Widening Paradigm of Lifelong Guidance in the European Union Member States Raimo Vuorinen, ELGPN Co-ordinator University of Jyväskylä, Finland ”From the Good to the Best” Project meeting 13 April 2011, Kokkola, Finland

Themes for discussions Widening paradigm of Lifelong Guidance Lifelong guidance in key EU policies Actions taken in EU Member countries Questions for further consideration

Integrative role of Lifelong Guidance Guidance as Common good - Matching skills Supply vs. demand Emerging competence areas - Competetiveness Emphasised in Labor Market contexts Guidance as private good - Empowerment - Personal growth - Lifelong learning Emphasised in Educational contexts Integrative role of LLG - Welfare Inclusion Active citizenship Emphasised in Social policies

Definition of Lifelong Guidance? What? Activities: e.g.information giving, advice, counselling, assessment, teaching, advocacy For whom/With who? All citizens When? Any age and point in their lives Focus? Making meaningful life choices on learning and work. Empowerment to manage learning and career Career? Individual lifepaths in learning, work and in others settings in which these capcities and competences are learned and/or used Where? Education, training, employment, community, private EU Council of Ministries Resolution on lifelong guidance 2004 4

EU Council: Invitations to Member States 21.11.2008 Encourage the lifelong acquisition of career management skills; Facilitate access by all citizens to guidance services; Develop the quality assurance of guidance provision; Encourage coordination and cooperation among the various national, regional and local stakeholders. Use the opportunities provided under the Lifelong Learning Programme and the European Structural Funds, in accordance with Member States' priorities.

Member states should consider (2008) including teaching and learning activities which foster the development of career management skills in general, vocational and higher education programmes; preparing teachers and trainers to conduct such activities and support them in this task; encouraging parents to become involved in guidance issues; involving civil society organisations and the social partners more closely in this area;

Member states should consider (2008) facilitating access to information about training opportunities and their links to the professions, and about the skills needs anticipated in a given locality; developing career management skills in adult training programmes; making guidance one of the objectives of schools, VET providers and higher education establishments. Integration into working life and the operation of the local, national and European labour markets are aspects, in particular, that should be taken into account.

Lifelong Guidance and future EU Strategies Smart growth, Sustainable growth, Inclusive growth Lifelong Guidance contributions to the implementation of the strategy e.g: E&T 2020 Europe 2020 Integraged Guidelines Flagship initiatives

LLG & ET 2020 Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality Improving quality and efficiency of education and training Promotion of equity social cohesion and active citizenship Enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship at all levels of education and training

7 flagship initiatives targets Smart Growth Sustainable Growth Inclusive Growth Innovation « Innovation Union » Climate, energy and mobility « Resource efficient Europe » Employment and skills « Agenda for new skills and jobs” Education and employment « Youth on the move » Competitiveness « An industrial policy for the globalisation era » Fighting poverty « European platform against poverty » Digital society « A digital agenda for Europe »

LLG & Youth On the Move Promotion of CMS Promotion of mobility Recognition of non-formal and informal learning Promotion of entry to labour market

LLG & NSNJ Conditions for modernising labour market with a view of raising employment levels and ensuring sustainability of social models Empowering citizens through the acquisition of new skills (CMS) Implies wider access to range of guidance services and co-ordination of various services

LLG & Flexicurity Communication from the Commission 2007: Towards Common principles of Flexicurity: more and better jobs through flexibility and security More flexible and secure contractual arrangements Lifelong learning strategies to promote ”ongoing capacity to adapt and increase one’s employability” Facilitation of active transitions

European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network, ELGPN A member state driven network established 2007 29 members 2 observers A tool for European co-operation Enhancement of national solutions to meet national challenges. ELGPN is a conclusion to meet the challenges the policy makers meet in implementing the EU 2020 strategies and the tools supporting the strategy (e.g. EQF and ECVET)

Co-operation with other structures The Network and the national fora has been linked, through appropriate membership or co-operation arrangements, to other relevant networks and initiatives at European level. These include: The Euroguidance network. The Public Employment Services (PES) network. Professional networks, e.g. IAEVG, FEDORA, NCDA other international organisations, bodies (e.g. the OECD) Other relevant stakeholder networks (e.g. social partners, parents).

