doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2020.53.53-67
RESEARCH

COMPARATIVE STUDY ABOUT LABOR EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS OF THE INITIAL EDUCATION CAREER AND PROFESSIONALIZATION AT THE METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
ESTUDIO COMPARATIVO SOBRE LAS EXPECTATIVAS LABORALES DE ESTUDIANTES DE LA CARRERA DE EDUCACIÓN INICIAL Y DE ESTUDIANTES DE PROFESIONALIZACIÓN EN SERVICIO EN LA UNIVERSIDAD METROPOLITANA.
ESTUDO COMPARATIVO DAS EXPECTATIVAS TRABALHISTAS DE ESTUDANTES DA CARREIRA DE EDUCAÇÃO INICIAL E DE ESTUDANTES DE PROFISSIONALIZAÇÃO EM SERVIÇO NA UNIVERSIDADE METROPOLITANA

Natalia Castañón Octavio¹
Giovanna González Reyes¹
Valeria Lupo Carbone¹

¹Metropolitan University. Venezuela.

Natalia Castañón Octavio. Professor and researcher at the Metropolitan University. Degree in Education (Metropolitan University, 1991). Master’s in School Psychology (Complutense University of Madrid, 1993). Ph.D. in Philosophy and Educational Sciences (Complutense University of Madrid, 1999).

ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study is to compare the labor expectations of the students of the Initial Education degree with those of the students of the Service Professionalization Program of the Metropolitan University, in addition to this, it has three specific objectives that consist of investigating and verifying the job expectations of both groups and describe both income profiles. The present non-experimental descriptive and comparative research with quantitative methodology was able to determine that there are multiple similarities and differences between the two study groups, highlighting the main one: professionalization students enter the career with work experience, while initial education students enter in the career with little or no work experience. Like the main papers from which ours drinks, its foundations are based on the idea of sustainable communication, understood as transparency in the forecast of labor expectations of a fundamental sector in the achievement of sustainable human development.

KEY WORDS: labor expectations, professionalization, university students, job, education.

RESUMEN
El presente estudio tiene como objetivo principal comparar las expectativas laborales de los estudiantes de la carrera de Educación Inicial con las de los estudiantes del Programa de Profesionalización en Servicio de la Universidad Metropolitana, aunado a esto posee tres objetivos específicos que constan de indagar y constatar las expectativas laborales de ambos grupos y describir ambos perfiles de ingreso. La presente investigación no experimental de tipo descriptivo y comparativo con metodología cuantitativa logró determinar que existen múltiples semejanzas y diferencias entre ambos grupos de estudio destacando la principal: los estudiantes de profesionalización entran en la carrera con experiencia laboral, mientras que los estudiantes de educación inicial entran en la carrera con poca o nula experiencia laboral. Al igual que las principales investigaciones de las que bebe esta, su fundamento está basado en la idea de comunicación sostenible, entendida como transparencia en la previsión de expectativas laborales de un sector fundamental para la consecución de desarrollo humano sostenible.

PALABRAS CLAVE: expectativas laborales, profesionalización, estudiantes universitarios, trabajo, educación.

RESUMO
O principal objetivo deste estudo é comparar as expectativas de trabalho dos alunos do curso de Educação Inicial com as dos alunos do Programa de Profissionalização de Serviços da Universidade Metropolitana, além disso, possui três objetivos específicos que consistem em investigar e verificar a expectativas de trabalho de ambos os grupos e descrever os dois perfis de renda. A presente pesquisa descritiva e comparativa não experimental, com metodologia quantitativa, foi capaz de determinar que existem múltiplas semelhanças e diferenças entre os dois grupos de estudo, destacando o principal: estudantes de profissionalização iniciam a carreira com experiência de trabalho, enquanto estudantes de educação inicial entram na carreira com pouca ou nenhuma experiência de trabalho.
Como a principal pesquisa de que bebe, sua base é baseada na ideia de comunicação sustentável, entendida como transparência na previsão das expectativas de trabalho de um setor fundamental para alcançar o desenvolvimento humano sustentável.

PALAVRAS CHAVE: expectativas trabalhistas, profissionalização, estudantes universitários, trabalho, educação.

Translation by:
Paula González (Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela).

