Educational and vocational guidance services for the 14-25 age group. Italy, Portugal and Spain.

EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES FOR THE 14-25 AGE GROUP ITALY, PORTUGAL AND SPAIN COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES rrPAOODOCUMEN 0 DOCUMENT DOC MENTΕΓΓΡΑΦΟ This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not necessarily represent the Commission's official position. Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1988 ISBN 92-825-7855-0 Catalogue number: CB-52-88-025-EN-C © ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels · Luxembourg, 1988 Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium Commission of the European Communities EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES FOR THE H-25 AGE GROUP: Italy, Portugal and Spain Document D This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not necessarily represent the Commission's official position. Copyright ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels - Luxembourg, 1987 Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. Introduction to Country Studies - Watts' study on guidance The Director of the National Institute for Careers, Education and Counselling (NICEC, Cambridge, U.K.), Mr. A. Watts has recently concluded his work on a study on Education and Vocational Guidance Services for the 14-25 age group within the Member States of the European Community. He was assisted in this extensive and complicated study by a multilingual team, representing all Member States, and in particular by Ms. C. Dartois of the Agence Nationale pour le Développement de l'Education Permanente (ADEP ) France, and Mr. P. Plant, Guidance Counsellor, Denmark. As is well-known, since 1980, unemployment amongst young people has risen dramatically, and Member States have initiated or intensified their programmes of training and work-experience for young people, whether school-leavers or unemployed. A problem encountered by all Member States is to provide the right quality and quantity of guidance for young people in their choices in school or on the labour market. The Second Community programme on Transition of Young People from School to Adult and Working Life has guidance as one of its central themes, and several projects are concerned wholly or partially with this problem. As a result of the Commission's work in this programme, and studies such as that by Professor Drévillon on recent developments in Member States policy on guidance, the Commission's services concluded that it was necessary to make an indepth study on guidance issues, Community wide, for the 14-25 age group, with a view to providing Member States with an overall picture of guidance provision and needs and to formulating future Community policy in this field. The study set out to cover in a comparative way the nature and size of guidance services, their staffing and funding, the identity of their clients, and in particular the cooordination existing between the different branches of the services. It has now been successfully completed. A synthesis report of Mr. A. Watts, Ms. C. Dartois and Mr. P. Plant, analysing all the country studies has already been published as a Social Europe Supplement^. Each country study was produced by an expert on guidance from the Member State concerned, in cooperation with one of the three coordinators named above. Each study has been written according to the same basic plan, thereby affording easy comparison. There will be four volumes published as follows : 1. Reports from United Kingdom, Ireland and Greece (in English) 2. Reports from Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany and Netherlands (in English) 3. Reports from France, Belgium and Luxembourg (in English) (1) For information and copies, please apply to COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Directorate Seneral V Rue de la Loi, 200 Β - 1049 Bruxelles - 2 - 4. Reports from Italy, Spain and Portugal (in English)1 The reports can be read separately since each is self standing, or together with the synthesis report. However only the synthesis report contains the author's recommendations to the Commissions's services and those of Member States. An executive summary of the synthesis report and its conclusions and recommendations have been published as an Article in Social Europe. ? The services of the Commission feel that the quality and range of the country reports will provide a most useful base for information and for policy formulation for administration and policy makers within the Member States, and would like to express their thanks to all who contributed to the success of the study. 4Λ Paul Gormley (1) The country reports on Spain and Portugal do not form part of the synthesis report (2) For information and copies, please apply to : COMMISSION OF THE European Communities Directorate-General V Rue de la Loi, 200 Β - 1049 Bruxelles EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES FOR THE 14-25 AGE GROUP IN ITALY Colette DARTOIS in association with Mauro MARCANTONI A contribution to a study conducted by A.G. Watts, C. Dartois and P. Plant on behalf of the Commission of the European Communities (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Education) CONTENTS Page I. Background 1 1. Educational system and school population after the age of 1Ί 1 2. Youth unemployment 6 3. New measures to improve transition or employment opportunities 7 1 . Pilot-projects of the Second EC Transition Programme 8 II. The structure and staffing of professional guidance services 10 1. Introduction 10 2. Guidance inside the educational system 12 3. Regional and local administrations 17 Ί . Other organizations involved in guidance 19 5. Staffing 22 III. Linkages 21 IV. Conclusions 26 References 28 I. BACKGROUND 1. Educational system and school population after the age of 14 Full-time schooling is compulsory in Ttaly until the age of 11. Tts extension until the age of 16 has been discussed, but no new regulation has been set up yet. Elementary school starts at the age of 6 and lasts 5 years. Tt ends with an examination that most pupils pass : the "licenza elementare" (elementary certificate). A new curriculum for this school level has been established in 1985, to be in operation in school-year 1987-88. All the pupils then enter the comprehensive lower secondary school, the "scuola media unica" (instituted in december 1962). The scuola media lasts 3 years (normally from ages 11 to 11) and leads to an examination, the "licenza media", that most students pass (2.2% failed in 1983-81). But two problems arise during the scuola media : a rather high repeating rate (12.9% for the first year, 9.1% for the second, 5.1% for the third one in 1982-83), and also a rather high rate of dropping out of school (1.3%, 1.1%, 3.6% respectively for the first, second and third years). That means that around 120,000 young people of 11 years old and more left school without any recognized certificate that year (1). After the scuola media, students have several opportunities to choose from : - leave full-time schooling (165,000 young people did so in 1982-83) and, in some cases, enter working life, (only for light work, or industrial work if they are 15 years old); in other cases they will join the ranks of the unemployed; (1) see references at the end. a few other regions are also joining the same project (4), (3), 4. Pilot-Projects of the Second Transition Programme of the European Communities Building on the work of the first Transition Programme, the Second Programme was established after a resolution of the Council of Ministers of Education in 1982. Eight projects were set up in Italy, involving different Provinces, about 2,500 teachers and 21,000 students. The philosophy and field of action of those projects are to build closer relationships between the school and its social-economic environment, and to discover new development trends and possibilities for employment. They have all laid stress upon guidance and have involved in-service training for teachers, as well as the production of teaching materials that can be disseminated throughout the whole country at the end of the projects. The Educational System in Italy I Ì UNIVERSITA· ISTITUTI SUPERIORI MONDO DEL LAVORO SCUOLA MEDIA The Guidance Services in Italy Administrative Control Clients Main Services Guidance : programmes : in lower : secondary : schools : Private : educational: guidance : organiza- : : tions : University : guidance : centres : (opere : universi- : tarie) : Information : centres : (Informa- : giovani) • • Ministry : of : Education : Private (some : under contract to : regional authori- : ties) : Regional authoriies : Regional or : provincial or : local authorities : : Aged 11-11 : Mainly aged 11-19 Aged 18 + - student in last year of : upper secondary : school and in third : education : Aged 11-25 Observation of : students; advice : on educational : choices : Group sessions; : individual interviews : : group sessions; : : individual inter- : : vi ews : : : • · : Information on : : vocational and : : occupational : : opportunities as : : well as leisure, : : travel, etc.. : 10 II. THE STRUCTURE AND STAFFING OF PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES 1 - Introduction The first "office for the study of vocational guidance" was set up in the City of Rome in 1921 (8). Since that time centres or foundations have operated in the field of guidance, carrying.out research studies as well as offering consultations to young people and their parents and teachers, either under contract with public bodies or on a private basis. This has mostly concerned vocational guidance. As in several other countries, guidance has had asits first objective "putting the right man into the right place", and used psychometric analysis of aptitudes, for vocational and industrial purposes. Then there followed new theories : a "socio-cultural" one, a personality centred one and, lately, an educational and personal theory (9), rather close to the "career education", as guidance became involved in the educational field. From 1950 onwards, a national legislation setting out standards has been expected and., there have been several successive draft laws. However there is still no general legislation although a new project is on the drawing-board at the Parliament (an attempted synthesis of three previous different projects, approved by a multiparty commission of the Parliament; at the time of writing, it seemed improbable that it would be adopted in 1986). However, there was a first major change with the reform of the "scuola media unica" (instituting the comprehensive lower secondary school) in 1962 (law 1852/1962). Guidance was decreed to be an organic part of the educational process itself, of the curriculum in the form of "assisting the guidance for young people towards their further choices of an activity". In 1963, in the decree organizing the timetable of the scuola media, "educational guidance" is talked about as a part of every subject, helping students to discover and develop their own interests and aptitudes in view of the educational and vocational choices they will have to make. 11 A concretization of the guidance activities in the lower secondary school was made through a further law (9l2 in 1966) which made the financial allocation for this activity. In the framework of this law, for one decade, directives were given every year by the Ministry of Public Education concerning the organization of guidance. One of these annual directives (in 1975) introduced the role of the "school guidance counsellor". In 1973 were created, at local level, the school-districts which were given a role (among others) in educational guidance : a decree in 1971 lays down that the School District Council has the task, every year, to set up, in relation to the school councils as well as regional and local bodies, the programme of educational guidance activities and services. These services were not administered by the Ministry of Public Education but were under contract with its administration; most of them were the centres for educational and vocational guidance (COSP), which were part of the provincial organizations for technical education; some of them however were professional or private o rganizations. Meanwhile, "vocational guidance" was still under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, operated through services recognized by the Ministry, and relating to unemployed workers getting training courses, apprentices, young people enrolled in vocational training, handicapped workers. The last, and most important event in guidance organization was the 1977 law (following the 1970 law on decentralization) that gave to Regional Authorities responsibility on areas of vocational guidance (as well as for vocational training), underlining the responsibility of school districts on educational guidance and thus maintaining the distinction between educational guidance and vocational guidance. In the framework of this law, the provincial services of technical instruction which administered the guidance centres were eliminated or transferred to the regional administration, as well as the guidance centres of the national office for those suffering from industrial (2) 12 accidents (which was previously under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour) (10). Since that dividing up of the guidance roles between the regional authorities and the school districts, although the necessity of coordination is often underlined, there have been two main streams. On one side, the school district has the task of planning the educational guidance activities and services, and gets a financement for them (although limited), and it works on behalf of the provincial school council, the provincial administration of public education, and of the Ministry of Public Education which gives the general directives, gets and distributes the budget for these activities and coordinates them. On the other side, every regional authority may define by regional law its policy in matters of vocational guidance, and decide upon the financial allocation for it. They have responsibility, anyway, for vocational guidance for the apprentices, students of the vocational training centres, workers in "conversion" training and disabled persons. So far, the regional policies, as well as the regional achievements in that field, are very different from one Region to another (11). Finally, farm workers and their families have access to their own regional organizations for guidance (law 153/1975). To complete the 1986 landscape of guidance in Italy, one should mention that the Ministry of Labour would like to enlarge the activities of its local offices so as also to offer guidance information (an experiment is being launched in 20 unemployment offices at provincial level). 