A shared agenda for career education and citizenship education in Portuguese schools

Career education and citizenship education often share the same goals for children’s and adolescents’ development, as both are concerned with how young people adjust to modern societies, and participate in and prepare for various life roles. This suggests the need to clarify the common conceptual ground and practices of both models, in order to maximize the benefits of these
interventions for youngsters. In this work, we discuss the potential that career education and citizenship education interventions have to move children and adolescents towards better citizenship and work ethics, in the context of the Portuguese educational system. A special focus is placed on how career and citizenship education may play a special role in helping students reason about their active contribution for sustainable individual and social wellbeing, through their own educational and career planning. Finally, we address the need to improve educational and career guidance in Portuguese schools in order to achieve this goal, regarding the training of career counsellors, the facilitation of career exploration and ethical reasoning through the school system, and the involvement of teachers, parents and significant others in students’ career education.