Reflexões E Práticas Investigativas: Qualidade Da Educação Superior

QUALIDADE DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR:
QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION:

REFLECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIVE PRACTICES
QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION SERIES
SRIE QUALIDADE NA EDUCAO SUPERIOR
Observatrio da Educao CAPES/INEP
Marlia Costa Morosini
Organizadora
REFLEXES E PRTICAS
INVESTIGATIVAS
Instituto Nacional de Estudos e
Pesquisas Educacionais Ansio Teixeira
____________________________________________________
QUALIDADE NA EDUCAO SUPERIOR:
REFLEXES E PRTICAS INVESTIGATIVAS
____________________________________________________

Chanceler
Dom Dadeus Grings
Reitor
Joaquim Clotet
Vice-Reitor
Evilzio Teixeira
Conselho Editorial
Ana Maria Lisboa de Mello
Bettina Steren dos Santos
Eduardo Campos Pellanda
Elaine Turk Faria
rico Joo Hammes
Gilberto Keller de Andrade
Helenita Rosa Franco
Ir. Armando Luiz Bortolini
Jane Rita Caetano da Silveira
Jorge Luis Nicolas Audy Presidente
Jurandir Malerba
Lauro Kopper Filho
Luciano Klckner
Nuncia Maria S. de Constantino
Renato Tetelbom Stein
Ruth Maria Chitt Gauer
EDIPUCRS
Jernimo Carlos Santos Braga Diretor
Jorge Campos da Costa Editor-Chefe
Marilia Costa Morosini
(Org.)
_______________________________________
QUALIDADE NA EDUCAO SUPERIOR:
REFLEXES E PRTICAS INVESTIGATIVAS
_______________________________________
Quality in Higher Education Series
Srie Qualidade da Educao Superior
Observatrio da Educao CAPES/INEP
v. 3
Porto Alegre, 2011
RIES
OBSERVATRIO DE EDUCAO
Instituto Nacional de Estudos e
Pesquisas Educacionais Ansio Teixeira
EDIPUCRS, 2011
Giovani Domingos
dos autores
Rodrigo Valls e Gabriela Viale Pereira

Q1 Quality in higher education : refections and investigative practices
= Qualidade na educao superior : refexes e prticas
investigativas [recurso eletrnico] / organizadora, Marilia
Costa Morosini. Dados eletrnicos. Porto Alegre :
EDIPUCRS, 2011.
461 p. (Srie Qualidade da Educao Superior ; 3)
Modo de Acesso: <http://www.pucrs.br/edipucrs>
ISBN 978-85-397-0136-0 (on-line)
Textos apresentados na Conference on quality in higher
education; indicators and challenges ocorrido em outubro de 2010
na PUCRS em Porto Alegre.
1. Educao Superior. 2. Educao Qualidade. I. Morosini,
Marilia Costa. II. Ttulo: Qualidade na educao superior.
III. Srie.
CDD 378
TODOS OS DIREITOS RESERVADOS. Proibida a reproduo total ou parcial, por qualquer meio ou processo, especialmente por sistemas grficos,
microflmicos, fotogrficos, reprogrficos, fonogrficos, videogrficos. Vedada a memorizao e/ou a recuperao total ou parcial, bem como a incluso de
qualquer parte desta obra em qualquer sistema de processamento de dados. Essas proibies aplicam-se tambm s caractersticas grficas da obra e sua
editorao. A violao dos direitos autorais punvel como crime (art. 184 e pargrafos, do Cdigo Penal), com pena de priso e multa, conjuntamente com
busca e apreenso e indenizaes diversas (arts. 101 a 110 da Lei 9.610, de 19.02.1998, Lei dos Direitos Autorais).
Scientifc Committee/Comit Cientfco:
Prof Dr. Cleoni Barboza Fernandes - PUCRS
Prof Dr. Denise Leite - UFRGS
Prof Dr. Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco - UFRGS
Prof Dr. Maria Isabel da Cunha - UNISINOS
Prof Dr. Marilia Costa Morosini - PUCRS
Prof Dr. Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia - UFSM
Technical Publishing/Editorao Tcnica:
Cecilia Luiza Broilo - PD PUCRS
Apoio Tcnico/ Technical Support:
Silvia Fernanda Rodrigues Viegas Kuckartz - PUCRS
Livia Lima Ferreira - Bolsista IC - PUCRS
Camilla Teixeira - Bolsista AT/CNPq
Marja Leo Braccini - Bolsista CAPES/UNISINOS
SUMRIO
Presentation ........................................................................................... 9
Apresentao ...................................................................................... 20
PART I / PARTE I
Globalization, Regionalization and Quality of Higher Education
Globalizao, Regionalizao e Qualidade da Educao Superior
Constructing risk management of HE sector through reputational
risk management of institutions ......................................................... 32
Roger Dale
Construo do gerenciamento de riscos do setor da Educao
Superior atravs do gerenciamento de riscos de reputao das
instituies .......................................................................................... 53
Roger Dale
Quality and Higher Education: tendencies and uncertainties .......... 76
Qualidade e Educao Superior: tendncias e incertezas .............. 87
Construction of Knowledge about Quality in Higher Education ...... 98
Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco
Construo de Conhecimento acerca da Qualidade na Gesto
da Educao Superior ...................................................................... 130
PART II / PARTE II
International Perspectives of Quality in Higher Education
Perspectivas Internacionais da Qualidade da Educao Superior
Quality with diversity: the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan .................. 164
Patricia Somers
Miriam Pan
Soncia Reagins-Lilly
Qualidade com diversidade: o Plano dos dez por cento melhores
do Texas ............................................................................................. 172
Patricia Somers
Miriam Pan
The reconceptualization of competence: competence as synonym
for organizational, professional and institutional success .............. 181
Carolina Silva Sousa
Reconceptualizao da competncia como sucesso
organizacional, profssional e institucional .................................... 188
Quality of higher education and informational competence .......... 195
Gloria Marciales Vivas
La calidad de la educacin superior y la competncia
informacional .................................................................................... 213
PART III / PARTE III
Nacional Perspectives of Quality in Higher Education
Perspectivas Nacionais da Qualidade da Educao Superior
Research Indicators in Education .................................................. 234
Elizabeth Macedo
Clarilza Prado de Sousa
Indicadores de Pesquisa em Educao ........................................... 252
Elizabeth Macedo
Quality indicators and performance in research and graduate
studies ................................................................................................ 270
Jorge Lus Nicolas Audy
Edimara Mezzomo Luciano
Qualidade e desempenho na pesquisa e na ps-graduao: em
busca de um modelo de avaliao estratgico ............................... 281
Indicators of Pedagogical Innovation in the University.................. 293
Denise Leite
Cleoni Maria Barboza Fernandes
Indicadores de Inovao Pedaggica na Universidade ................. 303
Denise Leite
Quality indicators and the relationship of teaching with
research and extension ..................................................................... 313
Maria Isabel da Cunha
Indicadores de qualidade da relao do ensino com a pesquisa
e a extenso ....................................................................................... 327
Professional teaching development: quality indicators of higher
education ........................................................................................... 341
Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia
Doris Pires Vargas Bolzan
Adriana Moreira da Rocha Maciel
Indicadores de qualidade e desenvolvimento profssional docente . 361
Motivational theories and indicators in higher education .............. 382
Indicadores de qualidade e motivaao discente ............................ 395
PART IV / PARTE IV
Challenges of Quality in Higher Education
Desafos da Qualidade da Educao Superior
Challenges facing universities in a globalising world ................... 410
Susan L. Robertson
Desafos enfrentados por universidades em um mundo em
globalizao ...................................................................................... 430
Susan L. Robertson
Sobre os autores ............................................................................... 452
PRESENTATION
T
he South-Brazilian Network of Researchers in Higher Education
(RIES - Rede Sul-brasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior),
recognized as a Nucleus of Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation by
CNPq/FAPERGS/PRONEX has as its main objective to confgure higher education
as a feld of research production in Higher Education Institutions. This objective is
constituted by the clarifcation of production in the feld of knowledge and by the
consolidation of the network of researchers in the area.
In its trajectory, RIES is also recognized as an Education Observatory
CAPES/INEP/MEC. In turn, the research program Education Observatory aims
to develop studies and research in the area of education. Its objective is to stimulate
the growth of academic production and graduate human resource training, at the
masters, doctorate and post-doctorate levels by means of specifc funding.
In the case of RIES the Education Observatory CAPES/INEP
involves four graduate programs in Education belonging to the following
universities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul PUCRS, UFRGS, UFSM and
UNISINOS, and their focus is the Quality of Higher Education. Thus, since
2006, formally, the main project of RIES is the Quality of Higher Education.
This focus has been the key theme of studies, practices and contemporary
policies. However, more than certainties, we have some concerns about
the quality of the university institution and about the relation between
Innovation the soul of the university, and management. In September of
this year, at PUCRS, in a conference on Responsible conduct in research
and teaching, Prof. Miguel Zabalza, from the University of Santiago de
Compostela pointed out:
The university, our university, was brilliant and transforming
only at the moments in which it was innovative. To the
extent to which legislations and norms were added, the
extent to which bureaucracy has taken over the processes,
the extent to which a discourse of the politically correct
has been established and departures from it are penalized,
the extent to which the faculty were limited to fulflling
their obligations, the university stopped being a space
for debate and creation. Except for honorable exceptions,
the impulse towards social transformation, towards
intellectual renewal and artistic and technical creation is
not found these days in the university except for in other
social scenarios.
MOROSINI, M. C. (Org.) 10
This question and others which identify evaluations on a large scale,
universal measures and institutional bureaucratic routines present in the
globalization process led RIES to return to the study of the Quality of Higher
Education. In this context, the Observatory is publishing a Quality of Higher
Education Series Education Observatory, composed of six books resulting from
the seminars carried out by the RIES Network.
Quality of Higher Education, Innovation and University (v.1)
constitutes the frst book of the series Education and Quality of Higher Education
and is published (in print and digital formats, in English and Portuguese), in
2008, by EdiPUCRS, resulting from the International Seminar of the same name
and organized by Jorge Audy (PUCRS) and Marlia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
This book considers that Innovation and Quality in the
University constitute a current and pressing topic in the
knowledge society. It worries, questions and generates
projects and initiatives in the pursuit of excellence. Both
concepts are multidimensional, complex and diffcult to
defne, nevertheless, they are the object of clarifcation and
constant refection. They demand a planning, action and
evaluation process. They are dynamic ideas that should
be adapted to charters and changeable situations for they
depend on socio-cultural and economic factors. They involve
an axiological connotation, since they aim at the excellence
of planning, of means and, especially, of results. Education
for sustainable development enables, on the one hand, the
permeation of the entire educational process helping in
making decisions which take into account ecology, justice
and economics of all people and also of future generations.
(http://www3.pucrs.br/portal/page/portal/edipucrs/Capa/
PubEletrSeries).
Quality of Higher Education: the University as a place of education
(v.2) constitutes the second production of the Quality of Higher Education Series
resulting from the Seminar of the same name, which took place at UFSM. The
book was organized by Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia with the collaboration of Doris
Pires Vargas Bolzan and Adriana Maciel, our colleagues of the graduate program
in education at the Federal University of Santa Maria.
As the title itself states, the university as a place of education limits
itself to the examination of the scientifc feld and refects on academic
governance, the realities found, not only in Brazil, but also in other territories
resulting from the internationalization process. It refects, especially, on the
Quality in Higher Education: Refections and investigative practices/Qualidade Na Educao Superior: refexes e prticas investigativas
11
training of beginner professors, their professional development, the discourses
and practices of professors and students, as well as utopias and challenges
regarding a new university.
Quality of Higher Education: refections and investigative practices
(v. 3), presented here, constitutes the third production of the Quality of Higher
Education Series, basically resulting from the international seminar that took
place in October of 2010, at PUCRS
1
. This book was organized by Marilia Costa
Morosini and addresses the tendencies and uncertainties regarding the quality of
higher education in risk administration contexts for university reputations, national
and international experiences of quality of higher education, such as cases in the
USA, the European Union, specifcally the Bologna Process and Latin American
countries. They are limited to quality indicators for different university issues
teaching, research, innovation, training and professional development as well as
the methodology constructed for the identifcation of these indicators. The book is
concluded with refections on the challenges to be faced.
Quality of Higher Education: dimensions and indicators (v. 4)
constitutes the fourth production of the Quality of Higher Education Series also
resulting from the International Seminar in October of 2010 and organized by
Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco and Marilia Costa Morosini. It consists of articles,
research results and research group members of RIES and which belong to the
Higher Education Observatory research program. They are senior professors and
professors in training as well as SI grant holding students to masters students,
doctorate students and post-doctorate students in their professional development.
Ultimately, there are innumerous ramifcations of RIES, which were originated
by the network or, they originated it.
Quality of Higher Education: international research groups in
dialogue (v. 5) will constitute the ffth production of the Quality of Higher
Education Series, resulting from the International Seminar, at PUCRS, in
December of 2011. It was organized by Maria Isabel da Cunha. It is based on
the consideration that our universities are found in processes of paradigmatic
changes, fostered by the sociocultural demands of reconfguration of the
production methods of scientifc and technological knowledge as well as by
the external demands of the globalized world. Aiming to promote a dialogue
between the research groups from Brazil with international research groups
(USA, Mexico, EU, LA) concerned with the quality of higher education
(http://www.pucrs.br/evento).
1
Conference on Quality in Higher Education; Indicators and Challenges. Porto Alegre, October 15-16, 2010.
Quality of Higher Education: evaluation and implications for the
future of the university (v.6) will constitute the sixth production of the Quality
of Higher Education Series resulting from the X International Seminar The
Quality of Higher Education: international research groups in dialogue, at
PUCRS, on December 5
th
and 6
th
of 2011. It was organized by Denise Leite and
Cleoni Barboza Fernandes, with the collaboration of Ceclia Luiza Broilo.
In the seminar cited above, apart from the groups of the four universities,
it sought to broaden the socialization of the production of the RIES network to
the scientifc community in general. In other words, researchers and students
from other HEIs presented their research on Higher Education. This sixth book
is dedicated to giving visibility to this rich production.
With the Quality of Higher Education Series the research program
and its path over six years took form. In the frst books, discussions of a more
theoretical nature are presented overlapping national and international positions
and preparing the research group to approach the challenge of producing
indicators for Brazilian higher education. Afterwards, the RIES network presents
indicators of higher education, in the national perspective and, in some cases,
regional perspective. The research groups that are part of the Network present
their studies on quality in innumerous cases. Included in this book as well are
considerations and experiences of an international nature. In the ffth book, the
RIES Network presents results of their indicators to be discussed by critical
international observers. Finally, in this cycle is knowledge production on quality
in Higher Education. The RIES Network, in this series provides the visibility of
innumerous other productions on the topic infuenced by the Observatory itself,
but also, in a two-way street, which infuence the Observatory.
It is still a challenge, which will briefy occur, to put into practice in the
Brazilian reality, the indicators improved by critical international observers. This
will be the seventh volume of the Quality of Higher Education Series.
13
Graph 1: HIGHER EDUCATION OBSERVATORY CAPES/INEP
The present book Quality of Higher Education: refections and
research practices (v.3) constitutes one of the productions from the Quality
of Higher Education Series and refects on the performance indicators of the
Brazilian higher education system and international indicators relative to the
quality of higher education.
The book is divided into four parts: Globalization, Regionalization
and Quality of Higher Education; International perspectives on Quality of
Higher Education; National perspectives on Quality of Higher Education; and
Challenges of Quality of Higher Education.
The frst part discusses the socioeconomic panorama in which the
quality of higher education is being produced and its contemporary tendencies.
The following chapters are included in this part:
Chapter 1 - Constructing risk management of HE sector through
reputational risk management of institutions; causes, mechanisms and
consequences, by Roger Ian Dale, of Bristol University,
This paper is on the proliferation of quality indicators
and the challenges they represent for higher education,
and especially their assembly into league tables that rank
University performance in various terms, as a form of
institutional reputation management. This institutional
reputation management is regarded as an element of wider
risk management mechanisms that have been imposed on
Universities over the past quarter of a century, and one of
the means by which the risk management of the HE sector
is achieved. It may be seen as associated to a shift from
the kind of audit regime originally rooted in New Public
Management, when it took the form of protection of the
states fscal risk in funding individual institutions, to a
vaguer quality regime. The paper describes the rise of
reputational management and its consequences. While
recognizing the breadth of areas affected by reputational
riskwith respect to students, local populations, national
and regional governments, etcit focuses in particular on the
nature of the quantifcation of reputational risk in the form
of league tables, and its consequences for the integrity of the
HE sector, the purposes and governance of institutions, the
shape and prominence of disciplines, the means of valuing
academic knowledge, and the collegial behavior of individual
academics. Such quantifcation also constitutes Universities
as competitive entities, driven as much by international as by
national reputational markers, and thus also seen as refecting
national competitiveness in a global knowledge economy.
Chapter 2 Quality and Higher Education: tendencies and
uncertainties, written by Marlia Costa Morosini, of PUCRS, asserts that the
topic of quality in higher education continues to be in the spotlight in the national
and international panorama, but now refecting the uncertainties regarding the
certainty of an isomorphic undisputed concept of quality of higher education.
The author starts from the principle that Quality is a construct that overlaps in
societies and consequently the paradigms for understanding them and the role
of higher education in the construction of a better and sustainable world. The
article analyzes previous articles on the topic and analyzes the trajectory covered
regarding the concept of university quality and its propositional sources.
Chapter 3 Construction of knowledge on quality in higher
education, written by Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco, from UFRGS, proposes that
contemporary science in the face of the complexity of the problems that affict
man, his environment and institutions, has been pursuing the dialogue beyond
its disciplinary feld, opening spaces without precedents to distinct possibilities
of capturing the surrounding reality and building knowledge. From this
perspective, this work has the objective of confguring possibilities in the process
of knowledge production on quality in university management, aiming to adding
features of the high complexity context in which higher education and science
15
are inserted. It signals questions that have a constant presence, today, in the
categorical construction and in the circumscription of the sources of references
to assess quality in the management of higher education and present mediating
methodological notes of constructive possibilities of knowledge on the topic.
In the conclusions are highlighted the importance of surpassing the qualitative-
quantitative dichotomy in the construction of knowledge on quality, the valuing
of the interdisciplinary dialogue and the pursuit of temporary consensuses,
keeping in mind quality as a university policy.
The second part of the book International perspectives of Quality of
Higher Education addresses examples from the European Union, from the USA
and Latin America.
Chapter 4 The reconceptualization of competence as organizational,
professional and institutional success, written by Carolina Silva Souza, from the
University of Algarve, focuses on the European Union, emphasizing the concept
of competence in the Portuguese institutional context. Moreover, it presents
progress, innovation, interculturality, singularity in the university enterprise
as increased commitment of the people upon facing the growing and complex
university challenges. In the face of this refection, the author highlights that
various organizations and institutional circles from the most diverse parts of the
world, upon coming together around a problematic reality, has been establishing
various and concerted objectives, so that everyone can respond actively, critically
and conscientiously in the various felds of their intervention, perceiving the
importance attributed to educational, professional and economic systems.
Chapter 5 Quality with Diversity: The Texas Top Ten Percent Plan,
written by Patricia Somers, PhD Associate Professor from the University of Texas
at Austin, Miriam Pan, PhD from the Federal University of Parana and Soncia
Reagins-Lilly, PhD, Dean of Students, Senior Executive Vice President and
Senior Lecturer from the University of Texas at Austin analyze the history and
success of the 10% Plan of the University of Texas which enabled an affrmative
action with quality in the USA.
Despite its vexed history of race relations, the United States
embraced affrmative action in higher education in the 1960s.
Due to a number of concerns, affrmative action policy has
been changed in the last decade. In response to legal challenges,
affrmative action is permitted, but the justifcation is more
complex. Second, in response to political opposition, the
outcomes of affrmative action have been studied. This chapter
describes affrmative action in undergraduate admissions.
Chapter 6 Informational competence and the quality of higher
education, written by Gloria Marciales Vivas, focuses on information competence
considered a basic category of analysis, within the criteria of quality of higher
education which the universities should account for as an expression of their social
commitment to training human capital and to giving support to social development.
The third part National Perspectives of Quality of Higher Education
addresses examples aimed at the Brazilian reality, considering pedagogical
innovation, the relations between the university functions, teacher training,
research, the student motivation, among others.
Chapter 7 Research indicators in education, written by Elisabeth
Macedo from UERJ and Clarilza Prado, from PUCSP, debates the policy of
graduate studies and the area of education, understanding it, based on
E. Laclau and C. Mouffe, as the incessant politization
inhabited by the undecidability. Analyzing recent texts
produced in the evaluation process of the programs in the
scope of CAPES, it is considered possible to understand the
temporary training of consensuses on notions such as quality
of graduate studies understood as a signifcant void flled by
means of dominant associations. The authors, after a brief
review of the system based on the results of the 2004-2006
triennial, analyze two aspects that they consider central to
fulflling the notion of quality: the organization of programs
around lines of research and knowledge production/
dissemination. With respect to this organization, they defend
that lines can be understood as an expression of the way
in which the programs are thinking about the very feld of
education, in an exercise that involves interdisciplinarity and
fexibility. Regarding knowledge production/dissemination,
they disagree with the current thesis that the evaluation
of graduate studies has been leading the area to unbridled
productivism, understanding it as corrective nostalgia.
Chapter 8 Quality indicators in research and graduate studies,
written by Jorge Lus Nicolas Audy and Edimara Mezzomo Luciano, from
PUCRS, claim that the constant pursuit of quality is the main discriminating
factor of academic excellence in the best Universities, and that, in this process,
evaluation performs a fundamental role.
The article points out the need to develop an evaluation
model based on the indicators and measures of quality
17
and performance, which are based on modern models of
organizational evaluation (BSC and Performance Prism),
customized to the realities and demands of university
organizations, especially in the area of science, technology
and innovation (S,T&I). (http://www.pucrs.br/edipucrs/
inovacaoequalidade.pdf)
Chapter 9 Indicators of pedagogical innovation in the University,
written by Denise Leite, from UFRGS and Cleoni Maria Barboza Fernandes, from
PUCRS, claim that the article is a result of an aftermath of different productions
and pedagogical experiences by the authors. It discusses the relations between the
university, society and quality seen through the flter of pedagogical innovation.
The objective is to suggest categories of quality indicators for the topic of
pedagogical innovation in University and Society relations, a subjective topic,
which is not totally defned or clear. It considers that pedagogical innovation can
also be seen as a quality indicator of the university. The methodology adopted
was a qualitative approach with a theoretical review of studies and research
carried out by the authors.
Chapter 10 Quality indicators and the relation of teaching with
research and extension in the Brazilian university, written by Maria Isabel
da Cunha, from UNISINOS, claims that in Brazil, like in other countries, the
inseparability of teaching, research and extension constitute a conceptual matrix
of quality in that of the University. However, the unquestionable acceptance of
this premise is not accompanied by a more intense refection of its meaning
and operationalization. Hearing Brazilian intellectual specialists constitutes an
investigative alternative to conceptually developing the topic. Four dimensions
of the conceptual perspective and the practice of the inseparability of teaching,
research and extension were registered and serve as an analytical axis of the
refections of the article.
In Chapter 11 Quality indicators and professional teacher
development, written by Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia, Doris Pires Vargas
Bolzan and Adriana Moreira da Rocha Maciel, from the Federal University of
Santa Maria UFSM, explores quality indicators in subjective and interpretive
dimensions, as well as regarding markers of the process one wishes to evaluate:
the training and professional development of working professors in Higher
Education. The authors part from the conception of quality in Higher Education
to discuss the professional quality of professorship. In pursuit of possible
alternatives, they emphasize the need to think critically about the established
educational policies or those in process, opting for educational strategies that
value the professional nature and the pedagogical excellence of professorship,
since it is in the integration of these two dimensions that the specifcity of the
teaching profession is established. It is necessary to understand professional
training and development as processes that involve professor efforts and
also the initiative of the institutions to create conditions for this process to
be implemented, enabling, this way, the construction of professorship, from
pedagogical excellence, and from the effective knowledge of being a professor.
In Chapter 12 Quality indicators of higher education and student
motivation, written by Bettina Steren dos Santos, from PUCRS, considers
motivation to be an indispensable element for quality in higher education. The
article presents indicators and variables of academic motivation, having the student
perspective as a focus. The theoretical immersion in the article explored four
different theoretical conceptions: the Theory of Self-Determination, the Theory of
Goals, the Theory of the Perspective of Future Time and the Sociocultural Theory.
Based on these conceptions, apart from other contributions from the literature,
it was possible to elaborate, in a propositional nature, different motivational
indicators, each of them including some variables.
The fourth part of this book Challenges of Quality of Higher
Education, constituted by Chapter 13 Challenges facing universities in
a globalizing world, written by Susan Robertson, from Bristol University,
examines fve key challenges facing 21
st
Century universities as they confront
and manage important geo-political, economic and social transformations
taking place in global, national and regional economies.
These challenges include: (i) the pressure to engage in
regionalising and globalising higher education projects
as solutions to problems (internal governance issues;
sustainability issues; global challenges) whilst ensuring
local relevance, managing charges of imperialism and
the valorisation of the regional and the global over the
national interest; (ii) widening access whilst managing
aspirations and the loss of value of credentials given the
positional good nature of higher education credentials;
(iii) the rapidly growing role of the (transnational) for-
proft sector in delivering components of higher education
provision and issues of quality and accountability; (iv) the
pedagogical challenges inherent in massifcation, a focus on
competencies, entrepreneurship, and relevance to industry
whilst ensuring the development of critical future citizens;
19
(v) the changing role of the public intellectual and production
of public knowledge in universities, in the face of increased
private sector activity, the role universities in commercial
activity (consultancy, IP, consumer led provision). An
underlying thread in all of these challenges is the dominance
of economic theories (Human Capital Theory; New Growth
Theory). I will argue that we need to develop social and
political arguments around the value of higher education to
ensure quality higher education in the future.
Based on the belief in shared governance, it is very important to register
the special acknowledgements of the RIES Network coordinators, who always
contributed towards the consolidation of the network: Prof. Dr Cleoni Maria
Barboza Fernandes (PUCRS), Prof. Dr. Denise Leite (UFRGS); Prof. Dr. Maria
Estela Dal Pai Franco (UFRGS); Prof. Dr. Maria Isabel Cunha (UNISINOS); e
Prof. Dr. Slvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia (UFSM).
Porto Alegre, 11 years of RIES.
Coordinator of RIES South-Brazilian Network of Higher Education
Researchers
Spring of 2011
APRESENTAO
A
RIES, Rede Sul-brasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior,
reconhecida como Ncleo de Excelncia em Cincia, Tecnologia e
Inovao pelo CNPq/FAPERGS/PRONEX tem como objetivo maior confgurar
a educao superior como campo de produo de pesquisa nas Instituies de
Ensino Superior. Este objetivo se constitui pela clarifcao da produo no
campo de conhecimento e pela consolidao da rede de pesquisadores na rea.
Em sua trajetria a RIES reconhecida tambm como Observatrio
da Educao CAPES/INEP/MEC. Por sua vez, o programa de pesquisa -
Observatrio da Educao visa ao desenvolvimento de estudos e investigaes
na rea de educao. Tem como objetivo estimular o crescimento da produo
acadmica e a formao de recursos humanos ps-graduados, nos nveis de
mestrado, doutorado e ps-doutorado por meio de fnanciamento especfco.
