These three (seemingly) simple questions play a pivotal role when young people are in the process of choosing a degree program and profession.
Schools and teachers make a valuable contribution to helping their secondary school students answer these questions, which is augmented by study orientation programs offered by universities.
School is not only a place where the formal requirements for university studies are established and fulfilled – as places of education, learning, and living, schools also give their pupils important guidance and direction about their interests, abilities, and (career) goals, and help them get to know themselves better.
As teachers, you can use your subject and educational expertise as part of your daily lessons or in special career and study orientation (Berufs- und Studienorientierung, BSO) programs to empower your pupils to engage in self-reflection and take responsibility.
This will give them the skills they need to make informed choices about their studies and careers.
We are happy to support you here!
Career and study orientation is a process with four basic steps.
In line with the guidelines issued by the Ministries of Education, such as the Guidelines on Choosing a School Path and Preparing for Career Choice and Study Orientation in Rhineland-Palatinate (Richtlinie zur Schullaufbahnberatung sowie Berufswahlvorbereitung und Studienorientierung), schools and cooperating partners contribute to the individual steps in a variety of ways.
Depending on the school’s requirements and its environment, this contribution takes different forms and incorporates different components. Schools can access a wide range of guidance and support services from universities, educational institutions, professional associations, and the local branch of the German Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit).
These services can only be effectively integrated if secondary school pupils are encouraged to explore the following questions in class:
- Where am I in the process of career and study orientation and what direction do I want to take?
- How can I utilize the respective offers; what are my expectations?
- What questions would I like answers to?
- How do I document the answers; how do I structure new information?
Ideally, the topic of career and study orientation is integrated into the curriculum and not exclusively limited to attending informational events
With this in mind, the following questions play a key role in planning your school concept:
- What is already available at our school?
- What works well?
- What do we need?
- What sources and experiences can we harness here?
- What contributors can we involve?
You are not alone in this: We can help you develop a suitable concept!
