This paper examines a case study involving Sophia, a 17-year-old first-generation college student who lacks clear career direction and family role models with college experience. A school counselor uses the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey (CISS) to help Sophia identify her interests and self-assessed skills across seven orientation scales and multiple occupational scales. The paper describes the CISS instrument in detail, including its scoring, interpretation patterns (Pursue, Develop, Explore, Avoid), and psychometric properties. It also outlines the ethical guidelines from the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) that govern assessment administration and results presentation in this context.
One of the roles counselors play, particularly school counselors, is that of career counselor. High school students often have no idea what career they would like to pursue. This is especially true when they lack role models with diverse careers. This paper examines a case study in which a young woman seeks guidance from a counselor in such a situation. In order to provide this guidance, an assessment tool is typically used. This paper also describes how the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey (CISS) can aid the counselor in assisting the young woman featured in the case study.
Sophia is 17 years old and a high school junior hoping to attend college. She will be the first in her family to do so. She has above-average grades and has exceeded the minimum SAT score required for admission to her state university. Her difficulty is that she does not know what she wants to do. Other than her teachers, she knows very few adults with college degrees and feels she is entering uncharted waters. The adults in her extended family work together running the family restaurant. They are supportive of her attending college and have many ideas about what she should study, based largely on their own unfulfilled dreams. Sophia wonders why she does not seem to have dreams of her own and is seeking counseling to explore her options. The referral question the counselor must answer is: Which career pursuits are most appropriate for this individual's interests and skills?
In order to answer the referral question, the counselor must determine Sophia's interests and abilities. Because Sophia is having difficulty identifying her own career interests, the counselor should use an assessment instrument to assist her. One such instrument is the CISS. Pugh (2010) explains that the purpose of this assessment is to help individuals gain a better understanding of their interests and skills when making career decisions, and that it is designed for use in educational settings and individual counseling sessions. Roszkowski (2010) adds that the instrument helps individuals make informed occupational choices by helping them identify the type of work they would enjoy and could confidently perform.
Boggs (1999) notes that the CISS focuses on careers requiring a college education, making it an appropriate assessment for a student like Sophia who is planning to attend college. Additionally, the CISS is designed for adults and adolescents ages 15 and older and is written at a sixth-grade reading level (Boggs, 1999).
Individuals completing the assessment respond to 320 survey items on either a paper or computer-based format, indicating their level of interest in 200 academic and occupational items as well as their level of skill in 120 occupational items (Boggs, 1999). Respondents choose from six Likert-type options ranging from very positive to very negative for interest items, and from expert to none for skill items. Skill items are based on the respondent's self-confidence or self-efficacy (Boggs, 1999). Pugh (2010) adds that skill scores should be interpreted with the understanding that they measure the respondent's beliefs about their ability to perform occupational activities. The assessment takes approximately 35–45 minutes to complete.
"CISS scales and four interpretation patterns"
"Norming sample, reliability, and overall utility"
"ACA and ASCA ethics applied to Sophia's case"
You’re 29% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 3 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.