Effective career guidance: Evidence from a 5 year study

Dr Sally-Anne Barnes & Professor Jenny Bimrose IER, University of Warwick, UK

Vejledningsdiskurser: Eksistens, fællesskaber og

fastholdelse, VUE Denmark 25 November 2010

Structure of presentation

 Background to study  Overview of study and methodology  Key findings   Model of guidance in practice What is ‘useful’ guidance  Career decision making styles  Overall conclusions and implications for practice

• • • •

Increasing accountability:

Immediate outcomes Intermediate outcomes Longer-term outcomes for the individual Longer-term outcomes for the economy

Patchwork of training

• • •

support, need for:

Coherent training structure Progression paths Recurrent CPD training

Demanding policy

• • • •

context:

Resources Political priorities Delivery models Accountability

Changing concept of ‘career’

‘the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time.’ Ref: Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. & Lawrence, B.S. (1989) Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Overview of study Aim:

To use a longitudinal (5year), qualitative case study approach to investigate the nature of effective guidance.

The value of research: its potential

 Illuminate what is currently happening  Tackle emerging issues – new insights  Provide an evidence-base for practice  Highlight real stories of how people move through the labour market and make career decisions

Primacy of the

‘USER VOICE’

Primacy of the

‘USER VOICE’

together with the

Practitioner Perspective

Methodology

       Qualitative approach Use of grounded theory method All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed Informed consent pivotal to access NVivo to support qualitative data analysis Researchers trained interviewers For the follow-ups, 4 were practitioner researchers

First year of study (2003-2004) Focus on:

 Different perceptions of the career guidance interview  The process and outcome(s) of the interview  The clients’ current situation, their preferred future(s) and the action necessary to achieve the next stage  The professional contexts

First year of study (2003-2004) Four key questions:

 From whose point-of-view is ‘effective’ defined?

 Whose account counts?

 How is ‘effectiveness’ defined?

 How is ‘guidance’ defined?

Client Practitioner Guidance interview Expert witness

First year of study (2003-2004) Delivery contexts:

 Higher Education (18 years plus)  Further Education (16 years plus)  Adult guidance organisations  Voluntary, charity sector  Private sector

First year of study (2003-2004) Data sources (50 case studies):

 ‘Baseline data’ on delivery contexts, practitioners and clients  Organisational sources  Digital recordings of the career guidance interviews  Open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires

First year of study (2003-2004) Of the 50 clients:

 66% were female  66% defined themselves as ‘White’  58% were aged between 18-29 years  22% aged 30 -39 years  20% aged 40 years and over  14% described themselves as having a disability

First year of study (2003-2004) Headlines:

 49 of 50 clients found their interview ‘useful’  High levels of agreement found re: perceptions of useful guidance  Outcomes of guidance defined broadly, in terms of the process of the interview and access to expertise

Variations in delivery contexts

 Age and experience of practitioners  Qualification levels and training support  Pre-interview information about the client  Interview length (16 m – 1hr 42 m)  Interview stage: initial (36) or follow-up (14)

Model of guidance-in-action

 Building a working alliance  Exploration of potential  Identification of options and strategies  Ending and follow-through

Follow-up of clients (2004-2008) Objectives:

 Track career progress, transitions and decisions  Investigate views and reflections on career guidance interview  Examine what exactly was ‘useful’  Evaluate the extent to which action plans had been followed  Explore nature of further guidance  Discuss future plans

Follow-up methodology (2004-2008)

 Same research team used for follow-ups  Each client contacted by telephone and interviewed using interview guide  Interviews digitally recorded and transcribed  Low attrition attributed to client-interviewer relationship

Second year of study (2004-2005) Headlines:

 Low attrition rate: 45 clients  87% (n=39): career guidance still ‘useful’  11% (n=5): less sure of its value  One client: career guidance ‘no value’  78% (n=35) felt guidance had resulted in direct positive change

Second year of study (2004-2005) Clients engaged in:

 Enhancing occupational competence  Prolonged transitions  Coping with and managed barriers to career progression

Third year of study (2005-2006) Headlines:

 Low attrition rate continued: 36 clients  72% (n=26): career guidance still ‘useful’  14% (n=5): less sure of its value  including the ‘negative’ client who now recognised some aspects ‘useful’  14% (n=5): could no longer remember  Emergence of career decision making styles