2 - Guidance inside the educational system In the lower secondary school (Scuola Media) As has been said before, since its creation in 1962, guidance is a central aim of the comprehensive lower secondary school. As has already been stated the scuola media is the last step of compulsory education, and the choices at the end of its third year are of some 13 importance. Although the legal texts are not very clear, it is widely assumed that the education system is the best way for students to discover and improve their own interests, aptitudes and abilities, and that teachers are the best placed to help them. This was reasserted when a new curriculum for the scuola media was set up in 1979, where two of the main objectives are related to guidance in a broad sense : the school links to the world, that is to say it helps students to acquire a knowledge of social reality, and to recognize the ways that people use to earn a living and to. transform their "conditions of life". The school also guides, which means that it contributes to the students'own development, to the discovery of their own identity, to their ability to make their own choices according to their self-image and their personal "project of life" (11). A more educational objective can be seen as a mean to achieve this : the school has the aim of helping students to acquire logical, scientific and technical abilities, and a better knowledge of themselves. To summarize, guidance is seen as a formative process, to be integrated into every subject of the curriculum, and into the whole educational process of the school. Although detractors say that if it is difficult to isolate guidance activities per se, it is difficult to be sure that there is any guidance at all..., there are people in the educational and social field who think that the laws on the scuola media are good on the whole. There seems to be some consensus about it, and about the importance of the teachers' role in guidance. This led to some debate when a draft law (in 1980) was published which proposed to set up new centres of information and orientation outside the school, and a new role (really a new profession) : the "guidance counsellor", with a specific post-graduate training. This law, however, was never adopted. However, a problem arises from the conception of guidance as a part of the educational functions : the competence and/or the training of teachers in guidance. The official definition of the teachers' functions still do not explicitly mention any role in guidance. The 11 principles have not been followed by operational programmes to implement them on a general and institutional basis. Studies have shown that teachers are not very aware of their guidance role, or that they do not know how to play it (12). Attempts have been made to solve this problem and to improve teachers training and activity in the field of guidance, notably in few pilotprojects of the first EC Transition Programme. One of them set up a course, including group training, practical activities in school, and dissemination of relevant material, for 16 teachers of the scuola media. The experiment produced substantial increase in the guidance activities of 30% of the participants, though, at the other end, 10% still engaged in no formal guidance activities at all. The main contents of the training were : - an analysis of guidance needs during adolescence, - what work means to the young people who are being counselled, - the development of information and communication skills, - the development of relationship skills (13). Other studies have tried to define the competencies needed by the teachers to assume their role in guidance. One of these suggests that, apart from a deep knowledge of the subject taught, the teacher would have a knowledge of the cognitive and learning process, developmental psychology, social psychology, education sociology, assessment, differential psychology, research methodology, information about careers and related training; practice in relationship skills, knowledge of the specific problems of guidance ! (11). Such a competency could be acquired either in initial and/or in in-service training. The author of this study notices, moreover, that most of the above subjects are integral parts of teaching competencies. But actually there is a large disparity in matter of in-service training for teachers according to regions, school districts, even schools. Although it is quite difficult to get any figures about this, it is probable that only a small number have been involved so far. However, among the experiments and pilot-projects going on in schools, a good many are concerned with guidance. 15 In the upper secondary school (secondaria superiore) Tt is to be noted that, in the current legislation on the upper secondary school, there is no mention at all of guidance, except in the regulations on the leaving examinations (1969), where it is said that the "commission (for the exam) gives its own assessment regarding ... vocational orientation and ... the choice of university studies" (11). However the upper secondary school has been awaiting a reform for many years. This reform is still on the drawing-board. One of the problems which has to be solved is precisely the place of guidance in the new (future) upper secondary school, related to the extension of compulsory education. Would the first year become a comprehensive "orientating" year? or would the two first years be dedicated to that purpose? Can the upper secondary school prepare for university studies as well as for integration into adult and working life, and if so, how? One of the main problems, and criticisms of the educational system, is that it is closed in upon itself, far away from the world of work, and that the connexion between supply (i.e. young people) and demand (i.e. industry's needs) does not happen. So there is a great deal of concern about guidance irt the upper secondary school. Most people still think that guidance is the job of the school and of the teachers, and the same ideology applies here as in the scuola media. That is probably why most experiments and activities about guidance take place at this school level, launched by varied organisations and bodies. Most of these involve the headteachers of the schools as well as teachers, students and parents. Among these activitities about guidance, in-service seminars for school teachers and headteachers are organized at regional or local level by AIOSP, the Italian association for educational or vocational guidance. Most of these seminars are on guidance within the future reform of the upper secondary school. Other initiatives, and most experiments give a prominent place to the teachers' training. As far as the professionnel and technical institutes are concerned, a few projects are aiming at the implementation of work experience ("stages") for the students. 16 In University Following the same conception of guidance as a part of the curriculum and of educational institutions, a decree in I98O specified that the full-time lecturers would have to dedicate a part of their service's time to play a guidance role towards the students/(actual or future students) about the choices of their main and optional subjects of studies, their achievement and eventual reorientation. The same decree created also a tutorial function to be assumed by academic staff visà-vis the students; such a role includes some guidance element. Beside this pedagogical guidance, several types of guidance organisations exist within universities. A few universities have their own guidance centres; in some others, the psychology faculties offer guidance services or experiments. Most regions operate students services (Istituti per il diritto allo studio) which deal with general students' problems (accommodation, grants, etc.) as well as guidance (choice of studies, help in placement); some students associations as well as graduates associations work in the same field. An experimental guidance scheme was set up in the University of "La Sapienza" in Rome a few years ago, on behalf of the Ministry of Public Education. The Department of Psychology of this University offered guidance activities to students from the final year of several upper secondary schools. These interventions included consultations, psychometric testing, group information, dissemination of informative material. Within the school-districts If the school districts have a responsibility in guidance, not all of them exercise it. This might be explained by the fact that they often do not have the necessary financial and (particularly) human resources to carry out this task. The 1983 report on guidance activities in Italy (11), which used postal questionnaires to gather information, received 1I6 (out of 76O) answers from the school districts. Out of the Ilo answers, 16 said they had had no activity in relation to guidance for some years. (NB : there were very few answers from other school administration units at provincial level). 17 When services exist within the school districts, most of them are former guidance centres, under contract. These centres are seen as a complement to the teacher; they are available, on request, mainly, it seems, in difficult cases, for students having learning, personal or relationship problems. They are a part of the more general "support services", and include generally : a social worker, a psychologist, a nurse or medical worker, and a guidance counsellor. They are supposed to "follow" permanently the students to be able to make the appropriate intervention when needed. It seems that these services carry out too a number of psychometric assessments on request from the students or their families during the last year of the scuola media, which is the first important point of choice. These centres do not exist everywhere and it is rather difficult to give any figures about them. They operate directly in relation to the schools more than to the district's administration. 3 - Regional and local administrations As we have seen before, since 1977, the regions are in charge of the vocational guidance. Here again, the picture is very varied. A few large regions (Piemonte, Marche, Emilia-Romagna) have delegated their responsibility to the provinces, even (Toscana, Umbria) to intercommunal associations or to mountain communes. A few regions (Lombardia, Puglia) manage the guidance activities through their own guidance centres or institutes. The regions with a special status (Trento-Bolzano, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Sicilia, Sardegna, Valle d'Aosta) operate through a (local) central organization. A few provinces and local communities also administer their own guidance centres. Here too, figures are difficult to get. For the same 1983 report (11), the reply rate was : 9 out of 19 for the regions, 21 out of 95 for the provinces. The regional legislation about guidance is very diverse : in a few cases, the subject is no more than mentioned in passing. But, on the 21 III. LINKAGES Linkages or coordination may be the main problem of guidance in Italy, although some substantial progress have been made lately. As we have seen, almost everyone can start guidance activities, and the main characteristic of the italian situation is fragmentation. 1. At the national level. Apart from a formal link established through the National Committee for Guidance and Educational Planning (which brings together several ministries including Education and Labour as well as representatives from regions, provinces, enterprises' and workers' organizations, and ISFOL), the main real connection has been the joint operation of the three days for guidance in April 1986. This operation is planned to be repeated during the spring 1987. It will even be enlarged, involving all levels of post-elementary schools, including vocational schools under the responsibility of Regional Authorities. 2. At the regional level. As we have seen in section II, 1. and 3·, the Regional Authorities have legal responsibility for implementing policy and activities in vocational guidance matters. The regions having started important activities in that field have all stressed coordination and establishment of linkages between levels (Provincial, Communal, etc.), organizations (private, state run), schools (general education, vocational education), and between the educative world and the world of work. Although it is difficult to know how well they are succeeding, it is important to note that they are continuing, and that more regions are getting involved. 25 Furthermore, in order to better achieve their assignment in matter of guidance matters, they have set up an interregional "Technical coordination committee" (after the initiative of Region Toscana, in 1981). This committee tried first to define common views on distribution of responsibilities for guidance at the regional level. They then started to work on any subject related to guidance including research, informative material, the use of computers in guidance, financing, information centres, etc. They work mostly on an exchange of experience basis, and this committee constitutes, currently one of the main interlocutors at the national level in guidance matters. After a few years of cooperation, reflections and evaluation of their various experiences, the regions involved in the committee have come to the conclusion that in order to assume their role in guidance matters, they need to refer to an outline law at the national level. This law will more clearly define what guidance is, who is concerned, who has a role to play and which role etc. This will replace the "good will" of a few people or organizations by clear responsibilities and remits. 