Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: a social cognitive analysis

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1 994) emphasizes cognitive-person variables that enable people to influence their own career development, as well as extra-person (e.g., contextual) va riables that enhance or constrain personal agency. Although the theory has yielded a steady stream of inquiry and practical. applications, relatively little of this work has examined SCCT's contextual variables or hypotheses. In this article, several avenues for stimulating study of the contextual a spects of career behavior are considered. In particular, the authors (a) ex amine "career barriers," a conceptually relevant construct, from the perspe ctive of SCCT; (b) advocate study of contextual supports as well as barrier s; and (c) propose additional context-focused research and practice directi ons derived from SCCT.