Telling stories of childhood career development

There is a story to tell when considering childhood career development within the broader context of lifespan career development. It is a story of an orphaned stage of the lifespan that for decades has been considered divorced from the realities of career development, for theory, research, policy and practice have chosen to emphasise career development stages where career choice must be made, resulting in a skewed dominance towards adolescence and adulthood. Nevertheless, in the second half of the last century and through to the first decade of the present century, there has been a growing awareness that the foundations of career development, as with developmental psychology itself, are to be found in childhood. This awareness has been predominantly theoretical to date, with major career developmental theorists such as Gottfredson (2002, 2005) and Super (1980, 1990), for instance, describing early developmental tasks that provide children with the foundation for later career development and decision making. The lack of a consistent body of research, policy and practice, however, has led to a persistent call for a greater emphasis on child career development