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Focus on career orientation: our research on the road

In September and October, we had the opportunity to present our latest research findings from various projects at several scientific conferences and discuss them with colleagues.

The following topics were covered:

• Teachers' skills in career guidance
• The influence of the social situation at school on career choice skills
• The potential of prepared internships to promote career development
• Promoting career development in primary education
• Digital career guidance services

These contributions were presented at the PAEPS conference (conference of the Educational Psychology Section) in Jena, the WiN·BO conference (annual conference of the Scientific Network for Career Guidance (WiN·BO)) in Baden (near Vienna), at the Graz Vocational Training Congress and the ECER (European Conference of Educational Research) in Belgrade, and at the BWP conference (annual conference of the Vocational and Business Education Section of the German Society for Educational Science) in Darmstadt.

The stimulating discussions following our presentations provided valuable impulses for the further development of our research and enabled an intensive professional exchange with experts from academia and practice.

We are delighted about the great interest in our work and look forward to the next steps in our projects.

Training Day 04.09.2025

The working group held its own workshop at the University of Münster's ‘Training Day’.

Entitled 'Finding a career that I enjoy – a workshop for young people who are still unsure', the workshop offered interested school students the opportunity to engage with their professional future.

During the workshop, the students first took an online career test to gain an understanding of what kind of training might be suitable for them. They then came up with questions to ask the trainees at the event, in order to find out more about different jobs from people who actually do them.

Overall, the workshop provided a valuable opportunity to discuss career goals, work experiences and future plans.

The workshop was led by Cathrin Nauhauser, a student for Berufskolleg.

Lower Saxony Police Academy visits the lecture ‘Introduction to Career Guidance’

On 2 July 2025, the Lower Saxony Police Academy gave a guest lecture at the Fürstenberghaus. The event was part of the ‘Streaming for Talents’ cooperation project organised by the Career Guidance Working Group and was organised as part of the ‘Introduction to Career Guidance’ lecture led by Dr. Jochen Kinast.

The guests were social media creator Alea Jane Kregel and police chief inspector Johannes Wetzorke. In their lecture ‘Career Paths and Employer Strategies in the Police Force: A Practical Insight from Lower Saxony,’ they provided information about career paths in the police service and presented current employer branding strategies – with a special focus on the use of TikTok to address young target groups.

The speakers provided personal insights into their everyday working lives and showed how social media is used specifically for recruiting young talent and image building.

The audience was made up of students from various disciplines, including educational sciences and international students. The presentation offered them practical ideas for career orientation and stimulated discussion about modern forms of career and employer communication.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Alea Jane Kregel, Johannes Wetzorke and the Lower Saxony Police Academy for their inspiring presentation.

The JUBEKO project, launched in 2022 at the University of Münster, supports young people in preparing for work placements individually and cooperatively in order to improve their chances of securing a training position. It includes workshops, counselling, the presentation of work placements and the development of new concepts for company support in the pre-boarding, onboarding, implementation and offboarding phases. Scientific support and the involvement of students in service learning programmes ensure the long-term effectiveness of the project.

In cooperation with Wolbeck Secondary School, the project has been helping students prepare for their work placements for three years. This year, for the first time, 26 students will start apprenticeships after graduating from secondary school, including two at the university as precision mechanics. The project thus demonstrates clear added value for the young people's professional future.

https://www.realschule-wolbeck.de/allgemein/erfolgreiche-vermittlung-dank-kooperationen/

Career Lead

Closing conference

On 23 and 24 April, the closing conference of the CAREER LEAD project (https://career-lead.eu/) took place in Baden, Austria. This gave us an opportunity to review all the milestones and successes of our project.

The aim of the project was to establish a European network of researchers in the field of school-based career guidance. This goal was successfully achieved through the collaboration of eight institutes from five countries. The intention is to strengthen cross-border cooperation in research in order to promote mutual benefits for the participating countries. Two online conferences were also successfully held as part of the project. These conferences provided a forum for young researchers, practitioners and experts to exchange ideas and expertise.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration!

