This document describes a professional preferences questionnaire (PPM) used by a school guidance department to help students with career decision-making. The PPM identifies students' professional interests through comparison groups that rate different activities. It is administered collectively to students in years 2-4 and takes 45 minutes to complete. The guidance department uses questionnaires, interviews, and other tools to provide information and support to students in areas like self-knowledge, careers, and decision-making.

1. 1
Guidance
Department
Professional Preferences
(PPM)
A sample questionnaire of professional interests
and preferences
Miguel Ángel Saá Ramos – Guidance Department Head
(November 2012)

2. Areas of work
2
 The work to be performed by the Guidance Department
covers four main areas of work:
• School organisation
• Personal and social education
• Attention to diversity
• And... career and vocational guidance

3. Areas of interest
3
 The work performed within the scope of the career and
vocational guidance covers, in turn, three main areas of
interest:
• Students’ self-knowledge (skills, values, personality,
interests…).
• Academic and vocational information.
• And decision-making.

4. Instruments and strategies set in place
4
 Different instruments and strategies are used to work on
the areas of interest mentioned above:
• Use of: questionnaires, group techniques, interviews,
observation, review of information, guidance guides.
• Implementation and monitoring of different programmes, both
prepared by the Guidance Department and published: reflection
techniques, techniques of self-knowledge, decision-making
techniques.

5. Instruments and estrategies set in place
5
• Conducting informational meetings with students, either
individually or collectively.
• Stablishing contacts and coordination with other services outside
the school: other Guidance Departments, Galician Placement
Service, youth information points, university guidance centers,...
• Conducting lectures and conferences as well as visiting other
educational centers.

6. PPM
6
 One of the instruments
used when working the
decision-making is the
questionnaire called
Professional
preferences – M

7. PPM
Purpose
7
 The purpose of this questionnaire is to identify, in an
organised way, what the professional interests of the
students are.
 It is an instrument that complements other actions to be
carried out in the field of career and vocational guidance.

8. PPM
General characteristics
8
 This questionnaire is administered to all the students in a
classroom: collective administration.
 Targets students in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of
Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO).
 Implementation time: 45 minutes.
 It can be corrected by the students themselves.

9. PPM
General characteristics
9
 The questionnaire has two versions:
• PPM – B: aimed at students who want to pursue A-level
education
• PPM – FP: aimed at students interested in Vocational Training
 It is a test comprising 39 comparison groups

10. PPM
General Characteristics
10
 In each group four activities are offered to compare.
 It is necessary to score each group with the scale 0-1-2-3,
where 0 is the score given to the least liked activity and 3
to the most liked.

11. PPM
Materials
11
 Technical manual

12. PPM
Materials
12
 Questionnaire PPM – B

13. PPM
Materials
13
 Questionnaire PPM – FP

14. PPM
Materials
14
 Answer sheet:

15. PPM
Materials
15
 CD-ROM for the
computerised processing
of results

16. PPM
Materials
16
 Score sheet (individual profile):

17. PPM
Examples
17
 Answer sheet PPM – B:

18. PPM
Examples
18
 Individual profile PPM – B:

19. PPM
Examples
19
 Answer sheet PPM – FP:

20. PPM
Examples
20
 Individual profile PPM – FP:

21. PPM
Advantages
21
 It is quick and easy to implement
 It is also quick and easy to correct
 The test results are easy to interpret

22. PPM
Disadvantages
22
 The test needs to be complemented with other
actions:
• Before its administration: it is recommended to perform
some activity related to students’self-knowledge.
• After its administration: it is advisable to conduct a personal
interview with the student in order to analise the test results
and provide more accurate guidance in his or her decision-
making process.

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Thank you
for your attention