1. Empowering guidance of the
students
experiences and new tools from the MunReitti-
project

2. The first question was:
What does Counseling meaning?
– Counselling is not only technical performance.
– Counselling is something what is your idea of your self-image,
what is your theory of personal change and how do you see
the people in your life.
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

3. What should we counsel?
Whom shall we counsel?
When should we counsel?
Why should we counsel?
How should we counsel?
Do we dare to guide students
in the right areas or do we see
only the tip of the iceberg?
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

4. What if something
difficult or surprising
comes up?
If there is something
too difficult in students
life and we don´t know
how to react?
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

5. In Counseling we
often work with foggy
mirror
Our main tools are
• Presence
• Dialog
• Reflection
We need a lot of
courage in our work
when we make things
visible
What kind of
values ​we consider
important?
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

6. Styles and roles
– Teacher/tutor faces a big challenge choosing its own
counseling style.
– Sometimes it is good to ask person’s understanding and
are we too flexible.
– Where goes the line between understanding and
teaching how to take responsibility of own actions? Is
everything always needed to be done in the youngster’s
needs?
– What means participation, dialogue, empowerment?
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

7. The Meaning of empowerment
First description: 1648
to invest with authority, authorize
Now:
giving power to someone else, to
increase his/her capacities to take
it’s own responsabilities, to take
his/her own deciscions

8. But, what is empowerment
– Increasing autonomy of persons with disabilities
– Is it measurable?
– How do you measure empowerment
– Can you influence the empowerment of a person?

9. coaching program for students'
participation and working skills
MunReitti
Toiminta- ja työkykyvalmennuksen
kehittäminen ammatillisessa
erityisopetuksessa
1.3.2009-30.6.2012

10. Luovi Vocational College
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
WinNova West Coast Education Ltd

11. Training program includes
– VrijBaan method
• self-assessment of empowerment
• training program
– Training of everyday life skills and well-being
– Career counseling techniques and job coaching

12. six components of empowerment
Competence
Group Self-
orientation determination
Positive meaning
identity
Impact

13. 1. Competence; i.e. trust in someone’s own abilities
2. Self determination, i.e. the ability of making one’s own choices
3. Meaning, i.e. experiencing the meaning in own values
4. Impact, i.e. the feeling that someone’s decisions have an impact
on or affect someone’s life
5. Identity, i.e. a positive attitude towards the self, coping with
disability and giving space to other life elements
6. Group orientation, i.e. realizing that one is part of a group and
society, and that there is mutual dependency as well as a need
for support.

14. 1. Competence
Faith in own talents and opportunities
– I know what I can do
– I will be successful!
– I trust that I have
the needed talents
– I am not sure of succession
– Tell me what can I do?
– I am afraid that I can’t do this!

15. Competence
Personal competence means that one feels confident
about one’s skills to direct the reintegration path. That
is, one must feel capable of taking adequate decisions
during occupational integration. One must be able to
formulate goals for this path and to make specific efforts
to achieve them.

16. 2. Self-determination
The right to do choices and decisions about own life
– I decide it by myself!!
– I make my own choices!
– I share my opinions with others.
– Tell me what should I do!
– Where to begin?
– What would you do if you were me?

17. Self-determination
Self-determination refers to the ability to take decisions
and to make choices about one’s life independently.
Self-determination therefore involves the feeling that
one has control over one’s situation.

18. 3. Impact
Own decisions that affect on your life and your
well-being
– I want to work before deciding about further education.
– OK, I’ll take the risk, it is about my own life!
– I don’t care, social workers can decide.
– Nobody listens to me!
– If nobody decides what should I do for living
I am not going to do anything.

19. Impact
The implication for people with occupational disabilities
is that they must feel that the decisions they make really
have an effect on their reintegration path. Impact is the
opposite of “learned helplessness”

20. 4. Meaning
The feeling that your decisions and choices correspond with your
own values
– That is what I have always wanted to do
– I want a job that suits for me.
– I want to do things that I find valuable.
– I don’t know if anything interests me.
– What ever!!
– It does not matter what I do!

