A qualitative, longitudinal study of effective guidance in England is being conducted by the Warwick Institute for Employment Research over the period 2002 to 2008. It has been funded by the Department for Education and Skills, Access to Learning Division.

The aim of this case study research is:

• to use a qualitative, longitudinal case study approach to investigate the nature of effective guidance for adults and how, over the longer-term, it can add value to post-compulsory learning and enhance employability.

Objectives are to:

• compare the nature of guidance interventions in different professional contexts;
• examine what, exactly, was found to be useful in, and the key features of, guidance interviews by clients immediately after the interview, along with practitioner and expert witness views;
• investigate, in detail, the characteristics of guidance interviews found useful by clients;
• increase understanding of how to align processes of effective guidance practice with policy requirements in England; and
• examine how guidance is practised (beliefs, concepts, ideas, theories and actions) in the search for new understandings of effective guidance.

The purpose of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of guidance by tracking the career trajectories of research participants and establish the role that guidance has played in this process. The fifty clients who participated in this study will be followed-up over a four year period (2004-2008).