6. Identify and describe career, avocational, educational, occupational and labor market resources using various sources (print and electronic). (CACREP IIK: 4b)
7. Understand technology-based career development applications (CACREP IIK: 4g, 5f; CC: C2)
8. Career development program planning, organization, implementation   (CACREP IIK: 4c; 4e)
9. Articulate professional roles, functions and relationships with other human service providers (CACREP IIK: 1b)
10. Analyze ethical and legal issues as it relates to career counseling (CACREP IIK: 4i)
11. Describe how the use of research improves counseling effectiveness (CACREP IIK: 8e)

 

Methods of Instruction:

  

Methods of instruction includes, but not limited to lecture, PowerPoint, guest, site visits, student presentations, in-class group processing, case studies, and audio visual aids.

 

Required text:  

 

Peterson, Nadene and Gonzales, R. (2005). The Role of Work in People’s Lives:   Applied Career Counseling and Vocational Psychology.

 

Suggested Readings :

Chronicle of Higher Education

Journal of Employment Counseling

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Journal of Counseling and Development

Journal of Career Development

Journal of Counseling Psychology

 

Just for fun, not for this class but sometime during your life…

Albom, Mitch (1997). Tuesdays with Morrie

 

Course Requirements:

 

Class Attendance and Class Participation

This is a very interactive course. Attending and participating in class is necessary for your success in this class.   If you are unable to attend, you are responsible for the material covered. Avoid arriving late.   You may have one absence without penalty.   Five points will be reduced from your final grade for each subsequent absence.   Four or more absences constitute an “F” for the course.   Cell phones/pagers are not allowed during class time.  

 

Writing Assignments

All writing assignments are 12 pt., double spaced with 1 inch margins all around.   Keep the font simple, Courier or New Times Roman.   Please use APA style when citing sources either in writing assignments, on exams or in on-line discussions.

 

On-Line Participation through TRACS

We will have two on-line surveys as part of this class.   Surveys will be posted on TRACS. Please fill out the on-line surveys. Your responses are completely anonymous.   I will be able to see that you completed the survey but I will not be able to see how you responded.    

 

On-line Communication Expectations

In order to protect your privacy, I will only answer e-mails sent from your State account.   We will have discussions on-line either through TRACS or Blackboard.   Respect your classmates by not engaging in offensive language while on-line.   Each member of the class is expected to make a substantial response to the original post and to at least 1 of your classmate’s responses.   All posts should be completed by Wednesday before the next class period.

 

News from the Field/Hot Topics

Each class period we will devote several minutes to discussing career development and career counseling issues we find in the news.   Share what you find!

 

Career Portfolio (Due September 28)

Purpose:

1. To learn how to guide clients in preparing a career portfolio.
2. To prepare for your own job search.
3. To reflect on your own career expectations, choices, and influences.

 

Description:

You will prepare a professional portfolio for yourself.   It will contain documents that chronicle your career development and documents that will be used in your employment search.   This assignment will be most valuable if you take your time and attend to the process you go through as you work on the portfolio.   In other words, take note of how what you are thinking about, how you are processing information, for this can lead you to understand what your clients may sometime feel. (The completed portfolio is due no later than 6:30 pm on September 28, 2006).   Please type your project.

 

Contents:

1. Career Development Timeline

Be sure to include with each job listed what you learned-positive or less than positive-from each job.   Also discuss how these jobs eventually led you to your current job/educational endeavor.

 

1. Career Genogram

It is important to look back at least 2 generations (to your grandparents).   Describe what they did for work.

1. Resume/Vita

If you would like me to critique your resume, please write “RIP” across the top of the document.

 

1. Statement of Professional Goals

This is your end result of your current endeavors.

 

1. Statement of Career Plans

(Steps you intend to take to meet your professional goals listed above)

 

1. Your Career Role Models

Specify what traits/skills/attitudes your role model(s) possess that you would like to emulate yourself

 

1. Parental Career Ambitions

State the expectations and career goals your parents had (or still have) for your career life. How have they reacted to your present level of career development?

 

1. Informational Interview

You will interview a professional person who is doing the work you are thinking of doing, or one who is doing work that you would like to know of that person. The length of this interview should be no longer than 2 pages.

