PORTFOLIO AS A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE CAREER ADAPTABILITY RESOURCES
This study aimed to determine whether the levels of career adaptability resources could be increased through the use of a portfolio writing strategy. Based on a mixed methods approach, the study used the design quasi-experimental, with two independent groups and with repeated measures, together with a focus group. Forty students (17 from the experimental group; 23 from the control group) in university-work transition completed the Portuguese version of the Career Adaptation Scale. The pre-test survey was administered at the beginning of the semester of the curricular unit of personal and professional development project (PPDP) in both groups. This was followed, in the experimental group, by a fourteen-week portfolio writing intervention, under the PPDP. In the control group, the PPDP followed the traditional expository teaching methodology. After completing the intervention procedure, post-test research was conducted byboth groups. Five students from the experimental group also participated in a focus group of feedback on the writing of portfolios under the PPDP. The results revealedthat writing the portfolios contributed to a career adaptability resources increase as well as for the confidence, self-knowledge and knowledge of the market opportunities of these students. The use of portfolios in the PPDP unit course is recommended.