Careers Education System in Cyprus Thesis Proposal

Careers Education System in Cyprus - Thesis Proposal Example Career counselling in Cyprus serves to orient and enlighten the pupils with future employment opportunities and enable them to fully realize their aptitudes and aspirations so they can pursue the most suitable specialization. Having this in mind, the question now is what career guidance program will be suited for fulfilling the needs of the student population. As Cyprus already has a national career guidance program applied in its school system, the issue that seeks to be addressed is the changes that needs to be implemented for it not only to be effective but also responsive to the needs of the students, parent, school management and school staff. This research shall focus on the needed changes in the guidance system of Cyprus as determined by the contemporary social setting so as to be responsive to the needs of the students, educator and parents. To achieve this, the current system of the Cyprus guidance and career provision shall be discussed and analysed for inadequacies pointed out by relevant studies and research. Weak points shall be identified and solutions shall be formulated, again analysed against the backdrop of relevant research. It shall be born in mind of the very important principle pointed out by the National Centre for Guidance and Education (2004, foreword) which is the fact that guidance planning shall rely not only on the expertise of the guidance counsellor but also on the school management, staff, parents and students. In additional, there is a need to go beyond the school premises as the only setting for career guidance programs formulation as there is other equally important externalities that affect such provision directly or indirectly such as government policy and industry trends. The purpose, in summary, is to provide a holistic analysis of different factors affecting Cypriot Career Guidance services and be able to formulate strategies to address any incongruence and insufficiency so as to be responsive to the needs of the students, educators and parents. Review of Related Literature According to the NCGE (2004), career guidance refers to a range of learning experiences provided in a developmental sequence that assist students to make personal and social, educational and career choices about their lives and to make transitions consequent on these choices. A school guidance plan is seen to have these benefits: it provides direction by stating the objectives and priorities of the provision of guidance in a school; it enhances the provision of guidance by targeting the needs of students; it focuses the school's resources to where they are needed most; and lastly, it allows staff to contribute to developments and changes in a positive and collaborative way. Based on these facts, the school guidance system is said to be an integral part of the school plan. (NCGE, 2004) Guidance provision in schools involves a range of guidance and counselling activities and services (Department of Education and Science's Guidelines for Second Level Schools, 1998), relating to students' access to appropriate guidance for an overview on the importance of guidance. Guidance activities that assist students to make choices include: (a) counselling which deals with helping students to explore their thoughts and feelings, and the choices open to them; giving care and support to students learning to cope