Vocational and professional counseling in secondary schools in low income areas. Appraisal from counselors and students.

Abstract

During the first quarter 2007, the Council on Higher Education carried out a research to learn about the appraisal from counselors and students in relation to vocational and professional counseling in schools in areas with high percentage of low income population. The research addressed aspects related to counselors' work and their specific labor conditions: school mission, regulatory context of orientation tasks, specific competencies given to counselors, expectations related to studies continuity, access and use of information about higher education, among others. The study was useful to deepen into the sense of vocational - professional counseling, practical limits conditioning its development and specific expectations expressed by the very actors in order to improve the counselor's work and contribute to close the gap among secondary education, higher education and the world of work.