Training Evaluation in ICT Competencies for Career Guidance Counsellors: An Innovative Experience

Abstract

The initial and continuing training of guidance career counselors should be characterized by a permanent professional development in carrying out new roles and skills for continuous improvement and innovation of guidance action. The main stages in the continuous development of guidance professionals are the diagnostic evaluation of their training needs: (1) defining objectives and core and essential competences, especially in their professional practice; (2) design and implementation of an appropriate training plan; and (3) assessment of skills acquired based on criteria and indicators and use of tools and resources for the respective assessment. At present, the professional profile of the guidance career counselors requires new skills, especially in the field of ICT (information and communication technologies), which must be integrated with guidance skills, articulating them on a map of skills needed in the training curriculum of these counselors and in their subsequent professional action. As an example of innovative learning experience in this field, the authors present the design of a program concerned with the guidance career professionals' development with 100 hours of time, which contains the objectives, contents, training methodology, teaching resources, and especially, the assessment process of it. As assessment resources, a continuous estimate was used through personal and group tasks by the use of the e-mail and Website, specially. In addition, an assessment questionnaire for the quality of the program was applied following a series of variables such as: gender, age, profile and professional role, course organization, training methodology, users' satisfaction, etc.. The high average of 8.9 points out of 10 in terms of overall satisfaction of participants in the program is highlighted. The reliability obtained from the instrument applied by the Cronbach's model was 0.91, which shows a high internal consistency.