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Evaluation of the career development counseling in public high school in Qatar
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Evaluation of the career development counseling in public high school in Qatar
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Content
Running head: CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR
1
EVALUATION OF THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN PUBLIC HIGH
SCHOOL IN QATAR
by
Turki Abdulla Al-Mahmoud
_____________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Proposal Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2017
Copyright 2017 Turki Al-Mahmoud
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 2
Table of Contents
List of Tables 5
List of Figures 6
Abstract 7
Chapter One: Introduction 8
K-12 Education System in Qatar 11
Background of the Problem 11
Importance of Addressing the Problem 15
Organizational Context and Mission 17
Organizational Goal 18
Description of Stakeholder Groups 20
Stakeholder’ Performance Goals 21
Purpose of the Project and Inquiry Questions 22
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 23
Organization of the Dissertation 23
Definitions 24
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 25
Career Development 25
Career Counseling 25
Career Development in High Schools 27
Importance of Career Development 29
International Best Practices in Career Development 30
Career Development in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries 36
Career Development in the UAE 37
Career Development in Qatari Public Schools 38
Career Development Curriculum 39
Models of Curriculum Development 40
Career Development Curriculum in Developing Countries 42
Career Development Curriculum in Qatar 44
Career Development Counselors 47
Counselors’ Qualifications in the Global Context 47
Counselors’ Qualifications in Qatar 48
Career Development Challenges 49
Challenges Facing Counselors in Qatar Schools 49
The Challenges of the Career Development 49
Learning and Motivation Theory 50
Knowledge and Skills 50
Motivation 51
Organization 53
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences 54
Knowledge and Skills 54
Motivation 57
Organization 58
Conclusion 59
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 3
Chapter Three: Methodology 61
Purpose of the Project and Questions 61
Methodological Framework 62
The Adoption to Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Process Model 63
Assumed Performance Issues Needs and Assets 63
Preliminary Scanning Data 64
Participating Stakeholders 66
Data Collection 67
Surveys 69
Interviews 69
Document Analysis 70
Validation of the Performance Needs/Assets 70
Trustworthiness of Data 70
Role of Investigator 71
Data Analysis 71
Limitations and Delimitations 72
Chapter Four: Results and Findings 73
Knowledge Factors 73
Presumed Knowledge Factor 1 74
Presumed Knowledge Factor 2 76
Presumed Knowledge Factor 3 77
Presumed Knowledge Factor 4 79
Summary 80
Motivation Factors 81
Presumed Motivation Factor 1 81
Presumed Motivation Factor 2 83
Presumed Motivation Factor 3 85
Presumed Motivation Factor 4 86
Presumed Motivation Factor 5 89
Presumed Motivation Factor 6 89
Summary 90
Organizational Factors 91
Presumed Organizational Factor 1 91
Presumed Organizational Factor 2 94
Presumed Organizational Factor 3 95
Presumed Organizational Factor 4 97
Presumed Organizational Factor 5 99
Summary 100
Summary of Validated and Not Validated KMO Causes 100
Conclusion 101
Chapter Five: Conclusion 102
Policy Solutions 103
Professional Development Training Policy Overview 104
Overview of Learning Management System Policy 106
Organizational Environment for Implementation of Both Policies 108
Action Steps for the Implementation of the Policy Solutions 111
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 4
Implementation of Professional Development Programs 111
Implementation of LMS Page 116
The Capacity to Implement and Time Frame 119
Evaluation of Policies 121
Evaluation of LMS Page for Counselors 124
Conclusion 126
References 129
Appendix A: Survey Instrument 136
Appendix B: Interview Protocol 140
Appendix C: Observation Protocol 141
Appendix D: Document Analysis Protocol 143
Appendix E: Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Knowledge 144
Appendix F: Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Motivation 148
Appendix G: Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Organization 152
Appendix H: Exhibit IV: Suggested Timeline of PD 155
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 5
List of Tables
Table 1: The Counseling Curriculum and Number of the Counseling Sessions 10
Table 2: Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals 21
Table 3: Summary of Assumed Knowledge Causes 51
Table 4: Summary of Assumed Motivation Causes 52
Table 5: Summary of Assumed Organization Causes 54
Table 6: Mode of the Data Collection and the Target Group 68
Table 7: Summary of Assumed Knowledge Causes 74
Table 8: Summary of Assumed Motivation Causes 81
Table 9: Summary of Assumed Organization Causes 91
Table 10: How Training Policy Will Address Validated Causes 105
Table 11: How Proposed Policies Will Address Validated Causes 107
Table 12: Detailed Action Plan for PD program 112
Table 13: Detailed Action Plan on LMS Page Development 117
Table 14: Summary of Human Resources Required for Implementation 120
Table 15: Evaluation of PD programs 122
Table 16: LMS Policy Evaluation 125
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 6
List of Figures
Figure 1: Key phases of education and training sector strategic plan per Qatar National Vision
2030 (Education and Training Sector Strategy, 2011–16) 39
Figure 2: Clark and Estes gap analysis process 63
Figure 3: Survey results: What are the MOE initiative related to career development? 75
Figure 4: Survey results: The best counselling methodology 78
Figure 5: Survey results: The counselors' motivation toward counseling the students. 82
Figure 6: Survey results: Do you enjoy conducting the counseling? 84
Figure 7: Survey results: Do you enjoy conducting the counseling? 87
Figure 8: Survey results: Does MOE provide enough development? 92
Figure 9: Survey results: MOE treatment to the counselors compared by the other staff. 94
Figure 10: Survey results: Does MOE provide enough resources to the counselors? 95
Figure 11: Survey results: MOE treatment to the counselors compared by the other staff. 96
Figure 12: Survey results: MOE lack of communication with the counselors. 98
Figure 13: Timeline of policy implementation 155
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 7
Abstract
Providing career development counseling to students in secondary schools and preparing them
for post-school life are important factors for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education
(MOE) in the State of Qatar. Providing counseling with a new curriculum and qualified
counselors is one of the strategic objectives of the MOE in the years 2015-2022. MOE has
designed and implemented a new curriculum for career development counseling and has trained
the counselors on the methods of applying this new approach to counseling the students. The
main purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which the counselors are implementing the
new curriculum in the counseling of the students in secondary schools. The study used the Clark
& Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Framework to assess the challenges and difficulties that counselors
may face in achieving the strategic objective of the Ministry from the point of view of the
counselors. Data Collection included surveys and interviews. Twenty one counselors participated
in the survey; in addition, 16 counselors and eight administrators were interviewed. The key
findings were: the Ministry or Schools do not provide sufficient professional training to
counselors, the Ministry or Schools do not require specific certification or training prior to hiring
the counselors, there is a lack of communication within the MOE related to career development,
the Counselors lack knowledge of career advising methodology, the Counselors lack knowledge
of the procedures for counseling, and the Counselors do not try to meet the challenges such the
interests of the students differing from the interests of their parents. Based on the gaps identified
through the Gap Analysis Framework (Clark & Estes, 2008), two solutions were proposed to
bridge the gaps. The two solutions with a timeline and an evaluation plan are presented and
discussed in the last two chapters of the study.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 8
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This study evaluated career development counseling in public high schools in Qatar to
determine the extent to which they are implementing the new curriculum. The Ministry of
Education and Higher Education (MOE) stated a strategic goal that, by the fall of 2019, all
learners engaged in secondary education will have access to high-quality accredited academic
and career advisement services, with the parents of students collaborating closely in the career
advisement and decision-making process at the high school level. In 2015, MOE engaged
Deloitte to conduct a thorough review of practices in the education sector in Qatar and
recommend solutions to integrate and regulate the initiatives so that the objectives set forth for
Qatar National Vision 2030 or QNV2030 (Qatar General Secretariat for Development Planning,
2008) and national development strategies could be achieved. The main educational objective for
QNV 2030 is a world-class educational system that equips citizens to achieve their aspirations
and to meet the needs of Qatar’s society, including:
• Educational curricula and training programs responding to the current and future needs of
the labor market.
• High-quality educational and training opportunities appropriate to each individual's
aspirations and abilities. Which the new program of career development comes as one of
the goal elements.
• Accessible educational programs for life-long learning.
Qatar aims in building a national network of educational programs that equip Qatari children and
youth with the skills and motivation to contribute to society. One of these programs is the career
development program and the counseling of the students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 9
The new program of career development counseling consists of a new counseling
curriculum, training for counselors, and fixed counseling hours of each class. The new program
is scheduled to be implemented as planned in all the male and female public high schools by the
fall of 2019. However, the program is implemented in all the male schools with different
approaches. The MOE requires all the schools with the collaboration of the human resources
department at the MOE to recruit qualified and trained counselors with at least a bachelor degree
and assign dedicated and fixed class hours for conducting the counseling to the students. Based
on the statement of the Department of the Schools at the MOE, only 10 male schools
implemented the program as required in the academic year 2015-2016 and 12 schools in
academic year 2016-2017 the rest of the schools implement the programs; thus, they still need to
meet the standards of the program.
There is a plan to gradually roll out the new counseling program to all the schools in the
academic year 2017-2018, to be fully implemented as designed at all the 56 public high schools
(male and female schools) by the fall of 2019. The purpose of this study was to evaluate
implementation of the new counseling program at the male public high schools with focusing
more on the 12 schools that meet all the requirements of conducting the program based on the
statement of the Department of the Schools at the MOE to identify any gaps that might hinder
effective career counseling at all the public high schools.
The new counseling curriculum was designed by the department of curriculum at the
MOE. The curriculum focuses on career development and covers the core subjects needed for
career and colleges readiness. The curriculum was designed to work in four key verticals, each to
be conducted by counselors who are trained on the curriculum. In addition to the curriculum
includes many site visits to firms, schools, universities, and organizations to grow the horizons of
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 10
the students. Famous and successful speakers are often invited to talk to the students to inspire
them by sharing their success stories.
Table one shows the key subjects of the curriculum and specific number of the lessons of each
subject as listed below in Table 1.
Table 1
The Counseling Curriculum and Number of the Counseling Sessions
Academic Skills 21st Century Skills
Students
Predispositions &
Behaviors
Transitional
Knowledge Skills
• Writing Skills
(2 Lessons)
• Research Skills
(3 Lessons)
• Goal Setting
(1 Lesson)
• College Systems &
Career Options
(1 Lesson)
• Inquiry & Lab Report
(1 Lesson)
• Time Management
(1 Lesson)
• Organization Skills
(1 Lesson)
• College Systems &
Career Focus
(1 Lesson)
• Reading Skills
(2 Lessons)
• Decision-Making
(1 lesson)
• Note Taking
(3 Lessons)
• Interpersonal skills &
Behavior (3 lessons)
• Reasoning, Critical
Thinking & Problem-
Solving (2 Lessons)
• Communication
Skills (2 Lessons)
• Teamwork &
Collaboration (1
Lesson)
Career development in the public high schools in Qatar has been through many stages
since it was started in 2006. It began as an optional initiative by some independent schools until
2009 when the Supreme Education Council (SEC), which was disbanded in 2015 and replaced
by the MOE, issued a decree to establish and launch an office that monitors and manages career
development and the counselors in the high schools in Qatar. The office was mainly focusing on
guiding the students who received scholarships through the SEC toward choosing their majors
and universities after graduating from high school.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 11
In 2012, the career development office was expanded toward working with the schools
themselves during the academic year to provide the students self-assessment related to career
development. The work was entirely done without any curriculum and intended to help the
students to apply and choose their majors. In 2014, the career development office was expanded
to become more involved in the work of career development in the high schools. This work
involved recruiting counselors, to be stationed in each school, who would deliver the curriculum.
In addition, there are two supervisors, who manage the counselors at the schools, stationed at the
MOE under the department of the schools.
K-12 Education System in Qatar
There are two types of K-12 schools in Qatar: Independent schools and private schools.
The Independent or Public schools which are totally managed and operated by the MOE. MOE
designs all the curriculum for these schools, recruits the staff, allocates the budget and assigns
the principals and operators of these schools. All the schools have the autonomy to set their
exams except for the 12
th
grade, which have their mid-term exams and final exams by the MOE.
By law, all the public schools must be segregated by gender. The teachers from 7th grade until
12th grade must be males in the male schools. All the teachers from kindergarten grades to 6th
grade are female in both public male and female schools.
The private schools in Qatar, which are not included in this study, are regulated and
licensed by the MOE. They have full autonomy regarding running their schools as long as they
comply with the local rules and regulations. They can have mixed gender classes.
Background of the Problem
Advising 11th and 12th grade students toward developing their career and providing them
assistance in pursuing higher education or choosing majors is a crucial service provided by
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 12
education ministries and institutions in Qatar and in various countries. Student counseling and
advisement toward their career development is generally provided through a career development
program, which helps students toward achieving their future goals based on their interests and
capabilities, aids them in understanding the requirements for admission into higher education
institutes and universities, teaches basic 21
st
century skills such as research and communication
skills, enhances the students pre-dispositions and behaviors such as time management, and
provides resources and information regarding available scholarships, financial aid and career
pathways.
Qatar’s economy is primarily dependent on revenues from oil and gas sector. Over 50%
of Qatar’s GDP, approximately 85% of export earnings, and 50% of government revenues are
powered by oil and gas revenues (World Economic Forum, 2015). In 2008, Qatar launched the
Qatar National Vision 2030, a guiding document that outlines a roadmap to developing a
sustainable economy and to advance the standard of living of its citizens by the year 2030. Based
on the four pillars of human development, social development, economic development, and
environmental development, this document defines long-term development outcomes for the
country and provides a framework within which national strategies and implementation plans can
be implemented to achieve these goals.
Education is the main principle underlying the first pillar of Human Development, as
outlined in Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar aims to develop a world-class education system
meeting the highest international standards to prepare its students to take on global challenges
and afford equal opportunities to all Qatari youth to encourage them to play a greater role in all
sectors of their country’s economy through a three-pronged approach, namely “educational
curricula and training programs responding to the current and future needs of the labor market,
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 13
high-quality educational and training opportunities appropriate to each individual's aspirations
and abilities, and accessible educational programs for life-long learning” (Qatar General
Secretariat for Development Planning and counseling to assist high school students in developing
their educational pathways and careers is still in its initial stages. Some schools did not include
counseling as an important element of their educational plans until the academic year 2014-2015
(Spelte, 2012). One of the past challenges was that 70% of Qatari schools did not have a
dedicated career guidance counselor and did not develop a curriculum that can be effectively
administered by these counselors (The Education Authority Annual Report, 2012).
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar (MOE) administers scholarship
programs to Qatari youth. As part of this program, 1,000 students are offered complete financial
support to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies at higher education institutions in
Qatar and around the world every year. The dropout rate among these sponsored students are
approximately 10%. Amongst these scholarship students 60% report having submitted a request
to change their majors and 69% report having chosen majors not of their interest. Furthermore,
22% of the total number of students sponsored by the MOE submitted a request to change their
country of the study. In a survey conducted by the MOE’s scholarship office, 62% of the
students attributed these issues to inadequate career guidance and advising during high school.
Dr. Al kubaisi of Qatar University (Alkubaisi, 2012) conducted a survey for students who
applied for Qatar University programs and found that 100% of the students who applied to Qatar
University agreed that the career advisement program in their high school did not provide them
with sufficient information about the procedures and requirements involved in applying to
tertiary education institutes.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 14
To address these concerns and equip their students with the necessary knowledge and
resources, the MOE in 2014 mandated the establishment of a comprehensive national Advising
and Career Development Program referred to as the career advisement program to be
implemented by trained counselors for 10th, 11th and 12th grade students across all public
schools under its jurisdiction in Qatar. A closer examination of the process and indicators of this
program is essential if the country is to achieve its educational goals and the transformation of
Qatar into a knowledge-based economy in the future which relies more on the human and
intellectual capabilities rather than the natural resources.
In 2011, Qatar’s MOE published a “Student’s Advising Guide” which gives information
and guidance to students regarding career development. This book was published and distributed
to the students, counselors and schools following the results of a survey conducted among the
students and the counselors, which demonstrated their lack of knowledge about career
advisement. The distribution of the booklet was aligned with a campaign promoting the
importance of career advisement in the country.
In its 2015-2022 strategic plan, the MOE prioritized the establishment of an Advising and
Career Development Program for the 10th, 11th and 12th grades (Project 7.1, Education and
Training Strategy). This program consists of two initiatives: the first is to develop a curriculum
and the second to recruit and provide professional development for the counselors, which will
result in greater numbers of qualified counselors with the appropriate skills to become involved
in the process of counseling students. The curriculum and the development program for
counselors has been fully designed and implemented in 12 of the schools, however the efficacy
of the implementation needs to be evaluated.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 15
Importance of Addressing the Problem
One of MOE’s strategic goals is to have a solid career development program, and the
ministry is responsible for achieving this goal. This responsibility comes in the form of progress
reports regularly sent to the Ministry of Planning. Achieving this goal relies on very qualified,
knowledgeable and motivated counselors who can help Qatar build a knowledge economy that
relies on capable human resources. This study evaluates the extent to which counselors are
implementing the new curriculum as planned in which it leads MOE to achieve its strategic
objective related to career development.
In her research on “Effects of Academic Advising on College Student Development in
Higher Education” Pargett (2011) identified a positive relationship between career advisement
and the successful retention of students in colleges and universities. Pargett (2011) found that
most of the students who are satisfied with their universities and majors had access to excellent
career counselors and advisement programs. In her study, Pargett (2011) established that students
who have a strong professional relationship with their career advisors are more likely to achieve
good grades.
As defined by UNESCO, career counseling primarily consists of four elements:
1. Helping individuals to gain greater self-awareness in areas such as interests, values,
abilities, and personality style,
2. Connecting students to resources so that they can become more knowledgeable about
jobs and occupations,
3. Engaging students in the decision-making process in order that they can choose a career
path that is well suited to their own interests, values, abilities and personality style, and
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 16
4. Assisting individuals to be active managers of their career paths (including managing
career transitions and balancing various life roles) as well as becoming lifelong learners
in the sense of professional development over the lifespan. (UNESCO Handbook of
career counseling, 2002, p. 4)
The government of Qatar has been focusing its efforts from early 1990s to reduce its
reliance on revenues from oil and gas and transform its economy from oil based to knowledge-
based economy. The government had enacted a law in 2009 regarding human resource
development, (Qatar National Development Strategy, 2011–16) which targets the following,
• Identify gaps between talent supply and demand, and develop the value proposition for
attracting required talent.
• Define criteria for hiring local talent rather than expatriates and review compensation
structures and policies for performance orientation.
• Establish policies in all ministries and agencies for implementing the 2009 Law on
Human Resources Administration
• Expanding high-quality training opportunities for Qataris
• Providing incentives for Qatari private sector employment
• Boosting labor force productivity
• Attracting and retaining high-quality expatriate talent
• Nurturing and managing human resources
• Improving labor market flexibility
• Building the evidence base for policy-making
• Enhancing employment and career counselling services.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 17
To achieve these targets, government proposed reforms as part of a wider program which
is expected to achieve its objectives by 2016 (Qatar National Development Strategy, 2011–16).
Relative to its population, only approximately 6200 Qatari students graduated from high
school in the year 2014. It is essential to carefully guide students toward pursuing higher
education to make sure that the nation meets the educational goal stated in the Qatar National
Vision 2030. This goal is focused on increasing the number of the Qatari students who graduate
from universities with specializations that are in demand for the nation and meet the students’
interests. Without effective career advisement programs, the country cannot achieve the national
strategic goals, a critical aspect of which is careful student guidance by professional counselors
and advisors during the high school stage.
Corroborating this fact, currently 72% of students are sponsored by the MOE to study
business administration while only 0.1% of the sponsored students study medical sciences. This
has resulted in the shortage of Qatari doctors. The most effective long-term solution to increase
the numbers of graduates in in-demand fields such as engineering or medicine is by establishing
robust a career advisement program in line with national strategy and priorities.
Organizational Context and Mission
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOE) oversees all the independent K-
12 schools in Qatar. The mission of the MOE is to regulate and support high-quality learning
opportunities across all educational levels to provide Qatar’s population with opportunities to
develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to fulfill their potential, demonstrate values
and meet the needs of the nation (MOE, 2014).
Independent schools are a model of public schools in Qatar that are funded by the
government. The MOE’s Education Institute is in charge of developing the curriculum that is
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 18
implemented across all independent K-12 schools in the country. Classes are taught in Arabic;
while English, Mathematics, Islamic Studies and Science are all mandatory subjects.
The career development program is being implemented in all independent schools.
Counselors work with the 10th, 11th and 12th grade students to provide generic information
about higher education opportunities and requirements such as English assessment exams
(TOEFL, IELTS), lists of international schools or the type of student visas offered by different
countries. Thus, the implementation of this program is in its initial years, the aim of the MOE is
to meet the expectation by ensuring the efficacy of implementation the program of career
development counseling.
Organizational Goal
As stated previously, The MOE’s goal is that by the fall of 2019 all learners engaged in
secondary education will have access to high-quality accredited academic and career counseling
program. During the strategy review process by the consultant firm, Deloitte in 2013-2014, there
were indications that provisions of adequate career guidance activities and advice to learners and
parents could be improved. Parental guidance and learner counseling regarding current market
needs and future trends are effective tools in bridging gaps between job market needs and learner
ambitions. To achieve the stated goal of providing diverse learning opportunities which empower
learners to achieve their potential and contribute effectively to the labor force and the
community, there were nine initiatives planned developed by the MOE based on the finding of
the consultant firm, Deloitte. They are:
1. Revise the academic guidance system for K-12 schools.
2. Develop an effective recruitment system and provide appropriate professional
development opportunities for school-based counselors.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 19
3. Review the governance of counselling and lead implementation of changes.
4. Provide the technical tools necessary to support school-based counseling efforts.
5. Distribute comprehensive and well-organized information about TVET and higher
education to K-12 schools to ensure that teachers and counselors can provide impartial,
accurate and up-to-date information to parents and learners.