26 IV. CONCLUSIONS Although very fragmented, guidance activities in Italy have become more developed during the past few years, perhaps as a result of the first European Community Transition Programme pilot projects. More and more organizations have been involved in these activities at various levels. However, most of these activities deal with information which has become a very important part of the existing provision in the field of guidance. It is estimated that there is no child, no family who does not receive at least one leaflet a year in relation to guidance, educational or vocational choices. But the information is not perfectly shared between all the potential users. It is certainly more available in the North than in the South, and in some regions or provinces than in others. The "voluntary way" of supplying these services makes the coverage of the territory at the national level very diverse. This, accordingly, again demonstrates the need for a wide public service or network of guidance services that will ensure that the needs of all potential users are covered in a satisfactory way. In the current situation, although there have been a few attempts to overcome it, there is still a factual distinction between educational and vocational guidance. Therefore, guidance activities in schools should be more concerned with future career and vocational choices, as well as with labour-market information. At the same time informative activities from the outside (industry, vocational courses, etc.) should be carefully coordinated with the schools. All the same, guidance information for users having left school should be matched with educational opportunities, in order to help the user to acquire the necessary abilities to use information and to make his or her own decisions. 27 The need, then, is to consider guidance as a long and continuous informative and formative process, occuring at various moments in life, and to provide the users with a coordinated network of various agencies able to answer their needs. To achieve this the solution may be to set up an outline law at the national level that whould define the rights of the user, the tasks and responsibilities of the various organizations and of the public administration. It would also define the necessity and the ways for close coordination at every level (school, community, province or region, and at state level). This would give then a stronger framework to implement more innovative projects, designed to last. 3) 28 REFERENCES 1 - CENSIS, Educazione Italia '85 : voglia di scuola, F. Angeli, 1986. 2 - F. BARONE, Primato Italiano : l'inflazione dei maturi, La Stampa, 22 - 7 - 1986. 3 - G. GIOVANNI, La selezione diluita, Scuola e Professione, 1 - 1986. I - Ministero del Lavoro - ISFOL, Materiali per le giornate dell' orientamento (cuaderni 1, 2, 3, ^, 5, 6), 1986. 5 - Soambi Culturali, 5, sett.-ott. 1981. 6 - A. DE BERNARDIS, Conoscere i disoccupati, Scuola e Professione, 5 - 1986. 7 - Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione, Guida all'istruzione superiore, 1986. 8 - M. G. MORIANI, Une pionera dell' orientamento professionale : M. GasceDiez, Orientamento Scolastico e Professionale, 1, 1981. 9 - A. RAZZANO, I sistemi d'orientamento in Italia e all'estero, 0. S. P., 1, 1981. 10 - M. G. MORIANI, L'orientamento nell'ambito del distretto scolastico : normativa, problematiche, ipotesi d'intervento, 0. S. P., 2-3, 1983. II - ISFOL - Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione : rapporto sulle attività di orientamento in Italia, Maggioli, 1981. 12 - 0. ROSSI CASSOTANA, Funzione orientativa docente : modalità vocazionali e formazione, 0. S. P., 2, 1981. 13 - L. DE LUCA, G. GIUGNI, Formazione in servicio di insegnanti sui problemi dell'orientamento, 0. S. P., 1, 2, 1981. 11 - L. B0NC0RI, L'orientamento nell' ambito della formazione universitaria iniziale degl'insegnanti, 0. S. P., 3-1* 1981. 15 - Fondazione "Centro di orientamento" scolastico e professionale della provincia di Alessandria, 0. S. P., 2, 1981. 16 - C0NFIDUSTRIA, L'industria per la scuola, manuale d'azione. 17 - S. GALETTI, C. MAGAGNOLI, Orientamento allo sportello, un'esperienza della provincia di Bologna, Scuola e Professione, 5, 1986. 18 - CENSIS - XIX Rapporto sulla situazione sociale del Paese, F. Angeli, 1985. EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES FOR THE 14-25 AGE-GROUP IN PORTUGAL J. Ferreira Marques Faculty of Psychology and Education University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal in association with A.G. Watts National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling Cambridge, United Kingdom A contribution to a study directed by A.G. Watts on behalf of the Commission of the European Communities (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Education) CONTENTS Page I. Background 1 II. The Structure and Staffing of Professional Guidance Services 8 1. Introduction 8 2. Guidance in Schools 9 3. Guidance in Tertiary Education 15 4. Vocational Guidance Provided by the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) 16 5. Private Guidance Services 20 III. Linkages 21 1. Between Different Professional Guidance Services 21 2. Between Professional Guidance Services and Guidance Activities Organised by Professionals in Other Fields 23 3. Between Professional Guidance Services and Other Agencies 24 4. Between Professional Guidance Services and the Help Offered by Parents etc. 25 IV. Conclusions 27 - 1 - BACKGROUND The Portuguese educational system is highly centralised. Certainly there has been concern in recent years to devolve more responsibility to regional and other authorities*, and as from January 1987 the Ministry of Education has been reorganised to'incorporate a stronger element of regionalisation (Decreto-Lei No. 3/87). Nonetheless, the normal practice until now has been for most policy matters, major and minor, to be referred to the Ministry; the Ministry, in turn, issues decree laws and regulations, on which the functioning of the official system depends. The structure of the Portuguese educational system operating in June 1987 is arranged in four levels: nursery education (voluntary, from 3 to 6 years old), basic education (4 years of primary school followed by 2 years at the intermediate preparatory school), secondary education (lasting 6 years), and higher education. The main features of this system are portrayed in figure 1. A new Education Act (Lei de Bases do Sistema Educativo - Law No. 46/86) was published in October 1986, and is introducing some major changes, including the extension of compulsory school from 6 to 9 years. This legislation will be implemented gradually over the next few years and is not included in the information given in this report. Secondary education. In 1982/83, about one in five young people failed to complete their basic education**; while about one in five of those in their final year of basic education failed to enter secondary education.*** Students * See e.g. OECD: Reviews of National Policies for Education: Portugal, pp.104-107. Paris: OECD, 1984. ** Gabinete de Estudos e Planeamento: Analise Conjunctural: Educação 1985, p.110. Lisbon: Ministério da Educação e Cultura, 1986. *** Ibid, p.28. - 2 - who enter secondary education usually do so at the age of 12. Secondary educai tion is divided into two stages, each normally lasting three years: the first (from the 7th to the 9th school year) is characterised by a common curriculum; the second (the 'complementary stage') covers a number of different paths. The subjects studied during the 10th, 11th and 12th school years determine which courses in higher education the students will be qualified to enter. Thus their choices at the end of the 9th school year (around the age of 15) have important educational and vocational implications. The 10th and 11th years of education are now organised in five broad areas: natural sciences, scientific and technological studies, economic and social studies, humanistic studies, and visual arts. This system was established in 1978, ending the traditional separation between high school and technical school courses. Accordingly, all high schools and all technical schools became secondary schools. In 1983, two other types of paths after the 9th school year were added: the technical courses (tecnico-profissionais), and the occupational courses (profissionais). The former normally last three years, while the latter lasts one year in school followed by a probationary period of six months' work experience (Despacho Normativo No. 194-A/83). Over the last few years, these new technical and occupational courses have been introduced in a large number of secondary schools all over the country. The occupational areas covered are: agriculture, mechanics, electricity, electronics, building, accounting, goldsmithery, chemistry, computers, ceramics, graphic arts, equipment design, textiles, social services, fishing, and optics. The aims of the technical courses are to provide a technical qualification at an intermediate level and simultaneously to offer the general preparation required for access to higher education. The occupational courses lead to an occupational qualification in particular areas of activity. - 3 - Tertiary education. The eligibility of students to enter higher education in the official institutions (12 universities, 6 polytechnics and a few other colleges) does not depend on the satisfactory completion of the 12th year alone. A selection system organised by the Ministry of Education takes into account each year the number of vacancies offered by each institution and the preferences and qualifications of each candidate. The selection is based on the school marks attained at the end of the 11th and 12th year, especially in the national written examinations taken at the end of the 12th year. In order to be admitted to the course and the university they prefer, students may try to improve their marks by repeating the examinations. In 1985, 13,381 out of 23,434 candidates succeeded in entering higher education in the official institutions. Thus, after the 12th year of schooling, many students fail to achieve access to higher education, while others are admitted to courses which are not their first choices. The vast majority of the students in higher education attend official institutions (79,248 students in 1984); about 12% are in private colleges (10,892 students in 1984).* The problem of access to higher education is exacerbated at present by the shortage of places on vocational courses outside the universities: such places are currently very limited, but are due to increase over the next few years. Apprenticeship. In 1980, with the co-operation of the Ministry of Education and the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), a new training programme in companies was introduced for young people aged over 14 at the end of compulsory schooling. This programme paved the way for the organisation of the apprenticeship system adopted in 1984 with the * Instituto Nacional de Estatistica: Estatísticas da Educação 1984, p.3. Lisbon, 1986. - 10 - schools only to a limited number of pupils.* Accordingly, the report emphasised the need to define new structures through which educational and vocational guidance services could be made available to all pupils in the Portuguese educational system, and made several specific proposals and recommendations. In particular, it recommended that counsellors (psicologo conselheiro) should be appointed to schools all over the country. Unlike the orientadores, they would not necessarily be teachers, and would receive a university-level training in guidance. There should be roughly one counsellor for each secondary school, but with some flexibility: larger schools might have more than one; smaller schools might share one. The counsellors would be school-based and would be grouped for communication and professional-support purposes into 80 or so Units (Núcleos), each supporting 3-10 counsellors in the local area; these Núcleos would then be co-ordinated regionally. Three of the Núcleos would be linked to the counsellor training programme in the Faculties of Psychology and Education at the Universities of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto.** In the event, only these three latter Núcleos have been created, as pilot centres (Despacho No. 118/ME/84). Accordingly, they have assumed a regional co-ordinating function for the counsellors who have been appointed in schools in the North (Porto), Centre (Coimbra) and South (Lisbon) respectively. The development of this new structure was given momentum by the introduction of new technical and occupational courses in secondary education from 1983 onwards, * A Orientação Escolar e Profissional no Ambito do Ministerio da Educação: Relatório da Comissão Criada pelo Despacho Conjunto ME/MTSS No. 86/83, p.5. Lisbon, 1984. ** Ibid, pp.15-16. See Marques, J.F.: 'Organização de Serviços de Orientação Escolar e Profissional no Campo da Educação'. Cadernos de Consulta Psicologica, Volume 1, 1985, pp.193-199. Il and by the pressure for extended guidance services which this stimulated. By 1986/87, the counsellors covered nearly twothirds of the staterun secondary schools in the country. Most of the remaining schools were covered by orienta dores or by IEFP services (see Section II.4 below). Only a few rural schools in remote areas offered no guidance services at all. (b) Finance All guidance services provided in state schools are free of charge to the pupils. The funding for IOP and for school guidance services dependent on IOP comes from central government (the Ministry of Education). The orientadores are paid as teachers in their respective schools. The guidance services coordinated by the Units (Núcleos) are funded by the Ministry of Education in two different ways: financial support for the contract of each counsellor is provided by the school where his or her professional activities are based; and small direct subventions are made available to cover the general expenses of the Núcleos. (c) Clients The clients of the services provided by the IOP and the orientadores are mainly situated in the school system from kindergarten up to the 9th year.