Parallel sessions 5
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Thursday 12 Sep 2019
Conference symposium 5 - Mobility Guidance
Transition counselling for university graduates with a migration background
Michael Scharpf & Eva Bruening & Bernd-Joachim ErteltPlenary room
In Germany, about 20% of all HEI graduates have a migration background. This target group faces particular challenges in integrating into the labour market. These mainly concern legal, linguistic and cultural aspects, prejudices on the part of employers as well as individual uncer-tainties regarding the further career. In a current empirical study, the previous counselling of-fers for the target group in their studies and in the transition were analysed. The following results seem particularly important:
• The transition counselling must already begin during the study programme.
• From the point of view of the universities, there are gaps in specific offers. It is also critically noted that the responsibility for counselling services within the university is not always clearly regulated.
• The existing offers are not always transparent for students with a migration background. The target group also shows passive behaviour when using these services.
• For this target group, professional counselling during the transition often does not take place, due to weak counselling competencies of staff members and not detailed knowledge related to the labour market conditions.
• Another striking feature is the frequently mentioned lack of networking between counsel-ling services, both inside and outside the university, e.g. with companies and public em-ployment services.
Oral session 5.1 - ICT
Career Choice – The new online career guidance system in Croatia
Toni Babarović & Iva Šverko & Mara ŠimunovićB1.06 Kysuce
The paper presents a new computer-assisted career guidance system developed in Croatia – Career Choice. The Career Choice is a free online system designed for career guidance and counselling of individuals preparing for educational transitions, rethinking their careers, or facing a career change. The system relies on the principle of person-environment fit, according to which the careers that are the most congruent to individual’s preferences are suggested as appropriate. The system takes into account a total of 31 job aspects by which any occupation can be described, such as communication, writing, caring for others, working conditions, independence, earnings. The client estimates his or her preference of each aspect in the desired career, and the subjective importance of each aspect in the process of career choice. The database consists of 230 occupations (job titles) evaluated by experts by all job aspects. The system selects the most appropriate occupations for a client respondent based on compensating algorithm rooted in expected utility model (EUM). The algorithm calculates the differences between client’s preference for each job aspect and real representation of the same aspect in different occupations, multiplies it with subjective importance of the aspect, and sums it over the 31 aspects for each occupation. The ten occupations with the minimal total sum are presented to the client as suitable career options. This computer counselling system has passed the first evaluation phase in which 229 high school students, 625 university students, and 130 employees used the system. Now it is in the second evaluation phase with a sample of approximately 400 high school students as clients. In this paper, the basic elements of the system’s validity are presented, as well as some of the elements of clients’ satisfaction.
Distance career counselling: new professional knowledge?
Michel Turcott & Liette GoyerB1.06 Kysuce
The general objective of this research is to analyze the phenomenon of transfer and production of professional knowledge from face-to-face career counselling practices towards a distant environment. As more and more people are using and integrating ICTs into their daily lives, there is ongoing pressure on the integration of ICTs into the provision of counselling services (Bimrose, Kettunen and Goddard, 2015; Kettunen, Vuorinen and Ruusuvirta, 2016). Our research aims to examine what is the professional knowledge transposed from the initial training in professional career counselling and integrated over the experience gained by the counsellor, and the production of new knowledge that emerge when applied to distant career counselling. The collection and analysis of the data is guided by the Enhanced critical incident technique suggested by Butterfield, Borgen, Maglio and Amundson (2009). Preliminary results show that counsellors are substantially using the same tools and intervention processes that they master in face-to-face mode. However, many realize that the way they conduct interviews has begun to change, especially on the matter of keeping the control of the interview process, especially when visual stimuli are absent. During the oral communication, we will present the main themes of the professional knowledge created when intervening at distance.
Vocational, College and Career Counseling in Switzerland – Blended Information and E-Counseling in a digitized world
Marc Schreiber & Daniel ReumillerB1.06 Kysuce
In the course of the 2030 agenda of vocational education and training (VET) in Switzerland, career development and career management skills in a digitized working world play an important role (SERI, 2017). Therefore the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) commissioned a scientific report on the future of career counseling in Switzerland (Hirschi, 2018) as part of the mission statement for vocational education and training in Switzerland. In this paper we will present two stand-alone initiatives directed at fostering vocational, college and career counseling in Switzerland by incorporating elements of automation and digitization.