6. Adjust accreditation and licensing requirements for private schools and tertiary providers.
7. Create systems to help schools access employers, academic institutions, entrepreneurs
and other stakeholders and engage them in providing support systems to enhance the
educational process.
8. Enhance learner evaluation policies.
9. Provide learners with the required knowledge, skills and attitudes for their future
academic and career progression.
These nine initiatives include clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the efficacy.
These KPIs were established by the ministry and approved by the project management office of
the educational sector strategy which comes under the Ministry of Planning that is responsible of
all the strategic goals of the country. Few major KPIs defined to track and measure the efficacy
of these initiatives are as follows,
1. Average number of qualified academic and career counselors per school (Education
Institute).
2. Average number of learners per academic and career counselor (Education Institute).
3. Number of schools embedding academic and careers advice and guidance into the
curriculum (Education Institute).
4. Number of guidance sessions held with learners (Education Institute).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 20
5. Percentage of parents/learners expressing satisfaction with academic and careers
counseling based on obtained data from Education Institute at the MOE.
The expected outcome of the initiative run by MOE’s stated goal is,
1. Every secondary school has one or more fully trained career guidance counselors,
depending on size.
2. More learners complete their higher and further education courses.
3. Learners report higher levels of satisfaction with the career advice they are given and
there is a close alignment between their skills, interests and chosen courses.
4. Improved learner motivation and behavior.
These KPIs relate to the study by informing and providing the baseline data of implementing the
counseling program.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
The study assessed and evaluated the career counselors at the schools who to implement
the curriculum for career development in Qatar. The counselors directly contribute to the ability
of all learners to access high-quality accredited academic and career advisement services in
collaboration with their parents. There are two other stakeholders who have an impact on the
career development which this study did not assess nor evaluate. These two other groups are the
department of the schools under the MOE which is in charge of designing and developing the
advising curriculum, and MOE administrators who are tasked with designing and implementing
professional development training for all career counselors. The professional training is
conducted by the Academic Training Center (ATC).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 21
Stakeholder Performance Goals
Table 2
Organizational Mission, Global Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
The mission of MOE is “Regulating and supporting high-quality learning opportunities across
all educational levels in order to provide Qatar’s population with opportunities to develop the
knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to fulfill their potential, demonstrate values and meet
the needs of the nation.”
Organizational Performance Goal
By the fall of 2019, all learners engaged in secondary education will have access to high-
quality, accredited academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents.
The Schools and the
Curriculum Dept. Goal
By August 2016, the
Schools and Curriculum
Department will design and
launch a new curriculum for
the counselors.
Stakeholder 1 Goal
Counselors
By January 2019, all counselors
will demonstrate the competencies
necessary to implement and
conduct the new career
development as designed.
MOE Administrators Goal
By September 2019, the
administration will design
and implement the
professional development
training for counselors.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
The stakeholders of focus for this study were all 35 career counselors at male
independent school. At present, there are 68 career counselors employed by the ministry,
working across all the 56 independent secondary schools. These counselors are employed by the
MOE within the “Department of Human Resources at the Career Development and Counseling
section.” There are 35 counselors at independent male secondary schools and 33 at independent
girls’ secondary schools. All the 35 counselors at the male schools are expats from countries
mainly Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The target for this stakeholder group, supported by the program
director, is that by January 2019, all counselors at all the male public high schools will
demonstrate the competencies necessary in implementing the new curriculum as designed by
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 22
ensuring the KPIs that were defined to track and measure are achieved. All the current
counselors at the schools are aware of the new curriculum and trained on implementing the new
curriculum. The training was provided by the ATC at the MOE in 3 days cover the contents of
the curriculum.
Implementing the new curriculum includes activities such as a student interest review, a
comprehensive knowledge of the nation’s needs, and the ability to cooperate with the schools’
faculty and administration. Achieving this target is vital to strengthening the MOE’s ability to
provide timely and effective support and intervention to its students and to further Qatar’s
national educational policy goals.
Purpose of the Project and Inquiry Questions
The purpose of this project was to assist the MOE in achieving its goals as related to the
career advisement program. The analysis focused on knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences related to achieving the organizational goals. While a complete performance
evaluation would focus on all the MOE stakeholders, for practical purposes the stakeholder
group to be focused on in this analysis are counselors at male independent schools.
The study focused on three main questions to address the knowledge, skills, motivation,
and required resources for the counselors, specifically:
1. What knowledge, motivation and organizational supports are needed by the school
counselors to ensure that all learners in secondary education have access to high-quality,
accredited academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents by
2019?
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 23
2. What knowledge, motivation and organizational the counselors exhibit that ensure all
learners in secondary education have access to high-quality, accredited academic and
career guidance services in collaboration with their parents by 2019?
3. What are the solutions for organizational changes to bridge gaps in the areas of
knowledge, motivation organizational practices for career counselors enabling them to
attain the organizational goals?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis, a systematic, analytical method that helps to clarify
organizational goals and identify the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences, was
adapted to an evaluation model and implemented as the conceptual framework. Assumed
knowledge, motivation and organizational influences on MOE counselors that impact MOE’s
organizational goal achievement were generated based on personal knowledge, learning and
motivation theory and related literature. These influences were assessed by using surveys,
document analysis, interviews, literature review and content analysis. Research-based solutions
are recommended and evaluated in a comprehensive manner.
Organization of the Dissertation
Five chapters are used to organize this dissertation. This chapter provided the reader with
an overview of the key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about career
advisement program. The MOE’s mission, goals and stakeholders in the context of the Qatari
educational landscape, and the framework for the project were introduced. Chapter Two
provides a review of current literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics of career
advisement, theories, policies, and models around the world are addressed. Chapter Three
details the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences to be examined as well as the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 24
methodology informing the choice of participants, data collection and analysis. In Chapter Four,
the data and results are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides solutions, based on data
and literature, for closing the perceived gaps as well as recommendations for an implementation
plan for solutions.
Definitions
MOE: Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar that is in charge of
regulating and licensing all the schools in Qatar.
Independent Schools: A model of the public schools in Qatar that is funded by the
government and operated by Individuals.
Counselors: The faculty member who is in charge of providing the career advisement
development program to the students.
Parent Involvement: An explicit MOE goal to include Qatari parents in the career
decision-making process at the high school level.
TVET: Technical and Vocational Education and Training
ICT: Information and Communication Technologies
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 25
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This chapter provides a general review of career development for high schools with its
importance and challenges in the global and the Qatari context. In addition, the chapter reviews
some international best practices in career development. The chapter also explores career
development curricula including curriculum models in developing countries and in Qatar with
highlights of improvment and reform initiatives in Qatar, and counselors’ qualifications and
challenges.
This chapter also reviews learning and motivation theory, focusing on knowledge and
skills, motivation, and organizational issues. This chapter then concludes with a review of
specific knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors affecting the stakeholder group which
are the counselors.
Career Development
Career Counseling
Historically, school counselling and career development started as an auxiliary service
provided by teachers who provided support to their students to identify suitable jobs and helped
tone student’s aspirations to their skills and abilities in response to job requirements during the
industrial revolution and societal changes triggered by the industrial revolution itself. The
automatic route of students joining family-run businesses or running family farms before the
industrial revolution changed and opportunities available for potential employees increased by
multiple folds.
Gordon (1995) defines career advising as a dynamic and interactive process of helping
students understand how their interests, values and abilities, predicts success in the academic and
career fields they aspire and how to create their academic and career goals and plans as per that
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 26
(p. 12). Ireh (1999) noted that career concerns occur throughout one’s lifetime that career choice
has a significant impact on an individual’s personal happiness (Ireh, 1999).
Career development was first put in place by Parsons who established the Breadwinners
Institute in Boston in 1908 to provide career counselling and assistance for underprivileged
youth (Fouad, Gernstein, & Toporek, 2006). The idea of establishing such an institute was to
provide learning opportunity to workers who otherwise couldn’t access learning through
traditional universities. Initially focus was given to vocational guidance and employability;
however, the scope enlarged to include vocational, educational and personal/social counseling
which became the three pillars of career counseling we see at schools today.
One of the most prominent theories adopted in career counselling was Rogers in (1942) person-
centered theory of psychotherapy (Middleton & Loughead, 1993). Earlier career counselling was
defined as guiding students toward certain professions. However, counsellors who employed
Roger’s therapeutic approach started using the non-directive approach of solving the
developmental problems of children and helping them become wholesome individuals who are in
a better position to understand their skill sets, interests and abilities, thereby choosing the best
suited career path for them. Although there were critics who opined against employing Roger’s
methods within school confines, the idea flourished and was adopted far and wide. The
profession of career counseling and the modes of its operations changed forever (Gysbers &
Henderson, 2006).
Though the new ideas of clinical approach to career counselling were accepted by most
practitioners, there were staunch critics also to the career counseling from the high senior official
of some firms or academic at schools. Since there was no central body monitoring or directing
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 27
the evolution of career counselling profession, there was no unique identify for the profession
(Gysbers & Henderson, 2001).
Current education models focus on academic achievements and all-around success of
students (Borders & Drury, 1992). However, a lot of students are not able to achieve the success
on academic front because of varying factors in life that tend to stymie their efforts to achieve
academic success. Achievement of academic success is determined by lots of factors. This
ranges from direct demographic factors like as gender, age, nationality, socioeconomic status of
family to indirect factors like teaching faculty’s quality, addressing requirements of students with
special needs. Factors at home like financial status of parents, emotional support offered at
home etc. have an impact on performance of students in school (Fields, 1991).
When such learning barriers are identified in students, schools make required efforts to
bridge the gaps identified in such students through a results based counselling program wherein
the required school counselors members become the important cog in developing the student and
accomplishing his/hers potential (Gysbers & Henderson, 2006) Hence school counselling
programs are one of the most of important activities in nurturing a student and prepare him to
identify and pursue the career options suiting his interest, skills and abilities post-secondary
education or graduation (Schlossberg & Morris & Leibermann, 2001).
Career Development in High Schools
The effect of school counselling programs and the outcomes of career planning
interventions are amongst the least researched topics within education domains. However, this is
an important domain linked to development community, society and nation at large (American
School Counselors Association [ASCA], 2005).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 28
Career development in high schools refers to the planned and organized process or
framework designed to assist the students in understanding their educational and personal
abilities, as well as their potentials and interests. It helps students develop their abilities and
problem-solving skills to attain their higher educational goals (Gordon, 2006).
High school students should experience a continuous emphasis on planning for their
future career (Herr & Cramer & Niles ,2004). As students go through the transitionary phase of
student to an employee, the planning efforts should be specific and targeted rather than being
generic and rigid. The ASCA national model is the most accepted program for career counseling.
Its objectives are,
• To ensures equitable access to a rigorous education for all students
• To identify the knowledge and skills all students will acquire as a result of the K-12
comprehensive school counseling program
• ASCA programs is delivered to all students in a systematic fashion
Counseling program is based on data-driven decision-making Though the national model
devised by ASCA which is widely accepted and employed by most school administrator’s world
over, which focuses on individual interventions in educational and career development, there
were calls to increase the focus on career development than anything else. Some parents wanted
the attention to be switched back to career development and guidance while conducting student
counselling sessions rather than individual intervention in education or career development
(Dahir & Burnham & Stone, 2007).
Though career development is essentially a lifelong process, it is tied up with educational
planning. Hence it is critically important to prepare children and adolescents to transition them
successfully from studentship to an employee’s role. Career counselling at high schools is all the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 29
more important because it helps not just transition a student to a worker but in the due course an
adolescent to a mature adult capable of managing education, work, leisure and other major facets
of life. Thus, at high school level in particular, the student experience a need to simultaneously
prepare for a career and college pursuits. While examining this proposition, it seems both are
linked in some way as most college pursuits are direct outcomes of career planning and few turns
out to be other way around (Herr & Cramer & Niles ,2004).
Importance of Career Development
Career development has become an integral part of high school programs. It helps
students achieve educational plans which are aligned with their personal goals, interests and
ambitions (Gordon, 2006).
Career development is not only the process of providing students with the needed
information regarding future careers, it is also a process that assesses the students’ personal goals
and interests and provides guidance on the right way of attaining them (Karp, 2013).
There have been numerous studies and researches conducted on how career counselors at
high school levels impacts a student and his preparation for college pursuits. A study conducted
(Trusty & Niles, 2004) found that almost half of the students who purse an associate or
bachelor’s degree does not complete the degree successfully within eight to ten years from the
inception. Though students have wide array of options after secondary education, many people
who participated in the survey stated that they received little or no help in career planning and
pursuing college and bachelor or associate programs based on career choices and preferences.
Additionally, the survey suggested that a lack of proper support from a counsellor delayed
college enrolment in low income groups and communities which are not exposed to higher
education.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 30
Similar study conducted (Pargett, 2011) identified that there was strong correlation
between academic advising and student development. The study also revealed that there was
strong correlation between academic advising and student satisfaction. One of the reasons of this
correlation is the relation between the advisor and student, and the quality of interaction which
drives student satisfaction (Pergett, 2011). Hence the results of the study are an eye opener
emphasizing the need for continuous professional career planning and development through high
school.
International Best Practices in Career Development
The focus on scientific achievements in the 1950’s made governments focus more on
mathematics and science education. The United States had invested heavily in career counsellors
to identify potential students who show high caliber in mathematics and science to be identified
and nurtured to develop them into future scientist for the US to retain its scientific edge
geopolitically (Campbell, 1996). This shifted the focus of career counselling back to academics
and reduced the focus on clinical counselling for intellectual, emotional and social development.
Typically, career guidance services were operating in three models,
1. Service model which articulates the major services offered by counsellors as assessment,
counselling and placements.
2. The process model which focused on counseling, consulting and coordinating known as
the 3C model.
3. The duties model which was a list of duties to be performed by counselors; this list was
mostly made up of administrative activities with little focus on the clinical approach.
In 1952, the term school counselor was widely used and a professional association was
formed to unify the practitioners called the American School Counselors Association (ASCA
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 31
2005). After the formation of the association, the models were frequently reviewed and fine-
tuned to suit the requirements articulated by governments and eminent educationalists from time
to time. Efforts were made over time to ensure that the models strike a balance between
academics and clinical approach of personal/emotional and intellectual development throughout
the existence of ASCA.
In 2003, ASCA published its first comprehensive and robust counselling framework
called “National Model: A framework for school counselling programs” which was intended to
bring about uniformity in the way school career counselors operated and ensured repeatability
and ability to re deploy the processes in the operating model.
By 2006, the latest iteration in the evolution of career counseling models employed by
ASCA had four major dimensions; they are content, organizational framework, resources and
development/management/accountability (Gysbers & Henderson 2006).The purpose of
comprehensive guidance model introduced by ASCA was to facilitate students to identify and
acquire knowledge/skills along with attitude that they need to develop and succeed in their lives
with the basic principle of life career development, defined as “self-development over the life
span through the integration of roles, settings, and events in a person’s life” (Gysbers &
Henderson, 2006, p57). Although the comprehensive guidance model was predominantly
accepted by schools in the US, the results based approach was widely used across geographies.
According to the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), an ideal career
development program has to be aligned and compatible with the high school’s mission, vision
and the appropriate type of curriculum (Freitag, 2011).
The UNESCO handbook on career counseling (UNESCO, 2002) describes the ideal
career development as consisting of seven elements:
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 32
1. Assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their personal
goals,
2. Provide students with accurate information about the academic progress and the
requirements of higher education,
3. Help students understand the academic policies and procedures,
4. Help students gain access to campus resources that will enhance their ability to
achieve academic success,
5. Help students overcome educational and personal problems,
6. Identify systemic and personal conditions that may hinder students' academic
achievement and the development of appropriate intervention, and
7. Review and use of the data available for the students to know their level of academic
and educational needs, performance, aspirations and problems.
After reviewing the key elements of ideal career development program, the fundamental topics
that need to be addressed in the context of this research study are, application of these elements
in the career counseling program, motivation and resource availability for counselors to develop
and implement career counseling program around these elements.
In the United Stated, ASCA developed a standard curriculum and a national framework
of the process of career development at the schools designed to help students achieve required
competencies and skills along with providing students with attitude and knowledge as per their
level of development (Bowers, 2012).
New Zealand has been in the fore front of educational policy research on career
counseling from 1980’s (Crowe, 2014). Though there were career counselors employed in
schools from 1980’s, the efficacy and effectiveness varied. As the rates of drop outs increased
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 33
over the years, the New Zealand government initiated a project in 2013 to explore the issues and
to formulate policy framework on the conduct of school career counseling in New Zealand. The
study revealed the issues faced by guidance counselors, other guidance staff and the schools
across New Zealand (Barclay & Crocket & Mira, 2013).
In the earlier days, the counseling service was viewed as remedial mechanism to bridge
the gaps in academics and provide general awareness of options available for students. But as the
program progressed, career counselors were provided with required primary, secondary and
tertiary trainings even at university levels to handle queries pertaining to specific courses and
programs and for the counselors to have firsthand understanding of the merits and demerits of
each courses and programs. This was followed up with New Zealand government initiating study
awards for student counselor positions along with providing tagged funding for career counselor
positions based on size of enrolment for each year (Barclay & Crocket & Mira, 2013).
However, during early 2000s the operating model of secondary schools in New Zealand
changed considerably and they were given authority to manage their affairs locally instead of
centralized funding, recruitment, management model. This waived off the requirement to
mandatorily fulfill the roles of counselors in schools and eventually it became an ad hoc role that
was mostly left unfilled or teachers fulfilling the roles on a part time basis.
A recent survey conducted of several schools across New Zealand found that in most
schools, counselor roles were under staffed and hence the work load was substantially higher
than a secondary teacher. However there existed a huge disparity between the pay for a
secondary school teacher and counselor, counselor getting as low as $15 per hour in some cases
(Career Counselling in New Zealand Schools, 2009).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 34
These outputs shed light on the plight of these roles and people who worked as
counselors. The government initiated immediate action to address the disparity in pay offered to
career counselors by administering revision in pay scale and hiring qualified career counselors to
balance the work load, based on the reports to correct the discrepancies arrest further slide in the
quality of education by instituting career planning and college pursuits (Barclay et al., 2013).
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China which was a British colony as late
as 1997. Though Hong Kong is a multicultural melting pot of east and west, it still retains its
colonial inputs from the past. Though the model of schooling is largely based on British system,
the Chinese values and culture were incorporated. This influence of Chinese values on a British
model is evident on the curriculum as well the career guidance model employed here. The
Chinese philosophy attributes a dual role for the teacher as an instructor and as a guide for
academic and personal/social issues of the students. Hence the teachers’ right from childhood
looks at a student and aims at whole person development. These notions were reinforced by the
British model of pastoral care at schools. Specific career development programs were started in
1959, however full-fledged approach of career development including remedial teaching, social
development and student guidance were not started till 1970s (Lee & Wong, 2008).
The individual teacher based approach was spread encompassing all teachers and
students thereby converting it to a whole school approach were all the teachers were responsible
for the development of all students in the school by providing required services to all students
across the board. This approach was supplemented with required programs through its span. The
program had a simple approach of addressing local requirements with the help of global
knowledge which is highly localized for easy assimilation of students in Hong Kong (Lee &
Wong, 2008).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 35
The key metrics of program and its supplementary projects proved that the program and
its supplementary projects were a complete success as it built off the existing beliefs concerning
the caring/supportive role of teacher as a mentor/guide and instructor as per Chinese culture,
optimally using collaboration and teamwork in solving learning difficulties, knowledge sharing
across the counselors, mutual support and cooperation between staff and school authorities
resulting in “wholesome development of students” (Lee & Wong, 2008, p18).
Government of Ireland’s Department of Education and skills recently employed a
national agency (National Center for Guidance in Education) to survey the career guidance and
counseling in its schools to identify the gaps. The results of the survey were revealing (Hayes &
Morgan, 2011).
The survey was designed to track and monitor the feedback from career counselors in
Irish Secondary schools and assess their impact on the overall health of higher education system
in Ireland. The results highlighted that most of the participant counselors were adequately
trained and comfortable with their roles as career development counselors with a small
percentage required to receive on job training to improve their skills. Regarding the models of
counselling, there were five models that were identified: person-centered counselling, reality
therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and gestalt therapy. The
frequency of senior school students who participated in counselling sessions were much higher
than other modes of counseling as explained above, and the issues that were brought to light
mostly included family issues, bullying, bereavement of close relatives, behavioral problems,
suicidal tendencies, relationships and academic issues. The councilors were mostly acting as
psychological councilors and less so as career counselors and their referrals were mostly to
psychiatry specialists rather than to academic stakeholders. The survey also revealed that the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 36
counselors were stressed out because most of them were working as teachers and had to twin hat
the role of counselor as well. The Department of Education and Skills took cognizance of the
survey reports and initiated administrative changes to hire more career counselors to ensure work
load balance of counselors along with developing and funding supplementary programs to train
the counselors to work efficiently as a para psychiatrics consultant while performing the role of
career counselor/career development role.
