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          The Irish European Schools Guidance Service - Moving with                                                                 German National Survey about the impact of Covid-19 on

          the times                                                                                                                 guidance in education, career and employment



          The European Schools and the Accredited European Schools are educational institutions set up in the                       The National Forum Guidance in Education, Career and Employment in Germany conducted a survey
          European Union’s Member States. They provide children with a multilingual and multicultural education at                  among its members to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on guidance practices. Of the
          nursery, primary and secondary levels. The Schools follow a specific curriculum and offer the European                    47 members, 22 completed the questionnaire with eight closed questions and one open question.
          Baccalaureate diploma. The Irish Department of Education provides funding for access to appropriate                       Among the 22 members were nine guidance institutes/practitioners, five professional associations,
          guidance for the children of Irish parents who are enrolled in the 13 European Schools. This service is geared            four other organisations (e.g. educational providers, trade union) and four replies from science/
          specifically to the needs of Irish students who may be considering applying to Irish third-level institutions and         research university.
          who have questions regarding general entry requirements, course requirements and application procedures
          and deadlines. It is coordinated by Euroguidance Ireland and is delivered by qualified Irish Guidance
          Counsellors in the autumn of each year.                                                                                   The respondents reported significant restrictions of  learning. Questions about new work time models
                                                                                                                                    services, which also caused financial losses for guidance  (organization  of  home  office)  and  professional
                                                                To ensure the service would not be interrupted by any               providers. Since many conferences and further trainings  development have increased, as have guidance enquiries
                                                                potential  school  closures  and  facilitate  parental              had been cancelled or postponed, many guidance        about vocational re-orientation.
                                                                attendance, the service was moved from taking place
                                                                during school hours to the evening time.                            practitioners felt restricted in the development of their own  The digitalisation enables outreach to multiple groups of
                                                                                                                                    competences.
                                                                Over 100 students availed of this ‘new’ version of the                                                                    guidance seekers (migrants, refugees, people with
                                                                service, with an increased number of parents also in                Concurrently, there was an innovation boost in terms of  disabilities, disadvantaged young people, NEETs) but also
                                                                attendance. We were delighted to have received positive             digitalisation. The implementation of digitally based  bears the risk of missing out on vulnerable users
                                                                responses like the below!                                           infrastructure has been faster than it would have been  (especially low-skilled people), as the access threshold for
                                                                “Thank you for the guidance session and informative                 without the pandemic. 82 percent of the respondents   certain groups is higher than in face-to-face guidance.
                                                                presentation which gently introduced my daughter to                 changed their services and adapted to digital formats,
                                                                thinking about what she would be interested in doing in the         especially video counselling (e.g. Skype or Zoom) and  The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of
                                                                future. We are especially grateful that you found a way of          email communication. However, counselling via live chat  digital or blended service formats for the future. To
          The unexpected arrival of COVID-19 forced Euroguidance  providing this service during this time of the Corona.                                                                  strengthen  guidance   in  education,  career   and
          Ireland to get creative. Making a virtue out of necessity,  Thank you for providing such a service to the children.”      has not been implemented yet. Only one third of the   employment, financial support for guidance institutes is
          Euroguidance Ireland brought forward their plans for the                                                                  respondents developed and tested innovative solutions
          service and shortened the development timeline. The   To learn more about the European School Service and                 that could be useful for guidance practice.           needed to set up and develop a digital infrastructure.
          result? In autumn 2020, this service was delivered, for the  2020 delivery, see - euroguidance.ie/european-schools                                                              Furthermore, concepts must be developed that facilitates
          first time ever, entirely online.                                                                                         The main challenges of implementing digital guidance  good quality and data protection-compliant services. And
                                                                                                                                    formats seem to be the availability of technical equipment  last but not least, it is important to maintain personal
          This transition involved:                                                                                                 and support as well as compliance with data protection  guidance services for those who need guidance but have
                                                                                                       David Cullen                 laws combined with user-friendly tools. Institutional  limited access to technical services.
             The development of a new student guidance portal
                                                                                                  Euroguidance Ireland              guidelines sometimes limited the possibilities to use
             The creation and integration of an online booking                                                                      certain formats. Building a trusting relationship with those
             facility
                                                                                                                                    seeking advice was more difficult in online settings.        The full report (in German language only)
             The use and integration of ‘Zoom’ for delivery                                                                         However, counselling sessions were also more flexible in              can be found HERE.

             Intensive communication with school coordinators,                                                                      terms of time and location. More and more practitioners
             students, and their parents                                                                                            were motivated and digital skills increased.
             The broadening of the guidance team for delivery                                                                       Both guidance practitioners and guidance seekers need to

             The provision of training regarding the European                                                                       develop new competences concerning digitalisation. For                                     Sara Koobonye
             School system, the European Baccalaureate, the new                                                                     many guidance seekers, support in the technical process                               Euroguidance Germany
             student portal and the use of ‘Zoom’.                                                                                  is necessary, which is not always easy to carry out due to
          A substantial number of new online resources and an FAQ                                                                   a   lack  of  resources  (technical  and  personnel).
          section were developed to enable students and their                                                                       Furthermore, there is a need for guidance practitioners to
          parents to prepare for their scheduled guidance sessions                                                                  be competent in new topics, such as digitalisation in
          and continue their research regarding the Irish education                                                                 working environment or digital forms of teaching and
          system and how it relates to the European Baccalaureate.




            Euroguidance Insight Magazine Issue 2021                                                                                                                                                    Euroguidance Insight Magazine Issue 2021
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