Career Counseling in a Diverse

Career Counseling in a Diverse Population

Career development and counseling are important activities in schools and workplaces around the country. While career counselors are well-trained personnel, they have to be mindful of the fact that they are dealing with a culturally and ethnically diverse population. American is the hub of multiculturalism. This is where many people from around the globe have come to work and need career counseling. Diversity of population is the reality of life in America today. You will find people from a variety of backgrounds everywhere. For this reason career counselors have to develop competencies that can help them interact with and understand the mindset of minorities.

There are many studies that seek to explain career choices and preferences of people of other races. It is important for career counselors to know these findings as this might help them in their job. Walsh et al. (2001) is an important study in this connection. It found that career choices were dependent on racial identity. Carter and Constantine (2000) also found something similar when they observed that, "the career paths of people of color can be understood by taking into account the psychological variations within racial and ethnic group identifications" (p.185). It also helps to understand how various ethnic and racial groups interact with the dominant culture. This is called acculturation, "the degree to which individuals participate in and adopt the secondary culture of the dominant society" (ibid., p. 183).

The factors that influence career choices include such things as racial identity, acculturation, values etc. Career counselors should be aware of these factors in order to better understand other ethnic groups and become more effective in their dealings with a diverse population. It is important to remember that cultural and individual values play a dominant role in determining career choices. Brown (2002) maintains that career counselors should have an inclusive framework from which to work since "there is considerable diversity within the values systems of people from the same cultural groups and extensive overlap in the cultural values held by people from different cultural groups" (p. 49). Contextual barriers may also be significant in studying how to deal with a diverse population. Gender, race and age may often act as psychological barriers for many people. No matter how intelligent a person is and how successful he can be, there are many reasons for him to choose a career not really worthy of his talents. This can be due to the conception that some races do not succeed in a certain field. Similarly some women might want to become a space technician but not really take it up believing that women are not welcomed there or that it is a male dominant occupation. Cook, Heppner, and O'Brien (2002) note: "occupational success can be largely attributable to individual merit has never applied to everyone because of pervasive and powerful contextual barriers" (p. 294).

In order to have the required competencies to deal with a diverse population as a career counselor, Fouad and Bingham and some others suggest a culturally appropriate framework. They maintain that this framework must include: