Resumen
La noción de trayectoria se ha vuelto central para comprender las transiciones juveniles en sistemas educativos crecientemente masificados y desiguales, pero su uso en la literatura es heterogéneo y a menudo poco explícito. El estudio desarrolla una revisión sistemática y analítica de investigaciones empíricas sobre juventudes y educación formal que emplean el concepto de trayectoria, con el doble propósito de mapear sus usos teórico-metodológicos y proponer una definición integradora. Se aplicó la guía PRISMA a búsquedas en bases de datos internacionales, utilizando combinaciones booleanas vinculadas a trayectorias, educación y juventud. Se seleccionaron cuarenta artículos que abordan trayectorias educativas o formativo-laborales en contextos institucionales de educación secundaria o posobligatoria. Los resultados muestran, en primer lugar, una polisemia estructurada en torno a dos grandes familias de usos: trayectorias como secuencias de estados u «itinerarios» reconstruidos longitudinalmente y trayectorias como posiciones o rumbos tipificados en el espacio social. En segundo lugar, se observa una articulación desigual entre marcos del curso de vida, enfoques de capitales y teorías de agencia, que tienden a privilegiar bien la dimensión estructural, bien la subjetiva, con escasa integración entre niveles ecológicos. A partir de este análisis se propone una definición de trayectorias como procesos vitales de construcción, producción y reproducción de posiciones educativas y laborales en el tiempo, situados en entramados institucionales y relacionales específicos. La revisión sugiere criterios para un uso más preciso del concepto y orienta futuras operacionalizaciones comparativas.
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