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Career repertoires of IT students: A group counselling case study in higher education

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International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Uncertainty about future career prospects has increased enormously for students enrolled in higher education Information Technology (IT) programs. However, many computer science programmes pay little attention to career counselling. This article reports the results of a pilot study intended to develop group counselling for IT students to promote the students’ agency concerning their future careers. The group counselling discussions were analysed from the discourse-analytic perspective. Five repertoires were found: the status, the professional career, the pedagogical orientation, the employability, and the emergency plan repertoires.

Résumé

Répertoires de carrières pour les étudiants en informatique : Une étude de cas en éducation supérieure. Les étudiants inscrits dans les programmes d’études supérieures en Informatique et Technologie sont confrontés à une incertitude grandissante face à leur avenir professionnel. Malgré cette situation, peu de programmes en sciences informatiques accordent de l’attention à l’orientation professionnelle. Cet article rapporte les résultats d’une étude pilote visant à développer des groupes de counselling pour les étudiants en IT, afin de promouvoir leur agentivité (agency) dans leurs futures carrières. Les discussions du groupe de counselling ont été analysées du point de vue du discours-analytique. Cinq répertoires ont été trouvés : le statut, la carrière professionnelle, l’orientation pédagogique, l’employabilité et les répertoires de plans de secours.

Zusammenfassung

Laufbahn Repertoires von IT-Studenten: Fallstudie einer Gruppenberatung in der Hochschule. Die Unsicherheit über die künftigen Berufsaussichten hat sich für Studierende an Hochschulen in Informations-Technologie (IT) Studiengängen enorm erhöht. Allerdings schenken viele Informatik-Studiengänge der Laufbahnberatung wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Dieser Artikel berichtet über die Ergebnisse einer Pilotstudie zur Entwicklung von Gruppenberatung für IT-Studenten, um deren Handlungsfähigkeit betreffend ihrer beruflichen Zukunft zu fördern. Die Gruppenberatungsgespräche aus der diskursanalytischen Perspektive analysiert. Fünf Repertoires wurden gefunden: die Repertoires Status, beruflicher Werdegang, pädagogische Ausrichtung, Beschäftigungsfähigkeit (Employability) und Notfallplan.

Resumen

Repertorios profesionales de estudiantes de Informática: Un estudio de caso de orientación grupal en Educación Superior. La incertidumbre sobre futuras salidas profesionales ha aumentado enormemente entre los estudiantes matriculados en programas de Tecnologías de la Información (TI) o Informática. Sin embargo, muchos de estos programas prestan poca atención a la orientación profesional. Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio piloto cuyo objetivo era proporcionar orientación grupal a estudiantes de informática (Tecnologías de la Información) para promover su protagonismo (agencia) en relación a su futuro profesional. Mediante la metodología del análisis del discurso se analizaron las discusiones de las sesiones de orientación grupal. Se encontraron cinco repertorios: el estatus, la carrera profesional, la orientación pedagógica, la empleabilidad, y los repertorios del plan de emergencia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Leena Penttinen

  2. Agora Center, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Mikko Vesisenaho

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  1. Leena Penttinen
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  2. Mikko Vesisenaho
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Correspondence to Leena Penttinen.

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Penttinen, L., Vesisenaho, M. Career repertoires of IT students: A group counselling case study in higher education. Int J Educ Vocat Guidance 13, 203–215 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-013-9252-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-013-9252-0

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