Original article

Diagnosis of the process of professional reaffirmation, in the Physical Culture career, in Granma

0000-0003-4061-2434Ania Yaité Rosales Torres^{1  *}  , 0000-0003-3126-0836Víctor Luis Olivera Rodríguez¹  , 0000-0002-8753-8481Lexy Lázaro Figueredo Fruto¹  , 0000-0002-8180-8356Antonia Millán Reyes¹  , 0000-0002-6259-2334Pedro Hidalgo Reyes² 

¹Universidad de Granma, Facultad de Cultura Física. Granma, Cuba.

²Universidad Estatal de Guayaquil. Ecuador.

ABSTRACT

The training of professionals, with high quality, is an essential task of Higher Education, which is why there is a permanent demand for graduates committed to development processes, where the knowledge, skills and values in which they have been trained are evidenced. The objective of the diagnosis was to characterize the situation of professional guidance and reaffirmation (consolidation of professional motives and intentions) in the process of studying the Bachelor's degree in Physical Culture, in Granma; from three dimensions: pedagogical, psychological and sociological. Theoretical and empirical methods were applied that showed insufficiencies in the planned actions in the educational strategies and in the methodological work plan of the different disciplines, a limited use of the potential of the content and extension activities and low levels of satisfaction with the study of the career; which was manifested in the non-selection of a sphere of action for future professional performance, and in the high levels of student dropout, in the first two years of training.

Key words: characterization; diagnosis; guidance and professional reaffirmation.

INTRODUCTION

Professional guidance is an intrinsic part of the training process in universities. This has a direct impact on the preparation of the students, since through it the characteristics and singularities of the Career are known in academic, research, work and future professional performance; this means that the level of motivation towards studying and achieving the final goal will be higher and of higher quality.

In this sense, ^{Figuera et al. (2018)} define vocational guidance as a mechanism with the capacity to improve the efficiency of the educational system and the labor market, and contributes to social equity and the training of people, with a series of competencies that allow it to permanently adapt to what throughout their young and adult lives.

On the other hand, ^{Hernández (2020)} suggests that adequate professional guidance is a necessity for the continuation of the training process of students in different careers and also values how education is a factor of social change, but on this occasion particularly, for the permanence and quality of Higher Education graduates.

In correspondence with the previous ideas, in the Study Plan "E", of the Bachelor's Degree in Physical Culture, the need to improve undergraduate training in broad profile careers is raised, with a focus on general and frequent problems solving of the profession at the base level; which makes it possible to reduce the duration of the degree to four years, in order to seek quality in the training process of the graduate and influence the spheres of action of sport, recreation, physical culture and physical education, in a period of shorter time (MES, 2016).

The researchers ^{García and Fuentes (2018)}, ^{González (2003)} and ^{Villalón et al. (2018)}agree and affirm that professional guidance goes through different stages, the first of which covers the development of interests and basic capabilities; the second, the development of professional motives and professional choice processes and the third, professional reaffirmation that is characterized by the consolidation of professional motives and intentions in the study or preparation process, for the performance of the future profession and in the work activity itself.

Professional reaffirmation is the training process that occurs from the moment the student enters the professional institute, made up of a set of educational influences aimed at consolidating motives, interests and intentions towards the specialty, which allows him/her to configure his/her professional identity, in correspondence with the current model of the polytechnic school ^{(Villalón, et al., 2018)}.

In turn, ^{García and Fuentes (2018)} define it as the process that leads to the concrete expression of the transformations manifest in the progressive consolidation of the personality of the future teacher, with emphasis on motivation, knowledge, skills, as well as in the professional and personal qualities or training for educational work, seen not only during study and preparation for the profession, but also in the initial work activity; this occurs as an inherent result of professional training, from adequate individual and group involvement.

In the stage of professional reaffirmation, educational influences at the university and the plans, programs, extracurricular activities, the work carried out by teachers, tutors, coaches and relationships with the work group play an important role. Professional reaffirmation is divided into two moments: the process that develops during study and preparation for the profession, and that which is linked to work activity.

For this research, it is worked with the process that develops during the study and preparation for the profession, specifically with students in the first two years; this moment is considered the most weakened in the training process in the Bachelor's degree in Physical Culture, in Granma, because it is in these years where the greatest number of dropouts occur.

For ^{Bell et al. (2016)}, the work of pedagogical professional reaffirmation constitutes a higher phase of the work of professional pedagogical guidance, it is carried out in the center to achieve the consolidation of the motivations and interests of the students towards the teaching profession and in all the scenarios where the training of students is developed, with the participation of socializing agents and agencies.

