Despite the unstable nature of vocational interests below 17 years of age, at which point research suggests they begin to crystallise for many adolescents (Feldman, Reference Feldman2003; Tracey, Robbins, & Hofsess, Reference Tracey, Robbins and Hofsess2005), vocational interest inventories continue to be employed by many career guidance counsellors in schools to support students’ career decision process (Campagna & Curtis, Reference Campagna and Curtis2007). Isik (Reference Isık2014) emphasises that the use of interest inventories is considered to be ‘one of the most important and durable contributions to counselling psychology’ (p. 215). However, further understanding of the nature of interests holds the potential to provide much broader benefits for the area of guidance and counselling in schools. Christenson et al. (Reference Christenson, Reschly, Appleton, Berman, Spanjers, Varro, Thomas and Grimes2008) stress the importance of understanding students’ interest in order to successfully promote student engagement. Angus (Reference Angus2006) highlights the importance of student interests in promoting student participation in schools. De Jong and Griffiths (Reference de Jong and Griffiths2006) advocate for enhanced understanding of students’ personal interests in order to better meet the needs of adolescents with challenging behaviour in schools. Even with respect to supporting students’ career development, Isik (Reference Isık2014) argues that counsellors ‘need to move beyond mere assessment of interest’ and ‘help their clients identify interest areas’ (p. 222). The current dominant practice of employing vocational interest inventories to help predict occupational entry for students (Isık, Reference Isık2014) has created a scotoma that hides the wider potential benefits of an enriched understanding of students’ interests to support the broader educational and supportive roles of counsellors in schools (Crisp, Reference Crisp2010). This article aims to problematise the existing dominant focus on vocational interests and explore the broader potential of students’ interests to support the work of psychologists and counsellors in schools. In order to realise this aim, an examination of the nature of interests and their formation is first required.
Understanding Interests
As highlighted by the psychologist Lewis Terman in an introduction to Douglas Fryer's book The Measurement of Interests, ‘the world is as much a battle of wills as of intellects’ and ‘wills are moved to action by the dynamic power of interests’ (Fryer, Reference Fryer1931, p. xiii). Interests are a phenomenon that governs a substantial proportion of human endeavour, from how we spend our free time, the activities we engage in, the subjects we choose in school, the careers we pursue and even the friendships we develop. At a micro level, the influence interests have on our lives becomes even more apparent. From a very early stage, interests play an intrinsic role in children's development, in the sports they engage in, the books they read, the television programs they watch, and the toys and games they enjoy playing. It is clear that interests have a significant input in how and what children learn, and in the case of many subject areas, why they chose to study something in the first place.
An interest could justifiably be described as a strong regard or predisposition for a particular object or activity when an individual is afforded the freedom of choice. Therefore, if a child is free to choose between reading a book, watching television, listening to music, or playing soccer with his friends, and they opt to read a book, we would conclude that the child is interested in reading. And as long as the child finds reading an enjoyable activity, it will remain an interest. Otherwise, this interest may fade, to be superseded by some other activity. However, this is not to suggest that the child would no longer maintain any interest in reading; simply, that the new activity may provide greater satisfaction and enjoyment, and therefore demands greater interest. Similarly, just because the child chose reading over the alternative options originally proposed, it does not imply they hold no interest in music, for example, simply that they perhaps find reading more satisfying and thus more interesting.
This initial inauspicious example of the influence interests have on everyday choices and decisions serves to highlight two of the many complexities of individual interests, the first being that there are varying levels of interest, and the second is that there are different types of interests. It is perhaps important to highlight that many researchers advocate distinguishing between interest and interests. Silvia (Reference Silvia2001), for example, describes interest as a ‘basic emotion’ like fear or happiness, whereas interests are defined as ‘self-sustaining motives that lead people to engage with certain objects, activities, or ideas’ (p. 270). Silvia (Reference Silvia2001, p. 285) goes on to argue that the emotion of interest is a central requirement for the development of enduring interests. In order to explore interest development it is important to further define interest and how it is interpreted.
