A Constructivist Approach to Ethically Grounded Vocational Development Interventions for Young People

Abstract

In our present industrialised societies, each individual must find an answer to the same fundamental question: how should I best direct my own life in the globalised society to which I belong? For school-students, this question occurs as follows: which studies should I choose, given my school results, as well as to my personal and family expectations concerning my future career and social integration? Within these types of societies, career development interventions ? mainly education and counselling – are considered as aiming at helping young people find their own answers to these questions. Two conditions are necessary in developing such practices seriously: firstly to ground them in an adequate knowledge in the field of social sciences, and secondly to define them in reference to clarified ends.