Harré, 1982), which has roots in a number of broad contextualist
approaches, notably Dewey (1890/1969), Mead (1934), and Vygot-
sky (1978), as a means of integrating the properties of context. This
approach has been developed for the field of career by Young and
Valach (Valach, 1990; Young & Valach, 1996; 2000; Young,
Valach, & Collin, 1996; Young, Valach, et al., 2001) and reported
to offer alternative and valuable ways of addressing counseling
issues, in particular through the constructs of joint action and
project (for example, Issacson & Brown, 2000; Niles & Hartung,
2000; Patton & McMahon, 1999; Zunker, 1998).
In using the term action,we are focusing on human intention,
processes, and change in context rather than on context as a setting
(environment) for action. The use of that term also enables us to
address the continuity of meaning in the middle and long term, in
contrast to focusing on unconnected episodes, and we can establish
the relation between action and career. Finally, we apply the con-
textualist explanation to career research and career counseling,
illustrating the latter through the cases of E and K (introduced in
Chapter Two).
Context and Contextualism
To understand contextualism, it is useful to begin with a definition
ofcontext,generally recognized as a complex whole constituted of
many interrelated and interwoven parts. New Webster’s Dictionary
of the English Language(1975) defines it as “the parts of a written or
spoken communication which precede or follow a word, sentence,
or passage, and affect its meaning; as distortion by quoting out of
context. The surrounding environment, circumstances or facts
which help give a total picture of something” (p. 345). The mean-
ing of the Latin root of the word—texere(to weave)—is even more
explicit in the cognate noun contexture,that is “the act, process or
manner of interweaving several parts into one body” (p. 345).
Contextualism interprets the world in terms of the complexity
and interrelatedness of context. One formulation of it is one of
A CONTEXTUALIST EXPLANATION OF CAREER 207