Defining Interest
Krapp, Hidi, and Renninger (Reference Krapp, Hidi and Renninger1992) suggests there are at least two different ways that one's interest can be interpreted: individual interest as disposition and individual interest as actualised state. Dispositional interest is seen as an enduring characteristic that continually influences one's decision-making process in favour of a particular outcome, whereas actualised interest can be said to present itself in the focused, prolonged, and seemingly effortless attention afforded by an individual to objects and activities they find interesting, and is often accompanied by feelings of pleasure, enjoyment, and concentration (Köller, Baumert, & Schnabel, Reference Köller, Baumert and Schnabel2001; Krapp, Reference Krapp1999). The state of actualised interest combines both individual and situational components (Athanasou, Reference Athanasou1998). Other definitions have focused on individual aspects of interest as actualised state such as curiosity, emotion, attitudes, values, and motivation — including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Schiefele, Reference Schiefele1991; Wigfield & Eccles, Reference Wigfield and Eccles2000). However, such definitions raise greater questions regarding whether these are inherent or consequential elements of interests. Is the child interested in reading because they enjoy it or does the child enjoy reading because they find it interesting?
A Non-Directional Relationship
It is perhaps easy to see how the development of interests could stem from the needs structure of children (Eccles, Reference Eccles, Ryan and Csikszentmihalyi1993). If, for example, a child presents a strong need for recognition and/or reward than they will direct their energies into activities in which they receive such accolade, be it in sport, academia or the arts (depending on the individual environment). The child will show interest in activities that bring them the recognition they desire and in which they believe their talents reside. Likewise, it is easy to see how the development of interests could be dependent upon the child's level of physical and cognitive development. The child's motor ability, for instance, will determine their ability to enjoy physical activities such as running, aerobics, and sports. Similarly, it should be difficult for a child to develop an interest in poetry if they have not developed the requisite lexicon, or an understanding of rhythm, structure, and sequence. These would appear to be essential preconditions for the development and endurance of the aforementioned interests. However, many have argued that interests are not merely a product of the needs, ability and experience of the child, but that interests are also one of the main driving factors in the formation of ability and consequently, experiences (Krapp, Reference Krapp2005; Lynch, Seery, & Gordon, Reference Lynch, Seery and Gordon2011; Tracey & Hopkins, Reference Tracey and Hopkins2001). It is doubtful that it is as sequential as first proposed, and in fact, a more symbiotic relationship between interests and ability is suggested by Krapp (Reference Krapp1999, Reference Krapp2000). This submission is predicated on the belief that while ability may momentarily impede interest, it often fails to deter it. In many cases, it is clear that individual interest in a topic, object, or activity transcends individual ability in that respective area (Betsworth & Fouad, Reference Betsworth and Fouad1997; Dimitriadis, Reference Dimitriadis2011).
The History of Research Into Interests: Developing Trends
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, research surrounding interests primarily centred on the development of a comprehensive understanding and description of interests:
The problem in hand is a description of the nature and inter-relation of emotion, desire and interest. When one begins to ask himself what concrete emotional experiences mean a difficulty at once arises. Are we dealing with emotion, desire, or with a fact of interest? (M'Lennan, Reference M'Lennan1895, p. 462)
At this time, scientific debate around interest centred on wider conceptions of personality development, where interest was often adopted to better describe the motivational components (Krapp, Reference Krapp2000; Schiefele, Reference Schiefele1991). However, the apparent abstract and complex nature of interests made empirical analysis at the time problematic:
What makes it [interest] useless, however, in many discussions, is the loose and varied manner in which the subject is treated. Whether the discussion is dealing with instincts, impulses, feelings, attention, will, the term interest seems broad enough to cover them all. (Arnold, Reference Arnold1906, p. 221)
Within educational psychology and counselling, the importance of interest started to gain attention. More and more research began looking at the impact of interest on student motivation and effort (De Garmo, Reference De Garmo1902; Hill, Reference Hill1926; McPartland & Braddock, Reference McPartland and Braddock1993). It was clear that if teachers were to gain a pupil's attention they must make things interesting for the student. However, in order to achieve this, one needed to be able to answer, what is interest? If pupils are attentive are they not interested? In which case, the discussion around gaining pupils’ attention by making things interesting merely resolves itself into an unworkable tautology. The work of the prominent educational psychologist John Dewey soon began to address the role of interest in teaching and learning, and in so doing helped provide focus. Dewey stressed the importance of the interaction between the person and their environment in the formation of ‘genuine interests’:
Genuine interest is the accompaniment of the identification, through action, of the self with some object or idea because of the necessity of that object or idea for the maintenance of a self-initiated activity. (Dewey, Reference Dewey1913, p. 14)
Dewey's work for the first time helped separate interest from other interrelated and often dependent cognitive and affective components. His work not only paved the way, but also advocated for further research into the area of interest and its role in teaching and learning. However, shortly after the publication of Dewey's seminal work (Dewey, Reference Dewey1913), research in the area of interest development shifted focus to vocational guidance at the expense of the wider pedagogical and psychological benefits for students’ development and engagement. This shift in focus was primarily due to the impact of the World War I, which, once ended, saw many surviving personnel return home having only ever worked in the military (Robbins, Reference Robbins2002). The ensuing necessity for vocational guidance highlighted a dearth in the research that studies on interest development began to fill.
