Some Remarks on the Criticism of the Theory of Vocational Development

As regards vocational orientation and psychological guidance in choosing one’s occupation, several qualitatively different lines can be distinguished, and the author of this article pays attention to three of them. The first is connected with the development of psychotechnology and its characteristic feature is the starting-point conception of ≫features and factors≪, connected with (the name of F. Parsons, and the diagnostic approach proceeding from this conception. The second is represented by models of the educational conception of vocational orientation and guidance, formulated by French progressive psychologists and educationists. Their characteristic feature is the close connection of the vocationally orientational work with school, with the educational process. The third line is represented by the theory of vocational development formulated by D. S. Super and his collaborators. Some basic ideas of this theory are kind- red with the theses of Marxist psychology. The author of the article, proceeding mainly from Soviet authors’ views, points out that this likeness is sometimes only an illusion and demonstrates how the author of the theory of vocational development got into contradictions with the theses of his own theory when it was verified in empirical researches. In conclusion the author of the article calls for a critical approach to the theory of vocational development and underlines the necessity of working out the theory of vocational development on the basis of Marxist science; several successful steps towards this end have already been taken.