Also, the studies on professional reaffirmation carried out by ^{Almanza et al. (2019)}, ^{Díaz (2022)}, ^{García and Fuentes (2018)}, ^{García Acevedo & Fuentes Sánchez, (2018)}, ^{Hernández (2020)}, ^{Rodríguez, Rojas and Domínguez (2022)} and ^{Villalón et al. (2018)} stand out and their contributions are aimed at theoretical considerations, methodologies and strategies; However, they are limited to addressing professional reaffirmation through actions, from the subject groups, as a way to provide answers to the problems that arise in the process.

In the context of the Bachelor's Degree in Physical Culture, professional reaffirmation has been discussed by various authors such as ^{Prado et al. (2007)} that provides workshops and techniques and identifies the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of professional reaffirmation. Meanwhile, ^{Rosales et al. (2021)} carry out a study of the philosophical, pedagogical and psychological foundations of professional reaffirmation in the Career and ^{Lescaille (2021)} proposes a professional reaffirmation plan to exert emotional influences in the formation of motivation, interest, intention and professional identity is.

The contributions of the aforementioned researchers help to the consolidation of the work of professional reaffirmation in the context of the Bachelor's Degree in Physical Culture; however, it is pertinent to use other methods that allow the process to be characterized in a more comprehensive way.

The development of professional reaffirmation is important for students of the Bachelor's degree in Physical Culture, through it the appropriation of knowledge and skills is intended to achieve better performance in future professionals from teaching and extra-teaching, better graduates, more prepared and committed to their future work performance.

The purpose of this work is to characterize the situation of professional guidance and reaffirmation (consolidation of professional motives and intentions) in the process of studying the Bachelor of Physical Culture degree in Granma, based on three dimensions: pedagogical, psychological and sociological. The fulfillment of this objective made it possible to identify the problems that affect the permanence of students in it.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The research was carried out at the Faculty of Physical Culture of the University of Granma, during the 2020 to 2022 academic years; it began in 2020 with the daytime course that had a population of 309 students, grouped into 9 brigades. For this purpose, 168 first- and second-year students were selected as a sample, representing 54.4% of the general enrollment; in addition, 12 teachers and 6 faculty members from those academic years were part of the research. The selection of the sample was carried out intentionally, as it is the first two years of the degree where the greatest number of withdrawals occur in the academic year.

In this direction, the diagnosis was carried out from January to June 2021, the units of analysis were determined, taking into account the process that was investigated and the dimensions and indicators were established based on the logic, which allowed to characterize the process of professional reaffirmation of the students of the Faculty of Physical Culture of Granma.

To evaluate the result of the diagnosis, it was necessary to start from a structured conception of the same; for this, methods, techniques, and procedures were intentionally combined and the internal consistency between them was taken into account.

Theoretical level methods:

Analytical and synthetic: it was used in all stages of the research for the theoretical processing of the sources, the application of investigative methods and the elaboration of general conclusions.

Inductive-deductive: provided the interpretation of the information provided by the theoretical references of the professional guidance process that led to proposing solutions to the difficulties of professional reaffirmation of students in the career of Degree in Physical Culture from Granma.

Empirical level methods:

Document review: it was applied to the normative documents of higher education, theses, books, articles and others, to determine the theoretical and methodological inadequacies in terms of professional reaffirmation. Likewise, educational strategies for the degree and the years, methodological work plans for the degree and disciplines, statistical documents (223,222 annually, results of evaluations and definitive withdrawals and the calculation of academic efficiency) of the 2020 courses to 2022.

Structured, non-participant and open observation:

Scientific observation: it was used to obtain information on professional guidance and reaffirmation, before the projection and implementation of solutions to the existing problems. The observation was made of the teaching process, the methodological activities at the degree, years and disciplines levels, as well as the extension activities; an observation guide was developed that was applied in each of these scenarios, with the intention of verifying the level of preparation of the teachers, the way in which professional guidance and reaffirmation are treated in these spaces; as well as the participation and integration of students, teachers and managers in the activities. The Pedagogical and Sociological dimensions were monitored through the indicators.

• Pedagogical actions carried out from the Career.

• Pedagogical actions carried out in year groups.

• Pedagogical actions carried out in the disciplines.

• Contextualization of pedagogical activities in the Career.

• Integration of social actors in professional reaffirmation.

• Extension actions carried out in the communities.

Survey: it was applied to teachers and directors who work with the first and second years of the career, to obtain information about the knowledge and methodological and organizational teaching skills they have regarding professional guidance and reaffirmation. Through this instrument, the Pedagogical dimension is monitored through the indicators:

• Pedagogical actions carried out from the Career.

• Pedagogical actions carried out in year groups.

• Pedagogical actions carried out in the disciplines.

Group interview: it was applied in groups to first- and second-year students to obtain information on personal qualities, motives, likes and preferences towards the career and the spheres of action. This information responds to the psychological dimension, through the indicators:

• Students' attitude towards the career.

• Level of student satisfaction with the career.