Correspondence:
Natalia Castañón Octavio . Metropolitan University. Venezuela. castanon@unimet.edu.ve
Giovanna González Reyes. Metropolitan University. Venezuela. giovannagonzalez@correo.unimet.edu.ve
Valeria Lupo Carbone. Metropolitan University. Venezuela. valeria.lupo@correo.unimet.edu.ve

Received: 08/06/2020.
Accepted: 21/08/2020.
Published: 15/11/2020.

How to cite the article:
Castañón Octavio, N., González Reyes, G., & Lupo Carbone, V. (2020). Comparative study about labor expectations of students of the initial education career and professionalization at the Metropolitan University. [Estudio comparativo sobre las expectativas laborales de estudiantes de la carrera de educación inicial y los estudiantes de profesionalización en servicio en la Universidad Metropolitana] Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI, 53, 53-67. doi: https://doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2020.53.53-67
Retrieved from http://www.seeci.net/revista/index.php/seeci/article/view/653

1. INTRODUCTION

By virtue of the results of the research work by Ocanto and Tirado (2018) and Del Valle and García García (2020), we want to know in this research work, what are, or if they exist, the differences between the work expectations of the students of service professionalization with students of initial education.
The purpose of the UNIMET service professionalization program is, as indicated on the UNIMET´s website (n/d).

Educational purpose:
This comparative study proceeds from the previous research work by Ocanto and Tirado (2018) where the work expectations of initial education students were detected and we have that: “As a generalized response, the desire of students to become agents of change and play their teaching role (90.24%) despite considering that the career is not valued by Venezuelan society” (p.101). In addition to the above, “it was evidenced that 47.62% specified educational management as a desired job opportunity” (p.102).

It was also found that the competence that received the highest score was the one that responds to the teacher as an agent of social change, in three dimensions: educational, legal, and cultural (63 points in total). The students did not give the highest assessment to the competence that par excellence supports the teaching role, educational planning (46), and evaluation (48). (Ocanto and Tirado, (2018) conclude that: “When determining the work expectations of the students of the Initial Education career at UNIMET, a fundamental assessment is given to contribute to the process of continuous improvement of academic quality, since, from the knowledge of the realities, interests, needs, and evidently, the three expectations that were studied in the present research, is that functional action plans can really be elaborated, in favor of the academic and labor excellence of the Unimetan population, and the dynamism of the labor market” (p.105.)
The results were considered relevant when verifying the material expectations of these since the labor market is dynamic, changing, and demanding, therefore, it is necessary that teachers have updated and permanent training.

2. METHODOLOGY

2.1. Design of the research

The design of a research is “a general strategy that aims to impose the necessary controls to achieve a maximum of internal and external validity(...)” (p.1) this is defined based on the procedure (Castañón, 2019).
This research has a non-experimental design since it is carried out without deliberately manipulating variables.
The work expectations of the UNIMET´s Service Professionalization students are studied and after having analyzed these data, a comparison is made with the work expectations of the 69 initial education students from the same institution, these data were previously collected in the research work by Ocanto and Tirado (2018).
In this non-experimental design, situations that already exist will be observed and analyzed, these are not intentionally caused by the researcher and they are not manipulated either.
In addition to this, this study is of a cross-sectional type since the data is collected in a single moment (Castañón, 2019).

2.2. Type of research

This corresponds to a type of comparative and descriptive research, it is comparative because the work expectations of two groups will be compared, that of students of the initial education career at UNIMET and the students who are studying the professionalization program of the same institution.
Castañón (2019) affirms that a type of comparative research is aimed at highlighting the differential way in which a phenomenon manifests itself in certain groups or contexts and that, together with this, it allows the detection of variables that can then be used for confirmatory research.
At the same time, it is a type of descriptive research because it seeks to specify the important properties, referring to the work expectations of the service professionalization students of UNIMET.
According to Castañón (2019), descriptive research tries to independently measure the concepts or variables to which they refer without establishing cause-effect relationships, coupled with this, they require prior theoretical and investigative knowledge to be able to build valid and reliable measurement instruments.

2.3. Variables, dimensions, and indicators

The following presented variables focus on the students who are currently studying the UNIMET´s Service Professionalization program, and their job expectations, seeking the relationship between the twowithout the researchers interfering with them.
The variables, dimensions, and indicators of this research are presented in the table below:

Table 1. Variables, dimensions, and indicators.



Source: self-made.

2.4. Population and Sample

The students who are in the service professionalization program at the Metropolitan University are those that make up the population of this study, with a total of 68 students. The director of the school of education as of May 14th, 2019 was the one who provided these confirmed data for the research. The population is the entire phenomenon to be studied, where the population units have a common characteristic, which is studied and gives rise to the research data (Castañón, 2019).

