Panel D.06 — Evidence-based Educational Guidance
Convenors Veronica Mobilio (Fondazione per la Scuola, Italy)
Keywords Educational Guidance – Lifelong Learning – Evidence-based approach – Social Inclusion – Labour Market Participation
In December 2022, the Italian Ministry of education approved the guidelines for students’ educational guidance (Linee guida per l’orientamento), which aim at strengthening the connection between lower and upper secondary education, tackle early school leaving, and promote access to tertiary education.
The adoption of the guidelines has given input to large debate at the national level with a consequent proliferation of initiatives, platforms, and actions aiming at empowering individuals to realise their full potential, make informed decisions regarding their educational pathway, and progress vertically and horizontally in their careers.
There is no doubt on the importance of educational guidance for education and training, social inclusion, labour market participation, and economic development but a shift is needed from single interventions at key points in an individual’s life to a lifelong perspective, from the provision of external expert support to a more systematic approach engaging individuals throughout their lives and encompassing the development of strategies, competences, and skills to manage transitions.
As in other relevant policy areas linked to education and training, it is of absolute importance to take an evidence-based approach and make sure that education practices and interventions are based on the best available scientific evidence.
What does the research tell us about educational guidance? Is there any bias that we need to consider? What are the approaches that give good results in the short, medium and long term? The panel aims to promote a debate on how to use available evidence on educational guidance to design and/or scale up interventions that promote a more systemic and lifelong learning approach to educational guidance.