Vocational Guidance and Interests
In 1917, a former professor of psychology at George Peabody College for Teachers, Dr Edward Strong, Jr. was called to the general staff of the army where he served as Lieutenant-Colonel and member of the Committee on Classification of Personnel until the end of the war (Darley, Reference Darley1964). As a military psychologist, Strong was engaged in the assessment of recruits’ suitability for different roles in the army. In 1919, he joined the faculty of Carnegie Institute of Technology as head of the Department of Vocational Education and director of the Bureau of Educational Research (Hansen, Reference Hansen1987). In 1923, Strong was recruited by Dr Lewis M. Terman into the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. Soon after joining the Psychology Department at Stanford, Strong began work on the search for a measure of interests that would support future approaches to vocational guidance. His work led to the development of the eminent Strong Vocational Interest Blank published in 1927, which was later succeeded by the Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Goldstein & Hersen, Reference Goldstein and Hersen2000). Strong's work and the development of a psychological test for the measurement of interest had a significant impact on the course of meaningful research in the area of interests. Ensuing research in this area primarily focused on empirical analysis of the relative importance of interests in (inter alia) the explanation and prediction of career choice, as well as their impact on academic achievement, task valence, and vocational success. This emerging focus on empirical studies is clearly highlighted by Krapp (Reference Krapp2000):
Instead of the empirically less easily accessible question of how the ‘self’ emerges as a central structure of personality, modern educational-psychological research has preferred to analyze seemingly more immediate problems which are also more easily studied on an empirical basis, for example, the relative importance of motivational factors for the explanation and prediction of academic achievement. (p. 109)
This focus on empirical studies that examine the use of interest inventories for supporting vocational guidance has had an enduring impact on the work of guidance counsellors in schools (Savickas, Reference Savickas2001). The current prominence of using interest inventories to help predict occupational entry reflects an ‘overemphasis on assessment’, which contrasts with school psychologists’ and counsellors’ ‘desire for a broader role’ (Thielking & Jimerson, Reference Thielking and Jimerson2006, p. 215). A broader understanding of the impact of interests on students’ holistic development holds the potential to significantly contribute to the numerous and diverse roles and responsibilities that school psychologists and counsellors are engaged in on a daily basis. For this potential to be realised, it requires a recognition of wider research into the development and efficacy of interests. A broadening of the research agenda regarding interest development has begun to emerge from more contemporary psychological research studies.
Shift in the Focus of Interest Research
In recent years there has been a noticeable reversal in research trends around the area of interests, with more researchers once again focusing on their relationship with motivation, self-efficacy, and personal goals within broader theories of personality (Krapp, Reference Krapp2000, Reference Krapp2002; Silvia, Reference Silvia2001). This shift back towards more phenomenological research approaches has resulted in a restored prominence of inquiry into influential variables on the formation and development of interests. The resulting research has adopted two distinct but complementary approaches in the search for the source of personal interests. Many researchers, following on from the work of Strong and his contemporaries such as Dr John Holland, adopted a purely empirical approach where a hypothesis was formed and was subjected to direct experiment and observation, resulting in data that would either support or reject their predictions (Gottfredson & Holland, Reference Gottfredson and Holland1975; Holland, Reference Holland, Savickas and Spokane1999; Holland, Johnston, & Asama, Reference Holland, Johnston and Asama1994). Others adopted a more theoretical approach, assessing the fit of hypothetical developmental models that could best describe the occurrence and growth of individual interests (Hidi & Renninger, Reference Hidi and Renninger2006; Krapp, Reference Krapp2000).
