Medición de Intereses Profesionales en Estudiantes Universitarios y un Abordaje Exploratorio de su Relación con el Desempeño Académico

This study presents the results obtained by the Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS-Ecuador) in the final stage of the process of construction and validation of its own instrument for the evaluation of professional interests and preferences. The purpose of this initiative is to improve the degree of compatibility between the vocational-professional profile of students and their chosen career, in order to reduce student dropout rates. The research carried out takes as a conceptual reference Krumboltz's (1993) theory of Social Learning for Decision Making, which proposes that learning and the availability of information can improve the individual's career selection capacity, favoring his or her academic results. First, the psychometric quality of the quasi-definitive version of the Career Interests Questionnaire (CIPRO) generated by the UPS is evaluated, for which Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used. The reliability test was carried out using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. In all cases, statistically satisfactory results were obtained. Secondly, the possible association between the choice of a career compatible with professional preferences and subsequent academic performance is analyzed. To obtain empirical data, the study participants were UPS students who completed the CIPRO during the institutional admissions process for the 2017 - 2017 academic period. The relationship between career preference compatibility and academic performance was contrasted using analysis of variance (ANOVA). For this purpose, the data from the CIPRO application were used and the study participants were divided into two groups, compatible and not compatible with the chosen career, according to their professional interests; subsequently, the grade point averages between groups were compared, once they have completed their first level of studies. The empirical findings show that interest compatibility has a modest effect on academic performance at the first levels of study; however, this effect tends to intensify in the case of the social sciences and humanities. Finally, we reflect on the role of professional interests in academic performance, as well as the need to include complementary predictors and to carry out such analysis at different moments or levels of students' professional training.