Chapter 3

This weeks reading was especially interesting to me. I do consider myself a very spiritual person, which is why I was excited to read what Ryan D. Duffy (2006) found on the current status of how spirituality relates to career development. Although he concludes that research in this area is very limited, I found parallels between the findings he did present and the theories found in Duane Brown’s text.

Brown (2012) indicates that learning theories are not as much concerned about traits, such as interests in values, but an emphasis is placed on the learning processes that lead to self-efficacy beliefs and interests as a determinant of career development. The way that I understand self-efficacy is quite simply if one believes in oneself or not. The social cognitive perspective, according to Brown (2012), emphasizes that self-efficacy beliefs are dynamic, ever-changing self-perceptions. I agree with this proposition and think that spirituality has a direct effect on someone’s self-efficacy. I know it does for me at least. I believe that I can do something because I have God’s spirit living in me and because of that I can do anything. Therefore, my self-efficacy is much higher. Duffy (2006) notes that a study of college students looking at spirituality related to career development found that spirituality and religiousness each serve as significant positive predictors of career-decision self-efficacy. Another parallel that I found was centered on the social cognitive idea that people with strong self-efficacy beliefs perform at a higher level (Brown, 2012). According to Duffy (2006), Witmer and Sweeney’s Holistic Model of Wellness states that spirituality serves as a primary influence of the development of values, thus guiding behavior at work. Therefore, spiritual people have higher job satisfaction and meaning in what they do and are more attracted to jobs that serve the greater good.

Furthermore, in my career development process, my decisions were very much based on what I felt “called” to do and what I believed I could best use my God-given gifts to serve others. I agreed with the proposition that "career decisions are goal-directed results of the individual’s understanding of the context in which she or he functions", as suggested by the Contextualist theory of career (Duffy, 2006, p. 67). My context is centered around my spirituality, thus greatly influencing my career decisions. Both Duffy (2006) and Brown (2012) cite Bloch’s model of spirituality and career counseling. Although I found Bloch’s theory to be very confusing, she did relate with what I said about my personal desire to serve others. Duffy (2006) notes that Bloch argues people who see work in the spiritual context consider their contribution to the world and avoid self-centeredness. Not to say I’m not self-centered at times, but one of the main reasons I chose a career in a helping profession was to give back to the world, creating a since of meaning and purpose for my work.

In conclusion, I do think agree with Duffy (2006) that it is important to understand the person fully, including one’s spiritual self, because it is applicable when facilitating career counseling and could have a significant effect on the client’s career process, as I've experience in my own life. 

Brown, D. (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development(10^th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Duffy, R. D. (2006). Spirituality, religion, and career development: Current status and future directions. The Career Development Quarterly, 55(1), 52-63.