The career guidance process for local development in mixed centers

Abstract

Local development in Cuba faces particular challenges that require career guidance strategies adapted to its socio-political and economic context. In this regard, since 2023, the province of Pinar del Río has been implementing a new model for managing access to higher education, with the aim of contributing to local development in the municipalities. A study conducted in secondary education in the municipality of Sandino, specifically at the Hermanos Lazo Mixed Center, identified as a social problem that the career guidance process is not aimed at shaping students' expectations, interests, aspirations, and career plans in relation to the careers necessary for the local development of the municipality and the province. The objective of this article is to propose a pedagogical strategy that contributes to the development of the career guidance process for local development among students at the Hermanos Lazo Mixed Center in the municipality of Sandino, Pinar del Río. To this end, theoretical methods were used, such as historical and logical analysis, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, the systems approach, and modeling; and empirical methods, such as documentary analysis, observation, interviews, surveys, and methodological triangulation. The proposed strategy highlights as a novel element the joint work between the Municipal Administrative Council, local institutions and companies, and the mixed center, through the municipality's multidisciplinary working group, in the development of actions that are integrated into the institutional project and the center's educational strategy.