A prática da orientaçao profissional na universidadeum estudo numa universidade portuguesa

Abstract

The present investigation focuses on the practice of career guidance at a Portuguese University. Its objectives are: characterize the career guidance available to the university students, analyze the student’s level of information, use and satisfaction about the guidance services provided and propose improvements in relation to the career guidance practices. A questionnaire with 71 questions and Likert type answers was held. The representative sample was configured by 212 final year students, (50,9% of the student population), distributed on 18 courses in five Faculties. The results show that the career guidance available does not fully satisfy the student’s needs. The services received is characterized as being essentially informative and focused on academic and professional issues. The main guidance agent is the faculty and the main actions related to career guidance occurred during the last year of the studies. The difference among Faculties demonstrates that the Faculty of Economic, Social and Corporate Sciences is the only one where the students received better career guidance. In relation to the information available about the services and its use, there is an uneven level among the students. The most commonly known and used guidance service by the students is the one related to academic information. There is a high level of satisfaction among the students that used the guidance services. Considering these findings, we propose the implementation of a tutorial action plan that would work out in coordination with the career guidance services to whom will also be given improvement proposals.