* Special attention is given to pupils in the last three years of unified education (the 7th, 8th and 9th years). In the guidance services coordinated by the Núcleos, the policy adopted by the Ministry of Education has been to give priority to pupils in the 9th year of schooling and in the technical and occupational courses. This priority is justified by the existence of the important decisionpoint at the * Mota, Α., and others: Descrição do Sistema de Formação Profissional em Portugal, p.49. Berlin: CEDEFOP, 1985. - 12 - end of the 9th year of the common curriculum and by the implementation of the new technical courses and occupational courses as a pilot project. Accordingly, a period of 50 minutes per week has been introduced into the timetable at these school levels for careers guidance activities. This programme is voluntary, but over half of the relevant pupils choose to take it. Beyond this, the services of the counsellors are also available, so far as time permits, to pupils throughout the period of secondary education. (d) Strategies and techniques The strategies and techniques used by the orientadores include the use of group work, tests and questionnaires, interviews, and advice on educational opportunities and on occupations. Recommendations tend to be based on diagnostic judgements. Regarding the counsellors, the definition of their duties included in the 1984 report* and generally adopted in the activities co-ordinated by the Núcleos is as follows: to promote, throughout the educational process, activities of educational and vocational guidance addressed to all pupils, in co-operation with their parents and teachers, as well as with other educational institutions in the community; to provide psychological and psychopedagogical services [e.g. on developing pupils' study skills]; to facilitate the personal development of the pupils, helping them to know themselves (their capacities, interests and values) and to build their personal identity as agents of their own decisions and of changes in the social, economic and cultural conditions; to develop and to use up-to-date educational and occupational information, with the aim of supporting the pupil's exploration of the opportunities offered by the education and training system and by the world of work; * A Orientação Escolar e Profissional no Ambito do Ministerio da Educação: Relatório da Comissão Criada pelo Despacho Conjunto ME/MTSS No. 86/83, pp.7-8. Lisbon, 1984. - 13 - • to elaborate, implement and evaluate programmes of psychological development, especially to help decision-making, the implementation of educational and vocational choices, and preparation for the transition from school to work. Accordingly, systematic attempts are being made to build careers education into the curriculum of secondary schools, normally as separate programmes provided by the counsellors. In some cases, these include work visits and periods of work experience, though the latter only in the occupational courses. Three of the four main, aims of careers education, as described by Law and Watts*, are covered - opportunity awareness, self awareness and decision learning - and to a lesser extent the fourth area, transition learning, is covered too. In addition to curriculum programmes, the main strategies and techniques used by the counsellors include individual and group counselling, interviews and some psychometric testing with pupils, meetings and interviews with parents, and information on educational opportunities and occupations. Guidance on educational and vocational choices tends to be their primary, proactive role; their psychopedagogic work tends to be secondary and more reactive, responding to requests for help from teachers. (e) Staffing The staffing of the guidance services in schools linked to the IOP is dependent on the output from the training courses provided by that institute. As was noted earlier, since 1977 up to 20 school teachers have been admitted to these courses annually. During the period of training and their subsequent years of activity in the field of guidance, they maintain their regular pay as * Law, B., and Watts, A.G.: Schools, Careers and Community, pp.8-10. London: Church Information Office, 1977. 4)  14  teachers, even though they do not continue to teach. In 1983/84, there were 71 schools with guidance services linked to the IOP: most were in the Lisbon region, and they involved 126 orientadores.* Since then, the number of orientadores has continued to increase. Regarding the staffing of the guidance services coordinated by the Núcleos, the Ministry of Education approved the contracts of 135 counsellors in 1986/87. They provide guidance services in almost 200.secondary schools (some work in two schools). The number of these professionals has grown considerably from previous years: in 1984/85 there were 59 counsellors, and in 1985/86 there were 105.** As a result, the growing pattern is for there to be one counsellor per secondary school, though this is not yet fully implemented (there are about 340 secondary schools in Portugal). A problem which still needs to be tackled is the current lack of careerdevelopment opportunities for the counsellors. Because they are not teachers, they do not have access to the promotion possibilities open to teachers in general (including the orientadores). (f) Training The selection of the teachers to be trained as orientadores is carried out by the IOP. They come from different disciplines in preparatory and secondary schools (e.g. modern languages, history, philosophy, natural sciences, mathematics, etc.) and already have a university degree appropriate to their area of teaching. The training course for orientadores extends over Mota, Α., and others: Descrição do Sistema de Formação Profissional em Portugal, p.49. Berlin: CEDEFOP, 1985. ** Abreu, M.A.: A Orientação Escolar e Profissional no Ensino Secundario e o Relançamento dos Cursos Teenicos, p.6. Coimbra: Universidade Coimbra, 1986 (mimeo). - 15 - two school years on a full-time basis, and is followed by a probationary period of one year. The training of the counsellors is incorporated into at least five years' higher education, and includes a part-time probationary period in the field of careers guidance in schools during the last year of their studies. In terms of content, the counsellor training courses include guidance theory and practice, diagnostic skills and assessment methods, interviewing, group work, labour-market information, job analysis, etc. The Núcleos provide continued support to the counsellors once they have taken up their posts in schools. In Lisbon, for example, the counsellors meet once or twice a month in small groups of 8 or so to share experiences, develop their skills, and undertake joint projects (e.g. developing occupational information materials to be used alongside existing materials like those produced by the IEFP); in addition, each counsellor is visited once a year in their school by one of the university counsellor trainers. 3. Guidance in Tertiary Education As already described in Section I, there is a selection system organised by the Ministry of Education for limiting access to all courses provided by state universities and other institutions of higher education. In addition to this numerus clausus, the organisation of Portuguese tertiary education implies in general that every student enters a track corresponding to his or her course, and it is very difficult subsequently to change direction. In this context of selective admissions and lack of mobility in tertiary education in Portugal, very limited guidance services are offered to the students. Students tend only to feel they need educational and - 16 - vocational guidance if they want to change the direction of their studies (which is difficult) or if they are having problems in finding a job at the end of their course. Careers guidance is provided to a few university students by educational and vocational guidance services within the Faculties of Psychology and Education at the Universities of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto. 4. Vocational Guidance Provided by the Institute of · Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) (a) Introduction The Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional - IEFP) was created in 1979 to integrate a number of different services established during the sixties within the Labour Administration: the Employment Service, where information and vocational guidance services were offered, as well as other institutions in the field of vocational training and rehabilitation. According to the statutes of the IEFP, one of its duties is 'to promote information and guidance for vocational training and rehabilitation, and the placement of workers, with special attention to youngsters who have left the school system, and to relatively unprotected social groups' (Decreto-Lei No. 247/85, article 4). The IEFP is a legal entity according to the Public Law, with administrative and financial autonomy, but answerable to the Minister of Labour and Social Security. At central level, there are several Directorates inside the IEFP, and the Directorate of Occupational Information and Vocational Guidance incorporates the Division of Occupational Information and the Division of Vocational Guidance. Around the country, the IEFP has 58 local offices (employment centres) offering vocational information and guidance  17  services, as well as placement services: this number is to be increased to 85 by 1991. In each of five regions (North, Centre, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve) there exists a regional delegation with a coordinating role embracing all IEFP activities. Through its two Divisions, the Directorate of Occupational Information and Vocational Guidance provides resources to be used by the IEFP vocational counsellors (conselheiros de orientação profissional) with youngsters and adults: documentation about careers and educational opportunities, occupational monographs, posters and other exhibits concerning the world of work and occupations, and tests and questionnaires. (b) Finance The information, guidance and placement services offered by IEFP are free of charge to their clients. The general budget of IEFP is mainly supported by socialsecurity contributions from employers and employees. (c) Clients Between 1984 and 1986, the number of clients seen by the vocational counsellors rose from 11,391 to 14,115; of the latter, 87% were aged under 25. Many of the clients are schoolleavers seeking their first job or candidates wanting to enter vocational training. Other clients include 'adults who intend to change their occupation, show occupational indecision, or are looking for vocational training'.* A limited service is also offered by the IEFP counsellors to pupils from secondary schools, especially when these schools have no guidance activities provided by the Ministry of Education. In * Mota, Α., and others: Descrição do Sistema e Formação Profissional em Portugal, p.50. Berlin: CEDEFOP, 1985. - 18 - addition, the IEFP vocational counsellors are sometimes involved in helping public and private organisations with personnel selection, and participate in local activities concerned with sensitising people to occupational-choice possibilities. In a few cases, some guidance elements are incorporated into IEFP training programme.* By legislation, vocational guidance is also provided by the employment centres to youngsters who are seeking apprenticeships (Decreto-Lei No. 102/84). Where necessary, a selection procedure is applied by the IEFP vocational counsellors. This procedure includes the administration of aptitude tests to the candidates.** (d) Strategies and techniques The main strategies and techniques used by the IEFP guidance services include information services, interviews, testing, and forms of liaison work covering placement, vocational training and other activities. The educational and occupational information developed by the IEFP incorporates information about vocational training courses, educational opportunities and occupations. The information is mainly in the form of printed materials. It is disseminated by the IEFP central and regional structures and by the vocational counsellors in the employment centres. The information offered in the local offices may be provided within, or assisted by, an individual interview. Currently, there are plans to develop information rooms to operate on a self-help basis in at least some of the employment centres: one such room already exists (in Santarém), and ten others * Ibid, pp.36-42. * See Comissão Nacional de Aprendizagem: Aprendizagem: Fichas Informativas. Lisbon: IEFP, 1985 (mimeo).  19  are to be introduced by the end of 1987. Work has also started on the use of computers for information storage and retrieval purposes on education and training opportunities and on job vacancies: in the former case, it is hoped in due course to make the database available on a directaccess basis to clients. Other types of help given to young people include psychometric testing (mainly aptitude tests and interest inventories) and individual interviews. These are especially used with clients who are seeking their first job or wanting to enter courses of vocational training. There is increasing interest in forms of group work aimed at individuals with common problems. (e) Staffing and training The staffing of the IEFP information and vocational guidance services needs to be considered at central, regional and local levels. In May 1985, 20 staff members were employed at central level, and there were also 70 vocational counsellors in the IEFP regional and local structures who were working within and outside the employment centres, with youngsters and adults, unemployed as well as employed.