First, a blended information concept for the media libraries of the public career guidance centres in the Canton of Berne / Switzerland and second an e-counseling concept for vocational, college and career counseling at the IAP Institute of Applied Psychology at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
Oral session 5.2 - Career guidance in secondary education
Personalized career and academic planning - a promising policy and practice
Angela Andrei & V. Scott SolbergB1.07 Liptov
This proposal explores the career development policy and practice strategies used in the United States of America (U.S.A.). It discusses what it means to implement and evaluate an Individual Learning Plan (ILP), named Academic and Career Planning (ACP) in middle and high school in the state of Wisconsin. The methodology comprises: a review of literature, analysis of reports, artifacts and documents related to the ACP and an interview with a decision-maker at district level. It discusses how ACP is integrated in the school curriculum, who is responsible for the activities, how staff is trained, what kind of professional resources are used, how schools cooperate with family, community and businesses. It also analyses how activities are evaluated, what benchmarks and indicators are used, how stakeholders and beneficiaries are involved in the process of evaluation, how the participation in ACP influences students. In addition, the strengths and challenges faced in the ACP process are discussed as well as the adjustments made.
Student Persistence in Secondary Education: Developing and supporting decision-making processes of young adults regarding dropout
Kristina Mariager-Anderson & Stine JacobsenB1.07 Liptov
In Denmark, 20% of each youth cohort has not completed an upper secondary or VET qualification seven years after completing lower secondary education (Ekspertgruppen, 2017). These young adults are often referred to as a vulnerable group of students. This group is central in an ongoing research project “Staying on track. New perspectives and sustainable solutions to dropout among young adults" focusing on dropout among Danish 18-25-year-old students in vocational education and training (VET) and general adult education. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of career guidance in relation to developing and supporting young adults’ decision-making competences in order to strengthen the students’ educational persistence as well as to prevent dropout. While the aim can be seen as grounded in a political and societal interest in making the individual an active citizen (CEC, 2000, p.7), it can also be seen as a significant measure to empower young adults. The project's theoretical framework combines existing knowledge about dropout and factors effecting dropout with decision-making theory and motivation theory (Hunt et al., 1989, Højdahl & Poulsen, 2009 & Mariager-Anderson et al. 2015). Data for this analysis consists of two rounds of data collection, surveys and interviews conducted with 60 students from 12 different colleges during the autumn of 2017 and the autumn of 2018. Based on a preliminary analysis of the data, we find that the students' thoughts and actions concern matters both inside and outside the school. Furthermore, seemingly trivial matters in the students' lives are shown to have a potentially decisive influence on the students' thoughts about staying in or dropping out of a programme. These findings confirm the importance of focusing on students' decision-making processes in research on dropout.
Suject teachers´ position as homegroup teacher in Finnish general upper secondary school; counselling competences and practical knowledge
Tiina RautalinB1.07 Liptov
Subject teachers in general upper secondary education are usually described as experts in pedagogy, which they are. Subject teachers have also some other duties at school among their teaching. They have responsibilities in guidance counselling as it is said in national core curriculum of Finnish general upper secondary education. Students are guided and supported by homegroup teachers during students´ three-year studies. It means that every group of students have their own homegroup teacher. The position of homegroup teacher is not an easygoing role for subject teachers and their might have some discordant thoughts about working as homegroup teacher. As a guidance counsellor I have been asked a question by teachers: “Why we must do guidance counselling even we are incompetent for that? We are teachers and we just want to teach”.
The aim of my study is to describe how subject teachers describe themselves as homegroup teachers and how they talk about guidance counselling issues. I´m curious to know what kind of counselling competences homegroup teachers have and why they describe themselves incompetent in guidance counselling. The second aim is to find out what homegroup teachers talk about their practical knowledge in guidance counselling and how they use their practical knowledge to manage in challenging counselling situations at work as homegroups teachers.
This study has narrative research approaches. Research data was collected in peer group mentoring meetings for subject teachers. Peer group mentoring is an effective and adequate method to talk about issues of guidance counselling and to share thoughts and experiences with other homegroup teachers.
Oral session 5.3 - Career as a lifelong journey
Effects of public career guidance on adults 40plus: What are the expectations of different stakeholders?
