Self and Identity in Career Development: Implications for Theory and Practice

This article expands the conceptual framework of considerations of the self and identity in career development theory and practice. A brief review of the existing self and identity constructs in career development theory is provided. Selected advances in theoretical considerations of the self and identity emerging from fields outside of the purview of career development are presented with a focus on the importance of the relational and cultural contexts. An “embeddedness” perspective is offered that describes the interdependence between intrapersonal experience and social, relational, historical, and cultural contexts. A case vignette is provided to illustrate the implications for practice of that perspective.