No caso da RIES Observatrio de Educao CAPES/INEP envolve
quatro programas de ps-graduao em Educao pertencentes as seguintes
universidades gachas PUCRS, UFRGS, UFSM e UNISINOS, e seu foco
a Qualidade da Educao Superior. Assim, desde 2006, formalmente, a
RIES tem como projeto maior a Qualidade da Educao Superior. Este foco
tem sido mote de estudos, prticas e polticas contemporneas. Mas, mais
do que certezas temos algumas inquietudes sobre a qualidade da instituio
universitria e sobre o atrelamento da Inovao alma da universidade,
gesto. Em setembro deste ano, na PUCRS, em conferncia sobre Conducta
responsable en investigacin y docencia, o Prof. Miguel Zabalza, da
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela destacava:
La universidad, nuestra universidad, ha sido brillante
y transformadora solo en los momentos en que ha sido
innovadora. A medida que han ido incrementndose las
legislaciones y la normativa, a medida que la burocracia
se ha ido adueando de los procesos, a medida que se
ha ido fjando un discurso de lo polticamente correcto y
penalizando las desviaciones del mismo, a medida que
el profesorado se ha limitado a cumplir sus obligaciones,
la universidad ha dejado de ser un espacio de debate y
creacin. Salvo honrosas excepciones, el impulso hacia
la transformacin social, hacia la renovacin intelectual y
creacin artstica y tcnica no se encuentra hoy en da en la
universidad sino en otros escenarios sociales.
21
Este questionamento e outros que identifcam avaliaes de grande
escala, mtricas universais e rotinas burocrticas institucionais presentes no
processo de globalizao conduziram a RIES a voltar-se ao estudo da Qualidade
da Educao Superior. Neste contexto o Observatrio est publicando a Srie
Qualidade da Educao Superior- Observatrio da Educao, composta por
seis livros decorrentes de seminrios realizados pela Rede RIES.
Qualidade da Educao Superior, Inovao e Universidade (v.1)
constituiu-se no primeiro livro da serie Educao e Qualidade da Educao
Superior e est publicado (impresso e ebook, ingls e portugus), em 2008, pela
EdPUCRS, resultante de Seminrio Internacional de igual titulo e organizado
por Jorge Audy (PUCRS) e Marilia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
Este livro considera que Inovao e qualidade na
Universidade constitui um tema atual e premente na sociedade
do conhecimento. Ele preocupa, questiona e gera projetos e
iniciativas na busca da excelncia. Ambos os conceitos so
multidimensionais, complexos e difceis de defnir, porm,
objeto de esclarecimento e de constante refexo. Exigem
um processo de planejamento, de ao e de avaliao.
So idias dinmicas que devem adaptar-se a marcos e a
situaes mutveis ao dependerem de fatores scio-culturais
e econmicos. Envolvem uma conotao axiolgica, pois
visam a excelncia do planejamento, dos meios e, de modo
especial, dos resultados. A educao para o desenvolvimento
sustentvel permite, por outra parte, permear todo o processo
educativo ajudando na tomada de decises que levem em
conta a ecologia, a justia e a economia de todos os povos e
tambm das geraes futuras. (http://www3.pucrs.br/portal/
page/portal/edipucrs/Capa/PubEletrSeries).
Qualidade da Educao Superior: a Universidade como lugar
de formao (v.2) constituiu-se na segunda produo da Serie Qualidade
da Educao Superior resultante do Seminrio de igual nome ocorrido
na UFSM. A organizao do livro de Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia,
com a colaborao de Doris Pires Vargas Bolzan e Adriana Maciel,
nossas companheiras do programa de ps-graduao em educao da
Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.
Como o prprio titulo afrma A universidade como lugar de formao, se
detm no exame do campo cientifco e refete sobre a governana acadmica, as
realidades encontradas, no s no Brasil mas em outras territrios decorrentes do
processo de internacionalizao, refete, em especial, sobre a formao de professores
iniciantes, o seu desenvolvimento profssional, os discursos e prticas de professores
e alunos, bem como utopias e desafos no tocante a uma nova universidade.
Qualidade da Educao Superior: refexes e prticas investigativas
(v.3), neste momento apresentado, constitui-se na terceira produo da Serie
Qualidade da Educao Superior resultado, basicamente, do Seminrio
internacional ocorrido em outubro de 2010, na PUCRS
2
. A organizao deste
livro de Marilia Costa Morosini e aborda as tendncias e incertezas quanto a
qualidade da educao superior em contextos de administrao de risco para a
reputao universitria, experincias nacionais e internacionais de qualidade da
educao superior, como cases dos USA, da Unio Europia, especifcamente do
Processo de Bolonha e de paises da Amrica Latina. Se detm em indicadores
de qualidade para diferentes questes universitrias ensino, pesquisa,
inovao, formao e desenvolvimento profssional de professores bem como na
metodologia construda para a identifcao desses indicadores. Finaliza o livro
refexes sobre os desafos a serem enfrentados.
Qualidade da Educao Superior: dimenses e indicadores (v.4)
constitui-se na quarta produo da Serie Qualidade da Educao Superior
resultado tambm do Seminrio Internacional de outubro de 2010 e organizado
por Marilia Costa Morosini e Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco. Est constitudo pelos
artigos, resultados de pesquisa de grupos de investigao integrantes da RIES e
pertencentes ao programa de pesquisa Observatrio de educao superior. So
professores seniors e professores em processo de formao bem como aprendizes
desde os bolsistas de IC at mestrandos, doutorandos e ps doutorandos em seu
desenvolvimento profssional. Enfm so as inmeras ramifcaes da RIES, que
foram originadas pela rede ou, a ela, deram origem.
Qualidade da Educao Superior: grupos investigativos
internacionais em dilogo (v.5) constituir-se- na quinta produo da Serie
Qualidade da Educao Superior resultado do Seminrio Internacional, na
PUCRS, em dezembro de 2011. Sua organizao de Maria Isabel da Cunha.
Parte da considerao que nossas universidades se encontram em processos de
mudanas paradigmticas, fomentadas tanto pelas exigncias socioculturais de
reconfgurao dos modos de produo do conhecimento cientfco e tecnolgico,
quanto pelas demandas externas do mundo globalizado. Visando promover
um dilogo entre os grupos de pesquisa do Brasil com grupos investigativos
internacionais (USA, Mxico, UE, AL) preocupados com a qualidade de
educao superior. (http://www.pucrs.br/evento).
2
Conference on Quality in Higher Education; Indicators and Challenges. Porto Alegre, October 15-16, 2010.
23
Qualidade da Educao Superior: avaliao e implicaes para
o futuro da universidade (v.6) constituir-se- na sexta produo da Serie
Qualidade da Educao Superior resultado do X Seminrio Internacional
A Qualidade da Educao Superior: grupos investigativos internacionais em
dilogo, na PUCRS, em 05 e 06 de dezembro de 2011. Sua organizao de
responsabilidade de Denise Leite e Ceclia Luiza Broilo.
No seminrio acima citado alm dos grupos das quatro universidades
buscou-se ampliar a socializao da produo da rede RIES comunidade
cientifca de forma geral. Em outras palavras, pesquisadores e aprendizes de
outras IES apresentaram suas pesquisas sobre Educao Superior. Este sexto
livro dedicado a dar visibilidade a essa rica produo.
Com a Srie Qualidade da Educao Superior consubstancia-se o
programa de pesquisa e sua caminhada ao longo de seis anos. Nos livros iniciais
apresentam-se as discusses de carter mais terico imbricando posturas nacionais
e internacionais e preparando o grupo de pesquisa para se lanar ao desafo de
produo de indicadores para a educao superior brasileira. Aps, a rede RIES
apresenta indicadores de educao superior, na perspectiva nacional e, em alguns
casos, regional. Os grupos de pesquisa que integram a Rede apresentam seus
estudos de qualidade em inmeros cases. Integra este livro tambm consideraes
e experincias de carter internacional. No quinto livro a Rede RIES apresenta
resultados de seus indicadores para serem discutidos por observadores crticos
internacionais. Finalmente neste ciclo de produo de conhecimento sobre
qualidade na Educao Superior. A Rede RIES, nesta srie propicia a visibilidade de
inmeras outras produes sobre o tema infuenciadas pelo prprio Observatrio,
mas tambm, em mo de via dupla, infuenciadora do Observatrio.
Resta-nos, ainda como desafo, o que brevemente ocorrer, colocar em
prtica na realidade brasileira, os indicadores aprimorados pelos observadores
crticos internacionais. Ser este o stimo volume da Srie Qualidade da
Educao Superior.
Grfco 1: RIES E OBSERVATORIO DE EDUCAO SUPERIOR CAPES/INEP
O presente livro Qualidade da Educao Superior: refexes e
prticas investigativas (v.3) constitui uma das produes integrante da Serie
Qualidade da Educao Superior e refete sobre os indicadores de desempenho
do sistema de educao superior brasileiro e internacionais relativos qualidade
da educao superior.
A estruturao do livro se faz em quatro partes: Globalizao,
Regionalizao e Qualidade da Educao Superior; Perspectivas internacionais
da Qualidade da Educao Superior; Perspectivas nacionais da Qualidade da
Educao Superior; e Desafos da Qualidade da Educao Superior.
A primeira parte discute o panorama scio-econmico no qual a qualidade
da educao superior est sendo produzida e suas tendncias contemporneas.
Integram esta parte os seguintes captulos:
Capitulo 1 - Constructing risk management of HE sector through
reputational risk management of institutions; causes, mechanisms and
consequences, de Roger Ian Dale, da Universidade de Bristol,
This paper views the proliferation of quality indicators
and the challenges they represent for higher education,
and especially their assembly into league tables that rank
University performance in various terms, as a form of
institutional reputation management. This institutional
reputation management is regarded as one element of wider
risk management mechanisms that have been imposed on
Universities over the past quarter of a century, and one of
25
the means by which the risk management of the HE sector
is achieved. It may be seen as associated with a shift from
the kind of audit regimeoriginally rooted in New Public
Management, when it took the form of protection of the
states fscal risk in funding individual institutions, to a
vaguer quality regime. The paper describes the rise of
reputational management and its consequences. While
recognising the breadth of areas affected by reputational
riskwith respect to students, local populations, national
and regional governments, etcit focuses in particular on
the nature of the quantifcation of reputational risk in the
from of league tables, and its consequences for the integrity
of the HE sector, the purposes and governance of institutions,
the shape and prominence of disciplines, the means of
valorisation of academic knowledge, and the collegial
behaviour of individual academics. Such quantifcation also
constitutes Universities as competitive entities, driven as
much by international as by national reputational markers,
and seen thus as also refecting national competitiveness in
a global knowledge economy.
O Capitulo 2 - Qualidade e Educao Superior: tendncias e incertezas,
escrito por Marlia Costa Morosini, da PUCRS, afrma que o tema qualidade
na educao superior continua em grande destaque no panorama nacional e
internacional, mas agora refetindo as incertezas quanto certeza de um conceito de
qualidade da educao superior isomrfco inconteste. A autora parte do principio
que a Qualidade um construto imbricado s sociedades e conseqentemente aos
paradigmas de entendimento destas e do papel da educao superior na construo
de um mundo melhor e sustentvel. O artigo analisa artigos anteriores sobre o
tema e faz uma anlise da trajetria percorrida quanto ao conceito de qualidade
universitria e suas fontes propositivas.
O capitulo 3 - Construo do conhecimento sobre qualidade na
educao superior, escrito por Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco, da UFRGS prope
que a cincia contempornea em face da complexidade dos problemas que afigem
o homem, seu ambiente e instituies, tem buscado o dilogo alm de seu campo
disciplinar, abrindo espaos sem precedentes para distintas possibilidades de
capturar a realidade circundante e construir conhecimento. Sob tal perspectiva este
trabalho tem como objetivo confgurar possibilidades no processo de produo
do conhecimento sobre qualidade na gesto da universidade, buscando captar
traos do contexto de alta complexidade no qual se insere a educao superior
e a cincia. Sinaliza questes que tm presena constante, hoje, na construo
categorial e na circunscrio de fontes de indicativos para aferir a qualidade
na gesto da educao superior e apresenta apontamentos metodolgicos
mediadores de possibilidades construtivas do conhecimento sobre a temtica.
Nas concluses so destacadas a importncia de superar a dicotomia qualitativa
- quantitativa na construo do conhecimento sobre qualidade, a valorizao do
dilogo interdisciplinar e a busca de consensos provisrios, tendo em vista a
qualidade como poltica da universidade.
A segunda parte do livro - Perspectivas internacionais da Qualidade
da Educao Superior aborda exemplos da Unio Europia, dos USA e da
Amrica latina.
O capitulo 4 - Reconceptualizao da competncia como sucesso
organizacional, profssional e institucional, escrito por Carolina Silva Souza, da
Universidade do Algarve tem como foco a Unio Europia, destacando o conceito
de competncia no contexto institucional portugus. Alm disto, apresenta o
progresso, a inovao, a interculturalidade, a singularidade no empreendimento
universitrio como elevado empenhamento das pessoas ao enfrentarem os crescentes
e complexos desafos universitrios. Diante desta refexo a autora destaca que
vrios rgos e crculos institucionais das mais variadas partes do mundo ao se
reunirem em torno de uma realidade problemtica, tem fxado objetivos diversos
e concertados, para que todos possam responder ativa, crtica e conscientemente
nos vrios campos da sua interveno, percebendo-se a importncia atribuida aos
sistemas educativo, profssional e econmico.
O capitulo 5 - Quality with Diversity: The Texas Top Ten Percent
Plan, escrito por Patricia Somers, Ph.D. Associate Professor, University of
Texas at Austin, Miriam Pan, Ph.D., Federal University of Parana and Soncia
Reagins-Lilly, Ph.D., Dean of Students, Senior Executive Vice President and
Senior Lecturer da University of Texas at Austin analisa a histria e o sucesso do
Plano 10% da Universidade do Texas que possibilitou uma ao afrmativa com
qualidade nos USA.
Despite its vexed history of race relations, the United
States embraced affrmative action in higher education in
the 1960s. Due to a number of concerns, affrmative action
policy has been changed in the last decade. In response
to legal challenges, affrmative action is permitted, but
the justifcation is more complex. Second, in response to
political opposition, the outcomes of affrmative action have
been studied. This chapter describes affrmative action in
undergraduate admissions.
27
O capitulo 6 - La competncia informacional y la calidad de La
educacin superior, escrito por Gloria Marciales Vivas que dirige um olhar
sobre a competncia da informao considerada categoria de anlise base, dentro
dos critrios de qualidade do ensino superior da qual as universidades devem
dar conta como uma expresso do seu compromisso social para a formao de
capital humano e para dar suporte para o desenvolvimento social.
A terceira parte - Perspectivas Nacionais da Qualidade da Educao
Superior aborda exemplos voltados realidade brasileira, considerando a
inovao pedaggica, as relaes entre as funes universitrias, a formao de
professores, a pesquisa, a motivao dos discentes, entre outros.
O capitulo 7 - Indicadores de pesquisa em educao, escrito por
Elisabeth Macedo da UERJ e Clarilza Prado, da PUCSP debate a poltica de ps-
graduao a rea de educao, entendendo-a, a partir
de E. Laclau e C. Mouffe, como politizao incessante
habitada pela indecidibilidade. Analisando textos recentes
produzidos no processo de avaliao dos programas no
mbito da CAPES, considera possvel compreender a
formao provisria de consensos em torno de noes como
a qualidade da ps-graduao entendida como signifcante
vazio preenchido por meio de articulaes hegemnicas.
As autoras, aps um breve quadro do sistema a partir dos
resultados da avaliao do trinio 2004-2006, analisam
dois aspectos que julgam centrais para o preenchimento
da noo de qualidade: a articulao dos programas em
torno de linhas de pesquisa e a produo/ disseminao
do conhecimento. Em relao articulao, defendem
que as linhas podem ser entendidas como uma expresso
da forma como os programas esto pensando o prprio
campo da educao, num exerccio que tem envolvido
interdisciplinaridade e fexibilidade. Quanto produo/
disseminao do conhecimento, discordam de tese
corrente de que a avaliao da ps-graduao tem levado a
rea a um produtivismo desenfreado, entendendo-a como
nostalgia restauradora.
O capitulo 8 - Indicadores de Qualidade na pesquisa e na ps-
graduao, escrito por Jorge Lus Nicolas Audy e Edimara Mezzomo Luciano,
da PUCRS, afrmam que a busca constante da qualidade, o principal fator
discriminante da excelncia acadmica nas melhores Universidades. E que, neste
processo a avaliao desempenha papel fundamental.
O artigo aponta para a necessidade de desenvolver-se um
modelo de avaliao baseado em indicadores e mtricas de
qualidade e desempenho, que tenha por base os modernos
modelos de avaliao organizacionais (BSC e Performance
Prism), customizados para as realidades e demandas das
organizaes universitrias, em especial na rea de cincia,
tecnologia e inovao (C,T&I). (http://www.pucrs.br/
edipucrs/inovacaoequalidade.pdf)
O capitulo 9 - Indicadores de Inovao Pedaggica na Universidade,
escrito por Denise Leite, da UFRGS e Cleoni Maria Barboza Fernandes,
da PUCRS afrmam que o mesmo resultado de um rescaldo de diferentes
produes e experincias pedaggicas das autoras. Discute as relaes
universidade, sociedade e qualidade vistas pelo fltro da inovao pedaggica.
O objetivo sugerir categorias de indicadores de qualidade para a temtica da
inovao pedaggica nas relaes Universidade e Sociedade, uma temtica
subjetiva e no totalmente delineada ou esclarecida. Considera que a inovao
pedaggica tambm pode ser vista como indicador de qualidade da universidade.
A metodologia adotada foi de abordagem qualitativa com uma reviso terica de
estudos e pesquisas realizadas pelas autoras.
O capitulo 10 - Indicadores de qualidade e a relao do ensino
com a pesquisa e a extenso na universidade brasileira, escrito por Maria
Isabel da Cunha, da UNISINOS, afrma que no Brasil, como em outros pases,
a indissociabilidade do ensino, da pesquisa e da extenso se constitui numa
matriz conceitual de qualidade na da Universidade. Entretanto, a aceitao
inquestionvel dessa premissa no vem acompanhada de uma refexo mais
intensa de seu signifcado e operacionalizao. Ouvir intelectuais brasileiros
especialistas se constituiu numa alternativa investigativa para aprofundar
conceitualmente o tema. Quatro dimenses da perspectiva conceitual e prtica
da indissociabilidade do ensino, pesquisa e extenso foram registradas e servem
de eixo analtico das refexes do texto.
No capitulo 11 - Indicadores de qualidade e o Desenvolvimento
profssional docente, escrito por Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia, Doris Pires Vargas
Bolzan e Adriana Moreira da Rocha Maciel, da Universidade Federal de Santa
Maria UFSM, explora os indicadores de qualidade em dimenses subjetivas
e interpretativas, bem como enquanto sinalizadores do processo que se deseja
avaliar: a formao e o desenvolvimento profssional dos docentes atuantes na
Educao Superior. As autoras partem da concepo de qualidade da Educao
Superior para discutir a qualidade profssional da docncia. Na busca de possveis
29
alternativas, enfatizam a necessidade de pensar criticamente as polticas
educativas implantadas ou em processo, apostando em estratgias formativas
que valorizem o carter profssional e a excelncia pedaggica da docncia, uma
vez que na integrao destas duas dimenses que a especifcidade da profsso
docente se concretiza. preciso entender a formao e desenvolvimento
profssional como processos que envolvem esforos dos professores e tambm
a iniciativa das instituies em criarem condies para que esse processo se
efetive, possibilitando, assim, a construo da professoralidade, da excelncia
Pedaggica e do conhecimento efetivo de ser professor.
No capitulo 12 - Indicadores Qualidade da Educao Superior e a
motivao discente, escrito por Bettina Steren dos Santos, da PUCRS, considera
a motivao como elemento imprescindvel para a qualidade no ensino superior.
O texto apresenta indicadores e variveis da motivao acadmica, tendo como
foco a perspectiva discente. A imerso terica realizada no artigo explorou
quatro diferentes concepes tericas: a Teoria da Autodeterminao, a Teoria
das Metas, a Teoria da Perspectiva de Tempo Futuro e a Teoria Sociocultural. A
partir dessas concepes, alm de outras contribuies da literatura, foi possvel
elaborar, em carter propositivo, diferentes indicadores motivacionais, cada um
deles comportando algumas variveis.
A quarta parte deste livro - Desafos da Qualidade da Educao
Superior, constituda pelo Capitulo 13 - Challenges Facing Universities in a
globalising word, escrito por Susan Robertson, da Bristol University, examina
cinco desafos chave for confronting 21
st
Century universities as they confront,
and manage, important geo-political, economic and social transformations taking
place in the global, national and regional economies.
These challenges include: (i) the pressure to engage in
regionalising and globalising higher education projects
as solutions to problems (internal governance issues;
sustainability issues; global challenges) whilst ensuring
local relevance, managing charges of imperialism and
the valorisation of the regional and the global over the
national interest; (ii) widening access whilst managing
aspirations and the loss of value of credentials given the
positional good nature of higher education credentials;
(iii) the rapidly growing role of the (transnational) for-
proft sector in delivering components of higher education
provision and issues of quality and accountability; (iv) the
pedagogical challenges inherent in massifcation, a focus on
competencies, entrepreneurship, and relevance to industry
whilst ensuring the development of critical future citizens;
(v) the changing role of the public intellectual and production
of public knowledge in universities, in the face of increased
private sector activity, the role universities in commercial
activity (consultancy, IP, consumer led provision). An
underlying thread in all of these challenges is the dominance
of economic theories (Human Capital Theory; New Growth
Theory). I will argue that we need to develop social and
political arguments around the value of higher education to
ensure quality higher education in the future.
Partindo da crena na governana compartilhada muito importante
registrar o especial agradecimento as coordenadoras da REDE RIES, que sempre
contriburam para a consolidao da rede: Profa. Dr Cleoni Maria Barboza
Fernandes (PUCRS), Prof Dr. Denise Leite (UFRGS); Prof Dr. Maria Estela
Dal Pai Franco (UFRGS); Prof Dr. Maria Isabel Cunha (UNISINOS); e Prof Dr.
Slvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia (UFSM).
Porto Alegre, 11 anos da RIES.
Cooordenadora RIES - Rede Sulbrasileira de Investigadores da Educao
Superior
Primavera de 2011
PART I / PARTE I
____________________________________________________
GLOBALIZATION, REGIONALIZATION AND QUALITY OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
GLOBALIZAO, REGIONALIZAO E QUALIDADE
DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR
____________________________________________________
CONSTRUCTING RISK MANAGEMENT OF HE SECTOR
THROUGH REPUTATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT
OF INSTITUTIONS
Roger Dale
INTRODUCTION
M
aking the two main issues in the title of this conference, Quality
and Indicators, central, this paper will attempt to show how the
relationships between them may be beginning to change, and how their trajectories
may be beginning potentially to diverge. This will involve standing back somewhat
from the immediate issues of University governance and administration, to look
more closely at the global contexts within which such changes are being played
out. At its most basic, this involves asking how the range of wider societal risks
delivered by the range of processes we refer to as globalisation, are being transferred
and transformed into new and distinct institutional risks for Universities as
institutions that are themselves being expected to make novel and distinct
contributions to economy, polity and society. So, in the frst part of the paper, I will
attempt to set the wider scene for the changes that are typically referred to as the
Modernisation of the University, asking why it is seen to be required and what
kinds of changes might be needed to bring it about. A key theme of the paper will
be that these changes also impact on Brazilian higher education, which is neither
completely excepted from them, or wholly immune to them.
In the next part of the paper I will focus on one relevant and signifcant
aspect of these modernising moves, through a brief examination of the shift
from Quality Assurance to Reputational Risk Management as a key and
representative axis along which these changes may be occurring and visible.
Here, the focus will be on the forms and mechanisms of individual University
reputation management as seen in the rapid development of ranking systems,
usually referred to as University League Tables. I will seek to shed light on
how they are compiled and disseminated, and in what ways they encode the
conception of reputation and the risks it carries.
The fnal part of the paper examines the potential consequences of these
changes for the Production, Distribution and Valorisation of knowledge, and for
the future of Higher Education as a sector. In this section, I will also attempt
some speculation about possible consequences for Higher Education in Brazil.
33
Over the past half century Universities and higher education more generally
have undergone enormous changes. However, the analysis of the substance and
consequences of these changes have tended to be confned and constricted by
a concentration on national case studies. These are undoubtedly of great value,
but there may be some space for analyses that seek to indicate the global drivers,
nature and impact of the changes. This is not to suggest that national studies do not
recognize the signifcance of changes a global level, but that recognition tends to
take the form of tracing the effects on domestic policy and practice of a largely
unspecifed conception of globalization. One aim of this paper is to appraise the
global nature, basis and consequences of changes that are now being experienced,
in different ways and different places, across the world. These changes tend to
carry a common labelsuch as quality and Modernisationbut this does
not mean that we can assume that they mean the same thing every where, or are
responded to in similar ways. Neither the words, nor the histories that lie behind
their emergence can be taken for granted, and we cannot expect to be able to
come to terms adequately with them in the absence of such an understanding.
Consequently, I will attempt briefy in the frst part of this paper to situate the
emergence of such terms and the problematics that generate them.
Two key features of such assumptions that we need to challenge are the
tendency (a) to take a relatively abstract and fxed model of the University as the
fundamental if shifting object and basis of study; interesting analysis of the forms
this might take is to be found in Trow (2004); and (b) to assume the existence of static
University or higher education sector in which those institutions are embedded, and
which is taken for granted as embracing a collection of activities that naturally, even
necessarily, go together. Higher education as a feld o study may be especially prone
to this given that the very great majority of the literature on the topic is produced by
people working in Universities, writing about what they experience as well as what
they observe, with clear interests in the future of the institution. This not only makes
detachment diffcult, but it makes it more diffcult to stop seeing the things that are
conventionally there to be seen (Becker 1971).
The intention, then, is to try to open up questions of the nature of the
broader changes within which the University as an idea and as an institution is
changing, in order to understand the nature and possible consequences of those
changes more broadly, especially at the level of higher education as a distinct
sector, locally, nationally and globally.
Theoretically, the argument is set at a very broad level. It begins
by attempting to identify the new societal risks associated with neoliberal
globalisation, and the kinds of institutional risks they deliver to Universities,
both in terms of their existing structures, processes and purposes, and in terms
of novel and distinct expectations of their relationships with and contributions
to society. The current state of the Universities, like other institutions of
modernity, is fundamentally a refection of, and a response to, the changing
nature of the relationship between capitalism and modernity. In developing
the fundamental argument, I follow Boaventura de Sousa Santos in suggesting
that it is crucial to the understanding of current global activities and changes
to distinguish between the trajectories of capitalism (as found currently in the
form of neo-liberal globalisation) and Western modernity and to examine the
relationships between them. As he puts it, Western modernity and capitalism
are two different and autonomous historical processes. (that) have converged
and interpenetrated each other. .It is my contention that we are living in
a time of paradigmatic transition, and, consequently, that the sociocultural
paradigm of modernity.will eventually disappear before capitalism ceases
to be dominantpartly from a process of supersession and partly from a
process of obsolescence. It entails supersession to the extent that modernity
has fulflled some of its promises, in some cases even in excess. It results from
obsolescence to the extent that modernity is no longer capable of fulflling
some of its other promises (Santos 2002, 1-2 ). He goes on, (Western)
Modernity is grounded on a dynamic tension between the pillar of regulation
((which) guarantees order in a society as it exists in a given moment and place)
and emancipation the aspiration for a good order in a good society in the
future (2). Modern regulation is the set of norms, institutions and practices
that guarantee the stability of expectations (ibid); the pillar of regulation is
constituted by the principles of the state, the market and community (typically
taken as the three key agents of governance; (see Dale, 1997). Modern
emancipation is the set of oppositional aspirations and tendencies that aim
to increase the discrepancy between experiences and expectations. (and)
what most strongly characterises the sociocultural condition at the beginning
of the century is the collapse of the pillar of emancipation into the pillar of
regulation, as a result of the reconstructive management of the excesses and
defcits of modernity which.were viewed as temporary shortcomings and as
problems to be solved through a better and broader use of the ever-expanding
material, intellectual and institutional resources of modernity (7). Further,
these two pillars have now ceased to be in tension but have become almost
fused, as a result of the reduction of modern emancipation to the cognitive-
instrumental rationality of science and the reduction of modern regulation to
35
the principle of the market (9). We may put these arguments in summary form
by suggesting that what they mean is the institutions of Western modernity
no longer the best possible shell, or the best possible governance model, for
capitalism in its global neoliberal form. (see Dale, 2007)
The basic argument on which the paper is based, then, is that Universities
do offer a very good example of Santos argument. It does not seem too far
fetched to see in the recent history of the University just the kind of fusing of
emancipation and regulation to which Santos refers. This may be especially
apparent in the so-called advanced countries, but it is to be expected that in an
era that is, correctly, in my view, referred to as an era of globalisation, the impact
of these changes cannot and will not be confned to that group of countries. The
impact may be different and possibly further reaching, and may possibly not
appear to be directly related to globalisation, but neoliberal globalisation is a
now crucial element in how countries and regions across the world not only
respond to but interpret and frame, the challenges facing them.
