An autoethnographic study of my career path and the implications for practice as a guidance counsellor

This is an Autoethnographic Study of my Career Path and the Implications for Practice as a Guidance Counsellor. Using qualitative research methods I examine my own lived experience as a working mother, exploring such issues as self-efficacy, self-confidence, communication and role conflict. In autoethnography, the researcher is the focus of the analysis and to this end, I refer to the data from my personal journal. This thesis is aimed at women, specifically working mothers, who may be dealing with role conflict. Exploring and sharing my own journey in this way has enabled me to address a number of issues regarding my career development. The Heuristic process was instrumental in bringing me to the point of enlightenment. I give some attention to the effect that tacit knowledge has had on my career development, in the hope that this will be of use to other women. My review of the literature in the area of career development for women shows slow progress since the 1960’s. I look at the role of the Guidance counsellor in relation to women’s career development and identify a number of Guidance interventions including the Kaleidoscope Career Model and Systems Theory Framework. I make a number of recommendations including addressing attitudes in industry towards women’s career development.