* To overcome restrictions on civil service appointments, some new counsellors have been appointed on fixedterm contracts. Most of the staff members at central level have had the same training as the vocational counsellors. The entrance requirements for vocational counsellors are a university degree (most often in human and social sciences), plus a special fulltime course in the IEFP normally lasting between 4 and 12 months. The only training course which has lasted 12 months was run in * Mota, Α., and others: Descrição do Sistema de Formação Profissional em Portugal, pp.4950. Berlin: CEDEFOP, 1985. - 26 - over the last twenty or so years. An additional difficulty experienced in Portugal in establishing links with parents is that they are not used to coming to public secondary schools, even to talk with teachers about their children's educational progress. Among other reasons for this, parents in urban areas often say they are too busy and tied by their work schedules, while in rural areas they sometimes live a long way from the schools attended by their children. Nonetheless, the careers education programmes in schools try to involve parents and parents' associations. Meetings with groups of parents take place, in addition to informal contacts or formal interviews with one or both parents of a given pupil. Attempts are made through these meetings and contacts to inform parents about the aims of the guidance activities in schools and about educational and occupational opportunities. The number of meetings with parents organised by guidance services in schools is currently increasing. In particular, the guidance activities in the secondary schools coordinated by the Núcleos include meetings and contacts with parents, especially where their children are attending the 9th year or are in technical and occupational courses and have a careers education programme running over the whole school year. The primary concern is to encourage the parents to help their children to make their own free choices and to try to persuade the parents not to play the role of decision makers about the career plans of their children. Counsellors have also attempted to involve parents in the guidance process as sources of information about their own field of work - not only for their own children but for pupils in general. With this in mind, it is proposed that each pupil should interview people working in their preferred occupations, and that these people might be the parents or relatives of other pupils in the same class, as well as other individuals within the community. - 27 - IV. CONCLUSIONS In Portugal the development of educational and vocational guidance services for the 14-25 age-group over the country as a whole is relatively recent, although some early initiatives had been taken during the twenties within the education sector and during the sixties within the Labour Administration when the Portuguese employment service was first organised. Following the 1974 Revolution, the restoration of democratic institutions in Portugal has introduced many changes in the organisation of the school system and in the educational opportunities available to young people. The extension of the common curriculum from the 6th to the 9th year of schooling, postponing the point of decision for all pupils, has important implications for career choices. So does the gradual increase, during the last decade or so, in the number of pupils finishing the 9th year of schooling, the 11th year, and the 12th year, and in those entering tertiary education. In comparison with other European countries, there has not been any strong trend towards developing transition programmes, but the changes in the tracks leading young people through the school system towards working life have also influenced the practice of guidance. For part of the 12-18 age-group - these youngsters who continue their education - guidance services are now offered in most of the state secondary schools by orientadores trained at the IOP or by counsellors trained at Faculties of Psychology and Education in the universities. For pupils aged 14-15 and attending their last year of unified education, the situation may now be described as reasonably good. Indeed, the systematic attempts since 1984 to build careers education into the curriculum of the 9th - 28 - year and the new technical and occupational courses in many secondary schools represent an important change in the quality of guidance services, reflecting the adoption of a career-development approach in the guidance activities coordinated by the Núcleos. But more guidance professionals are still needed to cover other pupils in secondary education. Further extension of guidance services in the school system may become possible with the implementation of the Education Act of 1986, which provides (Law No. 46/86, article 26) for the establishment of psychological, educational and vocational guidance services located within regional structures. For young people in the 18-25 age-group who have entered tertiary education, few systematic guidance services are currently available. For those who have ceased their schooling, whether before or after 18, such guidance services as exist are provided by the vocational counsellors working in the IEFP, particularly in relation to the new apprenticeship system and to opportunities for vocational training. With half of the unemployed in Portugal belonging to the 15-24 age-group, the envisaged increase in the number of IEFP employment centres is particularly important, making it likely that the Institute will have more possibilities for providing information and guidance services through its local offices. EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES FOR THE 14-25 AGE-GROUP IN SPAIN Luisa Rodríguez Professor of Vocational Guidance University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain in association with Lluis Tort Professor of Educational Organisation and Legislation University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain and A.G. Watts National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling Cambridge, United Kingdom A contribution to a study directed by A.G. Watts on behalf of the Commission of the European Communities (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Education) (5) CONTENTS Page I. Background 1 1. The Basic Structure of the Educational System 1 1.1 The primary educational level 1 1.2 The second educational level 3 1.3 Higher education 4 1.4 Other educational options 4 2. The Operation of the Educational System 5 2.1 Aims 5 2.2 The curriculum 6 3. The Transition to Work 9 II. The Structure and Staffing of Professional Guidance Services 11 1. General Introduction 11 2. Guidance Services Controlled by the Ministry of Education and Science 14 2.1 Legislative basis 14 2.2 The Regional Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (SOEV) 16 2.3 The Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (IOEP) 19 3. Guidance Services Controlled by the Ministry of Labour 20 3.1 The Guidance and Job-Information Centres (COIE) 20 3.2 The INEM Vocational Guidance Centres 22 4. Local/Regional Guidance Services 26 4.1 Regional Administration of Catalonia 26 4.2 Regional Administration of Valencia 34 4.3 Other Regional Administrations 34 5. Private Careers Guidance Services 35 6. Education and Training of Guidance Officers 37 III. Linkages 39 IV. Conclusions 42 - 1 - I. BACKGROUND 1. The Basic Structure of the Educational System The Spanish educational system is governed by the Ley General de Educación y Financiamiento de la Reforma Educativa (Education and Financing of Educational Reform Act) of 20 August 1970 (BOE, Law 14/70 of 4/8/70), which has subsequently been developed through a succession of decrees and orders. There are three educational levels (Figure 1). The primary educational level includes pre-school and the elementary School (Educación General Basica, or EGB). The second educational level comprises three options: vocational schools (Formación Profesional, or FP), secondary schools (Bachillerato Unificado y Polivalente, or BUP), and experimental secondary schools (Curso Experimental de Secundaria, or CES). The higher education level is formed by the courses taught by the university schools, the university faculties and the higher technical institutes. 1.1 The primary educational level The primary educational level covers the schooling of children aged 2-14. It is divided into two phases: (a) Pre-school. Education at this level involves children aged 2-6 and is carried out in two successive stages, each lasting two years: the kindergarten and the infant school. As pre-school attendance is optional, it lacks a defined content, and attendance at kindergarten is generally low. (b) Elementary school (EGB). It is compulsory for every Spanish child to start schooling at the age of 6, when they attend the elementary school. This comprises an initial cycle (two years), a medium cycle (three years), and a higher cycle (three further years). The first two cycles are known jointly as the first stage of elementary school: during this stage the pupil passes the courses on the basis of continuous assessment involving regular tests. The third cycle is known as the second stage of elementary school: here, the pupil must pass examinations in June and September. It is legally possible to repeat certain courses. During the c Η ID PRIMARY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL Pre-school School for very Kinderyoung garten children I I I I A Β C D Optional Elementary education Initial cycle Medium Superior cycle cycle Ι Ι Ι Ι Γ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Compulsory education SECCMD EDUCATIONAL LEVEL Vocational school FP-1 FP-2 Ί Γ Secondary school COU CL CES Cycle 1 Cycle 2 A Β A Β HIGHER EDUCATION university schools I I 12 3 university faculties Postgraduate courses 12 3 4 5 Higher Postgraduate technical institutes courses 12 3 4 5 Β » Transfer without exam. rapi«-*l letters and nmbers » Academic courses. -> =» Transfer with exam. ! K> I - 3 - second stage, however, the pupil can only repeat a course once. At the end of elementary school, the pupil obtains the Graduado Escolar if he or she has satisfactorily passed all the courses. If this is not the case, the pupil obtains an attendance certificate. 1.2 The second educational level The second educational level is notionally voluntary but - because young people are not permitted to enter the labour market until the age of 16 - there are no formal alternatives to its first two years. It comprises two mutually exclusive options; recently, a third experimental option has been added which is a mixture of the other two. The three options thus are: (a) Vocational schools (FP). The minimum requirement needed for entering this option is the attendance certificate. It is divided into two cycles, the FP-1 (2 years) and the FP-2 (2 years), with an intermediate course which provides a transition to the second cycle. At the end of each cycle, the students receive a professional certificate. The FP-2 certificate enables the students to continue their studies at the university schools (see Section 1.1.3 below). (b) Secondary schools (BUP). The only requirement for entering secondary schools is the Graduado Escolar. However, if the student passes the FP1, he or she can enter secondary school in the second year (this does not occur very often). Secondary school comprises three cycles, plus a fourth called the 'university orientation course' (Curso de Orientación Universitaria, or COU). After these four years, students can enter the university schools and university faculties if they have passed the Selectividad exam. (c) Experimental secondary schools (CES). The recently-created experimental secondary school is currently on trial throughout Spain. It basically brings together the main elements of the vocational and secondary schools. It is divided into two cycles: the first has the aim of extending basic education to the age of 16; while the second cycle lasts for three years. In 1984/85 approximately 94% of students leaving elementary school enrolled in one of these options. Students in the BUP/COU courses outnumber these in the FP courses by nearly two to one.* Cordero, L.: Datos de la Enseñanza en España, Curso 1985-86. Statistical information specifically collected for this report, Madrid, 23 March 1987. We would like to express our gratitude for the interest shown by Mr Cordero, Head of the Statistical Studies Service of the Ministry for Education and Science, in providing this up-to-date information. - 4 - 1.3 Higher education Higher education is divided into three cycles: the university schools cover the first one only, while the university faculties and higher technical institutes cover all three: (a) University schools. The basic requirement for entering the university schools is either to have passed the Selectividad or to have successfully finished the FP-2 studies. The courses last for three years, at the end of which a qualification is obtained which provides entrance into the 'qualified' labour market. (b) Higher studies. The higher studies are taught by the university faculties and by the higher technical institutes. They are divided into three cycles. The first (three years) is common to all the students in a given centre. The basic requirement for entering higher studies is to have passed the Selectividad. If the student has gone to a university school and has completed the studies satisfactorily, he or she may be permitted to enter the first cycle of higher studies in the second or third years, depending on the case. In the second cycle (two years long), the student's specialism is studied in greater detail, and at the end of this cycle the student obtains a degree. After this, postgraduate students may enter the third cycle which is composed of a minimum of two courses. Few people enter this third cycle. Its forms and aims vary, although the most common are postgraduate courses, the Master's degree, or studies for a doctorate which are based on an investigation judged by a jury composed of university teachers. Around 19% of the 19-25 age-group are enrolled in higher education*: this represents a spectacular increase over the last twenty or so years. At the time of writing, however, Spanish higher education is undergoing a radical process of change (in relation to structures, curricula, industrial links, etc.) which is likely to alter its shape considerably. 1.4 Other educational options In Spain there are other forms of education apart from those given above, such as education in the arts, school-based adult education and special education schemes for handicapped students. Recently, various forms of informal education have been developed for unemployed people to enable them to * Cordero, L.: op.cit. (see p.3). - 5 - fill their free time constructively. 