PROFESSIONAL CHOICE OF HIGH SCHOOL CONCLUDING STUDENTS: INFLUENCING FACTORS

This research aimed to investigate the factors that influenced the professional choice of students completing the Integrated Medium Level Vocational Course in Agriculture of the Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Para (IFPA), Campus Castanhal. It was carried out with 54 students, coming from various municipalities of Para, at the time of choosing a higher education course. Treated of a qualitative and exploratory research, with utilization of questionnaire and documentary analysis. Participants were asked about their choices, difficulties, motivations and social, economic, political, educational and personal determinants for professional choices. The questionnaire consisted of 12 open questions, and their answers were interpreted by categories of psychological, sociopolitical and economic, psychosocial and educational nature, using the Content Analysis technique in Bardin's (2011) approach. The analysis of the participants' responses pointed out that the psychological factors were determinant, demonstrated in 51.50% in the desire to take a higher education course, 66.70% in their choice, 88.06% in the difficulty of choice, 58.18% in the reason for choice, and 88.63% in the satisfaction with choice. The study also outlined the profile of students as coming from public school, who sought in technical education a professional training and a career, and with an occupational history through their parents in low schooling activities and few perspectives of achievements in life.