RICHARD Keane, co-editor of the careers publication Student Yearbook and Career Directory, has been appointed development officery the National Centre for Guidance in Education. He was editor of the Journal of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors and is an active member of the institute having previously served on its national executive.
Keane was guidance counsellor in St Aidan's CBS, Whitehall, Dublin, before taking up his appointment with the NCGE. He was consultant to the original Careers and Living series edited by the late Christina Murphy, and has contributed to the paper on a variety of guidance topics.
The NCGE celebrated its first anniversary on September 1st this year and the publication of the Guide lines for the Practice of Guidance and Counselling in Schools earlier this year was, undoubtedly, its first major milestone. One of the key recommendations was the use of exquota guidance counsellors for guidance purposes only. The recommendations of the report were accepted by the Minister for Education and the Department of Education has undertaken a survey to determine the extent to which guidance counsellors' hours have been allocated for other purposes.
Over the past year, the centre gave direct grant aid to 14 innovative guidance projects involving second-level schools, third-level colleges, and relevant support agencies and organisations. It also commissioned two research studies - "Principals' perception of the guidance service in post primary schools", which has been forwarded to the Minister for Education, and "A study on the guidance material needs of pupils, parents and counsellors".
As to the coming year, John McCarthy, director of NCGE, says that the centre will be involved in the preparation of a major in-service initiative for guidance counsellors and school principals. It is hoped that the planning phase of this initiative will be completed by the end of the year.
The in-service training itself will take two to three years to complete.
The centre, in collaboration with the school of education studies in DCU and DIT College of Marketing and Design, has also undertaken a survey of the guidance needs of adults in education. It will determine how such a guidance service would be structured and funded, says McCarthy. This survey should also be completed by the end of the year.
In December, the NCGE will host a major EU conference entitled "Guidance in the information society". Among other issues, the implications of the information society for guidance policy at EU and national levels will be explored.
In preparation for the conference a review of the use of information and communication technologies for careers guidance in 24 European countries will be undertaken. A summary of the results will be presented.
Keynote speakers include Anders Loven of Sweden on the role of the guidance practitioner, Marcus Offer, of the UK, on technologies and products and Jim Sampson, of the US, on quality and user issues.
