EDP 666 -- Psychology of Career Choice
Syllabus -- Spring 2001

Dr. Wm. E. Stilwell
Department of Educational and
Counseling Psychology
College of Education
University of Kentucky
257-3395
westil3@pop.UKY.EDU

Nature of the Course
I. Description A. This course is designed as an intermediate program focusing on the applications of psychology to careers.
B. The course has been planned to counseling psychologists and other helping professionals performing substantive work in influencing behaviors of students, teachers, parents and employers with practical skills and theoretical knowledge essential for applying psychology to careers. II. Participants

A. The course is intended for individuals who satisfy the following criteria:
  1. Educational and/or experiential background which gives evidence of an ability to profit from the instructional experiences;
  2. Employment in roles which have responsibility for substantively working with students, teachers, parents, and employers.
B. The course is not open to auditors, unless all assignments are submitted with their peers.

III. Purpose and Objectives

A. The purpose of this initial course in psychology of careers is to improve knowledge and skills in applying psychology to career planning, management and evaluation.
B. The learning objectives are directed to:
  • increasing the students' knowledge about the interaction of psychological theory development and counseling;
  • increasing student awareness of ethical, diversity and professional issues in counseling psychology;
  • developing the student's interest in reading the counseling psychology literature; and,
  • promoting the student's critical thinking skills.
    • C. The objectives are both general and specific. In the general sense, the objectives are directed to increasing the participants' knowledge and skill about the interaction of development and learning with career choice. The specific objectives are unique to the individual learner, and must be negotiated early in the course.

    IV. Expectations

    A. Participation in the class discussions will be greatly valued. Attendance is important. Each missed day will result in a half-point deduction from your final point total.
    B. Subscribe to Course LISTSERV by the close of business on the first day of class.
    C. Prepare your webpage on schedule.
    D. Submit brief papers to the EDP666 discussion list, as attachments on the scheduled day
    E. Submit your recommended website on the assigned day; classmates "vote" for the better site within 48 hours
    F. Submit career assessment by close of business on the due date
    G. Present your scholarly paper in a power point presentation in no less than 12 minutes
    H. Submit one 15-page scholarly paper on career counseling on your presentation date.
    I. Submit a hardcopy- and a web-resume before the final examination day.

    V. Outline

    A. The course will cover the following general areas: theory development, general systems theory, career psychology theories, strategies for involving resources, performing needs assessments, specifying career psychology goals, adopting, adapting or creating appropriate materials, implementing a career psychology deliver system, evaluating program outcomes, helping clients maintain their acquired skills, and maintaining a career psychology reference system, changing workplace, and working with diverse populations.

    B. The course will use a basic text:

    Zunker, V. G. (1998).CAREER COUNSELING: Applied Concepts of Life Planning (5th). Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.

    You will be encouraged to read a variety of journals such as JOURNAL OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY and CAREER DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY.

    VI. Evaluation

    A. Points will be derived from these three main sources:

    Participation    
      Class work 2
      URLs 2
      PROJECT WEB 3
    Brief Papers   4
    Major Paper    
      APA Format 1
      Quality Assurance 1
      Pronouns 1
      Content 3
      Powerpoint Presentation 1
      Old citations 1
    Resume   1

    B. Course grades will be assigned as follows:

    A 20-18
    B 17-15
    C 14-12

    II. Schedule

    Turn off cell phones and pagers in class.
    1/11 Orientation to Course Syllabus
    PROJECT WEB
    1/16 Human in context; model for change Check for $10 (Word95)
    1/18 Resume Preparation Diane Kohler
    Stuckert Career Center
    Rose and Euclid
    1/23 Complete Strong and MBTI No Class
    1/25 Career objectives Assignment 1
    1/30 Career objectives Assignment 1 due
    PROJECT WEB: Stage ONE Due
    2/01 Ethics and careers Assignment 2
    APA Code of Ethics Notes
    2/06 Ethics and careers Assignment 2 due
    2/08 General Systems Theory Assignment 3
    2/13 General Systems Theory Assignment 3 due
    2/15 History of Theories Z 1 + Web ONE by CLB, KJH
    2/20 History of Theories Z 2, 3
    2/22 Life Career Counseling Z 4 + Web TWO by JHB, RSK
    PROJECT WEB: Stage TWO Due
    Outline Due
    2/27 Career Counseling Adults Z 12, 13, 14 + Web THREE by KAB, MJM
    3/01 CCPTP No Class
    3/06 Career Counseling Adults Z 12, 13, 14
    3/08 DOT and OOH Z 5, Assignment 4 due
    3/13 SPRING VACATION No Class
    3/15 SPRING VACATION No Class
    3/20 Computer Assisted Counseling Z 6 + Web FOUR by AC, REN
    3/22 Career Interviewing Z 20 + Web FIVE by KAC, JCP
    3/27 Career Interviewing Exercise
    3/29 Psychology and Work Z 16 + Web SIX by EEC, RGP
    4/03 Psychology and Work Z 17
    4/05 Women Career Development Z 15 + Web SEVEN by MLD, MAP
    4/10 AERA No Class;Meet w/ Career Planning
    Resume Development
    4/12 AERA No Class;Meet w/ Career Planning
    Job Search
    4/17 Private Practice Z 8 + Web EIGHT by MHF, SES
    4/19 Minority Development Z 18 and 19 + Web NINE by MEF, PVW
    4/24 Paper presentations Presentation 1, Presentation 2, Presentation 3, Presentation 4, Presentation 5, Presentation 6
    4/26 Paper presentations Presentation 7, Presentation 8, Presentation 9, Presentation 10, Presentation 11, Presentation 12
    5/03 FINAL EXAMINATION 10:30 Presentation 13, Presentation 14, Presentation 15, Presentation 16, Presentation 17, Presentation 18

    "+" means URL on topic is due. Submit the URL with the following subject: "URL and the chapter title".

    Paper Outline

    In order to help you prepare your paper for this course, the following outline is suggested. In making this suggestion I am not saying that you will be evaluated on how closely you follow the outline. I am pointing out that you can effectively cover almost any topic with the following structure:

    Problem. In this section you will want to characterize the problem. You might handle part of the definition of the problem by raising some rhetorical questions which you will subsequently try to answer in the course of the full paper (about 1 1/2 pages);

    Define terms. In this section you do not have to use "define terms" as a heading, but the section allows you to establish the territory which you will cover in the paper. This statement of terms also defines the limits of your paper (about 1 page);

    Review the literature. In this section let me suggest that you provide an overview of the literature to be reviewed, a discussion of each subsection within the literature, and a summary of the points raised in your review of the literature (about 10 pages);

    Raise five research questions. Now that you have become an "expert" in your problem area, you are ready to raise some questions which heretofore have not been answered (about 1 page); and,

    Summary. In this section which is very small and probably less than a half of a page, you will summarize what you have done in the previous 13-14 pages.

    Please do not feel bound by this model. Try one which is comfortable to you. One third of your references must be more than 20 years old; another third must be less than five years old; and a third must be URLs. In using your references, please do use the heading and referencing systems described within the American Psychological Association's publication manual.

    All submitted papers must be accompanied by a Quality Assurance Contract.

    (Updated 02/14/2001 at 11:53)