Career guidance at school is becoming crucial for preparing students to the complex and challengeable transition to a dynamic global labour market. The MYFUTURE project (Erasmus+) represents an international action research aimed at improving quality in career guidance at school. The international and local research teams have carried out focus groups and have led working groups in five countries to develop innovative models and tools (myfutureproject.eu/resources), starting from the shared framework of career management skills.
Among these tools (which included video tutorials, dynamic geo-mapping tools, career e-learning environments and e-portfolios), the Handbook, “Enhancing the quality of career guidance in secondary school” was created to support teachers and practitioners’ learning pathway. Thanks to the contribution of Professor Ronald Sultana, this tool presents a new quality framework for career guidance at school and the main steps to improve the quality standards in each school. The Handbook is organised to both enhance critical reflection and to provide resources to translate understanding into improved career education and guidance.
Part one carefully looks at what we mean by ‘quality’. ‘Quality’ is in fact a difficult and contested concept and the way we define it has profound implications for what we aim to achieve with students in schools. This part also describes how and when quality of career products and services in schools should be reviewed while guiding us through different models and options.
Part two describes six important features which are typically found in career guidance services in secondary schools. The proposal argues that quality of career guidance can be improved if the school pays attention to: the career learning programmes, the career information made available, the personalised support offered through career counselling, the provision of a well-organised and accessible career resource hub, the development of a partnership in career education and the formation of reflective practitioners.
