The Guidance Room - Casper

Casper is 14 years old and in the 9th grade of lower secondary school. This case highlights how practitioners can support early exploration when students appear disengaged or hesitant.

About the Case

Casper is 14 years old and in the 9th grade of lower secondary school. He has limited understanding of what career guidance is and little interest in activities related to the upcoming work-experience week. He often withdraws when career topics are introduced.

This case highlights how practitioners can support early exploration when students appear disengaged or hesitant.

Structure of the Case

The case consists of four parts:

  1. Background information about career guidance in Norwegian lower secondary education.
  2. Episode 1 introduces Casper and his situation.
  3. Episode 2 shows selected moments from his guidance session.
  4. Thematic reflection questions for professional discussion.

 

Background: Career Guidance in Lower Secondary Education in Norway

Lower secondary schools offer career guidance through structured career learning activities, class-based sessions, individual guidance and work-experience opportunities. Educational Choices comprises 113 hours over three years, supporting exploration of pathways and informed decision-making.
 
Municipalities must ensure that all students have access to career guidance, including individual guidance when needed.


The Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) has a public website in Norwegian for information about education and work at Utdanning.no, and offers digital career guidance at Karriereveiledning.no, which is free and available to the entire population. 


1

Episode 1: Meet Casper

Meet Casper

Reflection Questions

After watching the film, reflect together on the following: 

  • What are your thoughts about Casper? What prior understanding do you have?  
  • What should you be especially mindful of in guidance sessions with students like Casper?  
  • How would you structure Casper’s continued career guidance process? 
  • What if Casper doesn’t show up for the scheduled guidance conversations, would you make other plans then? 


2

Episode 2: The guidance

Join the guidance session with Casper 

The selected moments from his guidance session are about: 

  1.  Alternative guidance arena
  2.  Network 

Reflection Questions

After watching the film, reflect together on: 

  • How would you have guided Casper? 
  • The session with Casper shows only two moments of guidance - brief excerpts from a complete session. Is there anything more, or something different, you think should have been said or done during this session? 
  • What competencies and skills did you observe the career counselor drawing on in the meeting with Casper? 


3

Episode 3: Reflection

Thematic Reflection Questions

The Work Experience Week  

The career counselor arranges a workplace placement for Casper during work experience week, and Casper thoroughly enjoys his time at the car repair shop. 

  • Have you had students who had an especially positive experience during their work placement? What was the success factor in that case? 
  • If you had complete freedom, what would the ideal workplace placement offer look like? 
  • Do all students at your school have equal opportunities to access a workplace during the placement week? 
  • What if Casper had behaved very poorly at the car repair shop - would that have affected future collaboration with the employer? 

 

To guide the students where they are 

The school’s career counselor knew that the student Casper had not succeeded in arranging a workplace placement for his work experience week. She reached out to him as he was leaving school after hours. 

  • How do you ensure that students who are at risk of not engaging with guidance still receive meaningful follow-up? 
  • What experiences do you have with having these kinds of conversations with students outside the guidance room? 
  • What experience do you have with conducting guidance conversations outside the traditional counseling space? 
  • What if the career counselor had arranged a placement for Casper in a hair salon instead of a car repair shop - would the counselor have needed to approach the conversation with Casper differently? 
  • How do you think Casper would have reacted to spending his work experience in a hair salon? What is required of you as a career counselor when students are exploring non - traditional career paths in terms of gender? 

 

School-Based Career Guidance  

Casper doesn’t know what career guidance is, or why it might be useful for him. 

  • How would you explain it to him? 
  • How would you explain to your colleagues what career guidance and career learning are? 
  • At your workplace, do staff share a common understanding and use of terms like career guidance and career learning? 
  • How do you collaborate with leaders, teachers and external actors to strengthen students’ career learning? 
  • What do you think would be the ideal organization of career guidance at your school? 


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