Introduction: Building an International Community of Research in Career Guidance and Counseling

The ECADOC program has brought together doctoral students working on topical issues in the field of CGC, using various theoretical references and meth- odologies. The aim of the current volume is to disseminate this research to stu- dents and researchers all over the word, as well as informing practitioners about this very current work to support them in developing innovative interventions. To prepare this compilation, a call for contributing authors was addressed to the teams of researchers (doctoral students, researchers, and academics) who have participated in one of the ECADOC summer schools. The objectives of the volume are: – to present the current questions and preoccupations of young researchers all around the world in the field of CGC; – to gradually develop a community of researchers who publish together; – to offer the opportunity to doctoral students and collaborators to present their research to a larger audience than that reached by scientific articles; and – to provide a concrete product that will persist beyond the end of ECADOC program. ECADOC researchers (doctoral students, scientists, and academics) were asked to make chapter proposals alone or as a team. Proposals could be related to doctoral research or to another study in which they participated, with or without the involve- ment of a doctoral supervisor. The editors of this book received many proposals leading to an initial selection based on a set of criteria, including the scientific qual- ity of the proposal and its empirical foundation. The selection was then refined to underline the diversity of student profiles and of the territories in which the research was conducted. We also wanted to show the diversity of the research topics, of the theoretical frameworks, and of the methods used by the doctoral students. At that point, each selected proposal was peer-reviewed by two experts in the field of career counseling and guidance, most of whom were involved in the ECADOC pro- gram. The final decision was made by the editors based on these reviews. The edi- tors of this book also asked some senior researchers to write a chapter to share their perception of the evolution of research in the field and to provide some direction for the future. Jean Guichard, as director of the UNESCO Chair on Life Long Guidance and Counseling and professor at Cnam-Inetop proposed one chapter, and Lea Ferrari, Teresa Maria Sgaramella, and Salvatore Soresi, as professors at the University of Padova and organization head of the ECADOC program proposed another. The seven members of the Scientific Committee worked together to contri- bute to the final chapter, which proposes a European Research Agenda for the future of career counseling and research. These three additional chapters were also thoroughly reviewed. As an ensemble, the book provides a broad overview of the research interests, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and career counseling devices that are useful in analyzing the variety of career counseling and guidance situations for individuals living in different parts of the world.