Empirical Studies
Prompted by the emerging work of Strong and Holland, and armed with a quantitative tool for the measurement of interests, initial empirical studies predominantly employed a correlational approach where dependent variables such as grades or test scores were compared to interest levels (Harackiewicz, Barron, Tauer, & Elliot, Reference Harackiewicz, Barron, Tauer and Elliot2002; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, Reference Schiefele, Krapp, Winteler, Renninger, Hidi and Krapp1992). However, more recent studies have begun to apply a similar approach to research into the development of interests where the dominant variable, this time interests, is compared to perceived influential variables. The principle independent variables in such studies have been beliefs of competence and self-efficacy. The focus on self-efficacy and its relationship with interests is largely the product of the work of Albert Bandura and the development of ‘social cognitive theory’ (Bandura, Reference Bandura1989), which was later extrapolated into the social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & George, Reference Lent, Brown and George1994). The SCCT (a development of Bandura's work) proposes that interests develop as a function of self-efficacy, where beliefs of competence are seen to either promote or inhibit the development of interest (Lent et al., Reference Lent, Brown and George1994; Lent & Hackett, Reference Lent and Hackett1987). Indeed, many studies have demonstrated significant correlation between these two variables, with increased levels of self-efficacy associated with increased interest (Bandura & Schunk, Reference Bandura and Schunk1981; Lent, Brown, & Larkin, Reference Lent, Brown and Larkin1986; Rottinghaus, Larson, & Borgen, Reference Rottinghaus, Larson and Borgen2003). However, most studies applying this analysis employed sample cohorts of high school students or older college students. This is due to findings that interests stabilise over time, and that most interests have begun to crystallise by late adolescence (earlier for girls than for boys; Gati, Reference Gati1985; Hoeglund & Hansen, Reference Hoeglund and Hansen1999; Holland, Reference Holland1973; Tracey et al., Reference Tracey, Robbins and Hofsess2005). Consequently, the generalisation of these findings for younger groups is questionable, and in 2002, Terence Tracey, a professor of counselling and counselling psychology at Arizona State University, published the results of a one-year longitudinal study of 5th- to 8th-grade students (age 10 to 14 years) that served to challenge this apparent ubiquitous oversimplification within prior research studies (Tracey, Reference Tracey2002). While the SCCT presented by Lent et al. (Reference Lent, Brown and George1994) implied some reciprocal effects in interest development, the majority of the research and resulting findings emphasised self-efficacy leading to the development of interests. However, in his paper, Tracey (Reference Tracey2002) revealed evidence of reciprocal causation in interest development, concluding that:
It may be prudent to rethink the unidirectional nature of the field's predominant model of interest development, that is, that of the competence effect hypothesis wherein changes in competence beliefs lead to changes in interest. (p. 160)
It seems logical to accept that a reciprocal relationship such as that highlighted by Tracey (Reference Tracey2002) exists between competence belief and interest, where a belief of competence can result in interest, which in turn promotes competence. However, these findings on their own do not fully encapsulate the process of interest development, with many of the prior larger studies reporting correlation values that rarely exceed 0.53 (Rottinghaus et al., Reference Rottinghaus, Larson and Borgen2003). While the findings of Tracey's study provides ‘some initial insights into the underlying processes involved’ (Tracey, Reference Tracey2002, p. 161) in interest development, it falls short of explaining the derivation of interests. In an attempt to address these shortfalls, others have applied theoretical frameworks, assessing their level of fit as well as the juxtaposition of alternative developmental models.