• Preferences towards spheres of action.

To process the results, descriptive statistics were applied that allowed the data to be processed, based on the empirical distribution of probabilities and their corresponding percentage distributions, for the processing of the data recorded in the research.

Methodological triangulation: it allowed the analysis of the data, as well as comparing and contrasting the results of the diagnosis by dimensions and indicators (Table 1).

Table 1.  - Dimensions and indicators used in the research 

Variable	Dimensions	Indicators
Professional reaffirmation	Pedagogical	Pedagogical actions carried out during the career. Pedagogical actions carried out in year groups. Pedagogical actions carried out in the disciplines. School retention behavior.
	Psychological	Students' attitude towards the career. Level of student satisfaction with the career. Preferences towards spheres of action.
	Sociological	Contextualization of pedagogical activities in the career. Integration of social actors in professional reaffirmation. Extension actions carried out in the communities.

For the evaluation of the dimensions and indicators, the following parameters were established, supported by García (2015):

• ≤60% low level.

• Between 61 and 79 % medium level.

• Between 80 and 100 % high level.

RESULTS

Analysis of the dimensions and indicators used in the research

To determine the results of the Pedagogical dimension, the evaluation of the indicators was applied: pedagogical actions that are put into practice in the career, pedagogical actions that are carried out in the year groups, pedagogical actions that are executed in the disciplines and behavior of school retention. The following results were obtained:

In the review of the Career and the years strategies, it was found that the activities aimed at consolidating the work of professional reaffirmation are limited; since this only reached 39 % of the actions in the Career and 25 % in the year groups, in both the management of academic efficiency was addressed; but a system of actions aimed at students that contributes to the development of motives and interest in the profession was not conceived (Figure 1).

In the methodological work plan of the disciplines and in the defined pedagogical actions, it was confirmed that the methodological lines and guidelines are oriented towards didactic aspects, hence the system of methodological activities is aimed at the preparation of the faculty, with the intention to raise the quality of teaching. However, the educational component of the teaching-learning process is limited, without specifying actions that contribute to the professional guidance and reaffirmation of students; only intentionally, a minimum of activities that represent 30% are made explicit (Figure 1).

In the review of the statistical documents (223,222, annual referring to the results of the evaluations and final withdrawals, of the calculation of academic efficiency) from the 2020 to 2022 academic years, it was found that school retention in the 2020 academic year behaved differently as follows: in the first year, 99 students enrolled and 31 of them dropped out, which represents 31% of the enrollment; while in the second year, of an initial enrollment of 69 students, 30 students dropped out, representing 43% of the enrollment; therefore, of the 168 students initially enrolled, 107 remained in the course, which means that 36 % of the students dropped out for various reasons. This made it possible to justify the reason for the research, based on the analysis of the causes that originated it and to offer pedagogical alternatives for its solution (Figure 1) .

The Pedagogical dimension is evaluated as low level, since indicators 1, 2, 3 are below 60%. This means that the actions planned to contribute to the professional reaffirmation of students are insufficient. It was also found that the actions for the preparation of teachers in the guidance process and professional reaffirmation are insufficient and the number of dropouts is high in the first two years of the 2020 course, which has a negative impact in the dimension being evaluated.

Fig. 1.  -Results in the Pedagogical dimension 

Legend:

1. Pedagogical actions carried out in the Career

2. Pedagogical actions carried out in year groups

3. Pedagogical actions carried out in the disciplines

4. School retention behavior

The verification of the results of the diagnosis of the psychological dimension, through the indicators: student attitude towards the Career, level of student satisfaction with the Career and preferences towards the spheres of action, yielded the following result.

It was found that only 48 % of the students stated that they had attitudes towards the career, the majority demonstrated that they were unaware of the characteristics of the professional pedagogical role, motivated by not having received professional guidance before selecting the career and, consequently, they were unaware of the profiles or spheres of action of this, as well as the characteristics of future work activity. In another sense, they declared that they had not been part of circles of interest, sports teams or having been Physical Education instructors, in their previous student stage. At the same time, the minority stated that they independently practiced physical activity, mainly bodybuilding, which is why they could infer that the majority do not perform physical activity (Figure 2).

The level of satisfaction achieved in the students by the career reached 65%, they expressed that they sometimes felt responsibility with respect to their role as future teachers, this result is related to the fact that the career was selected in the ballot, after the first three options; which means that they do not include it among their main preferences. They consider that through this profession they can help people, although they do not feel committed to it; they express a lack of motivation for the career, this is reflected in their lack of interest in studying and they declare that they do not have an emotional connection with respect to the pedagogical profession (Figure 2).

When assessing preferences towards the spheres of action of the Career, only 41 % of the students expressed themselves in this regard; in order of interests, physical culture was first, recreation second, sports third, and finally, physical education (Figure 2).

