Symbols play an important role in everyday communication and in each culture. They can replace parts of the verbal discourse and deliver messages in a conscious or unconscious way. The most important aspect of SymfoS education and career guidance method to work with young people is to give right weight to symbols, learn how to read and interpret them.
In order to explain why and how symbols are used in SymfoS career guidance process, the project partners elaborated the Generic Framework for Symbol work, first project result of the European project SymfoS.
The Generic Framework for Symbol work provides an insight into the SymfoS approach and its possible applications in the different project countries. The document was written to provide all essential information about symbol work: its aims, guiding methods, tools, the SymfoS counselling process and counselling scenarios, the validation of the SymfoS learning outcomes for trainers and young people in each project country.
Who can benefit from the Generic Framework for Symbol and how?
The Generic Framework for Symbol work is addressed to:
- Trainers, teachers and career guidance officers who wants to learn more about this method and understand the power of symbols in the education and career guidance field and in different cultures. This document is part of training material.
- VET managers who can use it to have an understanding of SymfoS basic approach and potential use in their working environments.
- Policy makers in the field of education and in charge of recognition tools for skills and qualification who can find in this document all relevant information to get to know this powerful method and to help young people to find their way.
In addition to the Generic Framework, project partners worked on National Reports focusing on different traditions and understanding of symbol work in five European countries, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Germania, Italy, with the aim to contextualise symbol work in SymfoS project partners’ national system of education and career guidance. The research explores what are important symbols in own culture, the existence of similar methods and the possibility for the validation of the method according to national validation systems.
Read the Generic Framework and National Reports in your language:
- Generic Framework in English, German, Italian and Spanish
- National reports for Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain
- Summaries of National Reports for Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain
The Generic framework and National Reports were presented during the second partnership meeting, held in Düren the 4th and 5th of March, which was the occasion to present all the results of these first months of work. In addition to the Generic framework and National Reports, SymfoS website was presented and is now available online and readable in 4 languages. While from 5th to 10th a group of 12 trainers met in Nideggen (Germany) to participate in the first SymfoS “Train-the-Trainer” transnational learning activity. The training was conducted by Stefan Henke (Sozialwer) and Paul Schober (Hafelekar), both trained counsellors and coaches in psychological symbol work, together with Wilfried Schneider, developer of the symbol work sessions.
During the training the participants experimented different active roles (counsellor, client, observer) of the counselling process and learned how to conduct symbol work sessions and use the working tools. Once back home they will put into practice the methods learned and will provide career guidance and creating future prospects with clients from the SymfoS target group.
SymfoS is online, join us on:
- symfos.eu
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SymfoS
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13502960
For further information on the project, contact caterina.impastato@cesie.org.