Career Development in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
The education systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE are undergoing major changes owing to the
recognition by its governments that investment in education and upskilling its population is
needed to reduce the reliance on oil based revenue sources and transforming these countries into
knowledge economies. However there exist a fundamental misalignment of needs and
expectations that the outcomes often do not match the expectations. Young students who get
admitted to schools and colleges are unsure as to why or how they need to prepare themselves
for the job market and building long-term career.
One of the primary focus areas for GCC governments is economic diversification by
equipping young populace of these countries with necessary skill sets making them employable
by public/private sectors so that the unemployment rate among nationals are reduced. The
unavailability of qualified national youths and excess availability of qualified and cost-efficient
expatriate labor continues to drive an influx of migrant workers to GCC countries.
Governments in GCC countries understand that the investments in education, training and
skills are inevitable to bridge the skill gaps. In a study conducted by Ernst & Young in 2014 on
the skill gaps in GCC, one of the major areas identified are the obstacle in transitioning young
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 37
students from education to employment (Cooper, Gallagher, Collins, & Shahir ,2015). The report
calls for attention on four major areas, aligning curricula with employer needs, encouraging
culture of employment, innovation and entrepreneurship, developing workforce through
experience and training and most importantly providing information about careers. Two key
actionables from the report are as follows,
• Enhance curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to develop enterprise skills and
mindset within students
• Engage with parents and guardians to support young people’s career decisions
This highlights the need for focus on career development in GCC countries.
Career Development in the UAE
According to the MOE in UAE, one of the major obstacles that they face in transforming
the economy to a knowledge-based economy is a lack of educational guidance for its students.
This realization made the authority to take necessary steps to initiate career development and
counseling as a mandatory session every week for all grade 10 students in public schools of
UAE. In 2012, the MOE in the United Arab Emirates launched a career development initiative in
public schools. According to an official announcement posted on the ministry’s web site, the
initiative consisted of providing a national curriculum guidance and establishing the function of
“an academic advisor” for the first time in state schools. According to the ministry, this project
aims at guiding the students to choose the disciplines required in the labor market. The project
also aims to equip the students with essential skillset and relevant educational qualifications.
Minister of Education Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami said in an interview with the local
newspaper (Emarat al-yom, October 4), that the ministry relies on the career development
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 38
initiative to provide the labor market with qualified and experienced people, and in turn spur the
process of economic development to transition from oil-based to knowledge-based economy.
Career Development in Qatari Public Schools
The government of Qatar has given utmost importance for human, social and economic
developments in the Qatar National Vision 2030. QNV 2030 is a statement of Qatar's long-term
strategy for modernization and economic growth). Qatar National Development Strategy 2011–
2016 proposes a holistic child development strategy which will enable the state of Qatar to
inculcate policies and programs creating a robust framework for all round development of
children of all ages in increasing their well-being, leading to better human capital outcomes in
turn driving economic growth and sustenance for future generations of Qatar.
Several schools in Qatar are yet to consider career development and counseling for grade
10th
,
11th and 12th as a top priority. According to Splete (2012), some schools did not initiate
career development in their curriculum yet nor did they recruit qualified full-time counselors.
The education and training sector strategy identifies that Qatar would need to make
substantial investment in education and training domains to produce educated, healthy and well-
rounded civic society who could drive nations industries, Research, Education, Medical domains
in turn reducing the reliance on carbon based economy and transform it into knowledge-based
economy. Though government understands the importance of employing full-time career
counselors within all schools to guide the students to choose optimal paths suiting their interests
and requirements of the nation; career development and counseling for grades 10th, 11th and
12th grade students are still not a priority for most schools in Qatar.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 39
Figure 1. Key phases of education and training sector strategic plan per Qatar National Vision
2030 (Education and Training Sector Strategy 2011–16, 2011)
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOE) has established a department
under its Education Institution to provide career guidance and counseling services to needy
called “Advising Career Development Center”, with a mission “to provide comprehensive
advising and career counseling services that will help students and graduates make educational
and career choices based on their interests, abilities, values as well as the needs of the labor
market.”
Career Development Curriculum
The word “curriculum” means educational path, describes the learning process in
comprehensive mode covering the learner, learning content and methods of learning. In general
terms, curriculum covers the following aspects of learning (UNEVOC Report, 1993):
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 40
• Who is the target of the educational processes?
• The goals and qualifications to be achieved?
• Contents are to be learned?
• Teaching methods and aids to be employed?
• How to test whether the result is achieved?
The effectiveness of a career development curriculum, in particular, depends on the following:
• How far the program is able to attract young generation into occupations of future and
skills needed for employers
• Whether the program is able to deliver not just the technical skills, but the required soft
skills and life skills to cope with the challenges of the job as well coping with work life
balance
• How far the program is able to offer the basic skill sets required for an employee to
effectively switch his area of job to a new domain
• Whether the program offers open access to all without entry requirements or barriers
(UNEVOC Report, 1993)
Models of Curriculum Development
Curriculum designed for career development should not only meet the design objectives
for upskilling or training an individual into a potential employee but be implementable to bring
the expected change in the individual through the application of the right behavioral and
instructional tools. There have been varied models of curriculum development like the subjective
and objective modes. However, one of the most widely accepted model is the competency based
approach of career development curriculum where multimedia resources are being employed
along with an open entry/exit philosophy allowing trainees to learn the skill upgradation modules
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 41
which are tailor made for them at their own pace rather than a straightjacket approach of mass
teaching (UNEVOC Report, 1993).
In the individualized and competency based mode of curriculum development, the subject
matter content is developed into modules of relevant topics which are easily administered
through work stations where the teaching process is learner centric and not teacher centric. The
modules are subdivided into elements that are directly related to skill sets that are either linked to
a competency that is required for a specific nature or type of job or that the individual is aspiring
for or a general skill that the individual is lacking, so that he could meet the bench mark. Though
this method is most effective in developing a career development curriculum, it is resource
intensive and not always achievable for communities lacking enough resources of where the
priorities for resource allocation are different (UNEVOC Report, 1993).
Modern technologies employed at most work places demand skilled employees with
skills of higher order like contextual knowledge, reasoning, analytical and critical thinking along
with good communication, emotional intelligence and other soft skills. Once an individual has
developed the basic skillsets as per a career development curriculum, he/she needs to switch to
the lifelong learning mode to continue to acquire/update his knowledge and sharpen his skills
like:
• Communication and cooperation skills
• Application of techniques and cognitive skills
• Independent judgment and responsibility
• Coping with stress
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 42
Career Development Curriculum in Developing Countries
Generally, career development concepts are often assigned least priority in developing
countries as availability of excess of labor and occupational choices being a new concept.
Priorities while allocating scarce resources in developing countries might also be one reason for
career development being assigned low priority.
Maslow’s (1970) hierarchy of needs provides a rational explanation, only once the lower
order needs like psychological and safety needs of an individual are met, a higher order need like
self-esteem or self-actualization could be achieved. In case of developing countries, they are
facing most of the challenges faced by the higher income or developed countries but on a varied
magnitude like globalization, market access, ICT infrastructure, and so on, along with their own
specific problems like poverty alleviation, immunization, mal nutrition, public health etc.
As economic transition is a priority for developing countries, the need for investment in
career guidance and developing a suitable curriculum is most important. Career development
curriculum which is suitable for the economy and available opportunities should be applied at the
right age and levels of populations so that individuals succeed in part taking in economic growth.
Individuals who are employed but lacking requisite skillset would turn to be a liability and the
resources needed for them to equip with right skills will be far more than providing basic
skillsets for all at the right age and level of education (Watts & Fretwell, 2004).
In most of the developing countries, career guidance services are offered to students as
part of general guidance provided on behavioral issues, personal problems, learning and social
problems. This role is interchangeably managed by teachers in most cases and rarely career
guidance counselors being appointed, eve n when a specific role of career guidance counselor is
appointed, he or she will twin as a teacher on most part or stand in for teaching duties whenever
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 43
regular teachers are absent. In some developing countries, the career guidance counselor roles
are not present but replaced by life orientation teachers who mostly teach social or life sciences
(Watts & Fretwell, 2004).
To bridge these resource gaps, few of developing countries like Philippines, Russia,
Romania etc. have given impetus to include career development as part of regular curriculum
and assigning regular teachers whereby the need for a transient role is eliminated and requisite
importance is granted to the topic (Watts & Fretwell, 2004).
In most developing countries, career development is dominated by psychologists and
generic career guidance counselors. Their emphasis is more on test and tell approach wherein
individuals are tested in psychometric tests to assess them and suggest suitable opportunities for
them. There is no holistic approach of available opportunities within labor market and how an
individual can move to the most suitable and rewarding profession with his current skillsets
along with bridging the skill gaps identified (Watts & Fretwell, 2004).
Specific career guidance courses are being developed as part of university curricula in
most of developing countries, In Poland, Turkey and Romania, career development curricula are
developed as specific university courses under the support of World Bank funded programs
which is intended to bring clarity and distinction to the role of career counselor. The
competency framework required for these roles include not just the skills for career counselors
and professionals but para professionals engaged in development of career development
curricula. Essential skills like ICT, liaising with employers, communication and counseling skills
along with detailed study of labor market, economic opportunities etc. Are part of this curricula
and specific to these countries (Watts & Fretwell, 2004).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 44
Career Development Curriculum in Qatar
Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) with the cooperation of the MOE launched The
Counselors Guidebook during the Doha Counselors Day on October 8, 2013. The guidebook is
intended to equip the counselors and administrators in Qatar with required information, and
strategic suggestions on career development.
The education and training sector strategy 2011–16 developed by the MOE outlines the
need for a comprehensive, accessible career guidance at all levels of education and training
which aims to increase the performance of academic and vocational guidance programs within
schools by incorporating Training and Vocational Education programs in the curricula thereby
reducing the dropout rates (Qatar Education and Training Sector Strategy 2011–16).
Private schools in Qatar like Qatar Academies (operated under the management of Qatar
Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development—a private, chartered, non-
profit organization) provide continual support for students from preschool to grade 12 through a
multidisciplinary program to address academic deficiencies, language issues, identify advanced
intellectual abilities and nurture them. Specialist from different fields like counseling, childhood
development, linguistic specialists, and career guidance professionals are employed to provide a
wholesome career development experience to all students within these schools. Opportunities of
mentoring by selected student volunteers from Carnegie Mellon university also caters to groups
of highly capable students within Qatar Academies.
Major career development initiatives run by these schools include academic counseling,
conducting career exploration seminars, personal/social counseling, peer help programs, Talent
Achievement programs, community resources and school nursing programs.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 45
Curriculum reform in Qatar. Successful professional career development seeks to
provide a variety of career counseling services for students to help them bridge the academic
gaps, impart requisite soft skills and technical skills equipping them to achieve their career
aspirations suiting the requirements of the nation. It must target specific goals and outcomes and
includes creating strong alliances between academic instructors, school administration and
academic counselors. These alliances come in the form of workshops, seminars, and programs
designed to provide the students with additional information about potential careers and future
needs (Kimberly, 2011).
Improvement initiatives in Qatar. One of the major projects initiated by the ministry is
to “improve the breadth and quality of national curriculum, learning resources and programs to
address the diverse learning needs of all students including the educational and working skills
needed to enable them to fulfill their potential” (Project 10.2, Qatar Education and Training
Sector Strategy 2011–16).
The education and training sector strategy of Qatar suggests adopting a national
curriculum emphasizing the need for language, math and science skills for all students which are
aligned with programs at higher education institutes and vocational training centers, along with
developing necessary life skills for the students. The reforms in K-12 system also plan to
catalyze the collaboration of parents with teachers and community at large so that the system
prepares adults to be open for lifelong learning.
The ninth goal of the strategy of MOE in Qatar is to ensure that all learners engaged in
secondary education have access to high-quality academic and career guidance services in
collaboration with their parents. This goal consists of nine new initiatives related to career
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 46
development to be implemented in the years 2016 and 2017 and involve the development of
curricula around these initiatives (EDU, 2016).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 47
Career Development Counselors
The American School Counselor Association designed its national model to address the
requisite components of a robust and comprehensive counseling program composed of four
interdependent components, the foundation, delivery, management and accountability.
Counselors’ Qualifications in the Global Context
Per the ASCA national model, school counselors should be certified/licensed
professionals having masters or higher degree in school counseling, or equivalent experience in
meeting the certification/license standards.
Counselors are also required to successfully complete degree coursework in the following
topics: Human growth and development, counseling theory, individual counseling, group
counseling, social and cultural foundations, testing and assessment, research and program
evaluation and professional orientation. Career development counselors also are required to
have practical experience through an internship which is duly supervised by an ASCA certified
school counselor in a live school setting (Bobby, 2013).
However, career development qualifications differ internationally and it is difficult to
locate specific information about qualifications in different countries. One of the most
significant difficulties is there is no career development major in the colleges which prepare the
counselors to conduct the career development process at the schools. Unlike the other subjects,
the counselors do not usually work on a full-time basis in the subject of the career development.
The counselors are commonly recruited as psychologists, human resource staff, teachers,
employment officers or labor-market related research staff. (Sweet & Watts, 2004).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 48
Counselors’ Qualifications in Qatar
There were no standard qualifications criteria set by authorities in Qatar for career
counselors till the MOE established a section for career counseling and hired professional
counselors who are deployed at independent schools. however private schools who employ
career counselors try to match with the criteria set forth for career counseling by organizations
like ASCA and ACA, including having a degree and considerable work experience in in areas of
human growth and development, counseling theory, individual counseling, group counseling,
social and cultural foundations, testing and assessment, research and program evaluation and
professional orientation.
Professional training and development. One of the first and major programs launched
for career counselors in Qatar was the School counselor’s training program run by HBKU in
collaboration with Bedaya Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development and the Higher
Education Authority under the administration of MOE. Program was launched in October 2014
with an aim to aid the counselors with the fundamental tools of career counseling and to update
them with latest developments in the career development counseling domains. To make the
program, accessible to maximum participants, the delivery was in Arabic language for the first
time. The participants were made to discuss the practices that they employ for academic and
career guidance and best practices shared within the group on how to encourage studied
decision-making on future academic/career plans. The 5-month long course had lectures, group
work, and school visits along with six modules like sessions on social learning/cognitive
learning, growth and development theory, along with special sessions on career counseling tools.
The program also emphasized the importance of the role of career counselor explaining the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 49
impact of the role of future of students, ethical dimension and impact on community, society and
nation.
Career Development Challenges
Challenges Facing Counselors in Qatar Schools
The counselors usually expect the students to have wider knowledge about professional
career path options, their desired jobs, potential opportunities and the roadmap to achieve them
then they actually have (Education and Employers TASKFORCE, 2013). In reality, the
counselors are employed to addressed the very same gap that they find or expect the students to
have. The counselors that are employed by schools at least in some cases are expatriate staffs
who are not well aware of the culture, customs and aspirations of a Qatari national. Hence it is
best to have a group of Qatari nationals identified, trained and employed as career counselors so
that they would be sensitive to the culture, customs and aspirations and thereby better accepted
by the students, parents and community.
The Challenges of the Career Development
One of the challenges of career development counselors is that they are required to have
comprehensive knowledge and perspectives about social, technical and economic changes. A
few additional major challenges faced by career development counselors are explained below
(Timmey & Chapman, 2012).
Influence of parents. Parents might not always have the best understanding of potential
career options; however, suggestions by counselors are met with anxiety as they may generalize
successes within community.
Limited career options. Career options are often reflective of how a society thinks about
a specific profession in the perspective of social standing or financial gains. Hence most of
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 50
societies have established norms and preferences for choosing careers. This limits the career
options of students who might face stiff opposition for choosing career paths outside of these
established norms.
Perspectives on career counseling. Career counseling is often viewed as a remedial
intervention center for academics and not as a professional place preparing students on
psychological, educational and skill levels, enabling them to transition from student to employee
profiles.
Lack of trust of learners. Learners in specific communities do not always trust the
counselors to reveal their personal problems for the fear of confidentiality and lack of trust
(Baumeister & AlGhamdi, 2015).
Lack of Qualified Counselors. One of the challenges facing the career development
process is the lack of qualified counselors who have comprehensive knowledge and perspectives
about the social, technical and economic changes within the global context and the local context.
Parents build high expectations on the professional future of their children. On the other side,
counselors have limited access to information to help students achieve their desired goals given
the evolving changes in the global labor market (Amundson, 2006).
Learning and Motivation Theory
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge and skills refer to the information and techniques that are required and used
by the people to achieve the desired goals and objectives (Clark & Estes, 2008). Knowledge
comes in four different categories which are factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge,
procedural knowledge and metacognitive knowledge (Rueda, 2011). This study evaluated and
assessed the career development in the public high schools in Qatar and shed light on the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 51
required skills and knowledge that the counselors must possess to perform their task in the career
development field. The knowledge and skills of the counselors are the pillars of counseling as
they define the scope of the counselors’ work and the anticipated outcome they must achieve
(Curry & Milsom, 2013). It is of high importance for the counselors to be aware of the general
counseling and career theories, in addition to other skills related assessment and research,
classrooms teaching, curriculum development and lesson planning (Curry & Milsom, 2013).
The counselors need to know the full curriculum of the career development counseling
that is shown Table 3. The summary of knowledge assumed causes are shown in the table below
Table 3
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Causes
Knowledge
Category
Assumed Cause
Factual Counselor lack of knowledge of MOE initiatives
Factual
Counselors lack of knowledge of the educational sector ultimate goals related to
career development that is needed to be achieved in the period 2016-2022.
Procedural Counselor lack of knowledge of career advising methodology
Procedural Counselor lack of knowledge of procedure for counselling
Conceptual The counselors lack knowledge dimension of the revised taxonomy
Motivation
Motivation refers to the internal power that gives the human beings the energy and
direction to pursue their life goals (Dembo & Seli, 2012). The motivation can be understood by
assessing the choice of behavior, the level of involvement, and the persistence and management
effort (Dembo & Seli, 2012). Motivation is a key element that drives people to fulfill their inner
potential and achieve further progress to attain their desired goals and move forward with their
life (Clark & Estes, 2008). Assumed motivation causes as listed in Table 4.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 52
Table 4
Summary of Assumed Motivation Causes
Motivation
Category
Assumed Cause
Task Value The counselors do not try to enhance their performance, learning and
motivation
Task Value The counselors do not look into the career development work as their
desired work
Goal Orientation The counselors do not present the importance of their work to the students
Self-Efficacy The counselors do not have positive expectations regarding their work
Self-Efficacy The counselors do not show self-confidence regarding the job they
performed
Attribution The counselors do not follow up with the students regarding their future
needs
Goal Orientation The counselors do not try to meet the challenges such as working with the
interest of the students against the interest of their parents
Motivation is a core component in most of the learning theories. It is a summation of
attention, anxiety, and grit. An individual should be motivated to pay attention during the
learning process; anxiety could decrease the motivation levels and hence impact the learning
process. Reward or positive feedback associated with an action often leads to repetition of the
action. Weiner described that behavioral theories focused on extrinsic motivation like rewards
while cognitive theories are associated with intrinsic motivation like goals and recognition
(Weiner, 1990).
Most of the behavioral theories, motivation is treated as a function of primary drives or
urges like hunger, sleep and comfort etc. Degree of the learning achieved can be changed by
varying the drive and its motivation (Weiner, 1990). Edward Tolman stated in theory of latent
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 53
learning that the primary drives create internal states of wants/needs that in turn serve as
secondary drive creating intrinsic motivation (Tolman, 1948).
On the other hand, the cognitive theory states that motivation creates intention which
leads to goal seeking acts. Malone in 1981 developed a framework for intrinsic motivation while
designing computer games for instruction (Malone, 1981). Malone states that intrinsic
motivation is created by qualities like challenge, curiosity and fantasy. Challenges depend on
acts that involve outcomes which are uncertain due to variables involved. Fantasy depends on
instruction skills, and curiosity is aroused when learner identifies that his/her knowledge is
incomplete, or inconsistent (Malone, 1981).
Keller in1983 stated the ARCS model for motivation (Attention, Relevance, Confidence,
and Satisfaction) which is based on a number of other theories of similar nature, which explains
that, a design strategy that consists of four components of motivation i.e., arousing interest,
creating relevance, developing an expectancy of success, and producing satisfaction through
intrinsic/extrinsic rewards would ensure successes in learning (Keller, 1983).
Organization
Organization refers to the work process and relevant material resources. The organization
is in charge of interacting with the people to help them achieve their desired goals (Clark &
Estes, 2008). By assessing the cultural model and cultural setting we can understand the factors
that influence the people’s behavior and the people response related to specific aspects (Rueda,
2011). The organization context in this study mostly refers to the Ministry of the Education and
Higher Education which designs the curriculum and the schools where the counseling are
conducted. Assumed organizational causes are listed below.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 54
Table 5
Summary of Assumed Organization Causes
Organizational
Category
Assumed Cause
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) does not provide the proper
professional training to the counselors
Cultural Model The organization (MOE, School) does not respect the role of the
counselors
Cultural Setting The MOE does not treat the counselors as same as the other teachers
Cultural Setting There is lack of communication with in the MOE related to career
development
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) does not require specific certificate or
training prior to hiring the counselors
Cultural Model The organization (MOE, School) does not encourage the students and the
parents to appreciate or value the work of the counselors
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) is paying less salary to the counselors
than the other staff
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences
In this section, the knowledge, motivation, and organization (KMO) influences that might
impact the stakeholder’s goal that ensures all learners engaged in secondary education have
access to high-quality academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents
are examined and assessed from a theoretical perspective and by reframing specific literature
previously reviewed that is relevant to the knowledge, motivation, and organization factors.