In particular, and at a global level, the changes to the University that
we are witnessing might also be seen as forms of what Santos refers to as a
reconstitutive management of the defcits of Western modernity. Thus, the
consequences of these changes are not seen as transcending modernity, but as
an intensifed use of the tools of modernity, producing what might be seen as a
form of ultra modernity, especially through the shifting of the scales of problem
identifcation and solution.
One central argument of this paper is that a particular idea of the
Universityor perhaps more accurately, of higher education, that differs
considerably from the (already relatively global conception of the University) is
being globalised through the efforts of international organisations. Their reports
provide the medium through which such conceptions are not merely diffused
but promoted, as almost self-evident solutions. This is advanced as the form to
be taken by Higher Educations response to the demands of a new (neoliberal,
though it is rarely referred to in those terms) global economy. This response is
to have a common basis worldwide (this is most obviously evident in the World
Banks and OECDs Knowledge Assessment Methodologies (see Robertson
2010, and most relevantly for this paper in the form of the global University
League Tables). It is typically announced as involving a need to modernise the
University. This has been especially extensively developed at the level of the
European Union, but it should not, however, be expected to be, or look, the
same everywhere.
This is not to suggest that this solution, and the various forms it takes, has
been in any sense directly imposed on unwilling but disempowered nation states.
Rather, I want to draw attention here to two related but under-analysed consequence
of the series of projects and processes we refer to as globalisation. On the one hand
nation-states do not feel responsible for the problems that befell them and on the
other they did not feel equipped to deal with them; there was no obvious way
for them to tackle them, though they remained their responsibility. This opened
up a major opportunity space for political advice entrepreneurs, and particularly
international organisations such as the OECD, World Bank (. (for Latin America,
see, for instance, Rodrguez-Gmez and Alcntara (2001); Bernasconi (2007a).
The substance of the opportunity space involved not so much IOs providing
responses to the new challenges of globalisation, as most approaches to the work
of IOs in education implicitly assume. Rather, they were, and continue to be, able
to frame and defne the nature of those new challenges through both discourse and
statistics. That is, they specify and formulate the nature of the problems faced by
national systems through the nature of the solutions they provide, including by
representing them as problems that can or should be addressed at a different
local, regional or global scale.
IOs were able to specify the nature of the changes addressed to education
by neoliberal capitalism, largely because existing education systems interpreted
them in incrementalist, or path dependent ways, or lacked the domestic capacity
or political will to address them. Here, loose defnitions of globalisation provided
both spaces for IOs to specify them more closely, and justifcation for national
governments to bow to their inexorable logic. These projects are not intended to
replace existing national forms, though they may be expected to infuence
them, but they do also offer a distinct set of alternatives aimed at improving
the contribution of education to the Knowledge Economy in ways that
cannot be achieved through the efforts of individual nation-states alone.
INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES TO THE UNIVERSITY
Massifcation
Globally, the percentage of the age cohort enrolled in tertiary education
has grown from 19% in 2000 to 26% in 2007, with the most dramatic gains
in upper middle and upper income countries. There are some 150.6 million
tertiary students globally, roughly a 53% increase over 2000. In low-income
countries tertiary-level participation has improved only marginally, from 5% in
37
2000 to 7% in 2007. In Latin America, enrolment is still less than half that of
high-income countries. Attendance entails signifcant private costs that average
60% of GDP per capita (Altbach et al The logic of massifcation includes
greater social mobility for a growing segment of the population, new patterns
of funding higher education, increasingly diversifed higher education systems
in most countries, generally an overall lowering of academic standards, and
other tendencies At the frst stage of massifcation, higher education systems
struggled to cope with demand, the need for expanded infrastructure and a
larger teaching corps. During the past decade systems have begun to wrestle
with the implications of diversity and to consider which subgroups are still not
being included and appropriately served.
The academic profession is under stress as never before. The need to
respond to the demands of massifcation has caused the average qualifcation for
academics in many countries to decline. Many university teachers in developing
countries have only a bachelors degree, the number of part-time academics
has also increased in many countries - notably in Latin America, where up to
80% of the professoriate is employed part time. In many countries universities
now employ part-time professors who have full-time appointments at other
institutions Cost sharing.
While funding arrangements for Universities have historically showed a
wide diversity of patterns, it is clear that over the course of the past 20 years, the
default assumption that the state would be the funder of last resort (and often of
frst, or only, resort) changed fundamentally, not least as a result of massifcation,
which meant that very few states could afford to continue funding Universities at
the same level as had historically been the case. All over the world, Universities
were forced to fnd new sources of funding, all of which both altered and
increased Universities funding bases. The main form this took was the in the
area of students contribution to the cost of their higher education in the form
of fees. This had a transformative effect on the relationship between University,
academics and students, which presented Universities with new forms of risk to
manage, across a range of areas, not least in several areas of reputation, the most
prominent of which were those around quality assurance.
New Public Management Universities have been aware of, indeed have
experienced in quite extreme forms NPM as a means of controlling the public
sector. Indeed, in the literature on higher education, NPM is often taken as the
basis of the troubles HE faces, to the point where it is almost as if NPM only
operates in HE, rather than problematised and located as the political form of
neoliberalism (sometimes known as constitutional neoliberalism).
Its main effects had been mediated through its adoption as the basis of
the framework of governance and regulation of University activities, such as
quality frameworks. There, the aims had been reducing the dangers of producer
capture through putting the relationships on a basis of a range of supervisory
and contractual arrangements, aimed at ensuring disinterestedness as well as
effciency. A central and relevant example of this is that prior to the introduction
of the NPM into the higher education sector, essentially academics had been
the sole and ultimate arbiters of what is now entailed by the use of the term
quality (though it was scarcely known before the advent of the NPM). It was
taken for granted that academic expertise was both necessary and suffcient
for all judgments of what is now covered by QA arrangements. In a sense, this
seemed convenient all round; for those who graduated it meant that graduation
was in itself a guarantee of quality. The press towards formalisation of quality
arrangements came about as a result of the combination of other forces that are
discussed in this section. What was added over the later period was an increasing
emphasis on the need for Universities to contribute, through their teaching and
especially their research to the knowledge based economy.
Contribution to Knowledge-based Economy Promoting competitiveness
has very different implications from the human capital theory assumptions that
underlay the accumulation problem 20 years ago. The same could be said about
fostering the Knowledge Economy. The states role is no longer confned
to providing an infrastructure that will underpin the productive economy, but
expands and shifts to become concerned with the promotion of nationally based
industries on the world market (competition state). It is no longer confned to
providing research infrastructure, but includes active involvement in the funding
and direction of research. Perhaps the most frequently noted, certainly in
contexts like higher education, is that the state itself becomes directly involved in
accumulation. The most widely recognized example of this, certainly in studies
of HE, is the development of HE as a crucial export industry, that makes an
increasingly important contribution to the national budget.
This is effectively to be brought about by Universities increasing their
contribution to what is perceived as a new global economy based on knowledge
rather than production. Indeed, Universities are seen as central to this, as is evident
in the explicit formulations of the EUs three main exhortations to member state
Universities, The role of the University in the Europe of Knowledge, Mobilising
the Brainpower of Europe and Delivering on the promise of Universities. It is also
made explicit in each of these publications, and in numerous other publications from
39
international organisations, that this is a competitive game; Europes universities
(and those of the rest of the world) are all in competition with each other. The
message is clear that no country can opt out of this competition with impunity. And
the chief medium and mechanism through which this is to be registered is of course
the league tables of University success.
It has been argued that one major effect of these changes, and the responses
to the, is the Emerging Global Model of the University (Mohrman et al 2008) The
authors suggest that the EGM has eight characteristics: global mission; research
intensity; new roles for professors; diversifed funding; worldwide recruitment;
increasing complexity; new relationships with government and industry; and global
collaboration with similar institutions. Three crucial consequences fow from this.
First, the worldwide reach of the EGM means that nation-states have less infuence
over their universities than in the past (5). Second, while many of these features
of the EGM are rooted in the American experience of the past four decades, this
model is being embraced throughout the world (6). And third, the emphasis here
is on the international nature of a small group of institutions that represent the
leading edge of higher educations embrace of the forces of globalization. The
authors conclude that though the pressures of globalization and the attractiveness
of internationalization will both push and pull on locally focused institutions to
adapt elements of the EGM to their own circumstances.. the EGM is relevant to
higher education in many countries and many locations, even those that will never
fully develop the EGM of the research university (26, italics added).
FROM QUALITY ASSURANCE TO RISK MANAGEMENT
The terms quality and indicators in the title of this conference lead us
along somewhat different paths, that themselves point to and refect the emergence
of new expectations of Universities as institutions and higher education as a sector.
As we noted above, neither the term nor the concept of quality as it is now understood
existed 20 years ago. Quality thus both marks out a specifc place in the University
and defnes its role and purpose, and ensures a common and commensurable
place for it across institutions and jurisdictions. Fundamentally, then, we may see
qualityminimally in the form of quality assurance mechanisms, such as the
UNESCO regional conventions-- as providing an evidential basis for membership
of an international higher education community. At the same time, indicators are
being transformed into the basis of establishing a claim to individual excellence
through the medium of competitive comparison on a world scale, that is enabled,
advanced and above all shaped by such ranking mechanisms as league tables.
Separately and together, quality (assurance) and indicators have
added a new dimension to the programmes and operations of Universities,
but their contributions have been every different and have had very different
consequences. On the one hand QA provides elements of consumer and
funder and other stakeholder--protection against inadequate products or
service, or against cheating, that on the other hand lead to the categorising and
reifying in various and multiple particular ways of the very tofu-like concept
of quality (By tofu concept, I refer to concepts that have no intrinsic meaning
in themselves, but take their meaning from the particular environment). Here,
the societal requirement for a reliable and trustworthy form of protection for
governments and students as two particular sets of consumers and benefciaries
of human capital at a national---but also, with the growing emphasis on the
international mobility and migration of people, at a transnational level
generates institutional responses in the form of mutually compatible QA
systems. And this may be seen as the most important contribution of QA to
the modernisation of HE on a global scale. It brings about both a means of
enhancing the mobility of labour and the possibility of the commensurability
and comparability of university qualifcations on a global level. And we
may see the EUs Tuning programme, which seeks to make not just formal
frameworks commensurable and comparable, but also the generic and specifc
competences that students can expect to be delivered by their courses of study.
This could enable the possibility of matching curriculaand quite possibly,
pedagogy-- as well as assessment.
The difference between quality and rankings is that indicators of quality
are (1) threshold concepts, not comparative;(2) in effect zero-sumyou either
have them or you dont; (3) in a sense, non-rivalrous; one Universitys being
quality assured does not prevent another being quality assured; (4) by intention
a framework for action that can be met in diverse ways; (5) subject to formal
audithow do we know that you did what you said you would do?; (6) not
subject to quantifcation, and hence not available for ranking.
One way in which this emerges is that the emphasis on stakeholder
protection narrows the range of possible ways that institutions might differentiate
themselves from each other. In the big picture, they either are, or are not quality
assured, and if they are not, they are likely to suffer serious consequences. They
may wish to draw attention to particular elements of their QA profle where they
exceed minimum requirements, such as the employment rate of graduates, but
the formal purpose of QA is to assure stakeholders that minimum standards have
been met, usually through the use of administrative mechanisms, and this leaves
41
little room for, and little incentive to, the use of QA as a means of distinguishing
one institution from another.
Indicators, by comparison are subject to quantifcation, and hence
available for ranking; (2) ordinal rather than cardinal;(3) comparable (4)
rivalrous; one Universitys achieving a ranking does prevent another achieving
it; (5) provide a framework for action that can be met in a limited range of
externally defned ways.
The fundamental change signalled by the shift from quality assurance to
indicators and benchmarks is that from national (and increasingly inter-national)
consumer protection to global competitive comparison. This is an instance of
the growing gap between the institutions of a fundamentally nationally-based
version of capitalism to a neoliberal form with the ambition of minimising the
infuence of borders both between and within countries.
This is not all to play down the importance of international agreements on
QA (see e g, Hartmann 2009). Comparability itself represents a very important tool
of governance of the sector internationally. This has been pointed out by Novoa
and Lambert (2004) in the case of work in the feld of comparative education,
and is especially relevantly apparent in the case of the Bologna Process in Europe
(and increasingly beyond Europe; see Dale, Robertson). Its importance is further
reinforced through conferences such as this. So, the point is not to ignore, or
downplay the importance of, Quality in Higher Education discourse but to try to
locate those debates in a wider, if less deep, context.
REPUTATIONAL RISK
One useful way of seeing this changed signifcance of indicators is as
signalling shifting conceptions of risk, and the different salience of risk, nationally
and internationally, that require new forms of risk management, which may be
defned as a system of regulatory measures intended to shape who can take what
risks and how (Hood et al, 1992: 136). Whereas trust, on the one hand, deals with
the inherent unknowableness of the future (Keynes, 1921) by assuming away aspects
of uncertainty (Mollering, 2006), risk management seeks to bring a certain degree of
measurability to expectations, even though certainty about the future is impossible.
In this way, risk refects how the nature of modern culture, especially its technical
and economic substructure, requires precisely such calculability of consequences
(Weber, 1978: 351) (Brown and Calnan, 2009 12-13).
However, and more directly relevant in this context, Huber points out
that something only becomes a risk if it is socially considered to be one. A
disadvantageous ranking therefore just an unfavourable position in an arbitrary
data sheet, but as soon as it is defned as a risk, it needs to be avoided, registered,
anticipated, dealt with, recorded, audited, and so forth. Thus the power of
defnition becomes an important one as it shapes the organisations future scope
of actions and self perception. (2010, 85)
As we have just seen, QA neither creates signifcant comparative risks,
nor would be suffcient in itself to manage the risks of being in global knowledge
economy, which is crucial, when as Huber goes on, mandatory risk management
makes HEIs become strategic entrepreneurial actors. .universities become
organisational actors (Krcken & Meier, 2006) which must engage in practices
like competition and strategy development formerly exclusive to the private
sector. So the rationale behind risk management becomes a dominant one as
it is reproduced through internalisation (Power, Scheytt, Soin, &Sahlin, 2009).
The organisation has no other means to see itself but through the lens of risk
management. (ibid)
What is crucial here is the currency of the risk to be managed. What we
want to argue is that reputation has emerged as the key and dominant currency
of risk to Universities world wide. This has occurred through a process where
agencies external to the organisation, and initially possibly peripheral to, and even
parasitic on, the feld, not only collect information from institutions within the
feld, but combine and produce it in new forms, typically aggregate rankings.
Power et al suggest that these dense, often single-fgure, calculative
representations of reputation constitute a new kind of performance metric and
are a growing source of man-made, institutionalised risk to organizations as they
acquire increased recognition in felds (2010, 311). And they go on to suggest that
organizations have incentives to support legitimated evaluators by supplying the
component information and in so doing they can come to internalize. elements
of the metric as performance variables. Reputational metrics and rankings are
reactive or performative by generating self-reinforcing behaviours and shifting
cognitive frames and values over time (Espeland and Sauder 2007) (312). This
is how seemingly innocuous internal management indicators come to have the
potential to shift motivations and missions by constructing self-reinforcing
circuits of performance. (ibid)
The key point for this paper is that in this process, organizational
performance indicators for internal purposes come to be reactively aligned with
those which inform an evaluation or ranking system (312). Power et al go on to
suggest that
43
Reputation, as a perceptual construct may be one component
of a ranking metric in the frst instance, but the rank itself
come to infuence the perceptions of key constituencies,
such as clients, so that reputation is produced by the very
systems which measure it (Schultz et al. 2001)., which
are then re-imported by organizations for internal use.
They perpetuate the internal organizational importance of
externally constructed reputation and give it a new governing
and disciplinary power within organizations (Espeland and
Sauder 2007). (ibid)
UNIVERSITY RANKING SYSTEMS
One fundamental mechanism propelling the kinds of shift we are
referring to as reputational risk management are transnational organisations
seeking to instantiate a basis for a GKE and in particular the operation of league
tables and rating agencies. The central feature of both of these from the present
perspective is that they are indeed transnational rather than international.
While the chief objective of international quality assurance mechanisms is to
facilitate comparability of national systems, for the purpose of enabling greater
mobility, for instance, the chief objective of the international organisations, and
the ends towards which the efforts of the rankings agencies are bent, is essentially
the creation of a supranational set of criteria for ranking the performance of
individual Universities in a burgeoning global knowledge economy.
It will be useful at this point to make a brief detour to clarify a little what
University ranking systems are about. Robertson and Olds point to three prominent
explanations of them; as a discrete project - aimed at accountability and transparency
(ii) as part of a programme of strategies aimed at generating competitiveness within
the higher education sector at multiple scales (national, regional and global)); and (iii)
as a manifestation of wider processes of globalisation taking place within the higher
education sector, and which refect, and are also constitutive, of transformations in
wider social formations. (106).
The frst of these identifes the rise of rankings with attempts to come
to terms with changes in the sector itself, such as we have described above,
which, Salmi and Saroyan argue, have caused stakeholders to demand greater
accountability, transparency and effciency, giving rise to new incentives for
quantifying quality (p. 35).
The second explanation sees rankings as both mechanisms and instruments
for deep social change within the higher education sector. Hazelkorn identifes
six ways in which rankings infuence and reshape higher education institutions:
(i) student choice competitive post graduates in particular seek highly ranked
universities; (ii) strategic thinking and planning particularly the selective choice
of indicators for management purposes; (iii) the reorganisation and restructuring
of higher education institutions to enable them to respond to, or take advantage
of rankings; (iv) reshaping priorities such as focusing on research, changing
the curriculum attracting international students, harmonising programmes; (v)
academic profession used to identify (and recruit) the best performers; and (vi)
stakeholders such as alumni, who view rankings as a proxy for the return on their
investment in the institution. (Robertson and Olds 2010, 111).
In the third explanation, Marginson sees rankings as social and political
projects that are also key features of the emerging knowledge economy, where
the means of knowledge creation are pulled gravitationally into strong centres
that secure a superior capacity for creation and dissemination, and are able to
claim formal authority in the k-economy (Marginson, 2008: 7). His explanation
overlaps to a degree with that advanced by Power et al (see below) as he focuses
more on the reputational systems themselves.
Finally, Olds points to the signifcance of the rating agencies themselves
as a kind of commercial knowledge producer, whose interest is in maintaining and
extending the sale-ability of their product. He emphasizes both the complexity
and the internal competition within this very lucrative sector.
Each of these explanations sheds some light on the argument being
delivered here. One way of trying to see how we might beneft from them
collectively may be to consider who benefts in each of the explanations. For
Salmi, the existence of the rating agencies benefts Universities in enabling them
to organize their response to he changes around hem more effectively. There seem
to be few tensions or contradictions here. Hazelkorns account sees the agencies
as integral parts of programmes of change change within the higher education
sector. Rather than acting to smooth its adjustment, as in Salmis account,
the agencies might be seen to be acting to propel the move to the knowledge
economy, in the interests of those who promote it. Each of these is in a sense
looking from the outside in on to the University, seeing it in a sense reacting to
the changing world in which the agencies are seen to play rather different roles.
Marginson, too, sees the agencies as facilitating the kind of concentration needed
by the knowledge economy. Finally, Olds points to the crucial role of the supply
side of the process, those whose interest is very clearly in making profts from it.
45
THE IMPORTANCE OF QUANTIFICATION
What all these different mechanism have in common is a press towards
the quantifcation of differenceand hence its comparative measurementand
the transformation of indicators into rankings, or of quality into quantity, which
at the same time dialectically transforms quantity into quality.
There are a number of ways in which the technique of quantifcation
is useful in advancing the credibility and acceptability of such devices as
league tables, apart from the most obvious one of increasing comparability and
commensurability, which are crucial to competitive comparison. The frst is that,
politically, numbers move us beyond relying on trust, in both the expertise
and honesty of experts, for instance. As Theodore Porter puts it, It is not the
unchallenged authority of experts, but rather resistance to them, that most often
forces administrators to express their reasoning in numbers. The language of
objectivity, usually calculation, is appealing because it seems to imply honesty and
disinterestedness, and because it combines an element of ostensible democratic
openness with a large measure of exclusivity (1991, 245). We see a shift here not
just in the basis of credibility, but also in the demystifcation through quantifcation
of otherwise potentially opaque claims to expertise and special treatment. I have
referred to this elsewhere as signaling a shift from mystique to technique as a
means of justifcation. The difference is that claims based on mystique cannot be
replicated, while those based on technique can. In Porters words, this would
replace arbitrariness, idiosyncracy and judgment by explicit rules. Accounting is an
exemplar of this aspect of objectivity. More important than the true representation
of deep underlying fnancial identities is the maintenance of a system of rules that
blocks self-interested distortion. Otherwise, tax codes and corporate reports would
lose their credibility. From this standpoint, quantifcation appears as a strategy for
overcoming distance and distrust (1992, 633)
Quantifcation then limits and frames institutional risk. However,
it is crucial to note that in doing that it does not simply refect the world but
transforms it, by reconfguring it differently. As Alain Desrosieres puts it, Once
the procedures of quantifcation have been coded and programmed, their results
are reifed. They tend to become reality, by an irreversible ratchet effect.
The initial conventions are forgotten, the quantifed object is naturalized, thus
leading directly to possibilities of measurement (and it is here that we see the
link between, or the route from, indicators to rankings).
Desrosieres goes on to spell out the qualities that make quantifcation s
powerful, Quantifcation provides a specifc language, endowed with remarkable
properties of transferability, standardized computational manipulations, and
programmable systems of interpretation. Thus, it makes available to researchers
and policy makers coherent objects, in the triple meaning of intrinsic coherence
(resistance to criticism), combinatorial cohesiveness, and power of social
cohesion, keeping people together by encouraging (and sometimes forcing)
them to use this universalizing language rather than some other language (11)
Quantifcation enables us not just to refect but to construct what Desrosieres
calls equivalence spaces, an act that is at once both political and technical. It is
political in that it changes the world (ibid). In our terms, creating an equivalence
space where we can compare the productivity, or scientifc contribution,
or social impact of the individual and collective outputs of academics and
Universities changes both their worlds.
Moreover, the use of numbers is also effective, because it is persuasive.
As Bettina Heintz argues; The use of numbers, visual representations, and
language each affects communication in a particular manner, and quantifcation
is particularly effective in promoting the acceptance of communication. This
effectiveness corresponds to what is here termed the numerical difference, a
difference illustrated by the ubiquitous use of quantitative comparisons drawn
from statistics, rankings, or ratings (2010). This in turn leads to the tendency to
believe in the principle that everything worth anything would be represented
by a number (Oakley 2000, p.113). What is usually forgotten is that this also
means that who or whatever cannot manage to attract a number is excluded
from consideration or devalued. And fnally, quantifcation and ranking are very
powerful tools because of their fexibility. New dimensions of difference can be
added, and existing weightings fne tuned, almost at will.
MODES OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION
If we ask how what counts as knowledge is defned, there are three distinct
criteria to be applied. We have to consider the status of its knowledge claims, its
ability to be made public, and the recognition and effects of its claims. If we look
back in the history of the University, we may fnd that these things hung together
rather coherently, indeed almost seamlessly. The authority of the University as
an institution was suffcient to confrm the status of knowledge claims. It was
in a sense the ultimate authority; knowledge claims were not submitted to or
legitimately open to scrutiny by other authorities. The University also controlled
47
the means of making knowledge public, partly by means of its authority, but also by
its involvement in publishing. Similarly with its recognition and effects. These too
inhered essentially in the legitimacy of the University as the arbiter of knowledge.
Although not all knowledge effects could be traced directly to the University they
were all ultimately legitimised byand of course legitimising ofthe University.
This at least was the claim of the University, though it might be argued
that it was merely the institution of Modernity that most completely embraced
the values and assumptions of western Modernity, and in particular the claim
to understand and control the world through sciencethough this, of course,
morphed also into a claim to aesthetic judgment.
There is, then, a clear element of continuity in what we confront in todays
bases of knowledge production. We might indeed, say that they are essentially
different versions of the same set of claims. The difference is that they do not rest
on taken for granted and acknowledged authority, on trust, or on mystique, but on
being able to demonstrate a basis for authority, to operate through contract rather
than trust, and to replace mystique with technique. Or, to put it in the terms of
the new Public Management, which has more than any other single mechanism
driven such changes, provider capture has been displaced by accountability and
audit. It is not enough to claim that something has been done, or has resulted
from something being done. Instead, evidence is required, and paymentof
whatever kind, depends on the outcome.
So, now, the possibility of knowledge being made public depends to a
considerable degree on the nature of the knowledge publishing industry, which
clearly prioritises business above knowledgeand which is, inevitably, driven
by the need to increase its profts. Ratings are its business. The certifcation of
knowledge depends initially on peer review, but increasingly comes to rely on
publishing metrics, which act as a kind of meta peer view. And such instruments
also operate in a circular way, when what is now referred to as the impact of the
work is evaluated which is again inferred from the number of times the work
has been cited over a given period. What all this involves is massive increase in
the infuence of the publishers of knowledge, who infuence each stage of the
process separately, and proft from all of them together.
In such a process of knowledge production, there is a danger that:
- Quantity of publication will replace quality of publication
- Proxies for knowledge will replace content of knowledge
- Impact will replace relevance
This does not mean that the content and status of all or anyknowledge
will necessarily be weakened, but it does pose questions about the nature of what
knowledge?. Concern is expressed in the literature about the enhanced danger of
multiple Matthew effects, and the emergence of self fulflling prophecies and
self-reproducing elites. There are also clear dangers of disciplines and subjects
becoming frozen in time, with little incentive for anyone to buck the dominant
and citedtrend. To put it more succinctly, a signifcant risk in the consequences
of risk management through league tables is that stasiswhere will change, or
paradigm shift come from? It also raises serious questions of academic freedom, as
the Universitys reputational risk managers encounter the controllers of the metrics.
MODE OF DISTRIBUTION OF KNOWLEDGE
It will be useful to open this brief discussion by listing one element of the
set of Education Questions that I have compiled as a means of getting behind
and beyond the problem of locally differing meanings and understandings of
Education. In this case, we want to know how the increasing prominence of
reputational risk for Universities is refected in how they distribute knowledge.
Who is taught, (or learns through processes explicitly designed to foster learning),
what, how and why, when, where, by/from whom, under what immediate
circumstances and broader conditions, and with what personal, professional and
institutional consequences?
