2020

An initial report prepared by the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) as part of a CERIC-supported research project – which aims to clarify when, where and how youth initiate and craft their career aspirations – is now available. The report, “The role of career education on students’ education choices and postsecondary outcomes: Theoretical and evidence base preparation” consists of an extensive literature review drawn heavily from a previously unpublished report funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. SRDC has updated the earlier work to inform the analysis it is undertaking as part of the CERIC research project, an empirical exploration of the long-term effects of career education interventions involving 7,000 Canadian youth in three provinces.

To ensure the construction of the most appropriate analytical models reflecting the latest evidence on successful career development strategies for youth, SRDC has examined the existing literature to consider (a) the stages of youth decision making and the key influences at each stage, (b) the role of career education in supporting post-secondary decisions, and (c) the kinds of career education resources available, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of these sources.

The report has four parts:

• First, it considers the context for supporting career development decisions in the 21st century: what is influencing the demand for information and support for career decisions among Canadian youth, giving particular consideration to NEETs (youth who are Not in Education, Employment or Training) and PINEs (Poorly Integrated New Entrants);
• Second, it reviews mainstream theories and models in the literature for career development/educational decision making – including lessons informed by behavioural economics – for youth. This section explores the extent to which there is consensus in the literature on the ages and stages in the career decision-making process for young people in Canada;
• Third, it emphasizes what is known about where career education and resources fit into the overall career decision-making process for youth in both the K-12 and post-secondary systems, including the role of labour market information and the role of intermediaries; and
• Finally, it prepares the ground for producing evidence-informed recommendations for the forthcoming empirical analysis that support youth and those who influence them (parents, counsellors, peers) as they make decisions about post-secondary education and career choices.

The impetus for the project is that while Canada is an international leader on many indicators of K-12 education performance (OECD, 2019) and has among the highest rates of post-secondary education (PSE) attainment of all OECD countries, it still has a significant proportion of youth who leave the formal education system ill-equipped for their transition to the world of work. Transition “derailment” can take many forms from students leaving high school before graduating to PSE graduates who struggle to demonstrate the skills required by employers.

The project explores the key reason behind this: that Canadian students typically exit education with insufficient career education and first-hand experience of the labour market. If students leave high school without a basic idea of who they want to become and are under- or mis-informed about the relevant opportunities open to them, they will not plan appropriately and find themselves making poor choices. The chances of ending up in precarious employment or unemployment can increase. The situation can become chronic if they cycle through periods of work, poorly focused re-training and unemployment.

To tackle such problems, educators as well as policy and program decision-makers are likely to want to develop measures to target youth at different stages of their educational and early labour market careers. Well-designed supports to career decision making would ideally be delivered in ways that help youth grow into discerning consumers of education, who know when and how they should invest in their futures for optimal impact on their later lives. Such refinement and customization of career education need to be founded on the best evidence concerning how such interventions fit into youth’s decision making, which is where this project is intended to make a contribution.

This project will utilize new data to examine how the piloted early career education interventions in SRDC’s BC Advancement Via Individual Determination (BC AVID) and Future to Discover (FTD) programs affect the evolution of high school students’ career decision making. This project makes use of two rich longitudinal data sources created through the linkage of education records to surveys of youth and parents to examine the career expectations and decisions of students for five years since Grade 10.

From the literature review, SRDC researchers conclude that the research on youth career decision making is still in its infancy. There is limited evidence on the effects of youth career education on the long-term evolution of their career decisions. Also missing from the evidence is how career education helps especially vulnerable youth facing multiple barriers in their transition to the labour market.

The report summarizes the implications of this review for the project:

• Social cognitive career theory is an important paradigm from which to consider career development because it sheds light on the importance of environmental and contextual factors. For example, parents, career counsellors, teachers and peers are all groups that can influence career decision making among youth.
• Because of behavioural biases and tendencies among youth, career decisions are not always rational even if relevant and valuable career education and information are available. The empirical analysis should consider the effects of this in interpreting the results.
• Age or stages of career development are important as they determine brain maturity, which affects decision making.
• Institutional and social factors also influence the decision-making process.
• Multivariate models and longitudinal models would help in the analysis, though the focus should be to take advantage, wherever possible, of the randomized control trials embedded in the datasets in assessing the long-term effects of career education on career path development.

SRDC is a non-profit research organization, created specifically to develop, field test and rigorously evaluate new programs. SRDC’s two-part mission is to help policymakers and practitioners identify policies and programs that improve the well-being of all Canadians.

The final report is expected to be ready in the coming months.

CERIC has released an updated version of its French-language guide to computing careers, responding to strong demand for computing graduates in Canada and a changing technology landscape. Authored by Randy Connolly, Janet Miller and Faith-Michael Uzoka of Mount Royal University, the second edition of Disciplines et carrières en informatique : guide rapide à l’intention des étudiants et des conseillers en orientation provides the latest information on types of computing careers and the academic pathways to get there. The 2020 edition of the English version of the guide, Computing Careers & Disciplines: A Quick Guide for Prospective Students and Career Advisors, was released earlier this year.

