Learning experiences between school and work: a research study

Abstract

School-work alternation projects allow students to clarify their own attitudes and abilities, sometimes increasing personal ideas about their own future, sometimes understanding that they have developed expectations about the professional future that are in conflict with the individual attitudes and skills. In this perspective, the study aimed to analyze the level of selfefficacy, decision-making, problem solving and the professional values and aspirations in students involved in school-work alternation projects. 290 high school students and 60 teachers took part in the experiment. The measures used are Clipper (Ideas and aspects on the future of scholastic-professional, My life as a student, How much confidence do I have in me?, MDMQ, I can deal with my problems ?, How do I behave with others?), WIS / SVP questionnaire - and SDS - Form R questionnaire, while the teachers have been offered a specific structured questionnaire. The data obtained highlighted the need to develop and further improve
these educational strategies in order to structure a more defined and stable professional identity, focusing more on individual characteristics and transversal skills that make a professional profile more functional and adaptive.