21. Meaning
The implication for people with occupational disabilities
is that not only do they need to make decisions as part
of their occupational reintegration, the alternatives they
choose must be meaningful as well. That is to say, their
decisions must be in agreement with the values, beliefs
and behaviours that are typical of the individual
suffering from a disabling condition.

22. 5. Myönteinen minäkuva
Itsensä hyväksyminen sellaisena kuin on
– Minulla on oikeus tukeen
– silloin kun tarvitsen sitä;
– siksi pyydän apua tarvittaessa.
– Olen ainutlaatuinen!
– En käytä vammaani tekosyynä
– En pyydä apua, koska en halua
– olla riippuvainen kenestäkään
– On vaikeaa hyväksyä vamman tuomat rajoitteet

23. A feeling of positive identity
If a positive feeling of identity exists the individual has
accepted his/her occupational disability in a realistic
manner and does not feel as if life is dominated by that
disability. Neither is the disability used as an excuse

24. 6. Group orientation
Working as a part of the group and being part of the
society.
– I also respect others opinions.
– I take given support and help.
– I have my own special place in this group!
– I’m tired of being depend of others.
– I don’t need anyone!
– I play with my own rules.

25. Group orientation
The individual works together with others and
participates in the community. In addition, help is offered
to others when needed. The implication of this
component for people with occupational disabilities is
that they must see on whom they depend for their work
integration and how they can cooperate with those
people.

26. Empowering
Empowering
Voimaantuminen
Motivation
Awakaning
Action
Becoming
visible Reflection
• Participating
• Discussion of ideas • Regonation of
Counseling and believes competence
• Finding own values • Positive feedback
Human value and meaning of life
• Dialogical co- • Working together
operation
• Power of
precense
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen

27. Discussion
– Is the concept clear?
– Do you recognize the need for empowerment?

28. Measuring empowerment

29. VrijBaan Questionnaire
– The VrijBaan Empowerment Questionnaire is a tool to
assess someone’s individual empowerment profile.
Through this questionnaire clients discover their own
way of looking at strong and weak empowerment
components.
– The questionnaire includes 60 statements which in one
way or another deal with one or more components of
empowerment.

30. Competence
6 When confronted with a problem I usually have several solutions
8 I am confident that I would tackle unexpected events effectively
9 I don’t have much confidence in my own abilities
16 I don’t understand myself very well
25 When I find myself in awkward situations I usually know what to do
26 I can manage whatever happens
37 I never know if I have done things well
40 I usually achieve my goals through my own efforts
42 I feel I have personal control over my life
43 I have difficulties coping with the problems in my life
44 I trust in my abilities to solve any problems
57 Thanks to my resourcefulness I know how to manage in unanticipated situations
60 My self-confidence is poor due to my handicap(s)

31. korkea Keskitaso Alhainen Itsearvioinnin tulos Vertaava tulos
5,00 Competence
4,50
4,00
3,50
3,00
2,50
Group orientation Self- determination
2,00
1,50
1,00
0,50
0,00
Positive identity Meaning
Impact

32. MunReitti- coaching method
reviewed the results
together with the student -Individual and group
decide on methods and exercises
exercises
Self-assessment of
empowerment -student involvement -Welfare Studies
-empowering and -job coaching
motivational interviewing
-reflection

33. – Training Based on the empowerment profile
– MunReitti collected some 60 dedicated exercises
and training modules. Each module addresses one or
more specific empowerment components.
– project was also involved in reforming the curriculum.
Luovi ´s curriculum can be found welfare courses, such
as stress management, daily life skills, interpersonal
skills
– recommend welfare courses for students

34. Interview exercise
– In groups of three persons:
• One interviews, the second is the client and the third
observes.
• 15 minutes, and the roles change
• The client chooses one component of empowerment
which she/he wants to talk about.
• Interviewer uses open-ended questions and in that
way makes possible the client to explore ideas and
aims in her/his empowerment.
• Haastattelija / ohjaaja esittää avaavia ja tavoitetta
täsmentäviä kysymyksiä
• The observer gives feedback after interview.
Luentomateriaalia; Riina Karvonen