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Diverse histories, common ground and a shared future: the education of career guidance and counselling professionals in the Nordic countries

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Abstract

The development of education programmes in career guidance and counseling (CGC) has followed different paths among the various Nordic countries. Ten CGC programmes in Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden were evaluated against the NICE curricular model. The results show that all NICE core competences are represented in the curricula. However, there is greater focus in some programmes on developing competences for individual career guidance, than on developing competences for working at organisational and societal levels. Implications for the cooperation and professionalisation of CGC within the Nordic countries are discussed as well as limitations of the NICE model.

Résumé

De diverses histoires, un terrain commun et un avenir partagé: la formation des professionnels du conseil et de l’orientation scolaire et professionnelle dans les pays nordiques L’élaboration des programmes de formation dans le domaine du conseil et de l’orientation scolaire et professionnelle (CGC) a suivi des trajectoires différentes selon les pays nordiques. Dix programmes de la CCG au Danemark, en Finlande, au Groenland, en Islande, en Norvège et en Suède ont été évalués par rapport au plan de formation élaboré par NICE. Les résultats montrent que toutes les compétences de base élaborées par NICE sont représentées dans les programmes. Cependant, dans certains programmes, l’accent est davantage mis sur le développement de compétences dans la prise en charge individuelle que sur le développement de compétences permettant de travailler au niveau organisationnel et sociétal. Les implications pour la coopération et la professionnalisation de la CCG dans les pays nordiques ainsi que les limites du modèle élaboré par NICE sont discutées.

Zusammenfassung

Unterschiedliche Geschichte, Gemeinsamkeiten und eine gemeinsame Zukunft: Ausbildung von Berufsberatungs- und Beratungsfachleuten in den nordischen Ländern Die Entwicklung von Studienprogrammen in der Bildungs- und Berufsberatung (BBB) hat in den verschiedenen nordischen Ländern unterschiedliche Wege verfolgt. Zehn BBB-Programme in Dänemark, Finnland, Grönland, Island, Norwegen und Schweden wurden anhand des NICE-Curriculums bewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass alle NICE-Kernkompetenzen in den Lehrplänen vertreten sind. In einigen Programmen wird jedoch mehr Wert auf die Entwicklung von Kompetenzen für die individuelle Laufbahnberatung gelegt als auf die Entwicklung von Kompetenzen für die Arbeit auf organisatorischer und gesellschaftlicher Ebene. Die Implikationen für die Zusammenarbeit und Professionalisierung von BBB in den nordischen Ländern werden ebenso diskutiert wie die Begrenzungen des NICE-Modells.

Resumen

Historias diversas, puntos en común y un futuro compartido: la educación de los profesionales de la orientación profesional en los países nórdicos El desarrollo de los programas de educación en orientación y asesoramiento profesional (CGC) ha seguido diferentes caminos en los distintos países nórdicos. Se evaluaron diez programas de CGC en Dinamarca, Finlandia, Groenlandia, Islandia, Noruega y Suecia con respecto al modelo curricular NICE. Los resultados muestran que todas las competencias básicas de NICE están representadas en los planes de estudio. Sin embargo, algunos programas se centran más en el desarrollo de competencias para la orientación profesional individual que en el desarrollo de competencias para trabajar a nivel organizativo y social. Se discuten las implicaciones para la cooperación y profesionalización de CGC en los países nórdicos, así como las limitaciones del modelo NICE.

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Notes

  1. VALA is a network of Career counselling and guidance programmes at higher education institutions in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Eighteen partner institutions have joined hands and established a network to be able to better prepare career counsellors and guidance workers for the diverse clients they work with. See http://www.peda.net/en/portal/vala.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the VALA partners who participated in this study and commented on earlier drafts of the manuscript. This study would not have been possible without the financial support from Nordplus for networking and cooperation. We are grateful to Guðrún Birna Kjartansdóttir for her management of the data collection process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063, Bergen, Norway

    Inga H. Andreassen

  2. University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Sif Einarsdóttir

  3. University of Jyväskylä, Open University, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Jukka Lerkkanen

  4. Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Rie Thomsen

  5. Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Frida Wikstrand

Authors
  1. Inga H. Andreassen
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  2. Sif Einarsdóttir
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  3. Jukka Lerkkanen
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  4. Rie Thomsen
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  5. Frida Wikstrand
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Correspondence to Inga H. Andreassen.

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Andreassen, I.H., Einarsdóttir, S., Lerkkanen, J. et al. Diverse histories, common ground and a shared future: the education of career guidance and counselling professionals in the Nordic countries. Int J Educ Vocat Guidance 19, 411–436 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-018-09386-9

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