There is no time or space to go through the whole listthat would be a
complete endeavour in itselfbut I will very quickly look at the frst few categories
to give a favour of the possibilities of such an approach. The who question has
already been alluded to in the very brief discussion of massifcation of Universities.
What is evident is that that massifcation has brought about qualitative as well
as quantitative changes. Across the board, Universities are having to respond to
increasing diversifcation of their own activities, due to the effects of ranking
systems, and of their student bodies. Universities are now recruiting different as
well as more students, whose differences are often related, in multiple ways, to
what they need to learn. What they learn is controlled by what they have access
to, and it is clear that this varies between different types of University. The means
of how they learn are also multiplying, with increasing numbers of them world
wide learning at a distance, or in some form of self-taught way. In short, all these
represent forms of reputational risk to Universities, both directly in terms of what
they mean for ability to progress in terms of league tables, and indirectly in terms
of the portfolio of activities in which they might be involved.
One other very brief way to look at this issue is from the other end, as it
were, from the state and status of doctoral education. That population, too, is both
49
growing and becoming more diverse, both in its composition and in the range
of options open to it. I introduce it here, because it seems to be an interesting
bridging area where the risks of chasing a high academic profle encounter the
risks of teaching a new generation of doctoral students in an institution whose
mission in this respect is also changing, as the profle of doctoral students
changes qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The importance and nature of
the tensions can be seen in the great success of the EUAs Council for Doctoral
Education, where there are lively debates between what have become known as
the supermarket doctorate and the Humboldt doctorate.
The nature of the issues here appears clearly in the case of responses
to an article on risk management and doctoral supervision (McWilliam et al
2002). The thrust of the article is that reconceiving doctoral supervision as an
area where risk may be prevalent, and hence needs to be managed, is seen as
an example of a shift from academic knowledge to professional expertise,
and that this is importantly symbolic as a indicator of the kinds of changes
that are taking place. That is, the article is itself taken as adding to academic
knowledge rather than to professional expertise. Nevertheless, almost all the
articles that quote this article, take it as a prompt to further discussion about how
to improve professional expertise. The academic question is absorbed into issues
of professional practice, because that is where the risks are to be managed. In
this process, critical academic practice is itself secondary to and smothered by
the practices and prevalence of risk management.
MODE OF VALORISATION
It is quite diffcult to point accurately to how the mode of
valorisaton of what Universities and academics produce may be changing,
but the broad outlines may be clear. Valorisation will be used to mean
the use or application of something (an object, process or activity) so
that it makes money, or generates value, with the connotation that the
thing validates itself and proves its worth when it results in earnings, a
yield. Thus, something is valorized if it has yielded its value. While
this is rather different from the idea of producing something of intrinsic
worth, which most academics would like to think they achieve from
time to time, it does offer some possibility of recognition of the value
of academic work that is not necessarily scientifc in the narrow sense,
or susceptible to commercial exploitation. Thus it would be possible to
include in this defnition work that contributed to the public or societal
good, which is what most of us would think is a necessary responsibility,
even, or especially, if it contained some critique of public or private bodies
(for instance in the idea of the University or academic as the critic and
conscience of society).
However, we may discern two cross cutting conditions of
valorization in an era of rankings. First, the valorization, whatever form
it takes, is effectively worthless if not made public. In order to manage
its reputational risk most effectively, the University has to ensure that it
does not hide its light under a bushel. Second, for similar reasons, it must
represent a contribution to the institutions reputation rather than to the
state of knowledge of the discipline, for instance.
This kind of approach reaches its apogee in the recently announced
REF in the UK, where research Impact will account for 25% of the
funding awarded to Universities. Here, that research must achieve
demonstrable benefts to the wider economy and society. The guidelines
make clear that impact does not include intellectual infuence on the
work of other scholars and does not include infuence on the content
of teaching. It has to be impact which is outside academia, on other
research users (and assessment panels will now include, alongside
senior academics, a wider range of users). Moreover, this impact must
be the outcome of a university departments own efforts to exploit or
apply the research fndings: it cannot claim credit for the ways other
people may happen to have made use of those fndings. (Collini,
20009). The default assumption here is that commercial exploitation will
be the dominant model, and hence defne the risks the University will face
directly in forming its policies, or deciding which departments are likely
to be of most use/least risk to it, and indirectly in determining where it
might most effectively invest or intervene in order to protect its reputation.
CONCLUSION
I have attempted in this paper to identify the key features of the
global macro-political economic condition of the world today, and to suggest
some ways in which the societal challenges it generates may be transformed
into challenges to the University as an institution, especially in the forms of
Quality and Indicators. The thrust of the argument has been that it is possible
51
to discern quite different trajectories available to and followed by Quality and
Indicators, with the former playing a rather more limited, though arguably so
far more substantial, role in the governance and organisation of the University. I
have suggested that one usefulthough by no means exclusive-- perspective on
this is to see the issues as involving reputational risk management at the level of
the institution. Comparing the trajectories and potential of quality and indicators,
I suggested that reputational rankings call forth performative responses, (which
in themselves provide substance for the equally tofu concept of excellence),
which underpins the broader potential (or, of course, threat) of the extensive use
of indicators that involve more than the ticking of boxes.
I have tried to develop that idea by pointing to how this performativity is
mediated through especially the quantitative mechanisms used by international
rating agencies. These agencies not only measure, but effectively defne the
nature of Universities reputations, through the capacity of their rankings not
only to order, but to determine the basis of order.
That shift may be seen as one that sees Universities move along a
continuum that runs from national human capital producers to key players in the
emergence of a global knowledge economy. Different Universities in different
countries are at different stages of this shift, but we may observe an increasing
globalisation of the bases and criteria against which their progress is measured.
The paper ended with an attempt to estimate some possible consequences
of the prominence of reputational risk on the modes of production, distribution
and valorisation of knowledge, suggesting that it would not be negligible in any
of the cases.
Finally, I would like to advance the possibility, for discussion, that
three possible broad outcomes of the processes I have described are a more
radical diversifcation of institutional roles, a further differentiation of HE as
a sector, possibly leading to its formal as well as real binarisationor even
trinarisation, and an increasing peripheralisation of Universities, disciplines
and bodies of thought that are not easily incorporated into a quantifed rating
system, or into a global knowledge economy.
REFERENCIAS
Altbach, Philip G., Reisberg, Liz and Rumbley, Laura E (2009) Trends in
Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. A Report
Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. Paris:
UNESCO.
Bernasconi, Andrs(2007a) Constitutional prospects for the implementation of
funding and governance reforms in Latin American higher education, Journal
of Education Policy, 22: 5, 509 529.
Bernasconi, Andrs(2007b) Is There a Latin American Model of the
University?Comparative Education Review, 52, 1, 27-52.
Brown, Patrick and Calnan, Michael (2009) The Risks of Managing
Uncertainty: The Limitations of Governance and Choice, and the Potential for
Trust Social Policy & Society 9:1, 1324.
Collini, Stefan (2009) Impact on humanities: Researchers must take a stand
now or be judged and rewarded as salesmen Times Literary Supplement
November 13.
Desrosieres, Alain (2006) From Cournot to Public Policy Evaluation:
Paradoxes and Controversies involving Quantifcation PRISME, No.7, 1-42.
Espeland, Wendy and Michael Sauder. 2007. Rankings and reactivity: How public
measures recreate social worlds. American Journal of Sociology, 113: 1-40.
Heintz, Bettina (2010) Numerical Difference. Toward a Sociology of
(Quantitative) Comparisons Zeitschrift fur soziologie, p. 39, 3,162-181.
McWilliam, Erica , Singh, Parlo and Taylor, Peter G.(2002) Doctoral
Education, Danger and Risk Management, Higher Education Research &
Development, 21: 2, 119 129.
Mohrman, Kathryn, Ma, Wanhua and Baker,David (2008) The Research
University in Transition: The Emerging Global Model Higher Education Policy
21, (527).
Oakley Porter, Theodore M (1991) Objectivity and Authority: How French
Engineers Reduced Public Utility to Numbers Poetics Today, 12, 2, 245-265.
Porter, Theodore M (1991) Quantifcation and the Accounting Ideal in Science
Social Studies of Science, 22, 4, 633-651.
Robertson, Susan L. and Olds, Kris (2010) Explaining the Globalisation of
University World Rankings: Projects, Programmes and Social Transformations
Revue internationale de Sevres. Special Issue on League Tables and Rankings
in Education 54, 105-116.
Rodrguez-Gmez, Roberto and Alcntara, Armando(2001) Multilateral agencies
and higher education reform in Latin America, Journal of Education Policy, 16: 6,
507 525.
Santos, Boaventura de Sousa (2004) Towards a new legal common sense.
London: Butterworth.

CONSTRUO DO GERENCIAMENTO DE RISCOS DO SETOR
DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR ATRAVS DO GERENCIAMENTO
DE RISCOS DE REPUTAO DAS INSTITUIES
Roger Dale
INTRODUO
F
ocalizando os dois tpicos principais no ttulo desta conferncia,
Qualidade e Indicadores, o presente artigo procura mostrar como
as relaes entre os mesmos podem estar comeando a mudar, e como as suas
trajetrias podem estar potencialmente comeando a divergir. Isso signifca
deixar um pouco de lado as questes imediatas de governana e administrao
da Universidade, para olhar com mais ateno para os contextos globais dentro
dos quais tais desafos esto se desenrolando. No nvel mais bsico, isso envolve
perguntar como a gama de riscos sociais mais amplos que resultam da gama de
processos que chamamos globalizao, esto sendo transferidos e transformados
em novos e distintos riscos institucionais para as Universidades como
instituies que devero fazer novas e distintas contribuies economia, poltica
e sociedade. Assim, na primeira parte deste artigo, tentarei defnir um cenrio
mais amplo para as mudanas que so tipicamente designadas a Modernizao
da Universidade, e perguntar por que vista como requisito e quais tipos de
mudanas podem ser necessrios para concretiz-la. Um tema central do artigo
que essas mudanas tambm tm um impacto na educao superior brasileira,
que no completamente excludo das mesmas, ou inteiramente imunes a elas.
Na prxima parte do captulo, o foco ser em um aspecto relevante e
signifcativo dessas mudanas modernizadoras, atravs de uma investigao
breve da mudana da Garantia de Qualidade para o Gerenciamento de Riscos
de Reputao como eixo central e representativo de acordo com o qual essas
mudanas podem estar ocorrendo e visveis. Aqui, o foco ser nas formas e
nos mecanismos do gerenciamento de reputao da Universidade individual,
conforme visto no rpido desenvolvimento dos sistemas de classifcao,
geralmente chamados Tabelas da Liga de Universidades. Procuro esclarecer
como so compiladas e disseminadas, e as maneiras que codifcam a concepo
de reputao e os riscos que carrega.
A parte fnal do artigo examina as consequncias potenciais dessas
mudanas para a Produo, a Distribuio e a Valorizao do conhecimento,
e para o futuro da Educao Superior como um setor. Nesta seo, tambm
apresento algumas especulaes sobre as possveis consequncias para a
Educao Superior no Brasil.
Ao longo da segunda metade do ltimo sculo, as Universidades e a
educao superior em geral, tm sofrido grandes mudanas. Entretanto, a anlise
do contedo e das consequncias dessas mudanas tendem a ser confnadas e
limitadas pela concentrao em estudos de caso nacionais. Sem dvida possuem
grande valor, mas pode haver um espao para anlises que procuram indicar os
propulsores globais, a natureza e o impacto global das mudanas. Isso no sugere
que os estudos nacionais no reconheam a importncia das mudanas em nvel
global, mas esse reconhecimento tende a tomar a forma de um rastreamento dos
efeitos sobre polticas domsticas e a prtica de uma concepo, em grande
parte, no-especifcada de globalizao. Um objetivo deste artigo valorizar a
natureza global, o fundamento e as consequncias globais das mudanas que
esto sendo vivenciadas agora, em maneiras diferentes e em lugares diferentes,
no mundo todo. Essas mudanas tendem a carregar um rtulo em comum
como qualidade e Modernizao mas isso no signifca que podemos supor
que signifcam a mesma coisa em todos os lugares, ou que so recebidas de
formas semelhantes. Nem as palavras, nem as histrias que subjazem a sua
emergncia podem ser tidas como garantidas, e no podemos esperar poder
aceit-las adequadamente sem tal entendimento. Consequentemente, busco
situar rapidamente na primeira parte deste artigo a emergncia de tais termos e
as problemticas que os geram.
Duas caractersticas principais de tais pressupostos que precisamos
desafar so a tendncia a (a) tomar um modelo relativamente abstrato e
fxo da Universidade como objeto fundamental embora mutvel e base de
estudo; pode-se encontrar uma anlise interessante sobre as formas que isso
pode tomar em Trow (2004); e (b) pressupor a existncia de uma Universidade
esttica ou setor de educao superior esttico em que essas instituies esto
inseridas, e pressupor que abraa uma coleo de atividades que naturalmente,
e at necessariamente, combinam. A educao superior como um campo de
estudo pode especialmente ser propcio a esse dado, que a grande maioria da
literatura sobre o tpico produzida por pessoas trabalhando em Universidades,
escrevendo sobre o que elas vivenciam bem como observam, com interesses
claros no futuro da instituio. Isso no apenas torna o distanciamento difcil,
mas torna mais difcil parar de ver as coisas que esto convencionalmente ali
para serem vistas (Becker 1971).
55
A inteno, ento, tentar abrir questes sobre a natureza das mudanas
mais amplas dentro das quais a Universidade como uma ideia e como uma instituio
est mudando, para poder entender a natureza e as possveis consequncias dessas
mudanas de forma mais ampla, especialmente no nvel de educao superior
como um setor distinto, localmente, nacionalmente e globalmente.
Teoricamente, o argumento est defnido em um nvel muito amplo. Inicia-
se com a tentativa de identifcar os novos riscos sociais associados globalizao
neoliberal, e os tipos de riscos institucionais que levam s Universidades, em
termos de suas estruturas, seus processos e seus propsitos existentes, e em termos
das expectativas novas e distintas nas suas relaes com e nas contribuies
para a sociedade. O estado atual das Universidades, como outras instituies da
modernidade, fundamentalmente um refexo de, e uma resposta para, a natureza
mutvel da relao entre capitalismo e modernidade. No desenvolvimento
do argumento fundamental, sigo o exemplo de Boaventura de Sousa Santos
na sugesto de que crucial para o entendimento das atividades e mudanas
globais atuais distinguir entre as trajetrias do capitalismo (como se encontra
atualmente na forma de globalizao neoliberal) e da modernidade ocidental
e examinar as relaes entre as mesmas. Como ele coloca, a modernidade
ocidental e o capitalismo so dois processos histricos diferentes e autnomos...
(que) se convergiram e se interpenetraram.... A minha conteno que estamos
vivendo em uma era de transio paradigmtica, e, consequentemente, o
paradigma sociocultural da modernidade... fnalmente vai desaparecer antes que o
capitalismo deixe de ser dominante... parcialmente de um processo de suplantao
e parcialmente de um processo de obsolescncia. Isso acarreta a suplantao no
sentido em que a modernidade realizou algumas das suas promessas, em alguns
casos at em excesso. E resulta da obsolescncia no sentido em que a modernidade
no mais capaz de realizar algumas de suas outras promessas (Santos 2002, 1-2).
Ele continua, a Modernidade (Ocidental) se fundamenta em uma tenso dinmica
entre o pilar da regulao ((que) garante a ordem em uma sociedade como existe
em um dado momento e lugar) e a emancipao... a aspirao para uma ordem
boa em uma sociedade boa no futuro (2). A regulao moderna um conjunto
de normas, instituies e prticas que garantem a estabilidade das expectativas
(IBID); o pilar da regulao constitudo por princpios do estado, do mercado
e da comunidade (tipicamente tomados como os trs ingredientes centrais de
governana; (ver Dale, 1997). A emancipao moderna o conjunto de aspiraes
e tendncias opositoras que procuram aumentar a discrepncia entre as experincias
e as expectativas... (e) o que mais caracteriza a condio sociocultural no incio
do sculo o colapso do pilar da emancipao para um pilar da regulao, como
resultado do gerenciamento reconstrutivo dos excessos e dfcits da modernidade
que... eram vistos como insufcincias temporrias e como problemas a serem
resolvidos atravs do uso melhor e mais amplo de recursos materiais, intelectuais
e institucionais da modernidade sempre em expanso (7). Alm disso, esses dois
pilares j deixaram de estar em tenso, mas se tornaram quase fundidos, como
resultado da reduo da emancipao moderna para a racionalidade cognitivo-
instrumental da cincia e a reduo da regulao moderna para o princpio do
mercado (9). Podemos colocar esses argumentos em forma resumida ao sugerir
que o que eles signifcam que as instituies da modernidade ocidental no so
mais a melhor estrutura possvel, ou o melhor modelo possvel de governana, para
o capitalismo na sua forma global neoliberal. (ver Dale, 2007).
O argumento bsico no qual o artigo se baseia, ento, que as
Universidades oferecem um exemplo muito bom do argumento de Santos.
No parece muito rebuscado ver na histria recente da Universidade justo o
tipo de fundio de emancipao e regulao a que Santos refere. Isso pode
ser especialmente aparente nos chamados pases avanados, mas tambm
pode se esperar que em uma era que , corretamente, na minha perspectiva,
considerada uma era de globalizao, o impacto dessas mudanas no pode
e no ser confnado a esse grupo de pases. O impacto pode ser diferente e
possivelmente de grande alcance, e pode possivelmente no parecer diretamente
relacionado globalizao, mas a globalizao neoliberal agora um elemento
crucial em como os pases e as regies no mundo todo no apenas enfrentam,
mas interpretam e modelam, os desafos que enfrentam.
Em particular, e em nvel global, as mudanas nas Universidades que
testemunhamos podem tambm ser vistas como formas do que Santos chama
gerenciamento reconstitutivo dos dfcits da modernidade ocidental. Logo,
as consequncias dessas mudanas no so vistas como a transcendncia da
modernidade, mas como um uso intensifcado das ferramentas da modernidade,
produzindo o que pode ser visto como uma forma de ultra-modernidade,
especialmente atravs do deslocamento das balanas na identifcao e soluo
de problemas.
Um argumento central deste artigo que uma ideia particular sobre a
Universidade ou talvez mais precisamente, sobre a educao superior, que difere
consideravelmente da (concepo da Universidade j relativamente global) est
sendo globalizada atravs dos esforos das organizaes internacionais. Os seus
relatrios fornecem um meio atravs do qual tais concepes no so apenas
57
difusas, mas promovidas, quase como solues evidentes. Isso promovido
como a forma a ser assumida pela resposta da Educao Superior s demandas
de uma nova economia global (neoliberal, embora seja raramente referida nestes
termos). Essa resposta tem de ter uma base comum no mundo todo (isso mais
obviamente evidente nas Metodologias de Avaliao do Conhecimento do Banco
Mundial e da OCDE (ver Robertson 2010, e mais relevantemente para este
artigo na forma das Tabelas Globais da Liga de Universidades). tipicamente
anunciado como envolvendo uma necessidade de modernizar a Universidade.
Isso tem sido desenvolvido extensivamente especialmente no nvel da Unio
Europia, mas no se deve, no entanto, esperar que seja ou parea igual em
todos os lugares.
Isso no sugere que esta soluo, e as vrias formas que toma, tem sido
de qualquer forma diretamente imposta sobre estados-nao relutantes, mas
destitudos de poder. Melhor, quero chamar ateno aqui a duas consequncias
relacionadas, mas pouco analisadas, de uma srie de projetos e processes
que chamamos globalizao. Por um lado, os estados-nao no se sentem
responsveis pelos problemas que lhes aconteceram e, por outro, no se sentem
equipados para lidar com eles; no havia uma maneira bvia de eles lidarem
com os problemas, embora continuassem sendo a sua responsabilidade. Isso abriu
um espao para uma grande oportunidade para empreendedores de assessoria
poltica, e particularmente organizaes internacionais como a OCDE, o Banco
Mundial (para Amrica Latina, ver, por exemplo, Rodrguez-Gmez e Alcntara
(2001); Bernasconi (2007a). O contedo do espao-oportunidade no envolveu
tanto os IOs providenciando respostas para os novos desafos de globalizao,
quanto assumem implicitamente a maioria das abordagens para o trabalho de IOs
na educao. Melhor, eles eram, e continuam sendo, capazes de modelar e defnir
a natureza desses novos desafos atravs do discurso assim como da estatstica.
Isto , eles especifcam e formulam a natureza dos problemas enfrentados pelos
sistemas nacionais atravs da natureza das solues que providenciam, inclusive
ao represent-los como problemas que podem ou devem ser tratados em uma
escala local, regional ou global diferente.
Os IOs eram capazes de especifcar a natureza das mudanas dirigidas
educao pelo capitalismo neoliberal, em grande parte porque os sistemas
existentes de educao os interpretam de maneira incrementalista, ou como
dependente do caminho, ou faltavam a capacidade domstica ou vontade poltica
de trat-los. Aqui, as defnies soltas de globalizao fornecerem espaos para os
IOs as especifcarem mais nitidamente, e a justifcativa para os governos nacionais
cederem sua lgica inexorvel. No se pretende que esses projetos substituam
as formas nacionais existentes, embora se possa esperar que v infuenci-las, mas
tambm oferecem um conjunto distinto de alternativas visando o aprimoramento
da contribuio da educao Economia do Conhecimento em maneiras que no
podem ser realizadas atravs dos esforos dos estados-nao individuais.
DESAFIOS INSTITUCIONAIS PARA A UNIVERSIDADE
Massifcao
Globalmente, a porcentagem do grupo etrio matriculada em educao
superior aumentou de 19% em 2000 para 26% em 2007, com os ganhos mais
dramticos nos pases de rendimento mdio superior e superior. Existe em torno de
150.6 milhes de estudantes na educao superior globalmente, aproximadamente
um aumento de 53% ao longo de 2000. Nos pases de rendimento baixo, a
participao no nvel superior melhorou apenas marginalmente, de 5% em 2000 para
7% em 2007. Na Amrica Latina, as matrculas ainda so menos de metade das de
pases de rendimento superior. A frequncia de presena implica custos particulares
signifcativos que tem uma mdia de 60% do PIB per capita (Altbach ET AL).
A lgica de massifcao inclui maior mobilidade social para um
segmento crescente da populao, novos padres de fomento para a educao
superior, sistemas cada vez mais diversifcados de educao superior na maioria
dos pases, um declnio geral nos padres acadmicos, e outras tendncias. Na
primeira etapa de massifcao, os sistemas de educao superior lutaram para
lidar com a demanda, a necessidade por uma infra-estrutura ampliada e um corpo
docente maior. Durante a ltima dcada, os sistemas comearam a lutar com
as implicaes de diversidade e a considerar quais subgrupos ainda no esto
includos e apropriadamente atendidos.
A profsso acadmica est sob estresse como nunca. A necessidade de
responder s demandas de massifcao tem causado o declnio da qualifcao
mdia de acadmicos em muitos pases. Muitos professores universitrios
em pases em desenvolvimento possuem apenas diploma de bacharelado,
o nmero de acadmicos com regime parcial tambm aumentou em muitos
pases notavelmente na Amrica Latina, onde at 80% dos professores so
empregados com regime parcial. Em muitos pases, as universidades agora
empregam professores com regime parcial que possuem regime integral em
outras instituies.
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Repartio de custos
Enquanto os sistemas de fomento para as Universidades mostraram
historicamente uma diversidade ampla de padres, claro que ao longo dos
ltimos 20 anos, o pressuposto default de que o estado seria o fundador de ltima
instncia (e muitas vezes primeira, ou nica, instncia) mudou fundamentalmente,
sobretudo como resultado de massifcao, que signifca que muitos poucos
estados se podiam dar ao luxo de continuar a fomentar as Universidades no mesmo
nvel como tem sido o caso historicamente. No mundo todo, as Universidades
eram foradas a encontrar novas fontes de fomento, todas as quais alteraram e
aumentaram as bases de fomento das Universidades. A forma principal disso
foi na rea da contribuio dos alunos ao custo da sua formao superior em
forma de taxas. Isso teve um efeito transformador no relacionamento entre a
Universidade, a academia e os alunos, que apresentaram s Universidades novas
formas de risco para gerenciar, em uma gama de reas, sobretudo em vrias reas
de reputao, as mais proeminentes em torno de garantias de qualidade.
A Nova Gesto Pblica
As Universidades esto conscientes de, e com certeza vivenciaram de
forma bem extrema a NPM (New Public Administration) como meio de controlar
o setor pblico. Certamente, na literatura sobre a educao superior, a NPM
muitas vezes tomada como a base dos problemas que a ES enfrenta, at o ponto
onde como se fosse que a NPM opera somente na ES, invs de problematizada
e localizada como a forma poltica do neoliberalismo (s vezes conhecido como
neoliberalismo constitucional).
Os seus efeitos principais foram mediados atravs da sua adoo
como fundamento da abordagem para a governana e regulao de atividades
universitrias, como as abordagens de qualidade. L, os objetivos estavam
reduzindo os perigos de captura do produtor atravs da colocao dos
relacionamentos em uma base de uma gama de sistemas supervisores e contratuais,
visando a garantia de desinteresse assim como a efcincia. Um exemplo central e
relevante disso que antes da introduo da NPM no setor de educao superior,
os acadmicos tm sido essencialmente os nicos e defnitivos rbitros do que
agora implicado pelo uso do termo qualidade (embora fosse pouco conhecido
antes do advento da NPM). Era presumido que a competncia acadmica era
necessria e tambm sufciente para todos os julgamentos sobre o que agora
coberto por sistemas de GQ. De alguma forma, isso parecia conveniente para
todos; para aqueles que se formaram signifcava que a formatura era em si uma
garantia de qualidade. O impulso para a formalizao de sistemas de qualidade
surgiu como resultado da combinao de outras foras que so discutidas nesta
seo. O que foi acrescentado durante um perodo posterior era uma nfase
crescente na necessidade das Universidades contriburem, atravs do seu ensino
e especialmente da sua pesquisa para a economia baseada no conhecimento.
Contribuio para a Economia Baseada no Conhecimento
A promoo de competitividade tem implicaes muito diferentes
dos pressupostos da teoria do capital humano que subjaziam o problema de
acumulao 20 anos atrs. O mesmo pode ser dito sobre a promoo da Economia
do Conhecimento. O papel do estado no mais limitado ao fornecimento de
uma infra-estrutura que vai sustentar uma econmica produtiva, mas amplia
e muda para se envolver com a promoo de indstrias nacionais no mercado
global (estado de competio). No mais limitado a fornecer uma infra-
estrutura de pesquisa, mas inclui envolvimento ativo no fomento e na direo
da pesquisa. Talvez mais frequentemente observado, certamente em contextos
como na educao superior, que o prprio estado fca diretamente envolvido na
acumulao. O exemplo mais reconhecido disso, certamente nos estudos de ES,
o desenvolvimento da ES como uma indstria de exportao crucial, que faz
uma contribuio cada vez mais importante para o oramento nacional.
Isso realizado efetivamente pelo aumento na contribuio das
Universidades para o que percebido como uma nova economia global baseada
no conhecimento ao invs de produo. Certamente, as Universidades so
vistas como centrais nisso, o que evidente nas formulaes explcitas das trs
exortaes principais da EU para as Universidades dos estados-membros, O papel
da Universidade na Europa do Conhecimento, a Mobilizao do Poder Intelectual
da Europa, e Cumprindo a promessa das Universidades. Tambm explcito em
cada uma dessas publicaes, e em numerosas outras publicaes de organizaes
internacionais, que isso um jogo competitivo; as universidades da Europa (e as
do mundo todo) esto todas em competio umas com as outras. A mensagem
clara que no h pas que possa optar por no participar dessa competio com
impunidade. E o meio e mecanismo principal atravs do qual isso vai ser registrado
so, claro, as tabelas da liga de sucesso das Universidades.