Third year of study (2005-2006) Clients typified by:

 Career investors  Career changers  Career disengaged

Fourth year of study (2006-2007) Headlines:

 Low attrition rate continued: 30 clients  77% (n=23): career guidance still ‘useful’  7% (n=2): less sure of its value  17% (n=5): could no longer remember

Fourth year of study (2006-2007)

 Clients engaged in developing:  careers, skills and plans  confidence, skills and knowledge  Perceptions of ‘career’:  Evenly split between those who believed they had career and those who did not  Evidence of career resilience

Fifth year of study (2007-2008) Headlines:

 Low attrition rate continued: 29 clients  69% (n=20): career guidance still ‘useful’  21% (n=6): less sure of its value  10% (n=3): could no longer remember

Fifth year of study (2007-2008) Over the 5 years:

 Clients had attained higher level qualifications  The number of unemployed decreased  Clear decision making styles emerged  Reflected on what they might have done differently  Talked about ‘ideal job’

Barriers to progression: the career disengaged

 Health barriers  Local labour markets  Childcare responsibilities  Financial constraints

Frank’s story

Frank’s story…

In the your context, what do you think ‘useful’

you think ‘useful’ guidance means to your clients?

Please take 10 minutes to discuss.

Client voices…

‘…pointed me in the right direction. I didn’t know where to start. Now I have a plan!’ ‘Gave me direction and a stepping stone.’ ‘Came away feeling far more positive about my future than I had in years.’ ‘The thinking outside the box thing again…better perspective.’

Client voices…

‘I was unsure where to look for vacancies… helped in giving me a comprehensive listing of where night vacancies are advertised.’ ‘…being able to speak to someone who will listen. And will try to help…’ ‘Very much needed after being at home with children for 10 years…’

Key findings: ‘Useful’ guidance

 Provides access to specialist information  Insights, focus, confirmatory and confusion reduction  Motivates  Increases self-confidence  Structures opportunities for reflection

Key findings: Career decision making

 Evaluative  Strategic  Opportunistic  Evaluative

Key findings: Career decision-making styles

• • •

Evaluative

Involves self-appraisal and critical self reflection Emotional and practical considerations at forefront of decisions Identification and evaluation of their individual needs, values and abilities

Key findings: Career decision-making styles Strategic

 Rational appraisal of information  Assessment of options and formulation of plans  Steadfast focus on a career goal  Tendency to marginalise emotion  Well developed problem solving skills

Key findings: Career decision-making styles Aspirational

 Tendency to identify distant goals  Aspire to career goals that are often highly competitive and/or challenging  Embark on journey that involves material sacrifice  Heart typically ruling the head

Key findings: Career decision-making styles Opportunistic

 Ability to cope with high levels of uncertainty  Reluctance to close off options  Use of intuition, rather than rationality  A predisposition to take advantage of opportunities  Resistance (sometimes active) to planning  Flexibility of approach

Key findings: Career decision-making

 Complex  Multi-dimensional  Often implemented over an extended time frame  Not always ‘rational’

Implications for practice?

 Need to place less emphasis on planning  Demonstrate more tolerance of un-decidedness  Develop a more vivid sense of context  Are new approaches required?

Kate’s story

Kate’s story…

Key findings: Characteristics of guidance

 Little evidence of new approaches  Comprehensive range of standard techniques  Evidence of non-standard techniques  Regarded as on-going process

Implications for practice?

 Recognise that external factors place constraints on practice  Challenge the dominant, quantitative evaluation culture  Emphasise the need to develop measures of ‘distance travelled’

Conclusions

 Evidence that clients value career guidance and find it useful     Much good practice exists New thinking and approaches difficult to implement Career biographies of adults seldom linear Process of engagement with learning is complex  Wide ranging sources of guidance

Recommendations for practice

 Longer-term and more specialist interventions are required to make a difference for some clients  Need to facilitate career management competencies  Recognition that ‘useful’ guidance is not just about measureable outcomes  Need to rethink the role of action plans

What’s next for practice?

   Opportunities for review and reflection are essential Responsibility of all practitioners to engage in their own CPD Key challenge – can employers protect the time for employees to do this in practice?

For more information…

To download reports and related publications: www.warwick.ac.uk/ier Or email: [email protected]