Knowledge and Skills
To achieve the goal of the MOE to ensures that all learners engaged in secondary
education have access to high-quality academic and career guidance services in collaboration
with their parents, the counselors to have certain fundamental knowledge about the counseling
and career development work and the MOE initiative. As such, in this section, each type of
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 55
knowledge that counselors need is examined and assessed. As a framework, Anderson and
Krathwohl in 2001suggested that there are four knowledge types which are factual, conceptual,
procedural and metacognitive (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).
Factual is knowledge terms and definitions. Conceptual is knowledge relationships,
processes, and categories. Procedural knowledge is "how to" steps and strategies. Finally,
metacognitive knowledge is knowledge “about thinking,” that is, knowledge resulting from
personal reflection about one’s goals, planning to achieve those goals, and monitoring and
evaluating progress toward achieving one’s goals. It is “knowledge about thinking.” Each type
of knowledge that counselors may need was categorized into one of these knowledge types
because each is assessed and trained differently, and, further, it is important that knowledge gaps
or needs are correctly identified and validated. The knowledge influences with the highest
priority are examined in the sections that follow.
The study reviewed all the literature that focus on the knowledge and skills of the
counselors that influence the counseling and career development process. The literature review
was analyzed and categorized based on factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural
knowledge and metacognitive knowledge.
Factual knowledge: Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) define factual knowledge as
the basic elements counselors must know and be able to do in order to achieve a particular
objective. Based on this framework, factual knowledge that counselors may need includes
the awareness of the MOE initiatives regarding the career development. The counselors
must know the advising career methodologies that is implemented globally and locally by
the MOE. In addition, counselors must know the procedures to conduct the counseling to
the students. They need to know the dimension of the revised taxonomy and the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 56
educational ultimate goals related to career development that is needed to be achieved by
2016 and 2022 as in the MOE strategic plan.
As review of the literature suggests that counselors are not aware of the MOE
initiatives regarding the career development. The school’s counselors must be qualified
people with a master degree or higher who have certificate or license in school counselling
(Shillingford & Karlin, 2013).
Conceptual knowledge: Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) define conceptual
knowledge as the interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that
enable them to function together. The counselors are not aware of the knowledge
dimension of the revised taxonomy as some of them do not have educational background.
Career development is not only the process of providing the students with needed
information regarding future careers, it is also a process that assesses the students
regarding their personal goals and interests and how to achieve them (Karp, 2013).
Procedural knowledge: The counselors do not follow the proper procedures to
conduct the counseling. The career development is designed and conducted to provide the
skills and knowledge to the students to increase their productivity and learning outcomes.
(Maxwell & Rubin, 2000)
Metacognitive knowledge: Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) define metacognitive
knowledge as knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s
own cognition. The counselors do not know how to develop themselves in this field or evaluate
their own strengths and challenges or come up with ideas or initiatives that help in advising the
students career.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 57
Appendix E shows all the assumed causes of the knowledge and skills of the counselors
and how to validate these causes using the three instrument tools.
Motivation
Clark and Estes (2008) defined the motivation as the power that motivate us toward
moving on and working hard in our work task. Their definition reflects that of Pintrich who
suggests that there are three indicators for motivation: choice, persistence, and mental effort.
Choice is the intention to pursue goal by action. Persistence is continuing in the face of
distractions. Mental effort is when we work smarter and develop novel solutions. To address the
indicator of choice, Expectancy-Value Theory (Michie & Fixen & Grimshaw & Eccles, 2009) is
examined. For persistence, Bandura’s (Bandura & Caprara & Barbaranellin & Gerbino &
Pastorelli, 2003) self-efficacy theory may illuminate the underlying psychological influencer for
individuals’ continuing pursuit of a goal in light of other distracting goals.
The study reviewed some of the literature review focus on the motivation-related
influences of the counselors that are pertinent to the achievement of the organization goal related
to the career development. The motivation is a vital item in achieving the organization goal as it
effects the work force that carry out the tasks. With the motivation, the work force gets the
direction, persistence, and energy toward achieving the goals (Clark and Estes, 2008). Mayer in
2011 has another perspective of theorist’s definition of motivation which is the desire of the
learners to use appropriate learning processes (Mayer, 2011).
Self-Efficacy Theory: Bandura’s & Wessels, 1994 work on self-efficacy is one of the most
powerful and well researched psychological constructs to date that can inform why and how individuals
persist at a task (Bandura & Wessels, 1994). This theory is applied with the Counselors who do not
have positive expectations regarding their work. They do not value their work to the students as
an important aspect in their academic life.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 58
Expectancy outcomes Theory: Eccles (2009) describes expectancy-value theory in
terms of both expectations for a successful outcome and the value one places on that outcome.
As Eccles described, the answers of the two fundamental motivational questions can describe the
expectancy-value. These two answers are represented by can we do the task and do we want to
do the task. This theory is applied with some of the counselors who feel the new curriculum will
not enhance the career development as they were not involved in designing this curriculum
which, as they claim, neglect some cultural factors related to the nature of the local students.
Some of the counselors do not want to do the counseling as guided by the MOE.
Attributions Theory: Anderman and Anderman (2009) describe the attributions theory
as the methods to examine and assess someone’s beliefs about the causes and consequences to
perform certain tasks. This theory is applied with the counselors who are not following up with
the students or their parents regarding their future needs in the career they are interested in.
Appendix F shows all the assumed causes of the motivation of the counselors and how to
validate these causes using the three instrument tools (Anderman & Anderman, 2009).
Organization
The frameworks that the study used are Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) which
refers to the shared mental or understanding of how the organization works or ought to
work (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Clark and Estes (2008) framework was another
tool that the study utilized . The organization consists of the work process, material
resources and value chains and value streams (Clark and Estes, 2008). The study reviewed
some of the literature review that focuses on organization and culture that are pertinent to
the achievement of the organization goal. The career development and counseling in Qatar
for the 10th 11th and 12th grade students is still not a priority for some of the schools in
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 59
terms of recruiting qualified and full-time counselors or implementing standard
curriculum, “some schools have yet to initiate career development in their schools’
programs” (Splete 2012).
MOE cultural model and setting: Cultural model can be described as the shared
perspective within the organization about how things work or ought to work and the rules or
policies that must be followed to must be avoided (Gallimore and Goldenberg, 2010). The
cultural setting is when a group of people come together to accomplish a certain goal or objective
(Gallimore and Goldenberg, 2010). In the United Stated, ASCA developed a standard curriculum
and a national framework of the process of career development at the schools designed to help
students achieve “desired competencies and to provide all students with the knowledge, attitudes
and skills appropriate for their developmental level” (Bowers, 2012). This study assessed
whether the MOE provides the proper professional training to the counselors to achieve their
goals. In addition, the study assessed if the MOE requires specific certificate or training prior to
hiring the counselors
Appendix G shows all the assumed causes of the organization and how to validate these
causes using the three instrument tools.
Conclusion
Investment in human resources is one of the pillars of education in contemporary nations.
Career development and students counseling in high schools is a key form of investment in
human resources. The educational institutions’ focus on career development is not restricted to
providing counselling, but also paying heed to the quality of the career development process and
its outcomes. Career development shapes the students’ future and enables them to be involved in
social activities. In Qatar, the officials in charge of the educational sector are paying a growing
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 60
interest in the process of the career development which is reflected in the forms of strategic
initiatives and additional budget allocations to the career development sector.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s mission is to maintain and develop
the career development process. This study aims at assessing and evaluating the career
development process in the high public school in Qatar, in addition to assessing the counselors’
performance in their capacity as the main stakeholders in this practice.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 61
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis to evaluate the degree to which
the MOE is meetings its goal related to its career development program. For practical purpose,
the analysis focused only on the counselors at the 35 male secondary public schools as the
stakeholder group for the study by assessing their knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences related to achieving the organizational career development goal.
This evaluation study focused on the following questions to address the knowledge and
skills, motivation, and organization influences for the counselors specifically:
1. What knowledge, motivation and organizational supports are needed by the school
counselors to ensure that all learners in secondary education have access to high-quality,
accredited academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents by
2019?
2. What knowledge, motivation and organizational the counselors exhibit that ensure all
learners in secondary education have access to high-quality, accredited academic and
career guidance services in collaboration with their parents by 2019?
3. What are the solutions for organizational changes to bridge gaps in the areas of
knowledge, motivation organizational practices for career counselors enabling them to
attain the organizational goals?
This chapter conveys the methodological approach utilized for this study, which was to evaluate
the counselors through three dimensions: counselors’ knowledge and skills, motivation, and
organizational contextual factors. This chapter also explains the population of the study and the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 62
sample selection, procedures used in designing the instruments and collecting data, and provides
an explanation of the procedures used to store and analyze the data.
Methodological Framework
This study used Clark and Estes (2008) Gap analysis framework to understand and
evaluate the counselors’ performance toward achieving the MOE’s goal related to career
development. Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework is a process to study where the
organization is now and where it wants to be regarding its objectives (Figure 2). The process
analyzed the causes of the performance problems through three critical components which are
the counselors’ knowledge and skills, the counselors’ motivation, and the organizational barriers
that hinder achieving the identified goals. The process takes eight stages starts by defining the
goals with the measurements tools and the KPIs (Stage 1). After that the process checks the
current levels of achievement and compares it with the goals and KPIs (Stage 2). Then, gaps are
identified that might inhibit achievement of the goals or objectives as required (Stage 3). The
analysis then targets three areas which are the knowledge or skills assessment for the work force,
motivations or efforts to be spent on work tasks, and organizational values and cultures that need
to be addressed, such as policies or procedures.
The gap analysis framework by Clark and Estes (2008) was used to identify of the gaps,
then provide the recommendations and solutions to resolve those gaps. Finally, the gap analysis
model put in place a means by which to evaluate the new solutions (Clark & Estes, 2008).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 63
Figure 2. Clark and Estes gap analysis process.
The Adoption to Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Process Model
This evaluation study utilized the Clark and Estes framework in evaluating the extent to
which the goal the MOE is achieved whereby “all learners engaged in secondary education will
have access to high-quality accredited academic and career guidance services in collaboration
with their parents.” (EDU, 2016,p38) The study measured the KPIs associated with successful
achievement of this goal through evaluation of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
requirements of academic counselors and recommending requisite changes if any to achieve the
stated objectives.
Assumed Performance Issues Needs and Assets
Clark and Estes (2008) define the gap analysis process as a systematic problem-solving
approach to improve performance and achieve organizational goals. The gap analysis and the
assessment of performance gaps includes three components: (a) scanning (informal) interviews
with stakeholders; (b) learning, motivation, and organization/culture theory; and (c) a review of
related literature on career development and counseling. Following in the next chapter, the study
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 64
includes tables that show assessments of the knowledge, motivation, and organizational assumed
causes for the counselors from related literature review.
Preliminary Scanning Data
The following information was generated from informal conversation and observation of
the counseling students receive and the researcher’s preliminary understanding of the knowledge
and skills, motivational and organizational assets of the counselors.
Knowledge and skills. At male public secondary schools in Qatar, many counselors are
unaware of the MOE initiatives regarding career development and their counseling work. The
counselors use basic methodology in providing counseling to the students but their methods are
not sufficient and aligned with the methods provided in the curriculum by the Department of
Schools and Curricula (DSC). They just provide the transitional knowledge skills such as
university admissions and requirements without covering all the skills that are required by the
curriculum. Some of the counselors lack teaching backgrounds. In addition, some of the
counselors are not following the best practices of counseling provided to them by the ATC in the
MOE.
Motivation. At male public secondary schools in Qatar, counselors do not feel valued by
the schools’ administration. Some of the schools do not conduct the regular meeting with the
counselors regarding the progress of their work or meet their needs and requirement such as
visiting fairs and conference related to career development as they do with the other teachers and
schools’ staff. Feeling less appreciated and valued by the schools’ administration effect the
motivation of some counselors to enhance their performance and learning. Which was reflected
in the form of the retention rate of counselors in their job.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 65
The department of curriculum and the ATC reported that some of the counselors believe
the new curriculum will not enhance the career development. The counselors were not involved
in designing the new curriculum which was developed and designed by the curriculum advisors
at the department of curriculum as they say that it neglects some factors related to the counseling
work such the importance of the parents and the surrounding environment and the nature of the
Qatari students who chose career that do not meet their interest.
Organization. The organization (MOE) does not provide proper academic and
professional training to the counselors to conduct their work with students based on international
best practices methodologies that can be provided by consulting firms as they do with the other
subjects. The counseling is still not a priority for the MOE in terms of recruiting qualified
counselors (Splete 2012). A qualified counselor would be bilingual and have graduated with a
bachelor’s or master’s degree with at least some experience in the local labor market and schools
environments. The counselors in some schools are not working as full-time employees, which
means that they are not contracted by the MOE. They can leave their counseling job at any time
whenever they find a better opportunity.
The (MOE) does not require specific majors, certificates or training prior to hiring the
counselors. There is no career development major in the education college at the Qatar
University or any other local colleges that can prepares the counselors to conduct the career
development process at the schools (Sweet, 2004). The MOE depends on the local market to hire
the counselors who can have experience in the local market and its needs unlike the other
teachers who are hired based on their experience in their teaching subject.
The MOE and the schools do not conduct enough fairs, meetings and conferences with
the parents, students and the students’ potential sponsors to bring into their attention the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 66
importance and value of the work of the counselors. In addition to that, the schools do not
include the comments of the counselors regarding the interest of the students or potential areas
that might fit their capabilities, desires and interests in the frequent reports about the students that
sent to the parents.
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholders of focus for this study were the 35 counselors who work in male
Independent secondary schools in Qatar. The counselors are employees of the DSC at the MOE.
All the counselors are stationed in a school except for two counselors who oversee the work of
the counselors who are stationed in the schools at the MOE headquarter.
The DSC is responsible for designing and launching the curriculum utilized by
counselors in the public schools in Qatar. The DSC is in charge of assessing all the counselors
and their performance. It created the goals related to career development and holds the
counselors accountable for their performance in meeting those goals. The DSC consists of eight
employees including the director, the assistant director, and six counseling advisors.
The sample of the study consisted of counselors whose work is particularly important in
delivering the proper counseling services to the high school students. There are 35 counselors
who work at the male secondary schools in Qatar to provide career development support for
students in grades 10, 11 and 12. The counselors follow the curriculum of the DSC in providing
counseling to the students. The counselors are recruited by the DSC and report directly to the
DSC regarding any academic needs or requirements such as their feedback on the curriculum or
their weekly progress reports. The counselors keep the principals of the schools updated
regarding all these reports. The schools arrange any events related to the counselors within the
schools such as visits to local firms to expose the students to the local market.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 67
For the sake of understanding the work undertaken by the counselors, the study
conducted unofficial interviews with four of the staff of the DSC. The four interviewees were the
director, assistant director, and two advisors who are in charge of counseling curriculum and the
assessment of the counselors’ performance in the schools. Additionally, four members of the
ATC were interviewed. These four members were the director of the center, the trainer who is in
charge of designing the courses for the counselors, and the two advisors who were assigned to
review the assessments of the counselors and assign appropriate courses for the counselors.
The Academic Training Center (ATC), which consists of 25 employees, is responsible for
providing the training to all the counselors on the curriculum which includes the areas the
counselors need to focus on and other related aspects, such as the structure of academic writing,
how to teach note taking and references and citation techniques. In addition, the ATC center
reviews assessments of the counselors’ performance and provides appropriate training as needed.
Data Collection
The study collected data at the MOE and the male public secondary schools through
surveys, questionnaires and interviews. It reviewed relevant literature reviews to provide
recommendations and solutions to the counselors in the areas of knowledge, motivation and
organizational support.
An online survey, in-person interviews, and document reviews were utilized to validate
the assumed causes of counselors’ level of knowledge and skills, motivation and organizational
supports. Permission for the surveys and interviews was obtained from the DSC which is an
integral component of the MOE.
The knowledge and skills questions used in the survey and interview measured and
assessed the counselor’s knowledge of the counseling; such knowledge is essential in achieving
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 68
the goals related to counseling, the organizational support related to career development tasks,
and the counselors’ necessary personal development training to help them meet any future needs
or challenges (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Motivational questions measured and assessed the degree of effort that is exerted by each
counselor to achieve the organizational goals related to counseling, and to gauge the level of
satisfaction of the counselors. Some of the questions also used to determine how satisfied the
counselors in their current role.
Questions focused on organizational support assessed and evaluated all the aspects
related to the MOE and to the schools that have an impact on the counselors in achieving their
career development goals. Some of the questions were related to the professional development
training and the counselor’s satisfaction with the compensation packages which are provided by
the MOE.
Data collection for 35 of the counselors who work in male public secondary schools
occurred in person through an on-line survey, at the counselors’ schools and at the headquarters
of the MOE. The names of the counselors and their contact information were collected from the
DSC.
Table 6
Mode of the Data Collection and the Target Group
Mode of Data
Collection
Online Survey In-Person Interviews Document Review
Target Group
Academic
Counselors – 35
surveys
DSC Staff - Minimum of
two interviews
Assessment reports filed by
academic counselors after
counseling students
ATC Staff - Minimum of
two interviews
Evaluation reports of
academic counselors
conducted by ACT/Schools
Academic Counselors -
Minimum of 15 interviews
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 69
Surveys
Surveys were conducted via online survey tools in October and December 2016. The
approval was received from the DSC and the University of Southern California’s Institutional
Review Board prior to sending the on-line survey to the counselors. The survey was
administered in English, with Arabic translation, and was distributed to all the samples
mentioned above. The surveys were related to the counselors as the stakeholder of the study.
Each survey consisted of 20 items and included a combination of Likert scale items,
dichotomous survey items, and open-ended questions.
Responses were collected anonymously, inserted into MS-Excel, and a copy was made
for back up purposes and stored on an external hard drive. No identifiable demographic
information was collected during the project and all results were maintained on a password-
protected laptop. Upon completion of the data analysis and the dissertation, all copies of data and
all recordings were destroyed. The survey instrument can be found in Appendix A.
Interviews
The participants were interviewed individually, in person and within focus groups.
Interviews consisted of 15 questions and lasted approximately one to two hours. 15 counselors
were interviewed as part of the study. Interviews were conducted in Arabic and then the answers
were translated to English. The interviews took place at the MOE headquarters in a meeting
room for those who work at the MOE, and at the counselors’ respective schools. Each interview
began with a standard interview protocol that includes obtaining permission to record the
interview for later transcription and coding. The interview protocol can be found in Appendix B.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 70
Document Analysis
Multiple documents were analyzed for this project, including the counseling curriculum
and the counseling schedule that are used by each counselor. The analysis was used to assess the
counseling methodology and techniques used by the counselors. The study analyzed the
anonymous assessment reports of the students that were filled by the counselors after each
session. Another document used in the analysis was the anonymous evaluation report of the
counselor which was filled by the school’s administration, DSC and the ATC. Document
analysis protocol can be found in Appendix D.
Validation of the Performance Needs/Assets
The data collected through the surveys, interviews, and document analysis was used to
validate the assumed needs and assets in the preliminary scanning data. Each assumed need or
asset was presented in a table. The answers to the initial survey questions were used to validate
the assumed causes of the knowledge and skills, organization and motivation of the counselors
that were listed in Chapter Two. For instance, to validate whether the counselors are aware of the
MOE initiatives regarding student advising and career development, the survey question was a
list of initiatives and respondents were requested to select out of the list the two appropriate
initiatives that belong to MOE.
Trustworthiness of Data
To triangulate the data, the extent to which the counselors implement the curriculum was
assessed through surveys, interviews, and document analysis. The collected data was used to
confirm the data that was gathered about the assumed causes. For instance, in the area of
knowledge and skills, a question prompted respondents to arrange the counseling procedures in
sequence. The same type of question was one of the open-ended questions when used while
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 71
interviewing the counselors. The output data of these two questions were compared to the
methodology and procedure that is in the curriculum to validate the answer of the counselors.
Role of Investigator
The researcher’s role in the organization is Director of Planning, Strategy and Projects
allowed him to observe, monitor and evaluate all the processes within the organization as they
relate to the schools. The career development goal is one of the goals that the director’s
department monitors and reports on twice a month to the Minister of Education and Higher
Education, and quarterly to the Prime Minster. The researcher’s role in this project was to
academically assess the performance of the DSC in attaining the MOE’s goals in relation to this
initiative.
As a leader in the organization, this project provided an internal perspective and direct
interactions with main stakeholders of the organization. The counselors are overseen by the DSC
which caused a degree of reluctance in providing negative data or severe answers related to
counseling. The staff members of the DSC were concerned that the counselors whom the
researcher interviewed and surveyed reported negatively about the performance or follow up
with their direct superior who is the DSC.
Data Analysis
The quantitative data that was collected from the surveys was analyzed using Microsoft
Excel where the study developed a table that contained all the data based on the participants. The
data was presented in charts to be easier for the reader to interpret. Based on this data, the
researcher calculated the means, medians, mode and the averages. When assessing whether there
is a lack of knowledge and skills, types of knowledge were categorized as follows: factual (K/F),
procedural (K/P), conceptual (K/C), and metacognitive knowledge (K/M). When assessing
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 72
whether there is a lack of motivation, items associated with the motivation were looked as the
following: Interest, self-efficacy, attributions, goals, active choice, persistence and mental
efforts. Assessing the organization included policy, procedures, resources, values and culture.
For the qualitative data that was collected through interviews, observations, and
document analysis, the data was coded in symbols to represent the categories of the knowledge
and skills, motivation and organizational support.
