Abstract:

Choosing a course for further studies is a reflexive process that implies the commitment of young students to their future. At Colégio Novo da Maia, a Portuguese private educational institution, a vocational development project was implemented considering the difficulties in the decision-making process of young people regarding the vocational dimension (anxiety, fear of failure, etc.), particularly in the choice of a course to continue studies in high school or higher education for students in the 9th grade and high school. Its main objective is to encourage the construction of a life project through reflection and the meaning of the experiences of direct and indirect contact with the world of professions/training, allowing young students the necessary empowerment to make more reflected, thoughtful and responsible decisions.

From a constructivist, ecological and developmental perspective, the project includes a set of activities aimed at promoting the vocational development of students, namely:
1) a group intervention, over ten sessions, with 9th-grade students that allows them to reflect on their characteristics, values and interests, helping them in the specific task of choosing an educational path beyond the 9th grade;
2) an awareness-raising action for parents and guardians of 9th-grade students regarding the personal and vocational development of their children so that they can be educational agents capable of helping them in a positive and motivational way throughout their developmental pathway, providing them with the opportunity to reflect on their personal and vocational development;
3) an awareness-raising action for parents and guardians of 9th-grade students regarding the personal and vocational development of their children so that they can be educational agents able to help them, in a positive and motivating way, throughout their developmental path, providing them with resources, experiences and opportunities for contact and exploration of the world of training courses/professions;
4) a set of direct exploration activities, in a truly context, allowing students to travel to different training and / or professional performance locations.

Considering the activities developed throughout the project, it is expected that it will be able to promote the psychological development (of which vocational development is one of its parts) of the students through different experiences of reflection, exploration and experimentation and, in this way, make the students more capable of making decisions and managing uncertainty in the construction of their life projects.

Based on the idea of construction, from a multidimensional perspective of the relationship of the subject with the world (including the school, academic and professional world), this project seeks to contribute to the identity formation of young people, facilitating their personal differentiation, including vocational commitment (educational and professional goals). Through its psychological roots, it allows for an integrative reading of the various dimensions of psychological functioning involved in the process of choice, with knowledge no longer being the primary dimension of the relationship but rather an indicator of it.

Keywords:

Vocational Development, Vocational Program, Career Paths, Vocational Exploration, High School Students.