The self in guidance: Assumptions and challenges

The assumptions of the self made in the professional and managerial discourses of guidance are examined. It is suggested that these assumptions obstruct the capacity of guidance workers to explain their own practices, mystifying the social, economic and cultural processes of which they are part. This is important for two reasons. First, unquestioned assumptions can result in claims for guidance being made which are misleading. Second, if those assumptions are part of the professional formation of guidance workers, there may well need to be changes made to training programmes. Drawing on contemporary debates over identity, modernity and postmodemity, the case is made for a more explicit and informed debate about the self in guidance