Theoretical Approaches
Of the alternative proposed theoretical positions surrounding interest development, one of the most comprehensive is the person-object theory of interest (POI; Krapp, Reference Krapp1993). This position views interest as a specific person-object relationship and holds that the development of interests depends on the ongoing interactions between the environment (object) and the person. As with many other theoretical concepts such as Piaget's developmental theory and the behaviourist theory of Skinner, it is viewed that human activity and development can only be explored and understood through the interaction and engagement of the person and the environment. In the case of POI, these interactions may first result in a long-lasting, domain-specific situational interest that could later develop into a relatively stable individual interest (Krapp, Reference Krapp2000, Reference Krapp2005). These two different conceptions of interest — situational and individual interest — have been the primary focus of educational research to date. Situational interest (which precedes the development of individual interest) is conceived as an emotional state or affective reaction that is brought about by environmental stimuli and may or may not last over time (Schraw & Lehman, Reference Schraw and Lehman2001). Individual interest, on the other hand, refers to a predisposition to re-engage certain content over time, with a relatively enduring preference for certain objects, activities, or areas of knowledge (Renninger, Reference Renninger, Sansone and Harackiewicz2000). Both conceptions are seen to include specific cognitive and affective factors that influence interest development. As highlighted by the work of Krapp (Reference Krapp2000, Reference Krapp2002), a central aspect of the POI is that interest is composed of feeling-related and value-related valences, as well as the quality of interest-related knowledge structures. Consequently, recent POI developments suggest a dual, cognitive-emotional regulation system that is responsible for the formation of ‘interest-related intentions or goals’ and ‘evaluative feedback’ on the person-object interaction. This proposes that interest is principally the result of a strong emotional response that provides immediate feedback on a specific person-object interaction, combined with a further conscious-cognitive analysis of the interaction. Accordingly, interest only develops if both forms of feedback are experienced in a positive manner (Krapp, Reference Krapp1999). Put simply, it is only if the individual views their engagement with an object or activity as meaningful or important after cognitive appraisal, and if they receive positive emotional feedback from this engagement, that interest will develop. The inclusion of both affective and cognitive component in theories of interest development is supported by neuroscientific research (Hidi, Reference Hidi2006; LeDoux, Reference LeDoux2000; Panksepp, Reference Panksepp2003). Hidi (Reference Hidi2006) stresses the importance of neuroscience in helping to explain the development of interest. Hidi (Reference Hidi2006) presents interest as a motivational variable and therefore suggests that neuroscientific research can predict how the brain will react when introduced to interesting objects or material:
Accepting the existing neuroscientific evidence that we are ‘prewired’, so to speak, to experience interest as an emotion and the feelings of interest as a motivator of our behaviours, suggests that our brain reacts specifically when it encounters interesting content (p. 77).
This position is also supported by Silvia's (2001) conceptualisation of interest, which defines interest as a ‘basic emotion with motivational properties’ (p. 286). However, in contrast to the POI, Silvia's general exposition of interest and interests suggests that they reside in the individual rather than in the interaction between an individual and their environment. This is a position that others such as Hidi and Renninger (Reference Hidi and Renninger2006) would go on to contend, arguing in support of the influence of environmental interactions.
A Four-Phase Model of Interest Development
Building on the aforementioned work of Krapp (Reference Krapp2000, Reference Krapp2002, Reference Krapp2005), prior collaborations (Krapp et al., Reference Krapp, Hidi and Renninger1992), and emerging theories on the development of interest, Hidi and Renninger (Reference Hidi and Renninger2006) propose a four-phase model of interest development that suggests that both situational interest and individual interest can each be subdivided into two phases. This model acknowledges the affective and cognitive processes involved in interest development, as well as suggesting that situational interest supports and provides a basis for the development of individual interest (Hidi & Renninger, Reference Hidi and Renninger2006, p.113). According to Hidi and Renninger's (Reference Hidi and Renninger2006) four-phase model, the first phase of interest development is a triggered situational interest. If sustained, this can evolve into the second phase, a maintained situational interest. In the third phase, through continued engagement and a valuing of the content, an emerging (or less well-developed) individual interest may develop. Finally, over time, with increased knowledge and stored value of the content, it can lead to the fourth phase, a well-developed individual interest. For psychologists and counsellors in schools, it is important to note that under this model, for students’ interest to continue to develop, ‘an emerging individual interest requires some external support’, with learners often requiring ‘encouragement from others to persevere when confronted with difficulty’ (Hidi & Renninger, Reference Hidi and Renninger2006, p.115).
