Despite examples of vocational guidance practice being evident in Australia since the mid-1800s, there remains a spasmodic and patchwork approach to practice across the country. For decades it is a field which has been paradoxically boosted and challenged by changing economic and political agendas. Repeated international, national and State reviews emphasise the vital nature of a systemic national approach to career development, however authors repeatedly lament the lack of a sustained focus on career activity as a major national priority. There is no broad comprehensive historical reckoning of the history of career development theory and practice in Australia since this early period. Career development theory and practice in Australia has been forged in partnership with developments in an international context. In documenting the shared history with other countries, the author significantly adds to the body of knowledge on career development as a field in Australia and internationally. The book provides new understandings about the historical development of this field of knowledge, and in particular the challenging and cyclical nature of its policy history.

Table of Contents:
Foreword  Col McCowan OAM Preface Acknowledgements About the Author Abbreviations Chapter 1: Career Development in Australia: Connecting to an International History  Vocational Guidance  Theory Development  The Status of Career Theory  Summary  Definitions in the Field  Career Development Terminology  Career Guidance and Related Terms  Professional Worker Titles  Internationalisation – From Sharing, to Growing and Learning  Conclusion Chapter 2: Vocational Guidance  Early Beginnings  Vocational Guidance  Interwar Summary  Developments Post WWII  The Decade of New Direction – 1970S  Career Service as Represented by Personnel Numbers across the Country  The Role of the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) in Vocational Guidance  CES and Vocational Guidance  The Beginnings of Change in Career Guidance Service Provision: 1980s–1990s  Training – Development of the Profession  Summary 1970s–1990s  Conclusion Chapter 3: Career Education  The Beginnings of Career Education  Theoretical Underpinnings of Career Education  Definitional Challenges  Career Education in Australia  The Career Education Professional – Role and Training  The 1970s – Summary  Career Education in Australia – 1980s  State Summaries of Practice 1970s–1980s – Three Major Reports  Case Study  Changing Conceptualisation: Career Education and Counselling  Summary of 1980s  Career Education in Australia – 1990s  Activity in Schools  Summary through to the End of the 20th Century  Conclusion Chapter 4: Career Assessment and Career Information  Background: The Place of Assessment in Vocational Guidance and Career Counselling  Vocational Assessment – Early Development  Career Assessment in Australia  Australian Council For Educational Research (ACER)  Computer-Assisted Career Guidance (CACG)  Qualitative Assessment  Qualitative Assessment in Australia  Occupational/Career Information in Australia  Conclusion Chapter 5: Career Counselling  Development of Career Counselling  The Need for Change in Career Counselling  Career Counselling in Australia  Australian Association of Career Counsellors  Career Counselling Research in Australia  Conclusion Chapter 6: Career Development in Post-School Settings  Introduction  Universities  VET/TAFE Sector  Review of Career Development Services in Australian Tertiary Institutions (DEEWR, 2008)  Private Sector  Summing Up  Current Situation  Conclusion Chapter 7: Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back …  International Changes in Career Guidance Practice  Rationale for Career Guidance  Evidence to Support Career Guidance Outcomes  Career Guidance and Public Policy: An International Strategy  International Policy Work at the Beginning of the 21st Century  Summary: Key Policy Issues  Australian Policy Context – Towards the 21st Century  Status of Career Development in Australia – 2002  The OECD Australia Review  Learning to Work Report  Initiatives of the Transition from School Taskforce  The Australian Blueprint For Career Development  Three Steps Back  Opportunity Lost  National Career Development Strategy – 2012  National Career Education Strategy – 2016  International Context in the Second Decade of the Twenty First Century  Conclusion Chapter 8: Development of a Profession  The Career Development Professional in Australia  Training Issues Post WWII  The Training and Qualifications Picture – 1990s  Impact of Reviews on Practice in Australia  The OECD Review – Australia Shares Issues in Training and Status of the Profession  Oecd Country Review Australia: A Turning Point for Development  Initiatives Following the OECD Visit  Australia: National Standards and Accreditation of Career Practitioners  The Role of Professional Associations  Where Did the Psychologists Go?  Current Status of Career Practitioners in Australia  Conclusion Chapter 9: Contributions to Australia and the International Field  Professional Associations  Major Conference Activity  Course Developers  Profession/Government Relationships  Contributions of Australian Theorists, Researchers, and Practitioners  Australian Journal of Career Development (AJCD)  Conclusion Chapter 10: Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose  Career Development – Beginning to Now  The Cycle Repeats  The Current Situation – Another Era of Reports  2018 Reports  Revisiting Rationale for Career Development – Research Evidence  Effectiveness of Interventions: Research Challenges  Features of Effective Career Guidance Provision  Celebrating Excellence  Future Policy Challenges  Final Thoughts: What Can We Learn from the Past Index