Suchergebnisse

This article describes an urgent need for interdisciplinary careers research in the emerging global knowledge economy. It begins by identifying a range of traditions in careers research, including both occupational and organizational research traditions from professional schools of education and management. It proceeds by offering a view on contemporary careers, and examining three directions for contemporary careers research — reflecting what organizational careers scholars see, what other organizational scholars see, and what is suggested by evidence on the knowledge economy — while leaving the door open for others to join the conversation by suggesting further research directions. The article then turns to propose three topics for future interdisciplinary research collaboration: a more accessible definition of career, application of contrasting methodologies and adoption of wider research agendas. The overall message is for careers scholars to become both more collaborative and more `imaginative' in their further research endeavors.

This is the opening article in a Human Relations special issue on 'Interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary career studies'. After introducing a story of an 'exceptional — but real' career, we argue for an urgent shift toward greater interdisciplinary inquiry. We reflect on the story to describe differences in the way each of psychology, sociology, social psychology, and economics views the concept of career. We turn to explore what career researchers, representing each of the above social sciences, might not see on their own. In contrast, we highlight how social scientists can move toward a) appreciating the limitations of our separate approaches, b) introducing more appropriate research methods, c) maintaining a wider cross-disciplinary conversation, and d) better serving the client — the person — in our future research. We continue with a preview of the remaining five articles in this special issue, and propose that these can serve as stimuli for a wider conversation.