Anne Jansen & Michelle ZumstegB1.08 Orava
Due to digitisation, automation and demographic change employees are increasingly required to develop and maintain their employability throughout their working lives. Accordingly, public career counselling services are confronted with an increasing need for career counselling from all age groups. However, for the adults 40plus with professional education, little is known about what effects of career counselling are desired and achieved and which are relevant indicators that could be used to measure those. The study therefore aims to explore the effects of public career counselling for adults 40plus that are expected by different stakeholders namely individuals, organisations and society and propose relevant indicators to measure those effects. First, we conducted a literature research to gather described effects and impacts of career counselling. Then we conducted qualitative interviews with former clients 40plus, Human Resources managers and representatives of work integration offices representing the different groups of stakeholders (individual, organisation, society). Finally, we will propose indicators to measure those impacts and will validate these with vocational counsellors. So far, our results show that literature describes various effects of career counselling, but the needs and expectations of adults 40plus are not particularly specified. Our qualitative data will provide insights about what effects this target group strive towards and whether companies and work integration offices have specific requirements what career counselling should achieve for this group. Specifying the effects that different stakeholders expect from public career counselling services might provide useful evidence that can be used to design interventions for adults 40plus. In addition, the results might provide answers to questions about the extent to which public guidance services should cooperate with companies to provide guidance to older workers.
Fostering Executive skills and Future Orientation for inclusive future designing of individuals experiencing complex work-transitions
Teresa Maria Sgaramella & Lisa RiondatoB1.08 Orava
Individuals facing complex work transitions are systematically exposed to a double demanding task, that is dealing effectively with everyday activities and at the same time keeping their view open to future goals. They are then required effective executive skills and a future time perspective.
Main Executive Skills (ES), that is planning, monitoring and control processes, are in fact linked to important outcomes, including work inclusion (Meulenbroek, & Turkstra, 2016) and social participation (Douglas, et al. 2016). Future time perspective is associated with the ability to set career goals, to create conditions for success in personal and work life (Lang, 2000; Taber, 2015; Zacher & Frese, 2009). Relationships have been shown between executive skills and future orientation (Schacter, Addis, & Buckner, 2008; Sgaramella, et al., 2008).
The aim of the study was to analyse the effectiveness of a 5 sessions group program, fostering executive strategies and agency toward future, in developing positive future selves of individuals experiencing complex work transitions.
Sixteen Italian adults, male (12) and female (4) were involved (their age ranged from 25 to 47 years old). All experienced unemployment and sporadic work activities. A control group attended a short course on work search.
Baseline and effectiveness of the intervention measured: perceived executive skills (Carrieri, & Sgaramella, 2008); career adaptability, resilience and time perspective, hope and optimism (Santilli, et al. 2017; Ginevra, et al. 2017); occupational time perspective (Zacher, 2013). Qualitative interviews were used to analyse future goals (Sgaramella, 2018) and action plans (McMahon, et al., 2005).
After the intervention changes were observed in personal attitudes and strengths. Future action plans were by far more detailed and evidenced positive future selves.
The study underscores the potential contribution of the domains addressed in a career counseling and guidance aimed to empower individuals and preventing social marginalization and exclusion.
Oral session 5.4 - Transitions in the higher education context
Entry at university, what meaning for first-year students?
Lucie Bonnefoy & Olry-Louis IsabelleB1.09 Turiec
The transition from high school to university is a topical issue in France. This paper focuses on the meaning of entering university for freshmen students after high school in the French context. Our research is particularly centred on the representations that high school students have regarding the university. Furthermore, we studied how the representations changed during the first year. For this paper, we based our work on developmental approach and also on theories which come from the psychosocial field. We decided to emphasize our analysis on the experience lived by these teenagers/young adults. Based on our results, we identified an ambivalence in the meaning of higher education for students. An ambivalence is also sometimes found in counselling between research and practice. Thus, on this political, practical and theoretical subject, we wonder how to put the student at the centre for an effective career guidance.
How important is the professional identity of a student?
César Escobar EscobarB1.09 Turiec
This session shows the process of developing undergraduate students professional identity in the preparation for their intership. This process is part of a 10 year class evolution, complemented by a theorical basis, now part of a 4 year doctoral research. Work stability is broken, so is the opportunity to form a professional identity. The implications are seen in the decision-making aptitudes young adults have. At the end, we have an array of young adults jumping from one experience to another, with no real connection between them, a direct consecuence of a lack of professional identity. If a student has a defined professional identity, it can understand where he can create a value proposition through time. This person can understand the value of hard work, specialization and learning, generating a sense of mastery in the activities he does. This presentation will not only display our process, based in Self-knowledge, Self-efficacy and market exploration, it will show the importance of the professional identity in the students decision-making. At the end, this is a learning process. Our goal is not to help them “find their selves”. Is more to teach them a process where they can redefine their professional identity whenever life needs them to.
