| Promoting high-quality development of special education,especially middlelevel vocational education for people with disabilities,is an important task for the development of China’s special education during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.The14 th Five-Year Plan of Action for the Development and Enhancement of Special Education points out that the quality of special education should be comprehensively improved,and the further deep integration of vocational education and special education should be promoted.Special education at the high school level,with vocational education as the focus,has become a new point of emphasis for special education development.In order to meet the needs of people with disabilities to achieve employment and stable employment,improving and strengthening vocational guidance for special students is still not only a challenge but also an important part of the development of special secondary vocational education at this stage and in the future.At present,the research on the vocational guidance work in special secondary schools is not sufficient,and researchers have paid less attention to the problems related to the vocational guidance of special secondary students.The researcher selected six special secondary vocational schools(classes)in Shanghai and conducted in-depth interviews with 14 teachers in the six schools to analyze the current situation of vocational guidance work and the dilemmas and challenges faced by the six special secondary schools,then discussed the characteristics of vocational guidance work as well as the causes of the dilemmas at this stage.The research found that(1)The school vocational guidance work mainly includes five aspects: self-awareness,understanding society and career,career preparation,career guidance,and career adaptation.(2)vocational guidance in the six schools was carried out with curriculum instruction as the main channel.The schools did not set up a separate Vocational Guidance course,but integrated vocational guidance content into the moral education curriculum,which was taught as part of the subject content.(3)Vocational guidance is carried out through practical activities as an important carrier,and is implemented through "one person,one job",internships and other forms of vocational activities.(4)Vocational guidance is supported by personalized career planning services and promoted through psychological counseling,career assessment and post-employment tracking.(5)Vocational guidance work is undertaken by general teachers such as internship instructors,classroom teachers,and subject teachers,and the school does not have a full-time vocational guidance teacher.(6)Schools’ vocational guidance work mainly faces three dilemmas: the lack of standardization and systematization of vocational guidance,the lack of support and understanding from most parents,and the lack of support from enterprises for vocational guidance in schools.Analysis of the findings in relation to previous relevant research and policy documents concluded that the career guidance content of the six special secondary schools was more targeted and schools sought to meet the career development needs of special students with different ability levels.Schools carry out targeted guidance according to the different stages of students’ individual career development,and the overall arrangement of guidance work reflects hierarchy.However,due to the lack of awareness of vocational guidance in schools in general,the lack of awareness of vocational guidance among students’ parents,and the lack of government policy support,schools still face more difficulties and challenges in promoting vocational guidance in depth at this stage.Based on the above analysis,suggestions for improving career guidance work in special secondary vocational schools are proposed from the perspectives of the government and schools.These include accelerating the improvement of career guidance system,developing the teaching materials of Vocational Guidance in special secondary vocational schools,updating the concept of career guidance in schools,and constructing a whole career guidance system,so as to provide some reference for promoting career guidance in special secondary vocational schools nowadays. |
