Identifying best practice in career education and development in Australian secondary schools

This review aimed to identify the tenets of best practice in career education and development within Australian schools. Analysis of 13 articles revealed that career education and development is increasingly recognised as the critical transitional mechanism for young people. An embedded, whole-school approach with services tailored to the individual, school, community and culture was a central theme. Furthermore, one-on-one counselling by appropriately resourced and qualified professionals, provision of experiential learning opportunities, and the inclusion of activities aimed at inspiring students and equipping them with the skills of forethought, reflection, flexibility and decision-making were also critical. Designing a perfect model of delivery or theoretical framework is untenable, but identifying attributes of exemplary practice provides a basis for improvement and adaptation to students and contexts with differing needs. Opportunities for future research are also discussed briefly.