Different Counselors, Many Options: Career Guidance and Career Plans in Secondary Schools

Abstract

Career guidance assists students with the school-to-work transition. Based on a survey in secondary schools in Germany, we analyze career guidance activities and how these affect career plans. The take-up of career guidance depends upon the school track attended and upon the school and class room context, while personal characteristics are hardly relevant. The effects of counseling depend upon the counselor. Counseling by the employment agency reduces plans for educational upgrading and increases the probability of applying for an apprenticeship, while the effects of school counselors work in the opposite direction for lower track students.

Transitions from Lower Track Secondary Schools into Vocational Training: Does a Detour Pay Off?

“…Level of life satisfaction in grade 9 is only included in the model for level of satisfaction with the vocational training. Career guidance activities affects transition choice and might as well affect the type of vocational training, assuming that they influence the decision quality (Fitzenberger, Hillerich-Sigg, et al, 2020;Fitzenberger and Licklederer, 2017;Solga and Kohlrausch, 2013). Application behavior is included as well, the only control variable that is measured both during and after grade 9, because those already planning to postpone the vocational training start applying later.…”

“…Application behavior is included as well, the only control variable that is measured both during and after grade 9, because those already planning to postpone the vocational training start applying later. School and class characteristics are included as well, as there are considerable differences on these levels in terms of additional career guidance, institutions, and class composition that might be relevant for the school-to-work transition (Fitzenberger, Hillerich-Sigg, et al, 2020). The share of students with a particular transition path is highly correlated with the state as the state's education policy determines, for example, the availability of programs at vocational schools or grade 10 at lower track secondary schools.…”

Dutch secondary school counselors’ and tutors’ views on how students should make study profile choices

“…Examining the different views of counselors and tutors across and within schools is needed to further our understanding of career guidance processes, particularly because several studies have revealed that the effects of career counseling depend upon the counselor (e.g. Fitzenberger et al, 2019). In that study, conducted in German secondary schools, career decisions of students were found dependent on the type of career guidance they had received, which (also) appeared to differ between students in lower versus higher educational tracks.…”