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Description
The pandemic of COVID-19 strongly impacted both Czech and Norwegian schools. Early dropout, as one of its effects, endangers more and more students as their motivation to study decreases. In this situation, career counsellors have become even more crucial than before. However, they need a new structured approach that addresses the current challenges. This applies especially in Czech secondary schools where career counselling has been neglected for a long time. As a result, it still offers limited guidance and its impact is relatively marginal.
Therefore, the project brings together experts from one Czech and two Norwegian VET schools and a representative of non-formal education. These will exchange their rich experience and create an easy-to-use roadmap for school career counsellors. It will help them to guide, support, develop, and monitor students'' career development. Thanks to the materials, the counsellors will learn how to motivate students, build their hard and soft skills and entrepreneurial competencies, and acknowledge the role of non-formal education, including that of volunteering.
As a result, the project will help students, especially the disadvantaged ones, to deal with success, adversity, and personal and professional challenges that might occur in their lifetime.
Summary of project results
Czech career counselling has long been neglected in Czech secondary schools, and the impact of career counselling services in the Czech Republic is limited and mainly focused on the transition from school to work. An integrated approach to career guidance encompassing strategies which would reach beyond the process of school-work transition, such as strategies on more effective studying, motivational tips, acknowledging the non-formal education paths, etc. was needed. On the contrary, in Norway, career counselling has undergone significant changes recently in terms of requirements career councillors must meet and the content of their work.
Czech and Norwegian career counsellors from three vocational schools and representatives of the non-profit sector dedicated to non-formal education met on this project to share their experiences, good practice and create Workshop Modules based on the four realms of career counselling to help career counsellors to provide them with an easy to use set of activities to work with students, especially disadvantaged ones, to succeed at their educational path, reduce the risk of dropout and achieve their career goals. The modules were created, tested, and modified during peer-learning activities, online meetings and in real school environment by working with a group or individually. Disadvantaged students were given special attention and individual support.
Increasing students'' potential gives them the opportunity to manage their own lives and increase their work-life satisfaction. Well-structured career counselling helps students manage success and failure, personal and professional challenges. Paying special attention to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing them with special support and helping to provide inclusive careers guidance will improve their school results and lead to better job offers and satisfaction decreasing the likelihood of being dependent on social support from the state in the future. Our intention was to enrich not also Czech career counselling but also the Norwegian one. Our Norwegian colleagues appreciated new impulses and ideas that arose during the project. All the activities in listed in the project modules should fit into both Norwegian and Czech contexts
Summary of bilateral results
Norway provides a dense support network for its pupils to help weaker and underperforming pupils achieve attainable goals. We learned how this supportive system is deeply embedded in the Scandinavian culture.