Interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary career studies
Guest editors: Svetlana N. Khapova (VU University Amsterdam) and Michael B. Arthur (Suffolk University, Boston)
Contemporary careers unfold in a knowledge-based, global economy that reflects persistent interaction between careers and institutions. In this context, the career – the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time - is not only a script for personal development, but also a source in enabling new communities (such as in open source programming), a reason for a shared learning agenda (like that of a professional community of practice), or a source of inspiration behind new global initiatives (as for example behind philanthropic or ideological endeavors). These careers involve a) shifting boundaries in occupational, organizational, national and global work arrangements; b) higher uncertainty through the rapid generation of knowledge and the unpredictability of its effects; and c) greater individual agency, as a response to shifting boundaries and uncertainty, and as a means to integrate wider combinations of job experiences into a single career (Arthur, in press). The characteristics of contemporary careers raise questions about the suitability of traditional uni-disciplinary research approaches to career studies. This call suggests that to better appreciate changing careers, we need to change the way we study them.
The characteristics of contemporary careers call for more “imaginative” approaches to careers research (Abbott, 2004) that transcend traditional assumptions. New approaches are necessary if the dynamic links among careers, occupations, organizations and the global knowledge-driven economy are to be better understood. Rather than assuming the world as stable, and amenable to uni-disciplinary research inquiry, we need to assume the world as dynamic, and calling for interdisciplinary inquiry. An emphasis on interdisciplinary inquiry can take us beyond, for example, the application and re-application of psychological theories of occupational choice or sociological theories of organizational socialization that say little about the dynamic context in which choices and socialization occur. This special issue invites contributions that respond to a call for fresh interdisciplinary approaches, and also demonstrate the potential that interdisciplinary inquiry holds for the greater understanding of contemporary career phenomena.
In calling for more imaginative approaches, we are looking for papers that lead us beyond the constraints of traditional research approaches. How, for example, can we better appreciate the interdependence of open source software investments and the potential outcomes for people’s careers? How can we see how pressing social problems influence career choices that in turn help shape the nature of society? What fresh examples about contemporary careers can help us to better see the shifting connections between careers and the host economy? What possibilities exist for more satisfactory interpretation of learning within people’s careers and its further consequences?
For example, the imaginative approaches we seek may involve one or more of the following:
- Greater variation in methodologies. It is common for different traditions to employ distinctive research methodologies. However, a broader base of methodologies, or adoption of combined methodologies, may provide a better understanding of how careers both shape and in turn are shaped by the environment. What methodologies can help us here?
- A wider research agenda. Career studies can lead us beyond the examination of individual working lives. A wider view can help us appreciate how career-relevant communities, such as open source software communities, or communities built around race, gender, social stigma and so on can influence workplace allegiances. What research agenda items appear most pressing?
- More longitudinal research designs. Traditional research designs based on cross-sectional approaches favor the examination of one-way cause-effect relationships, and in turn uni-disciplinary interpretations. How can longitudinal research designs provide interdisciplinary insights into careers not visible through traditional approaches?
- More instructive interdisciplinary conversations. It is relatively straightforward to extend research in an established discipline, but harder to promote conversations among an interdisciplinary audience. How can we better connect, for example, between psychological and sociological views on individual identity? What kinds of research leadership can contribute to healthier interdisciplinary conversations?
The editors invite contributions to the above or to further questions that can be usefully raised in examining contemporary careers. Most fundamentally, we seek papers, either theoretical or empirical, that offer fresh contributions to the existing literature and its underlying assumptions. We also seek papers that break new ground and outline new directions for interdisciplinary conversation and careers research.
Authors should note:
- This call is open and competitive, and the submitted papers will be blind reviewed in the normal way.
- Submitted papers must be based on original material not under consideration by any other journal or outlet.
- For empirical papers based on data sets from which multiple papers have been generated, the editors must be provided with copies of all other papers based on the same data.
- The editors will select around five papers to be included in the special issue, but other papers submitted in this process may be published in other issues of the journal.
The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2008. The special issue is intended for publication mid 2010.
Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted online via http://www.humanrelationsjournal.org/. Please indicate on your paper, or on a covering note, that the paper is intended for this special issue. Direct questions about the submission process, or any administrative matter, to Neil Walshe at humanrelationsjournal@tavinstitute.org.
The editors of the special issue are very happy to discuss initial ideas for papers, and can be contacted directly:
Svetlana N. Khapova
skhapova@feweb.vu.nl
Michael B. Arthur
marthur@suffolk.edu
References: Abbott, A. (2004). Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. New York: Norton. Arthur, M. B. (in press) Examining contemporary careers: A call for interdisciplinary inquiry, Human Relations.