Castañón (2019) points out that the sample is a selection from a smaller group of subjects that represents the population. On this occasion, intentional sampling for convenience will be used, which, for Castañón (2019a) implies a captive population from which subjects are selected under a criterion established by the researcher.
The sample criterion for this research work is that of active students who are currently studying the service professionalization program at the Metropolitan University, as well as their years of service and tenure in held positions.

2.5. Data collection and analysis instrument

The collection instrument is the main source of obtaining the data, which are based on the studied variables, it yields quantitative results, but at the same time, the measurement of qualitative results. (Ocanto and Tirado, 2018)
In this research, a survey will be carried out as the data collection instrument, the survey can be defined as “research carried out on a sample of subjects representative of a larger group, using standardized interrogation procedures to obtain quantitative measurements of a great variety of objective and subjective characteristics of the population” (Torres, et al. (2014).
For (Torres et al, 2014) the fundamental characteristics of a survey include:

• The survey is a non-direct observation of the facts by means of what the interested parties say.
• It is a method prepared for research.
• It allows a massive application that through a sampling system can be extended to an entire nation.
• It makes it possible for social research to reach the subjective aspects of the members of society.

The survey used on this occasion was adapted from the instrument previously developed for the research carried out by the research team of Professor Natalia Castañón.

3. OBJECTIVES

Because this work is a comparative study between the job expectations of initial education students and service professionalization students, it is important to note that the purpose of the service professionalization program offered by the Metropolitan University is to “Provide practicing teachers the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to achieve high levels of effectiveness and efficiency in their role as educators; allowing them to assume a leading role as an agent of pedagogical and social change in the Venezuelan educational context”. (UNIMET (n/d) purpose of the service professionalization program)
Finally, responding to the results of past research and with the intention of following this line of research, we wish to answer the following question: What are the factors that influence the work expectations of the students of the service professionalization modality? What is the difference or similarity between regular initial education undergraduate students and service professionalization students in terms of their job expectations?

4. RESULTS

After completing the analysis of the figures and tables, it is considered relevant to highlight the most important relationships that emerge from the results from the data collection instrument with their respective comparison to the results obtained by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018.

