Futures for career education and guidance in the Mediterranean? Implications, challenges, and prospects

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the fund of regional and international knowledge about career guidance that this volume has contributed to. It highlights the opportunities for learning that can result from such comparative study, not only for those inhabiting the contexts that have been the object of analysis, but also for career guidance and development specialists further afield. The chapter then goes on to pull together the different themes and issues raised by the authors, identifying common concerns and challenges, and teasing out the implications that these have for understanding career guidance, especially in relation to youth transitions, across the Mediterranean region. In doing so, the chapter notes some of the more salient gaps and absences, signposting areas for further research in the quest for a more meaningful articulation of context-sensitive career guidance policy and practice. It is argued that the project of developing regional perspectives on career guidance can generate fresh insights into ways transitions throughout the life course can be supported, ensuring that aspirations for social justice and wellbeing are fulfilled.