Life-Cycle Career Interventions: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Transitions and Development in Educational Contexts
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 28
Special Issue Editor
Interests: career psychology and life-cycle interventions; lifelong learning and career development; career adaptability and transitions (including retirement); education and guidance in diverse life stages
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality research that focuses on the design, implementation and rigorous evaluation of career interventions across the entire human life cycle. In an increasingly volatile social landscape, career-related learning must be viewed through a preventive and developmental lens, integrated into educational curricula rather than as a reactive service. While rooted in career psychology, we particularly welcome contributions that examine these interventions within formal and non-formal educational settings.
We seek to explore how educational and guidance practices support individuals not only in school-to-work transitions but also in adult development and the transition to retirement, viewing the latter as a significant phase of lifelong learning. By framing career development as a continuous learning process, we aim to collect research that examines how interventions in various academic and community-based settings (formal, non-formal and informal) foster adaptability and well-being from early years to post-professional life.
We invite researchers to submit original empirical studies, systematic reviews or meta-analyses that address career education interventions for diverse age groups, including children, adolescents, young adults, adults and older adults. A central theme of this collection is the psychological and practical management of major career transitions, such as
- Educational transitions: Navigating between different cycles of study and learning environments.
- School-to-work transition: Empowering young people through vocational learning for their initial entry into the labor market.
- Mid-career changes: Strategies for lifelong learning, upskilling and adaptation.
- Work-to-retirement transition: Preparing for a meaningful post-professional life through continued learning and social engagement.
The focus of this Special Issue is on interventions that promote self-knowledge, world-of-work literacy and the development of proactive career strategies that empower individuals to navigate the complexities of the 21st-century labor market. We particularly welcome papers that demonstrate the measurable impact of career programs and initiatives on individual well-being and life-design projects, aligned with contemporary theories of career development and social resonance.
Dr. Joana Carneiro Pinto
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- career psychology
- lifelong learning
- educational transitions
- career adaptability
- school-to-work transition
- work-to-retirement
- life-cycle interventions
- social justice in education
- inclusive career education
- technology-mediated career guidance
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