Innovative services for lifelong learning and guidance in life transitions: challenges for University
Proietti EmanuelaB1.09 Turiec
The paper aims at exploring the implications for university lifelong learning and guidance on transitions and the role of counselling in supporting and facilitating them. Interested targets are different. Transitions can refer to people entry or return to the workforce, change or progress in their careers, or leave work due to unemployment, retirement, or personal choice, but also to people who return to university as a free choice; in these situations, University involves adults in different opportunities. A significant need of guidance is emerging in people who are about to graduate and in neo-graduates, in canonical age. The School-Work Alternance new system is involving Universities and Schools in innovative partnerships, in order to facilitate the transition of young people from school to the world of work.
The first objective of the paper is to reflect on what services are working and for what kind of beneficiaries. The connection between person needs and university services can arise from an in-depth analysis with regard to person, but also, to labour market. This process requires time, competent human resources, appropriate spaces and financial investments. A problem of sustainability is present.
University should be able to tackle career changes and transitions, to take into account the life cycle of learning and skills and to develop a useful process to the professional who needs to build further projects for their future. These needs and changes require an institutional involvement of University, with particular reference to the Third Mission.
The paper presents results of some innovative Roma Tre University Projects for guidance and life transitions services, with particular reference to the work of the Research and Service Centre for Innovation, Education, Lifewide Learning for Persons and Organisations and Bilan de competénces, which is member of the European Federation of Centres of Career Guidance and Bilan de Compétences.
Oral session 5.5 - Innovative approaches
Facilitating client change in Career Construction Counseling
Paulo Cardoso & Inês Mendes & Miguel M. Gonçalves & Maria do Céu Taveira & Inês Sousa & Filipa SilvaB1.10 Záhorie
Background. The Innovative Moments Model offers conceptual and methodological tools to analyze clients’ change during career counseling. From this perspective clients’ change occurs by the emergence of new ways of thinking, feeling and/or acting outside a dominant and problematic self-narrative These moments of narrative novelty are called innovative moments (IMs). Reconceptualization is the most complex type of IMs once it implies that clients distance from self-experience to describe the changes achieved and the factors underpinning such changes. Despite theory and research in psychotherapy suggesting the importance of reconceptualization IMs for change, research in career counseling has not yet clarified the role of this type of narrative novelty for clients’ change, which justifies our study.
Aim. To analyze the role of reconceptualization IMs in facilitating and sustaining clients change in Career Construction Counseling
Method. Measures of vocational certainty, vocational identity, career indecision and psychological distress were applied to 42 participants, one week before CCC intervention. All participants received from three to five weekly 50 minutes sessions of CCC. Post-test was carried out after the last CCC session. After CCC intervention, 21 participants in experimental group benefited from 2 reconceptualization sessions and 21 participants benefited from neutral sessions (control group).
Results. Using hierarchical linear model to analyze data we obtained results showing that CCC increased significantly participants’ levels of vocational certainty, vocational identity and decrease significantly both vocational indecision and distress. However, after the intervention reconceptualization sessions increased significantly vocational identity and reduced significantly distress of experimental group participants over those of the control group. Implications for practice are discussed, namely, the importance of the identification and specification of clients change processes to enhance career counseling practice, in general, and with disadvantaged populations, in particular.
Oral session 5.6 - SK/CZ
Bilan de compétences (skills audit) - Innovative approach in counselling for unemployed clients (in Slovak)
Peter CsoriC1.06 Gömör
This session will present the realisation of the skills audit (bilan de compétences) in the practice of career counselling for unemployed in Slovakia. It is an innovative counseling and educational approach and also an active labour market measure that can help unemployed clients to be used on the labour market.
