Åsa Sundelin

The aim of this article is to examine how the principle of recognition shapes Swedish principals’ handling of, and positions on, career guidance counselling (CGC) for newly arrived students (NAS). Research questions: (1) Does principals’ orientation toward recognition relate to professional or demographic factors such as years in service, gender, the number of NAS, or changes in that number? (2) Do principals’ views also correspond to how they organize and manage CGC? Method: this article analyses quantitative data from a questionnaire administered to principals in compulsory school, upper secondary school, and adult education (n = 152). Results: (1) Female principals reported higher scores on the recognition index, whereas no other demographic or professional factors seemed to be relevant. (2) School leaders who embraced the principle of recognition allocated more resources to CGC that attends to NAS’ pedagogical needs and organized CGC in ways that may be beneficial for certain quality indicators. Moreover, CGC activities in their schools placed greater emphasis on social rights and a long-term perspective on career development, rather than on immediate labor-market entry. Implications for practice: principals who embrace the principle of recognition appear more inclined to steer career guidance in ways that attend both to NAS’ situations and needs. Abstrakt Syftet med denna artikel är att undersöka hur principen om erkännande påverkar svenska rektorers hantering av och ståndpunkter kring studie- och yrkesvägledning (SYV) för nyanlända elever (NE). Forskningsfrågor: 1) Relaterar rektorernas synsätt på erkännande till professionella eller demografiska faktorer som antal tjänsteår, kön, antal nyanlända elever, samt förändringar i detta antal? 2) Speglar rektorernas uppfattningar även hur de organiserar och styr SYV? Metod: I denna artikel analyseras kvantitativa data från en enkät tillställd rektorer inom grundskola, gymnasieskolan och vuxenutbildningen (n = 152). Resultat: 1) Kvinnliga rektorer rapporterade högre värden på erkännandeindexet, medan inga andra demografiska eller professionella faktorer förefaller vara relevanta. 2) Skolledare som omfattade principen om erkännande tilldelade mer resurser till SYV som uppmärksammar NE:s pedagogiska behov, och organiserade SYV på ett sätt som sannolikt främjar vissa kvalitetsindikatorer. Dessutom fokuserade SYV-verksamheten vid deras skolor mer på sociala rättigheter och ett långsiktigt perspektiv på karriärutveckling, snarare än en omedelbar etablering på arbetsmarknaden. Implikationer för praktik: rektorer som omfattar principen om erkännande förefaller vara mer benägna att styra vägledningen på ett sätt som uppmärksammar både nyanlända elevers situation och behov samt centrala kvalitetsindikatorer för ledning av vägledning. Nyckelord: Studie- och yrkesvägledning; erkännande; skolledning; nyanlända elever

This paper focuses on the support given by schools to students who are likely to leave Swedish compulsory education without the grades required to enter upper secondary education (USE). The aim is to increase knowledge about career counselors’ and teachers’ strategies and work in lower secondary schools in order to facilitate this critical transition, and to examine factors influencing this support. It takes as its starting point theoretical frameworks stressing the agency of professionals in welfare organizations, and the importance of support during the educational transitions of young people at risk. The paper builds on interviews with 20 teachers and career counselors in six municipalities of varying character. Teachers’ and career counselors’ micro-choices have a major impact on the support provided to students. Their work consists of direct and indirect support, with the former referring to prescribed professional assignments. Indirect support, taking the form of advocacy, relational, and emotional work, is not officially recognized, but appears to be a necessary precondition for the direct support. The transition seems to be at risk of becoming overly fragile unless the support is characterized by sustained collaboration between school actors in compulsory school, and between compulsory and USE levels.

In this article we analyse what happens to career counselling when it is intertwined with the asylum process. A Swedish example is an amendment to the education legislation, regarding residence permits for upper secondary level students. Following the resulting changes in juridical, educational and interpersonal conditions, career counsellors must deliver ‘high-stakes counselling’ that can profoundly affect individuals’ prospects of asylum or deportation. Our analysis is based on ethnographically inspired fieldwork, a survey and Bernsteinian theory. In current Swedish conditions, tight matching to demands of the labour market is essential in this ‘high-stakes counselling’. We conclude that a consequence is institutional introduction of conditional citizenship of asylum-seeking students. This allows countries to select migrants through education, which severely conflicts not only with counselling ideals, but also democratic and equality values regarding possibilities to make choices for the future, thus creating ethical dilemmas for counsellors.