@article{097576b3af014721af7528410f1416d3,
title = "An exploration of adult guidance practitioners{\textquoteright} experiences of policy and practice in the reformed Further Education and Training (FET) sector in Ireland",
abstract = "In this article we discuss findings from an exploratory Irish online survey that examined professional practice issues for adult guidance professionals working in the Irish Further Education and Training (FET) sector. We explore current guidance counselling provision to adult learners in the context of major structural and systemic reforms that have been taking place in the FET sector since 2013.",
keywords = "Adult guidance, adult learners, further education and training, public policy",
author = "Lucy Hearne and Petra Elftorp and {de Paor}, Cathal and Karina Ryan",
note = "Funding Information: Dr. Lucy Hearne is an Assistant Lecturer in the School of Lifelong Learning and Education, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. Her research interest areas are lifelong guidance counselling, career development, adult education, and reflective practice. She is a recipient of an Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) PhD scholarship (2006), IRCHSS New Ideas Grant (2011), Irish Research Council (IRC) New Foundations and IRC Starter Research Grant (2014), UL Seed Funding Grant (2014) and National Institute for Studies in Education (NISE) Seed Fund (2017). Funding Information: The Further Education and Training (FET) sector in Ireland is strongly influenced and informed by international lifelong learning policies where further education and vocational training is frequently described as essential to help individuals overcome impediments to participation within the labour market (Council of the European Union, ; Department of Education and Skills [DES], ; Loxley et al., ; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], ; Russell, ; SOLAS, ; ). Historically, the FET sector has been viewed as the “Cinderella sector” in Irish education due to its diverse nature, fragmented provision, perceived lower status compared to higher education, and the difficulty of realising a definable identity (McGuinness et al., ). In this article we examine the findings from an exploratory quantitative research study conducted with adult guidance practitioners working within the Irish FET sector during a period of rapid and extensive reforms instigated by the Further Education and Training Act in 2013 (Government of Ireland, ). This collaborative study, which was funded by a National Institute of Studies in Education (NISE) Seed Fund grant, was carried out between 2017 and 2019. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2020",
month = sep,
day = "19",
doi = "10.1080/03069885.2020.1811838",
language = "English",
volume = "50",
pages = "128--140",
journal = "British Journal of Guidance and Counselling",
issn = "0306-9885",
publisher = "Routledge",
number = "1",
}