The Psychological dimension was evaluated at a low level in general, it was found that the attitude of the students towards the Career is insufficient, the level of satisfaction with the Career is medium and the majority of these do not have preferences for a sphere of action such as future professionals.

Fig. 2.  - Results in the Psychological dimension 

Legend:

1. Attitude of students towards the Career

2. Level of student satisfaction with the Career

3. Preferences towards spheres of action

From the evaluation carried out on the sociological dimension, based on the indicators: extension actions in the communities, contextualization of the activities in the Career and interaction of social actors in the activities of professional reaffirmation, the following result was found:

During the observation, to the activities related to the sociological dimension, it was found that the number of extension actions carried out in the communities is limited, which represented only 20%, these responded to a single institutional project (from neighborhood to neighborhood). It was revealed as a weakness that few students are linked to it, not all of them feel attracted to this recreation project, which demands the creation of other projects, which extend to the communities and prepare the student as a future professional (Figure 3).

In relation to the contextualization of the activities in the Career, the contents taught in the classes contributed to the training of the future professional (referring to what); however, how they do it showed that they lack innovative and motivating practical experiences that can be carried out from group decisions with full participation of everyone and that largely guarantee integration, collaboration, a fraternal space for collective learning, individual and group commitment, with an important message (why) that takes into account the context and experiences that from there bring the student as close as possible to the experiences as a future professional and become strengths from the experiences (knowledge, skills, values) experienced.

The professional reaffirmation process was classified as spontaneous, decontextualized and lacking diversity, since only 30% of class planning took into account actions aimed at professional guidance and reaffirmation in an intentional manner and the potential was taken advantage of the content and context, to develop the process of professional reaffirmation related to each of the spheres of action (Figure 3).

Regarding the interaction of social actors in the activities of professional reaffirmation, the low participation of teachers and directors in carrying out the extracurricular activities that are planned was confirmed, in which only 33 % of them joined. The teachers stated that they were not responsible for these activities, they considered that they are the responsibility of the student organizations. The integration of social actors and communities was scarce, in the few activities that were carried out and in the community contexts, because the dissemination and participation of community members was not always guaranteed intentionally (Figure 3).

In consideration of the above, the social dimension was evaluated at a low level, the contextualization of the activities of the Career in the communities was limited, the level of integration of social actors in the activities that were carried out was low; this means that not all of the student's potential was developed from the experiences provided by the community context. In this sense, it is necessary to increase actions to achieve better prepared professionals, capable of interacting in any of the scenarios of their future profession.

Fig. 3.  - Results in the Sociological dimension 

Legend:

1. Extension actions in the communities

2. Contextualization of activities in the career

3. Interaction of social actors in professional reaffirmation activities

DISCUSSION

By analyzing the results obtained in this research, it has been possible to compare the positive effects that occur between the preparation of the Physical Culture professional with professionals from other branches of knowledge; in this analysis, it was possible to verify that although the work methods are different from each other, integrality is present in all of them in the training of the graduate.

It is considered that as professionals in training have a greater sense of belonging and identity with the Career and with the context in which they live, the greater their competency. Illustrated examples were taken from the research of ^{Acevedo et al. (2016)} that shows a group of actions that favor the process of professional reaffirmation in teachers at the University of Camagüey. From another perspective, professional reaffirmation is an indicator of resilience and promotion of positive attitudes in favor of health and human survival, as stated by ^{Delgado (2021)}.

On the other hand, professional reaffirmation is a fundamental attribute for the ideological preparation of university students, as explained in the scientific contribution of ^{Domínguez and Rojas (2020)} and, in keeping with these times, highlights the significance of the work of ^{Núñez and Acosta (2020)}, who contribute to professional reaffirmation through the use of technologies, since it is a need for young people to have tools that provide technical, specialized information and, above all, in accordance with the ethical principles of our socialist society.

CONCLUSIONS

As a conclusive part of this work, it can be stated that through methodological triangulation it was possible to verify, compare and synthesize the result of the process of professional reaffirmation, in the Bachelor of Physical Culture degree, in Granma, which resulted in insufficiency in the actions, in educational strategies and methodological work plans, to contribute to professional reaffirmation; as well as the theoretical and methodological preparation of teachers and directors, to develop professional reaffirmation.

The use of the potential of the contents and the social context to develop the professional reaffirmation of the student of the Career was considered limited, low levels of satisfaction were appreciated on the part of the students, which manifested in the lack of motivation due to the selection of a sphere of action for their future professional performance and high levels of student dropout were also confirmed in the first two years of the degree.

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Received: February 26, 2023; Accepted: May 19, 2023

^*Autor para la correspondencia: [e-mail]

Los autores declaran no tener conflictos de intereses.

Los autores han participado en la redacción del trabajo y análisis de los documentos.