Mendive. Journal on Education, 22(3), e3913

Translated from the original in Spanish

Leading article

Undergraduate training in broad profile careers: challenges as a professionalization process

La formación de pregrado en carreras de perfil amplio: desafíos como proceso de profesionalización

Formação de graduação em carreiras de perfil amplo: desafios como processo de profissionalização

Taymi Breijo Worosz¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9424-3278
María de los Ángeles Novo Cazorla¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8741-2598

¹University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Pinar del Río, Cuba. taimi.breijo@upr.edu.cu; maria.novo@upr.edu.cu

The 21st century is characterized by a globalized and neoliberal world where rapid scientific development plays a crucial role in solving contemporary problems. In this context, the university stands as an essential pillar in the training of socially responsible citizens committed to the challenges of an interconnected reality. The Cuban University, as a social institution, has the responsibility of training highly competent professionals dedicated to sustainable development, one of the country's strategic objectives.

This mission is based on an inclusive and participatory strategic projection, with a long-term transformative vision, which seeks to generate Higher Education graduates with a comprehensive culture and robust personal and professional qualities. These graduates must be prepared to perform with social responsibility and integrate into the innovation and creation processes, thus promoting the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the nation.

The professional training process is a central concern for universities and other social actors, placing it at the core of the necessary resizing of training content. Guaranteeing the quality and relevance of this process is essential for the university as a social institution. The training of professionals is an intrinsically connected and dialectical professionalization process, where the graduate's practice improves the professional's initial training and vice versa: the quality of this process has an impact on innovative solutions to social problems.

Contemporary literature analyzes vocational training as professionalization, presenting various approaches to this process. These approaches address common and different aspects in the pedagogical context: the professional functions of the teacher, their autonomy, the role of the curriculum in research and professional ethics, among others.

The professionalization of teaching staff is one of the great challenges of education and the basis for solving other significant problems. The teacher, as a professional, needs solid scientific knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge in his or her professional context. It is essential that during undergraduate training, sequenced and progressive modes of action are developed in students, aligned with the socially constructed performance model. However, diagnostic studies reveal that students in initial training often present deficiencies in:

• Mastery of the basic contents of your science and profession.
• The ability to act on various objects inherent to their profession, including the use of technologies.
• Knowledge of methods for professional performance.
• The ability to efficiently, innovatively and creatively transform the object of your profession.
• The ability to work in a group and the objective assessment of their knowledge, skills and values, in line with social and professional demands.

This analysis leads to conceptualizing competent professional modes of action as a set of algorithmic actions aimed at solving professional problems in an innovative and creative way. During initial training, students must gradually acquire the knowledge, skills and values necessary for professional management.

In Cuba, the continuous training of professionals is conceived as a process of professional and human development that takes place in different stages: undergraduate training, preparation for employment and postgraduate training. At each stage, the interaction between universities and employing organizations is fundamental, with students and professionals assuming leading roles.

Undergraduate training must be conceived as a professionalization process that allows the active and creative appropriation of the logic of science and the profession. This will develop competent professional modes of action in the graduates, which allow them to innovatively transform society and respond to the most general and frequent problems in their professional field.

The commitment to professionalization is a crucial issue in current training models, both initial and permanent. This process of theory-practice integration must promote independence, creativity and motivation, developing habits, skills and modes of action in accordance with the context and values necessary for professional practice. Ultimately, the aim is to train competent professionals committed to social reality.

From Mendive. Journal on Education, the commitment to the promotion and dissemination of innovative approaches in the professionalization of Higher Education is reaffirmed, recognizing the importance of training highly competent and socially responsible professionals.

Conflict of interests:

The authors declare not to have any interest conflicts.

Authors' contribution:

The authors participated in the design and writing of the leading article.

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