Adaptability in Higher Education: A new look at a follow-up study = Adaptabilidad en La Educación Superior: revisión de un estudio de seguimiento

Abstract

Nowadays, the higher education setting is a portrayal of the characteristics and increasing heterogeneity of its population. This tendency has become particularly noticeable in the Portuguese context, through the opportunity given to adults over the age of 23, from a broad range of educational backgrounds, to gain access to higher education. From a lifelong learning perspective, one of the main goals in the promotion of equal opportunities in access to higher education has been to attract new populations. By doing so, a great diversity among such individuals has been accomplished to cover a wider scope of adults.By analysing participants’ answers to the measurement instruments used in the follow-up study, the findings corroborate developmental differences in relation to the career point at which those starting out on their course and those nearing its end find themselves. Given that personal adaptability, as a cross feature, is increasingly relevant for both higher education students and workers in the current labour market, we set out to analyse the conclusions of this study in light of the constructivist career approach put forward by Mark Savickas. It is also our aim to reflect on the importance of research for intervention in young adult career counselling and management.