Brain Drain - Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit

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5.4 Unit 3: Directions for Using Assessment Methods in BD-BG
Counselling
Regardless of all limitations and problems mentioned above, the counselling goals
require the usage of assessment methods for each client in order to provide:
• Prognosis for the development of the client (extent of competitiveness, level of
achievement, possible results, areas with probable difficulties);
• Differentiation - to what extent the interests, abilities or values meet the
requirements of the working or educational environment (in which educational or
professional area they will achieve the best realization, to what extent they may fit
the relevant work/cultural environment, etc.);
• Monitoring of the client who helps the BD-BG counsellor in the assessment of the
necessity of additional preparatory work with client before the interpretation of the
assessment connected with prognosis and differentiation.
The issue of the implementation of relevant formal methodologies for assessments
arises so that the limitations from the implementation in multicultural context can be
avoided to a maximum. We do not want to commit ourselves with a simple answer to
that question but we will rather give some directions that will certainly be useful in
avoiding the limitations of the cultural context of their application.
The first direction is the possibility only to add the results from the formal
methodologies to the results from other methods for interests and ability
assessments (informal methodologies) or another is to do additional surveys during
the interview. For example, let us take a look at the Strong test for professional
interests’ measurement. The test is formal and it must only be used in a standardised
form. If the form is not available or the BD-BG counsellor is not trained to use it, they
may create a list of professions and specialties relevant to the culture of the client or
to the professions in their country and after the client completes them, the counsellor
uses the results for a follow up discussion, a complex of the themes and questions
we will survey.
The language misunderstandings can be avoided in the same way because the
proposed informal form of the test may allow more freedom in the implementation
and a possibility for additional explanations of all the client’s questions. On the other
hand it is possible to use only certain questions from a given test that we consider
appropriate and with less culture dependence and which will be included in the
interview. Language misunderstandings and cultural context limitations will be
avoided in this way.
Having in mind that formal methodologies are only used when they are standardised
and only by specially trained specialists, it is a good idea to create a database. The
database should include standardized methodologies used in different countries by
relevant specialists or methodologies suitable for BD-BG counsellors in order to
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