Frank Parsons (1854-1908) is known as the Father of Vocational Guidance. Although he was educated as an engineer at Cornell University, he wrote several books on social reform movements and articles related to women's suffrage, taxation, and education for all. Additionally, he taught history, math, and French in public schools, worked as a railroad engineer, and passed the state bar examination for lawyers in Massachusetts in 1881. His university occupations included teaching at Boston University's law school and at Kansas State Agricultural College (See Kansas State University), and serving as dean of the extension division of Ruskin College in Trenton, Missouri. However, Parsons is best known for his interests in helping individuals make occupational and career choices (Zunker, 2002). 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other uses of the name Cornell, see Cornell (disambiguation). ... Reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make a change in certain aspects of the society rather than fundamental changes. ... The international movement for womens suffrage, led by suffragists (commonly called suffragettes), was a social, economic and political reform movement aimed at extending the suffrage (that is, the right to vote) to women, advocating equal suffrage (abolition of graded votes) rather than universal suffrage (abolition of discrimination due to... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Boston University is a non-sectarian private university located in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Kansas State University (sometimes referred to as K-State) is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas. ... Trenton is a city located in Grundy County, Missouri. ...

Accomplishments

In 1901, Mrs. Quincy Agassiz Shaw, a philanthropist, established the Civic Service House in Boston as an effort to provide educational opportunities for immigrants and young persons seeking work. Later in 1905, Parsons became director of one of the Civic Service House progams called the Breadwinner's Institute (Zunker, 2002). Afterwards, Parsons organized the Bureau of Vocational Guidance. Nine months later, Parsons used the Bureau to train young men to be counselers and managers for YMCA's schools, colleges, and businesses. A few years later, the School Committee of Boston created the first counselor certification program, and eventually the program was adopted by Harvard University as the first college-based counselor education program (Schmidt 2003). Also, the superintendent of Boston schools designated 100 elementary and secondary teachers to become vocational counselors, this became known as the Boston Plan. Within a few years, school systems across the country followed suite. 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A philanthropist is someone who devotes his or her time, money, or effort towards helping others. ... Alternative meanings: Boston (disambiguation) The 18th-century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... YMCAs in the United States and Canada use this logo. ... A certification, or qualification, is a designation earned by a person, product or process. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

On May 1, 1908, Parsons presented a lecture that had tremendous impact on the career guidance movement, by presenting a report that described systematic guidance procedures used to counsel 80 men and women who used the bureau for help. Shortly later, he died on September 26, 1908, and his major work, Choosing a Vocation, was published in May 1909. Parsons developed a framework to help individuals decide on a career. This framework contained a three part formulation. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A lecture on linear algebra at the Helsinki University of Technology A lecture is a presentation on a particular subject given in order to teach people about that subject, for example by a university or college teacher. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

1. First, a clear understanding of yourself, aptitudes, abilities, interests, resources, limitations, and other qualities
2. Second, a knowledge of the requirements and conditions of sucess, advantages and disadvantages, compensations, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work
3. Third, true reasoning of the relations of these two groups of facts (Parsons, 1909, p. 5, as cited in Zunker, 2002)

According to Parsons, ideal career choices are based on matching personal traits (abilities, resources, personality) with job factors (wages, environment, etc) to produce the best conditions of vocational sucess. Parson's framework later became the basis of the contempory trait/factor theory of career development. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

References

Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Schmidt, J.J. (2003) Counseling in schools: essential services and comrehensive programs. 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Studer, J.R. (2005). The professional school counselor: An advocate for students Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Zunker, V.G. (2002). Career counseling: Applied concepts of life planning. 6th ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole

Related articles

• Career
• Career development
• Counselor
• School counselor

Look up Career in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A career is a course of successive situations that make up some activity. ... In Organizational development (or OD), the study of career development looks at: how individuals manage their careers within and between organizations and how organizations structure the career progress of their members Organizations in Career Development NCDA (National Career Development Organization) website forums forum topic about using Wikipedia to develop a... A Counselor is a general definition for a person who advises. ... A school counselor is a counselor which works in schools. ...

External links

• http://www.bookrags.com/biography-frank-parsons/ (biography)
• http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JAX/is_1_50/ai_78398530 (article)
• http://www.clt.astate.edu/dagnew/co_his/ (History of Career and Vocational Guidance)