2. The Operation of the Educational System At the moment, the Spanish education system is in a state of considerable transformation and reorganisation. The progressive application of the two latest laws, the Law of the University Reform or LRU (Organic Law 11/83 of 25/8/83, BOE 1/9/83) and the Organic Law of the Right to Education or LODE (Organic Law 8/85 of 3/7/85, BOE 4/7/85), together with the new Law for Education anticipated in the next year or so, are likely to induce dramatic changes throughout the educational system, especially in secondary and higher education. These modifications are urgently needed in the light of the country's changing manpower requirements, and the alarmingly high proportion of students (nearly 50%) who currently leave school without the Graduado Escolar. 2.1 Aims In its article 1.1, the LODE declares: 'Every Spaniard has the right to a basic education that enables the development of their own personality and of activities useful to society. This education will be compulsory and free from charge at elementary school, and, depending on the case, will be free from charge at any other levels established by Law.' The LODE specifies three types of educational centre: private centres, private centres supported by public funds, and public centres. The aims of the educational system according to the LODE are: (a) The full development of the pupil's personality. (b) An upbringing within the principles of mutual respect and tolerance. (c) The acquisition of intellectual and technical abilities regarding work, as - 12 - developments has held back progress in the guidance field as in others. In recent years, there has been much effort on the part of specialists and educational authorities to re-establish and reorganise the guidance services. But there is still a lack of co-ordination between the different services, and a lack of a clear professional structure, leading at times to a situation close to administrative chaos. Many teachers and psychologists, with university qualifications in educational and vocational guidance, are not able to practise their specialism. The situation has been complicated by the decentralisation of the government into regional administrations, which has led in some areas to the creation of new guidance services not directly dependent on the government. In Spain, there are two guidance services operating at a national level: the Regional Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (Servicios Provinciales de Orientación Escolar y Vocacional, or SOEV), and the Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (Institutos de Orientación Educativa y Profesional, or IOEP). These services are designed for students based at public educational centres - that is, centres which depend directly on the Ministry of Science and Education. There are two other services which depend on the Ministry of Labour: these are known as the Guidance and JobInformation Centres (Centros de Orientación e Información de Empleos, or COIE), and the Vocational Guidance Centres of the National Employment Institute (Servicios Teenicos de Orientación Profesional del INEM). In those regions where the regional administrations have jurisdiction over education, the education-based guidance services are run regionally and take different regional forms. They tend to be more operationally effective than the services run directly by the government. A chart of these various services is provided in Figure 2. - 13 Figure 2 : Main educational and vocational guidance services in Spain Administrative control Clients Main services Provincial Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (SOEV) Ministry of Education and Science (General Directorate for Elementary Education); in some provinces, provincial delegations of the Ministry of Education and Science, supervised by the National Technical Inspection Service for Education Aged 6-14: elementaryschool pupils Educational and vocational guidance of pupils; supporting tutorial role of teachers; information to parents Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (IOEP) Ministry of Education and Science (coordinated by the National Institute of Educational and Vocational Guidance, within the General Directorate for the Second Educational Level) Aged 14-19: vocational and secondaryeducation students, and young people on military service Educational guidance; vocational guidance; specialised guidance for disabled students; assessment and treatment of students with learning or behavioural problems Guidance and JobInformation Centres (COIE) Ministry of Labour: National Employment Institute (INEM) (budgets dependent on INEM and Ministry of Education and Science) Aged 21-25+: university graduates in search of their first job Information; individual counselling (limited); collaboration between university and employers INEM Vocational Guidance Centres Ministry of Labour: National Employment Institute (INEM) Aged 16-25+: especially unemployed people Information; individual counselling (limited); assessment; preselection; placement - 14 - 2. Guidance Services Controlled by the Ministry of Education and Science 2.1 Legislative basis In Spain, the recent curricular plans at all educational levels describe in meticulous detail the contents of the courses which are designed to orientate the student to his or her future entry to the labour market*. These plans lack regulations, however, on how to address the individual guidance of pupils and students in relation to their development into working citizens capable of taking responsible decisions. In other words, they do not specify the functions of a guidance officer who could link the philosophy of the educational plans to the students' vocational objectives. The recent innovations in Spanish educational policy take into account the introduction of greater possibilities for technical qualifications, thus creating a structure for an educational system that can respond to the changing requirements of work. But systematic educational and vocational guidance services to co-ordinate the vocational qualifications with labour-market demands have not been created nor financed. There are many legal declarations related to guidance, but the truth is that few have so far been put into practice. In the General Law of Education of 4 August 1970 (published 1973), article 9.4 contemplates the need for adequate vocational and educational orientation understood 'as a continuous service throughout the whole of the educational system', attending to 'the capacity, aptitude and vocation of the students and facilitating their conscious and responsible choices'. Many other sections and articles of this Law insist on the necessity for educational and vocational guidance at all educational levels (see articles 5.2, 5.4, 9, 9.3, 9.4, 11, 11.3, 11.5, 15.1, 15.2b, 17.2, 18.1, 18.2, 19.2, 19.3, 22, 22.3, 23.c, 27.3, 32, 33, 34, 35, * Diez Hochleitner, R. and others: Educación y Trabajo en la Reforma Educativa Española. Paris: UNESCO, 1980. 15  37.3, 50, 109.1, 111.1, 125, 125.2, 127, 127.1, and many others), but none of these articles has yet been converted into action. Various authors, well known pedagogues and specialists in guidance services* have published their opinions on the need for crossing the chasm between the legislation and the lack of guidance assistance on the ground for Spanish youth. But they have so far had little effect, like prophets preaching in the wilderness. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that some efforts have been made to put into practice specific laws which directly or indirectly aim at the development of educational and vocational guidance. For example, Decree 2480/1970 of 22 August 1970 (BOE 1970), the Ministerial Order of 16 November 1970 (BOE 25/11/70), and the Resolution of 25 November 1970 (BOE 3/12/70), regulate the continuous assessment of the student's performance in the primary educational level, while Decree 147/41 of 28 January 1971 created an * Fuentes, Α., and Ambles, P.: 'Referencias Legislativas'. Vida Escolar, XVIII, 183184, 1976, p.144. Gonzalez, D.: 'Bases que la Ley General de Educación Proporcionara para el Establecimiento de la Orientación en la Educación General Basica'. Vida Escolar, 18, 183184, 1976, pp.140143. García Yagüe, J.: 'La Orientación Escolar como Aventura Pedagogica'. Vida Escolar, 18, 183184, 1976, pp.914. García Yagüe, J.: 'Posibilidades y Limites de la Orientación Escolar en España'. Patio de Escuelas, 2, JulyDecember 1978, pp.1324. Lázaro, Α., et al.: 'El Desarrollo de la Orientación Institucional en España'. Revista de Educación, 270, 1982, pp. 159187. Aznar, P.: Analisis y Prospectiva de la Orientación Educativa. Centro de Publicaciones Universitarias. Valencia, 1982. Sanz, R.: Orientación Profesional y Empleo en la Universidad. Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de la Laguna, 1982. Rodríguez Espinar, S.: Proyecto Docente e Investigador. Barcelona, 1985. Unpublished. Rodriguez Moreno, M.L., et al.: Orientación Profesional y Acción Tutorial en las Enseñanzas Medias. Madrid: Narcea, 1986. (0) - 16 - Educational and Vocational Guidance Office in the Ministry of Science and Education. A Ministerial Order of 31 July 1972 (BOE 31/8/72) provided for guidance services in the 'university orientation course' (COU). When a Ministerial Order of 30 November 1975 (BOE 20/12/75) proposed the provisional regulation of Vocational Education Centres, articles 69 and 70 proposed the establishment of guidance departments within these centres. Royal Decree 264/1977, dated 21 January 1977, made some references to guidance services when it approved the organic regulation of the public secondary schools. A Ministerial Order of 30 April 1977 (BOE 13/5/77) created the Regional Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (SOEV) which are based in elementary education. The Organic Law of 19 June 1980 (BOE 27/6/80) regulated the status of the various schools, and in its articles 2.2, 27.2e, and 36e, mentioned educational and vocational guidance services. Royal Decree 2689/1980 of 21 November 1980 (BOE 26/12/80) regulated the Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (IOEP), and the Ministerial Order of 28 September 1982 (BOE 6/10/82) and Royal Decree 504/1985 (BOE 17/4/85) regulated their method of working. The Ministerial Order of 10 November 1982 (BOE 25/11/82) structured the educational and vocational guidance service in the Foundation for the Promotion of Vocational Education. Finally, tutorial services were briefly mentioned in a Ministerial Order of 29 March 1983 (BOE 9/4/83). 2.2 The Provincial Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (SOEV) The Provincial Educational and Vocational Guidance Services (SOEV) were introduced in 1977. Based in elementary education, they were set up to carry out the main following functions: (a) to provide educational, vocational and personal guidance at the critical moments of schooling;  17  (b) to give help and support to the teaching staff of elementary schools when carrying out their tutorial functions; (c) to give information to parents, pupils and teachers on the possibilities of further education and on vocational opportunities locally and nationally. Their staff have to have a degree in pedagogy or psychology and can also be practising as teachers: their appointment as guidance officers is on a 'secondment' basis, enabling them to maintain their teacher status but also giving them no significant additional payment for their new responsibilities. Until 1983, each province had one SOEV, usually with 67 professional staff. The average annual statistics of each service were:* Schools assisted 30 Pupils assisted 3,000 Tutors advised 150 These average figures concealed substantial provincial variations. In recent years there has been a considerable growth in the scale of these services. At the same time, some of them have been absorbed by the regional administrations, sometimes under different titles: in Catalonia, for example, they are known as Equips d'Assessorament i Orientado Psicopedagògica (EAP) (see Section II.4.1 below); in Andalucía as Equipos de Promoción y Orientación Educativa (EPOE); in Valencia as Servicios Psicopedagogicos Escolares (SPE) (see Section II.4.2). In 28 of the 52 provinces they are still directly controlled by the Ministry of Education and Science, and in these cases there were in 1986 623 professional staff, divided roughly equally between those with degrees in psychology and in pedagogy, producing a ratio ranging from 1:800 students aged 414 in one area to 1:3,600 in another. Further staff increases are anticipated shortly. The work of the guidance Lazaro, Α., and others: 'El Desarrollo de la Orientación Institucional en España'. Revista de Educación, 1982, 270, pp.159187. - 18 - officers (orientadores) is supervised by the Co-ordinating Inspectors, who coordinate the activities of the guidance officers, define their work plans, review reports of services provided, and ratify the appropriate administrative and economic documents related to the service. In terms of the functions of the SOEV, however, guidance for pupils in general on educational and vocational options has increasingly been subordinated in importance to educational guidance for handicapped pupils and for pupils with learning or behavioural difficulties. The policy of integrating such pupils into normal schools as closely as possible has meant that schools have needed more and more help in coping with them. This work now absorbs most of the energies of the SOEV. In this situation, the work on educational and vocational guidance consists mainly of distributing information. Some of the publications of the Educational and Vocational Guidance Office to which the SOEV report are very popular. Most are published by the Ministry of Science and Education. The publications are updated regularly and basically cover study opportunities at the end of compulsory education (several volumes), details of psychometric tests, and the requirements and prospects in the different vocational outlets (construction, administration, fishing, hotel management, agriculture, electricity, electronics, graphic arts, paper industry, etc.). Apart from this, the services are heavily dependent on working through the tutors. These tutors are expected to comment on pupils' interests and on possible directions for further studies in the reports they prepare on each pupil. Often, though, they are neither equipped nor motivated to undertake anything very systematic in the way of educational and vocational guidance. It should also be noted that the work of the SOEV is confined to publicly-funded schools. About a third of the elementary schools in Spain are private: most of these are church schools. These schools receive - 19 publications from the SOEV but do not have access to its other services. They often, however, show considerable initiative in developing their own guidance provision. Despite these difficulties and limitations, the SOEV have contributed to improving the quality of the educational system. They have also begun to raise the consciousness of the general public on the potential role of guidance services. 