Career Development: Defining and Measuring Quality.

Abstract

In August 2014, the NSW Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommended that: by June 2015, the Department of Education and Communities conduct an evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of career advice provided in schools. To undertake such an evaluation, it is first necessary to determine what is meant by ‘quality and appropriateness of career advice provided in schools’. Given that there are no universal definitions or measures of quality career advice, the University of Melbourne has been engaged by the NSW DEC to: • Undertake an extensive literature review to identify best practice indicators of quality career advice within school contexts. • Determine to what extent existing data available from within the three data collection programs within the DEC (i.e., the Expectations and Destinations of NSW Senior Secondary Students Survey, the Student Pathways Survey and the annual Online School to Work Program reporting) can be re-analysed to provide evidence of ‘quality career advice’ in accordance with the best practice indicators identified. • Recommend further strategies and actions the Department should consider to adequately respond to the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation.