A review of assessment in child career development

Childhood career assessment provides a means of gaining information about children’s developmental progress within the career domain. Although children are not faced with immediate career decisions, theory (e.g., Super, 1990) suggests that childhood antecedents and adult career development are important to assess and nurture. Hence childhood career assessment can play an important role in assessing individual student progress and program effectiveness. Although scholars have emphasised the need for a lifelong perspective on career development to better prepare children for subsequent adaptation and well-being (Ferrari et al. , 2015; Hartung, Porfeli, & Vondracek, 2005; Porfeli, Hartung, & Vondracek, 2008; Watson, Nota, & McMahon, 2015a), few established assessment procedures exist to further these efforts (Stead & Schultheiss, 2010). During childhood, individuals explore educational opportunities, begin to develop a career identity, contemplate future careers, and make tentative career decisions (Betz, 2006; Flum & Blustein, 2000; Jantzer, Stalides, & Rottinghaus, 2009). The choices made during late childhood may have a strong effect on one’s academic and career future. Thus career research with middle school students (i.e., age 12-13) is essential to facilitate the academic and career decision making faced by many students, but particularly those in educational contexts that demand academic and career choices that impact the rest of their lives (Ferrari, Nota, Schultheiss, Stead, & Davis, under review; Nota & Soresi, 2004).