EXTENSION STRATEGY FOR THE VOCATIONAL STRENGTHENING OF STUDENTS SPECIALIZING IN FURNITURE MAKING

Abstract

Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) in Cuba is currently facing important challenges regarding students’ vocational development, particularly in productive specialties such as Furniture Making. A limited perception of the trade’s social value, weak career projection, and insufficient identity appropriation have been identified, all of which negatively impact students’ motivation and sense of belonging. In response, this article proposes a participatory and context-sensitive extension strategy aimed at strengthening vocational motivation among fourth-year students in this specialty. The research was grounded in a dialectical-materialist approach and employed a combination of theoretical methods (analysis-synthesis, modeling), empirical tools (surveys, interviews, participant observation, focus groups), and statistical techniques (frequencies, percentages, comparative analysis). The strategy was validated through methodological triangulation and thematic coding. Findings reveal significant transformations in students’ professional identity, structured across three dimensions: cognitive (understanding of the trade, career projection), affective (sense of belonging, motivation), and value-based (social perception, identity appropriation). Activities such as creative workshops, educational dramatizations, and community-based projects helped strengthen the school-community relationship and contributed to re-signifying the trade as part of students’ life projects. The study concludes that the proposed strategy is pedagogically sound, replicable, and relevant, as it integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and social commitment. Extension education thus emerges as an emancipatory process that dignifies the trade and fosters student protagonism within Cuban TVE