EVENTOS CIENTÍFICOS

HIRD IBERO-AMERICAN GUIDANCE CONGRESS
“VOICES OF GUIDANCE IN IBEROAMERICA”
(Cio III - Tercer Congreso Iberoamericano de Orientación - “Voces de la Orientación en Iberoamérica”)

Summary

From November 15th to 17th, 2018 took place the Third Ibero-American Guidance Congress - “Voices of Guidance in Ibero-America”, organized by the Ibero-American Association of Educational and Labor Guidance (Asociación Iberoamericana de Orientación Educativa y Laboral - AIdOEL).

This event was held in Cordoba Province, Argentine that was particularly chosen to commemorate 100 years of the University Reform. Date that besides has gained significance in the Latin-American universities.

The Congress venue was the Psychology School of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), in Córdoba City. The university facilities were gently provided by the University authorities, who always offered the necessary support (academic, administrative, technical and maintenance staff) to the event preparation and development. In this regard, AIdOEL thank especially to the Dean of the Faculty, Mg. Patricia Altamirano, and also to the entire Faculty team, particularly the Vocational Guidance Chair, as well as the Student Affairs Area of the Cordoba National University, for the support given throughout the event, without which it wouldn’t have been made, even more considering the difficult economic situation of our country.

This Congress count with representatives of different countries of Ibero-America: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Spain, México, Uruguay and Argentina. In the case of our country, most of the provinces and institutions related to the subject were represented. Two lectures and two central symposia were given, a symposium by invitation, three panels, and 85 papers were presented, making a total of 101 works.

Next, Central Lectures are detailed:

1. Challenges of Education and Guidance in troubled times, by Phd. Lidia Santana Vega, (la Laguna University, Spain).

2. Economic Model impact on employability. New scenarios of work and employment, by Phd. Julio Neffa (CONICET-UNLP, Argentina).

The Central Symposia were:

1. AIdOEl presentation. An investigation proposal aimed to recover the origin and development of different centers and/or Guidance programs of the Ibero-American universities were included. The AIdOEL president Mirta Gavilán and Vicepresident, Cristina Di Doménico presented.

2. Voices of Guidance in Ibero-America. Participants: Miguel Carbajal from Uruguay, Lidia Santana Vega from Spain, Alejandro Villalobos from Chile and Mirta Gavilán from Argentina.

The Symposia by invitation and Panels were as follows:

1. Guidance and Disability. Coordinated by Phd. María Laura Castignani.

2. Voices of Guidance in Ibero-America, coordinated by Mag. Miguel Carbajal.

3. Guidance and older persons, coordinated by Phd. Natalia Ciano.

4. Occupational Development Scenarios; an approach from the Work Clinics, by Mag. Andrea Pujol.

In order to arrange the presentations, the Congress Scientific Committee considered four axes: Guidance and Education – Guidance and Health - Guidance and Work – Guidance and Public Policies. Due to the presentations characteristics, some sub-axes were defined to group the papers more appropriately, namely:

1. Guidance and Education. Sub-axes: Guidance and University – Guidance and secondary/tertiary Educational levels – Guidance and Elementary School – Guidance Process – Guidance Techniques – Guidance Training – Deontology and professional role in Guidance. It is to notice that this last axis got the most number of presentations (66% of presentations, with emphasis on university field, which represented the 23% of papers in this axis).

2. Guidance and Work. Sub-axes:Guidance and Labor Projections – Guidance in confinement contexts – Guidance and work from University. This axis implied the 14% of papers.

3. Guidance and Health: three panels of approaches and experiences about this axis were made. These papers represent the 15.30% of total.

4. Guidance and Public Policies: there was only one panel about this axis, with the 4.70% of total.

The Panels Coordination reported the following aspects, in general terms:

1. Guidance and Education: in the University sub-axis, topics such as tutoring, admission and permanence in higher education and the need for appropriate information to these educational levels were highlighted. Papers on elemental education and high school reveal the need to include Guidance in the curricula with its preventive role. In the Training sub-axis, the need to train mentors and to strengthen the teachers’ guidance role arose. Regarding the Techniques sub-axis, scales to find out guidance needs in university population were displayed. Besides, investigations about underlying conceptions in guidance manuals from a gender perspective were presented.

2. Guidance and Health: in this axis the personal development related to projects for life was highlighted. The need for effective expansion of interventions in maternage, older persons and intercultural projects was emphasized.

3. Guidance and work: it was focused on uncertainty about labor projections as well as the vulnerability related to socioeconomic contexts which deteriorate work (temporary workers). Issues about autonomy were approached mentioning confinement contexts and older persons, from the human rights point of view.

4. Public policies: it was focused on the need to count with policies that include Guidance to all the educational levels and fields, with real financial support and appropriate resources.

When considering the differences among the Ibero-American congresses I, II and III, even when the trend towards educational programs persists, and especially in this event the programs on the university context, there were considered programs about gender issues, older persons, disability, confinement institutions, intercultural topics and Guidance in labor field, among others.

Recommendations:

1. Propose Educational and Labor Guidance as a right of persons, and attend especially to the most vulnerable populations.

2. Include the Guidance policies in the countries’ legislation and provide the necessary resources to its implementation.

3. Implement programs to prepare older persons to face retirement, as much in private firms or state offices, and provide with Guidance programs which encourage them towards new projects and not only to recreation.

4. Ensure university actions aimed to inclusion and retention that complete the Guidance interventions performed by trained professionals. Besides, study the university dropout and plan re-guidance actions.

5. Carry out Guidance in educational field and in different levels, with preventive approaches for different issues, as relationships conflicts among peers.

6. Include Guidance programs of community institutions or organizations in different fields, as for instance, confinement contexts, disabilities, or older persons.

7. Place preferably the Guidance training at university post-degree, with an integrative approach, interdisciplinary and investigative, attending to diversity.

8. Consider Guidance as a wide field of mental health which reach all populations, prioritizing those which need more care.