Career decision-making style and other characteristics of personality as predictors of career decision-making difficulties among adolescents (in Slovak)
Natália KöverováC1.06 Gömör
The aim of work was to verify the extent to which career decision-making styles and other characteristics of personality contribute to explaining career decision-making difficulties among adolescents. The results confirmed the significance of seven styles in career decision-making as predictors of career decision-making difficulties: procrastination and dependence on others were confirmed as significant positive predictors, speed of making the final decision, locus of control (internal) and aspiration for an ideal occupation as significant negative predictors and willingness to compromise and desire to please others as significant positive predictors. Three styles – information gathering, information processing and effort invested in the process – were not confirmed as significant. Also a significance of optimism and anxiousness was not confirmed.
The experiences with offering career counselling to victims of domestic violence (in Czech)
Martina JežkováC1.06 Gömör
As a part of its Intervention Centre service, Spondea, a public benefit organization, has always strived to provide a wide range of services improving the quality of life of its clients. We offer assistance in the struggle for a life without violence but also with extra services based on grant projects – legal assistance, long-term psychological care, and lately also career counselling. From our experience we know that one of the side effects of domestic violence is a limited ability to succeed in the job market. A victim’s resources is often exhausted due to the experienced violence and thus unable to enter the job market, change jobs or even perform adequately in their current job. Many clients are long-term unemployed a dependent on social benefits; many have been restrained by their violent partner in their efforts to keep a job, restrained in their social contacts. All of this limits their ability to succeed in the job market. Thanks to a grant project “The Path from Violence to Dignity and Self-Sufficiency” we could start providing systematic individual and group career counselling to domestic violence victims. The author’s long-term experience with both career counselling and domestic violence counselling was a key advantage in the beginning. As it shows, domestic violence victims have specific characteristics when it comes to career counselling and these need to be considered. Often, acute trauma is present, and it is necessary to decide the timing and sequence of psychological interventions and career counselling. Amotivation and passivity are frequently present bringing motivation and empowerment of our clients to the forefront of our career counselling.
Workshop 5.1
Workshop 5.2
Career counselling in groups
Karina Meinecke & Lotte Wegge AndersenC1.08 Šariš
Group counselling is a method used in Copenhagen Youth Center, as part of career counselling in public and private schools with pupils between the ages of 14 to 16. The counselling method has been used in different contexts, but the overall goal is to empower the pupils to develop and increase personal and social skills.
Career counselling in groups give the pupils an opportunity to get inspired by peers. Research shows that it creates a community where the pupils can share mutual reflections, and thus explore different ways of thinking and seeing the world. It provides space for reflection, and the group acts as a source of insight and support.
The issues covered by group counselling can vary, but in Copenhagen we have focused on motivation, the 24 VIA character strengths, how to cooperate, social and personal skills, respect and tolerance. These considerations are of key importance in the educational arena, and in the pupils' future working life as part of a democratic society.
The career counsellor's role is to facilitate the group and encourage reflection on the topic, but also ensure that the participants become aware of how to make the changes necessary to meet their goals. We see the career counsellors as change agents.
In this workshop we will demonstrate aspects of our own practice and give examples on how career counselling in groups can contribute to successful learning experiences and maximize the impact of learning. Participants of this workshop will be required to participate in different group activities.
Workshop 5.3
Interinstitutional cooperation and holistic approach to students’ study path in Finland
Helena Kasurinen & Päivi-Katriina Juutilainen & Mervi Lätti & Arto SalorantaC1.09 Zemplén
The Finnish education system is strongly based on the ideology of equality. Even after the completion of the compulsory education (comprehensive school), the strong societal aim in Finland is to guarantee second-level education for the whole age group. The second-level education in Finland is divided into two sectors: academically orientated upper secondary school and vocational education. Both routes give eligibility for further studies in higher education. The goal for lifelong learning in Finland is to grow the number of young adults with higher education degree up to at least 50 %.
In the workshop, we will introduce results of two projects. First, the project that dealt with holistic and partnership approaches, and inter-institutional cooperation. In this project vocational schools and universities of applied sciences made cooperation in order to find flexible routes for students to continue their studies. The project also included research, and the results of students’ experiences of career guidance during their study path will be presented in the workshop. Moreover, the practical models developed and national recommendations for future cooperation are introduced.
The second example is a research project in which a multidisciplinary approach was used when exploring students’ well-being and future beliefs at vocational schools and universities of applied sciences. The questionnaire dealt with resilience, agency, study skills, and career management and employment skills. In the workshop, we will describe the main results of the research project. Moreover, we will introduce the digital Service and Support Need Indicator developed in the project that started in 2018 following the earlier mentioned research project.