The new guide describes the five main computing disciplines as defined by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), as well as expands on six other popular computing specializations. These descriptions are designed to help support prospective students, parents, academic advisors and career counsellors in making sense of the maze of computing disciplines and post-secondary options. For each of the main disciplines, the guide provides an overview of job tasks, as well as listing core courses, sample degrees, and other pathways at Canadian colleges and universities, including many in Quebec and other French-language institutions.

The colourful, graphic-rich guide expands on the content of the popular first edition from 2017 to answer these three questions:

• Why should you consider computing when choosing a career?
• What kind of computing jobs are out there?
• What kind of education pathways will guide you to the computing career you desire?

The guide builds on findings from a CERIC-funded international research project that surveyed thousands of students and faculty from Canada, the US and Africa. Research showed most undergraduate students did not understand the differences between computing disciplines. The guide was also developed to meet a need among career advisors supporting students interested in technology at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. The guide assists students to make decisions around computing education and career paths that align with their values, interests and skills. In particular, the guide helps equip students with adequate discipline information prior to application for program admission or prior to when they are required to choose a major.

The updated guide seeks to dispel myths about computing careers. Contrary to stereotypes, computing is often highly social. It also supports flexible lifestyles, can be creative and allows for work abroad. The guide also underscores that computer work is highly varied and is more than just programming.

The five different computing disciplines described in the guide are:

• Computer Engineering – concerned with the design and construction of computers and computer-based systems
• Computer Science – covers the widest range of computing topics from its theoretical foundations to the development of new computing technologies and techniques
• Information Technology – prepares students to meet the computer technology needs of business and other organizations
• Information Systems – focuses on integrating information technology solutions and business processes
• Software Engineering – the discipline of developing and maintaining large software systems

Specializations include: network technology, data science, bioinformatics, game development, multimedia + web development and cybersecurity.

The guide highlights that there are many pathways to most computing careers. This includes three- and four-year degrees, two-year diplomas and one-year certificates in addition to stand-alone training or post-degree specialization. The guide also notes that computing careers can be confusing to navigate, as program titles don’t always map to the five discipline areas or to job titles in the workforce.

The new edition of the guide has been enhanced with alumni profiles and additional resources. More content can also now be found on a companion website, computingcareers.ca.

In addition to the French PDF that can be downloaded for free on CERIC’s website at ceric.ca/informatique (English is at ceric.ca/computing), print copies are available at $10/copy through CERIC for bulk orders of 10 or more. Contact sales@ceric.ca for more information.

Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice, edited by Nancy Arthur (University of South Australia), Roberta Neault (Life Strategies) and Mary McMahon (University of Queensland) and published by CERIC, has gained popularity across Canada and beyond, generating interest from career development professors, researchers and practitioners around the world.

For the past few months, an international team of professors and doctoral students have been working on a project to translate the book into French. The French edition will be titled Théories et modèles orientés sur la carrière : des idées pour la pratique. All 43 chapters of the original edition will be translated with the addition of a preface reflecting the conceptual and regulatory distinctions in career counselling practices among the Francophonie in Canada, Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Readers will be able to discover a diversity of recognized and emerging theories and models of career development. Providing a theoretical perspective on the conception and practice of guidance and career counselling, each chapter includes a case study accompanied by a suggested intervention, with the aim of helping students, practitioners and researchers working in French to better design concrete applications of theory in the context of practice.

The publication consists of contributors from four continents and nine countries, including Australia, Canada, England, Finland, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The featured authors include the original theorists and those who have adapted the work in unique ways to inform career development practice.

Louis Cournoyer (University of Quebec at Montreal) is co-ordinating the French-language translation of the book, with the collaboration of Patricia Dionne (University of Sherbrooke) and Simon Viviers (Laval University). The team of academics reviewing the French translation includes Sabruna Dorceus (University of Sherbrooke), Émilie Giguère (Laval University), Liette Goyer (Laval University), Philippe Jacquin (University of Moncton), Lise Lachance (University of Quebec at Montreal), Jonas Masdonati (University of Lausanne), Shékina Rochat (University of British Columbia), Jérôme Rossier (University of Lausanne) and Michel Turcotte (Laval University).

“From Parsons, to Holland, then to Super, to the more integrative, cultural, contextual and systemic models of today, the theories of career counselling and development, as well as their intervention models, have evolved considerably for more than a century,” says Louis Cournoyer, Professor-Researcher at the University of Quebec at Montreal. This welcome, awaited and necessary book provides a rich and up-to-date portrait of the theories and models that can fuel the academic and continuing education of current and future professionals in career development. Cournoyer adds: “CERIC must be recognized and thanked for its commitment to invest in the translation and revision into French of such a work. This initiative will allow French-speaking students and professionals, in Canada, in Europe and elsewhere in the world, to acquire the most practical theories and models of intervention in their language!”

The English version of the book was released in January of 2019 at the annual bilingual Cannexus National Career Development Conference in Ottawa. To further disseminate knowledge from this resource, CERIC has hosted free webinars with authors from the book over the past year. The first French-language webinars are being offered with Louis Cournoyer, April 24, on An Adaptive Decision-making Approach to Career Counselling, and with Simon Viviers, April 27, on Psychology of Working Theory: A Transformative Approach to Work and Career.

The French edition of the book is expected to be available for January 2021.

To learn more about accessing or supporting this publication, please contact marketing@ceric.ca.