According to this model, the first phase of situational interest is characterised by the triggering of an interest and the second phase is where an interest is maintained. Here, situational factors such as teaching styles can first trigger or ‘catch interest through attentional and affective processes’ (Harackiewicz, Durik, Barron, Linnenbrink-Garcia, & Tauer, Reference Harackiewicz, Durik, Barron, Linnenbrink-Garcia and Tauer2008, p. 108). However, once aroused, this interest may not last unless external situational supports are provided (Ainley & Ainley, Reference Ainley and Ainley2011). In a school context, for example, an engaging teacher may trigger a student's interest in a topic, but difficulties engaging collaboratively with associated group work may result in this interest not being maintained (Harackiewicz et al., Reference Harackiewicz, Durik, Barron, Linnenbrink-Garcia and Tauer2008; Renninger, Reference Renninger2009; Rotgans & Schmidt, Reference Rotgans and Schmidt2011). Both teachers (Farrell, Jimerson, Kalambouka, & Benoit, Reference Farrell, Jimerson, Kalambouka and Benoit2005) and school psychologists (Watkins, Crosby, & Pearson, Reference Watkins, Crosby and Pearson2001) have called for a broader interpretation of the role of school psychologists and counsellors beyond the current dominant focus on assessment services. As part of a broader understanding of the role of psychologists and counsellors in schools there exists significant potential for the provision of external support to help maintain students’ interest through, inter alia, consultation, counselling and staff-development services (Watkins et al., Reference Watkins, Crosby and Pearson2001).
The two phases of individual interest include an emerging individual interest and a well-developed individual interest. While the earlier situational interest phases are more dependent on external environments and people, the latter individual interest phases are predominantly internally driven (Barron, Reference Barron2006). Acknowledging the dominant internal focus of individual interest development, external supports are still required at times of student difficulty to help transcend impediments and establish well-developed individual interest (Hidi & Renninger, Reference Hidi and Renninger2006). This is important for teachers, psychologists, and counsellors in schools to note, given the well-established link between well-developed individual interest, student motivation and engagement (Hidi, Reference Hidi, Sansone and Harackiewicz2000, Reference Hidi2006; Rotgans & Schmidt, Reference Rotgans and Schmidt2011; Schiefele, Reference Schiefele, Wentzel and Wigfield2009). Psychologists and counsellors in schools are well placed to help students, directly and through staff-development services, to acquire the requisite skills to persevere at times of difficulty so that well-developed individual interest can be established. However, this requires a shift in focus from the current dominance of a technicist view of the role of school psychologists and counsellors, with an emphasis on assessment services (Watkins et al., Reference Watkins, Crosby and Pearson2001), towards a broader vision for these roles that is person-centred (Crisp, Reference Crisp2010). Although many aspects of the POI are central to the proposed four-phase model of interest development, Hidi and Renninger (Reference Hidi and Renninger2006) contest that both affect and cognition are an integral part of interest engagement, which in turn inform valuing. This four-phase model also supports a reciprocal relationship with the three basic psychological needs identified by Deci and Ryan (Reference Deci and Ryan1985, Reference Deci and Ryan2000) of competence, autonomy, and social-relatedness, which have been associated with the conceptualisation of interest development (Krapp, Reference Krapp2002, Reference Krapp2005). This reciprocal relationship is significant, as research has demonstrated that teachers, with the support of school psychologists and counsellors, can promote student interest, engagement, and learning through the implementation of interventions designed to better meet students’ needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Akioka & Gilmore, Reference Akioka and Gilmore2013; Carroll, Ashman, Bower, & Hemingway, Reference Carroll, Ashman, Bower and Hemingway2013). Therefore, a comprehensive examination of the potential role of school psychologists and counsellors in supporting the development and maintenance of student interest is required. The current dominance of assessment services and the use of interest inventories is potentially obscuring the expansive opportunities for promoting student engagement and possibilities for supporting achievement.
Conclusion
The historical evolution of research in the area of interest development is intrinsically linked with the changing role of psychologists and counsellors in schools. A growing focus on research regarding the use of interest inventories as a predictive tool for future vocational success, as well as exploring the relationship between interests and other variables, has contributed to the dominance of assessment services provided by psychologists and counsellors in schools (Watkins et al., Reference Watkins, Crosby and Pearson2001) at the expense of a broader conception of their role.
Further examination of the nature and formation of interests is required, given the established role of interests in sustaining student engagement and participation in school life and the learning process (Christenson et al., Reference Christenson, Reschly, Appleton, Berman, Spanjers, Varro, Thomas and Grimes2008). Nevertheless, existing theoretical understandings of the nature of interest development holds the potential to significantly support the work of psychologists and counsellors in schools beyond a career decision-making focus. Current theoretical frameworks stress the importance of environmental interactions in supporting and maintaining student interest. Therefore, psychologists, counsellors and teachers, through their interactions with students, can help identify and preserve interest areas, and in so doing promote engagement and participation in school life.
