Careers guidance preparation: (re)constructing the future

Abstract

ln this chapter the development of the careers guidance subject in the Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling) degree at James Cook University is discussed. The old careers guidance subject, where students become aware of the traditional and emerging approaches of the field, was found to be limited. It was supplemented in the new subject by skills to deconstruct and reconstruct the discourse. Two useful approaches have been 'learning how we make meaning' and 'critical pragmatism'. Students are not only given tools to critically challenge metatheoretical assumptions but also to reconstruct those assumptions so that their practice as guidance officers can be responsive, proactive and critical.