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The methodology of participatory action research to develop cooperation and

quality in guidance provision.An Italian experience.

Giulio IANNIS – Centro Studi PluriversumIAEVG Conference 2009 Finland

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Provincia di Grosseto – Employment Department –Local Authority – Grosseto (Italy)

Project leader

www.provincia.grosseto.it

Centro Studi Pluriversum -Guidance and training provider - Siena (Italy)

Coordination

www.pluriversum.it

Who?

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Where?

South of Toscana

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Development of a local integrated guidance system, centred on the client

to build and develop a local network to improve the offer of guidance provision to define common rules and tools to improve the quality of guidance provision

The main aim of the projectWhat?

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New EU Council Resolution 2008

• Council Resolution on better integrating lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies

(2905th EDUCATION, YOUTH AD CULTURE Council meeting - Brussels, 21 November 2008)

Priority Areas:

1. Encourage the lifelong acquisition of career management skills;

2. Facilitate access by all citizens to guidance services;3. Develop the quality assurance of guidance provision;4. Encourage coordination and cooperation among the

various national, regional and local stakeholders.

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New EU Council Resolution 2008

Some emerging issues:• Governments have a key role in creating conditions for

the emergence and development of lifelong guidance systems at a national and local level;

• Guidance services should have a wide range of delivery modes, ideally provided in an integrated way and in a variety of locations;

• Quality assurance systems for lifelong guidance can act as a mechanism for joining together a coordinated network through the development of a common delivery culture; So that citizens are comparably served by all network partners

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New EU Council Resolution 2008

The development of high quality guidance provision for all European citizens is a priority of all European national Governments and Local Authorities.

Guidance services have to be accessible at all stages of life to enable citizens to manage their learning and work pathways and the transitions therein.

The local systems should coordinate and valorize all the guidance resources of the context through an efficient networking model aimed to share information, to facilitate common experiences and to create new professional knowledge among organizations and practitioners.

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A starting point….

... to “light” the network

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Reform of the education system

• Compulsory education in Italy

Age Higher Education

Work

→ 18 School Vocational training

Apprenticeship

→ 16 School

PES (CPI)Guidance

and tutorship

• Guidance for young people (minors, dropped out from education) Information Guidance counselling

Guidance for young people in the public employment services

• Tutorship and vocational guidance

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Guidance for young people in the public employment services

• A new function for PES in Italy (no previous experiences with young school-leavers)

• Increasing social complexity and guidance needs of young people and parents

• Significant demographic shifts• Relevant questions and

challenges on quality standards of guidance provision

• Need to improve cooperation and integrated intervention planning with schools

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Participatory Action Research

“The door to effective change is locked from the inside”

C. Argyris

• Research as a methodology of intervention (theory)

• Action as an opportunity to change (praxis)

• Participation as a process to create new knowledge and to evaluate the results

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The methodology – Participatory Action Research

• Practitioners as researchers

• Promotion of learning process to change

• Social production of new knowledge

• Documentation and reporting of each activities

• Reflection-in-action

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Participatory Action Research

The guidance practitioners played the role of researcher to:– Reflect the emerging problems– Look for a good solution– Check the proposal on the fieldwork– Analyze the changing– Implementing a new action

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Participatory Action Research• Participatory action research starts with

reflection-on-action, and proceeds round to new action which is then further researched.

• The new actions make starting a new cycle of research.

• This approach promote a strong relationship between theory and practice.

• All the activities produce new knowledge for the researchers and for the guidance practitioners, as well.

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“FIORIR” project The methodology of participatory action research to develop

cooperation and quality in guidance provision.

• A pilot experience in Toscana (2007-2008)

• STEP 1

• STEP 2

• STEP 3

• STEP 4

• Training pathway for teachers and guidance practitioners

• Code of ethics and common principles

• A model of intervention

• A monitoring system, centered on clients

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NETWORK

The actors of the projectTrade Unions

Schools

PublicEmployment Offices

PES Local AuthoritiesSocial Services

Guidance, training andsocial organizations

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The actors of the project

• 56 teacher and guidance practitioners from different local organizations

• 8 researchers from the University of Florence and other Research Institutions

• 12 experts in the field of career guidance• 6 decision makers from Local Authorities and

Trade Unions

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STEP 1

• Training pathway for managers and guidance practitioners

• Development of “ideas” on quality for guidance provision

• Working groups to describe the daily activities and to identify the relevant processes and resources

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FIORIR projectThe pathway

4 SEMINARS – 20 hours

Focus Groups - 12 hours

Working Groups - 36 hours

Project Works – 100 hoursPlanning and management of guidance intervention

All the activities were supported by a web platform, based on the cooperative learning approch

(Moodle)

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FIORIR projectThe web platform

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FIORIR projectThe web platform

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STEP 2• Code of ethics and common

principles

• Starting an Action Research to work out and share a code of ethics for the lifelong guidance system at a local level

• Focus groups to propose quality standards for the guidance services and to elaborate a “Customer Charter”

• Working groups to describe procedures and common aims to improve the quality of guidance provision

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The working groupson different aspects

Language

Methodologies

Ethic of guidance

Skills and training of

practitioners

Network and networking

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STEP 3• A model of intervention

• Development of the Action Research process, to check “on the field” the quality procedures

• Connection improve the quality procedures and to define a common model of intervention

• Working groups to identify emerging problems and to improve the quality of the daily guidance activities

• Tools: interviews and focus groups, job shadowing, reports and diary, forum on the web platform

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STEP 4

• A monitoring system

• Development of a “monitoring tool” that can be used on line, every time by all the guidance practitioners, working in different areas

• A field work to check the system and to reflect on the results

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Evaluation of the project: some key-words• Complexity → Is the lifelong guidance system able to

change quickly the offer of guidance provision to face the new emerging needs and a dynamic evolution of customers guidance demand?

• Quality → how can we improve the management of the guidance resources and facilitate access by all citizens to guidance services? How can we develop the quality assurance of guidance provision?

• Networking → is the governance of the system able to encourage coordination and cooperation among the various national, regional and local stakeholders?

• Staff → Are the practitioner able to improve their key-skills and to take actively part in a professional learning community?

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Evaluation of the project: some key-words

• Complexity → Participatory Action Research Methodology

• Quality → Code of Ethics, Customer Charter, integrated planning

• Networking → working groups on rules, tools and procedures, professional relationships among partners, cooperative web-platform

• Staff → individual learning process, reflaction-in-action, training on the job, learning comunity

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A new starting point….Schools andEmployment Office are now working

together to:• plan integrated guidance activities,• improve and update useful

information for students and unemployed people

• share guidance tools and promotion materials

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References

• Peavy, V. (1998). Sociodynamic counselling: A constructivist perspective. Victoria, Canada

• Peavy, V. (1992) A Constructivist Model of Training for Career Counsellors. Journal of Career Development, 18:3, pp215-218

• Amundson N.E., Active Engagement. Enhancing the career counselling process. Ergon Comunications, Richmond Canada, 2003

• Amundson N.E., Harris-Bowlsbey J., Niles S.G., Essential Elements of Career Counselling, Pearson Education, New Jersey USA, 2005

• de Mennato P. (a cura di), Progetti di vita come progetti di formazione. ETS, Pisa, 2006

• Frauenfelder E., Saracino V. (a cura di). L’orientamento. Questioni pedagogiche. Liguori, Napoli, 2000

• Grimaldi A., Quaglino G.P. (a cura di), Tra orientamento e auto-orientamento, tra formazione e autoformazione. ISFOL, Roma, 2005

• Orefice P., La ricerca azione partecipativa, Liguori, Napoli, 2006