New Directions for Theories of Career

Abstract

This paper re-examines career theories and notes a number of their shortcomings which derive from a lack of rigor in approach and from certain epistemological and methodological considerations. The way forward suggested for this field of study represents a shift in the root hypothesis from organicism and mechanism to contextualism. The ecological, the biographical, and the hermeneutical approaches are proposed as a means of reconceptualizing this area of study.