Customer Reviews

Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have been teaching Career Counseling for years and finally decided to try the Zunker text. What a mistake. Yes, it is comprehensive. But it is written like a bad lit review. Endless citations of research with little synthesis. It is hard for students to see the big picture! I will stick with the Niles/Harris-Bowlsbey text (Career Development Interventions in the 21st Century) for my Career Counseling course, and the Sharf text (Applying Career Development Theory to Counseling) for more advanced courses in Vocational Theory.

This is the worst textbook I have ever had to read. The information is poorly presented. The language and writing style cloud meaning instead of making the theories clear and useful. It is difficult to believe that counseling students were Zunker's intended audience. I am only reading this book because I have to for a class, but I haven't learned anything from this book at all so far. Do not buy this book unless you have to.

This is the most comprehensive and well-written of all the career counseling textbooks. It has excellent coverage of theories, counseling models, how to do an intake, standardized assessment, and technology. Five whole chapters are devoted to doing career counseling with special populations, including multicultural groups, women, people with disabilities, and GLB clients. There are also guides for developing career-related programs in elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities. Ten very useful appendices address multicultural issues, professional associations, counseling web sites, etc. The book is easy to read,and each chapter includes supplementary learning exercises. The holistic approach and the multicultural sensitivity of the book are especially appreciated. My students have found the book to be very thorough and useful to help them prepare to do career counseling. No other career counseling book approaches the quality of this book.

Those who say that the Zunker text is a "painful" and "poorly written" text are absolutely correct. Many of the references are dated and some are cited improperly. There are contradictions, redundancies, and all the other things you would expect not to find in the 7th edition of a text. The test bank is ambiguous and students get frustrated when they feel as though they have the correct answer but the key indicates a different answer.

I have used this book as both a student and an instructor and have have found it almost unbearable to use in both contexts. Unfortunately, if you are teaching in a program that is preparing students to become counselors and pass the NCE this is about as good of a text as you are going to find. In fact, it is one of the best. The questions on the NCE exam are almost straight out of Zunker. As much as I hate to admit it, when comparing the NCE test prep materials to the Zunker text the Zunker text makes a far better primer hands down.

In Zunker's defense, much of what the book lacks is not so much a failure on his part as an author as it is a reflection on the overall lack of empirical research and scholarly activity generated by the career counseling field in the past 20 years. So, until the career counseling field joins the 21st century, or until someone writes a better book to prep counseling students for licensure, you might as well just go ahead and get this one. . . it really doesn't get a whole lot better.

Note to instructors: One technique I have found useful is to have students prepare a critical analysis (not a critique) using critical thinking models to evaluate the evidence put forth in the Zunker text and make recommendations for how it can be improved. At least this way they are actively approaching the material (even if they hate it) in a way that is productive and promotes critical thinking skills that will help them in their academic and professional career.

See my other review for Zunker. Clearly he's very knowledgeable, but his books are overwritten, three adjectives for every one needed, and so repetitious I feel more frustrated than engaged. THorough but dense, more intellectual than practical.

Zunker's chapters on theories and models are wordy, dense and hard to get through. I have noticed that Zunker repeats himself frequently instead of writing concisely and clearly. I wish an editor would take a heavy hand on his writing! Even the layout of the book: black and white text, fine print and vague outlines are less than optimal instructional practice. I have read mathematics text-books that are more engaging and reader-friendly.

Please do not buy this book unless you have to. Teachers, choose a book that will help your students learn. Zunker sounds like a professor rambling in a lecture hall while the students are snoring in the back. Complicated language and running around in circles may make someone sound smart, but it's not ideal for teaching.

The structure of this book is hard for a student to read through and understand the concepts. The chapters don't flow in a way that is easy to follow, and topics are broken up in ways that aren't helpful for the learner.

Having recently begun reading this text, I have only completed two chapters. However, two chapters is enough to determine the quality and presentation of the material presented so far. Although the information contained in the text is very pertinent and relevant to future counselors, the author's writing style and presentation is somewhat lacking. At times the paragraph and categorical structure is loosely organized. For instance, the author may introduce in the last sentence a topic totally unadressed in the rest of the sentence. Additionally, topic and sub-topic categories are often ambiguously delineated. This book may cover the information students need to know, but the format of that material is weak, particularly for a graduate-level text.

This book is well written and has excellent coveraqe of all the essentials. It is very current and provides many practical ideas for counselors. The author is culturally sensitive and knowledgable about the most recent research. Highly recommended for graduate school courses in career counseling.

This is the WORST textbook ever. Im not kidding. It is poorly written and behind the times. Anyone who is not white is reffered to as 'ethnic' (now white people have no ethnicity? People of color cant be acculturated?) and many of the theories that are presented as being applicable view perfectly normal people as pathological. It barely has a grasp of the multicultural movement that many other fields in counseling have seemed to have jumped on. Its painful to read and even more painful to try and piece together the fragmented bits of information it gives.