Methodology to Conceive Career Projects in the Higher Education System. Experience of Implementation

Abstract

This article aims to present a methodological proposal for conceiving degree projects in the higher education system. These projects integrate regulatory framework aspects of Ecuador and conceptual elements that consider new paradigms of knowledge. The methodology used consisted of participatory action research that began with an exploratory research design and academic dialogue led by a team of researchers. The methodology allowed establishing the relationship between the elements that integrate career projects with the use of hermeneutics as a method and the analysis of content as a technique for reviewing legal and conceptual documents published by the Ecuadorian Higher Education Council (CES). The next phase consisted of a process of orientation and accompaniment to work teams; while in the final phase, the result was the generation of this methodological proposal and the presentation of the projects for redesigning the agricultural and communication careers at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, in Ibarra (PUCE-SI). The projects were approved and are currently offered, so that the methodology is considered validated satisfactorily. This work is very useful for the academic departments of higher education institutions because, based on legal and conceptual elements, it formulates pragmatic orientations in the identification of key aspects that allow conceiving and articulating the curriculum of career projects.