Abstract:

The interests and their assessment occupy a central position in the vocational guidance process, being proven its role in improving the quality of education, such as the involvement of students in productive work (Leitão, 2004). In this context, we present a study to evaluate the vocational interests of a group of young Angolans, developed in the context of a preparation course to higher education in Portugal. Participated in this study 67 Angolan adolescents from both sexes, (32, 47.8.6% girls and 35, 52.2% boys), aged 17 to 20 years old (µ=19±0.78). They were assessed by the Self Directed Search (SDS; Holland, 1973). These students are enrolled in eleven different academic courses, which can be categorized in the following areas of study (CNAF, 2005): (i) Economics, Management and Accountancy (n = 34, 50.7%), (ii) Technologies (n = 31; 46.3%), (iii) Law, Social Sciences and Services (n = 1, 1.5%) and, (iv) Health (n = 1, 1.5%). It is possible to observe similarities, according to sex, in the interests’ structure, with statistically significant differences in the artistic interests in favor of girls. There haven’t been found any statistically significant differences according to the attended academic course. The theory of interests and vocational choices of Holland (1985, 1997), in the cultural context of Angola, as well as the results and their implications for the experiences and for school/vocational projects of young Angolans are discussed.

Keywords:

Vocational interests, career development, Angolans.