This paper substantiates the opportunity of a longitudinal study meant to emphasize the curriculum influence over students in various years of study from the Department of Environmental Engineering and Management at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection of the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania.
The diagnosis value of the results indicates the compatibility degree between personality profile of the students and that of professionals working in the field. The aim of the current study is to carry out a comparative analysis of the students’ vocational interests profile intended to highlight the curriculum influence in shaping them.
Since a professional’s performance potential is the result of a combination between the specialty competence and the attitude towards the profession, both components should have an equal degree of importance. Qualification or specialty competence is given by the quality of the professional and transversal competencies. Academic curriculum design concentrates mostly on the formation of the professional competencies, knowledge and skills, but also on role competencies and personal development. Attitude towards the profession is seen as an implicit consequence of the formation of role competencies (which include autonomy, responsibility and effective professional communication), or of the personal development competence through continual formation and creative involvement in the professional activity. As an essential component of the professional attitude, vocational interest regarding a certain field or the environment specific to a professional activity is not approached as a significant variable of the formation program.