J foi argumentado que uma consequncia principal dessas mudanas,
e as respostas s mesmas, o Modelo Global Emergente da Universidade
(Mohrman ET AL 2008). Os autores sugerem que a EGM (Emerging Global
Model) possui oito caractersticas: misso global; intensidade de pesquisa;
novos papis para professores; fomento diversifcado; recrutamento global;
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aumento de complexidade; novos relacionamentos com o governo e a indstria;
e a colaborao global com instituies similares. Trs consequncias cruciais
seguem disso. Primeiro, o alcance global do EGM signifca que os estados-
nao tm menos infuncia sobre as suas universidades do que no passado
(5). Segundo, enquanto muitas das caractersticas do EGM esto enraizadas na
experincia americana nas ltimas quatro dcadas, este modelo est sendo aceito
no mundo todo (6). E terceiro, a nfase aqui est na natureza internacional de
um grupo pequeno de instituies que representam a incluso de ponta das
foras da globalizao pela educao superior. Os autores concluem que embora
as presses da globalizao e a atrao da internacionalizao vo incentivar
e atrair... as instituies com foco local a adaptarem elementos do EGM s
suas prprias circunstncias...o EGM relevante para a educao superior em
muitos pases e muitas localidades, mesmo aquelas que nunca vo desenvolver
plenamente o EGM da universidade de pesquisa (26, itlico acrescentado).
Da Garantia de Qualidade para Gerenciamento de Risco
Os termos qualidade e indicadores no ttulo desta conferncia
nos levam para caminhos um pouco diferentes, que apontam para e refetem
a emergncia de novas expectativas de Universidades como instituies e de
educao superior como setor. Como observado acima, nem o termo nem ou
conceito de qualidade como entendido agora existiu 20 anos atrs. A qualidade
portanto demarca um lugar especfco na Universidade e defne o seu papel e
seu propsito, e garante um lugar em comum e comensurvel para a mesma nas
instituies e jurisdies. Fundamentalmente, ento, podemos ver a qualidade
minimamente na forma de mecanismos de garantia de qualidade, tais como as
convenes regionais da UNESCO que fornecem uma base de provas para a
adeso a uma comunidade internacional de educao superior. Ao mesmo tempo,
os indicadores esto se transformando na base do estabelecimento de uma
pretenso de excelncia individual atravs do meio de comparao competitiva
em escala global, que possvel, avanada e, sobretudo, modelada por tais
mecanismos de classifcao como tabelas da liga.
Separadamente e juntos, a (garantia de) qualidade e os indicadores
acrescentaram uma nova dimenso aos programas e s operaes das Universidades,
mas as suas contribuies tm sido muito diferentes e tm tido consequncias
muito diferentes. Por um lado, a GQ proporciona elementos de proteo ao
consumidor - e fnanciadores e outras partes interessadas contra produtos ou
servios inadequados, ou contra fraude, que por outro lado levam categorizao
e reifcao do conceito de qualidade muito parecido com tofu em vrias e
mltiplas maneiras particulares (Com o conceito de tofu, refro a conceitos
que no possuem signifcado intrnseco em si, mas tomam o seu signifcado do
ambiente particular). Aqui, o requisito social para uma forma segura e confvel
de proteo para os governos e os alunos como dois conjuntos particulares de
consumidores e benefcirios do capital humano em nvel nacional mas tambm,
com uma nfase crescente na mobilidade e migrao internacional de pessoas,
em nvel transnacional gera respostas institucionais na forma de sistemas de
GQ mutuamente compatveis. E isso pode ser visto como a contribuio mais
importante da GQ para a modernizao da ES em escala global. Concretiza um meio
para melhorar a mobilidade do trabalho e a possibilidade da comensurabilidade e
comparabilidade das qualifcaes da universidade em nvel global. E podemos
ver o programa de Afnamento da UE, que procura fazer no apenas abordagens
formais comensurveis e comparveis, mas tambm as competncias genricas e
especfcas que os alunos esperam receber de seus programas de estudo. Isso pode
permitir a possibilidade da compatibilidade de currculos e possivelmente, de
pedagogia bem como de avaliao.
A diferena entre a qualidade e as classifcaes que os indicadores de
qualidade so (1) conceitos limiares, no comparativos; (2) de fato, soma zero ou
tm ou no tm; (3) em um sentido, no competitivos; a garantia de qualidade
de uma Universidade no impede outra de ter a garantia de qualidade; (4) por
inteno, uma abordagem para ao que pode ser realizada em diversas maneiras;
(5) sujeito auditoria formal como sabemos que se faz o que disse que faria?; (6)
no sujeito quantifcao, e, portanto no disponvel para a classifcao.
Uma maneira que isso emerge que a nfase na proteo da parte
interessada restringe a gama de maneiras possveis que as instituies podem se
diferenciar umas das outras. No panorama geral, elas ou tm ou no tm garantia
de qualidade, e se no, provavelmente podem sofrer consequncias srias. Elas
podem querer chamar ateno a elementos particulares do seu perfl de GQ onde
excedem os requisitos mnimos, como taxa de emprego dos diplomados, mas o
propsito formal da GQ garantir s partes interessadas que os padres mnimos
foram atingidos, geralmente atravs do uso de mecanismos administrativos, e
isso deixa pouco espao para, e pouco incentivo para, o uso da GQ como meio
de distinguir uma instituio de outra.
Os indicadores, em comparao, so sujeitos quantifcao, e, portanto
disponveis para a classifcao; (2) ordinais ao invs de cardinais; (3) comparveis;
(4) competitivos; a conquista de uma classifcao por uma Universidade no
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impede outra de conquistar; (5) fornecem uma abordagem para a ao que pode ser
realizada com uma gama limitada de maneiras defnidas externamente.
A mudana fundamental sinalizada pelo deslocamento da garantia de
qualidade para indicadores e referncias da proteo nacional (e cada vez
mais internacional) do consumidor para comparao competitiva global. Essa
uma instncia da lacuna crescente entre as instituies de uma verso com base
fundamentalmente nacional de capitalismo para uma forma neoliberal com a
ambio de minimizar a infuncia das fronteiras entre e dentro dos pases.
Isso tudo no para diminuir a importncia de acordos internacionais
de GQ (ver e.g. Hartmann 2009). A prpria comparabilidade representa uma
ferramenta muito importante da governana do setor internacionalmente. Isso foi
apontado por Novoa e Lambert (2004) no caso do trabalho na rea de educao
comparativa, e especialmente relevante e aparente no caso do Processo de
Bologna na Europa (e cada vez mais fora da Europa; ver Dale, Robertson). A sua
importncia mais reforada atravs de conferncias como esta. Ento, o ponto
no ignorar, ou diminuir a importncia do discurso de Qualidade na Educao
Superior, mas tentar localizar esses debates em um contexto mais amplo, embora
menos profundo.
Risco de Reputao
Uma maneira til de ver esse signifcado alterado dos indicadores como
a sinalizao de uma mudana nas concepes de risco, e a salincia diferente
do risco, nacionalmente e internacionalmente, que requerem novas formas de
gerenciamento de risco, que pode ser defnido como um sistema de medidas
regulatrias que visam modelar quem pode correr quais riscos e como (Hood
ET AL, 1992: 136). Enquanto a confana, por um lado, trata do desconhecido
inerente ao futuro (Keynes, 1921) assumindo aspectos de incertezas (Mollering,
2006), o gerenciamento de riscos procura trazer certo grau de mensurabilidade
s expectativas, mesmo que certezas sobre o futuro sejam impossveis. Desta
maneira, o risco refete como a natureza da cultura moderna, especialmente a
sua subestrutura tcnica e econmica, requer precisamente tal calculabilidade de
consequncias (Weber, 1978: 351) (Brown e Calnan, 2009, 12-13).
Entretanto, e mais diretamente relevante neste contexto, Huber aponta
que algo apenas se torna um risco se considerado um risco socialmente.
Uma classifcao desvantajosa , portanto apenas uma posio desfavorvel
em uma folha de dados arbitrrios, mas assim que defnido como um risco,
precisa ser evitado, registrado, previsto, tratado, gravado, auditado, e assim por
diante. Portanto, o poder da defnio se torna importante ao modelar o futuro
escopo das aes e a auto-percepo da organizao (2010, 85).
Como j vimos, a GQ nem cria riscos comparativos signifcativos,
nem seria sufciente em si gerenciar os riscos de estar em uma economia
do conhecimento global, que crucial, quando, como Huber continua, o
gerenciamento obrigatrio de risco faz com que as IESs se tornem atores
empreendedores estratgicos...as universidades se tornam atores organizacionais
(Krcken & Meier, 2006) que devem engajar em prticas como a competio
e o desenvolvimento de estratgias anteriormente exclusivas do setor privado.
Ento, a lgica por trs do gerenciamento de risco se torna dominante porque
reproduzida atravs da internalizao (Power, Scheytt, Soin & Sahlin, 2009).
A organizao no possui outros meios para se ver seno atravs da lente do
gerenciamento de risco. (ibid)
O que crucial aqui a moeda do risco a ser gerenciado. O que
queremos argumentar que a reputao emergiu como uma moeda central
e dominante de risco para as Universidades no mundo todo. Isso ocorreu
atravs de um processo onde as agncias externas organizao, e inicialmente
possivelmente perifricas a, e at parasticas em, o campo, no apenas coletam
informaes de instituies dentro do campo, mas combinam e produzem
informaes em novas formas, tipicamente classifcaes agregadas.
Power ET AL sugerem que essas representaes densas, muitas
vezes de uma fgura nica, calculistas de reputao constituem um novo tipo
de mtrica de desempenho e so uma fonte crescente de riscos criados por
homem, institucionalizadas para as organizaes enquanto adquirem maior
reconhecimento nos campos (2010, 311). E continuam a sugerir que as
organizaes tm incentivos para apoiar avaliadores legtimos ao fornecer as
informaes componentes e, ao fazer isso, as organizaes vm a internalizar...
elementos da mtrica como variveis de desempenho. As mtricas e classifcaes
de reputao so reativas ou performativas ao gerar comportamentos auto-
reforados e modelos cognitivos e valores mutveis com o tempo (Espeland
e Sauder 2007) (312). assim que os indicadores de gerenciamento interno,
aparentemente incuos, vm a ter o potencial de alterar motivaes e misses
ao construir circuitos auto-reforados de desempenho. (ibid)
O ponto central para este artigo que nesse processo, os indicadores
de desempenho organizacional para motivos internos so alinhados de forma
reativa com aqueles que informam um sistema de avaliao ou classifcao
(312). Power ET AL continuam a sugerir que
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A reputao, como construto perceptual, pode ser um
componente de uma mtrica de classifcao em primeira
instncia, mas a prpria classifcao infuencia as
percepes de crculos importantes, como clientes, para
que a reputao seja produzida pelos prprios sistemas
que a medem (Schultz ET AL. 2001), que ento so re-
importados pelas organizaes para uso interno. Eles
perpetuam a importncia interna organizacional de uma
reputao construda externamente e do um novo poder de
governo e disciplinar dentro das organizaes (Espeland e
Sauder 2007). (ibid)
OS SISTEMAS DE CLASSIFICAO DAS UNIVERSIDADES
Um mecanismo fundamental que propulsiona os tipos de mudana que
estamos chamando de gerenciamento dos riscos de reputao so organizaes
transnacionais que procuram instanciar uma base para um GKE e em particular
a operao de tabelas da liga e agncias de classifcao.
Uma caracterstica central deles na presente perspectiva que so
certamente transnacionais ao invs de internacionais. Enquanto o objetivo
principal dos mecanismos internacionais de garantia de qualidade facilitar
a comparabilidade de sistemas nacionais, com o objetivo de permitir uma
mobilidade maior, por exemplo, o objetivo principal das organizaes
internacionais, e os fns para os quais os esforos das agncias de classifcao
so direcionados, essencialmente a criao de um conjunto supranacional de
critrios para a classifcao do desempenho das Universidades individuais em
uma economia global do conhecimento em plena progresso.
Ser til neste momento fazer um breve desvio para esclarecer um pouco
do que se tratam os sistemas de classifcao das Universidades. Robertson e Olds
apontam para trs explicaes proeminentes; como um projeto discreto visando a
responsabilizao e a transparncia; (ii) como parte de um programa de estratgias
visando a gerao de competitividade dentro do setor de educao superior em
mltiplas escalas (nacional, regional e global); e (iii) como a manifestao de
processos mais amplos de globalizao que ocorrem dentro do setor de educao
superior, e que refetem, e tambm so constitutivos de, transformaes em
formaes sociais mais amplas. (106). A primeira delas identifca o aumento
das classifcaes com tentativas de aceitar as mudanas no prprio setor, como
foi descrito acima, e que, como argumentam Salmi e Saroyan, levaram as partes
interessadas a exigirem maior responsabilizao, transparncia e efcincia,
originando novos incentivos para a quantifcao da qualidade (p. 35).
A segunda explicao entende as classifcaes como mecanismos
bem como instrumentos para mudanas sociais profundas dentro do setor de
educao superior. Hazelkorn identifca seis maneiras em que as classifcaes
infuenciam e remodelam as instituies de educao superior: (i) a escolha dos
alunos competitivos ps-graduados em particular procuram universidades
com classifcao alta; (ii) o pensamento e o planejamento estratgico
particularmente a escolha seletiva de indicadores para motivos de gerenciamento;
(iii) a reorganizao e reestruturao de instituies de educao superior para
permitir que elas respondam a, ou aproveitem das classifcaes; (iv) remodelar
prioridades como focar em pesquisa, mudar o currculo, atrair alunos
internacionais, harmonizar os programas; (v) profsso acadmica usada para
identifcar (e recrutar) os melhores atores; e (vi) partes interessadas como
diplomados, que veem as classifcaes como um substituto para o retorno do
seu investimento na instituio. (Robertson e Olds 2010, 111)
Na terceira explicao, Marginson entende as classifcaes como projetos
sociais e polticas que tambm so caractersticas importantes da emergente
economia do conhecimento, onde ...os meios de criao do conhecimento so
atrados de forma gravitacional para centros fortes que garantem uma capacidade
superior para a criao e disseminao, e so capazes de sustentar uma autoridade
formal na economia-c (Marginson, 2008: 7). A explicao de Marginson se
sobrepe at certo ponto com aquela dada por Power ET AL (ver abaixo) j que
ele foca mais nos prprios sistemas de reputao.
Finalmente, Olds aponta para o signifcado das prprias agncias de
classifcao como um tipo de produtor comercial de conhecimento, cujo
interesse manter e estender a viabilidade comercial do seu produto. Ele enfatiza
a complexidade e a competio interna dentro desse setor muito lucrativo.
Cada uma dessas explicaes esclarece o argumento apresentado aqui.
Uma maneira de tentar ver como podemos nos benefciar delas coletivamente
pode ser na considerao de quem benefcia em cada uma das explicaes.
Para Salmi, a existncia de agncias de classifcao benefcia as Universidades
ao permiti-las a organizar a sua resposta s mudanas em sua volta de forma
mais efcaz. Parece haver poucas tenses ou contradies aqui. A abordagem de
Hazelkorn entende as agncias como partes integrais dos programas de mudana
dentro do setor de educao superior. Ao invs de agir para facilitar a sua adaptao,
como na abordagem de Salmi, as agncias podem ser vistas como agindo para
propulsionar a mudana para a economia do conhecimento, nos interesses
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daqueles que a promovem. Cada uma dessas est de certa forma olhando do lado
de fora para dentro da Universidade, observando de certo modo a sua reao ao
mundo em mudana em que as agncias so vistas desempenhando papis muito
diferentes. Marginson tambm entende as agncias como facilitadoras do tipo
de concentrao necessria para a economia do conhecimento. Finalmente, Olds
aponta para o papel crucial do lado oferta do processo, aqueles cujo interesse
muito claramente em lucrar com isso.
A IMPORTNCIA DA QUANTIFICAO
O que todos esses mecanismos tm em comum a propulso para
a quantifcao da diferena e, portanto a sua medida comparativa e a
transformao dos indicadores em classifcaes, ou da qualidade para quantidade,
que ao mesmo tempo dialeticamente transforma a quantidade em qualidade.
Existem vrias maneiras em que a tcnica de quantifcao til no avano da
credibilidade e aceitabilidade de dispositivos como as tabelas da liga, alm do
mais bvio de aumentar a comparabilidade e comensurabilidade, que so cruciais
para a comparao competitiva. A primeira maneira que, politicamente, os
nmeros nos movem alm da dependncia da confana, na competncia e
honestidade dos especialistas, por exemplo. Como Theodore Porter coloca, No
a autoridade incontestada dos especialistas, mas a resistncia a eles, que muitas
vezes foram os administradores a expressarem o seu raciocnio em nmeros...
A linguagem da objetividade, geralmente o clculo, atraente porque parece
implicar a honestidade e desinteresse, e porque combina um elemento de abertura
democrtica ostensiva com uma medida grande de exclusividade (1991, 245).
Observamos uma mudana aqui no apenas na base da credibilidade, mas tambm
na desmistifcao atravs da quantifcao de afrmaes, caso contrrio,
potencialmente opacas de competncia e tratamento especial. J me referi a isso
antes como a sinalizao de uma mudana de mstica para tcnica como meio
de justifcativa. A diferena que as afrmaes baseadas em mstica no podem
ser replicadas, enquanto aquelas baseadas em tcnica podem. Nas palavras
de Porter, isso substituiria a arbitrariedade, a idiossincrasia e o julgamento por
regras explcitas. A contabilidade um exemplar desse aspecto de objetividade.
Mais importante do que uma representao verdadeira de identidades fnanceiras
profundas subjacentes a manuteno de um sistema de regras que bloqueia a
distoro de interesse prprio. Caso contrrio, os cdigos dos impostos e relatrios
corporativos perderiam a sua credibilidade. Desta perspectiva, a quantifcao
surge como estratgia para superar a distncia e a desconfana (1992, 633).
A quantifcao, ento, limita e modela o risco institucional. Entretanto,
crucial observar que, ao fazer isso, no simplesmente refete o mundo,
mas o transforma, ao reconfgur-lo de forma diferente. Como coloca Alain
Desrosieres, Uma vez que os procedimentos de quantifcao so codifcados
e programados, os seus resultados so reifcados. Eles tendem a se tornar em
realidade, por um efeito bola de neve irreversvel. As convenes iniciais so
esquecidas, o objeto quantifcado naturalizado, portanto levam diretamente a
possibilidades de medida (e aqui que observamos a ligao entre, ou o caminho
de, indicadores para classifcaes).
Desrosieres continua ilustrando as qualidades que fazem a quantifcao
ser poderosa, A quantifcao proporciona uma lngua especfca, dotada de
propriedades notveis de transferibilidade, manipulaes computacionais
padronizadas, e sistemas programveis de interpretao. Portanto, torna
disponvel aos pesquisadores e legisladores os objetos coerentes, no
signifcado triplo de coerncia intrnseca (resistncia a crticos), coeso
combinatria, e poder de coeso social, mantendo juntas as pessoas ao
estimul-las (e s vezes ao for-las) a usarem essa lngua universalizante ao
invs de alguma outra lngua (11)... A quantifcao nos permite a no apenas
refetir, mas construir o que Desrosieres chama de espaos de equivalncia,
um ato que ao mesmo tempo poltico e tcnico. poltico no sentido em que
muda o mundo (IBID). Em nossos termos, criar um espao de equivalncia
onde podemos comparar a produtividade, ou a contribuio cientfca, ou
o impacto social do indivduo e os outputs coletivos de acadmicos e de
Universidades, muda os seus mundos.
Alm disso, o uso de nmeros tambm efcaz, porque persuasivo.
Como argumenta Bettina Heintz, O uso de nmeros, representaes visuais,
e a lngua afeta a comunicao de maneira particular, e a quantifcao
particularmente efcaz em promover a aceitao da comunicao. Essa
efccia corresponde ao que chamada aqui de diferena numrica, uma
diferena ilustrada pelo uso ubquo de comparaes quantitativas derivadas
de estatsticas, classifcaes, ou avaliaes (2010). Isso, por sua vez,
leva tendncia de acreditar no princpio que tudo que vale alguma coisa
seria representado por um nmero (Oakley 2000, p. 113). O que muitas
vezes esquecida que isso tambm signifca que quem ou aquilo que no
consegue atrair um nmero excludo de considerao ou desvalorizado. E
fnalmente, a quantifcao e a classifcao so ferramentas muito poderosas
por causa da sua fexibilidade.
69
MODOS DE PRODUO DE CONHECIMENTO
Se perguntarmos como se defne aquilo que conta como conhecimento,
existem trs critrios distintos para serem aplicadas. Temos que considerar o
status das afrmaes sobre o conhecimento, a sua capacidade de ser divulgado,
o reconhecimento e os efeitos dessas afrmaes. Se olharmos para a histria da
Universidade, podemos concluir que essas coisas condizem de forma bem coerente,
de fato quase contnua. A autoridade da Universidade como uma instituio era
sufciente para confrmar o status das afrmaes sobre o conhecimento. Era de
certa forma a autoridade mxima; as afrmaes sobre o conhecimento no eram
submetidas a ou legitimamente abertas ao escrutnio de outras autoridades. A
Universidade tambm controlava os meios de divulgao do conhecimento,
parcialmente por meio da sua autoridade, mas tambm por seu envolvimento na
publicao. Da mesma forma com o seu reconhecimento e os seus efeitos. Esses
tambm so inerentes essencialmente legitimidade da Universidade como
rbitro do conhecimento. Embora nem todos os efeitos do conhecimento possam
ser rastreados diretamente Universidade, todos eles eram em ltima anlise
legitimado por e, claro, legitimaram a Universidade.
Isso, pelo menos, era a afrmao da Universidade, embora possa
se argumentar que era meramente a instituio da Modernidade que mais
completamente abraou os valores e os pressupostos da Modernidade Ocidental,
e em particular a afrmao de entender e controlar o mundo atravs da cincia
embora isso, claro, se transformou tambm em uma afrmao sobre o
julgamento esttico.
Existe, ento, um elemento claro de continuidade naquilo que encontramos
nas bases da produo do conhecimento hoje em dia. Podemos certamente dizer que
so essencialmente verses diferentes do mesmo conjunto de afrmaes. A diferena
que no dependem de uma autoridade reconhecida e assumida como certa, ou de
confana ou de mstica, mas de poder demonstrar um fundamento para a autoridade,
operar atravs do contato ao invs da confana, e substituir mstica por tcnica.
Ou, para colocar nos termos da Nova Gesto Pblica, que mais do que qualquer
outro mecanismo tem propulsionado tais mudanas, a captura do fornecedor foi
substituda pela responsabilizao e auditoria. No sufciente afrmar que algo foi
feito, ou resultou de algo que foi feito. Ao invs disso, requerem-se evidncias, e um
pagamento de qualquer tipo, depende do resultado.
Portanto, agora, a possibilidade da divulgao do conhecimento depende
consideravelmente na natureza da indstria da publicao do conhecimento,
que claramente prioriza negcios acima do conhecimento e que ,
inevitavelmente, propulsionada pela necessidade de aumentar o seu lucro. As
classifcaes so o seu negcio. A certifcao do conhecimento depende
inicialmente em reviso por pares, mas cada vez mais depende de mtricas
de publicao, que agem como um tipo de meta-reviso por pares. E tais
instrumentos tambm operam de forma circular, quando o que agora referido
como o impacto do trabalho avaliado que inferido do nmero de vezes o
trabalho foi citado em um perodo determinado. O que tudo isso envolve um
aumento enorme da infuncia das editoras do conhecimento, que infuenciam
em cada etapa do processo separadamente, e lucram com todas elas juntas.
Em tal processo de produo do conhecimento, h um perigo que:
- A quantidade de publicaes substituir a qualidade da publicao
- Alternativas do conhecimento substituiro o contedo do conhecimento
- O impacto substituir a relevncia
Isso no signifca que o contedo e o status de todo ou qualquer
conhecimento necessariamente ser enfraquecido, mas levanta questes sobre
a natureza de qual conhecimento?. Preocupaes so expressas na literatura
sobre o perigo intensifcado de mltiplos efeitos Matthew, e a emergncia de
profecias auto-cumpridas e elites auto-reprodutivos. H tambm perigos claros
das disciplinas e das matrias se tornarem congeladas no tempo, com pouco
incentivo para algum inverter a tendncia dominante e citada. De forma
mais sucinta, um risco signifcativo nas consequncias do gerenciamento de
riscos atravs das tabelas da liga essa estagnao de onde vem a mudana
ou alterao do paradigma? Tambm levanta questes srias sobre a liberdade
acadmica, enquanto os gestores do risco de reputao da Universidade enfrentam
os controladores das mtricas.
MODO DE DISTRIBUIO DO CONHECIMENTO
Ser til iniciar essa breve discusso ao listar um elemento do
conjunto de Questes de Educao que compilei como meio de ir por trs
de e superar o problema dos signifcados e entendimentos locais diferentes
de Educao. Nesse caso, queremos saber como a proeminncia crescente
do risco de reputao para as Universidades se refete em como as mesmas
distribuem o conhecimento.
Quem ensinado, (ou aprende atravs de processos explicitamente
concebidos para estimular a aprendizagem), o que, como e por que, quando,
71
onde, por/de quem, sob quais circunstncias imediatas e condies mais amplas,
e com quais consequncias pessoais, profssionais e institucionais?
No h tempo ou espao para examinar a lista inteira isso seria um
trabalho em si mas rapidamente vou considerar as primeiras categorias para
dar uma ideia das possibilidades de tal abordagem. A questo quem j foi
abordada em uma discusso muito breve da massifcao das Universidades.
O que evidente que a massifcao levou a mudanas tanto qualitativas
quanto quantitativas. Em geral, as Universidades esto tendo que responder a
uma diversifcao crescente das suas prprias atividades, devido aos efeitos
dos sistemas de classifcao, e dos seus corpos discentes. As Universidades
agora esto recrutando mais e diferentes alunos, cujas diferenas so muitas
vezes relacionadas, em formas mltiplas, ao que eles precisam aprender. O
que eles precisam aprender controlado por aquilo a que eles tm acesso,
e claro que isso varia entre os tipos de Universidade. Os meios de como
eles aprendem tambm se multiplicam com nmeros crescentes aprendendo
a distncia no mundo todo, ou de alguma forma auto-didtica. Em suma,
todos eles representam formas de risco de reputao para as Universidades,
diretamente em termos do que signifcam para a capacidade de progredir em
termos das tabelas de liga, e tambm indiretamente em termos do portflio de
atividades em que podem estar envolvidas.
Outra maneira muito breve de olhar para essa questo do outro lado,
digamos assim, do estado e status da formao doutoral. Essa populao tambm
est crescendo e se tornando mais variada, na sua composio e na gama de
opes abertas a ela. Introduzo aqui porque parece ser uma rea interessante que
serve como ponte onde os riscos de buscar um perfl acadmico alto enfrentam
os riscos de ensinar uma nova gerao de doutorandos em uma instituio cuja
misso nesse respeito tambm est mudando, enquanto o perfl dos doutorandos
muda qualitativamente bem como quantitativamente. A importncia e a natureza
das tenses podem ser vistas no grande sucesso do Conselho para a Formao
Doutoral nos EUA, onde h debates animados entre o que so conhecidos como
o doutorado supermercado e o doutorado Humboldt.
