Looking at Guidance is a report of the Guidance Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science, Ireland. It consists of an analysis the findings of fifty-five reports on inspections of Guidance in second-level schools carried out from September 2006 to May 2007. The report comments on the quality of provision and whole-school support for Guidance, the quality of planning and preparation, the quality of teaching and learning, and the quality of assessment. The reports also draws on the outcomes of a questionnaire administered to over 1,100 students in the schools where inspections took place. The report discusses features of good practice and concerns identified in the inspections of Guidance.

This report comprises the first comprehensive review of guidance services in second level schools (students aged 12 to 18 years) since the establishment of such services in the 1960s in Ireland. It was carried out in four parts:

1. A survey of the existing use of resources (personnel, capital) allocated for guidance in all 738 second level schools in Ireland by the Department of Education and Science
2. An in-depth survey of 260 of those schools
3. Case studies of guidance provision in 15 of those schools
4. Individual and group interviews with stakeholders (school management, parents, students, guidance counsellors).

Wide variation of experiences of guidance provision, both across schools and within schools, was reported by the stakeholders. The value of certain guidance activities was confirmed but issues of access to and resources for guidance provision were strongly emphasised by all stakeholders.

This well constructed study and report had several aims:

• To establish users' preferences for and usage of different careers information types and sources
• To catalogue existing careers information resources
• To assess both guidance practitioners' and the general public's knowledge of labour market information
• To determine the best means to reach different population target groups 
• To make recommendations for practical improvements in career and labour market information dissemination, particumarly from a user perspective.

The study was undertaken through a combination of desk and field research and involving quantitative and qualitative methods. Policy literature and good examples of practice from other countries were collected. Existing Irish resources were searched, catalogued, and appraised according to the criteria of (i) up to date, (ii) user friendly, (iii) comprehensiveness, and (iv) relevance. A matrix exercise, a statistical analysis, and focus group conversations were other parts of the methodology.

In general, there was very low awareness and usage of existing labour market information resources. Recommendations include the need for improved access to such information and the need to make such resources more user friendly.

This Competency Framework for Guidance Practitioners, developed by a sub-committee of the National Guidance Forum, is designed to inform the trainers and training of guidance practioners in order to provide practitioners with the competences to assist citizens to acquire the knowledge, skills and competences to manage their learning and work (see National Lifelong Guidance Framework in the relevant theme categories on this web site).

The Competency Framerwork is divided into five parts:

1. Theory and practice of vocational, educational and personal and social guidance across the lifespan
2. Labour market education and training
3. Counselling
4. Information and resource management
5. Professional practice.

It is also designed to fit the Irish National Framework of Qualifications which facilitates the accreditation of prior learning and the mutual recognition of qualifications between the education and labour market sectors.  The Framework will enable practitioners to progress from one level of qualification to another and to take on new guidance roles.

This study was commissioned by the National Guidance Forum of Ireland in 2006 to ascertain the views and experiences of citizens on their experiences of the guidance services that were available to them. Such information as gathered from users and potential users informed the recommendations of the National Guidance Forum as to a future lifelong guidance service provision.

The methodology of the study consisted of:

• an extensive review of Irish and international literature to give context to the study and to give a platform for the interpretation of the findings;
• a questionnaire used with individual citizens and organisations; and
• focus groups which targeted the views of older adults, persons of different nationalities, persons with disabilities, unemployed, and persons with low incomes.

The findings showed a keen awareness of respondents of the value of career guidance services, a wide range of opinions on the existing services, and support for increased public investment in the services. Many had difficulty in accessing the services, especially young people and employed people, and needed "guidance" on how to obtain guidance!

This Report covers the first two years' work of the National Guidance Forum of Ireland that was established in 2004. It explains the background and work methods of the Forum and provides an overview of relevant research that informed its deliberations and conclusions/recommendations.

The Report sets out:

•  a framework of the knowledge, skills and competences that enable citizens to manage their learning and work over their lifespan;
• a competence framework for guidance practitioners that enable them to assist citizens to acquire the knowledge, skills and competences to manage their learning and work;
• a code of principles to assure the quality of the guidance services provided and guidelines for the evaluation of such services; and
• proposals for national and local structures to ensure that there is a "joined-up" delivery of a lifelong guidance framework.

The Report also provides a summary of key national and EU policies for education, training and employment and of national and international reviews of policies for career guidance that provide a context for the Forum's deliberations and conclusions.

Full details of the code of principles, of the competency framework, and of the research of Irish public perceptions of the existing guidance services can be found in the appropriate policy theme categories on the ICCDPP site.