• 59.5% (25) of UNIMET’s service professionalization students entered the university through the scholarship plan process offered by it. On the other hand, as established by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, 80.95% (17) of initial education students used the diagnostic exam, location, and comprehensive evaluation as a means of entry.
• 83.3% (35) of the professionalization students state that they consider that studying in this program will effectively help them to get their desired job, demonstrating the satisfaction that this percentage of students has with their work expectations and personal goals. In addition to this, 64.3% (27) of the professionalization students consider that they need a university degree in teaching to improve their professional performance, which is striking because 71.4% (30) of students consider that the education career is not valued by Venezuelan society. Complementing the previous idea, as established by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, 95.24% of the initial education students also considered that the career is not valued by Venezuelan society and yet, 100% of the students considered that studying education could make them an agent of social change. For this reason, a similarity is reflected in both groups, it can be indicated that despite the low value of the career in Venezuelan society, both samples continue to train as educators. However, a difference is established, in the group of initial education students, 100% (21) of the population considered that continuing their career studies will help them choose their desired job, however, the percentage of professionalization students that consider that they can get their desired job studying a career is, as mentioned above, 83.3%.
• As additional benefits to salary compensation, 85.7% (36) of professionalization students wish to have efficiency and performance incentives, likewise, 76.2% (32) of professionalization students wish to have refresher courses, 73.8% (31) of professionalization students want to have general benefits such as transportation, and following the same order of ideas, 57.1% (24) of students want to have food vouchers. In similarity with, as Ocanto and Tirado showed in 2018, the coherence that exists with 80.95% (17) initial education students who would like to have refresher courses, food vouchers, and general benefits such as transport stands out.
• It can be seen that the students who entered the career in the service professionalization program between the years 2014-2016 add up to a total of (26) students, which represents 61.9% of the sample. While, in the research work of Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, the students who entered the career between the years 2014-2016 added up to a total of (13) students that correspond to 61.90% of the career.
• It should be noted that students belonging to the service professionalization program want to work mainly in teaching and training, research, coordination, and management of educational centers and social programs, or cultural and recreational centers. While, as Ocanto and Tirado pointed out in their research work in 2018, initial education students aspire to managerial and higher-ranking positions.
• There are 33.3% (14) of professionalization students who wish to teach in a country other than Venezuela, which reflects a contrast to initial education students, as established by the authors Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, because 57.14% of students also wish to practice the profession of education, outside of Venezuela. 
• At the time of paying for their university tuition, 66.7% (28) of the professionalization students use the student scholarship program, contrasting with what was established by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, since 90.48% state that they pay for their tuition through their relatives or on their own.
• 88.1% (37) of the respondents belonging to the group of professionalization students would prefer to work in a private educational center, besides, as established by Laura Ocanto and Valerie Tirado in 2018, 95.24% (20) of the initial education students would also prefer to work in a private educational center.
• 51.2% (22) of the Service Professionalization students wish to practice teaching by having a Bachelor of Education degree, likewise, there is a similarity with the Initial Education students of whom 95.24% wish to practice teaching by having a degree in education.
• Besides this, 53.5% (23) of the professionalization students wish to work in training, research, coordination, and management of educational centers and social programs, cultural and recreational centers, upon obtaining a degree in education. In coherence with what was established by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, where it is observed that 52.38% (11) of the Initial Education students also wish to work in training, research, coordination, and management of educational centers and social programs, cultural and recreational centers, upon obtaining a bachelor’s degree in education.
• When specifying their desired job opportunity, it was obtained that 11.9% (5) of the Professionalization students wish to work as Educational Managers, in contrast to the Initial Education students representing 47.62% who, when indicating their desired job opportunity, also want to work as Educational Managers.
• In addition to the above, 83.7% (36) of the Service Professionalization students affirm that studying in this program will help them find their desired job. On the other hand, as previously researched by Ocanto and Tirado, 100% of the Initial Education students affirm that studying initial education at the Metropolitan University will help them find their desired job.
• According to the obtained responses, it can be stated that 69.8% (30) of the Service Professionalization students consider that the education career is not valued by Venezuelan society, in accordance with what was established in 2018 by Ocanto and Tirado, 95.24% (20) of the Initial Education students consider, in the same way, that the education career is not valued by Venezuelan society.
• To improve their performance as a teacher, 65.1% (28) of the Service Professionalization students consider a degree in education necessary. In the same line of ideas, to work as a teacher, 80.95% (17) of the Initial Education students consider a degree in education necessary.
• Likewise, 88.4% (38) of the Service Professionalization students and 95.24% (20) of the Initial Education students wish to work as education professionals in a private educational center.
• In the same line of ideas, 86% (37) of the Service Professionalization students and 95.48% (19) of the Initial Education students, as established by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, wish to obtain a fixed-time contract at the time to work.
• In addition to salary compensation, 83.7% (36) of the Professionalization students and 71.43% (15) of the Initial Education students would like to receive benefits such as efficiency and performance incentives when working.
• Once being a Bachelor of Education, 67.4% (29) of the professionalization students and, according to Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, 61.90% (13) of the Initial Education students wish to practice in a country other than Venezuela. Spain is the most tentative option for both groups, with 28.57% in Initial Education students and 21.4% in Service Professionalization students.