A natureza dessas questes aqui aparece claramente no caso das respostas
a um artigo sobre o gerenciamento de riscos e a orientao no doutorado
(McWilliam ET AL 2002). A essncia do artigo que reconceber a orientao no
doutorado como uma rea onde o risco pode ser prevalente, e, portanto precisa
ser gerenciado, visto como um exemplo de uma mudana do conhecimento
acadmico para expertise profssional, e que isso signifcativamente
simblico como um indicador dos tipos de mudanas que esto ocorrendo. Isto
, entende-se que o artigo acrescenta ao conhecimento acadmico ao invs
de a expertise profssional. Contudo, quase todos os artigos que citam este
artigo o tomam como um estmulo para mais discusses sobre como melhorar a
expertise profssional. A questo acadmica absorvida por questes de prtica
profssional, porque est l onde os riscos esto gerenciados. Nesse processo,
a prtica acadmica profssional em si secundria a e sufocada por prticas e a
prevalncia do gerenciamento de risco.
MODO DE VALORIZAO
muito difcil apontar com preciso para como o modo de valorizao
daquilo que as Universidades e os acadmicos produzem pode estar mudando,
mas as linhas gerais podem estar claras. A valorizao ser usada no sentido
do uso ou aplicao de algo (um objeto, processo ou atividade) para ganhar
dinheiro, ou gerar valor, com a conotao de que a coisa se valida e comprova o
seu valor quando resulta em lucros, um rendimento. Portanto, algo valorizado
se rendeu o seu valor. Enquanto isso diferente da ideia de produzir algo de
valor intrnseco, o que a maioria de acadmicos gostaria de pensar que realiza de
tempos em tempos, oferece alguma possibilidade de reconhecimento do valor do
trabalho acadmico que no necessariamente cientfco no sentido estrito, ou
suscetvel a explorao comercial. Portanto, seria possvel incluir nessa defnio
o trabalho que contribui ao bem pblico ou social, que o que a maioria
gostaria de pensar uma responsabilidade necessria, at, ou especialmente, se
contm alguma crtica dos corpos pblicos ou privados (por exemplo, na ideia
da Universidade ou do acadmico como o crtico e a conscincia da sociedade).
Entretanto, podemos discernir duas condies transversais de
valorizao em uma era de classifcaes. Primeiro, a valorizao, em qualquer
forma que toma, efetivamente sem valor se no for divulgada. Para gerenciar
o seu risco de reputao de forma mais efcaz, a Universidade tem que
assegurar que no esconde a sua luz debaixo do alqueire. Segundo, para razes
semelhantes, tem de representar uma contribuio reputao da instituio ao
invs de ao estado do conhecimento da disciplina, por exemplo.
Esse tipo de abordagem alcana o seu apogeu no REF recentemente
divulgado no RU, onde o impacto da pesquisa representar 25% do
fomento dado s Universidades. Aqui, essa pesquisa deve atingir benefcios
demonstrveis para a economia e a sociedade em geral. As diretrizes deixam
claro que o impacto no inclui a infuncia intelectual sobre o trabalho de
outros acadmicos e no inclui a infuncia sobre o contedo do ensino. Tem de
73
ser um impacto que est fora da academia, sobre outros usurios de pesquisa
(e painis de avaliao que agora incluem, junto a acadmicos seniores, uma
gama mais ampla de usurios). Alm disso, esse impacto tem de ser o resultado
dos esforos para explorar ou aplicar os resultados da pesquisa prprios
unidade universitria: no pode levar os mritos pelas maneiras em que outras
pessoas fazem uso desses resultados. (Collini, 2010). O pressuposto default
aqui que a explorao comercial ser o modelo dominante, e, portanto defnir
os riscos que a Universidade enfrentar diretamente ao formar as suas polticas,
ou ao decidir quais unidades so capazes de ser mais teis/com menos risco, e
indiretamente ao determinar onde pode investir de forma mais efcaz ou intervir
para proteger a sua reputao.
CONCLUSO
Procurei neste artigo identifcar as caractersticas principais da condio
econmica macro-poltica global do mundo de hoje, e sugerir algumas maneiras
em que os desafos sociais que gera podem ser transformados em desafos para a
Universidade como uma instituio, especialmente nas formas de Qualidade e
Indicadores. A essncia do argumento que possvel discernir trajetrias muito
diferentes disponveis a e seguidas por Qualidade e Indicadores, com o primeiro
desempenhando um papel um pouco mais limitado, embora possivelmente mais
importante, na governana e na organizao da Universidade. Sugeri que uma
perspectiva til mas de forma alguma exclusiva sobre isso entender as
questes como envolvendo o gerenciamento do risco de reputao no nvel da
instituio. Ao comparar as trajetrias e o potencial da qualidade e dos indicadores,
sugeri que as classifcaes de reputao desencadeassem respostas performativas
(que por si s proporcionam substncia para o conceito, igualmente como tofu,
de excelncia), que sustenta o potencial (ou, claro, ameaa) mais amplo do uso
extensivo de indicadores que envolvem mais do que assinalar as caixas.
Procurei desenvolver essa ideia ao apontar para como essa
performatividade mediada especialmente atravs dos mecanismos quantitativos
usados por agncias internacionais de classifcao. Essas agncias no apenas
medem, mas efetivamente defnem a natureza das reputaes das Universidades,
atravs da capacidade das suas classifcaes de no apenas ordenarem, mas
determinarem a base da ordem.
Essa mudana pode ser vista como uma que v as Universidades
seguindo um contnuo que vai dos produtores nacionais de capital humano para
atores importantes na emergncia de uma economia global do conhecimento.
Diferentes Universidades em diferentes pases esto em etapas diferentes dessa
mudana, mas podemos observar uma globalizao crescente das bases e dos
critrios contra os quais o seu progresso medido.
O artigo terminou com uma tentativa de estimar algumas consequncias
possveis da proeminncia do risco de reputao nos modos de produo,
distribuio e valorizao do conhecimento, sugerindo que no seria insignifcante
em qualquer um dos casos.
Finalmente, gostaria de avanar a possibilidade, para discusso, que trs
amplos resultados possveis dos processos que descrevi so uma diversifcao
mais radical dos papis institucionais, uma diferenciao adicional da ES como
um setor, possivelmente levando a sua formal e real binarizao ou at
trinarizao, e uma periferalizao das Universidades, disciplinas e corpos
de pensamento que no so facilmente incorporados ao sistema quantifcado de
classifcaes, ou economia global do conhecimento.
REFERENCIAS
Altbach, Philip G., Reisberg, Liz and Rumbley, Laura E (2009) Trends in
Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. A Report
Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. Paris:
UNESCO.
Bernasconi, Andrs(2007a) Constitutional prospects for the implementation of
funding and governance reforms in Latin American higher education, Journal
of Education Policy, 22: 5, 509 529.
Bernasconi, Andrs (2007b) Is There a Latin American Model of the
University?Comparative Education Review, 52, 1, 27-52.
Brown, Patrick and Calnan, Michael (2009) The Risks of Managing
Uncertainty: The Limitations of Governance and Choice, and the Potential for
Trust Social Policy & Society 9:1, 1324.
McWilliam, Erica, Singh, Parlo and Taylor, Peter G.(2002) Doctoral
Education, Danger and Risk Management, Higher Education Research &
Development, 21: 2, 119 129.
Mohrman, Kathryn, Ma, Wanhua and Baker,David (2008) The Research
University in Transition: The Emerging Global Model Higher Education Policy
21, (527).
Porter, Theodore M (1991) Objectivity and Authority: How French Engineers
Reduced Public Utility to Numbers Poetics Today, 12, 2, 245-265.
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Porter, Theodore M (1991) Quantifcation and the Accounting Ideal in Science
Social Studies of Science, 22, 4, 633-651.
Robertson, Susan L. and Olds, Kris (2010) Explaining the Globalisation of
University World Rankings: Projects, Programmes and Social Transformations
Revue internationale de Sevres. Special Issue on League Tables and Rankings
in Education 54, 105-116.
Rodrguez-Gmez, Roberto and Alcntara, Armando (2001) Multilateral
agencies and higher education reform in Latin America, Journal of Education
Policy, 16: 6, 507 525.
QUALITY AND HIGHER EDUCATION: TENDENCIES
AND UNCERTAINTIES
INTRODUCTION
A
s the title of this article suggests, the topic of quality in higher
education continues to be a major highlight on the national and
international scene, but now refects the uncertainties regarding the certainty of a
concept of unchallenged isomorphic higher education quality.
To account for this topic, we start with the principle that Quality is a
construct that overlaps with societies and consequently with the paradigms for
understanding them and the role of higher education in the construction of a better
and sustainable world.
With the objective of not only touching upon that which is being produced
internationally, but enabling its dissemination in our country and discussing
international production from a local perspective, I have been producing states of
knowledge on higher education. It is in this context that from the beginning of the
century, I have been focused on studying the quality of higher education, whether
through courses administered in the graduate program in education, advising
dissertations and internships, coordinating the CAPES/INEP observatory of
education and publishing papers. This is the case of the articles below:
MOROSINI, M. C. The quality of higher education: isomorphism,
diversity and equity, Interface _ Comunicao, Sade, Educao, UNESP, v.5, n.9,
p.89-102, 2001.
MOROSINI, M. C. Qualidade na Educao Superior: tendncias do
sculo. Revista de Avaliao Educacional. So Paulo/FCC, v.20, n.43, p. 165-
186, 2010.
In the frst article, entitled The quality of higher education: isomorphism,
diversity and equity, I begin with the principle that the international tendencies
brought by the Knowledge Society, stimulated by internationalization and by
the development of new communication technologies, have been markedly
disseminating among us, a country historically characterized by State control over
higher education, the era of quality. The article examines different conceptions
and strategies of university quality, coming from international experiences.
Among the main concepts that stand out is that of quality, a synonym for
77
isomorphism, refecting standardized evaluation and aimed at employability;
quality, a synonym with respect to specifcities; and quality, a synonym for
equity. By the scarceness of the bibliography regarding the holistic view on the
topic, this article, more than introduce proposals, raises questions regarding the
relation between educational quality and innovation and the uniqueness of the
concept of quality and Brazilian reality.
In the second article, entitled Quality in higher education: tendencies of
the century, I constructed a state of knowledge on quality in higher education,
based on the international perspectives that infuence the national ones through
the globalization process, and I identifed conceptions of the qualities of
isomorphism, specifcity and equity and analyzed the trajectory of the concept of
university quality and its propositional organizations in this century. UNESCOs
position is worth highlighting, as well as its ramifcations, such as IESALC and
GUNI, in constructing the concept of higher education quality for sustainable
development. The minimization of the differences between the three types of
quality was observed, despite the predominance of the isomorphic type. The
tendency to use evaluation indexes and impact measures of university quality
was noted, as well as the tendency of research on students and, more recently, on
the alumnus learning outcomes. The conception of quality is not clear and is
related to whom it is aimed at and by whom it is defned.
After 2007, when these second and third articles began to be written,
some important events, regarding higher education quality, took place. Among
them were the WCHE/UNESCO 2009 World Conference of Higher Education/
UNESCO, 2009, and the OECD event and publications, which highlight the
importance of the concept of Quality Assurance in higher education.
It is in this context that the present article resumes that which was
found and analyzed in the previous three articles and analyzes the path covered
regarding the concept of university quality and its propositional sources.
1. HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY: ISOMORPHIC,
SPECIFICITY AND EQUITY
Regarding studies about the ideal Weberian type of quality, three
possibilities were found: isomorphic quality, the quality of diversity and the
quality of equity.
Isomorphic Quality can be summarized as a unique model of quality.
There are studies whose discussions range from fnancial principles to those
that discuss the central concept of quality; from the types that simply evaluate
quality to those that have as an objective the accreditation of institutions and/or
programs and which at the core reveal auditing; from those that are aimed at the
evaluation of study programs to those related to institutional evaluation.
One of the main centers of this conception of quality is the United
Kingdom, with respect to objectives of measuring higher education quality
for the employability of their graduates, as well as objectives of building a
theoretical framework. In the former case, university quality as employability
is considered multidimensional and complex which imposes diffculties for
evaluation. However, in sum, it is measured by personal qualities (E), key skills
(S) and skill development (U) and metacognition.
Harvey (2000) proposes fve types of quality analyzed according to a
variety of existing standards, namely: academic standards, competence standards,
organizational standards and service standards.
The multidimensional Matrix of quality is focused on fve key aspects:
- Exception, in which quality is defned in terms of excellence, possessing a
minimum group of standards;
- Perfection, in which quality is concentrated on the process and aims for
zero-faws;
- Conditions for a purpose, in which quality is related to a purpose defned by
a provider;
- Value for money, in which quality is concentrated on effciency and
effectiveness by measuring production with respect to inputs; and
- Transformation, in which quality conveys the notion of qualitative change
which improves and empowers the student.
The quality of specifcity can be summarized as the presence of
standardized Indicators parallel to the preservation of that which is different.
This conception refects much of the reality in the European Union, for the
need to preserve the member-states, respecting their differences and including
countries for their differences. Thus, the idea that there is no single standard of
higher education quality is accepted, and the foundation is a principle of quality
that is better adapted to that country.
In this perspective, the following strategies are recommended: no fscal
control and auditing of every higher education institution, in other words, the
autonomy of government agencies or bodies to carry out recommendations on
Higher Education Quality; as well as the establishment of guidance providing
networks on higher education quality.
79
The quality of equity is centered on the conception of differentiated
treatment for those who are differentiated. It refects conceptions present in
regions with broad differences in social strata, as is the case of Brazil and Latin
America. In studies by UNESCO, the following are considered key factors: Length
of education, treatment of diversity, academic autonomy, curriculum/curricular
autonomy, participation of the educational community and management of
academic centers, academic administration, faculty, educational evaluation and
innovation and investigation.
2. QUALITY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
In the third article that covered a post-2005 view, scientifc production
on Higher Education is developed as a commitment to human and social
development. In terms of an ideal Weberian type, the clear separation between
the types of isomorphic quality, quality of specifcity and quality equity is no
longer identifed. There is a tendency for the conception of isomorphic Quality
to remain, though with a weaker intensity, parallel to the tendency to combine
the quality of specifcity with the quality of equity.
UNESCO stands out in this consolidation and establishes as an objective
for 2005 2014, Education for Sustainable Development, promoting and
improving Basic Education and development, including Higher Education.
The branch of UNESCO for Latin America and the Caribbean IESALC,
develops the social commitment of universities in LA and the Caribbean with
the application of institutional policies that adopt the education as a public good
principle in compliance with the values of quality, pertinence, insertion and equity.
(UFMG, Oct. 2007).
GUNI Global University Network of Innovation, a branch of UNESCO,
located in Barcelona, aims to disseminate the concept of University Social
Responsibility (La Jar, 2007), by which the institution highlights the importance
of: management, teaching, research and extension and as an institution that
distributes and implements principles and values; and in the university plan, a
commitment to the truth; excellence; interdependence and transdisciplinarity. The
impact of the university on sustainable responsibility is highlighted (Zaffaroni,
2007), namely: Organizational, Environmental, Educational, Cognitive and
Social Impact.
The following are noteworthy regarding educational impact: students
graduate as democratic citizens; the university community has the opportunity
to actively participate in community service projects; they participate in the
refection of accomplished experiences; the educational community voluntarily
commits to service projects; interdisciplinary work in community service
projects; continuous improvements in the curricula based on accomplished
experiences, etc. (UNESCO PRESSE, 2001).
3. QUALITY ASSURANCE FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL
Until the middle of the frst decade of this century, the higher education
quality movement was limited to the concept of quality and its strategies. The
ideal types of higher education quality were aimed at local analyses. Now, it is
accompanied by a consolidation of the university internationalization process,
strengthening the notion of Quality Assurance.
The main infuencers of this fortifcation are the multilateral organizations:
OECD and UNESCO. This occurs basically through events and publications
and CMES/UNESCO, 2009.
3. 1. OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
The OECD gathers governments from the countries committed to
democracy and the economy of the market around the world, with some of its
objectives being: to support sustainable economic growth, to aid in the economic
development of other countries, to contribute to the growth of world commerce.
OECD brings together the most developed countries in the world.
The OECD published Assuring and improving quality, Tertiary
Education for the Knowledge Society OECD (2008, p. 7-63). In the publication,
Assuring and Improving Quality, the importance of education in contemporary
society is affrmed:
With the move towards knowledge-driven economies and
societies, education has never been more important for
the future economic performance and relative economic
standing of countries, but also to allow individuals to
perform and fully participate in the economy and society.
(OECD, 2007. p. )
With the Knowledge Society and Knowledge Economy, quality
assurance has become a necessity for policy makers to demonstrate that public
funds are spent effectively and that the public purposes for fnancing tertiary
education are actually fulflled (Aldeman and Brown, 2007).
81
With the internationalization of higher education, this stamp of quality
assurance takes on a greater value, since it is fundamental for increasing student
mobility, the reputation of the higher education institution among countries,
quality monitoring, the Globalization of careers and the need for common
standards. Quality assurance is reinforced since Irrespective of the drivers and
rationales of convergence, the trend towards similar systems of tertiary education
yields common concerns across countries regarding the performance of their
TEIs (Woodhouse, 1999).
In this context, quality assurance can be defned as the process of
establishing investor trust, whose provision (input, process and results) fulflls
expectations and is shown to be in line with the minimum threshold requirements.
The OECD points out the need for key agencies to certify quality
assurance and to assume the global responsibility of quality assurance. These
agencies can be the responsibility of educational authorities, governmental
groups and autonomous agencies.
The OECD also highlights the role of the civil society in the quality assurance
of higher education and the growing importance of rankings in the media.
In the wake of quality assurance guidelines, the OECD held, in
September of 2008, the International Seminar Outcomes of higher education:
Quality relevance and impact. In this event, quality assurance strategies were
discussed, preferentially, from the perspective of Europeanization.
The rankings were examined in depth and it was declared that their use
is the result of a pursuit of comparability between HEIs, basically through the
internationalization process.
Various characteristics and different rankings were pointed out, and have
already been analyzed in other papers, namely (MOROSINI, 2010):
- The Carnegie Classifcation of institutions USA: Ranking organized by
study level and specialization;
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University - Worlds Best Universities: The most potent
research bases and highest intellectual values for scientist mobility;
- Times Higher Education Supplement - THES (2004): Impact preferentially
on students aimed at internationalization;
- The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan -
(HEEACT, 2008): Ranking of the 500 best universities by their performance
in research;
- The Webometrics (2009) The World Ranking Web of Universities: Evaluates
the largest number of HEIs worldwide;
Journal rankings - Thomson-ISI and Elsevier-Scopus (2007).
Though the OECD defends and disseminates the use of rankings mainly
at the core of the internationalization process, some authors such as Marginsons
(2008, p. 24) call attention to Where particular sectors have a primarily local
mission, are not involved in global research circuits or teaching markets, and
bear no close resemblance to the sectors of other nations, nothing can be gained
by applying global data comparisons that could not be more accurately secured
by national performance management.
In this same line of thinking, West (2009, p. 9) reaffrms: If universities
are indeed to be locally engaged as well as globally competitive, they have to
develop their own unique missions rather than giving priority to whatever will
maximize the current league table position. Agreement on a new system of
rankings will not be easy to achieve, but it is essential if the present Faustian
bargain is to be replaced by an arrangement where reputation is not purchased at
an unacceptable price in terms of the surrender of institutional autonomy.
3.2. UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientifc and
Cultural Organization
UNESCOs mission is to contribute to the consolidation of peace, the
eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through
education, science, culture, communication and information. UNESCO is one of
the multilateral organizations that have a major impact on higher education. Its
main headquarters is in Paris and has branches on all continents. In Latin America,
the head offce is in the city of Caracas and is called IESALC/UNESCO.
It is worth noting that there is no transnational organization that makes
decisions for all nations: the sovereignty of the national state is present. This
way, though the recommendations of UNESCO are not normative obligations
for all nations, it is customary for them to be adopted by the countries.
In WCHE/UNESCO 2009, which brought more than 1000 representatives
from all over the world to Paris and was preceded by regional meetings on the
fve continents, the importance of quality assurance was asserted.
Uvalic-Trumbic, secretary general of WCHE, highlighted in his talk on
Internationalizing Quality Assurance: a New Dynamic for Higher Education
in the 21
st
Century (PUCRS, 2010), the new dynamic in higher education with
quality assurance from local to global.
From this global perspective, transnational education is defned by
UNESCO/Council of Europe as:
83
All types of higher education study programs, or sets of courses of
study, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which
the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding
institution is based. Such programs may belong to the education system of a
State different from the State in which it operates, or may operate independently
of any national education system.
Parallel to the advancement of the implementation of global quality
assurance, a strong discussion takes place regarding higher education as an
educational service. This argument has as one of its forums the General Agreement
on Trade in Services (GATS) in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The
GATS distinguishes 4 modes in international education service providing, which
are useful for understanding commercial transnational education:
- Mode 1: Transborder education service providing (distance education,
virtual education institutions, educational software and business
education through ICTs).
- Mode 2: Consuming educational services abroad (students studying
abroad)
- Mode 3: Commercial presence (local university, or satellite campus,
language education businesses, private education businesses).
- Mode 4: The presence of people (full professors, professors,
researchers who work abroad).
UNESCO highlights that currently, challenges are perceived as particularly
important in the developing countries where the social demand for higher education
is higher and expects an increase in the coming years. The educational systems are
still fragile and suffer from a scarceness of qualifed professors, with the brain
drain and insuffcient funding. The public administrations ability to coordinate
and manage the respective higher education systems is also very weak, and the
information systems are frequently underdeveloped, at the institutional level as
well as the system level. Apart from the problem of controlling and assuring the
quality of commercial transnational higher education, there are possible negative
effects on equity academic fees can be prohibitive, and access to transnational
education can be limited to privileged social classes. Finally, the state can be
tempted to continue to reduce the costs relative to higher education, assuming that
the market can bear a growing part of it (MARTIN, 2007, p. 15).
The UNESCO member countries acceptance of the establishment of
quality assurance was facilitated by the WCHE preparatory conferences which
dealt with quality assurance at the sub-regional and regional levels through national
agency networks. It was also facilitated by the existence of regional harmonization
processes (Bologna) and the existence of the European Higher Education Area
providing an international opportunity and was moreover facilitated by the
emergence of ENLACES, by the African Union, the PAN-REGIONAL Asia-
Pacifc Community initiative, among others.
The fnal 2009 WCHE Bulletin fragments quality assurance. Despite
this fragmentation, the crucial value of quality assurance is refected in the
52 Bulletin articles in various references: Expanding access and quality is the
greatest challenge; regulatory mechanisms and quality assurance are intended
for every HE sector with the challenge of diversifcation.
It has been pointed out that recognizing quality assurance attracts and
retains qualifed professors, that quality assurance is the frst factor of defense
against frauds and false diplomas and that quality assurance, at the regional level,
is an important step in acquiring effective results.
UNESCO, together with OECD, produces quality assurance instruments.
One of the most important instruments, based on the conception of the quality of
diversity, is the establishment of a quality assurance system in each one of the 47
European Union member states.
It is also worth noting the different existing tools, such as:
- Guidelines and Standards for quality assurance;
- European Quality Assurance Register;
- Guidelines for providing quality in transborder education (UNESCO,
2006).
- Conventions for recognizing diplomas WCHE
The UNESCO initiative also deserves mention, which since 2002, has held
global forums on quality assurance, accreditation and recognition of qualifcations.
UNESCO World Bank through GIQAC Global Initiative for Quality
Assurance Capacity, supports regional networks for quality assurance agencies.
Networks are identifed in the following regions: Africa, Arab States, Asia
and the Pacifc, the Caribbean, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe
and Central Asia. The web portal (UNESCO Portal) is also cited as a quality
assurance instrument supported by governments which provide an evaluation for
their countrys institutions.
In this context of the second decade of the new century, it is worth
remembering that the construction of a knowledge state has dated and
territorially situated references. The present article deals with the topic of
85
higher education quality at the end of the last century and the beginning of the
present one, using international scientifc publications with strong American
and European infuences as sources. The results point towards the indication
that the topic of quality in higher education has been growing signifcantly in
terms of the number of publications. They also point out that the conception of
quality, during the entire period studied, undergoes pressure and directing by
multilateral organizations, with OECD and UNESCO standing out.
They also point out that the internationalization of quality assurance is
a reality.
However, the developing countries, while adapting to this
reality, will have to elaborate their own new, feasible and less
troublesome solutions, focused mainly on the establishment
of a quality culture in higher education institutions. Some
of these approaches can very well provide models for more
developed countries as they face new political challenges...
(UVALIC-TRUMBIC. 2010, p.11).
REFERENCES
HARVEY, Lee. New Realities: the relationship between higher education and
employment. European Association of Institutional Research. Lund: August, 1999.
Disponvel em: www.uce.ac.crq/publications/cp/eair99. Acesso em 15 de set de 2000.
La JARA, Mnica Jimnez de. Universidad Construye Pas, 2006. Disponvel em
http://www.guni-rmies.net/k2008/page.php?lang=2&id=32, acesso em 6.dez.2007.
MARGINSON, S. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the K economy
The New World Order in Higher Education: Research Rankings, Outcomes
Measures and Institutional Classifcations. General Conference. IMHE.
Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education. Conference
Papers. Paris: OCDE, 7 9 September 2009. Disponvel em: http://www.
oecd.org/dataoecd/60/25/41203671.pdf. Acesso em 23 set 2008.
MARTIN, M. (ed). Cross-border higher education: regulation, quality
assurance and impact - Chile, Oman, Philippines, South Africa. Paris:
UNESCO/ International Institute for Educational Planning, -IIEP, 2007.
MOROSINI, M. C. The quality of higher education: isomorphism, diversity and
equity, Interface _ Comunicao, Sade, Educao, UNESP, v.5, n.9, p.89-102, 2001.
MOROSINI, M. C. Internacionalizao da educao superior e qualidade/
Internationalization of Higher Education and Quality. In: AUDY, J. MOROSINI,
M. C. (Orgs). Inovao e Qualidade na Universidade/Innovation and quality in the
university. Porto Alegre: EdPUCRS/CAPES/CNPq/INEP, 2008. p. 250 286.
MOROSINI, M. C. Qualidade na Educao Superior: tendncias do sculo.
Revista de Avaliao Educacional. So Paulo/FCC, v. 20, n.43, p. 165-186, 2010.
MOROSINI, M. Avaliao da educao superior no Brasil: entre rankings
globais e avaliao institucional. In: OLIVEIRA, J. F.; CATANI, A. M.;
SILVA JNIOR, J. R.(Orgs) Educao Superior no Brasil em tempos de
internacionalizao. So Paulo: Xam, 2010. p. 79-104 ISBN: 978857587128-7
SANTIAGO, P, TREMBLAY, K, BASRI, E, ARNAL, E. Tertiary Education
for the Knowledge Society - OECD. Thematic Review of Tertiary Education:
Synthesis Report. OECD 2008 - Volume 2. p.7- 63OECD/IMME. Outcomes of
higher education: Quality relevance and impact. Proceedings. 8-10 September
2008. Paris, France: OECD, 2008.
OECD. Disponvel em: http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,
fr_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html. Acesso em 20 out. 2010.
UNESCOPRESSE N. 2001-35. Los pases de Amrica Latina y el Caribe
adoptan la declaracin de Cochabamba sobre educacin. Ofcina de
Informacin Pblica para Amrica Latina y el Caribe. 8. mar.2001. Disponvel
em: http://www.iesalc.org. Acesso em: 13 de mar de 2001.
UNESCO/IESALC. Encontro Internacional de Reitores em torno ao tema do
compromisso social. Minas Gerais: UFMG, outubro de 2007. Disponvel em
http://www.iesalc.org. Acesso em 11 de nov de 2007.
UNESCO. Disponvel em: http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/unesco/. Acesso em
20 out. 2010.
UNESCO. Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education.
Paris: UNESCO, 2006.