Thematic clusters 2011-2012 Widening access Promoting career management skills Co-operation and co-ordination mechanisms in guidance practice and policy development Quality assurance/Evidence-based practice and policy development Education & Training and Employment policy analysis from Lifelong Guidance perspective

ELGPN Outputs 2009-2010 Reflection notes from the thematic activities Policy briefings related to thematic activities Additional thematic briefings: e.g. Guidance during the economic crisis Activity report with examples of promising/good practises in lifelong guidance policy development Database of interesting/good policy initiatives http://elgpn.eu/elgpndb National and international events with ELGPN member contributions

Changing the paradigm of ”inclusion” Many of the moves to develop inclusion have resulted in measures and training that are specific rather than generic and, debatably, more focussed on what is ‘wrong’ with the groups to be included and how this may be 'remediated', rather than looking to systemic and holistic approaches such as anti-discrimination practices, increasing the flexibility of curricula at all levels, interactive and student-centred learning and peer support strategies. Changing the paradigm of inclusive education is identified as the greatest challenge and obstacle to be taken into account when designing future policies and practices. ETF 2010

Definition of CMS “Career management skills refer to a whole range of competences which provide structured ways for individuals and groups to gather, analyse, synthesise and organise self, educational and occupational information, as well as the skills to make and implement decisions and transitions.” ELGPN WP1 reflection note (Sultana 2009)  

CMS: Ways forward Many countries still need to develop a national CMS framework. Many also need to articulate a clear policy regarding the place of CMS in the curriculum. A clear training strategy is needed for those delivering CMS, as well as relevant support resources that can be used in a wide variety of contexts. CMS programme development needs to take into account the specific needs of at-risk target groups. Further work is needed to develop appropriate assessment strategies. Despite the constraints, the possibility of developing a European CMS framework should be pursued.

Exploring learning / work participate in LLL Filtered through: national cultures / structures national curricular traditions: - encyclopaedic tradition (content oriented) - Humboldt tradition (humanist, process oriented) - Anglo-saxon tradition (outcome oriented) These cultures determine: view of citizen role of the state style of learning / assessment pedagogic approach type of curriculum (de/centralised) view of learner (tabula rasa?) ‘BLUEPRINT’? Personal Management positive self-image interaction with others change and grow Exploring learning / work participate in LLL locate/use information understand work Life/work building secure, create, keep work make good decisions life – work balance understand life/work roles manage life/work building process (Sultana, R. 2009/ELGPN/WP1)

Clarity (and realism) about the value of Career Management Skills (Sultana, R. 2009/ELGPN/WP1) Enhancing ‘employability’: Understanding (broader and deeper than knowledge) Skills (or ‘skilful practices’, which includes deployment of skills) Efficacy beliefs (including students’ views of themselves and personal qualities) Metacognition (self-awareness regarding learning, and capacity to reflect on it). Taught (or caught?) in a myriad of ways [Gap: issue of transferability]

Best of both worlds? – ensures coverage – requires careful planning Policy options for education sector: Shared responsibility – overall coordination – curriculum mapping – joint curriculum development – captured by system logic Infusion model Separate subject Outside the curriculum Mixed model Responsibility delegated (no ownership) – often part of lifeskills (elbowed out) – generic or customised Band-aid approach – often too little, too late – targeted, rather than LL Best of both worlds? – ensures coverage – requires careful planning Curriculum development principles: e.g. Centralised decentralisation, school-led, partnership, holistic, integrated (vertical / horizontal), customised, progression, relevance, coherence, flexible, resourced... (Sultana, R. 2009/ELGPN/WP1)

