Career Guidance in a Communitarian Preparatory Course for University: Presentation and Analysis of a 10-year Extension Project

Resumen

The communitarian preparatory courses for university have sought to reach unprivileged social groups that aim socio-economic upward mobility by entering in a university. They not only promote opportunities for university entrance, as well as forum for debate and social reflection, and it is therefore an act for social politicization. The article aimed to describe and analyze the main results of a Career Guidance Project held in the communitarian preparatory course for university of the Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo from January 2006 to July 2016, as a part of the university’s Program Learning with Culture and Extension. The Career Guidance Project has used five different strategies (emergency attendance, groupbased counseling, informative day on careers, specific workshops, and supervision) aiming to impact the set of students in different ways. Its effectiveness was qualitatively assessed by reconstructing the Career Counseling Innovative Outcomes method. The findings highlighted social contributions, such as the access to career guidance for unprivileged groups for whom is offered the opportunity to think about future through construction of working life projects; training achievements by developing competences to reconstruct strategies for dealing with distinct contexts and different set of people; and scientific development by constructing career guidance strategies in unusual contexts.