The uniqueness of career counsellor training among the helping professions and how training and practice are reconstructed, is addressed by Coetzee and Roythorne-Jacobs (2007, p. 173). They refer to the theory-practice gap and propose bridging it by supplementing theory with practical techniques. They suggest that the practice of career counselling is shifting from careerism towards fostering self-affirmation and emotional creativity in clients and empowering clients to articulate experiences and construct their lives within a diversity context (Bright & Pryor, 2008; Meany-Walen et al., 2013). This academic view was encountered during my term as CCI and my reflective constructions collapsed features of the theory-practice gap for both myself and the students who still had to enter the world of work. The reflections also captured affirmation and diversity appreciation emerging from career conversations to the benefit of the CCI and the student.
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The transfer gap as construct between two career modes, such as theory and practice, has received good research attention (Byrne, et al., 2014; McAbee, et al., 2014). French and Bell (1999) make it clear that training interventions at all levels are important within organisational development and the transfer issue exists throughout. Arthur, Bennett, Edens and Bell (2003) assert that training is the most pervasive method for enhancing productivity. Their meta-analysis shows that the effectiveness of training varies as a function of the delivery method, the task, the favourability of the post-training environment and the criteria used to operationalize effectiveness. Thus, the context and the method of training may affect the outcome towards bridging the gap. The andragogic setting of my internship and the method of heutagogic learning may reveal to what extent I managed to bridge the gap in my career and the extent to which I acknowledged my clients' concerns in their gap challenges.
Baldwin and Ford (1988) refer to training effectiveness as a transfer problem, because only ten percent of training expenditure generalizes to the job and is maintained over time. Their transfer model indicates that the problem must be addressed in the design of the training intervention and should include individual and environment. Making effective transfer behaviours relapse-proof, requires a post-training transfer strategy (Tziner, Haccoun & Kadish, 1991; Wexley & Baldwin, 1986). The importance of individual characteristics and the organisational transfer climate are supported by the research of various researchers (Elissa, Kulik, & Bustamante, 2012; Gist, Bavetta & Stevens, 1991; Holton, 1996; Holton, Bates, Seyler & Carvalho, 1997; Holton, Bates & Ruona, 2000). Heutagogic learning is by nature an iterative learn-relapse-relearn process. A disquisition of the heutagogic record may reveal patterns towards developing gap bridging capabilities and the hardening of important professional competencies over the time span of my internship.
The roles of managing supervisors and trainers in the transfer and maintenance of competencies are brought into focus by Cascio and Aguinis (2005) and Hutchins, Burke and Berthelsen (2010) and they expand the search for solutions beyond the learner subsystem. Wiessner and Mezirow (2000) describe the roles of adult educators but it may hold true for managing supervisors in a counselling context. They extend the roles of managing supervisors to include being activists. Supervisors must commit to support and extend those features of the profession, institution, culture and social
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practices that foster freer, fuller participation in reflective discourse. In the literature referred to, the focus moves from what the individual learner should do, to what the supervisors should do. Clearly not all academic writers support reflective practice as part of the solution (Cascio & Aguinis, 2005; Hutchins et al., 2010). During my internship, collaborative reflective writing was a self-directed learning tool and a management control tool, but I also experienced it as an alternative solution to bridge the training-transfer gap. The ongoing career conversations and reflections on such conversations exposed the disjunctions that exist between two career modes, where seamless transitions are often assumed by all participants. Thus, within the range of the literature covered and my experience as CCI, there exists a gap in the research which is sparsely filled. Interrogating my reflective record as intern and applying my quantum orientated mindset (Schwartz et al., 2005) may add knowledge to this gap. The research may reveal intelligent patterns that may inform future researchers about the criteria on which to focus, because of the move from teacher-centred education to learner-centred experiential learning.
Experiential learning is designed around two main skill sets: skills of inquiry and skills of reflexivity (Kolb, 1984; Senge, 2006). Knowles (1970) makes a distinction between the learning practices of children, pedagogy, and the learning practices of adults, andragogy. Hase and Kenyon (2001) shift it to heutagogic learning where self- directedness and self-determinism within a dynamic system are critical capabilities. These authors transform education and training, especially DE and vocational training. Richards (2011) builds a case to view andragogy as an opportunity for being involved in the learning process and Van Vuuren (2010) writes that andragogy is a focus area for value acquisition and transfer. If skills of inquiry and reflexivity lead to presence and value acquisition, as claimed, then a disquisition of my reflective record may expose these benefits.
Mezirow (2000) links adult learning to transformation practice. The self-directedness of the adult learner is also evident in Kolb's experiential learning and is captured within the heutagogic concept (Hase & Kenyon, 2007). Mezirow's transformation and Kolb's experiential learning are intended to aid professional practitioners and underwrite life-long and life-wide learning, which are included within the heutagogic concept. Self-directedness, self-empowerment and enrichment are also supported by
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Rapmund and Moore (2002) in opposition to a deficiency approach in adult learning. This relates to the duck versus swan conversations between me as IOP student and the psychology students. The reflective record captured my mental transformations towards professional practice, reflecting my positive psychological orientation. This record shows how I as CCI linked my education, training and professional goals.