UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

GUCO508 Syllabus

Course Title Career Counseling and Development
Term TERM 3, 2004/2005
Education Center DIST-ED_EUROPE_GRAD
Faculty Member Brian Price - priceb@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

1. Telephone: 33-(0)3-88-22-21-10. I live in France and the first two numbers indicate the country code and the following 0 is only used when calling within France. Otherwise, drop the first 0 when dialing. I have an answering machine and will be able to contact you within 24 hours within the week.

2. Email: My email address is: priceb@faculty.ed.umuc.edu. With the number of students in class writing to me about various issues, it may be helpful to include a summary of any previous correspondence to help my memory.

Consultation:

Available by email beginning Day One of class.

Required Texts and Readings:

Zunker, V.G. (2002). Career Counseling. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Supplementary Readings:

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/.  The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available.  The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students’ research and writing skills.



The following will augment the text readings. Further articles will likely be added in the class website.

Betz, N. (1992). Counseling uses of career self-efficacy theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 41, 22-26.

Meir, E., Rubin, A., Temple, R. & Osipow, S. (1997). Examination of interest inventories based on Roe’s classification. The Career Development Quarterly, 46, 48-59.

National Career Development Association (2003). Career development: A policy statement of the National Career Development Association Board of Directors. Retrieved January 5, 2005 from http://www.ncda.org/about/polcdps.html

National Career Development Association (2003). Career software review guidelines. Retrieved January 5, 2005 from http://www.ncda.org/about/polsrg.html

Super, D. E., Osborne, W. L., Walsh, D. J., Brown, S. D., & Niles, S. G. (1992). Developmental career assessment and counseling: The C-DAC model. Journal of Counseling and Development, 71, 74-80.

U.S. Department of Labor (2004). O*net online. Retrieved January 5, 2005 from http://online.onetcenter.org. (note: many resources will be obtained from this website throughout the course).

Taking standardized assessment instruments is a major activity in the course, as they will be reflective of what students may encounter in a school or testing center. Efforts will be made to reduce the cost of testing, but students should expect an additional expense of approximately $30. Some of these tests are available online and others may be available at either the education center or at the class website. Tests that should be taken immediately include:


1. CISS(Campbell Interest and Skill Survey)
Available at http://www.pearsonassessments.com/tests/ciss.htm
Price: $17.95. Student pays online with credit card

2. O*NET Career Resource Tools. Developed by the O*NET Consortium, these tests downloaded for free as either a paper-and-pencil instrument or a simple software program to facilitate scoring. The two tests include:

---Interest Profiler
---Work Importance Profiler (can be either paper-and-pencil or a free program can be downloaded for scoring)
Available at http://www.onetcenter.org/tools.html

Recommended Journals:

A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the Counseling Webboard at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/graduate/webboards/

Course Description:

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of career development as it impacts on individuals throughout the life span. A basic assumption of the course is that understanding the adjustment of individuals is highly dependent upon understanding the choices they have made throughout their lives. Emphasis is placed on career and vocational choice theories, counseling delivery systems, career information, and social and psychological factors in career decision-making. Formal and informal occupational classification systems are covered. A great deal of emphasis is placed on practical applications of career theory to individual counseling, group guidance, job search and placement, and career adjustment. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: GUCO 508 or EDCP 611.

Course Goals:

The course focuses on theory and the development of skills needed to offer career counseling. The class examines the developmental and longitudinal changes people experience in a life span. Information is provided on service delivery models, application of counseling skills, and discussion of key professional issues. The course provides opportunities for students to administer, score, and interpret select career assessment instruments.

Course Objectives:

  • Understand, compare, and contrast the different theories of career development through their own life and through the journey of others.
  • Understand and apply the process of assessment to their own career development.
  • Understand cultural and cross-cultural issues related to career development and career counseling.
  • Identify resource information systems for career guidance and counseling which will include on-line computer resources.
  • Develop appropriate entry-level skills and strategies to assist individuals in educational, occupational, and career decision making.
  • Develop appropriate entry-level competencies in acquiring, evaluating, and programming for the dissemination of career information.
  • Understand the role of current research that refines, and updates theories of career development.

Grading Information:

Students’ performance will be graded based upon a percentage of a total of possible 1000 points obtained during the course. In general, it will be necessary to obtain a minimum of 90% of the course points to achieve an A, at least 80% of the points for B, at least 70% of total possible points for a C, and anything below 70% is a F.

Course Requirements:

1. Paper 300 points
2. Career Self-Study Project 200 points
3. Midterm Exam 100 points
4. Final Exam 100 points
5. Participation 300 points

Description of Course Requirements:

1. Paper. For this course you need to write either a "review of the literature" paper that discusses a special population or setting found within the text, beginning in Chapter 10. or complete a project on a topic pertinent to the course. You may select other topics with prior permission from the instructor.

