Complex conditions characterize our time with changes in the economy,
technology, work activities and the risks of exacerbating social inequalities
and exclusion processes. These complex conditions underline the
relevance of preventive career education efforts with preadolescents whose
experiences are grounded in the construction of self-identity. An
integrative perspective may help address the actual world of work
complexities and understand how youth affords meaning to their
experiences in the several systems that they live in, their career
construction processes (Romero-Rodríguez et al., 2022; Sgaramella,
2022), as well as undertake critical perspectives. A critical analysis of
career education interventions based on an integrative approach and
proposed to pre-adolescents in diverse international settings is proposed.
This will help highlight core themes and intervention efficacy and support
an understanding of how challenges and current critical perspectives in
career counselling enter in the integrative paths proposed to pre
adolescents. Programs implemented by the authors together with the
SEEDs Research Group will be used for discussion.
Pillars emerging from the analysis of integrative interventions
(Sgaramella & Ferrari, 2024) that guided the review are: considering the
domains of development and the mediating role of relevant life contexts;
adopting a present- to future-oriented focus in career exploration;
considering Psychosocial and Career-Related Assets; and opening to the
digital world and Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis suggests
that, along different patterns of expression, Integrative Career Education
in the school context can take the role of promoting knowledge and skills
in the self and others, the educational and professional worlds, and
borrowing from recent approaches to career counselling. Additionally,
when considering current critical perspectives, it can reveal an effective
strategy and an opportunity for career development learning to evolve its
focus, address complexities and prepare for unexpected challenges.