The idea that sustainability is solely an environmental and economic issue has been
definitively overcome in recent years. At the same time, an integrated view of the different dimensions of development has been affirmed. Thus, sustainability emerges as a multi-faceted and complex framework, and current international policies also increasingly place sustainable development at the center of their agendas. Given these premises, the issue of counselling toward sustainable development is crucial because a future that respects and promotes the principles of sustainability is unthinkable without people's active and aware participation. The present action-research deploys quantitative-qualitative methodologies centered on the narration of the stories and experiences of the individuals who will be involved. Such approaches, starting with personal history, allow individuals to tell and reconstruct their career story, giving space to the fears, concerns, real or perceived barriers, and influences, past and present, to which they are exposed. The research was focused on creating and implementing career counselling practices for university students that, taking into account the dynamic changes in the new and complex socioeconomic contexts, stand as key elements in supporting the development of sustainable careers and higher levels of academic satisfaction, well-being, and quality of life. Trials of career counseling interventions were conducted with 100 students (50% training group; 50% control group) from the Universities of Enna Kore (Italy) and Évora (Portugal), respectively. The entire process was subjected to continuous monitoring phases through a within-group design at three times (T1, before the start of the intervention; T2, at the end of the intervention; T3, at the follow-up six months after the conclusion) and between-group through the comparison between training-group and equivalent control-group. The quantitative and qualitative results of the training, future research and practical implications were discussed.

Action-research, counselling, university students, sustainable career

Applied Psychology Around the World | Volume 7, Issue 2