Using the Self-Directed Search: Career Explorer With High-Risk Middle School Students
Debra Sue Osborn, Robert C. Reardon · 2004
Ninety-eight high-risk middle school students completed the Self-Directed Search: Career Explorer (SDS: CE) as a means to improve self-knowledge and serve as a springboard to increase occupational knowledge and improve decision making skills.This study provides information on the SDS: CE, the SDS: CE Interpretive report, and the use of a group counseling venue structured on Cognitive Information Processing theory with high risk middle school students. Using the Self-Directed Search: Career Explorer With High-Risk Middle School StudentsMany articles have focused on the use of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) with high school students, college students, and adults (Gottfredson, 2002;Rayman & Atanasoff, 1999;Reardon & Lenz, 1999).Very few studies, however, have focused on the utility of the middle school version, the Self-Directed Search: Career Explorer (SDS: CE; Holland & Powell, 1994), or how it might be incorporated into a career counseling program for at-risk students.John Holland's RIASEC (1997) theory has had an impressive staying power within the field of career counseling.His theory, which espouses that satisfaction increases when there is congruence between individuals' interests and related environments, has led to the development of many practical, reliable, and valid inventories, such as the SDS.His theory is described as having five qualities that make it useful to practitioners, including simplicity, face validity, the organizational framework, vocabulary, and the ease with which the theory can be translated to practice (Rayman & Atanasoff, 1999).In addition, the SDS can help persons understand their personal career theory (Holland, 1997;Reardon & Lenz, 1999).