Limitations and Delimitations
Some limitations resulted from the design of this project. First, due to the researcher’s
position in the organization, there was a feeling in the DSC that the project might disclose
negative facts that could have an impact on their annual performance reports. However, the DSC
fully cooperated in supporting the study and organizing the meetings with the counselors.
Second, the project was limited by the fact that it assumes that all participants understood and
interpreted the interview questions and survey items in the manner intended. Third, the project is
also limited as it evaluated only one key stakeholder group’s experience who may or may not be
the key person in achieving the organization’s goal. Finally, the contribution of other stakeholder
groups is important in achieving the organization’s goal as well as to the project. However, the
scope of this project was only assessing the counselors, who are central to the success of the
career development counseling.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 73
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The purpose of this study was to determine the root causes preventing the counselors at
the public high public schools in Qatar from achieving the MOE goal, which is to provide a solid
career development program to the students. Both quantitative and qualitative data were
collected through surveys, interviews, observation of the counselor’s offices and the counselors
themselves during the interview, and document analysis. These data were analyzed based on
KMO factors that might impact the counselors work toward implementing the new counseling
curriculum and achieving the MOE goal related to career development.
The surveys, interviews, and document analysis took place in the MOE and some of the
public high schools in Qatar in the period between September 2016 and March 2017. The
primary participants of the study were counselors who work in public high schools in Qatar. For
further validation, the study interviewed senior officials at the MOE in the department of human
resources, department of schools, and the department of counseling. This chapter presents the
findings as they pertain to assumed causes identified in Chapter Three, with a summary of
findings at the end of each section.
Knowledge Factors
To validate the assumed causes identified prior to data collection, a survey was
administered to the counselors at the public schools. Findings from these data were further
supported by interviews. Table 7 shows the summary of assumed knowledge causes
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 74
Table 7
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Causes
Knowledge
Category
Assumed Cause Validated Not
Validated
Unable to
Determine
Factual Counselor lack of Knowledge of
MOE initiatives
Ö
Factual Counselors lack of knowledge of the
educational sector ultimate goals
related to career development that is
needed to be achieved in the period
2016-2022
Ö
Procedural Counselor lack of knowledge of
career advising methodology
Ö
Procedural Counselor lack of Knowledge of
procedure for counselling
Ö
Conceptual The counselors lack knowledge
dimension of the revised taxonomy
Ö
Presumed Knowledge Factor 1
Counselor Knowledge of MOE initiatives: Validated. The first assumed knowledge
cause was the awareness and knowledge of the counselors regarding the MOE initiatives
regarding the career development. Based on the survey results, as illustrated in Figure 3, only 8%
of the participants selected the correct goal for the MOE related to counseling. The main goal
should have been “to ensure that learners engaged in secondary education have access to high-
quality academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents.” Yet, 75%
assumed the goal was to improve learner performance in 12
th
grade. This indicates that the
counselors are not aware of the ultimate goal of their position. During the interviews with the
counselors, 75% said that they do not know about the MOE strategic initiatives related to career
development. For example, one counselor mentioned, “We do not get notified about any
initiative from the ministry…we only hear about events for students that we need to tell our
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 75
students about.” Thus, there is a clear lack of communication which is keeping counselors from
knowing about the initiatives of the ministry.
Figure 3. Survey results: What are the MOE initiative related to career development?
The Director of the Counseling Department at the MOE, which oversees and guides all
the counselors, confirmed that the counselors were not informed or notified regarding the MOE
strategic initiatives related to their job. When the counselors were approached and informed
during the interviews that counseling and career development are strategic objectives of the
MOE and the educational sector, they were very excited and felt encouraged to know that MOE
had identified their main task and function as one of the strategic tasks of the educational sector
in the whole country. On the other hand, they felt disappointed and sad that no one in their
department or their schools informed them about this strategic goal.
During the school visits, there were no banners or signs in the counselors’ offices, or in
the classes where the counselling was being conducted, that showed the statement of MOE
75.0%
4.2% 12.5% 8.3% 0.0% 0.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
To develop and
implement strategies
which improve learner
performance in the
12th grade.
To develop and
implement
comprehensive and
effective additional
education support.
To develop and
implement
comprehensive, high
quality Career
development System.
To ensure that all
learners engaged in K-
12 education have
access to high quality
academic and career
guidance services in
collaboration with their
parents.
To ensure that effective
systems and plans are
established and
implemented to
enhance the 12th grade
scores.
None of them.
SELECT ONE ULTIMATE APPROVED GOAL FOR
THE MOE RELATED TO COUNSELING TO BE
ACHIEVED. (K)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 76
strategic initiatives related to career development. Additionally, there was a search of the
communications and circulars that go from the MOE and school department to all the schools.
There were no any messages informing the schools or the counselors about this strategic
initiative. Thus, it was confirmed that the schools were not informed by the department of the
schools and the department of counselling at the MOE. Based on these data, this assumed cause
was validated as counselors did not know about the MOE initiative (K), and the reason they did
not know about it was that there was no organizational process (O) for informing them regarding
the strategic goals and initiatives related to career development.
Presumed Knowledge Factor 2
The counselors lack knowledge of the educational sector ultimate goals related to
career development: Validated. The second assumed knowledge cause was the knowledge of
the counselors regarding the educational sector ultimate goal that is needed to be achieved in the
period 2016-2022. This goal is in the National Qatari Governmental Vision. The MOE is
responsible to achieve this goal and report about it quarterly to the Ministry of Development and
Planning which is in charge of monitoring the progress of the goals of the National Qatari
Governmental Programs.
Based on interviews with the counselors, none of the counselors knew that this goal was
part of the National Governmental vision which reflects the importance of career development
programs in schools. In addition, the department of schools and the department of counselors are
in charge of communicating with the counselors, but they neither know about this goal nor about
the National Qatari Governmental Vision and its programs. One counselor stated, “We are only
given the topics to teach and never given the reasons why we need to teach these.” Based on this
data it seems that this cause is validated which is the counselors’ lack of knowledge of the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 77
educational sector’s ultimate goal related to career development that is needed to be achieved in
the period 2016-2022.
Presumed Knowledge Factor 3
Counselor knowledge of career advising methodology: Validated. The third assumed
knowledge cause was the lack of knowledge of the counselors regarding career advising
methodologies that are implemented globally. Based on the survey results, as illustrated in
Figure four, 13% of the participants limited their counselling to providing the students with
information regarding universities. In addition, four percent of the participants selected the
answer stating counselors only looked for the academic strengths and weaknesses of the students
to know their performance aspirations and problems. Nonetheless, 82% of the participants
provided the right answer of the counselling methodologies based on the literature review which
proscribe working with the students to help them in all the aspects related to life after school.
The survey results indicate that a large percentage of counselors is aware to a certain extent of
the best practices related to their domain.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 78
Figure 4. Survey results: The best counselling methodology.
Based on interviews with the counselors, the results of the questions related to
counselling methodologies were more varied. It was found that 32% of the participants were not
aware of some of the best practices that are used in counseling in the private schools in Qatar or
globally. Additionally, 38% of the participants thought that the new counselling curriculum,
which was implemented starting in the academic year 2015-2016, represents the best practices in
counselling. They did not provide any justification or judgment to know why they think the new
counselling curriculum is the best practice. Not one interviewee mentioned he had based their
assumption on reading or knowledge about the other methodologies. In fact, the only answer that
came from the interviews was their assumption that the MOE had adopted a curriculum based on
best practices, globally.
0.0%
13.0%
0.0% 0.0%
4.3%
82.6%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
Assist students
in developing
educational
plans that are
consistent with
their personal
goals.
Provide students
with accurate
information
about the
academic
progress and the
requirements of
higher
education,
Help students
gain access to
campus
resources that
will enhance
their ability to
achieve
academic
success,
Help students
overcome
educational and
personal
problems,
Review and use
of the data
available for the
students to
know their level
of academic and
educational
needs,
performance,
aspirations and
problems.
All of the Above.
Select which one is the counseling methodology of any
nature out of this list : (K)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 79
When observing the counselors during their interviews, no one could mention any model
of counselling that is conducted globally. Only one counselor among all the school’s counselors
had the chance to experience and observe some of the counselling methodologies during his visit
to a school in the USA. The visit was occurred independently, not by the school or the MOE.
The department of schools in the MOE and the department of counselling confirmed that the
counselors never experienced any counselling best practices. This cause is validated in that,
while the counselors said that they use best practices (from the survey data), the counselors never
experienced or have the knowledge about any counselling methodologies that are conducted
globally or locally in the private schools.
Presumed Knowledge Factor 4
Counselor Knowledge of procedure for counselling: Validated. The fourth assumed
cause was the lack of knowledge of the counselors regarding the procedure for conducting
counselling with students. Based on interviews with the counselors, 68% of the counselors
follow the lessons in the curriculum. These counselors were not able to provide me with any
techniques or tools for counselling students. The counselors referred to the time frame that is
given in the MOE and school direction to the counselors to conduct the counselling as the main
issue or obstacle that is preventing most of them from using specific procedures with the
students. All the interviewed counselors stated they relied on the curriculum as the main
procedure but some of them showed and talked about interesting tools and procedures that they
used with the students. One of the counselors mentioned the technique of inviting guest speakers
who could give a speech to share their experience with the students. Another talked about
spotting the elite students, and providing them with extra-counselling. A third procedure was
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 80
mentioned by another counselor, which was to provide the students with opportunities to express
themselves and show their strengths.
Based on their descriptions of their use of the curriculum, it is evident that the counselors
rely mostly on the curriculum as a resource and not as procedure. They have different interesting
and attractive procedures but these are not unified or implemented by everyone. The MOE and
the schools did not give the counselors any procedure for engaging in counselling. Their training
mainly pertained to the curriculum and its contents. This cause is validated that the counselors do
not follow any specific procedure to conduct the counselling.
Summary
As conveyed in Table 1, there were five assumed knowledge causes. The data validated
four assumed caused. There was one cause which we were unable to determine which is the
knowledge dimension of the revised taxonomy. Triangulation of survey results, interview
findings, and document analysis revealed that, counselors lack the factual knowledge of the
MOE initiatives related to career development as well as the National Qatari Governmental Goal
related to career development. The counselors also demonstrated a lack of procedural
knowledge in best practices and methodologies in career advising and the procedure for
counselling with students. On the other hand, counselors demonstrated proficiency in their
knowledge and understanding of the new counseling curriculum and had a strong educational
background.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 81
Motivation Factors
There have been numerous studies surrounding motivation in the workplace. These studies have
stated workers must be motivated to continue to provide the company with desired results
(Foster, 2000). The motivation factors can be either extrinsic, such as money or other aspects
related to the worker’s personal life, or intrinsic, related to motivation regarding the actual work
environment (Ryan &Deci, 2000). In this study, there were several presumed motivation factors
which were validated. These were mostly intrinsic motivation factors pertaining to the
motivation of the counselors in the public schools in Qatar. The section below details how these
factors were either validated or not validated. Table seven below shows the summary of assumed
motivation causes
Table 8
Summary of Assumed Motivation Causes
Motivation
Category
Assumed Cause Validated Not
Validated
Partially
Validated
Task Value
The counselors do not try to enhance their
performance, learning and motivation
Ö
Task Value
The counselors do not look into the career
development work as their desired work
Ö
Goal
Orientation
The counselors do not present the importance of
their work to the students
Ö
Self-
Efficacy
The counselors do not have positive expectations
regarding their work
Ö
Self-
Efficacy
The counselors do not show self-confidence
regarding the job they performed
Unable to Determine
Attribution
The counselors do not follow up with the students
regarding their future needs
Ö
Goal
Orientation
The counselors do not try to meet the challenges
such as working with the interest of the students
against the interest of their parents
Ö
Presumed Motivation Factor 1
The counselors do not try to enhance their performance, learning and motivation:
Not validated. The first assumed motivation cause was the willingness of the counselors to
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 82
enhance and improve their counselling and learning skills. Based on the survey results as
illustrated in Figure 5, all the counselors agreed or strongly agreed that providing counseling to
the students is worthwhile for students and for counselors even if it takes more time than
expected.
Figure 5. Survey results: The counselors’ motivation toward counseling the students.
Based on the interview results, all the counselors expressed and showed different ways
they develop and improve their learning skills despite the limited support and access to learning
resources by the MOE and by the schools that we will discuss in the organization section. In
addition, 13% of the participants showed some evidence of attending training courses that they
paid for themselves. These courses were related to counselling, leadership and professional and
personal development. Also 40% of the counselors who participated in the interviews had
0.0% 0.0%
33.3%
66.7%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
Providing enough counseling to each students
is worth it to me even if it takes more time
than expected.
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 83
established a social group on WhatsApp messenger and Facebook to exchange information, ideas
and thoughts about counselling and continue their professional development.
The idea of the social networks and shared web-sites works very properly in enhancing
the counselors learning performance as they confirmed it during the interview. This showed how
motivated the counselors are to learn new ideas or to exchange information about new training
courses. The quality and the quantity of the exchanged messages every day between the
counselors proved that they are well-motivated to learn new things related to their work.
During the interviews, 70% of the participants showed useful articles and links on the
internet related to career and personal development. They saved these links and their favorite
sites and visited them frequently. In addition, they exchanged these useful links and articles
together through their social networks or through emails.
During the researcher’s school visits, it was observed that the counselors have many
learning resources in their offices and class rooms. These resources come in the forms of books,
printed articles, magazines and brochures related to many learning aspects such as career
development professional development and school issues. It was observed that the counselors
had highlighted topics and subjects in some of the articles and in some of the books. Based on
these data, this assumed cause was not validated as counselors do try to enhance their
performance, learning and motivation.
Presumed Motivation Factor 2
The counselors do not look into the career development work as their desired work:
Not validated. The second assumed motivation cause was that the counselors use the counseling
work as a temporary job while they are looking for another job. As illustrated in Figure 6, the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 84
survey data showed that 87.5% of the counselors enjoy conducting the counseling to the students
which means that they are happy with their work in which it is reflected in high retention rate.
Figure 6. Survey results: Do you enjoy conducting the counseling?
The records of the department of counseling and department of schools which manage and
control all the counselors and their administration requirements show that only 5% of the
counselors requested to change their counseling job or move to another job in the period between
the Fall of 2016 to the Winter of 2017. In the same period, there were no resignation requests
among the counselors who work at the schools.
During the interview sessions with the counselors, all the participants showed high
attachment to their work and to their students. Some of the participants talked about the strong
relationship they built with the parents of the students which was reflected in convincing the
parent toward choices for the sake and interest of their children. Some of the participants showed
0.0% 0.0%
12.5%
87.5%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
I enjoy conducting the counseling with the
students. (M)
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 85
evidence of buying from their own pocket some counseling resources such as books or printed
material that can help the students in shaping their career. Some of the participants attended self-
paid courses in Qatar and outside Qatar related to counseling and professional development. In a
direct question to a group of counselors whether they love their work or not, 80% of them
strongly expressed their attachment to and love for the counseling work. They clearly stated that
they do not want to move to another job. They requested some improvement to their work. They
requested more professional development and better communication with the ministry, but that
did not mean that they did not look at the career development work as their desired work. Based
on these data, this assumed cause was not validated as counselors feel attached to their
counseling work and consider the career development work as their desired work.
Presumed Motivation Factor 3
The counselors do not present the importance of their work to the students:
Partially validated. The third assumed motivation cause related to presenting the importance of
the counseling and career development work to the students. The counselling sessions which
occur once each week for each class have no exams or tests. There are no notations or grades
about the counseling work for the students in the school performance reports. These two reasons
were given by the six of the counselors in the interviews as problematic because they leave
students with the impression that counselling sessions are not important. Some of the participants
talked about replacing the counselling sessions with other school subjects such as Mathematics
or Languages by the school administration prior to the exams weeks. This action as stated by the
participant could affect how the students view the importance of the counselling work.
Some of the participants in the interviews talked about bringing stories to the students
about successful people who became great because they had someone who guided them to
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 86
choose the right career or discovered their talents in a specific area during the same ages as the
students now. Some of the participants invited famous speakers in the local society to increase
the awareness of the students toward counseling and career development work. These guest
speakers talked about areas that attracted the attentions of the students toward the counseling
work such as the story of the great football player Messi who was discovered by an excellent
coach. The speakers brought the story to raise awareness among the students that the coach’s
work with Messi resembles the counselor’s work with the students.
During school visits, attractive quotes and banners in the corridors or the classes where
the counseling sessions were conducted. One of the beautiful quotes that was put in one of the
classes says, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” There were some
photos of successful people such as Steve Jobs and written below his photo “Know your
Interest.” With statements that talk about the story of Steve Jobs and how his attachment to his
career made him a great person.
Based on the available data it can only be partially validated that the counselors were able
to present the importance of their work to the students. This could have been more confidently
validated if the study had included the students in the surveys or interviews.
Presumed Motivation Factor 4
The counselors do not have positive expectations regarding their work: Not
validated. The fourth assumed cause was the expectation of the counselors toward the students
regarding their counseling work. Based on the survey data as illustrated in Figure 7, all the
counselors either agreed or agreed strongly that their work had an impact on students. About
71% of the participants strongly agreed that they have more impact on the students with
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 87
counseling, and 29% of the participants agreed that they have more impact on the students with
the counseling.
Figure 7. Survey results: Do you enjoy conducting the counseling?
During the interviews, 56% of the participants clearly stated that their counseling work
and sessions are an excellent preparation of the students for their career. They also admired the
curriculum that is used in counselling with one participants stating, “it is a great tool used in
counseling that will have positive impact on the students during their final school years and
during their future.” One of the participants stated that the counselling sessions worked well by
preparing students for life after school and providing students with the skills needed for their
career. One of the participants referred to counseling work as “a great opportunity for students
that provides them with a solid foundation for their career and after school life.” One of the
0.0% 0.0%
29.2%
70.8%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
I expect to have more impact on the students
with the counseling
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 88
counselors also quoted that, “The counseling curriculum is a very excellent preparation of the
students for their career because it covers all the areas needed for their future career and life after
the schools.” Thus, many of the counselors felt the counselling program had a high impact on
students and was essential for the students’ futures.
During the interviews, 25% of the participants did not expect to have a positive impact on
the students with the counseling. They referred to the counselling time that was provided to teach
the new curriculum as not enough to prepare the students for their future career. One of the
participants mentioned the lack of practice for the students in some real-life examples such as
working during the breaks or attending real college sessions before choosing their majors as
another reason they felt the students were unprepared. This reason was implied by the participant
as a limitation of the current counseling work and why it will not provide a positive impact on
the students.
One of the participants did not expect to have any impact on the counselling work
because it depends on a curriculum that is not compatible with the real career life. He thought
that the counselling curriculum focuses on general areas but not direct issues or areas such as the
local social barriers in Qatar related to specific majors or the involvement of the parents in
deciding the career of their children.
Another participant mentioned a story about one of his previous student who recently
graduated from 12
th
grade and joined one of the schools and majors for a career of his choice.
The participant referred to the counseling work as having positively impacted this student.
Based on the available data it can be confirmed that in general this cause was not validated and
the counselors have positive expectations regarding their work.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 89
Presumed Motivation Factor 5
The counselors do not follow up with the students regarding their future needs:
Validated: The fifth assumed motivation cause was following up by the counselors with their
students regarding the future needs of the students such as career opportunities or a school’s
majors or universities choices. Based on the interviews with the participants, the counselors
found it difficult to follow up with each student. It was found that 80% of the participants said
that having between one to two counselors only in each school serving hundreds of students
made it difficult to follow up with the students. The counselors mostly relied on the counselling
sessions and the visits by the students to their office to check with them regarding their future
needs. The participants all agreed that the counselling in the schools lack a system that allows
them to follow up with the students regarding their future needs. One counselor stated, “We have
lots of students who come to see us in our office. These are usually the already motivated
students. We wish it was possible to see all of the students and follow up with those who need us
more.” This shows that counselors do not follow up with their students even though they would
like to. Based on the available data I can confirm that this cause was validated that the counselors
do not follow up with the students regarding their future needs.
Presumed Motivation Factor 6
The counselors do not try to meet the challenges such as working with the interest of
the students against the interest of their parents: Validated. The sixth assumed motivation
cause was the willingness of the counselors to meet the challenges that they face during their
work. One of the biggest challenges that faced the counselors is the ability to communicate with
the parents of their students. Another example is the challenges to convince the school
administration to support the counseling work with learning resources or site visits. Based on the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 90
interviews with the counselors, all the participants had a common agreement that the challenges
that are faced by them are beyond their capability to manage or face. They referred to their
difficult access to the schools or the ministry leaders. One counselor stated, “it is very difficult
speaking to parents and convincing them of ideas. Parents think they know what is best and do
not listen when we tell them anything else.” Also, another counselor stated, “We do not know
who to go to in the ministry if we want anything changed. We are powerless.” This shows that
these individuals are not able to communicate properly and feel powerless in the face of these
challenges.
In my observation to the counselors during the interviews, all the counselors are
expatriates and not locals, that makes it harder for them to face and meet the challenges. These
challenges need local people who can understand the cultural setting of the organization and can
easily access and find solutions to their problems.
Based on the agreement of the counselors and my observation, it can be confirmed that the
counselors do not try to meet the challenges because these challenges are beyond their ability to
solve.
