Journal Article

Careership: a sociological theory of career decision making

Hodkinson, Phil, Sparkes, Andrew C.

1997

Overview

In the current discourse on the transition from school to work, career decision-making has a pivotal but paradoxical position. Sociological literature emphasises the dominance of socially-structured pathways, whilst policy-making operates on assumptions of individual freedom to choose. In this paper we draw on the work of Pierre Bourdieu to present a new model of career decision-making, given the shorthand title of 'careership'. There are three completely integrated dimensions to the model. These are (i) pragmatically rational decision-making, located in the habitus of the person making the decision; (ii) the interactions with others in the (youth training) field, related to the unequal resources different 'players' possess; and (iii) the location of decisions within the partly unpredictable pattern of turning-points and routines that make up the life course. This model avoids the twin pitfalls of implicit social determinism or of seeing (young) people as completely free agents.

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group,Carfax Publishing Co,Taylor and Francis
• Subject: Bourdieu, Pierre / Career Choice / Career Development / Careers / Cognitive space / Decision Making / Education Work Relationship / Educational research / Employment / Freedom / Higher Education / Job development / Job training / Labor markets / Learning / Life Plans / Life Stage Transitions / Occupational Choice / Personal Autonomy / Secondary Education / Self Determination / Social Influences / Social interaction / Social structures / Sociological theories / Sociological Theory / Sociology / Sociology of education. Educational systems. Lifelong education / Trajectories / Young people