UNESCO. UNESCO. Portal on Higher Education Institutions. Disponvel em:
http://www.unesco.org/education/portal/hed-institutions. Acesso em: 13 out. 2010.
UVALI-TRUMBI. Stamenka. Internationalizing Quality Assurance:
a New Dynamic for Higher Education in the 21
st
century. International
Seminar INNOVATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY.
September 10
th
, 2010, PUCRS. (http://www.pucrs.br. )
87
QUALIDADE E EDUCAO SUPERIOR: TENDNCIAS
E INCERTEZAS
INTRODUO
C
omo o titulo deste artigo sugere o tema qualidade na educao
superior continua em grande destaque no panorama nacional e
internacional, mas agora refetindo as incertezas quanto certeza de um conceito
de qualidade da educao superior isomrfco inconteste.
Para dar conta deste tema parte-se do principio que a Qualidade um
construto imbricado s sociedades e conseqentemente aos paradigmas de
entendimento destas e do papel da educao superior na construo de um
mundo melhor e sustentvel.Com o objetivo de no s levantar aquilo que est
sendo produzido internacionalmente, mas possibilitar a sua disseminao em
nosso pas e discutir, na perspectiva do local, a produo internacional, venho
realizando estados de conhecimento sobre a educao superior. neste contexto
que desde o incio deste sculo estou voltada a estudar a qualidade da educao
superior, seja atravs de disciplinas ministradas no programa de ps-graduao
em educao, orientao de teses e estgios, coordenao de observatrio de
educao CAPES/INEP e publicao de trabalhos. Este o caso dos artigos:
MOROSINI, M. C. The quality of higher education: isomorphism,
diversity and equity, Interface _ Comunicao, Sade, Educao, UNESP, v.5, n.9,
p.89-102, 2001.
MOROSINI, M. C. Qualidade na Educao Superior: tendncias do
sculo. Revista de Avaliao Educacional. So Paulo/FCC, v.20, n.43, p. 165-
186, 2010.
No primeiro texto, denominado de Qualidade da Educao Superior:
isomorfsmo, diversidade e equidade, parto do principio que as tendncias
internacionais trazidas pela Sociedade do conhecimento, acirradas pela
internacionalizao e pelo desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias de
comunicao, tm disseminado, marcadamente, entre ns, pas caracterizado
historicamente pelo controle do Estado sobre a educao superior, a era da
qualidade. O trabalho examina diferentes concepes e estratgias de qualidade
universitria, advindas de experincias internacionais. Entre os principais
conceitos destacam-se o de qualidade, sinnimo de isomorfsmo, refetindo-se
como avaliao estandartizada e voltada empregabilidade; qualidade, sinnimo
de respeito s especifcidades; e qualidade, sinnimo de equidade. Pela escassez
de bibliografa quanto a uma viso holstica do tema, este trabalho, mais do que
apresentar propostas levanta questionamentos quanto relao entre qualidade e
inovao educativa e unicidade do conceito de qualidade e a realidade brasileira.
No segundo texto, denominado Qualidade na educao superior:
tendncias do sculo, constru um estado de conhecimento sobre qualidade na
educao superior, com base nas perspectivas internacionais que infuenciam
as nacionais pelo processo de globalizao, e identifquei as concepes de
qualidade isomrfca, da especifcidade e da equidade e fz uma anlise da
trajetria do conceito de qualidade universitria e seus organismos propositivos,
neste sculo. Mereceu destaque a posio da UNESCO e de suas ramifcaes,
como a IESALC e a GUNI, na construo do conceito de qualidade da educao
superior para o desenvolvimento sustentvel. Constatou-se a minimizao
das diferenas entre os trs tipos de qualidade, apesar do predomnio do
tipo isomrfco. Registrou-se a tendncia do uso de ndices avaliativos e de
medidas de impacto da qualidade universitria, a tendncia das pesquisas
sobre o estudante e, mais recentemente, sobre o egresso learning outcomes.
A concepo de qualidade no clara e est relacionada a quem ela dirigida
e por quem ela defnida.
Aps a data de 2007 quando esse segundo e terceiro textos comearam a
ser escritos alguns eventos importantes, referidos qualidade da educao superior,
ocorreram. Entre eles merecem destaque a WCHE/UNESCO 2009 Conferncia
Mundial de Educao Superior/UNESCO, 2009, e evento e publicaes da OECD,
que destacam a importncia do conceito de Garantia de Qualidade (Quality
Assurance) da educao superior.
neste contexto que o presente artigo retoma o encontrado e analisado
nos trs artigos anteriores e faz uma anlise da trajetria percorrida quanto ao
conceito de qualidade universitria e suas fontes propositivas.
1. QUALIDADE DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR: ISOMRFICA,
ESPECIFICIDADE, EQUIDADE
Quando de estudos sobre o tipo ideal weberiano de qualidade foram
encontrados trs possibilidades: a qualidade isomrfca, a qualidade da
diversidade e a qualidade da equidade.
A Qualidade Isomrfca pode ser sintetizada como a qualidade de modelo
nico. A esto congregados estudos que se estendem desde os sobre princpios
89
fnanceiros at os que discutiam o conceito central de qualidade; desde os tipos
que simplesmente avaliavam a qualidade at aqueles que tinham como objetivo
o credenciamento de instituies e/ou cursos e que no bojo apresentavam a
auditoria; desde os que se voltavam avaliao de programas de estudos at os
de avaliao institucional.
Um dos principais centros desta concepo de qualidade o Reino Unido.
Tanto com fns de medir a qualidade da educao superior para a empregabilidade
de seus egressos como com fns de construo de um arcabouo terico. No
primeiro caso a qualidade universitria como empregabilidade considerada
multidimensional e complexa o que impe difculdades de avaliao. Entretanto,
em uma sntese ela medida por qualidades pessoais (E), habilidades chave (S)
e desenvolvimento de habilidades (U) e a metacognio.
Harvey (2000) prope cinco tipos de qualidade analisados segundo os
diversos padres existentes, a saber: padro acadmico, padro de competncia,
padro organizacional e padro de servios.
A Matriz multi-dimensional de qualidade esta concentrada em cinco
aspectos-chave:- Exceo, na qual a qualidade defnida em termos de excelncia,
possuindo um grupo mnimo de padres;
- Perfeio, na qual a qualidade est concentrada no processo e objetiva
o defeito-zero;
- Condies para propsito, na qual a qualidade est relacionada a um
propsito defnido por um provedor;
- Valor para o dinheiro, na qual a qualidade concentra-se em efcincia e
efetividade pela medida da produo em relao aos inputs; e
- Transformao, na qual a qualidade transmite a noo de mudana
qualitativa que melhora e d poder ao aluno.
A qualidade da especifcidade pode ser sintetizada como a presena de
Indicadores estandardizados paralelo a preservao do diferente. Esta concepo
refete muito a realidade da Unio Europia, pela necessidade de preservar os
estados-membros, respeitando suas diferenas e integrando os pases pela suas
diferenas. Assim, aceita-se a idia de que no h um nico padro de qualidade
da educao superior, mas sim a base o princpio de qualidade de melhor
adaptao para aquele pas.
Nesta perspectiva so recomendadas como estratgias: no fscalizao
e auditoria sobre cada instituio de educao superior, ou seja, a autonomia
de agncias ou rgos governamentais de realizarem recomendaes sobre
Qualidade na Educao Superior; bem como o estabelecimento de redes
provedoras de orientaes sobre a qualidade da educao superior.
A qualidade da equidade est centrada na concepo de tratamento
diferenciado para quem diferenciado. Ela refete concepes presentes em regies
com larga diferenas entre os estratos sociais, como o caso do Brasil e da Amrica
Latina. Em estudos da UNESCO so indicados como fatores chave: Extenso
da educao, tratamento da diversidade, autonomia escolar, currculo/autonomia
curricular, participao da comunidade educativa e gesto dos centros escolares,
direo escolar, professorado, avaliao e inovao e investigao educativas.
Nesta concepo a qualidade est para alm da simples padronizao de
indicadores, abarcando estudos qualitativos e quantitativos.
2. QUALIDADE PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTVEL
No terceiro artigo que abarcava uma viso ps 2005 a produo cientifca
sobre Educao Superior propagada como compromisso com o desenvolvimento
humano e social. Em termos de tipo ideal weberiano no mais identifcada
a separao ntida entre os tipos de qualidade isomrfca, da especifcidade e
da equidade. H uma tendncia de permanecer, embora com fora menor, a
concepo da Qualidade isomrfca paralela tendncia da juno da qualidade
da especifcidade com a qualidade da equidade.
A UNESCO se destaca nesta consolidao e estabelece como meta para 2005
2014, a Educao para o Desenvolvimento Sustentvel, promovendo e melhorando
a Educao Bsica e a formao, a estando includa a Educao Superior.
O ramo da UNESCO para a Amrica Latina e o Caribe IESALC,
propaga o compromisso social das universidades da AL e Caribe com a aplicao
de polticas institucionais que adotem o princpio educao como bem pblico
em consonncia com os valores de qualidade, pertinncia, insero e equidade.
(UFMG, out 2007).
A GUNI Global University Netword of Innovation, ramo da Unesco,
sediada em Barcelona, busca disseminar o conceito de Responsabilidade Social
Universitria (La Jar, 2007), pelo qual a instituio destaca como importante a:
gesto, docncia, investigao e extenso e como instituio difusora e implantadora
de princpios e valores; e no plano universitrio, com compromisso com a
verdade; excelncia; interdependncia e transdisciplinaridade. So destacados os
impactos da universidade com responsabilidade sustentvel (Zaffaroni, 2007), a
saber: Impacto Organizacional, Ambiental, Educativo, Cognitivo e Social.
No impacto educativo so ressaltados: alunos se formam como
cidados democrticos; comunidade universitria tem a possibilidade de
participar ativamente em projetos de servio a comunidade; participam na
91
refexo das experincias realizadas; comunidade educativa se comprometem
voluntariamente em projetos de servio; trabalho interdisciplinares em
projetos de servio a comunidade; melhoras continuas nos currculos a partir
das experincias realizadas, etc. (UNESCO PRESSE, 2001).
3. GARANTIA DA QUALIDADE - DO LOCAL PARA O GLOBAL
At meados da primeira dcada deste sculo o movimento da qualidade
da educao superior se detinha no conceito de qualidade e nas suas estratgias.
Os tipos ideais de qualidade da educao superior estavam voltados anlise
do local. Neste momento, acompanhada por uma consolidao do processo de
internacionalizao universitria, se fortifca a noo de Garantia da qualidade.
Os principais infuenciadores desta fortifcao so os organismos
multilaterais: a OCDE e a UNESCO. Isto ocorre basicamente atravs de eventos
e publicaes e da CMES/UNESCO, 2009.
3.1. OCDE Organizao de Cooperao e de Desenvolvimento Econmico
A OCDE rene os governos dos pases comprometidos com a democracia
e a economia de mercado ao redor do mundo, tendo como alguns de seus objetivos:
apoiar o crescimento econmico sustentvel, auxiliar o desenvolvimento
econmico de outros pases, contribuir para o crescimento do comrcio mundial.
A OCDE reune os pases mais desenvolvidos do mundo.
A OCDE publica Assuring and improving the quality, Tertiary
Education for the Knowledge Society OECD, (2008. p. 7- 63). Neste trabalho,
Assegurando e Melhorando a Qualidade, afrmada a importncia da educao
na contemporaneidade:
Com o movimento em direo a economias e sociedades
do conhecimento, a educao nunca foi to importante
para o desempenho econmico futuro e relativo prestgio
econmico dos pases, mas tambm para permitir que
indivduos desempenhem e participem integralmente na
economia e na sociedade. (OECD, 2007)
Com a Sociedade do Conhecimento e a Economia do Conhecimento a
garantia de qualidade tornou-se uma necessidade para polticas de mercados
a fm de demonstrar que os fundos pblicos so gastos efcazmente e que os
propsitos pblicos para fnanciamento da educao terciria so realmente
preenchidos (Aldeman e Brown, 2007).
Com a internacionalizao da educao superior este selo de garantia
de qualidade passa a ter maior valor, pois fundamental para o crescimento
na mobilidade de estudantes, a reputao da instituio de educao superior
entre os pases, o monitoramento da qualidade, a Globalizao de profsses
e a necessidade de padres comuns. A garantia de qualidade reforada, pois
independente dos condutores e princpios da convergncia, a tendncia para
sistemas similares de educao terciria produz interesses comuns entre pases
que consideram o desempenho das suas IES (Woodhouse, 1999).
Neste contexto a Garantia de qualidade pode ser defnida como o processo de
estabelecimento da confana do investidor, cuja proviso (input, processo e resultados)
preenche as expectativas e mostram-se altura dos requerimentos mnimos limiares.
A OCDE aponta a necessidade de agncias chave para atestar a garantia
de qualidade e para assumir a responsabilidade global da garantia de qualidade.
Essas agncias podem ser de responsabilidade de autoridades educacionais,
grupos do governo e de agncias autnomas.
A OCDE tambm destaca o papel da sociedade civil na garantia da
qualidade da educao superior e a crescente importncia dos rankings na mdia.
Na continuidade da orientao para a garantia de qualidade, a OCDE realiza,
em setembro de 2008 o Seminrio Internacional Outcomes of higher education:
Quality relevance and impact. Neste evento so discutidas as estratgias de
garantia de qualidade, preferencialmente, na perspectiva da europeizao.
Os rankings so examinados em profundidade e declarada que a sua
utilizao decorrncia da busca da comparabilidade entre as IES, basicamente
pelo processo de internacionalizao.
So apontadas diversas caractersticas e diferentes rankings, a saber e j
analisados em outros textos (MOROSINI, 2010) :
- The Carnegie Classifcation of institutions USA: Classifcao organizada
por nvel de estudos e especializao;
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University - Words Best Universities: Mais potentes bases
de pesquisa e mais altos valores intelectuais para a mobilidade de cientistas;
- Times Higher Education Supplement - THES (2004): Impacto
preferencialmente junto a estudantes voltados a internacionalizao;
- The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan -
(HEEACT, 2008): Classifcao das 500 melhores universidades pelo seu
desempenho na pesquisa;
- The Webometrics (2009) - O Ranking Mundial Web de Universidades: Avalia
o maior nmero de IES mundiais;
- Rakings de peridicos - Thomson-ISI and Elsevier-Scopus (2007).
93
Entretanto embora a OCDE defenda e propague a utilizao de rankings
principalmente no bojo do processo de internacionalizao alguns autores
como Marginsons (2008, p. 24) chama a ateno para
onde setores particulares tem primariamente misso local,
no esto envolvidos em circuitos globais de pesquisa ou
mercado de ensino e esto isolados de interesse para setores
de outras naes, nada se ganhar pela aplicao de dados
globais comparativos que podero no estar assegurados
com acurcia pela administrao de desempenho nacional.
Nesta mesma linha de pensamento, West (2009. p. 9) reafrma: Se as
universidades so, de fato, engajadas localmente, assim como globalmente
competitivas, elas tm de desenvolver as suas prprias e nicas misses em
vez de dar prioridade a tudo o que ir maximizar a sua posio atual na tabela
de classifcao. Acordo sobre um novo sistema de classifcao no ser fcil
de alcanar, mas essencial para que a barganha faustiana presente possa
ser substituda por um arranjo onde a reputao no comprada a um preo
inaceitvel em termos da rendio da autonomia institucional.
3.2. UNESCO - Organizao das Naes Unidas, para a Educao,
Cincia e Cultura
A UNESCO tem como misso contribuir para a consolidao da paz,
erradicao da pobreza, desenvolvimento sustentvel e dilogo intercultural
atravs da educao, cincia, cultura, comunicao e informao. A UNESCO
um dos organismos multilaterais de grande impacto sobre a educao superior.
Sua sede central Paris e possui ramifcaes em todos os continentes. Na
Amrica Latina a sede na cidade de Caracas e se denomina IESALC/UNESCO.
Convm relembrar que no existe um organismo transnacional que emita
decises para todas as naes: a soberania do estado nacional est presente.
Assim, embora as recomendaes da UNESCO no tenham um carter normativo
obrigatrio para as naes, praxe que essas sejam adotadas pelos pases.
Na WCHE/UNESCO 2009, que reuniu em Paris mais de 1000
representantes de todo o mundo e foi precedida por reunies regionais nos cinco
continentes foi afrmada a importncia da garantia de qualidade.
Uvalic-Trumbic, secretaria geral da WCHE, na sua fala sobre
Internationalizing Quality Assurance: a New Dynamic for Higher Education in
the 21
st
century PUCRS, 2010) destacou a nova dinmica da educao superior
com a Garantia de qualidade do local para o global.Nesta perspectiva do global
a educao transnacional defnida pela UNESCO/Council of Europe como:
Todos os tipos de programas de estudo no ensino superior, os conjuntos
de cursos, ou servios educacionais (incluindo os de ensino distncia) em que
os alunos esto localizadas em um pas diferente daquele em que est baseada a
instituio de concesso. Esses programas podem pertencer ao sistema educacional
do estado, diferente do estado em que atua, ou pode operar independentemente de
qualquer sistema nacional.
Paralelamente ao avano da implantao da garantia de qualidade global
ocorre uma forte discusso sobre a educao superior como servio educacional.
Essa querela tem como um dos foros o General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) na World Trade Organization (WTO). O GATS distingue 4 modos na
prestao internacional de servios educacionais, que so teis para o entendimento
da educao comercial transnacional:
- Modo 1: prestao de servios educacionais transfronteirios (educao a
distncia, instituies de ensino virtual, software de educao e formao
corporativa atravs das TIC).
- Modo 2: Consumo de servios educacionais no estrangeiro (estudantes
estudando no estrangeiro
- Modo 3: Presena Comercial (universidade local, ou campus satlite,
empresas de formao de lnguas, empresas privadas de formao).
- Modo 4: Presena de pessoas fsicas (professores titulares, docentes,
pesquisadores que trabalham no estrangeiro).
A UNESCO destaca que atualmente, os desafos so percebidos como
particularmente importantes nos pases em desenvolvimento onde a demanda
social para o ensino superior elevada e espera-se aumentar nos anos vindouros.
Os sistemas de ensino so ainda frgeis e sofrem com a escassez de professores
qualifcados, com a fuga de crebros e com o fnanciamento insufciente. A
capacidade das administraes pblicas para a direo e gesto dos respectivos
sistemas de ensino superior tambm bastante fraca, e sistemas de informao so
freqentemente subdesenvolvidos, tanto em nvel institucional como no de sistema.
Alm do problema de controlar e assegurar a qualidade da educao superior
comercial transnacional existem os possveis efeitos negativos sobre a equidade
- as taxas escolares podem ser proibitivas, e o acesso educao transnacional
pode ser limitado a classes sociais privilegiadas. Finalmente, o estado poderia ser
tentado a continuar a reduzir os custos relativos do ensino superior, assumindo que
o mercado pode suportar uma parte crescente do mesmo. (MARTIN, 2007. p.15)
95
A aceitao pelos paises integrantes da UNESCO para a fxao da
garantia da qualidade foi facilitada pelas conferncias preparatrias da WCHE
as quais abordaram a garantia de qualidade nos nveis sub-regional e regional
atravs de uma de rede agncias nacionais. Foi facilitada tambm pela existncia
de processos de hamornizao regional (Bolonha) e pela existncia da rea de
educao Superior Europia propiciando a abertura internacional e ainda tambm
foi facilitada pelo surgimento do ENLACES, da Unio Africana, da iniciativa
PAN-REGIONAL para a Unio da sia e do Pacfco e outros.
O Comunicado fnal da WCHE 2009 traz uma fragmentao da garantia
de qualidade. Apesar da fragmentao o crucial valor da garantia de qualidade est
refetida nos 52 artigos Comunicado em mltiplas menes: Expanso do acesso e
qualidade o maior desafo; Mecanismos regulatrios e de garantia da qualidade
esto destinados a todo o setor de ES e tem como desafo a diversifcao.
apontada que o reconhecimento da garantia de qualidade atrai e retm
professores qualifcados, que a garantia de qualidade o primeiro fator de defesa
contra fraudes e diplomas falsos e que a garantida de qualidade, no nvel regional,
importante passo na aquisio de resultados efetivos.
A UNESCO, juntamente com a OECD produzem instrumentos de garantia
de qualidade. Um dos instrumentos mais importantes baseados na concepo de
qualidade da diversidade o estabelecimento de sistema de garantia de qualidade
em cada um dos 47 estados membros da Unio Europia.
Tambm de registrar as diferentes ferramentas existentes, como:
- Orientaes e Padres para a garantia de qualidade;
- Registro Europeu de Qualidade;
- Orientaes para a proviso de qualidade na educao transfronteiria
(UNESCO, 2006).
- Conveno para o reconhecimento de diplomas WCHE
- Merece tambm ser citado a iniciativa da UNESCO, que desde 2002, realiza Fruns
globais de garantia de qualidade, acreditao e reconhecimento de qualifcaes.
- UNESCO-World Bank atravs da GIQAC Global Iniciative for Quality
Assurance Capacity, - Iniciativa global para capacitao de garantia de
qualidade apia redes regionais de agncias de garantia de qualidade.
So identifcadas redes nas seguintes regies: frica, Estados rabes, sia
e Pacifco, Caribe, Amrica Latina e Europa Central e do Leste e sia
central. Tambm citado como instrumento de garantia de qualidade o
portal web (UNESCO Portal) alimentado pelos governos que fornecem
uma avaliao das instituies de seu pas.
Neste contexto da segunda dcada do novo sculo convm lembrar
que a construo de um estado de conhecimento tem referenciais datados e
territorialmente localizados. O presente artigo abordou a temtica da qualidade
da educao superior no fnal do sculo passado e no incio deste, tendo como
fonte produes cientfcas internacionais de forte infuncia americana e
europia. Os resultados apontam para a indicao de que a temtica qualidade
da educao superior vem crescendo signifcativamente em termos do nmero
de publicaes. Apontam tambm que a concepo de qualidade, em todo o
perodo estudado, sofre presso e direcionamento dos organismos multilaterais,
destacando-se, entre esses, a OECD e a UNESCO.
Apontam ainda que a internacionalizao da garantia da qualidade uma
realidade. No entanto, os pases em desenvolvimento, enquanto se adaptam a
esta realidade, tero de elaborar suas prprias solues, novas, viveis e menos
onerosas, focadas principalmente na instalao de uma cultura de qualidade nas
instituies de ensino superior. Algumas dessas abordagens podem muito bem
fornecer modelos para os pases mais desenvolvidos medida que enfrentam
novos desafos polticos....(UVALIC-TRUMBIC. 2010, p.11)
REFERNCIAS
HARVEY, Lee. New Realities: the relationship between higher education and
employment. European Association of Institutional Research. Lund: August,
1999. Disponvel em: www.uce.ac.crq/publications/cp/eair99. Acesso em 15 de
set de 2000.
La JARA, Mnica Jimnez de. Universidad Construye Pas, 2006. Disponvel
em http://www.guni-rmies.net/k2008/page.php?lang=2&id=32, acesso em
6.dez.2007.
MARGINSON, S. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the K economy
The New World Order in Higher Education: Research Rankings, Outcomes
Measures and Institutional Classifcations. General Conference. IMHE.
Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education. Conference
Papers. Paris: OCDE, 7 9 September 2009. Disponvel em: http://www.oecd.
org/dataoecd/60/25/41203671.pdf. Acesso em 23 set 2008.
MARTIN, M. (ed. ). Cross-border higher education: regulation, quality
assurance and impact - Chile, Oman, Philippines, South Africa. Paris:
UNESCO/ International Institute for Educational Planning, -IIEP, 2007.
MOROSINI, M. C. The quality of higher education: isomorphism, diversity
and equity, Interface_Comunicao, Sade, Educao, UNESP, v.5, n.9, p.89-
102, 2001.
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MOROSINI, M. C. Internacionalizao da educao superior e qualidade/
Internationalization of Higher Education and Quality. In: AUDY, J.
MOROSINI, M. C. (Orgs.). Inovao e Qualidade na Universidade/Innovation
and quality in the university. Porto Alegre: EdPUCRS/CAPES/CNPq/INEP,
2008. p. 250 286.
MOROSINI, M. C. Qualidade na Educao Superior: tendncias do sculo.
Revista de Avaliao Educacional. So Paulo/FCC, v. 20, n.43, p. 165-186, 2010.
MOROSINI, M. Avaliao da educao superior no Brasil: entre rankings
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SILVA JNIOR, J. R.(Orgs) Educao Superior no Brasil em tempos de
internacionalizao. So Paulo: Xam, 2010. p. 79-104. ISBN: 978857587128-7
SANTIAGO, P, TREMBLAY, K, BASRI, E, ARNAL, E. Tertiary Education
for the Knowledge Society - OECD. Thematic Review of Tertiary Education:
Synthesis Report. OECD 2008 - Volume 2. p.7- 63OECD/IMME. Outcomes
of higher education: Quality relevance and impact. Proceedings. 8-10
September 2008. Paris, France: OECD, 2008. OECD. Disponvel em: http://
www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,fr_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html.
Acesso em 20 out. 2010.
UNESCOPRESSE N 2001-35. Los pases de Amrica Latina y el Caribe
adoptan la declaracin de Cochabamba sobre educacin. Ofcina de
Informacin Pblica para Amrica Latina y el Caribe. 8. mar. 2001. Disponvel
em: http://www.iesalc.org. Acesso em: 13 de mar de 2001.
UNESCO/IESALC. Encontro Internacional de Reitores em torno ao tema do
compromisso social. Minas Gerais: UFMG, outubro de 2007. Disponvel em
http://www.iesalc.org. Acesso em 11 de nov de 2007.
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20 out. 2010.
UNESCO. Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education.
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UVALI-TRUMBI. Stamenka. Internationalizing Quality Assurance:
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century. International
Seminar INNOVATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY.
September 10
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, 2010, PUCRS. (http://www.pucrs.br. )
CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT QUALITY IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
C
ontemporary science acknowledges the complexity of problems, the
avalanche of their availability and the speed at which information
and research enter academic and professional networks in these frst decades of
the 21st century. As a result, it has sought dialogue beyond a disciplinary feld.
This is leading to an unprecedented opening to the possibilities of capturing the
surrounding reality in the production of knowledge. This assertion is applied
to the different disciplinary felds, although some of them, out of obstinacy or
attachment to their own standards, see classical research as the only acceptable
modality to construct scientifc knowledge.
From this perspective the purpose of this work is to confgure possibilities
in the process of producing knowledge about quality in university management,
seeking to fnd traits of the high complexity context which includes higher
education (HE) and science. It points to issues that are currently present in
categorial construction, in the circumscription of sources of quality indicators
in HE management, highlighting the university as one of its most complex
institutional formats, and presents methodological notes mediating constructive
possibilities of knowledge about this theme.
The methodological line is based on the results of previous studies, on
the systems adopted by HE groups and research networks to obtain information,
and on the analysis of the content of documents selected according to the criteria
of appropriate themes and investigative and social relevance. The principle of
similarity for categorial inclusion was adopted in the analysis. Despite signs of
methodological and philosophical approaches underlying institutional policies, the
proposal is to confgure possibilities in the contextual framework that rises to the
surface and affects the knowledge ascribed by the university to society. Thus, the
markers that circumscribe the work should be spelled out.
The frst marker refers to recognizing the complexity that involves quality
in HE management, as a condition for a production that has a date, situated at
the site and part of globality. Thus, quality and evaluation, essential in this work,
are part of a feld which is complex by nature due to its objects, methodologies,
99
views of science and underlying values, rendering them non-univocal. Looking
at university management it is found that its complexities derives partly from
the multidisciplinary nature and work with specialists in different felds, which
supports the importance of dialogue.