Summary
There were six assumed motivation causes as Shown in Table 2. The study validated
four assumed causes. Two assumed causes were not validated. Triangulation of survey results,
interview findings, observation, and document analysis prove that the counselors’ motivation is
affected by four factors: presenting their work importance, their expectations regarding the
counseling, their efforts to meet the challenges of their work and their following up with their
students. On the other hand, the study proved that the counselors worked hard to improve their
skills and they are attached to their counselling work.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 91
Organizational Factors
Organizational factor’s which are due to issues with rules, policies or procedures of an
institution, may also contribute to certain problems being studied (Clarke & Estes, 2008). There
are several presumed organizational factors for the studied research which have been validated in
the section below. These include the policies regarding professional development of counselors
and the communication with the counselors. Table eight on next page shows the summary of
assumed organizational causes
Table 9
Summary of Assumed Organization Causes
Organizational
Category
Assumed Cause Validated Not
Validated
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) does not
provide the proper professional training to the
counselors
Ö
Cultural Model The organization (MOE, School) does not
respect the role of the counselors
Ö
Cultural Setting The MOE does not treat the counselors as
same as the other teachers
Ö
Cultural Setting There is lack of communication with in the
MOE related to career development
Ö
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) does not
require specific certificate or training prior to
hiring the counselors
Ö
Cultural Setting The organization (MOE, School) is paying less
salary to the counselors than the other staff
Ö
Presumed Organizational Factor 1
The organization (MOE, School) does not provide the proper professional training
to the counselors: Validated. The first assumed organization cause was that the counselors lack
proper professional training. On the one hand, the counselors believe that they have received
enough professional development. For example, based on the survey results as illustrated in
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 92
Figure 8, the majority of participants agreed (58%) or strongly agreed (33%) that the MOE
provides enough professional development to the counselors. On the other hand, 8% of the
counselors said that they did not agree that the organization provides proper professional training
to them.
Figure 8. Survey results: Does MOE provide enough development?
Based on the interview with the counselors, some varied results from the survey results
were found. The counselors talked about a lack of the planned professional development that
they need in term to develop their skills. Despite the agreement among the counselors that MOE
gives them sufficient information, around 90% of the counselors said that they have to rely on
themselves to develop their skills and knowledge. The counselors said that they lack the needed
knowledge and information to empower their delivery of the counseling sessions such as the
0.0%
8.3%
58.3%
33.3%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
The MOE provides enough development to the
counselors.
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 93
career opportunities in Qatar. During an interview with a focus group of the oldest eight
counselors at the MOE, they indicated that they never had any professional training during their
six years working in the schools as counselors. In addition to that, no administrative staff
approached them regarding offering them any training, despite the fact that they are required to
go through professional development programs based on their work agreement.
Based on the interviews with the staff of the Department of the Counselling, it became
evident that the training that the counselors went through was only a brief orientation of the new
counselling curriculum. The training was a general overview of the curriculum and did not
provide any details related to professional development areas such as leadership skills or
coaching skills. The department of counseling did mention that they were planning to set some
professional development programs for the counselors similar to the programs that are given to
the other school’s staff at the ATC.
During the school visits and the visits to the counselors’ offices to conduct the interviews,
it was observed that in their offices display diplomas and certificates related to programs in
counseling. The counselors mentioned that these certificates and diplomas were for some one-
day workshops they attended. These workshops were provided by different institutions in Qatar
based on their cooperation with the schools and the MOE such as Qatar University and HBKU.
After reviewing the ministry records, it was found that there was one workshop for three days
given to a group of counselors by HBKU and one-day workshop by Qatar University for a group
of counselors. Thus, these workshops were limited in number and not provided or built
specifically for the counselors in the public schools. Based on these data, this assumed cause was
validated as the organization did not provide proper professional training to the counselors.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 94
Presumed Organizational Factor 2
The organization (MOE, School) does not respect the role of the counselors:
Validated. The second assumed organization cause was the respect of the roles of the counselors
by their schools and the Ministry. The MOE and the Schools have clear job description with
responsibilities and accountability for the counselors. Based on the survey results as shown in
Figure 9, 41% of the counselors agreed that the MOE does not treat the counselors equally as the
other schools’ staff such as the teachers. In addition, 37.5% of the counselors strongly agreed,
and supported this thought. Only 20.8% of the counselors disagreed regarding this assumed
cause.
Figure 9. Survey results: MOE treatment to the counselors compared by the other staff.
In the interviews, the counselors said that they were looked at by the schools’
administrations as the staff who will do different tasks. Some of the counselors works on
different committees at the schools and have many tasks that keep them distracted from their
main task which is counselling. In addition, one of the counselors stated “The school itself does
not value the counseling or counselors’ roles. The school”, as he said, “frequently replaces the
0.0%
20.8%
41.7%
37.5%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly agree
The MOE doesn’t treat the counselors as
same as the other teachers.
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 95
counseling hours with different subjects and activities.” When the counselor approached the
schools’ administration he found out the counseling roles were not a priority to them. This was
further evidenced by the school of denying their needs or not providing the needed support
whenever it was requested.
The counselors also talked about the lack of resources that provided to them by the MOE
and the schools to improve their skills and knowledge or make their work and counselling
sessions more attractive to the students. Providing these resources and meeting the counselors’
needs are represented by the counselors as appreciation and respect of their task by their
organization. These resources come in the form of the counseling materials, magazines,
arranging outside visits, inviting speakers, creating agreement with universities and colleges and
private offices and classes for the counselors and counseling.
Figure 10. Survey results: Does MOE provide enough resources to the counselors?
Presumed Organizational Factor 3
The organization (MOE, School) does not treat the counselors the same as the other
teachers: Validated. The third assumed organization cause was the treatment of the counselors
0.0%
30.4%
43.5%
26.1%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
The MOE doesn’t provide enough resources to
the counselors
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 96
compare to the teachers and other staff. Based on the survey results as illustrated in Figure 11,
41.7% agreed and 37.7% strongly agreed that the MOE and schools does not treat the counselors
the same as the other teachers. On the other hand, 20% disagreed that the MOE and schools do
not treat the counselors the same as the other teachers.
Figure 11. Survey results: MOE treatment to the counselors compared by the other staff.
Based on the interviews with the participants, the participants talked about many issues
related to their comparison with the other staff. In fact, one of the participants talked about one
area of the mistreatments. He said, “The teachers know that they teach their subject and their
subjects is their core work. For us as a counselor we have many different tasks and roles in
addition to the counseling. Moreover, we are less paid.” A group of participants approached the
researcher about the issues of the lower salaries of the counselors compared to the other staff.
0.0%
20.8%
41.7%
37.5%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
The MOE doesn’t treat the counselors as same
as the other teachers.
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 97
This issue affects their morale and even impacts their retention status. Based on the official
records of the MOE, the counselors’ salaries are less than the salaries of the teachers by almost
25%.
Another point that was mentioned in the interview with a focus group of counselors was
regarding the training that the counselors get compared to the other teachers. The teachers go
through a series of specific professional development programs at the ATC at the MOE to get
licensed. These teachers also can choose from a wide variety of targeted extra professional
development workshops other than those core courses that are required. The counselors do not
have this kind of programs. Based on these data, this assumed cause was validated as the
organization (MOE, School) does not treat the counselors as same as the other teachers.
Presumed Organizational Factor 4
There is lack of communication with in the MOE related to career development:
Validated. The fourth assumed organization cause was the lack of communication with in the
MOE related to career development. Based on the survey result as illustrated in Figure 12, 50%
agreed and 20.8% strongly agreed that there is lack of communication with in the MOE related
to career development.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 98
Figure 12. Survey results: MOE lack of communication with the counselors.
Based on the interview with the participants, 44% of the participants said that “they do
not have information about the career opportunities” that are available in the Qatari market. In
addition, 25% of the participants stated in their interviews that the only source of information
about career development with all its aspects such as news, material, tools and opportunities is
through their own search on the internet and newspapers. Another counselor said in the interview
that the peer counselors at different schools are his only communication way to get information
related to career development. This information, based on the interview, comes in the form of
opportunities, new rules, new policies, and counseling news. Another participant said that the
site visits and the invited guest speakers are the source that provide him the news related to
career development.
0.0%
29.2%
50.0%
20.8%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree
There is lack of communication with in the
MOE related to career development.
Series1
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 99
In an interview with a group of eight counselors at the beginning of the study, it was
stated that the counselors did not know anything about the MOE initiatives or the state initiative
related to career development. The counselors blamed their lack of information regarding the
new rules, or policies or opportunities about career development as being due to the lack of
proper communication channels or tools that keep them updated about latest MOE news related
to career development and career opportunities.
In the interview, the counselors complained that they do not have an official email
address from their school or MOE. That was indicated as the reason that they do not receive the
broadcast emails that are sent every day to all the schools and MOE staff by the MOE, with
related MOE news.
Based on these data, this assumed cause, which is the lack of communication with in the
MOE related to career development was validated.
Presumed Organizational Factor 5
The organization (MOE, School) does not require a specific certificate or training
prior to hiring the counselors: Validated. The fifth assumed organization cause was the
requirement of a specific certificate or training prior to hiring the counselors to ensure the quality
of the counselors who are providing counseling to the students. Based on the official records of
the Human Resources Department at the MOE, which is responsible of hiring all the staff of the
schools and the ministry, there are criteria required to be a successful counselor candidate. In
fact, there are several job requirements before being hired as a counselor. These requirements are
set by the department of the schools and department of counselors and implemented by the
human resources. The records showed that there is a minimum requirement of a bachelor’s
degree and three-to-five years of work experience in the education or career development fields.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 100
Based on the interview with the officials at Human Resources, due to the shortage of staff at the
schools, Human Resources waived the experience condition and only confirmed the bachelor
degree as the condition to work as a counselor.
Based on this data, this assumed cause was validated as the MOE does not require
specific certificate or training prior to hiring the counselors.
Presumed Organizational Factor 6
The organization (MOE, School) is paying less salary to the counselors than the
other staff: Validated. Based on the official records of the MOE scale of salaries, the
counselors’ salaries are less than the salaries of the teachers by almost 25%.
Summary
There were five assumed organizational causes (Shown in Table 3). The study validated
these assumed causes. Triangulation of survey results, interview findings, observation, and
document analysis proved that the cultural setting in the MOE and the schools where the
counselors work is responsible of four factors that have positive impact on the work of the
counselling and the counselors. The cultural model is causing one factor that impact the
counseling work.
Summary of Validated and Not Validated KMO Causes
The study confirmed some knowledge and organizational needs for the counselors to
carry out the counselling work the way that enables MOE to achieve its desire goal related to
career development. There is lack of knowledge for the counselors related to counseling
methodology, counseling procedures, MOE initiatives and goals. The organizational gaps
include a need for enough targeted professional development which goes beyond the counseling
curriculum contents. In addition, the MOE should emphasize the importance of the counseling
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 101
work and support the counselors by providing them with the needed resources that can help them
to deliver their work in a proper way. One area that MOE needs to focus on is the lack of
communication with the counselors related to all the counseling aspects and counselors needs or
issues. On the other hand, related to motivation, the counselors show great aspects of their
motivation and willingness to conduct counseling with regard of their limited resources and
support.
Conclusion
There were some limitations to this study. Students were not able to be interviewed to see
how they view the importance of the counseling sessions or classes due to lack of the “consent
forms” from their parents that were required by the institutional review board at the University of
Southern California. Additionally, no parents were interviewed and no counselling sessions were
observed. Nonetheless, the study did unveil some important areas for improvement which
Chapter Five can build upon, Chapter Five presents solutions that can improve the status of the
counseling and the counselors. The solution will fill the gaps validated in Chapter Four.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 102
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
With counselors holding a new and developing role within the schools of the region,
there became an evident need to ensure these counselors were aware of the importance of their
task and were capable of successfully fulfilling their roles. This study presented multiple
assumed causes for the lack of counselor retention and ability to meet the vision of the
organization in Chapter Four. Based on those assumed causes, it was found that counselors were
not given the proper training before entering this important role nor were they required to have
any qualifying certificates. Additionally, the counselors were not communicated with properly
and found it difficult to learn new and relevant information regarding their domain. Most efforts
to stay up-to-date on job prospects were reliant on personal efforts. Thus, counselor’s felt the
MOE, schools and even parents and students did not appreciate or respect their roles and they
were not treated as other teachers financially or professionally.
The findings suggest that the MOE failed to communicate the importance of the role of
the counselor and the importance of career development. In addition, the counselors also lacked
fundamental knowledge to ensure their effective work. However, counselors showed their
motivation and willingness to develop their skills as they try to enhance their performance or
learning through self-directed learning. They were not motivated by the MOE or their schools to
focus on career development by providing them sufficient support or proper professional
development and needed skills.
The counselors, therefore, need to reflect the importance of their work to the students.
The counselors also lacked fundamental knowledge to ensure their effective work. They did not
know proper career advising methodology, proper procedures for counselling and they were
unaware of MOE initiatives. In addition to that, the counselors were expected by their schools to
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 103
follow up with students regarding their future needs and try to meet challenges such as working
with the interest of the students against the interest of their parents.
Policy Solutions
Based on the findings presented in Chapter Four, the policy solution that will be
discussed in this section for implementation consists of two parts. First, there will be a
professional development program for public school counselors. The policy to be implemented at
the MOE will be one that will require all counselors in public schools to attend eight days of a
qualifying professional development program during their first year in the school which will be
split in the form of two professional development programs at the ATC at the MOE.
The eight days split into two will ensure proper integration of important research-based, best
practices and ample time for reflection and further discussions during the second group of
sessions.
The second policy will be one requiring all counselors to have access and contribute to a
special counselors’ page on the ministry’s’ learning management system (LMS). This page will
be accessed by all counselors and the department of counselors at the Ministry. The page must
have at least the following three key sections: a curricular and ministry information section
where the ministry can post important and relevant information, a best practices sharing section
where each counselor must contribute at least one article or resource, and a question and advice
section. The evaluation of the usage of the LMS page will be conducted by the school’s LMS
manager and integrated as part of the counselors’ appraisal as will be discussed further in this
chapter. This chapter will detail both the implementation plan in terms of timing and resources
needed of the aforementioned two policies and the evaluation plan.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 104
Professional Development Training Policy Overview
The first proposed policy will be implemented and delivered over a two-week period
during evenings, after school working hours, from 4pm to 8pm to fit all counselors’ schedules.
This study assessed the extent of which counselors at the male public high schools in Qatar are
implementing the new counseling curriculum to ensure the MOE is moving towards achieving
the strategic goal related to career development. This goal states that all learners in public high
schools should have a solid career development and counseling program.
The solution proposed is based on the identified knowledge, motivation and
organizational needs to meet the MOE’s strategic goal requiring all learners in public high
schools to have a solid career development and counseling program. The literature review in
Chapter Two mentioned the how the ASCA has different qualifications for counselors where
counselors have to take a minimum number of courses covering aspects of human development
(ASCA, NEA, & ACA, 2008). As mentioned, this was not true in the case of Qatar as counselors
come from various places and contexts with no uniform qualification requirement. Thus, the
professional development (PD) program will level the field and ensure all counselors have a
minimum knowledge of the international best practices in counseling that are mentioned in the
literature review. The literature review provided the basis for a series of assumed causes which
were later validated. Table 10shows how the validated assumed causes are being addressed
through the proposed policy solutions.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 105
Table 10
How Training Policy Will Address Validated Causes
Validated Causes Solutions from Training
Counselor lack knowledge of MOE initiatives • Include MOE initiatives as a section in the
professional development program
Counselors lack of knowledge of the
educational sector ultimate goals related to
career development that is needed to be
achieved in the period 2016-2022
• Convey all MOE initiatives relevant to
counselors on the LMS page
Counselor lack of knowledge of career
advising methodology
• Include career advising methodology as a
section in the professional development
program
Counselor lack of Knowledge of procedure for
counselling
• Include knowledge of counseling
procedures as a section in the professional
development program
The counselors do not present the importance
of their work to the students
• Cover best practices in counseling during
the PD
The counselors do not have positive
expectations regarding their work
• Implement the professional development
program to increase the motivation and
expectations of counselors
The counselors do not show self-confidence
regarding the job they performed
• Implement the professional development
program to increase the motivation and
expectations of counselors
The counselors do not follow up with the
students regarding their future needs
• Cover best practices in counseling during
the PD
The counselors do not try to meet the
challenges such as working with the interest of
the students against the interest of their parents
• Cover best practices in counseling during
the PD
The organization (MOE, School) does not
provide the proper professional training to the
counselors
• Implement a professional development
program for counselors
The organization (MOE, School) does not
respect the role of the counselors
• Ensure the PD policy reflects renewed
respect of the counseling profession
The MOE does not treat the counselors as
same as the other teachers
• Allow the counselors to have high-quality
PD similar to teachers
There is a lack of communication within the
MOE related to career development
• Allow the PD to communicate important
information regarding career development
The organization (MOE, School) does not
require specific certificate or training prior to
hiring the counselors
• Ensure the professional development
session is a qualifying requirement done
during the first year of employment
The organization (MOE, School) is paying less
salary to the counselors than the other staff
• Outside the scope of the MOE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 106
The purpose of the policy solution to be implemented is to keep the counselors up-to-date
related to counseling methodologies and aspects that are included in the counseling curriculum.
These include academic study skills, 21
st
century skills, transitional knowledge skills or skills
which will facilitate the movement into adulthood, and students’ pre-dispositions and behaviors.
In addition, the PD programs will work on improving the leadership and communication skills of
the counselors who deal with vital stakeholders such as students, parents, public and private
organizations and international firms. While the pay scale of school employees is dictated by the
Ministry of Labor and is beyond the scope of the MOE, the PD sessions will act as an alternate
motivator for the position. For example, the PD program will focus on the importance of the role
of the counselor to Qatar and the MOE, international best practices, and research-based evidence.
There will also be an essential component to the program which will focus on MOE policies and
another module on how to self-improve and conduct personal PD. These stakeholders require
counselors with exceptional skills who will have a positive impact and help shape future
decisions and choices and develop career plans for students.
Overview of Learning Management System Policy
The second policy solution requires the formation of an LMS page specifically for
counselors. This is in line with the literature review mentioned in chapter 2 which stated the
importance of communication and continuous PD (Kimberly, 2011). Thus, the literature also
mentioned the challenge of information access for counselors due to the evolving nature of the
market (Amundson, 2006). While the literature did not mention technology or a website as a
form of communication, it did stress the need for PD and communication about educators
(Kimberly, 2011). Thus, the LMS page is a solution which will promote communication among
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 107
counselors and educators and ensure best practices are shared. The LMS page aims to help solve
many of the validated causes that are indicated in Table 11.
Table 11
How Proposed Policies Will Address Validated Causes
Validated Causes Solutions from LMS
• Counselor lack knowledge of MOE
initiatives
• Convey all MOE initiatives relevant to
counselors on the LMS page
• Counselors lack of knowledge of the
educational sector ultimate goals related to
career development that is needed to be
achieved in the period 2016-2022
• Include knowledge of the education
sector as a section in the professional
development program
• Counselor lack of knowledge of career
advising methodology
• Allow counselors to share their best
practices on the LMS page
• Counselor lack of Knowledge of
procedure for counselling
• Allow counselors to share their best
practices on the LMS page
• The counselors do not present the
importance of their work to the students
• Allow counselors to share their best
practices of dealing with such issues on
the LMS page
• The counselors do not have positive
expectations regarding their work
• Implement the LMS page to increase the
motivation and self-confidence of the
counselors regarding the professionalism
of their work
• The counselors do not show self-
confidence regarding the job they
performed
• Implement the LMS page to increase the
motivation and self-confidence of the
counselors regarding the professionalism
of their work
• The counselors do not follow up with the
students regarding their future needs
• Allow counselors to share their best
practices of dealing with such issues on
the LMS page
• The counselors do not try to meet the
challenges such as working with the
interest of the students against the interest
of their parents
• Allow counselors to discuss issues and
methods of solving these issues on the
LMS page
• The organization (MOE, School) does not
provide the proper professional training to
the counselors
• NA
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 108
Table 11, continued
• The organization (MOE, School) does not
respect the role of the counselors
• Ensure the LMS policy reflects renewed
respect of the counseling profession
• The MOE does not treat the counselors as
same as the other teachers
• Allow the counselors to have an LMS
page similar to teachers
• There is a lack of communication within
the MOE related to career development
• Allow the LMS page to facilitate
communication beyond the PD
• The organization (MOE, School) does not
require specific certificate or training prior
to hiring the counselors
NA
• The organization (MOE, School) is paying
less salary to the counselors than the other
staff
• Setting salaries is outside the scope of
the MOE authority
Providing PD sessions and a mode to communicate and share information with other
counselors will add professionalism to the role of the counselor which should in turn increase
their knowledge and motivation. The PD will focus on the importance of the role of the
counselor to Qatar and the MOE, international best practices, and research-based evidence. On
the other hand, the LMS page will help counselors stay up-to-date with information relevant to
Qatar. The LMS page will help counselors communicate with one another to share information
on what works in this specific context and what does not. While the pay scale of school
employees is dictated by the Ministry of Labor and is beyond the scope of the MOE, the PD
sessions will act as an alternate motivator for the position. For example, there will also be an
essential component to the program which will focus on MOE policies and another module on
how to self-improve and conduct personal PD.
Organizational Environment for Implementation of Both Policies
To understand the environment in which the policy will be implemented, a thorough
understanding of the MOE, where the policies will be issued and implemented, is necessary. The
MOE is a public agency that regulates, manages, observes and assesses all public schools and
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 109
their staff in Qatar where the counselors work. The MOE is comprised of many departments with
focused tasks and targets. The ATC, for example, is a center under the MOE, which is tasked
with managing all training related needs for public school employees. The ATC manages the
resources such as training curricula, premises and trainers to conduct and carry out all training
policies.
