Unges deltagelse i vejledning

og samarbejdet herom

Abstract

The article is based on an empirical study ex- amining the cooperation between career guid- ance practitioners and teachers, as well as how young people participate in the complex and conflict-ridden field of school-based career guidance.

There are a number of inherent contradictions in the legislation governing teaching and career guidance in schools. These contradic- tions have an impact on the cooperation between guidance practitioners and teachers and on the participation of young people in career guidance activities. The article shows that the cooperation between different professional groups is a complex matter that is pivotal in determining how career guidance is practised and plays out within the school setting. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that young people participate in career guidance activities based on their understanding of the aim of the activities. Educational choice is a strong category in the field.

The article discusses issues of social justice and how, unintentionally, career guidance and teaching can reproduce unequal conditions for different young people. Efforts to broaden the scope of what young people consider relevant and worthy educational pathways and career opportunities are examined as a crucial task for career guidance with ramifications for so- cial justice.

The article concludes with a discussion of the potentials for developing career guidance provision in schools. A shift in perspective is proposed – from a view that the primary pur- pose of guidance activities is to help young people choose an educational pathway to a greater focus on the learning that participa- tion in guidance activities can support – where learning is understood as expanding the indi- vidual’s influence on the conditions of his or her own life.