Evaluation of the new forms of student counselling (OHJA) 2022–2024

This evaluation was part of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Programme to develop student counselling. The evaluation focused on new or enhanced forms of student counselling brought about by the extension of compulsory education. The extension of compulsory education imposed a shared responsibility for guidance and supervision not only on educational institutions and schools but also on municipalities. The amendment to the Act on Compulsory Education also brought about changes in student counselling and the resources allocated to it and enhanced personal student counselling was introduced in basic education. While the reform of vocational education and training (2018) had underlined the obligation to provide guidance in upper secondary vocational education and training, the expansion of compulsory education also extended the reform to guidance provided at the second transition phase to the work life or higher education.

The OHJA evaluation covered the continuum of student counselling related to the extension of compulsory education from basic education all the way to study guidance provided following the completion of an upper secondary qualification. This evaluation covered basic education, basic education for adults, preparatory education for upper secondary education, liberal adult education, vocational education and training (VET) and general upper secondary education.

Quantitative data was obtained from the Koski database maintained by the Finnish National Board of Education, the student admission register, registers maintained by schools and Statistic Finland’s register-based research data sets. The evaluation used the results of the Right to Learn and Right to Competence and Skills development programmes. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected throughout the project, for example by means of interviews and questionnaires.

The evaluation focused on the delivery of guidance and counselling as a whole, support for the completion of upper secondary qualifications, the guidance resources, completion rates of qualifications, prevention of dropping out and the role of improved guidance counselling and student well-being in helping to achieve the objectives of extending compulsory education.

All information collected during the evaluation will be handled confidentially, and any data protection risks will be minimised. Identifying individual persons or schools in the evaluation findings will not be possible. The evaluation produced information on the focus areas Promoting equality and Increasing the functionality of the education system.