The ATC is comprised of three main sections: the training section, the quality assurance
section and the Information Technology section (IT). The training section includes trainers and
logistical administrators who deal with the day to day details of the PD sessions while the quality
assurance section manages the quality assurance of the programs from the pre-delivery to the
follow-up phase. The IT section manages the online registration system and other online courses
and technological resources. Another relevant department within the MOE is the department of
schools which includes the counselors’ office. This office is comprised of highly qualified
specialists in counseling who are responsible for the oversight of the schools’ counselors
including setting their job descriptions, general tasks and method of evaluation. Additionally, to
implement the policy regarding the LMS page, the IT department of the ministry will be
involved. The IT department of the ministry has a separate section specialized in the
customization, overview and training on all aspects of the LMS system.
There are many factors within the MOE that support implementing this policy. Two such
factors are the fiscal and organizational capacity parameters. There are no additional financial
costs or expenses to implementing this policy. The programs will be conducted in-house within
the MOE’s well-equipped facilities. The training topics and objectives will be proposed based on
a need’s analysis conducted by the department of counselors. It will be developed by the ATC’s
counseling and student well-being specialist trainer in collaboration with the ATC staff who will
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 110
quality assure the contents of the training as per their own policies. Also, the LMS section of the
IT department will create the page for counselors according to the required specifications and
enable the counselors to access the page. The school’s IT specialist will ensure the counselors are
able to access this page and are trained on how to use it. Another enabling factor is the
supportive political environment, as there is a high demand in the country to improve and
enhance the quality of the schools’ staff by providing them with continuous PD programs. This is
reflected through the ministry’s strategic plan which places PD as a key strategic goal of the
education sector. The programs will be developed to enhance the retention rate of the counselors
as they feel more valued and attached to their organizations.
The governance and decision-making structure of this policy and plan will first come
from the department of the schools and the Counselor’s Office in the form of a request to the
Minister of Education and Higher Education. This is considered a bottom-up approach since the
specific office will request these policies rather than the minister’s office requiring these
changes. The request will include an initial needs analysis citing the issues and gaps in the
knowledge of the counselors, the purpose of the training sessions, the advantages of conducting
the training and the number of counselor’s who need to be trained. Usually, as there is not any
financial expense, the minister approves it and forwards the request to the ATC and IT
department to cooperate with the department of schools to arrange for these programs.
The department of schools notifies all public schools of both the training and LMS
policies and its frame for implementation. The arrangement of the PD programs is facilitated by
the ATC and includes listing all the counselors and finding or developing a suitable curriculum,
selecting trainers and selecting suitable times to conduct the training. The continuous quality
assurance of these programs throughout all stages of planning to implementation and the impact
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 111
will be ensured as per ATC policies. The impacts of these PD programs on the counselors will be
assessed by surveying and interviewing the counselors and their directors to improve any gap
within these programs. This will ensure the continuous improvement of the programs and will be
followed up by the Department of Strategy in the MOE. Furthermore, the ATC ensures all
counselors participate in the workshops as intended and attendance is reported to the department
of schools who take the necessary accountability measures against non-complying schools or
individuals.
Action Steps for the Implementation of the Policy Solutions
Action steps are needed to operationalize the proposed solution to offer PD training
programs for counselors and develop an LMS page. Key actions steps needed to implement this
solution are outlined below. Based on the findings presented in Chapter Four, the training
programs will cover areas that are needed for the counselors including the content of the
counseling curriculum for the secondary grades, leadership skills, coaching tools, and IT skills.
The PD programs will be conducted at the ATC and the LMS page will be developed by the
LMS section of the IT department which falls under the MOE for no cost to the MOE.
Implementation of Professional Development Programs
The implementation of the PD programs will be divided into three phases: pre-delivery,
delivery, and post-delivery and follow-up. These action steps are expanded solutions of the
validated causes mentioned in Table 1. For example, the solutions mention a need for a
qualifying PD program specific for counselors which covers ministry initiatives, knowledge of
the education sector’s goals, and career advising methodology. It also mentions a need for an
interactive page on the LMS which will allow counselors to remain updated on current events
and to interact with one another. These solutions have all been integrated in the policy solutions
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 112
and the implementation plans detail the process of full implementation. The action steps for each
of these phases are further discussed and detailed in Table 11 below.
Table 12
Detailed Action Plan for PD program
Phase Action Steps Human Resources Roles & Responsibilities Time Frame
Proposed solution: Offer Comprehensive Professional Development Program for School Counselors
Phase 1:
Pre-Delivery
Needs
Analysis,
Planning
and Design
of the
Program
1.1 Needs
Analysis and
program
proposal
• Academic Training Center (ATC): one
employee in charge of analyzing and gathering
the data.
• Department of the Schools: two employees to
observe and control phase one.
• Counselor’s Office: two employees to conduct
a needs analysis and fill the needs analysis
forms with proposed topics to be sent to the
minister for policy approval
• Minister approves policy request and forwards
the request to the ATC
2 weeks
1.2 Planning
and design of
program
• The trainer will fill out a training pack outline
which will detail the objective of the workshop
as well as the general outline of proposed
topics for each of the 8 days
2 weeks
1.3 Quality
assurance of
pre-delivery
phase
• 1 quality assurance specialist will ensure the
outline has a logical flow and the topics are
relevant and research-based.
• Head of the quality assurance section approve
the training outline and plan
• The head of the counselor’s office will provide
feedback on the outline and it will be sent for
development by the trainer
1 week
1.4 Final
program
development
and approval
• The Trainer in the ATC will develop the
entirety of the PD including all materials and
submit the forms for quality assurance
• The quality assurance(QA) specialist will
ensure quality of the final materials
• The head of QA will approve the PD and
submit it for the training sections logistical
organization
6 weeks
(including
getting
approvals and
feedback)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 113
Table 12, continued
Phase Action Steps Human Resources Roles & Responsibilities Time Frame
Proposed solution: Offer Comprehensive Professional Development Program for School Counselors
Phase 2:
Delivery of
the Program
2.1 logistical
preparation
• Academic Training Center (ATC): two
employees to prepare the materials and
facilitate the sessions.
1 week
2.2 sign up and
communication
• 1 employee from the department of schools
will send a written copy of the policy to all the
schools
• 1 employee from the ATC’s IT section will
facilitate counselor sign up via the online
registration system
• 1 employee from the ATC’s training section
will follow up with school vice principals to
make sure all counselors have signed up
1 week to sign
up
2.3 delivery of
program
• 1 trainer from the ATC to conduct the training
• 1 employee from the ATC to follow up and
support session
8 days over a
3-week period
2.4 quality
assurance of
delivery
• 1 Training section employee distributes
feedback forms
• 1 Quality assurance section employee
conducts observations
During the
same 8 days
over a 3-week
period
Phase 3:
Program
Follow-up,
Post-
Delivery
Evaluation,
Strategic
Review and
Revisions
3.1 send out
feedback forms 3
months after date
of workshop
• IT section employee sends all individuals who
took part in the training a feedback form.
1 week to
gather
feedback
3.2 develop
additional tools
• Academic Training Center (ATC) trainer: will
develop a rubric to analyze the yearly plans, a
survey for the counselor supervisors and
targeted interview questions for the counselors
• QA section head approval of QA tools
1 week
3.3 implement
tools and
compile final
report
• QA employee will go with the trainer to
collect the data
• QA employee will compile the final QA report
with recommendations to be sent to the
Counselor’s Office for review
• 1 employee at the Department of Strategy and
Quality Assurance will follow up with the
report and ensure proper implementation of
recommendations
3 weeks to
gather data
and submit for
feedback
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 114
Phase 1: Pre-Delivery. The needs analysis is the first stage of the implementation of the
policy. This will be conducted in cooperation between the ATC and the office of counselors.
Counselors will be given electronic questionnaires developed by the ATC which will ask about
their general training needs. Field visits with a sample of counselors and their directors will be
conducted to get interview data regarding the specific needs of the counselors and the proposed
gaps in knowledge. National and international research and reports will be analyzed to search for
areas where public school children are still struggling and require further support. This will be
combined into a needs analysis report which will be reviewed by the office of counselors and the
ATC.
The planning and design of the PD program will be based on a thorough needs analysis. The
design and development of the counselor PD curriculum including the PowerPoints, worksheets,
and assessments will be done by the counseling specialist trainer and quality assured by the ATC
quality assurance section with feedback from the office of counselors. The ATC has a very
rigorous quality assurance procedure ensuring all programs meet some minimum criteria before
implementation. The final approval of the program will be signed by the Head of the Quality
Assurance section in the ATC.
Phase 2: Delivery of the Program. The delivery of the program will be facilitated by the
ATC’s Training Section and quality assured by their Quality Assurance Section. The training
section will select a suitable time and date for the workshops after assessing the maximum
capacity of trainers and trainees and the required number of days and rooms. These will be
communicated with the office of counselors and the department of schools to ensure suitability.
When the dates are agreed upon, the IT section of the ATC will inform schools of the program,
and schools will sign up their counselors accordingly. The training section is also tasked with
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 115
ensuring all logistical details of the session are dealt with from the provision of materials to the
booking of rooms and the attendance of participants. Non-complying schools or individuals will
then be communicated with the department of schools who will take the appropriate
accountability measures. During the workshops, quality assurance specialists will observe the
delivery of the sessions and ensure the training is being conducted according to the ATC’s
standards. Directly following the session, participants also will fill a feedback form which will be
analyzed allowing for a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the session according to
participants.
Phase 3: Post-Delivery and follow-up. One of the unique aspects of the ATC’s quality
assurance structure will be the development of impact assessment measures. These measures will
be implemented at least three months after the counselor’s workshop to ensure the counselor
programs are having a positive effect on the students. In general, the quality assurance
department, in collaboration with the trainer, will select two impact assessment tools in addition
to an online impact feedback form sent to the counselors. These tools could include interviews
with the students or other stakeholders, lesson or meeting observations, student attendance data,
behavior reports, and teacher plans. While the feedback forms are given to all counselors, the
other two impact assessment measures are only implemented on a random sample of participants.
The ATC will send a quality assurance specialist with the trainer to the school to collect the
relevant data and draft a final quality assurance report on all the stages of the programs creation
and delivery. This then leads to formal recommendations for program improvement which are to
be followed up on by the Department of Strategy. The details of these evaluation methods are
included in the evaluation section of this chapter.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 116
Full implementation of the policy must also take into account the continuous
improvement of the program. The feedback will be used the next year to improve the program
which will only be implemented for new counselors. Returning counselors who have
demonstrated their competence will be recruited at ATC as possible future trainers and paired
with new counselors as mentors. There will be PD programs to build on the knowledge of the
returning counselors as part of the extended curriculum courses offered by the ATC. Exhibit IV
shows estimated full timeline for implementation the PD program.
Implementation of LMS Page
The validated causes showed a need for an LMS page to facilitate communication. It
reflected a need for an interactive page on the LMS which will allow counselors to remain
updated on current events and to interact with one another. Table 12 below details the action
steps required to implement a fully effective LMS page.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 117
Table 13
Detailed Action Plan on LMS Page Development
Phase Action Steps Human Resources Roles &
Responsibilities
Time
Frame
Proposed solution: Create an LMS page specialized for counselors
Phase 1:
Pre-Delivery
Planning and
design of page
1.1 Initial
meeting for
design
• Academic Training Center (ATC):
one employee in charge of analyzing
and gathering the data.
• Department of the Schools: two
employees to observe and control
phase one.
• Counselor’s Office: two employees to
conduct a needs analysis and fill the
needs analysis forms with proposed
topics to be sent to the minister for
policy approval
• Minister approves policy request and
forwards the request to the ATC
2 weeks
1.2 pilot of version
1
• 2-3 schools with 1 LMS specialist
in each to follow up and train the
counselor of the school on the
usage of the LMS page
• IT specialists from each school
with the counselor write a report of
recommendations and submit to the
LMS section of the IT department
1 month
Phase Action Steps Human Resources Roles &
Responsibilities
Time
Frame
Proposed solution: Create an LMS page specialized for counselors
1.3 finalization
of LMS page
and
communication
with schools
• 2-3 individuals from the LMS
section of the IT department make
the necessary changes and finalize
the page
1 week
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 118
Table 13, continued
Phase Action Steps Human Resources Roles &
Responsibilities
Time
Frame
Proposed solution: Create an LMS page specialized for counselors
Phase 2:
Implementation
2.1 training • The LMS specialist in each of the
schools will train the counselor on
how to use the page
1 week
2.2 full
implementation
and continued
support
• All counselors will implement the
page and participate
• All LMS specialists in the schools
will support the implementation of
the page
8 months
Phase 3:
Evaluation
3.1 evaluation of
usage and
satisfaction
• Each LMS specialist will send a
report on the usage of the
counselors LMS page to the
department of counselors
• Each counselor will fill an initial
satisfaction survey
1 month after
full
implementatio
n
3.2 evaluation of
knowledge and
change in
behavior
• Questionnaires for counselors on
ministry decisions and current
events developed by 1-2
individuals in the department of
counselors and sent out
• Final year usage report filled by
LMS specialist
1-2 weeks for
development
and answers
(end of
academic
year)
3.3 final
decisions
• Job satisfaction survey developed
and sent out by one employee in
the Department of Strategy and
Quality Assurance through the IT
section of the ministry to all
counselors
• All usage reports and questionnaire
results will be analyzed by 1-2
specialists in the Department of
Strategy and Quality Assurance for
final decisions and
recommendations sent for approval
End of
academic year
(1 week)
As for the development of the policy regarding the LMS page, the implementation of this
policy will also include three stages. These stages are the planning and development stage,
implementation stage, and evaluation stage.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 119
The planning stage will start with a meeting between the Counselors Office in the
ministry and the LMS section where the specificities and requirements of the page will be
discussed. The LMS section will develop a primary sample of the page which will be piloted on
a group of 2-3 schools for a period of 1 month. A list of recommendations will be given to the
LMS section and a finalized version of the page will be ready for implementation.
The finalized version of the LMS page will be implemented and all counselors and
counseling specialists in the ministry will receive access to this page. The IT specialist in the
school will train all counselors on how to access the page and add discussions and posts. They
will also be notified of their required participation which will be incorporated as part of the
counselors’ final year evaluation.
The evaluation of the LMS policy will take place at the end of the first month of full
implementation, after 3-6 months of usage and at the end of the academic year. The details of
these evaluation methods and plans are included in the section below. All evaluation methods
will be analyzed by the Department of Strategy and will allow for one of three recommendations:
continue implementation as is, continue implementation with changes, or discontinue
implementation. Appendix A includes a detailed action plan which further breaks down the
specific action steps required for full policy implementation.
The Capacity to Implement and Time Frame
The MOE has in place all the positions needed to carry out the three phases to implement
these solutions. All the actions will be implemented by the staff that are already employed by the
MOE and placed in the four main departments which are the ATC, Office of the Counselors
under the department of the schools, and the department of strategy and quality assurance, and
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 120
the LMS section of the IT department. Table 13 below summarizes the human resources required
for the implementation of the two policies.
Table 14
Summary of Human Resources Required for Implementation
Department Section Number of Employees Tasks
ATC Training Section 1 trainer Develops training materials
and sessions and implements
training
1 logistical manager Books rooms, gathers
training materials, manages
attendance, follows up with
schools, passes out materials
and feedback forms etc.
IT section 1 employee Facilitates counselors signing
up to the program
Quality assurance
section
1 employee + section
head
Quality assures materials of
the session, observes session
and manages the
measurement of impact
Department
of Schools
Office of Counselors Team of 2-3 employees Conduct needs analysis and
fill out request for the PD
sessions
Provide feedback on quality
assurance of PD sessions
Department of
schools
1 employee Sends out policy requirement
of all counselors needed to
sign up for the program
Strategy and
Quality
Assurance
Department
Quality Assurance
Department
1 employee Follows up with the
recommendations made from
the impact analysis of the
sessions
IT
department
LMS Section 2-3 employees Develop the system
according to required
specifications
Public
School
LMS specialist 1 in each Supports the use of the LMS
page and reports any issue to
the IT department in the
ministry
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 121
The Academic Training Center will be mainly responsible and accountable for all three
phases of implementation of the policies regarding the PD programs. They will be supported by
the department of the schools and office of the counselors to grant and facilitate the access to the
counselors who work under the oversight of these two departments. The ATC already has an
employed full-time Counselor Training Specialist to develop and/or quality assure training in the
field of counseling and student well-being. Thus, there is no need to hire any freelancers,
consultants or partners to implement this plan as the MOE currently has all the human resources
and positions with needed expertise in place. The logistics of the training sessions including the
signing of the participants, the booking of the training rooms, and the provision of the materials
will all be facilitated by members of the Training Section of the ATC. Participants will be
booked through an online booking system which directly informs schools of the program and
allows them to sign up their counselors. Individuals within the ATC will ensure that all schools
comply with the policy.
Evaluation of Policies
There are four levels of evaluation that will be adapted from Kirkpatrick’s (2009) work
on the evaluation of training. These four levels will be used to evaluate to evaluate the policies
regarding the public school counselors. The first level to be evaluated will be the level of
engagement and satisfaction or as Kirkpatrick mentions the results. The second level will be the
evaluation of the knowledge and learning while the third level will be the evaluation of changes
in behavior. The last level will be an evaluation of impact. These levels all build on one another
and take progressively longer to implement (Kirkpatrick, 2009). The following two sections
below will detail how each of these levels will be evaluated for both the PD program and the
LMS policy.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 122
Evaluation of the Professional Development of Counselors
The PD sessions that will be held for the counselors will be assessed according to the
levels detailed by Kirkpatrick in his evaluation model for training sessions (2009). The specific
tools for evaluation and targets are detailed in Table 15.
Table 15
Evaluation of PD programs
Level Tool Target
1: Satisfaction
and engagement
• Satisfaction survey
• Attendance rates
• 100% average response of
“satisfied” or better
• 100% of the counselors
attending 80% of the sessions or
more
2: Knowledge • Yearly plan analysis • All yearly plans show best
practices and application of
knowledge from the workshop
(a rubric will be developed)
3: Behavior
change
• Interview with
participants
• Survey for
supervisors
• All participants are able to show
evidence of three lessons where
they have implemented best
practices learned from the
workshop
• 90%-100% of supervisors state
their counselors have shown an
improvement in skills
4: Assessment of
impact
• Students pre- and
post-survey on
college readiness
• College acceptance
rates
• 90-100% of students state they
are satisfied with their
counselling services and show
they know their post-secondary
school options
• Students’ college acceptance
rates have improved from the
previous school year
The first level of evaluation discussed by Kirkpatrick refers to the evaluation of the
satisfaction or engagement of the attendees (2009). Kirkpatrick mentions the reaction as the first
level of evaluation claiming that if attendees do not enjoy their learning experience, it is more
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 123
difficult for them to benefit (Kirkpatrick, 2009). As an adaptation of this, the counselors’
attendance rates and satisfaction with the workshops will be assessed. First, the attendance of the
counselors will be taken with a target of 100% of the counselors attending 80% of the sessions or
more. Following the workshops, the counselors will be assessing whether they were satisfied
with the PD courses through an electronic survey which will be required of all participants. The
target will be set with a 100% average response of “satisfied” or better. This measurement of
attendance and post-workshop survey are already part of the quality assurance procedures of the
ATC.
Kirkpatrick’s second phase of evaluation is the evaluation of learning (2009). Thus, for
the second phase of evaluation, the knowledge of the counselors will be assessed. This will be
done after the workshop when counselors will be required to put together a yearly plan for their
students. The yearly plan will outline the methodologies, events and practices they plan on
implementing for their students throughout the rest of the school year. The counselors should
have evidence of planning to implement best practices which they have learned in their
workshops.
The third level of evaluation further builds on the previous levels and assesses the
behavior of the attendees and whether their behaviors have changed following the workshop
(Kirkpatrick, 2009). This will be assessed will be done three months following the workshops
and will consist of an interview with the participants where they will share evidence of having
effectively implemented their yearly plan. The supervisors will also be interviewed to assess
whether there is a noticeable change in practices by the counselors in terms of their leadership
skills, public speaking skills etc. The targets for this evaluation are also detailed in Table 4
below.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 124
The fourth level of evaluation mentioned by Kirkpatrick looks at the overall impact of the
training while looking at the core reasons of why the training is taking place (2009). This will
take place 12 months following the workshop and will consist of measuring several factors
related to the primary stakeholders. That is, students will be the focus of the impact assessment
of this intervention. First, at the beginning of the year students will be asked to assess their
knowledge of their career choices and to assess how ready they are for college. This same survey
will be given at the end of the year to measure any changes in college readiness and awareness
and changes in the confidence level of their career choices. Sample questions will be Likert scale
statements where students will have to either agree or disagree with statements such as “I know
all of the options available to me for after graduation” and “I am confident that I am ready for
life after high school.” Open-ended questions asking about the students’ satisfaction with the
counselling services as well as their plans for their future. This should allow for a proper
measure of the impact of the counseling services. Also, a measure of the percent of students who
go on to post-secondary education will also be taken. Targets for this are also detailed in Table 5
above.
