Lifelong Learn. 2016, 6, 23-54
Career Counselling at Primary Schools: Survey Research among Career Counsellors
Aim of this empirical study was to obtain a profile of professionals providing career counselling at primary schools in Zlín District (called career counsellors), map the material conditions, propagation and availability of career counselling at schools, including office hours of career counsellors, identification of information sources career counsellors use, ways of their cooperation with pupils’ parents in deciding about further education, what are the other subjects career counsellors cooperate with, discovering problems connected to career counselling at primary schools, comparison of the level of accordance of our results with the results of researches in the field of career counselling realized at the schools in previous years and creating a vision of primary school career counselling. Empirical data collection was carried out in the school year 2013/2014 through electronic questionnaires and content analysis. Quantitative analysis of the questionnaire data confirmed findings of previous researches, that career counsellors are usually teachers with long practice and experience, who perform the function of education counsellor. Improvement appeared both in the field of professional training and in material support and working environment of career counsellors. Analysis further showed that career counsellors belong amongst important factors providing pupils with information concerning the options of further education and through the part they take in the teaching of the educational area Man and the World of Work they help pupils to create a realistic professional goal and provide them with necessary competences. Apart from the positives the analysis discovered also some insufficiencies—in cooperation both with parents and regional companies—potential future employers of pupils finishing the school. Qualitative content analysis enabled to identify problems in career counselling and visions of career counsellors about how should the career counselling and primary schools should look like.
