NETWORKING AND MULTICULTURAL GUIDANCE SERVICES

A challenge for counsellors and their organisations

IAEVG ConferenceJyväskylä, FINLAND4.6.2009Sauli Puukari & Matti Taajamo

Results of a Finnish ESF project

Project: The Multiprofessional Cooperation to Support the Integration of Immigrant into Working Life The project was a sub-project in CHANCES project

coordinated by the Finnish National Board of Education

Type of project: research and development Aims: Together with local and regional authorities

the project aimed at developing multi-professional cooperation based on networking to support the integration of immigrants into working life

Interviews:

Various groups of people working with immigrants: guidance and counselling, questions concerning immigration and immigrants.

Topics: Need for information on intercultural

education Good practices of immigration work Regional networking

Reflection

Planning of the training(contents and pedagogy)

Planning of the training(contents and pedagogy)

Feedback gathered at the end of training sessions

Feedback gathered at the end of training sessions

Research interviews(main data)

Research interviews(main data)

Reflection

Observation

Research data In-service training

In-service training sessions

Synthesis of the results

Further development of the in-service training

Results related to communication and encountering

Aiming at equity between the counsellor and counsellee

The importance of dialogue in counselling relationship

Culture-sensitive knowledge makes the encounter easier

Results related to communication and encountering

”The one who does the job must first have the right attitude for it, so that he/she meets people as persons, even if they were from anywhere from the world, and works for students, so that he/she sees their opportunities. When working in a group with different ethnicities there can be many different kinds of people, and there might be political and historical tensions. So for functionality of the group an athmosphere of respect must be established.”

(Careers guidance teacher for immigrants, Technical College, Kotka, Finland)

Results related to integration

The teacher has a great responsibility in enhancing integration

Learning Finnish language is important

Questions related to sufficient personal resources and resilience

Results related to integration

”I believe that differentiating is the thing/key for the classroom. For that we need the tools. … So then, in the teaching and learning huge amount of energy is required, when the students/pupils represent different nationalities and languages.”

(Teacher, immigration coordinator, Kotka)

Results related to experienced challenges in working with immigrants

Financial resources are not stable

Both Finns and immigrants need to develop more positive attitudes

Networking between different professionals is crucial

We must make certain that transitions in students’ learning path are smooth

Results related to experienced challenges in working with immigrants

”The starting point is that they are unemployed, seeking for work with [the help of] employment office. From there with the assistance of employment office staff they apply to courses. We have solid cooperation with the employment staff from the student selection (to the course) to the end of the course.”

(Careers guidance teacher for immigrants, Technical College, Kotka, Finland)

Co-operation and networking

No author can alone respond to customers’ need

Problem areas relate to the sufficiency, flow and coordination of information

Multiprofessional and cross-sectoral/cross-departmental co-operation is the solution

The most important observations regarding the challenges experiences in working with immigrants

among the participants in in-service training

The experienced challenge

the levels covered by the experienced challenges

The intensity of the experienced challenge

The need to develop multicultural counselling competences

Individual, organisational, local, and regional levels

Great or medium

The need to develop cultural knowledge

Individual, organisational, and local levels

Great or medium

Development of decision making and allocation of resources

Organisational, local, and regional levels

Great

The most important observations regarding the challenges experiences in working with immigrants

among the participants in in-service training

The experienced challenge

the levels covered by the experienced challenges

The intensity of the experienced challenge

Coordination of multiprofessional collaboration

Organisational, local, regional level, and national levels

Great

Development of multiprofessional working culture and approaches

Individual, organisational, local, and regional levels

Great or medium

Recognition of the significance of immigrant work within one’s own organisation

Individual, and organisational levels

Great or medium

Discussion

The role of leadership is important in developing guidance and counselling services for immigrants!

More attention should be paid to integrating also leaders in development project, not just people who work directly with immigrants

One solution: In-service training which involves all key groups – including leaders - in developing guidance and counselling services

Discussion

Although the need for multiprofessional collaboration is widely acknowledged, too little attention has been paid to systematic development of appropriate approaches and leadership

Leaders from collaborating organisations at local and regional levels should have regular meetings in order to find ways how they could enhance and support multiprofessional collaboration

Discussion

Leaders should familiarize themselves with the everyday guidance and counselling work in order to undertand the needs and requirements of counsellors and other professionals working with immigrants

Counsellors and other professionals should provide the leaders with sufficient information on the situation in their field-work and negotiate about how to ensure good quality in guidance provision

Discussion

Summa summarum: better connections between the management level and field workers as well as between different organisations at local and regional level are needed in order to provide immigrants with good guidance and counselling services

HAVE A NICE SUMMER TIME!