Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of career development programs to assist students in their complex transition from school to work, very few specific career education interventions have been objectively evaluated. The aim of this paper is to highlight what the authors consider to be a conspicuous shortfall in the career development literature to date, that is, reports of methodologically sound career intervention studies carried out in actual high school settings. International trends in the world of work are briefly discussed in association with the repercussions these changes are producing for today's youth. The major portion of this article is devoted to a comprehensive review of career intervention studies with particular attention paid to the methodological and theoretical issues that resonate from this review process. Recommendations for future research are proposed.
