Holland's Theory and Implications for Academic Advising and Career Counseling
John Holland's typological theory of persons and environments is regarded as the most influential in the field of career counseling (Brown, 2002), but few have carried the theory over to the field of higher education and academic advising (Smart, Feldman, & Ethington, 2000). Therefore, Holland's theory and the subsequent research on it were explored to determine if the theory would be an appropriate means of understanding the behavior and organization of college faculty members and students. A practical approach for integrating a Holland-based system of academic advising and career counseling is discussed.
Contributor Notes
Robert Reardon, PhD, is a faculty member in the Division of Student Affairs at Florida State University (FSU), and his current position is Director of Instruction, Research, and Evaluation in the Career Center; Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems; and Co-director of the Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and Career Development. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Dr. Robert Reardon, Career Center UCA4150, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2490; E-mail: rreardon@admin.fsu.edu.
Emily Bullock, MS, is a career advisor in the FSU Career Center and has worked in career services for 5 years. She received her master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and she is pursuing a doctoral degree in school and counseling psychology from FSU with an emphasis in career development. Her research focus includes career development, interests and personality, and career assessment specifically related to Holland's theory and cognitive information processing theory.
The authors thank James Sampson, Jill Lumsden, Jeff Garis, Jill Parker, Linda Mahler, Janet Lenz, and John Smart for comments on early drafts of this manuscript.
