Connecting%20Policy%20

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Connecting Policy Practice /Informing
Influencing Policy Development  

• Raimo Vuorinen
• Researcher, Institute for Educational Research
• A Presentation at the Informal Meeting of
  Ministers of Education
• Guidance and Lifelong Learning Future
  Directions
• Dublin Castle, 28/29 April 2004

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Themes

• What role can evaluation play?
• Initiatives generated by the evaluation findings?
• Implementation of the national initiatives?
• Existing tools for the dialogue between policy
  and practise
• Dimensions of guidance provision a new tool for
  communication
• Connecting Policy Practise?

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National evaluations of guidance 2000 - 2004
OECD activity on guidance policies 2001-2003
Ministry of Labour 2001-2002
National Board of Education 2001-2002
FINHEEC 2000-2001
NBE 2002 -2004 - still on progress
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Main findings in the evaluations 2000 - 2004
Contextual findings
General findings

• Legal basis exists
• Guidance is embedded in curricula
• Need for trained practitioners
• focus on completition of
• programmes

• Increased demand
• Many examples of good practise
• Focus on short term decision-
• making
• Transitions were not described
• from a life long learning perpective
• - Focus on educational issues
• Weak feedback mechanisms
• Weak evidence base
• Fragmented policy making
• ICT not used effectively

• Services variable
• in quantity and
• quality
• need for qualified
• practitioners

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What role can evaluation play?

• An intervention to promote the enhancement of
  overall guidance provision within regional and
  institutional levels
• A mechansism to define targets for national
  initiatives
• policy level initiatives -gt implementation
  issues?
• practise level initiatives -gt dissemination
  issues?
• Influencing national guidance policies in Finland
  2003 2008?

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Development Plan for Education and University
Research 2003-2008

• The starting point for the development plan is
  the realisation of basic security in education.
• The aim is to prevent social exclusion and to
  intervene at an early stage to secure basic
  rights throughout the entire education system.
• Priorities include the improvement of the
  effectiveness of the education system, support
  and guidance for children and young people,
  promotion of adult education opportunities and
  research activities.

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Current initiatives to meet the challenges-
comprehensive and secondary education

• national development programme of student
  counselling
• 70 regional projects
• national Web-based support for institutional
  evaluation
• training and mentoring of regional consultants
• 80 trained regional consultants
• in-service training for teachers in guidance
  issues
• in-service training of school principals
• in-service training of guidance practitioners
• national 3-level training programme in ICT skills
  for practitioners

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Current initiatives to meet the challenges -
comprehensive and secondary education

• National guidelines for guidance provision and
  career education
• a strategic and operational plan for the guidance
  provision
• regular evaluation of produced services
• a holistic approach
• student counsellor, every teacher and principal
  are delivering counselling services
  (responsibilities)
• multi-professional cooperation expert groups
  (pastoral care, etc.)
• New goals of the curriculum guidelines
• support personal growth and development
• promote the development of study skills and to
  help in learning difficulties
• counsel and guide students in educational and
  occupational orientation

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Current initiatives to meet the challenges -
Higher education

• Ministry of Education invited all universities to
  draw up development strategies for basic degrees
  and for studies, in which guidance plays an
  important part
• In the target outcome negotiations conducted in
  spring 2002, guidance was one of the themes
  discussed with all the universities.
• Additionally, the Ministry of Education has
  decided that all the HEIs will introduce the
  individual study plan system by the year 2006 as
  a part of the preparation for the two-cycle
  degree system proposed by the European Union in
  the Bologna process
• Additional funding for institutional pilot
  projects in guidance

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Existing tools for the dialogue between policy
and practise

• National policy seminars
• Sustainable national forums
• Internet-based resource centres
• for policy makers, practitioners, trainers,
  researchers, stake holders
• platforms for communication
• databases of research and good practise
• support for national, regional and institutional
  decision making processes

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A new communication tool Dimensions of guidance
provision(Hakulinen Kasurinen 2002)

• factors behind decision making why does
  guidance matter for public policy?
• time dimension when guidance is needed?
• contextual dimension in which framework?
• systemic dimension where are the decisions
  made?
• area dimension what sectors are involved?
• responsibility dimension who provides guidance?
• content dimension what is the content of
  services?
• methodological dimension how services are
  delivered?

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Matris for counselling strategies in education
(Kasurinen 2003)
F a c t o r s b e h i n d d e c i s i o n m a k
i n g
Secondary education
Time dimension (When?)
Comprehensive education
Higher education
Working life
Adult education
Lifelong learning ..
.. . ..
. .
Contextual dimension (Framework)
?
Systemic dimension (Where?)
?
Area dimension (What)
Multi-professional expert groups?
Responsibility dimension (Who?)
Cooperation?
Content dimension (What?)
Transition? Follow-up?
Methodological dimension (How?)
Face-to-face? Group activities? ICT?
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Questions for discussions

• How to promote and develop common understanding
  and communication tools on guidance policy and
  practise within the education sector, between
  the education and employment sectors and also
  with the citizens generally?
• How to engage policy makers, social partners,
  researchers, practitioners and citizens to
  establish sustainable cross-sectoral fora or
  other structures in order to promote guidance
  policy development?

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Thank you! For further information, please
contact University of Jyväskylä, Institute for
educational research Raimo Vuorinen,
Researcher tel. [phone] email
raimo.vuorinen_at_ktl.jyu.fi