Research seminar "Media, careers and professional identities"

The research seminar "Media, careers and professional identities", which took place in Copenhagen on 10 June 2025, was organised as part of the collaborative research project "Streaming for Talents", which is led by Jochen Kinast, Johannes Riis and Katja Driesel-Lange. The project is a collaboration between the University of Münster and the University of Copenhagen and investigates how media use, professional development and identity formation are linked - particularly in law enforcement and social work professions. The participants also included university lecturers from the University of Aarhus, who contributed to an interdisciplinary and international dialogue. Dr Jochen Kinast presented ‘A Comparative Analysis of Danish and German Police Officers' Media Usage’ on this occasion. Prof Katja Driesel-Lange followed with findings on ‘Internships as a central activity of career guidance’ and presented a cooperative teaching and research project that aims to support the professional development of young people through structured, practical learning experiences.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7_csfYTNX8&t=1s

The Vocational Orientation Working Group introduces itself within the Network Grüne Arbeitswelt https://gruene-arbeitswelt.de/ . The Network is an association of actors and institutions that are committed, among other things, to vocational orientation in the sustainable and environmentally friendly world of work. It promotes training and further education in 16 green occupational fields in order to attract qualified specialists for climate protection. Founded in 2017, the network works regionally and nationally to actively shape the transition to a sustainable economy in Germany.

We are delighted to be part of this network!
 

Berufliche Orientierung beim Tübinger Podcast zur Wirtschaftsdidaktik

Der Tübinger Podcast „Wirtschaft unterrichten“ unterstützt (angehende) Lehrpersonen im Fach Wirtschaft. Unterschiedliche Expert:innen der ökonomischen Bildung und der Wirtschaftsdidaktik gewähren Einblicke in ein je spezifisches Themenfeld. Die Gespräche nehmen zentrale Begriffe und Methoden des jeweiligen Themenfeldes auf. Praktische Zugänge wie Instrumente und Tipps für die Unterrichtspraxis werden ebenfalls vorgestellt. Die gesamte Reihe finden Sie unter: https://wirtschaft-unterrichten.de/services/podcast

Folge 5: Berufliche Orientierung
 

Forschungsaufenthalt in Graz, Österreich

Im Rahmen einer Kooperation mit der Pädagogischen Hochschule Steiermark (Österreich) konnte im Frühjahr 2025 das Thema Berufliche Orientierung in der Primarstufe aufgenommen werden. In einem Pilotprojekt mit vier Volksschulen in der Südsteiermark wurde ein adaptiertes Workshopkonzept erprobt, das Bildungs- und Berufsorientierung als Aufgabe der Schulentwicklung bearbeitet. Das Bewusstsein für die Förderung der beruflichen Entwicklung in der Kindheit war Ausgangspunkt für weitere konzeptionelle Überlegungen der Verankerung des übergreifenden Themas Bildungs-, Berufs- und Lebensorientierung. Gemeinsam mit dem gesamten Kollegium wurden die schulindividuellen Zugänge reflektiert, Ressourcen bestimmt und Ziele für die Weiterentwicklung erarbeitet. Im Sommer und Herbst 2025 wird die gemeinsame Arbeit mit den Schulen fortgesetzt. Die Ergebnisse der begleitenden Forschung werden auf dem Grazer Berufsbildungskongress und der Jahrestagung des Wissenschaftlichen Netzwerks Berufsorientierung präsentiert.
 

Dritte Workshopreihe in DIGIBO Best!

Im Rahmen des Projekts DIGIBO Best! hat die dritte Workshoprunde begonnen. Von Februar bis Juli 2025 werden weitere Workshops mit den teilnehmenden Schulen zum Thema Berufliche Orientierung durchgeführt. Ein besonderes Highlight dieser Workshoprunde ist die Zusammenführung der Schulen, die an DIGIBO Best! teilnehmen. Das bedeutet, dass wir zwei Schulen zu einem bestimmten Thema zusammenbringen, sodass sich diese zu spezifischen Themen austauschen und voneinander profitieren können. Weitere Informationen: https://www.berufswahlkompetenz.de/aktuelles/schuluebergreifende-workshops
 

Zum zweiten Mal richtet das europäische Netzwerk Career Lead eine Online-Konferenz aus. Diese findet unter dem Thema „Career Guidance in Science and Practis: How the Transfer can be designed?“ vom 03.- 04. April 2025 statt.

