School guidance in a multicultural Ireland: what should the future look like?

The findings provide evidence that the traditional school guidance approach of identifying career interests and aptitudes to inform education and career planning with an homogenous student cohort of the majority population, is not sufficient for this cohort of young people. Taking a Systems Theory Framework approach, this study identifies that a Guidance Process Gap arises when the guidance relationship between the young person and the guidance counsellor is negatively impacted by various influences, leading to barriers to engagement with guidance.

The research identifies the need for specialised intercultural competence training for guidance counsellors and the development of a nationally standardised model of guidance policy and practice to address the complex guidance needs of young people of immigrant backgrounds in all schools.<br><br>This research contributes to the literature on intercultural competences for guidance counsellors and identifies the need for further research on the complex guidance needs of this non-homogenous cohort of young people of immigrant backgrounds in post-primary schools in Ireland.<br>