Vocational Orientation as a Cooperative Task - TransferPlus

Header

Image: Team BOKOOP

co-funder ESF Plus-Thuringia
Graphic: ESF Plus-Thüringen

QR-code digital Questionnaire Career Choice Competence (DE)
Picture: Team BOKOOP

Current publications

The "Manual school vocational orientation. Practice-oriented support for the transition from school to work" has been published in the second, revised and expanded edition. (DE) [PDF, 230 MB]pdf, 230 mb · de

The digital version of the Questionnaire Career Choice Competence has been published. (DE)External link

The digital appendices to the school vocational orientation manual and other useful information related to vocational orientation can be found on the Thuringian school portalExternal link

Project description

Preparing the transition from school to work is a central developmental task in adolescence. In order for young people to successfully master the process of choosing a career, they need support through targeted pedagogical offers for vocational orientation (VO) that take into account their respective stage of development.
The basis for professional action in the context of vocational orientation is formed by the findings of the multi-year research project Thuringian Vocational Orientation Model (ThüBOM) (2008-2015), which aimed to systematize vocational orientation in schools at the organizational, personnel and instructional levels. The basis of this systematization is the Career Choice Competence Modelpdf, 106 kb · de, which specifies those competencies that students need in order to successfully master career choice-related requirements. A holistic and systematic career choice process also requires coordinated action by all those who offer career guidance activities in different institutions (e.g., schools, educational institutions). Stimulating and supporting this cross-institutional cooperation was the goal of the project Vocational Orientation as a Cooperative Task (BOKOOP) (2015-2022). The BOKOOP-TransferPlus project is a direct continuation of these two predecessor projects.

Project content

The project aims to transfer the instruments and materials developed in the ThüBOM and BOKOOP projects for shaping vocational orientation into school practice and to implement them sustainably. For this purpose, accompanying consulting offers for Thuringian schools and educational institutions to support the conception, procedure and structuring of vocational orientation are planned. The main focus is on the development of diagnostic instruments for assessing young people's Career Choice Competence, the consolidation of vocational orientation at the transition from the general to the vocational school system and the development of a digital self-learning tool to facilitate the acquirement of skills in teacher training. In addition, continuous training for teachers on current topics of vocational orientation is carried out.

Vocational Orientation as a Cooperative Task - TransferPlus
Image: Team BOKOOP

*Supported by the Free State of Thuringia and the European Social Fund Plus

Featured publications

Kaak, S. (2025). Wo stehst du in deiner Berufswahl? Berufswahlkompetenz diagnostizieren für eine individualisierte Förderung [Where are you in your career choice? Diagnosing career choice competence for individualized support]. Klasse leiten, 33, 8–11.

Kaak, S. (2025). Diagnostik und Evaluation in der Beruflichen Orientierung [Diagnostics and evaluation in vocational orientation]. Dissertation an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.65624External link

Kaak, S., Landgraf, A., & Kracke, B. (2024). Berufsorientierung im Kindes- und Jugendalter [Vocational orientation in childhood and adolescence]. In B. Kracke & P. Noack (Hrsg.), Entwicklung im Schulalter (S. 145-163). Utb.

Lipowski, K., Kaak, S., & Kracke, B. (Hrsg.) (2021). Handbuch Schulische Berufliche Orientierung. Praxisorientierte Unterstützung für den Übergang Schule - Beruf [Manual for vocational orientation in schools. Practice-oriented support for the transition from school to work], (2., überarbeitete und erweiterte Aufl.). Verlag das netz.

Dehne, M., Kaak, S., & Kracke B. (2021). Dimensionen der Qualität von Schülerpraktika aus Schüler*innensicht [Dimensions of the quality of student internships from a students' perspective]. In K. Lipowski, S. Kaak, & B. Kracke (Hrsg.), Handbuch Schulische Berufliche Orientierung. Praxisorientierte Unterstützung für den Übergang Schule - Beruf (S. 107–116), (2., überarbeitete und erweiterte Aufl.). Verlag das Netz.

Landgraf, A., Kaak, S., & Kracke, B. (2021). Diagnostikverfahren in der beruflichen Orientierung. Ein Blick aus entwicklungspsychologischer Perspektive [Diagnostic procedures in vocational orientation. A view from a developmental psychological perspective]. dvb forum, 60(2), 4-10. https://doi.org/10.3278/DVB2102W004External link

Landgraf, A., Kaak, S. & Kracke, B. (2021). Herausforderungen am Übergang Schule - Beruf [Challenges in the transition from school to work]. journal für schulentwicklung, 25(1), 33-41.

Featured presentations

Kaak, S., Niederfriniger, J., Heinrichs, K., & Kracke, B. (2025, 01. Oktober). Die Entwicklung der Berufswahlkompetenz von SchülerInnen an berufsvorbereitenden Schulen – Ergebnisse einer österreichischen Längsschnittstudie [The development of career choice skills among students at vocational preparatory schools – results of an Austrian longitudinal study]. Vortrag auf der PAEPS-Tagung, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.

Niederfriniger, J., Kaak, S., Heinrichs, K., & Kracke, B. (2025, 25. September). Heterogene Ausgangsbedingungen der Berufswahlkompetenz in berufsvorbereitenden Schulen in Österreich [Heterogeneous starting conditions for career choice competence in vocational preparatory schools in Austria]. Vortrag auf der Jahrestagung DGfE-Sektion BWP, TU Darmstadt.

Kaak, S., Niederfriniger, J., Heinrichs, K., & Kracke, B. (2025, 29. Januar). Der Kurzfragebogen Berufswahlkompetenz - Ergebnisse einer längsschnittlichen Validierungsstudie an Polytechnischen Schulen in Österreich [The short questionnaire on career choice competence - results of a longitudinal validation study at polytechnic schools in Austria]. Vortrag auf der 12. GEBF-Tagung, Universität Mannheim.

Full list of publicationspdf, 314 kb · de (Updated: November 2025)