Km Kariene Mittendorff

Differences and similarities in the use of the portfolio and personal development plan for career guidance in various vocational schools in The Netherlands

In The Netherlands, a growing number of vocational education and training institutes are implementing competence‐based approaches to learning, including new career guidance practices. These practices often involve instruments such as portfolios or personal development plans, and are aimed at supporting students in their search for a sense of direction, occupational choice and developing their identities. In this study perceptions of teachers, career counsellors and students on portfolios and personal development plans for career development were investigated at two vocational schools and one prevocational school. The results suggest that these instruments are perceived to be useful when used in a dialogical context. If used in a context without reflexive dialogues between teachers and students, students perceived the instruments as not useful and showed coping behaviour, such as not committing themselves to the actual goals or completing the instruments for external purposes/credits only.

Career conversations in vocational schools

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine career conversations between teachers and students in competence-based vocational education in the Netherlands. A total of 32 career conversations were observed and analysed with respect to four elements: content, teacher activities, student activities and relationship. Results showed that career conversations often focused on school issues (such as students progress and course curriculum) rather than career issues (such as future ambitions or characteristics of a profession). Furthermore, teachers hardly facilitated students in the development of self-directedness. Students asked few questions and teachers often dominated discussions. The findings revealed implications for the practice of career guidance in schools, for example for teachers to change their role from that of a traditional knowledge transmitter to facilitator, provide students with more opportunities for self-direction, and put career issues more centrally and elaborately on the agenda of discussions.

The influence of teachers' career guidance profiles on students' career competencies

In this article, we examine the relationship between different career guidance styles of vocational education teachers and vocational education students’ career competencies (i.e. career reflection, career exploration and networking). Questionnaires on students’ perceptions of the career guidance of their teachers during career conversations, and students’ career competencies were issued to 579 vocational education students. By using multilevel analyses, the relationship between different career guidance styles of vocational education teachers and students’ career competencies was investigated, while controlling for student variables such as locus of control and career decision-making self-efficacy. The results showed that very little variance could be explained at the teacher level. Most of the differences between students’ career competency levels were related to differences between the students. Still, two of the four existing teacher profiles were positively related to career reflection of students.