Copyright (c) 2026 Vinculación universidad y sociedad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Educational and vocational guidance in Panamanian technical education faces significant challenges in its personal–social dimension, particularly regarding the development of emotional competencies that support students’ decision-making processes and well-being. From this perspective, the aim of the study was to diagnose the needs associated with educational and vocational guidance of ninth-grade students as perceived by guidance counselors, administrative staff, and school administrators, and to outline a proposal linking guidance practices with emotional intelligence. A qualitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted, based on in-depth interviews with guidance counselors, administrative personnel, and school administrators from the Leonila Pinzón de Grimaldo Technical Professional Institute (Penonomé) and the Aguadulce Technical and Industrial Professional Institute, located in the province of Coclé, Panama (n = 9). Data were analyzed using a qualitative cluster-based approach, supported by discourse interpretation and textual excerpts from the interviews. The findings revealed limitations in the practical implementation of guidance practices within the personal–social dimension, along with a need to strengthen socio-emotional training among educational stakeholders. Additionally, the study identified the need to update the use of technological resources as support tools for guidance processes. Based on these findings, the integration of emotional intelligence as a formative axis is substantiated, and a teacher training seminar is proposed as an institutional strengthening strategy aligned with Panamanian educational regulations and aimed at improving guidance practices in the evaluated institutions.
