Completed project · 2019–2021
Research support for career guidance in upper secondary education
Many school leavers with university entrance qualifications face a difficult choice: hundreds of training occupations and thousands of degree programmes are open to them. Making the right decision is challenging. As a central setting for early career guidance, schools must actively support pupils' individual vocational orientation.
BoGym – Career Guidance in Upper Secondary Education in the State of Bremen – focuses on the upper secondary stages of grammar schools, comprehensive schools and vocational grammar schools. It aims to embed career guidance systematically and sustainably in each school. It also seeks to build a regional network bringing university and business partners in Bremen and Bremerhaven into closer contact with school staff. Our central concern is to support teachers and reduce their workload as they fulfil their statutory career guidance responsibilities.
During the project, we build on existing vocational education concepts and approaches in Bremen's upper secondary schools. Together with teachers, we develop more widely embedded and connected measures and prepare established standards and good practice for wider use. New concepts will reflect current changes in work and the distinctive characteristics of Bremen's economy.
An itslearning course on career guidance is also being developed and tested, alongside an e-portfolio (futurebox) enabling pupils to document their experiences and results, reflect more deeply and ultimately make informed decisions.