Careers teachers: who are they and what do they do?

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Abstract
Very little is known about careers teachers although, in one form or another, there have been teachers bearing such a title in schools since the 1920s. The fact that they still do not have a high profile is all the more remarkable given that in the last decade there has been more public discussion than ever before on the ability of schools to ‘turn out’ suitably trained and orientated youngsters capable of finding and holding down jobs. The article shows that the careers teachers studied have a wide variety of backgrounds and that their routes into careers education were largely unplanned. They became involved primarily for reasons of ‘self‐interest’, rather than because of an ‘altruistic’ concern for their pupils’ futures, or because they had been delegated the responsibility by headteachers. Very few had an established interest in the area before they became involved in it, still less any significant professional specialist training in careers education. The data drawn on come from an in‐depth study of 43 careers teachers from 12 comprehensive schools in one Midlands local authority. The research was carried out between October 1985 and December 1987.

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