Pertinencia de la educación superior: Caso localidad de Usaquén

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relevance of the higher education offer in the locality of Usaquén, Bogotá, in relation to the academic and labor needs of young people in grade 11 of public and private institutions with a social focus. A socioeconomic and demographic characterization of the locality was carried out, highlighting the business vocation, where commerce and professional services concentrate a large part of the economic activity. Based on this, surveys were applied to 11th grade students, teachers and people linked to the productive sector to identify academic and vocational preferences, access barriers and perceptions about the local educational offer. The results revealed that, for students who expect to continue their studies in the locality, there is a low relevance between the academic areas offered by the universities of Usaquén and the preferences of these students, showing lack of knowledge of the available offer, and that academic decisions are mostly influenced by economic factors and labor expectations. Likewise, from the business sector, a high valuation was identified for competencies such as; soft skills, technological tools and problem solving, which did not reveal the same importance on the part of the students. It is concluded that there is a gap between the available academic offer and the social, academic and productive demands of Usaquén, which highlights the need to strengthen the articulation between higher education institutions and local economic dynamics in order to improve the relevance of the programs offered.