pp. 119-142

This article, based on participant observation, a selection of interviews and analysis of administrative data, looks into the effects of the normal running of school on the development of student career guidance in secondary education. The article shows that career guidance methods are rather vague for working-class parents and students, and create a feeling of suspicion and skepticism. To a large extent, the careers chosen are the result of the conjunction between structural characteristics of the school and collective action. More precisely, the career choice depends on the number of places available in the different school programmes and on interaction between the school advisors and the users. The documentation collected leads to, an analysis where the definition of a school career by the student is different le the career guidance generally proposed by the school.