 

 

Career Group Project/Presentation Exercise

Purpose:

1. To assist you in discovering how to gather career information.
2. To discover resources available.
3. To work collaboratively with your classmates.
4. To provide helpful referral resources to your fellow students on an area in the field of career counseling.

 

You will work with 3 or 4 of your fellow classmates for this project.   Your group will choose a topic in the area of career counseling.   Your topic will need to be pre-approved by the professor.   After choosing the topic, you will need to prepare a 15 – 20 minute presentation that you will present on November 2, 9, and 16, 2006 in class.   In addition to presenting your topic, your group will also need to turn in an annotated bibliography (APA style) to the class and to me. The annotated bibliography should contain a minimum of3 books, 5 journal articles and any other sources you may wish to include. Your grade will be based on your group’s presentation, your own part in the presentation and the annotated bibliography.  

 

In choosing and developing your presentation, be attentive to the most current research (within the last 7 years), applicability to the counseling field, and issues of diversity and multiculturalism.   Resources are available at Texas State University Library, Career Services, or on line (a great place to start would be the Department of Labor’s website).   If you are unable to use campus resources, most branches of the Austin Public Library have a career section or have helpful resources in the Reference areas of the Library.   Suggested journals of interest include the Journal of Employment Counseling, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Counseling and Development, Journal of Career Development, and the Journal of Counseling Psychology.   You might want to also access movies, books and Websites in your search for relevant information for your topic.

 

Please feel free to use technology or PowerPoint when presenting your topic to the class.

 

Grading:

 

Grade Scale (in points)

Class Participation                                                 10

Mid-term Exam                                                      20

Career Portfolio                                                      25

Group Presentation                                                25

Final Exam                                                           20

                     Total Points: 100 points

 

 

Grading Scale:

95 – 100 pts = A

85 – 94 pts   =   B

75 – 84 pts   =   C

65 – 74 pts   =   D

Below 65pts = F

 

Grades will not be curved in this course and academic dishonesty has no place in our class.   Extra credit work will not be given.

 

Last day to drop with no record on transcript is September 8, and the last day to drop with an automatic “W” is September 12 and with an assigned “W” or “F” is September 13 – November 20.

 

 

Class Schedule:

 

(This is a fluid document – things may change, please check TRACS)

 

DATE                                                                      READING/ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES

 

Thu-8/24                                                                 Class Introductions

                                                                                Course Expectations

                                                                                Intro to Career Counseling

                                                                                History of Career Counseling

                                                                                Chapter 1

                                                                               

Thu- 8/31                                                                News from the Field                                            

Chapters 2 & 3      

                                                                               

Thu-9/7                                                                  Guest Presentation

                                                                                 Chi Sigma Iota-Sigma Tau Sigma

                                                                                News from the Field

                                                                                Survey 1 Results

 

Thu -9/14                                                                News from the Field                                                             

Chapters 4-6

                                                        

Thu-9/21                                                                Career Services Visit

                                                                                Meet at Career Services (5 th Floor LBJSC)

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Thu-9/28                                              News from the Field                                              

                                                            Discussion of Group Project and Expectations   

                                                            Diversity Issues and Discussions

                                                            Career Portfolio Due

                                                                                                                  

Thu-10/5                                              News from the Field                                                                

                                                            Chapters 7-8

                                                                                Review for Midterm  

 

Thu-10/12                                                             Mid-term exam (Short essay)

 

Thu-10/19                                                               News from the Field

                                                                                Survey 2 Results

                                                                                Chapters 9-11

                                                                                Work on Group Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

DATE                                                                      READING/ASSIGNMENTS DUE DATES

 

Thu-10/26                                                               News from the Field

                                                                                Begin Final Review

                                                                                Work on Group Project

 

Thu-11/2                                                                 News from the Field

                                                                                 Group Project/Presentations

 

Thu-11/9                                                                News from the Field                                                             

                                                                                Group Project/Presentations

 

Thu-11/ 16                                                              News from the Field                                                            

Group Project/Presentations

 

Thu-11/23                                                               HOLIDAY – No Class

                                                                                                    

Thu-11/30                                                               News from the Field

                                                                                Preparation for Final

 

Mon-12/4                                                                Last Class Day

 

Thu-12/7                                             Final Exam (Short Essay)

 

 

Texas State University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities. This university will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to register with Disability Support Services and to contact the faculty member in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.