2.3 The Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (IOEP) The Educational and Vocational Guidance Institutes (Institutos de Orientación Educativa y Vocacional, or IOEP) are dependent on the Ministry of Science and Education and are organised by the Foundation for the Promotion of Vocational Education. The institutes offer their services within the territory of the provinces in which they are based. Some provinces, however, do not have an institute. The function of the institutes is 'to provide vocational and educational orientation' in the secondary and vocational schools; they are also involved in the assessment of the pupils and 'their correct orientation, taking into account their vocational aptitudes and the needs of the labour market' (see the legislation noted in Section II.2.1). They tend to be more involved in educational than in vocational guidance. The National Institute of Educational and Vocational Guidance in Madrid is supposed to co-ordinate the work of the institutes over the country as a whole. It is part of the General Directorate for the Second Educational Level, and has nine psychologists and three psychometricians on its staff. It is divided into four departments: (1) guidance resources; (2) psychometric testing; (3) psychopedagogy; and (4) support to secondary and vocational - 20 - schools. The latter department supports the guidance services in the vocational schools and also deals with some individual cases. The support is offered in various different ways: through the information and technical support given to institute chiefs who come for one or two days to the IOEP to develop their guidance plans, through encouraging centres to follow a common plan, and through fortnightly guidance seminars for teachers.* The truth is, however, that the institute in Madrid does not carry out the co-ordination function very effectively, and that the other institutes tend not to follow the official orders. Also, the guidance service tends to be seen more as a psychometric exercise than as a personal guidance process, and the institutes are under-staffed: currently, there are only three doctors, twelve psychologists and eight psychometric assistants in active service in the whole country. It seems to be generally recognised that the IOEP system is not working well, and that a different structure is needed. Added impetus to the need for reform is likely to come if - as seems likely - the 'experimental secondary schools' become the pattern for the future. This will mean a wider range of choices within schools, and hence an increased need for educational and vocational guidance. One possibility is that the role of the SOEV will be extended to cover second-level education, and will swallow up the remaining institutes. 3. Guidance Services Controlled by the Ministry of Labour 3.1 The Guidance and Job-Information Centres (COIE) The Guidance and Job-Information Centres (COIE) for university graduates * Palacios, V.: personal communication, 1986. - 21 - are specialised departments within certain universities (Madrid, Alcalá de Henares, Granada, Sevilla, Malaga, Cordoba, Santiago de Compostela, and Valencia)*. They are involved in the guidance and counselling of university graduates designed to help them to obtain a job which will enable them to put into practice the knowledge and training received at university and which will accord with their capabilities and personal preferences. The COIE are dependent on the National Employment Institute (INEM) within the Ministry of Labour and are regulated by agreements between INEM and the Ministry of Education and Science. To enable them to carry out their functions, the centres collect information about jobs in different industries, including their requirements, conditions and salaries, and the structure, history, economic and financial state, and geographical location of the industry itself. They then transmit this information to university graduates who may be interested in such jobs, acting where appropriate as a placement office. It is important to point out though that the main aim of the centres is not so much to provide jobs to graduates, but rather to provide graduates with the resources they need to be able to choose a job which accords with their preferences, abilities, and aptitudes. This approach is officially seen as increasing the chances that the first job chosen by the graduate will be the definitive one, with consequent benefits both for the industry and for the graduate. The basic functions and activities of the Guidance and Job-Information Centres are as follows:** (1) Orientation. The centres give individual assistance to university graduates in search of their first job, and offer opportunities for * Guerreiro, Α.: personal communication, 1986. ** Alonso, J., and Lopez, M.: Los COIE de las Universidades Madrilenas. Fundación Universidad Empresa, Madrid, 1983. - 28 - employers involved. The vocational schools of the Municipality of Barcelona have organised some seminars to support the work of the industrial tutor and to develop its guidance elements.* In 1986, 600 students combined work with studies in this way. The autonomous community's Department of Labour also started work in 1986 on developing a Computerised Vocational Information Program (Informacio Professional Assistida per Ordinador, or PIP). The program is currently (March 1987) being used experimentally in two or three centres, but is designed to be placed in due course in all elementary, secondary and vocational schools in Catalonia. It at present comprises an informationretrieval system containing information on 520 occupations: this is to be extended shortly to 1,000, and there are plans to develop alongside it a matching system to enable students to identify the occupations relevant to their interests and aptitudes, as well as printed support materials. In the current program, attractive use is made of colour and graphics, and a printer is provided so that students can take home key items of information. There are also plans to provide trained counsellors or psychologists at each site who will be available to work with the students on an individual basis**: if this is funded, it could transform the quality of guidance in schools. So far, however, liaison with the school authorities has been limited. To develop the system, the autonomous community's Department of Labour has set up a General Directorate of Occupations comprising a chief of service, 2 psychologists, 3 computer scientists and 10 research assistants. * Serra, D.M.: La Tutoria Tecnica a les Escoles Municipals de Formado Professional de Barcelona. Report presented to the II Jornades de la ACOEP 'Transido de 1'Escola al Treball'. Barcelona, 15 November 1986. ** Agulló, X.: Comunicado sobre les Activitats de la Direccio General d'Ocupado de la Generalität de Catalunya (written specially for the present report). Barcelona, January 1987. - 29 - Another initiative, still in the process of institutionalisation, has come from the Direccio General d'Ensenyament Universitari (University Educational Directorate) of the Generalität government. To begin with, it has produced a series of pamphlets for COU students, in which they can find information about the courses available in the three universities of Catalonia, and the career opportunities which can be followed at the end of the courses. These are sent direct to the students* homes. Other projects currently planned include the provision of vocational information and guidance for university students before, during and after their degree studies. A pilot scheme will be put into effect along lines similar to the 'information cells' in French higher education. It is also hoped to encourage contact between students in the final years of their courses and industry through programmes such as Comett.* In addition, April 1987 saw the creation of a new Educational and Vocational Information and Guidance Department by the Generalität of Catalonia, under the direction of a new Department for the Promotion of Education and Services to Students, which is beginning its work with a vocational information campaign aimed at students and the general public aged between 13 and 25 years. This campaign is to be followed by others which will complement the work of the Centros de Información. On top of this, general initiatives are planned in the field of vocational guidance whereby primary and secondary schools (as well as universities) will be able to develop their own independent programmes to aid both tutors and the student population. Educational and vocational guidance is also carried out in Catalonia by * Company, F.: Col*laborado entre Centres d'Estudis Terminals i Empreses. Direccio* General d'Ensenyament Universitari, Department d'Ensenyament, Generalität de Catalunya, 16 January 1987. 30 a number of other organisations which are not directly dependent on the autonomous government of the Generalität. These include: • The Municipal Socio-Psycho-Pedagogical Teams* - based on the Belgian model - administered mainly by the municipality, though some have made agreements with the Regional Administration of Catalonia. The origins of these services derive from the particular needs of the industrial belt of Barcelona. • The Applied Psychology and Psychotechnology Institute of the Diputado of Barcelona, which offers personal, educational and vocational guidance, particularly to those wanting to enter - or to change direction within - the Diputado of Barcelona and other public entities. It carries out the functions performed in some other parts of the country by the IOEP (see Section II.2.3), including developing occupational profiles and helping in pre-selection.** • The Association of Psychologists' Vocational Guidance Working Group, which annually examines and produces proposals on a particular guidance problem.*** • The Department of Vocational Education of the Educational Institute of the Municipality of Barcelona, which is co-ordinated with a Youth Project (Projecte Jove) designed to provide support to young people in urgent need for reasons such as unemployment, drug addiction, dropping out of school, etc. • Some of the Educational Science Institutes, mainly that of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.**** These institutes, one of whose divisions covers educational guidance, originate from the 1970 Education Act. • The vocational guidance programmes broadcast by the Third Channel of Catalan Television, comprising over 25 weekly programmes each of 30 minutes.***** • Monograph on 'Equipos Socio-Psicopedagogicos. Cuadernos de Pedagogia, Volume IX, No. 108, 1983. ** Hornero, L.: personal communication, Barcelona, 1987. *** POC: Pia d'Orientado Ocupacional. Grup de Treball d'Orientado Professional, Col· legi de Psicolegs de Catalunya, Documents de Treball, 1 October 1985. **** Roure, N.: De 1'Escola al Treball: Ensenyar a Trobar Feina: Una Aplicado dels 'Programes de Transido' de la CEE a un Institut d'Ensenyaments Mitjans. Institut de Ciències de l'Educació', Universität Autònoma de Barcelona, 1985. ***** Grau, M., and Marimon, M.: L'Ofici d'Aprendre: Un Programa d'Orientacio Escolar i Professional Emes per TV3. Report presented to the II Jornades de l'ACOEP on 'Ensenyaments Professionals i mon del Treball', Barcelona, 15 November 1986. - 31 - Furthermore, the Department of Youth and Sport of the Municipality of Barcelona has organised some local initiatives for helping unemployed young people in developing occupational plans and finding jobs. In particular, it has set up an Information and Counselling Centre for Young People, which provides information on a wide range of matters of interest to young people, including sexual matters, drug addiction, accommodation, and leisure activities, as well as education and employment (there are similar centres in Madrid and Murcia). As a form of outreach, the centre has set up displays for half a day in a number of local schools; it has also encouraged small groups of 2-4 young people within over 30 schools to act as 'correspondents' who set up displays on a more regular basis, served by the centres.* The hope is that these will offer 'multiplier points', and that information distributed by young people themselves will be more acceptable than that distributed by authority figures. The Information and Counselling Centre for Young People includes a small team which is working in particular in the areas of educational and vocational guidance. This area presents particular difficulties because of the sheer scale and complexity of the information involved. Work has accordingly started on adapting the Canadian computer-based information guidance system CHOICES for use in Spain.** Working with INEM in Barcelona, the system has been 'translated', and a Spanish database is progressively being developed: at present it covers 500 occupations. The system is currently (March 1987) in experimental use in the centre and in three INEM offices in Barcelona, and * Liado, H.: La Informado als Centres d'Ensenyament. Dossier 'Juventud en los Distritos'. Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, November 1986, Code 050411. ** Rubio, M., and Sistemas, X.: personal communication and documentation 'Programa d'Informado i Orientado Professional'. Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, INEM, Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, Barcelona, December 1986. 