Programme of Professional Higher Education Master Studies “Career Counselor”

1. Programme of Professional Higher Education Master Studies“Career Counselor” The director of the study programme Mg.paed. Inita Soika Anda Zvigule 01.11.2012

4. The professional higher education Master study programCareer Counseloris one of the measures, implemented within Career Development Support System (CDSS) , and it has been developed within the ESF Latvia National Program 3.2.7.1. project “The Supply of Career Education Program in the Educational System”, where the experts from six higher educational establishments of Latviacollaborate: • Latvia University of Agriculture, • University of Latvia, • Daugavpils University, • Liepaja University , • Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy, • Rezekne Higher Education Institution.

5. Master Studies“Career Counselor” started on 2006 First graduates since 2009

6. Degree to be obtained: The professional higher education Master’s degree in Education (MA(Ed)) Qualification to be obtained: Career Counsellor

7. Requirements regarding the preliminary education: • 2nd level professional higher education, teacher’s qualification, or • Bachelor’s degree in Education, or • Bachelor’s degree of Social Sciences in Psychology or psychologist’s qualification, or • Other academic or 2nd level professional higher education and at least 2 years of work experience in counseling, confirmed by the reference issued by the work place.

8. The amount of credits: 80 (CP) 120ETC • The duration of studies: Full-time studies - 2 years (4 terms), Part-time studies – 2.5 years (5 terms)

9. The aim of the program: to provide the students to develop the competences, which would allow performing the career counselor’s duties professionally and carrying out the research in the field of career counseling.

10. The programme also completely complies with the strategy of the Institute of Education and Home Economics (IEHE), the main aim of which isthe ensuring of sustainable activities with the modern academic resources in order to increase the potential of the scientific, educational and counseling activities of the (IEHE) up to the internationally comparable level, preparing the specialists for the competitive activities mainly in the rural regions and developing the study environment and the vocational education in Latvia within the context of the EU strategic position.

11. The objectives of the study program: Theoretical knowledge on: • the theories of career development, • communication and career counseling; • laws and regulations concerning the career support; economical and labor market development processes; • the theoretical aspects and practical implementation of the search for employment process. Perception and comprehensive skillsinto: • the career counselling, • the process of intercultural process, • the guidance of career support. Competencies of research

12. The expected qualitative results: the competences, which allow 1) to performing the career counselor’s duties professionally in order to help the clients to choose their future educational and employment opportunities, 2) to find quickly information and to systemize, process and present it, 3) to carry out educational activities, 4)to implement scientific research projects.

13. Roots of career counselling: • The activities of vocational guidance and institution of tutors at the LUA since sixties of last century • Study advisers since 2003 • Solving of career consulting problems in the Master papers of pedagogy since 1994 • IEHE cooperation with Centre of Rural Area Counsulting since 1992: education programes for farms owners, which have rights to manage practice for students

14. The structure of Theoretical Studies

15. The content of the programm is arranged in 4 modules: • Career and communication theories, comprising the theoretical and philosophical aspects of career development and communication; • Social environment and labor market, comprising the pedagogical and economical aspects of career counselor’s work; • Counseling, comprising theoretical and methodological basics of counseling, including the application of information and communication technologies for the career counselor’s work; • Research, comprising research methodology and the issues related to the Master’s Thesis.

16. Forms and methods of studies • lekcijas / lectures • manual training / praktiskie darbi • workshop / semināri • discussions / diskusijas • work-out, practice, training / treniņi • research work / pētnieciskais darbs • self-depended individual work / patstāvīgie individuālie darbi: 1)presentation / prezentācijas,2)self-reflection / pašrefleksijas, 3)projects of studies / studiju projekti, 4)session work / semestra darbs

17. The content and acquiring competencies of programme to the full accord with realities of Standart of Career Counsellors

18. Academic staffThere are 16 members of the teaching staff are involved in the implementation of the study programme in total:

19. Academic Staff Scientific Degrees

20. Work places of Masterstudents:

21. Facility of career: • Establishments of education • State employment agency • Self-governing/ municipalities • Institutions of social care • Personnel department of enterprise/ establishments • Private praxis • Advisory service

22. The view of students: lacks of Master program • number of praxis placements are insufficient / nepietiek prak’su vietu • few study’ literature in latvian language / maz studiju literatūras latviešu valodā • big volume of self-dependent work / liels patststāvīgo darbu apjoms

23. The developmental plan of the study programme: Promoting factors To establish co-operation with the secondary and vocational schools, State Employment Agency, self-governments and ministries (Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture) regarding the scientific research. Attīstīt sadarbību zinātniskajā pētniecībā ar vispārējās un profesionālās izglītības iestādēm, NVA, pašvaldībām un ministrijām (IZM, LM, ZM). Implementation of ERASMUS co-operation projects together with the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), the University of Münster and Heidelberg University (Germany), Vienna Academy of Environment and Agrarian Pedagogy (Austria), the National Agricultural Development University of Toulouse (France), the TUniversity of Greece ERASMUS sadarbības projektu īstenošana kopā ar Helsinku un Juvaskilas (Somija), Minsteres un Heidelbergas (Vācija), universitātēm, Vīnes agrārpedagoģijas akadēmiju (Austrija), Tulūzas Lauksaimniecības pedagoģijas profesionālo augstskolu (Francija), Grieķijas tehnoloģisko universitāti. Starptautisku zinātnisku konferenču organizēšana un konferences materiālu izdošana pedagoģijā un karjeras attīstībā. • Konsultēšanas prakses koncepcijas pilnveide. • Elektroniskās studiju platformas MOODLE iespēju izmantošana • Konsultēšanas praktisko nodarbību kvalitātes pilnveide, izveidojot un aprīkojot konsultēšanas laboratoriju

24. Thank YOU!