Your paper will be evaluated on four, equally weighted dimensions. These dimensions and the kinds of questions I pose in evaluating your other written work are as follows. They may aid you in preparation of the paper.

---a. Content: Does the paper present recent information, based on empirical research, pertinent to the chosen topic? Is the paper sufficiently focused so that a thorough review can be achieved within the specified length? Are multiple original sources used and cited? Does the content match the stated topic and purpose of the paper?

---b. Organization-Extensity: Does the paper have an introduction and statement of purpose? Is it logically divided into sections with appropriate transitions? Does it contain a conclusion, a summary, and an integrative critique section?

---c. Style and Format: Is the paper free of grammatical and spelling errors? Is the writing logical and coherent? Are references appropriately used and cited? Is the current APA format and style used?

---d. Synthesis and integration: Does the author attempt to tie together and/or contrast or findings, methods and research directions? Does the paper suggest new directions for treatment or investigation? Are there explicit attempts to synthesize, summarize, critique and integrate the material presented?

Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.

2. Career self-study project. Using yourself as a subject, create a self-analysis similar to what we would expect our clients to apply to themselves. Begin with a description of your own career development, then examine your career history from the perspective of two career theories that are discussed in the textbook. For example, take the key concepts from each theory and discuss the extent to which they explain some of your experiences or enable a deeper understanding of your career development. Include any limitations that you notice when applying a particular theory. Then use various career assessment instruments to generate personal data to add to the pool of information. Part of your assessment should include the use of O*NET and other available sources for formal assessment. Include your reaction to the instruments you used and discuss your willingness to use them with your clients. Then summarize your self-study as it applies to your personal career development.

3 and 4. Mid-Term Exam and Final Exam: These will be long essay type examinations covering research and/or case material. Emphasis will be placed upon successful integration of professional literature to the application of career counseling. You will be given one week to complete the exams. Usually these will consist of 3-4 essay items.

5. Participation: Participation is essential for benefiting from an online class. Your regular participation will be recorded by your input into our weekly assignments within the Conference areas. The grade for the participation will be determined by both your amount of contribution in the class and the quality of your participation. Late assignments will not be accepted without a proper excuse, as noted in the class policy section.

Course Schedule:

Tentative Course Schedule:

Week 1 (ends January 30, 2005)

----Module 1: Introduction to Career Counseling
----Readings: Chapter 1; Policy statement of the National Career Development Association Board of Directors


Week 2 (ends February 6)

----Module 2: Trait & Factor Theories of Career Development— John Holland, Theory of Work Adjustment, and Ann Roe
----Readings: Chapter 2. Meir, et al.


Week 3 (ends February 13)

----Module 3: Developmental Career Theories—Donald Super, Ginzburg et al., and Linda Gottfredson
----Readings: Chapter 3. Super, et al.


Week 4 (ends February 20)

----Module 4: Social Learning & Social Cognitive Theories - John Krumboltz and Self-Efficacy Theory (Betz and Hackett)
----Readings: Chapter 4. Betz


Week 5 (ends February 27)

----Module 5: Career Counseling Case Conceptualization
----Readings: Appendices A & B; Chapter 4



Week 6 (ends March 6)

----Module 6: Career Assessment I
----Readings: Chapters 5 and 6



Week 7 (ends March 13)

----Module 7: Career Assessment II
----Readings: Chapters 7 and 8


Break March 14-27



Week 8 (ends April 3)

----Module 8: The World of Work; Occupational Classification Systems
----Assignment: Midterm due on April 3
----Readings: Chapter 19


Week 9 (ends April 10)

----Module 9: Use of Computers in Career Counseling
----Assignment: Career self-study project due on April 10
----Readings: Chapter 9; NCDA Career software review guidelines



Week 10 (ends April 17)

----Module 10: Career Counseling in School Settings
----Readings: Chapters 16 - 18


Week 11 (ends April 24)

----Module 11: Career Counseling for Adults in Transition
----Assignment: Paper due on April 24
----Readings: Chapters 20 adn 21


Week 12 (ends May 1)


----Module 12: Counseling Special Populations
----Readings: Student Papers. Appendex A. Chapters 10- 15, based upon paper topics presented.


Week 13 (ends May 8)

----Module 13: Counseling Special Populations, cont.


Week 14 (ends May 12)

----Wrap-up
----Assignment: Final Examination due May 12

Academic Policies:

Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:

This is my sixth year teaching for UMUC in the overseas division. I am a Collegiate Professor, teaching both undergraduate psychology and graduate counseling classes for Maryland. I grew up in the Ozarks of Missouri and have all my degrees from Midwestern institutions (Central Missouri State, University of Kansas, and Iowa State University). My two major research interests include the interface between mental health policy and law and cross-cultural issues in counseling and psychology.


Last updated by Brian Price: January 6, 2005, 3:34 am
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule