Study of approaches to support orientation towards higher education developed at the end of secondary education as experienced by pupils who have become students.

At compulsory education level, the question of career guidance including the choice of studies is a strong concern, both for young people at the end of secondary school who wonder what studies to choose, and for their teachers who try to support them in this guidance process.

Image d'un homme qui réfléchit avec "Orientation" au-dessus de sa tête

Several activities are organized as part of the 10 days dedicated to supporting study choices and guidance in 3rd level secondary education (information, meeting professionals, visiting the SIEP fair, internships, etc.). However, these activities vary widely from one school to another, and their effects have not been analyzed.

The field of guidance seems conducive to questioning the practices that facilitate the transition between secondary and higher education. Indeed, there are many activities and schemes, but few studies have been carried out on the perceptions of pupils/young students and on the actions that actually support their choice and insertion into higher education.

The field of guidance seems conducive to questioning the practices that facilitate the transition between secondary and higher education. Indeed, activities and schemes abound, but few studies have been carried out on the perceptions pupils/young students have of them and on the actions that effectively support their choice and insertion into higher education.

The main aim of this research is to identify the genuinely enabling characteristics of activities implemented in the transition and more specifically within secondary education.

In this sense, the research aims to:

  • Gather young people's perceptions of activities to support their choice of study and analyze their enabling/effective characteristics in order to isolate the levers of support for choice;
  • Describe and analyze the choice-support devices/activities pointed out as having a positive influence on choice ;
  • Identify the representations that the actors (teachers) who develop these devices and/or carry out these activities convey about guidance
    • Guidance mechanisms
    • Factors at play
    • Their role in the matter
  • Identify the characteristics of innovative and effective practices in the field of guidance support ;
  • Implement guidance-related aspects in initial and in-service teacher training in chemistry, French, physics, economics and management.

This research will better equip secondary school teachers to support young people in defining the choice of their future career and the studies they need to follow to get there.

Research led by Xavier Massart, Virginie Meyer and Sandrine Vieillevoye.

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