APEL APEL is a process which enables people of all ages and backgrounds to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study and through work and other life experiences. The proactive approach of supporting citizens, especially those with low skills and no employment, in valuing their prior learning can be a beneficial means of widening access to guidance services and the marketing of these services. ELGPN WP2

APEL & Lifelong guidance Countries with a high degree of development have moved from the introduction of validation policies to the implementation of validation practices - schemes and methodologies are applied to most or all parts of the educational system ELGPN WP2: the proactive approach of supporting citizens, especially those with low skills and no employment, in valuing their prior learning can be a beneficial means of widening access to guidance services and the marketing of these services.

APEL in EU countries APEL is included in national lifelong learning strategies in many European countries: Within a legal framework The process is an integrated component of the existing formal education and training system and an accepted route to certification. A validation system which is parallel to formal qualification system and uses some of its infrastructure such as benchmarks and standards. The validation system may be an entirely separate system with no standards or certification links to formal system. (A summary report on Peer Learning Activity on Validation of non-formal and informal learning. Prague, 21-24 June 2009).

CMS CATALOGUE/INVENTORY e.g. Canadian Bluepring for Life/work design

WP2: Key challenges How to develop practitioners’ competences to use ICT tools. How to make effective use of the potential of web-based social media and mobile technologies. How to evaluate national service-delivery resources in relation to the new lifelong guidance paradigm. Ethical aspects. Evaluating the relative effectiveness for different groups of different service-delivery modes. How to allocate funding between different delivery channels in meeting the needs of different priority groups. How legislation can define citizen entitlements to guidance and service-delivery provision. How to better promote the availability of guidance services to citizens.

WP 3: Key challenges Key points Balance between top-down and bottom-up processes Importance of regional fora and mechanisms Communication, co-operation and co-ordination Explicit integrative role of ICT

WP4 Key points Summary of existing QA mechanisms in member countries Proposal for potential indicators

ELGPN strategic goal 2011-12 To deepen attention to the four themes within the 2008 Resolution; to link this LLG perspective more closely to sectoral policy development (in schools, VET, higher education, adult education, employment, and social inclusion) at both national and EU levels; and to produce concrete tools to support these processes.

Objectives 2011-12 To deepen the work on four priorities of the 2004 and 2008 Resolutions through additional peer learning, particularly with national and EU outcomes for each in mind. To strengthen the policy links/interface between the work of ELGPN and EU policy development for schools, VET, higher education, adult education, employment and social inclusion. To extend the dissemination of the ELGPN’s work with concrete supports to assist national policy-makers, developers and stakeholders in their national and EU policy development. To improve the internal efficiency of the work of ELGPN itself.

Conclusions Guidance and support services must be integral part of the VET policies with emphasis in the development of lifelong career management skills as one independent competence area. There is a need for structured continuing professional development for the recognition practitioners both in educational organisations and companies. These competence profiles and trainging processed should be developed jointly with key organisations involved in the process. There is a need to develop an ongoing, systematic monitoring and feedback mechanism of the recognition system including cost/benefit analysis already during the implementation process. Both quantitative and qualitative methods should be encouraged.

Conclusions (2) Lifelong guidance is a significant contributor to the development of human capital, as an important engine for economic growth and social cohesion In particular, lifelong guidance services can play an important role in helping governments to: improve labour supply; address skills shortages and emerging competence areas raise the level of human capital; improve the quality of human capital Well functioning guidance services can be described as an indicator of well functioning educational and labour market system.

Thank you! For further information, please contact: Raimo Vuorinen, Senior researcher, Ph.D. Co-ordinator of the ELGPN Finnish Institute for Educational Research P.O. Box 35 FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä tel. +358-14-2603271, Mobile +358-50-3611909 Fax +358-14-2603201 email: raimo.vuorinen@jyu.fi www: http://elgpn.eu/ Skype: vuorai