Self-knowledge, Guidance Counsellor Identity and Professional Ethics

Objective

The course is part of the Professional Competence of a Study Counsellor (5 credits) module.

During the course, you will learn to identify your guidance and expertise in relation to research-based foundations and practices of study counselling. You will also learn to define your strengths as a counsellor and recognise areas for development. The course will guide you in creating an individual development plan aligned with the goals and content of study counselling education. Additionally, you will learn to recognise and adhere to the professional ethical principles of counselling and apply them in your work. The course equips you with the skills for lifelong learning and for developing your counselling expertise in culturally and linguistically diverse environments.

Content

As a guidance counsellor you
- Recognise your professional competence and its boundaries.
- Explain the concepts, methods, and information on your special competence of the field.
- Think independently and critically as well as utilise research data on the field in your work.
- Evaluate your own and your students' starting points based on experiences, knowledge, skills, culture, language, and social aspects and take them into account in your guidance work.
- Define the socially relevant functions of guidance in relation to your own guidance competence. - follow the ethical principles of guidance in your work.
- Independently make ethically justified decisions when you need to make choices.
- Work with different people in the study and work community and in other groups and networks, taking communal and ethical perspectives into account.

Schedule

The course is completed online during 2.2.-30.4.2026.

The course starts with an online session held on 3.2.2026 at 15.30-16.30 and a preliminary assignment in which you reflect on your own experiences and competence against the course assessment criteria. The preliminary assignment is due by 11.2.2026.

In addition to the preliminary assignment, the course also contains four learning assignments. In the first assignment, you will analyse the basis for developing your own guidance counselling competence and prepare a plan to develop this competence. This provides a basis for other learning assignments and a voluntary personal guidance discussion. In the next assignments, you will familiarise yourself with professional ethics issues relevant to guidance counselling by taking part in a peer discussion, and prepare a report on the Finnish guidance counselling system, the legislation governing it, and its objectives and implementation in two different forms of education.

A joint webinar on competence sharing is held at the end of the studies. Three webinars are arranged, and you must attend one of them. Webinar options:
• 2.4.2026 at 14-16
• 13.4.2026 at 14-16
• 29.4.2026 at 14-16

Teaching methods

After the first online session, you will study mostly independently online. Learning guidance and support take place in a variety of different digital learning environments.

Completing the course requires an active and independent approach to the studies and cooperation with other participants. The learning assignments encourage the students to share their competence and to learn from each other and from peers in their own operating and working environments. During the course, you will familiarise yourself extensively with guidance counselling material.

Moodle (Learn) is used as the learning environment, and all online meetings take place in a secure Zoom environment. You can complete the course flexibly within two to three months from its start.

Learning material

Literature and learning materials and/or e-materials provided by the teacher. Learning materials can be found in the Moodle workspace.

Class schedule

The scope of the course is 5 credits which equals to approx. 135 hours of work. The course involves assignments and studying independently. You can complete the course flexibly within two to three months from its start.

Additional info

We recommend the course if you are working in the guidance counselling sector and are interested in developing your own guidance counselling competence in continuously changing counselling environments. The course is also suited for persons enrolling for professional guidance counsellor and special needs teacher education.

The first 30 people enrolling for the course are admitted. The course is conducted in English.

Enrolment in the course takes place on the HAMK website during the open UAS enrolment periods. An open UAS study fee of EUR 15 per credit is charged at the time of enrolment. Paying the fee reserves a study place for you. If all the study places have been filled, you may sign up for cancellation places.

For more information on open UAS studies, visit https://www.hamk.fi/en/come-to-study/continuous-learning/open-uas/

Evaluation criteria

Approved/Failed