5. DISCUSSION

In the present research, it can be concluded that there are multiple social, personal, and material expectations pertaining to the students of service professionalization that are similar and differ in many expectations from the students of Initial Education. Highlighting all these work expectations with the main difference between both groups, which is that the service professionalization students, for the most part, have work experience and are currently working as teachers, while the Initial Education students begin their career with little or no work experience.
Taking into consideration our first specific objective: To inquire about the work expectations of the students of the Service Professionalization program. It was obtained that:
The results obtained in this research show that there is a strong trend, exactly 83.3%, of the Professionalization students considering that studying in this program will help them get their desired job. Although the vast majority of students consider that the Education career is not valued by Venezuelan society, more than half of the sample, 64.3%, continues to affirm the need to qualify as an educator to improve their professional performance, which shows that social expectations are minimized when compared with their personal expectations and a high level is estimated in the appreciation of employment by the majority of Professionalization students. In addition to this, it was obtained that the majority of professionalization students would prefer to work in a private educational center and that their work be paid in dollars.
On the other hand, conducting a survey about the economic level that the Professionalization students consider that their home belongs to, as well as the person responsible for paying their university tuition, was relevant for the research because while the students accept their standard of living, the more adjusted their job expectations will be. Likewise, 45.2% considered their home to be at the medium-high level and 40.5% considered their home to be at the medium level. In addition to the above, 66.7%, which corresponds to more than half of the sample, pays for their enrollment through a university scholarship. This reflects a marked difference with the initial education students because they pay their tuition mostly through family members, exactly 90.48% of them. However, initial education students, as researched by the authors Ocanto and Tirado, place their housing in the High (19.05%), Middle-High (52.38%), and Middle (28.57%) level.
At the same time, it was evidenced that 33.3%, most of the responses, specified teaching as desired work. For the authors, it means that their job expectations are not exactly high, that is, they have expectations adjusted to their profession, but not high-end. Which leads to another difference established with the Initial Education students, according to Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, 47.62% pointed to educational management as a desired job, since they project themselves in the highest step of the educational hierarchy.
Again, the research reflects that the material and social expectations of the Professionalization students are high because 40.5% considered as a due salary compensation between $700- $1000 per month in Venezuela, and 33.3% considered as a due salary compensation between $500-$700 per month in the same country, which indicates that 73.8% of the Professionalization students in service consider that the payment should be between $500 to $1000. Therefore, precautions were taken that the respondents would like to have certain previously determined working conditions, with 85.7% of them selecting the fixed-term contracts, where the aforementioned benefits are aspired.
Regarding the second specific objective: Determine the entry profile of the students of the Service Professionalization Program.
It is found that 60.5% (26) of the Service Professionalization students entered the Metropolitan University through the Scholarship Plan Process that it offers. While, according to what was previously investigated by Ocanto and Tirado in 2018, 80.95% entered the career through the diagnostic exam, location, and comprehensive evaluation, of which 46.82% entered lists 2, with 23.41%, and 4, with 23.41% respectively.
Corresponding to the third specific objective, it responds to: Verify the job expectations of the Initial Education career and the Service Professionalization program. It was obtained that there is a similarity between the Service Professionalization students and the Initial Education students since it was shown that the majority of both groups, as shown by the statistics above, are consistent with many of the material, social, and personal expectations, differing in one characteristic, because when specifying their desired job opportunity, it was obtained that the Initial Education students were more inclined to their desired job opportunity to Educational Management, while the Professionalization Students were inclined towards teaching.

6. CONCLUSIONS

Taking into account the general objective: to compare the work expectations of the students of the initial education career with those of the students of the service professionalization program of the Metropolitan University: it can be concluded that the work expectations of the students have to be determined and compared because it contributes to the continuous improvement of the educational academic quality since by knowing the different realities of the students, their needs and interests are understood. Besides the fact that, by knowing their expectations, action plans can be developed to raise them, make them possible or tangible, always in favor of the academic excellence that we want students to achieve.

AUTHORS

Natalia Castañón Octavio
Full-time professor and researcher at the Metropolitan University (1993-). Founder of tuterapiaenlinea.com (2014-). Degree in Education (Metropolitan University, 1991). Master of School Psychology (Complutense University of Madrid 1993). Doctorate in Philosophy and Educational Sciences (Complutense University of Madrid, 1999). She has had teaching, management, and research career: head of the Didactics department (2002-), head of the Humanities department (2014-), general manager of the online learning center (2014), and research professor. She has tutored thirty-seven undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses. Publications in twenty-two national and international refereed journals or books. She has participated in forty national and international congresses with refereed presentations.
ncastanon@unimet.edu.ve
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7532-6924

Giovanna González Reyes
She was a teacher of English as a foreign language at the Caracas Hebraica Club (2019). Degree in Education from the Metropolitan University in 2020 (Caracas- Venezuela). She has a diploma in Digital Marketing from the Metropolitan University and a diploma in multidisciplinary and therapeutic Education in Diabetes from the Central University of Venezuela. Aspiring Master of Psychopedagogy at the University of Valencia, Spain.
giovannagonzalez@correo.unimet.edu.ve

Valeria Lupo Carbone
She was a teaching assistant at the Henry Clay Educational Institute (2015-2016). Degree in Education from the Metropolitan University in 2020 (Caracas - Venezuela). She also served as a teacher’s assistant at the CEI-WEI nursery (2014-2015). Aspiring graduate in Psychology at the University of Tampa, United States. And aspiring to master’s degree in Positive Psychology at the University of Palermo, Argentina.
valerialupo@correo.unimet.edu.ve