What is a Vocation?

VOCATION
is a career or calling that is derived
from the word VOCARE, which means “to
call”.
For round holes there should be round
pegs, and for square holes there should
be square pegs”
Frank Parsons
Founding Father of
Vocational Guidance

 In 1908 Parson opened the

Vocational Bureau of Boston with the
purpose of helping people learn of
careers

Wrote book called Choosing a

Vocation. First published 1990
Vocational Guidance
What are the Purposes of
Vocational Guidance?
 Purposes of Vocational Guidance
1. To help adapt the schools to the needs of the
students and the community.
2. To assist the students in choosing, preparing
and training for, entering and making progress
in their chosen career or occupation.
3. To disseminate knowledge of competitive and
other problems of the business and
occupational world as well as their
characteristics.
4. To help workers understand their relationship
with other workers, and society as a whole.
5. To secure greater cooperation between the
school and various commercial, industrial, and
professional pursuits.
6. To encourage the establishment of courses of
study in educational institutions that will
harmoniously combine both cultural and
practical studies.
 Vocational guidance: Principles, methods, Services

1. The Occupational Information Service

The following is an outline for the study of an occupation:

a. Importance of an occupation
b. Nature of the work
c. Work conditions
d. Personal Qualities needed
e. Preparations needed
f. Opportunities for advancement
g. Compensation
 Methods of Teaching an Occupational Information

1. Each Learner is required to gather information

about occupations. Pamphlets, books, magazines,
news papers, and workers can be sources of
information.
2. Class debates are held on the merits of different
occupations
3. Dramatizations
4. Oral reports to the class
5. Written reports
2. The Self-Inventory Service

Means of Providing High School Youth with

Vocational Exploration Experience

1. Exploration by means of school subjects

2. Exploration for agricultural occupations
3. Exploration for business occupation
4. Explorations through household art courses
5. Explorations for industrial occupations
3. The Personal Data Collecting Service

Kinds of Personal Data needed

1. General Data – information that will be helpful in

locating the individual and in making contacts.

2. Physical Data- information concerning the

individual’s health and physical characteristics.

3. Psychological Data- information concerning the

individual’s mental characteristics.
 Personality Characteristics, Social Environment,
Achievements, Plans

Personality traits, some of which are

hereditary and some are results of training and
experience, have significance in vocational planning.
Personality factors :
• Drive
• Emotional Stability
• Initiative
• Ambition
• Personal Disposition
Example of Personality Tests:

1. The Downey tests of will-temperament

a. Speed and fluidity of action
b. Forcefulness and decisiveness of reaction
c. Carefulness and persistence of reaction
2. Tests of trustworthiness
3. The Allport Ascendance-Submission Reaction Study
4. Benreuter Personality Inventory
5. Bell Adjustment Inventory
Social Environment Data

a. Data concerning the home and familial background

b. Data concerning the pupil’s association outside the
home
c. Data concerning:
- achievements
- entrance to college
- degree program desired
- particular occupation desired
- necessary preparation
4. The Vocational Counseling Service

Vocational counseling is not giving

vocational advice. It is not telling individuals
what occupation they should follow. Vocational
counseling leaves decisions to the counseled
individuals. Its DUTY is performed when it helps
these individuals to follow a procedure in arriving
at their own decision, not when it tries to make
decisions for them.
5. The Vocational Preparatory Service

Types of Vocational Preparation

1. Preparation before employment begins

2. Preparation in connection with employment
3. Preparation for change of employment
 Preparation before employment begins for
a. Business pursuits
b. Homemaking
c. Agricultural pursuits
d. Industrial pursuits

Preparation in connection with employment

a. The learners are under the supervision of the school
b. A worker and the school aid them in preparing better
for the work.
c. The learner acquires skill and knowledge on the job
without spending any time in school.
 Preparation for change of employment

Conditions at work are not satisfying,

detrimental to the worker’s physical and
mental health; salary is low and not
commensurate to the job.
6. The Placement Service
The school placement service aids the
graduates in finding jobs through:

 Establishing linkages or consultations with

agencies, firms, industry and business, etc.

 Helping the individuals find suitable occupations

and helping them find an opportunity for their
continued development