Evaluation of LMS Page for Counselors
A similar assessment as the above four phases will be used to assess the effectiveness of
the LMS page. Table 16 details the evaluation phases and targets for implementation of the
policy.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 125
Table 16
LMS Policy Evaluation
Level Tool Target
1: Satisfaction
and engagement
(1 month)
• Satisfaction survey
• Utilization numbers
• The target will be set with a
100% average response of
“satisfied” or better
• 100% of the counselors have
accessed the site once a week
and contributed the following
o 1 best practice
o 1 discussion question or
response
2: Knowledge • Questionnaire on
current events and
policies with
counselors
• All counselors are aware of 90-
100% of current events or
ministry decisions relevant to
counselors
3: Behavior
change
• LMS Utilization and
access report
• 95-100% of counselors have
accessed the sites once a week
and contributed at least the
following once a month
o 1 best practice
o 1 discussion question or
response
4: Assessment of
impact
• Job satisfaction
survey
• Students pre- and
post-survey on
college readiness
• College acceptance
rates
• 100% of counselors are satisfied
or better with their positions
• 90-100% of students state they
are satisfied with their
counselling services and show
they know their post-secondary
school options
• Students’ college acceptance
rates have improved from the
previous school year
First, the engagement and satisfaction of the service were assessed by the LMS specialist
in the school who measured the amount of usage of the page during the first month when full
support is given. An initial survey was given to the counselors after using the service for the first
month. This assessed how satisfied they are with this new service. The second phase of
evaluation measured the knowledge of the counselors on current events and ministry decisions.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 126
This was done by a questionnaire given 3-6 months after the implementation of the LMS. The
third level of evaluation measured whether the counselors continue to use the LMS page and to
what extent they use it without being coerced by the end of the school year. This was done by
the LMS specialist in the school who measured and reported how and how often counselors are
using the page. The fourth phase of the evaluation was a job satisfaction survey which measured
if the counselors felt more satisfied and confident in their jobs. The retention rates of counselors
were also measured. The targets of all assessments are included in Table 15.
Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to evaluate and assess the implementation of the new
curriculum of the counseling and the extent to which the counselors as the main stakeholder have
the capacity and the necessary knowledge and skills, motivation and organizational support to
achieve the career development goal of the counseling function in the schools of Qatar and to
ensure that they are implementing the counseling at the male public high schools the right way as
it is designed. The counselors play a vital role in achieving the strategic goal related to career
development in the Qatar National Vision (QNV 2030).
As per the gap analysis framework model (Clark & Estes, 2008), this study evaluated the
knowledge, motivation and organization support of counselors at the male public high schools in
Qatar. There were several key findings related to the counselors and career development. One of
the key findings was that counselors lack knowledge of procedure for counseling and career
advising methodology. Another major finding was that the counselors try hard to enhance their
performance, learning and motivation. In addition, an important finding related to organizational
context was the lack of proper professional training available to the counselors and the lack of
communication within the MOE related to their work.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 127
The study provides two recommended solution to be implemented for the counsellors.
These two solutions are professional development programs (PDP) for the counsellors and
implementation of an LMS dedicated to improving their knowledge and skills by keeping them
updated with counselling news and learning tools which will have a positive impact for their
work. The PDP solution will be effective for the counsellors because it is customized for them to
focus on general areas such as leadership skills and counselling skills areas not only the
curriculum contents. The LMS will be the means by which the counsellors with apprised of local
news related to career development within the MOE or in the country in general.
The MOE has to work to solve the gaps found in the study regarding the counsellors and
the career development counselling in the schools in Qatar. MOE is responsible for achieving
one of the strategic goals of the national vision (QNV203) related to career development, which
is by the fall of 2019 all learners engaged in secondary education will have access to high-quality
accredited academic and career counseling services. Achieving the goal is only possible with
qualified, well-trained, motivated and knowledgeable counselors who can carry out the work of
high-quality counseling and ensure achieving the desired goal with all its components.
The implementation of school counseling programs is an essential component to help
Qatar achieve its 2030 vision. With every new endeavor, there are challenges. The obstacles
effecting implementation of the counselling program were discussed in Chapter Four and the two
solutions that will be implemented are the PD program and the LMS page for counselors. These
policies have been mapped out into action steps with a rigorous evaluation plan that will quality
assure the entire process of implementation and ensure continuous improvement. With these, it is
hoped that counselors are more motivated and capable of fulfilling their roles in schools and
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 128
Qatari students will be equipped to make sound choices regarding their careers in order to benefit
their own lives, their students’ lives, and the future of the country.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 129
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CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 136
Appendix A
Survey Instrument
Age:
My degree: () Bachelors () Masters () Other : Specify:_______________
My Major:
My Work Degree (Based on MOE recruitment Contract):
It is important for me to know the new MOE curriculum before I conduct counseling.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
Providing enough counseling to each students is worth it to me even if it takes more time than
expected.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
I am confident in my ability to provide career counseling
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
I expect to have more impact on the students with the counseling
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
It is important to follow the curriculum in conducting counseling to the students.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The MOE provides clear goals regarding the career development.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The MOE provides enough development to the counselors.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 137
The MOE doesn’t treat the counselors as same as the other teachers.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The MOE doesn’t trust the counselors to provide proper counseling.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The MOE provide the counselors autonomy to conduct their work
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
There is lack of communication with in the MOE related to career development.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The MOE doesn’t provide enough resources to the counselors.
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
The School provides me Information related to career development Initiatives adopted by the
MOE. (O)
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
I enjoy conducting the counseling to the students. (M)
Strongly disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Agree
(3)
Strongly agree
(4)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 138
Which initiative among these initiative belongs to the MOE strategic initiatives (K)?
() Revise the academic guidance system for K-12 schools.
() Provide the technical tools necessary to support school-based counseling efforts.
() Distribute comprehensive and well-organized information about higher education to K-
12 schools to ensure that teachers and counselors are able to provide impartial,
accurate and up-to-date information to parents and learners.
() Create career development systems to help schools access employers, academic
institutions, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders and engage them in providing
support systems to enhance the educational process.
() None of Them.
() All of Them.
Select which one is the counseling methodology of any nature out of this list: (K)
() Assist students in developing educational plans that are consistent with their personal
goals.
() Provide students with accurate information about the academic progress and the
requirements of higher education,
() Help students gain access to campus resources that will enhance their ability to achieve
academic success,
() Help students overcome educational and personal problems,
() Review and use of the data available for the students to know their level of academic
and educational needs, performance, aspirations and problems.
() All of the Above.
Select one ultimate approved goal for the MOE related to counseling to be achieved. (K)
() To ensure that all learners engaged in K-12 education have access to high-quality
academic and career guidance services in collaboration with their parents.
() To develop and implement comprehensive and effective additional education support.
() To develop and implement comprehensive, high-quality career development system.
() To develop and implement strategies which improve learner performance in the 12
th
grade.
() To ensure that effective systems and plans are established and implemented to enhance
the 12
th
grade scores.
() None of them.
What is the highest needed career for the Qatari labor market based on the Ministry of Labor?
() Engineering.
() Medical.
() Arts.
() Law.
() Computer Science.
() I have no idea.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 139
Select the list of scholarships provided by the MOE.
() Engineering.
() Medical.
() Business Administration.
() Computer Science.
() All of the Above.
() I have no idea.
Identify the career assessment test you use to know the interest of the student.
() MAPP career assessment.
() CareerColleges.com.
() eLearningPlaner.
() CareerFitter.com.
() I do not use any assessment test.
() I use other test. Specify.____________________
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 140
Appendix B
Interview Protocol
• Describe the MOE initiative on career development in your own words.
• What are some of the examples of best practices in counseling?
• What are the counseling procedures you follow and use?
• Describe your approach to counseling a student. How do you begin and how do you work
with a student over time?
• What is your way to develop your knowledge of the career development and counseling?
• What is the Information you have regarding the career opportunities?
• Do you have sufficient information about the labor market in Qatar to do your work
effectively? If not, what else do you wish you knew?
• Do you see the new curriculum of the counseling that is adopted recently clear and
useful? Explain the strengths and weakness in both answers.
• What makes a counselors effective in working with students?
• Do you think the new curriculum will be mor effective in preparing students for their
career? If so, why? If not, why not?
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 141
Appendix C
Observation Protocol
Counselor:
School:
Type of the Session: ( ) Group Session. ( ) Individual Session.
Date:
Start Time: End Time:
Criteria Demonstrate Competency Notes
Treats the students Politely and warmly. ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The Instructions were clear. ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The students interact with the
counseling session.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The class atmosphere was comfortable. ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The Materials and counseling activities
were appropriate.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The students were enthusiastic to learn. ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The Counselor was motivated and
enthusiastic.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The students were interested to learn and
ask.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The counselor was looking professional
dressed.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The counselor covered the transitional
knowledge skills:
a) Test taking skills.
b) Universities/College admissions &
requirements.
c) Researching Colleges/ Universities.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 142
Criteria Demonstrate Competency Notes
The counselor covered the 21
st
skills:
a) Research skills.
b) Communication skills.
c) Teamwork & collaboration.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The counselor covered the student pre-
dispositions & behaviors skills:
a) Goal setting skills.
b) Organization skills.
c) Time-management skills.
d) Decision-Making.
e) Interpersonal skills and behavior.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
The counselor covered the Academic
skills:
a) Writing skills.
b) Inquiry and Lab report skills.
c) Reading skills.
d) Note taking.
e) Reasoning, critical thinking &
problem-solving.
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) NA
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 143
Appendix D
Document Analysis Protocol
Counselor:
School:
The Document Evaluation/Feedback Notes
Overall Counselor evaluation
and assessment by school.
( ) Excellent
( ) Very Good
( ) Good
( ) Needs Improvement.
Overall Counselor evaluation
and assessment by DSC.
( ) Excellent
( ) Very Good
( ) Good
( ) Needs Improvement
Overall Counselor evaluation
and assessment by ATC.
( ) Excellent
( ) Very Good
( ) Good
( ) Needs Improvement
Students Assessments and
feedbacks by the counselor.
( ) Well-Organized
( ) Good
( ) Not Available
Counseling Schedule for the
Students by the counselor.
( ) Available
( ) Not Available
Counselor Feedback about
the Curriculum.
( ) Excellent
( ) Good
( ) Not Available
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 144
Appendix E
Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Knowledge
Knowledge
Sources
Knowledge
Knowledge of…
Survey
Interview
Observation
Scanning
interviews
The MOE initiatives
regarding the Advising
career? (F)
Advising career
methodologies that is
implemented globally? (F)
The procedures to conduct
the counseling? (P)
The knowledge dimension
of the revised taxonomy?
(C)
The educational ultimate
goals that is needed to be
achieved by 2016 and
2022 as in the MOE
strategic plan? (F)
Select the two
initiative out of
this list
Select the
counseling
methodology out
of this list
Put the
counseling
procedural steps
in order
Select the
knowledge
dimension of
revised
taxonomy
Select the
ultimate goal
related to
counseling to be
achieved
Ask them
Question
regarding:
MOE
initiatives
Examples of
best practices
counseling.
The MOE
goals
The
counseling
procedures
Check list to be
developed
regarding things
to observe such
as the class
atmosphere,
counseling hours
with each
student.
Learning
Theory
How to provide career
counseling to the students.
(P)
The need of the labor
Select the best-
practice list of
counseling out
of this list
Ask them
Question.
How to
conduct the
counseling
Observe them
using a rubric
that will be
developed.
(check list)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 145
markets. (F)
The available scholarship
for the students. (F).
How to assess the students
with their career interest.
(P)
How to develop
themselves in this field or
evaluate their own
strengths and challenges or
come up with ideas or
initiatives that help in
advising the students’
career. (M).
What is the
highest needed
career for the
Qatari labor
market?
Select the list of
scholarships
provided by the
MOE
Describe which
career
assessment test
you use to know
the interest of
the student
Steps for using
assessment test
Courses attended
regarding career
development
Number of self-
assessment test
related to my
own job
Any
methodology
in the
counseling? If
yes, explain
The way to
develop
yourself in
term of the
knowledge
Information
regarding the
career
opportunities
Information
about labor
market needs
Doc analysis:
Review the
syllabus for
components of
“how to”
knowledge, such
as well written
objectives and
skill
demonstration
and practice w
feedback.
Related
Research
Literature
The career
development is
designed and
conducted to provide
the skills and
knowledge to the
students to increase
their productivity
and learning
outcomes. (Maxwell,
2000)
The school’s
counselors have to
Match
knowledge and
skills with
outcomes
Order steps in
sequence of
implementing
the curriculum
Ask Question
regarding the
curriculum
Questions
regarding the
skills needed
for the
counseling
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 146
be qualified people
with a master degree
or higher who have
certificate or license
in school counselling
( Shillingford, 2013).
Career
development is not
only the process of
providing the
students with needed
information
regarding future
careers, it is also a
process that assesses
the students with
regard to their
personal goals and
interests and how to
achieve them (Karp,
2013).
One of the most significant
difficulties is there is no
career development major
in the colleges that
prepares the counselors to
conduct the career
development process at the
schools. Unlike the other
subjects, the counselors
usually are not working on
a full-time basis for the
subject of the career
development. The
counselors are usually
specializing as teachers,
psychologists, counselors,
human resource
specialists, employment
officers or labour-market
analysts (Sweet,2004) (P)
An ideal career
development program has
Recognize
qualifications
from a list
Create and
label a model
of the process
and describe
what happens at
each stage and
its effect on the
outcome.
Multiple
scenarios w/
multiple choice
of what step
would be taken
next.
Questions
regarding the
required
qualifications
or skills to
conduct
counseling
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 147
to to be aligned and
compatible with the
school’s mission, vision
and type of curriculum
when developing career
program at the school
level (NACADA, 2006).
Successful
professional career
development seeks
to provide a variety
of career counseling
services for students
in order to meet the
academic needs. It
has to target specific
goals and outcomes
and includes strong
alliances between
academic instructors,
schools
administrative and
academic counselors.
These alliances come
in the form of
workshops,
seminars, and
programs designed
to provide the
students additional
information about
potential careers and
future needs
(Kimberly, 2011).
Matching
mission and
vision statements
with curriculum
components.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 148
Appendix F
Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Motivation
Motivation
Sources
Motivation
Survey
Interview
Observation
Scanning
interviews
The Counselors
need to enhance
their
performance,
learning and
motivation
(Task Value).
The Counselors
do not look into
the career
advisement
work as their
desired work
(Task Value).
The new
curriculum will
not enhance the
career
development
(Expectancy
outcomes)
The Counselors
I enjoy conducting the
counseling to the
student (Six answers).
It is important for me
to know the new
curriculum.
Providing enough
counseling to each
student is worth it to
me even if it takes
more time than
expected. It is
important to know the
labor market.
I am confident in my
ability to provide
career counseling
How important are
you compared to the
other teacher in the
school?
How satisfied are you
with your work.
Ask them
Question
regarding:
The
challenges.
Why did you
choose the
counseling?
How valuable
is it for you
to conduct
the
counseling to
the student?
How to
improve your
work.
How do
expect to do
in your work
as a
counselor?
How do you
Observe the counselor’s
behaviors with the
students.
Observe the verbal
statement of the
counselors regarding the
expected outcomes of the
counseling
Observe behaviors for
evidence of the role of the
self-efficacy
Observe the reaction of the
students regarding their
feedback about their
confidence.
Observe the engagement
of the counselors with the
students.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 149
do not present
the importance
of their work to
the students
(Goals).
The Counselors
do not have
positive
expectations
regarding their
work (self-
efficacy).
The Counselors
do not show
self-confidence
regarding the
job they
performed (self-
efficacy).
The counselors
are not
following up
with the
students
regarding their
future needs
(Attributions).
The counselors
do not try meet
the challenges
such as working
with the interest
of the student
against the
interest of their
parents (Goal
Orientation).
The counselors
do not work to
enhance their
How connected are
you with the students
regarding their
outcomes
Doing well in the
guiding the students
toward their proper
career depend on how
much effort I give.
I am proud of my
work.
During my work, I
think of consequences
of failing to conduct
the counseling as
designed in the
curriculum.
see as results
of
implementing
the
curriculum?
To what
degree do
you feel
confident
about your
ability to
conduct the
counseling to
the student
Observe the criticism that
the counselors get
Observe the praise that the
counselors get
Observe the request of
help by the counselors
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 150
learning,
motivation and
performance
(Affect).
Learning
Theory
The counselors
do not see the
importance of
providing the
counseling to
the students in
their future
career
(persistence)
The counselors
see little impact
of the
counseling to
the students
(Mental efforts)
It is important to
follow the curriculum
in conducting
counseling to the
students.
I expect to have more
impact on the students
with the counseling
How
important for
you to cover
all the
curriculum
material to
the students
Do you
expect to
have better
future impact
on the
students with
the career
development?
Related
Research
Literature
The counselors
are not paying
efforts in the
process of
providing the
career advices.
The counselors
are expecting
the students to
have wider
knowledge
about the
world of
works, the
desired jobs,
potential
opportunities
and the
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 151
roadmap to
achieve them
(Education and
Employers
TASKFORCE,
2013).
One of
the challenges
of the career
developments
referred to the
counselors who
are required to
have
comprehensive
knowledge’s
and
perspectives
about social,
technical and
economic
changes. The
parents and
students have
high
expectations for
the future
careers with all
its components
and
requirements
with less access
to information
for the
counselors
regarding the
changes in the
global context
(Amundson,
2006).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 152
Appendix G
Summary of Sources about Assumed Causes of Organization
Organization
Sources
Organization Survey
Interview
Observation
Scanning
interviews
The organization does not
provide the proper
professional training to the
counselors (Cultural Setting).
The organization does not
respect the role of the
counselors (Cultural Model).
The organization is paying
less salary to the counselors
than other staff (Cultural
setting).
The organization does not
require specific certificate or
training prior to hiring the
counselors (Cultural Setting).
The organization does not
encourage the students and
the parents to appreciate or
value the work of the
counselors (Cultural Model).
The MOE
provides clear
goals regarding
the career
development.
The MOE
provides enough
development to
the counselors.
The resistance of
change to adopt
new curriculum
is low.
The MOE
doesn’t treat the
counselors as
same as the other
teachers.
The MOE
doesn’t trust the
counselors to
provide proper
counseling.
The MOE
provide the
counselors
Autonomy to
conduct their
work
How do you
feel about
working with
the MOE?
How to feel
about the
development
courses that
provided to the
counselors?
Do you feel
that the MOE
trust the
counselors to
conduct proper
counseling? If
no, why.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 153
There is lack of
communication
with in the MOE
related to career
development.
The MOE
doesn’t provide
enough resources
to the counselors.
Learning
Theory
Does the organization present
the counselors with the short
and long-term needs to be
achieved related to their
work? (Cultural Model)
The organization does not pay
efforts to increase the
retention rate among the
counselors (Cultural Setting).
The organization does not
have the proper and enough
communication with the
counselors (Cultural Setting).
Related
Research
Literature
The career
development and
counseling in Qatar for
the 10
th,
11
th
and 12
th
grade students is still
not a priority for some
of the schools in terms
of recruiting qualified
and full-time
counselors or
implementing standard
curriculum, “some
schools have yet to
initiate career
development in their
schools’ programs”
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN QATAR 154
(Splete 2012).
In the United Stated,
The American School
Counselors Association
(ASCA) developed a standard
curriculum and a national
framework of the process of
career development at the
schools designed to help
students achieve “desired
competencies and to provide
all students with the
knowledge, attitudes and
skills appropriate for their
developmental level”
(Bowers, 2012).
CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN QATAR
155
Appendix H
Exhibit IV: Suggested Timeline of PD
The entire process is estimated to take around 24 weeks. The timeline in Figure 13 below summarizes the expected timeframe
for completion. A continuous follow-up from the Quality Assurance Section of the ATC is expected at 4-week intervals. Thus, a CP
column is added to the implementation plan to denote a check-point and allow for a code of “C” for complete, “P” for in progress, and
“X” for not started.
Figure 13. Timeline of policy implementation
Professional Development Program-Counselors
Start Week
Week
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
May May Jun Jun Jun Jun Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Aug Aug Aug Aug Sep Sep Sep Sep Dec Jan Jan Jan Jan
20 27 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27
Phase
Needs Analysis
One Planning
and Design
Quality
Assurance
Eid Break Program development and approval
Phase
Logistical
prep
Two
Registration Eid Adha
PD Delivery+QA
Phase
Online
feedback
forms
Three
select
impact tools
Gather impact data and report
Starting
May 20, 2017
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Providing career development counseling to students in secondary schools and preparing them for post-school life are important factors for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOE) in the State of Qatar. Providing counseling with a new curriculum and qualified counselors is one of the strategic objectives of the MOE in the years 2015-2022. MOE has designed and implemented a new curriculum for career development counseling and has trained the counselors on the methods of applying this new approach to counseling the students. The main purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which the counselors are implementing the new curriculum in the counseling of the students in secondary schools. The study used the Clark & Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Framework to assess the challenges and difficulties that counselors may face in achieving the strategic objective of the Ministry from the point of view of the counselors. Data Collection included surveys and interviews. Twenty one counselors participated in the survey
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Al-Mahmoud, Turki Abdulla, Sr.
(author)
Core Title
Evaluation of the career development counseling in public high school in Qatar
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Global Executive
Publication Date
07/28/2017
Defense Date
05/10/2017
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
career development,Counseling,counselors,OAI-PMH Harvest,Qatar,Qatar independent schools
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Robison, Mark Power, Sr. (
committee chair
), Krop, Cathy (
committee member
), Yates, Kenneth (
committee member
)
Creator Email
almahmoud@gmail.com,talmahmo@usc.edu
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UC11263237
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