7) - 32 - there are plans to extend it - if funds can be made available - to all INEM offices in Barcelona, and then progressively in Catalonia and other parts of Spain too. It is also hoped to use the system in schools, if guidance officers can be provided to support it. In the meantime, a 6-month part-time training course for 8-10 graduates in psychology and pedagogy (preferably though not necessarily with a specialism in guidance - see Section II.6 below) - is being set up by the centre in collaboration with INEM to concentrate particularly on practical knowledge of the labour market (which tends to be neglected in the university training): it is hoped that at least 2-3 of these will subsequently be recruited by the centre. Finally, within the municipal authority of Barcelona, the work of the Department of Educational and Vocational Guidance of the Municipal Educational Institute deserves a special mention. In 1954 the psychologist Jesus Ayuda, at that time in close contact with the Belgian and Italian educational guidance services, introduced new psychopedagogical ideas to the then comparatively lifeless Spanish scene. He set up the Laboratorio de Psicologia Escolar (Educational Psychology Laboratory), concerned with pupils' psychopedagogical or learning difficulties. His work came to be highly regarded by the teaching profession as a pioneering attempt to implement in state schools some of the psychological developments which had been applied for some years in the private sector. The unfortunate disappearance of Sr. Ayuda put an end to these efforts, and the laboratory suffered a collapse from 1965 until 1977 when it was re-established under the direction of the careers adviser J.A. Brunet. After some years spent convincing the political authorities of Barcelona, Sr. Brunet succeeded in building a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to the revitalisation of careers guidance in the primary and secondary schools of Barcelona. In recent proposals* they declare their intention of  33  continuing to offer support to tutors in the final years of primary education, especially in helping pupils to choose their subsequent educational programmes, and also in offering a considerably expanded programme of services to the student population aged 1218. The basis for this programme is seen as being: • Coordination of the higher cycle of primary education with the future ciclo polivalente (general course). • Consultation with interested teachers regarding the framework of the new syllabus and its implications for educational and vocational guidance. • Setting up experimental vocational courses based on previous experience in the municipal vocational schools. • Maintaining a close watch on the development of these courses and conducting an evaluation of their aims, contents and method. • Studying the opportunities for linkages between the second grade of the vocational school and the second cycle of the future secondary school. • Studying the transition from school to school and from school to work. The latter includes efforts to consolidate the role of the tutortecnico (technical tutor) who follows up the student in his or her first work placement; it also involves the encouragement of selfemployment and co operative ventures, as well as bringing issues related to working life directly into the school curriculum. These proposals are backed up by a wide ranging series of evaluative and pedagogical initiatives, among which the most important for the purposes of the present report is that of the introduction of educational and vocational guidance into the Proyecto Educativo de la Escuela (Plans for School Education) . This is the first time that such proposals have been published and disseminated in Spain. Brunet, J.Α., Tarrès, Α., Estruch, I., Gascon, I., Méndez, Α., and Resius, D.: Projecte de 1'Equip de Treball per als Cicles 1218 per a l'Ensenyament Reglat i no Reglat. Departament d'Orientado Escolar i Profesional, Institut Municipal d'Educació, Ajuntament de Barcelona, 26 January 1987. - 34 - 4.2 Regional Administration of Valencia In Valencia, the Order of the Council for Culture of 13/5/85 (DOGV 30/5/85) established the structure and functions of the Educational Psychological Services (Servidos Psicopedagogicos Escolares, or SPE) . Amongst their specific objectives are 'to offer educational and vocational guidance to the student, integrating all the elements which influence the assessment of the student's progress and supporting teachers in carrying out their tutorial function'. The SPE's general plan of activities presents educational and vocational guidance among the main functions which it plans to develop in the future. Guidance is seen as being linked with the role of tutors in schools, and the process will also demand the assistance of other community agencies.* This could not have been possible without the work, stemming from as long ago as 1940, of the Municipal Institute of Education** and the Educational Science Institute of the University of Valencia.*** 4.3 Other Regional Administrations In the Basque Country, accordingly to an Order dated 30 April 1985 (BOPV 10/5/85), the intervention of the resources and support centres (CAR) is extended to the second educational level (ages 15-19). This introduces a 'guidance technician' (técnicos en orientación) responsible for vocational guidance. At the moment there are 12 guidance officers in the region. * Rosario, F. del (Chief of the Service for Compensatory Education and PsychoPedagogical Action): personal communication. Consejería de Educación y Ciencia de la Generalidad Valenciana, Valencia, December 1986. ** Zaragoza, J.: El Instituto Municiai de Orientación de Valencia: una Nota Historica. Revista de Psicologia General y Aplicada, 1983. ***Orts, J.M.: Un Estudio Sobre la Situación de los Servicios Escolares de Orientación desde el Punto de Vista de los Directores de Centros. Account given to the II Jornadas de Orientación Escolar y Profesional, Valencia, 1982, organised by the AEOEP and co-ordinated by J.M. Orts. Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Valencia, 1983, pp.289-318. - 35 - The Regional Administration of Navarre created in 1981 a PsychoEducational Guidance Service. Its basic functions are concerned with diagnosis and treatment of learning problems, but it also includes limited attention to vocational guidance. The Regional Administration of Andalusia by Decree 238/1983 (BOJA/12/83) created a Group for the Promotion of Educational Guidance, which is directed towards non-university education. Article 2.2 of the Decree advocates 'the guidance of the pupil through the teacher tutor'. Since its creation, more and more jobs for guidance officers have been announced, and there are now 249 in Andalusia. The services come under the Directorate-General of Elementary Education, with special attention being paid to the needs of those in the countryside.* During 1986 the activities of the guidance officers were distributed as follows: 4,074 activities with teachers, 52,777 with pupils, and 10,817 with parents, with 24.5% of the time being devoted to educational and vocational guidance. In other regions the interest in vocational guidance is increasing, although no specific activities are yet particularly worthy of mention. 5. Private Careers Guidance Services In addition to the official and semi-official services outlined in the preceding pages, mention should be made of the wide range of private services. These can be classified in five groups: • Careers offices set up by qualified counsellors, singly or in group practices, which open their doors to the public in the same way as any commercial enterprise. • Psychopedagogical and professional guidance services in the private schools - nearly always religious, and generally attended by the children * Junta de Andalucía, Conserjería de Educación y Ciencia: Memoria de Actividades, Curso 1985-86; Equipos de Promoción y Orientación Educativa. - 36 - of the upper and upper-middle classes. These services function under the direction of a psychologist or educationalist. The services are paid for by parents, either as a body or on an individual basis. • Careers departments in state elementary and secondary schools, which are supported by subscriptions to parents' associations. Since funds tend to be limited (the state school population in Spain is drawn largely from the lower and lower-middle classes) , the counsellor is often part-time. Their work is mainly concerned with learning difficulties and with educating parents to help their children more effectively, and tends to involve working with groups rather than with individuals. • Careers and psychopedagogical guidance services springing from projects at the municipal level, mainly in the large cities and their industrial suburbs, such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Sevilla, etc., where one or two counsellors are taken on to work through the schools in helping poor or deprived students with basic problems like nutrition, hygiene, emotional and family difficulties, lack of basic education, and illiteracy, and also with juvenile delinquency, which is a problem in such suburbs. Barcelona and Madrid* are particularly affected by such problems, and it is these cities which are providing the models for action for other Spanish cities and towns. • Centres for careers guidance and placement for people who are on the borderline of normal intelligence, but who also have the right to work in their adult lives. There are a number of such centres, and the work of Barcelona's Guia: Centro de Orientación e Iniciación Laboral (Guide: Centre for Careers Guidance and Entry to Work) deserves a special mention. It is a totally private enterprise with no subsidy at all, combining special education with careers guidance for those of low ability and the mentally handicapped. Through preparation-for-work courses and a method centred on individuals or small groups, and with the co-operation of parents and teachers, visits to industry, careful monitoring of pupils and periodic psychopedagogical reports, it is trying to help less gifted young people reach autonomy and full participation in society.** It would be impossible to give definite figures for the numbers of centres like these in Spain: no ministry or professional association has ever managed, nor even tried, to estimate how many such centres there are. * Sanz, Ma. J.: Programa de Orientación Profesional de la Concejalía de Juventud del Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Paper prepared specially for the purposes of this report, 30 January 1987. See also the daily newspaper Ya (20 November 1986) and the magazine Villa de Madrid, Informativo Quincenal (No. 98, 15 November 1986). ** Planas, J., and Hernandez, J.J.: Guía: Centro de Orientación e Iniciación Laboral. Paper specifically prepared for this report, Barcelona, 1987. - 37 - 6. Education and Training of Guidance Officers The education of guidance officers in Spain is almost entirely carried out in the universities, from which the degree of Graduate in Educational Sciences can be obtained. In certain universities (e.g. Barcelona, and the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia), a specific course in careers guidance can be studied. The current curriculum was established in 1977, but a new one will be introduced in 1987-88. In preparation for it, a number of new proposals have already been made.* Currently, a university with a particularly rich offering on guidance is Barcelona, which teaches the Theory and Process of Guidance, Educational Guidance, Vocational Guidance, Vocational Education, Differential Pedagogy, Diagnostic Pedagogy, Vocational Information, and the Planning and Organisation of Guidance Services. Unlike in some other countries, in Spain the guidance courses are taught by the Faculty of Pedagogy and not by that of Psychology. Within this faculty, the Chair of Teaching Methodology currently has educational guidance under its curricular control, though this may not be the case in future. Most of these courses are not sufficient for the student to be considered as having followed a full training course which adequately prepares them for professional practice in guidance. As a full professional diploma in careers guidance does not exist, a person with a general pedagogical or psychological background can take up the profession if he or she so chooses. * Rodriguez Espinar, S.: Criterios Básicos en el Diseno de un Programa de Formacion de Orientadores. Account given to the I Congreso de Orientación Escolar y Vocacional (INEM-MEC), Madrid, 1985. Rodriguez Moreno, M.L.: La Renovación Curricular para la Formacion de Orientadores ante la Reforma de las Enseñanzas Medias. Report presented to the I Congreso de Orientación Escolar y Profesional (MEC-INEM), Madrid, 1985. Rodríguez Moreno, M.L.: Problematica y Tendencias Actuales en la Formación de Orientadores. Report presented to the I Congreso de Orientación Escolar y Profesional (MEC-INEM), Madrid, 1985. European Communities — Commission Educational and vocational guidance services for the 14-25 age group : Italy, Portugal and Spain Document Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 1988 - 110pp. - 21.Ox 29.7 cm EN ISBN 92-825-7855-0 Catalogue number: CB-52-88-025-EN-C Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg: ECU 10.50 BFR 450 IRL 8.10 UKL 7.50 USD 1 3 Venta y suscripciones · Salg og abonnement ■ Verkauf und Abonnement · Πωλήσεις και συνδρομές Sales and subscriptions ■ Vente et abonnements · Vendita e abbonamenti Verkoop en abonnementen ■ Venda e assinaturas BELGIOUE/BELGIE FRANCE PORTUGAL 0 Moniteur beige/Belgisch Staatsblad Rue de Louvain 40-42, Leuvensestraat 40-42 1000 Bruxelles/1000 Brussel Tél. 512 00 26 CCP/Poslrekening 000 2005502-27 Sous-dépôis /Agentschappen: Librairie européenne/ Europese Boekhandel Rue de la Loi 244/Wetslraal 244 1040 Bruxelles/1040 Brussel CREDOC Rue de la Montagne 34'Bergslraat 34 Bte 1 1 Bus 1 1 1000 Bruxelles/1000 Brussel Schultz EF-publikationer Møntergade 19 1116 København K TU: (Oll 14 11 95 Girokonto 200 11 95 BR DEUTSCHLAND Bundesanzeiger Verlag Breite Straße Posllach 10 80 06 5000 Köln 1 Tel. 102 21) 20 29-0 Fernschreiber: ANZEIGER BONN 8 882 595 Telecopierer: 20 29 278 GREECE G.C. 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