La orientación profesional para la elección de carrera en una universidad ecuatoriana.

Abstract

The research deals with the Professional Orientation developed by the Center of Promotion and Support for Admission (CPSA) of the Technical University of Manabí (TUM) (Ecuador) for the choice of university career. Its objective is to understand the processes associated with the development of the Professional Orientation of third year graduates of the public prosecutor's offices and career level students at UTM. It responds to a pedagogical problem with serious implications for university education and for the future professional and personal lives of current students: the lack of guidance for high school graduates and career levelling provided by the CPSA, which results in low student satisfaction with the Professional Guidance received, having passed the "Ser Bachiller" exam of the entrance system. The methodology considered to respond to the objective was the study of the CPSA of the TUM, included as an institutional case. For its development, 42 people have participated, including directors, coordinators, teachers, students, etc., with whom interviews and focus groups were held. The results are illuminated from various perspectives, defining the causes of the institutional problem, among which the scarce personnel, the limited time of those responsible for carrying out the Professional Orientation and the fact that the entrance system by means of the "Be a Bachelor" tests is sometimes limited to the career of the student's preference. The conclusions point to the identification of structural deficits and radical changes in order to develop an effective educational action, as well as the convenience of reinforcing the specific pedagogical training in Professional Orientation of the personnel responsible for the CPSA. It is possible that this research will have an evaluative usefulness, not only for TUM, but for other public universities in Ecuador that may share part or all of the problem