Edinburgh Napier University

  The Capability Approach offers a fresh starting point for thinking about career guidance interventions. In contrast to most conceptual approaches in the field, it does not derive from psychology or sociology. Rather, it originates in the work of economist and philosopher Amartya Sen (e.g. 1985; 2009). It is an approach that seeks ways to support people to access lifestyles that they have reason to value. It represents a way of thinking about human rights that places choice and freedom as central. As such it has great resonance with the contemporary focus on social justice in career guidance (e.g. IAEVG, 2013).
This symposium brings together authors who have sought to highlight the potential of the Capability Approach to contribute to our understanding of career experiences. This symposium seeks to take the work one step further, by exploring what it means to apply the Capability Approach to guidance practice. The Capability Approach presents opportunities for innovation in, but its abstract and underspecified nature also present substantial challenges for those seeking to translate it into practice (Robertson & Egdell, 2018). Ways of overcoming these challenges will be explored.