The purposes of this special issue were (a) to examine social cognitive career theory’s (SCCT) relevance to the career development of a diverse range of persons and contexts and (b) to encourage researchers to extend the theory to new cultures, social justice themes, and populations that remain underserved or understudied by vocational psychology. We believe that the range of populations and issues addressed in this special issue illustrate well SCCT’s current scope of applicability. In this article, we offer some final thoughts intended to further strengthen SCCT’s research base. We first comment on each of the articles, highlighting their implications for future research. We conclude by emphasizing a few larger issues that emerged for us across the set of articles and that point to additional directions for advancing research on SCCT within a diverse world.
BrownS. D.LentR. W. (2016). Vocational psychology: Agency, equity, and well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 541–566.
2.
BrownS. D.LentR. W.TelanderK.TramayneS. (2011). Social cognitive career theory, conscientiousness, and work performance: A meta-analytic path analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 81–90.
3.
BrownS. D.TramayneS.HoxhaD.TelanderK.FanX.LentR. W. (2008). Social cognitive predictors of college students’ academic performance and persistence: A meta-analytic path analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 298–308.
4.
DickinsonJ.AbramsM. D.TokarD. M. (2017). An examination of the applicability of Social Cognitive Career Theory for African American college students. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 75–92.
5.
FloresL. Y.NavarroR. L.AliS. R. (2017). The state of SCCT research in relation to social class: Future directions. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 6–23.
6.
FouadN. A.SantanaM. C. (2017). SCCT and underrepresented populations in STEM fields: Moving the needle. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 24–39.
7.
GarriottP. O.NavarroR. L.FloresL. Y. (2017). First-generation college students' persistence in engineering majors. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 93–106.
8.
LentR. W.BrownS. D. (2006). Integrating person and situation perspectives on work satisfaction: A social-cognitive view. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69, 236–247.
9.
LentR. W.BrownS. D. (2008). Social cognitive career theory and subjective well-being in the context of work. Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 6–21.
10.
LentR. W.BrownS. D. (2013). Social cognitive model of career self-management: Toward a unifying view of adaptive career behavior across the life span. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 557–568.
11.
LentR. W.BrownS. D.HackettG. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance [Monograph]. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79–122.
12.
LentR. W.EzeoforI.MorrisonM. A.PennL. T.IrelandG. W. (2016). Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 47–57.
13.
LentR. W.TaveiraM. C.LoboC. (2012). Two tests of the social cognitive model of well-being in Portuguese college students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 362–371.
14.
LentR. W.TaveiraM.FigueraP.DorioI.FariaS.GonçalvesA. M. (2017). Test of the social cognitive model of well-being in Spanish college students. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 135–143.
15.
LimR. H.LentR. W.PennL. T. (2016). Prediction of job search intentions and behaviors: Testing the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63, 594–603.
16.
LiuW. M.AliS. R. (2008). Social class and classicism: Understanding the psychological impact of poverty and inequality. In BrownS. D.LentR. W. (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (4th ed., pp. 159–175). New York, NY: Wiley.
17.
MauW. C.BikosL. H. (2000). Educational and vocational aspirations of minority and female students: A longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 186–194.
18.
MelloZ. R. (2009). Racial/ethnic group and socioeconomic status variation in educational and occupational expectations from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Applied Psychology, 20, 494–504.
19.
RocheM. K.DaskalovaP.BrownS. D. (2017). Anticipated multiple role management in emerging adults: A test of the social cognitive career self-management model. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 121–134.
20.
SheuH. B.LentR. W.BrownS. D.MillerM. J.HennessyK. D.DuffyR. D. (2010). Testing the choice model of social cognitive career theory across Holland themes: A meta-analytic path analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 252–264.
21.
SheuH.BordonJ. J. (2017). SCCT research in the international context: Empirical evidence, future directions, and practical implications. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 58–74.
22.
SheuH.LiuY.LiY. (2017). Well-being of college students in China: Testing a modified social cognitive model. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 144–158.
23.
TatumA. K.FormicaL. J.BrownS. D. (2017). Testing a social cognitive model of workplace sexual identity management. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 107–120.
24.
ThompsonM. N.DahlingJ. J.ChinM. Y.MelloyR. C. (2017). Integrating job loss, unemployment, and reemployment with Social Cognitive Career Theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 40–57.
25.
VelezB. L.MoradiB. (2012). Workplace support, discrimination, and person-organization fit: Tests of the theory of work adjustment with LGB individuals. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 399–407.
26.
VerbruggenM.DriesN.Van LaerK. (2017). Challenging the uniformity myth in career counseling outcome studies: Examining the role of clients' initial career counseling goals. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 159–172.
