Abstract:
In recent years there has been an important transformation of the Higher Education System, both in Argentina and internationally, bringing about an expansion of distance postgraduate courses, an option increasingly sought after by students due to the greater scope of access and the possibility of more autonomous learning. The diversity of institutions has multiplied, with an increase of the number and type of postgraduate courses, and the number of students enrolled.
From a lifelong guidance perspective, we consider that entry and graduation are moments of transition which are important to study in order to develop guidance and support mechanisms for students and institutions. The theoretical approach of the study is psychosocial, in which both the subjective aspects of the students as well as the institutional and contextual ones are considered. This type of approach allows us to analyze and understand how students construct part of their personal, educational and work trajectory during the passage through this educational level.
The methodological research strategy is qualitative. In this paper we will present the comparison of the academic trajectory (degree course, motivation to choose the Postgraduate programme and modality -distance or face to face-, and socialization during the master’s degree) of a sample of 5 current students and 5 graduates of a virtual master’s degree in Argentina, and a similar sample in Spain (the results will be presented at the Conference).
Based on the results obtained in the present research, ideas for guidance at the Postgraduate level, in transition economies and uncertain times, can be derived.