Jerusha Klein und Katja Diesel-Lange sowie Fabian Staudinger und Sabine Zenz von der Pädagogischen Hochschule Niederösterreich sind mit dem Beitrag „Career Guidance as a Task of School Development - Presenting a comparative design of a study conducted in Austria and Germany“ vertreten.

Weitere Informationen finden sich unter: career-lead.eu

Projects

Current projects

• DIGIBO BEST! Mit digitalen Tools Berufliche Orientierung an Schulen entwickeln und steuern
• JUBEKO Jugendliche für das Betriebspraktikum kooperativ vorbereiten
• Streaming for Talents: The Impact of Mass Media on Professional Images
  Link D
  Link DK
• WBT Online-Recruiting
   

Completed projects

• CAREER LEAD European Scientific Network for Career Learning and Education (ERASMUS+)
• StepUp! Individuelle Berufswahlkompetenz stärken (2018 – 2022; abgeschlossen)

Publications

(selection)

Driesel-Lange, K., Klein, J., Weyland, U., & Ohlemann, S. (2025). Can teachers support adolescents’ development of career management skills? In Chant, A., Katsarov, J., Pouyaud, J., & Sovet, L. (Hrsg.), Building career management skills. Network for Innovation in Career Guidance & Counselling in Europe. (S. 1–29). Selbstverlag / Eigenverlag. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14753445.

Driesel-Lange, K., Klein, J., Richter, I., Nienkötter, M., Häming, S., & Weyland, U. (2025). Berufliche Orientierung aus institutioneller Perspektive – ein Konzept zur Begleitung individueller Schulentwicklung. Erziehung & Unterricht Österreichische pädagogische Zeitschrift, 175 (3-4), 268–275.

Driesel-Lange, K., & Klein, J. (2025). Career guidance as a school development task - Introducing a study to support school-wide career guidance in Germany. In Schröder, R.; Nägele, C.; Rosalska, M.; Wawrzonek, A.; Romero-Rodríguez, S. (Hrsg.), Career guidance in schools from European and international perspectives: Rethinking career guidance in times of uncertainty and transformation. (S. 11–18). Selbstverlag / Eigenverlag. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14944145.

Driesel-Lange, K., Klein, J., Morgenstern, I. F., & Wenka, W. (2024). Perspektive Pflege? Die Sicht der Eltern auf die Berufswahl. Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik online, Spezial HT2023, 1–18.

Klein, J., Driesel-Lange, K., Weyland, U., & Ohlemann, S. (2024). Weiterentwicklung und Stärkung schulischer Berufsorientierung. Ein holistisches Entwicklungsmodell zur Förderung individueller Berufswahlkompetenz in Schulen. Zeitschrift für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik, 120 (1), 42–62. doi: 10.25162/zbw-2024-0002.

Driesel-Lange, K., & Klein, J. (2024). Das Betriebspraktikum als lernwirksame Umgebung der schulischen Beruflichen Orientierung. Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik online, bwp@Spezial 22, 1–27.

Klein, J., & Driesel-Lange, K. (2024). Jugendliche an Schulen in herausfordernder Lage. Gewinner oder Verlierer Beruflicher Orientierung? Zeitschrift für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik, 4 (120), 663–687. doi: 10.25162/zbw-2024-0026.

Driesel-Lange, K., Gehrau, V., Brüggemann, T., & Epker, M. (2023). Der Berufsorientierungsindex (BOX). Theoretische und empirische Fundierung von Befragungsitems zur beruflichen Entwicklung. Zeitschrift für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik, 119 (2023/1), 80–110.

Kinast, J., Gehrau, V., Driesel-Lange, K. (2023). Police Careers in Series and Reality: The Influence of Police Series on Career Expectations of Law Enforcement Students. Polizei und Wissenschaft 2023, No. 2, 2–16.

Kinast, J., Gehrau, V., Driesel-Lange, K. (2023). Netflix as Career Guide? The Influence of Legal Series on German Law Students’ Careers. In B. Knickrehm, T. Fletemeyer & B.-J. Ertelt (Hrsg.), Berufliche Orientierung und Beratung (S. 305–323). Springer VS. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-40601-1_18.

Cooperation Partners

You can find the cooperation partners here.