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This is an important new book by one of the most eminent vocational psychologists in the USA. Based at the Department of Counselling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, Blustein is best known for spearheading the “psychology of working” approach, a perspective that informs and infuses this volume whose fundamental premise is that, for better and (unfortunately too often) for worse, work remains at the core of who we are as humans, and in many ways defines us. Work thus provides some with opportunities for personal growth, purpose, passion and connection, while others experience it as a bane, a source of frustration and misery, and merely a means to an end, where surviving rather than thriving is the goal., peer-reviewed

The article is a review essay of the publication International handbook of career guidance, edited by J.A. Athanasou and R. Van Esbroeck., N/A

This special issue of Egypte/Monde Arabe provides us with a fascinating insight into some aspects of the historical development of education in Egypt, outlining issues and challenges that have had to be tackled in the past, and which still confront the contemporary educational policy-maker. The collection of articles (all in French) - where the guest editor Iman Farag, who is a member of the editorial team of the Egyptian-based journal, is present not only as an author, but also as a translator (from Arabic) of several of the pieces published does not claim to be comprehensive. It does, however, successfully show the interdisciplinary nature of the study of education, to the extent that a reflection on Egypt's educational system is, in fact, a reflection on Egyptian society as a whole. The articles are also organically linked in the sense that they are all an answer to the question: "Which debates and struggles have marked the history of education in Egypt?", and all are interpretive pieces which attempt to make connections between different historical and social processes., N/A

This is an important contribution to an under-researched but topical field of inquiry, whose value is accentuated by the fact that it reports on work carried out in Norway, with reference to theoretical perspectives prevailing in Scandinavian countries. Such theoretical and empirical data are not often accessible to researchers in Englishspeaking countries, and hence the book will be of great interest to those looking for fresh insights as well as for comparative material. Mjelde, who has been investigating vocational education over the past twenty five years, has come up with a sustained sociological account relating to different aspects of vocational training and apprenticeship - or 'workshop learning', as she calls it. She draws on a number of research projects with an extensive quantitative and qualitative data base, generating important insights through interviews, questionnaires, participant observation, and analysis of educational policy texts., N/A

A review of the book "Rethinking Work Experience.", by Andrew Miller, A.G. Watts and Ian Jamieson., N/A

A review of the book "Louts and legends : male youth culture in an inner-city school", by J.C. Walker., N/A

The kinds of messages teachers give students regarding the value of credentials in the job-getting package during a period of high youth unemployment are explored. The response made by students to the credentialling ideology promoted in schools, and their construction of the job-getting formula, are also described. The validity of the two versions of job-getting strategies is considered in the light of evidence provided by a number of empirical research projects. The superiority of student knowledge in this area is used to present a case for a critical and democratic education which appropriates and legitimises the student voice., peer-reviewed

This chapter discusses research circles as a way of organising collaboration between career guidance researchers and practitioners. Such collaboration, it is argued, helps resist neoliberal governance mechanisms and supports social justice perspectives among teachers involved in the provision of career education in Danish schools. Based on a research and development project on career education, case analysis is used to explore research circles as a means for collaboration between researchers and practitioners. This analysis shows that research circles provide teachers with a space to reflect both in and on action. Career education is the key focus of the case presented in this chapter and it is argued that, in order to increase social mobility through education, there is a need to widen opportunities through experience-based activities among pupils in Danish schools. The chapter contends that teachers’ insights into the weaknesses of current career education activities and the peer support to develop and implement experience-based activities through collaboration between teachers, career guidance professionals, upper secondary schools and local businesses are crucial in achieving this. The analyses show that the support provided within research circles also serve to disrupt the neoliberal discourse of a functionalist view on career learning activities.