The second marker begins with the assumption that constructing categories
and quality indicators in HE management is part of an investigative and constructive
process with innovative possibilities in dealing with issues that must currently be
taken into account. Thus, a few questions arise because of the underlying concept
of a university and its purposes (FRANCO and MOROSINI, 2006).
The third assumption refers to the continuous tension between what is
permanent and what is provisional in HE. When permanent predominates,
the institution may become rigid, and when provisional predominates faster
responses are expected. Discerning between permanence that does not obliterate
innovations and provisionality that does not dilute the institutional identity
presupposes dealing with innovation and complexity, in anticipation of possible
uses of knowledge.
The points mentioned initiate four discursive orders, namely: traits of the
complexity of quality in University management, questions about quality and its
indications, categorial construction and sources and methodological notes.
1. TRAITS OF THE COMPLEXITY OF QUALITY IN UNIVERSITY
MANAGEMENT
The treatment of quality in university management,, the most complex
form of HE, is circumscribed by complexity in its concepts and practices.
Together with the complexity of quality and evaluation is the complexity of
management and that of the nature of university, with its multiple disciplinary,
political-social and economic relations. Some of these traits are picked up
below, since they provide the context for the construction of knowledge about
indications of quality in management.
University management is the object of a marked academic production,
which contributes to delimiting the feld of knowledge of HE as a feld of study.
This is what one gathers from the production of academia and of large international
and national associations, disseminated at events, in periodicals and in books.
1

1
Publication of Associations and research centers such as: AIR - Association of Institutional Research,; EAIR-
European Association of Higher Education; ANPAE -Associao Nacional de Poltica e Administrao da
Educao; ANPED Associao Nacional de Ps-graduao em Educao- GT Polticas de Educao Superior
e do Grupo Universitas-Br; RIES Rede Sul Brasileira de investigadores de Educao Superior;. Norwegian
Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU-STEP); CHEPS- Center for Higher Education
Policy Studies ; CIPES Centro de Investigao de Polticas de Ensino Superior
The meta-theoretical characters and signals are present in works such as those by
Benno Sander (2007), Malcolm Tight (2003), Burton Clark (2004), Morosini et
alii (2006), Roberto Moscati and M. Vaira (2008), who reiterate the complexity
of quality in University management. This derives from the nature and concept
attributed to this institution, whose complex nature has underlying premises on
research, teaching, extension and organizational principles that express decision
processes and relations at a local, regional, national and international level.
On beginning to measure quality of management of a university, it is
found to be complex by nature, since it covers different faces of the context, the
institution and the evaluation process. Complexity is shown in its vitality, in the
statement that,
Evaluation, thus, cannot be refused, and plays a very
important political role. It is a disputed feld and its banner is
quality. On the one hand, the powerful forces of the market
trying brand the semantics of quality everywhere, with the
criteria of effciency, productivity, proftability, lower cost
and also competitiveness, adjustment to the market and
measurability. On the other hand, the scientifc community,
certainly speaking with several voices, and despite its internal
divisions, must seek to socialize concepts of educational
quality, radically distinct from the current meaning of quality
in market terms (SOBRINHO,1999, p. 165).
The tensions touched on reveal the complexity of university, now and in
its becoming. As a multidisciplinary institution of knowledge, its knowledges
are affliated to various epistemological statutes which make it distant from an
institution of consensus. The counterpoint, with a Habermasian tone, is that the
institution requires consensuses, even if provisional, to achieve its objectives. The
underlying tensions were picked up with non-temporal mastery by Baldridge:
The scientist working in a given framework adopts a
consistent weltanschauung that defnes his problem, his
instruments, his conceptual scheme and his theoretical
propositions. Scientists working within a given world view
have more than a scientifc allegiance; their own life styles
and emotional commitments are linked to this particular
interpretation of the world (BALDRIDGE, 1971, p.8).
In the same direction Lenoir (2004), focusing on the institution of science,
revisits a topic of the classics (Robert K. Merton and Joseph Ben-David): the
processes by means of which the institutions that constitute and support science
101
are formed. The author goes on to state that the institutions coordinate scientifc
research and incorporate many possibilities, and direct all aspects of life, and in
the felds of science professional life takes place within a context of superposition,
sometimes of institutions in confict.
Lenoirs study has a meta-theoretical character, because it analyzes the
dialogue between science, philosophy and context, i.e., options that surround
science, from language to technological products. Because of the increasing
deployment of science in human life, it is not surprising that the author advocates
the idea of dialogue between the scientifc discoveries and philosophy.
Authors who preceded Lenoir, such as Latour (1994), with the notion
of the connection between new beings (hybrids) and the consequent interface
of sciences, and Thomas Kuhn (1987), with the discussion on normal science
and its revolutions, have helped unveil the complexity of modern science and
its disciplinary felds. But other possibilities appear with the new groupings and
processes of institutionalization and, possibly, with alternatives that transcend
the excluded third and are protagonists of critical refection.
It is undeniable that, in the context described above, peculiar to the
production of scientifc knowledge, contemporarily, different forms of academic
organization appear and the growth of research groups goes beyond the
frontiers of laboratories and universities, countries and continents. This reality
does not appear to be only a tendency, but, as some authors have underscored
(PRIGOGINE, 1996; STENGERS, 2002; POMBO, 2004, and others), it is a
requirement imposed by the increasingly complex problems.
Rubin (2011) points to the context of doubts and changes in ways of
thinking and working with science. The Proposals (for interdisciplinary Graduate
Programs) are seen as part of the growing movement of science seeking to reconsider
fragmentation and duality, which includes the legitimization of other spaces of
power and prestige, and reviewing the organization of historically formed areas of
knowledge (RBIN, 2011,p. 150). In this way, the authors studies show that,
The possibility of producing interdisciplinary knowledge fnds
fertile ground in concepts whose premise is: being open to the
dialogue of knowledges, the attitude of considering different
(theoretical-methodological) possibilities in the production
of knowledge, collective construction (even if expressed in
individual products), acknowledging science as one of the forms
of social human production that is historically situated, and
acknowledging that concrete changes in thinking also require
concrete conditions for production (RUBIN, 2011, p.156).
These fndings are supported by Leffs perspective (2003) concerning the
dialogue of knowledges, i.e., a dialogue marked by the heteronomy of being
and knowing, by alterity which is not absorbed by the human condition, but is
expressed in the meeting of different cultural beings. Beings made of knowledge
cannot be reduced to objective knowledge and to ontological truths, but refer to
the justice that transposes the unit feld of human rights on reaching the right to
have different rights. The dialogue of knowledge is only possible in the context
of a policy of difference, which is not presented by confrontation, but rather
by the fair peace from the perspective of a principle of plurality (LEFF, 2003,
p.23). It is a concept compatible with that of Sousa Santos (2006), showing the
ecology of knowledges as a set of epistemologies that begin with the possibility
of diversity and counterhegemonic globalization.
Franco and Rubin (2009) discussing the paths between knowledges
and wisdom in the direction that transcends thematic interfacing, in a dialogue
clearly show the vast academic production of debates established around science
and its methods, that reveal the brittleness of concepts and theories considered
absolute due to the fragmentation that limits them. The authors highlight the
paradigmatic transition (SOUSA SANTOS, 2006) which is revealed, seeking
more comprehensive visions and the perspective of complexity (MORIN 2002)
indicating possibilities of a solution. This is also the path of resignifed systemic
theories. It may lead to blind alleys, but also to new possibilities considering the
complexity of modern problems.
The presence of complexity in institutional relations is acknowledged
in the theoretical efforts of different disciplinary felds that study the policies,
management and practices of university. Knowledge, however, goes beyond the
conceptual, expressing a context, a historical moment, a disposition of looks,
values, ideologies and interests. It is not surprising that the tensions originating
in institutionalization fnd space in the graduate courses and programs and in the
academic departments, both of them oriented towards research and congregating
distinct subareas. Besides being delimited by broader political-legal frameworks,
and by specifc framework of the institution to which they belong, they are
infuenced by theories taken up by groups and by interlocutions.
2. QUESTIONS ABOUT QUALITY AND ITS INDICATIONS
Some questions, due to the epistemological, ontological, evaluative and
even practical implications are incisive, due to the consequences of constructing
knowledge about the quality of HE, and the way in which it is measured, as well
103
as the impacts they generate. Before discussing them, however, it is urgently
necessary to face an option required to advance knowledge about quality in the
management of education. It is the choice between enunciations that express
indicators and those that indicate quality.
Other quality indications are then chosen, because this enables a range
of possibilities. The notion of indications goes beyond the idea of a pre-
established route, with rigid details on the course that must be met in detail
to reach the fnal destination. It is supported by the idea of guiding signs of
what is not yet ready and, as such, allows one to construct with the intention
of advancing ever further beyond what was instituted, aiming at constant
improvement that will allow reaching a new institutional level of quality.
(FRANCO et al., 2010). Reinventions underlie indications since,
(...) nothing is completely new, extensive lists of already
defned indicators can provide support to what still remains
to be defned. The principles are those that really provide
a foundation for new directions. In other words, when an
institution applies itself to the self-evaluation process and
makes it into an exercise of further improvement, it is no
longer the same as it was before; now it is projected at a new
level. This, may indeed go beyond what was already defned,
such as expecting and redefning new signs (indicios0 of
quality (FRANCO, AFONSO E LONGHI, 2010, p 8 ).
Two questions are chosen because of their imprint on HE today, and
because they belong to this theme: the question of the state that induces and
regulates research policies and the social issue of scientifc doing with its
organizational forms, shared relations and democratic management. Both are
permeated by multi-interdisciplinary dialogical processes.
The issue of the inducing State and regulation by means of public policies is
present in Brazilian education. It has an undeniable role in the development of HE
and in the quality of university management. This is observed in evaluative policies
and practices, in the space of categories and even in meta-theoretical looks. However,
about the State as an inducer of evaluative policies to assess the system and IHE, roles
which are acknowledged to be under its responsibility, it is essential to be critically
vigilant. This is also indispensable in the sphere of the IHEs, since safeguarding
spaces for autonomy does not imply anomy. Thus, a culture of permanent criticism
of the way in which the State establishes its policies and in the ways the institutions
transpose and use their spaces of autonomy means to supply some guarantee to
achieve quality without injustice, safeguarding democracy (FRANCO, 2009).
It should be recalled that the theory of regulation connected the economic
base and its institutional forms, for the purpose of detecting the extent of changes
in social relations that occur on a secular scale and the parameters of different
accumulation regimes. The central issue of the theory of regulation is to clarify
what mechanisms can ensure its coherence and viability over time (BOYER,
2009, p. 47). In this paradigm, the compatibility of economic behaviors associated
with the institutional forms is fundamental, and when an imbalance occurs, rules
are redefned that encode the institutional forms, by mobilizing the political
sphere. The characterizations of regulation are different and their origins in the
market become contemporary with instruments imported from the economy, in
the globalization movement.
It makes sense, however, to resignify the authors ideas that potentially
affect HE. The frst of them is that detecting imbalances sends one to evaluative
processes anchored in indicators and criteria. The idea is joined by mobilization of
the political sphere to re-encode the institutional forms. This implies regulations
and also control to make sure that they are being obeyed, and to fnd out whether
there are deviations. Along this line of refection, regulations go pari passu with
the policies of quality, evaluation, research and Science and Technology. In the
last decade, especially, a movement has been observed from the level of the
norm towards explaining norm-referencing in standards. This is the space of
regulation, which goes beyond creating regulations, since its directives provide
the foundation for two elements: the reference in criteria and standards and the
standards and notes to measure the standards of reference.
Resignifying the government regulations in the institutional sphere
requires double vigilance in order not to relax the social responsibility of the
institution and its commitment to the knowledge that is socially relevant for the
common good.
The perspective mentioned is supported by the Barrosos notion (2006)
when he says that the conceptual differentiation of regulation depends on the level
at which it appears: transnational, national, local microregulation, besides a meta-
regulation. Transnational regulation originates in the central countries towards the
peripheral and semi-peripheral countries, generally coming from organisms such
as OECD, UNESCO, World Bank. Their documents have the force of infuence.
National regulation has the institutional meaning of the State and its administration,
involving coordination, control and infuence on the system of education in the
context of the action of different social players, which combines institutionalized
forms of State Intervention (BARROSO, 2006 p. 50). Local micro-regulation is
the process of coordinating the action of players in the terrain that results from
105
the confrontation, interaction, negotiation or commitment of different interests and
logics, rationalities, strategies.... (BARROSO, 2006, p.57).
The last ffteen years in Brazil have seen a great number of regulatory
frameworks that introduced new institutional formats (Law of Guidelines and
Bases of National Education in 1966, the National Plan of Education in 2001).
They confgured the National Evaluation System (SINAES Sistema Nacional de
Avaliao ) in 2004, increased public education through the Program of Support
to Plans to Restructure and Expand Federal Universities (REUNI - Planos de
Reestruturao e Expanso das Universidades Federais) (2007), encouraging
new ways of organizing research. The national system of evaluation shows a
visible attempt to keep up with the process, hearing what happens in it and what
escapes it. Longhi goes on to say that the main purpose is to ensure quality, attempt
strong preventive actions, which, in an analogy with health will prevent disease
and do away with the need for treatment. Informing about the crucial need to
follow certain indications and parameters may ensure institutional good health,
help achieve good quality of life in general, and of individuals in particular, which
constitute the different institutions of society. (LONGHI, 2010).
The second question concerns the social aspects of scientifc doing
and covers organizational forms of research, such as participation in groups
and networks, taking into account shared relations in constructing democratic
management when investigating quality. In this sense there are research
procedures which are exemplary, thank to sharing decisions in identifying
evaluation categories and criteria on quality and its measurement.
Evaluation and expansion of Graduate Programs in Brazil became more
decisive at the end of the 1970s, and were consolidated in the 1980s. Some
frameworks drove the search for new associative forms (groups, networks,
partnerships) for research. This is the case of the National Plans for Graduate
Studies, up to the most recent (2005-2010), the Basic Plans for Scientifc and
Technological Development, the model of an evaluation of Graduate Programs,
the introduction of the Lattes Curriculum in 1999, the Directory of Research
Groups in Brazil belonging to the National Council of Scientifc and Technological
Development DGP/CNPq
2
, the Law of Technological Innovation (Law n
10,973 of December 2, 2004). The latter document encouraged innovation and
scientifc and technological research, capacity-building, formation of public-
2
Founded in1992, the frst version of DGP-CNPq refers to 1993, with scientifc and technological production
for 1990-1992. The subsequent versions were in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2002. In the initial versions the
information was collected through a questionnaire given to the group leaders by the institutional organizations
in charge. The groups inventoried are located at universities, independent institutes, research institutes and
technological institutes, laboratories and non-governmental organizations. Since 2003, enrollments of new
groups and updates of the existing ones have been performed online.
private partnerships, multi and interdisciplinary courses at the undergraduate
and graduate level, and the movements towards internationalization. In addition
there is the Action Plan of Science, Technology and Innovation for National
Development 2007-2010, (PAC,T&I-) and the 2007 Law of Incentive to Research
3
.
Criticism of the policies does not obliterate support to scientifc and technological
research, to research groups and to Graduate Programs. In this sense, the role of
CNPq National Council of Scientifc and Technological Development, and of
CAPES Coordination of Further Training of Personnel in Higher Education
should be mentioned. They are responsible for evaluating scientifc production
in Brazil, both of them using criteria connected to internationalization. The frst
is responsible for the evaluation of the researchers productivity and the second
for the evaluation of the excellence of graduate programs stricto sensu.
The social face of knowledge, as regards organizations for production,
is also present in programs such as the CAPES Observatories. The nature of the
Observatory is to aggregate different views, when it establishes the development
of projects for Graduate programs from different universities and/or a same
university as a condition. It opens doors to collaborative forms in research
development, favoring the social orientation at the organizational level, but
also the democratization of results: it brings together PG programs and favors
the participation of elementary and/or secondary school teachers, Scientifc
Initiation (SI) scholarship students, Masters Degree and Doctoral students. It
is a tendency that had already been present at the institutional level, with the
installation of DGP Brazil-CNPq, because it stimulates the introduction of
knowledge networks.
These national policies go pari passu with the international perspective
that favors work in a network. This is the case of contributions by ENLACES
(Espao Latino Americano e Caribenho de Educao Superior Latina
American and Caribbean Space for Higher Education) selected by Didrickson
(2005), such as incrementing work in networks with joint projects, increasing
resources of the multilateral organisms, promoting new forms of cooperation,
intensifying international solidarity and mutual acknowledgment equivalences
of quality, promoting capacity building of management experts and technicians,
and administration of multilateral resources and cooperation.
In the constitution and modus operandi of groups, innovative forms
of doing research are observed. The researchers role becomes to seek new
3
The Action Plan of CT&I is connected to the Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC-Plano de Acelerao do
Crescimento) and it defnes actions and programs for C,T&I and sustainable development in the country. The
Law of Incentives to Research includes tax breaks (85% of taxes) and intellectual property for the companies that
fund scientifc-technological projects.
107
technologies. This shows innovation beyond the new ideas and methodologies,
entering the investigative social process, in their use and impacts on practices.
It goes beyond a new product, process or services, supported by new or already
known technologies and methods. It goes into the capture of connections,
whether they be ecological, social, biological and/or physical, that interfere in
the processes, seeking to identify tendencies before they occur. It goes beyond
the present, and attempts to interfere in the future. Positions such as this one,
are to some extent present even in market directed events, showing that they are
paying attention to the circumscribers raised, since they underscore the issue of
identifcation and construction of new uses for knowledge, as a very diversifed
evaluative criterion, including the evaluation of scientifc articles. The tendency
is to see innovation as a new type of possible users and the new uses of a product
or service (KGCM, 2010)
Thus, it can be said that innovation of the technique is connected to
instrumental rationality, whereas technique of innovation, which incides
on human action and association, opens up substantive and even equitable
possibilities, leading to a new level: while the frst is connected to the competing
markets, the second the technique of innovation, implies looking for new
uses and thus, in the complexity of today, it signals a collaborating market
(FRANCO e MOROSINI, 2006).
Establishing shared relations in constructing knowledge involves
dialogical processes and they include searching for a multi and interdisciplinary
dialogue. In alterity, routes to consensuses are found even if provisional,
guided to specifc actions. The idea of sharing brings with itself negotiation,
coordination, change of roles and positions, in short, the management that is a
protagonist in interactive spaces favoring dialogical experiences in the evaluative
and multidisciplinary construction.
If the core value is competitiveness and not solidarity, if
the purpose is hegemony and not cooperation, if winning,
and not human well-being is always worth more, then
university will be asked to answer for the functional-
transferential power of its teaching and for the success in
learning the basic skills and techniques. According to this
logic, evaluation is closely linked to assigning resources
(SOBRINHO, 1999, p. 164).
In the statement above, implicitly, the ethics of reciprocity anchored
in the golden rule that treating others as you would like to be treated, is
fundamental to the modern concept of human rights and quality, and it is one
of the possibilities that are available to society and to university in the coming
days (KGCM, 2010)
4
. The question at hand goes beyond the initial meaning, but
it is anchored in respect to diversity with its own notions, values and cultures
that imply treating others taking their aspirations into account, in other works,
without taking away their identity.
In the weave that is shown, there is na underlying idea that innovation
means dealing with complexity, with interdisciplinary and shared dialogue, and
especially with the questions and regulatory frameworks that incide on HE and
its management to achieve quality.
3. CATEGORIAL AND INDICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
Categorial construction and the construction of indicatives is
circumscribed by the axes of conceptual spelling out of the meanings of category
and by the confguration of sources to identify the indicatives that are pertinent
and adequate to the complexity of the current context.
As regards the meaning of category, the issue is of a complex nature and
it is diffcult to answer all its meanders. However, it brings some assumptions
with it. One of them is that category does not refer to a given methodology or a
given theory, but to a theoretical-methodological body, thus assuming a connection
between the theory that illuminates and supplies the lens for an investigation and
methodological practice. Longhi (1995), analyzing categories, perceives that the
use of categories is a horizon of meanings, from which will rise what research is
going to reveal. on which what the form outstanding form which is what research
will reveal. Thinking about it leads to the fnding that certain theories are so
strongly interwoven that the theoretical and methodological notions, and the use
of categories are (con) fused among themselves. The separations that follow are
elucidative and intended to call attention to points in the process of investigation.
The theoretical notions that illuminate work are certainly part of a
given paradigmatic line that postulates a given type of relationship between the
cognoscent subject, the object of knowledge (reality), a relationship that may
transcend the objective subjective polarization, and also take on the linguistic
mediation in the intersubjective construction of the object of study among two
or more subjects. In this way, one is saying that that particular theory supplies
categories that make the lens available for works.
4
The criterion of ethics is adopted at conferences to evaluate scientifc articles such as Knowledge Generation
and Communication Management which indicates the above statement as a fundamental rule..
109
The approach used by Franco et al. (1998) distinguishes three types of
categories that mark a work theoretically and methodologically: referential,
conceptual and substantive.
The referential categories are previously determined. They delimit
the contours encompassing the object of study, characterizing it in a specifc
segment. The conceptual categorials are those that shed light on the organization
and comprehension of information, inserting the results in an interpretive whole.
They mark the work theoretically and methodologically, provide a foundation
and direct the look. Like the referentials, the conceptual categories are previously
established based on prior studies and theoretical choices.
The substantive categorials are those constructed in the process of
analyzing the selected documents. There are several types of analyses that
unveil substantive categories. The already mentioned line that has been used
in researching indicatives of quality in HE management is characterized by the
search for thematic convergences, in an analytic process, subsidized by authors
like Grawitz (1986) and Bardin (1997) .
As regards the sources to identify indicatives, the directives present in
documents of international organisms that show the force of policies should be
mentioned. They join with academic refections and discussions at events, as
well as the use of periodicals and news bulletins and productions by networks
such as GEU and RIES, taken as examples, because of their constructions of
quality indicatives in management.
3.1 International Organisms and Indications
Some international organisms are outstanding for their dissemination of
documents with the force of a policy for higher education, even when they are the
target of strong criticism mentioned in the prevalence of market orientations and in
the isomorphism of criteria. Publications by organisms such as UNESCO, CRES/
IESALC/ (2008), World Bank and OECD are recognized as the source of reference
5
.
UNESCO disseminates documents on its international and regional events and
is a protagonist of studies and publications indicating quality in education (UNESCO,
2009; YONEZAWA & KAISER, 2003). For instance, in 2009, Paris hosted the
World Conference on Higher Education, whose objective was to present The New
Dynamics of HIgher Education and Research for Change and Social Development.
5
OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; UNESCO; IESALC-Instituto
Internacional da UNESCO para a Educao Superior na Amrica Latina e no Caribe; CRES, Conferncia
Regional de Educao Superior na Amrica Latina e Caribe- ENLACES - Espao de Encontro Latino-
Americano e Caribenho de Educao Superior; NSF-National Science Foundation.
In documents, OECD (2009) recognizes the strength of equity and
inclusion, respectively, to guarantee that personal and social circumstances
will not be an obstacle to achieving the educational potential and to ensuring
a minimum standard of education for all. This statement recalls the changes
mentioned by Boyer (2009) in the contemporary modes of regulations and their
movements in search of balance.
The great international rankings with their isomorphic load challenge
universities to an unprecedented extent, especially those in countries of the Southern
Hemisphere. The results obtained in such evaluations become competitive strategies
to enter forums, regional movements and obtain funding. The examples chosen were
the World Class University and the Research Intensive Universities (RIUs).
The World Class University, (WCU-3, 2009) is here to stay, at least in the
coming decades of the 21
st
Century. Its criteria of excellence, strongly articulated
with research and dissemination of knowledge, were developed through The
Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University which,
since 2005, has organized international conferences and develops criteria of
excellence connected to the research and dissemination of knowledge. Altbach
(2010) points to the criteria of excellence in research, working conditions,
qualifcation of teachers, security, good salaries and benefts, adequate facilities
and resources, academic freedom, atmosphere of intellectual stimulation and
self-management of teachers
6
.
The line adopted by Litwin (2009) is compatible with the international
criteria of WCU and consistent with the flters of choice of the 39 RIUs reported in
the annual National Science Foundation surveys
7
.The RIUs creates the virtuous
cycle where research performance is the key to reputation as well as to the ability
to generate revenues from diversifed sources. In this endeavor, success depends
on research performance (LITWIN, 2009). The author recognizes that one of the
strategic performance indicators is the strategic performance in the HE research
market, at least in the United States. Benchmarking is the method widely used
by RIUs to measure strategic success through a process of selecting a group of
institutions that are to be compared for the stated purpose and then calculating
performance against the peer group.(LITWIN, 2009).
6
Some criteria and indicators of Shanghai Jiao Tong University : Quality of education (alumni with Nobel prizes and
in felds of knowledge); Quality of the faculty (Nobel prizes and in felds oof knowledge); citations in 21 categories,;
impact of research; articles published and indexed in the ndex of Scientifc Citations and and Performance per capita
(Available at http://www.arwu.org/rank2008 /ARWU2008Methodology 28 EN 29.htm. Access Sept. 2009).
7
Research Intensive Universities (RIUs) as a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU)
from 1988 to and including 2002, which was classifed by the NSF as one of the top 100 recipients of federal
research funding from 1988 to and including. 2002. This was categorized by the Carnegie Foundation as a
Research University in its 1987 and 1994 surveys and as a Doctoral/Research University- Extensive in its 2000
survey. (LITWIN, 2009).
111
It is undeniable that organisms such as those mentioned by the force of
their documents cannot be relegated. (FRANCO, ZANETTINNI e RIBEIRO,
2010). They are invaluable sources of references to pick up indications, whether
it be to adopt them, criticize them or even redirect them.
3.2 Academic productions and socialization of knowledge and information
Academic productions at scientifc events on knowledge, their research
process and other methodological issues have gained strength in recent years.
The AIR 2011 annual forum reveals through its sessions different trends
as well as space for the process of construction and analysis of knowledge. (In
its annual forum, the AIR 2011 reveals different trends as well as space for
the process of construction and analysis of knowledge). The track directed to
technology, for instances, focuses on the technology used to achieve outcomes,
but also on data management issues which are a secondary focus. The track
directed to Analysis and Research Methods focuses on processes such as
experimental design, survey techniques, response rates, and analytic methods
(both qualitative and quantitative) that produce sound analyses for decision
making. It also includes the use of national datasets or consortia.
At the annual Forum of 2011, in Warsaw, the EAIR - European Higher
Education Society, also reaffrmed the theme of institutional research and
working with the academic community as one of the strengths of the moment.
It is joined by the axes of global knowledge economy, quality management or
management for quality, and measuring performance and outcomes. These axes
are taken as categories of quality.
It is appropriate to mention the International Seminar on Reasons
for the Internationallization of Higher Education promoted by the Coimbra
Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB - Grupo Coimbra de Universidades
Brasileiras). Its objective was to discuss the interaction among universities and
the internationalization of HE. The discussions converged towards policies of
internationalization of HE, innovation and process of integration/cooperation
of the European Union with Latin America and Brazil.
8
In the context of Universitas-BR- na interinstitutional group connected
to the National Association of Graduate Programs in Education (ANPED -
Associao Nacional de Ps-graduao em Educao) which focuses its
8
The Seminar of the Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB-Grupo Coimbra de Universidades
Brasileiras hosted by UFRGS- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, on November 25, 2010, with the
participation of scientists, managers and presidents of universities, 15 institutions. (Available at http://www.ufrgs.
br/ufrgs/ Accessed on: 25/11/2010).
analysis on HE, at an event held in 2006, the thematic axis was the theorical-
methodological refnement of research. RIES- Rede Sul Brasileira de
Investigadores de Educao Superior (South Brazilian Network of Investigators
in Higher Education), at a joint event with the GEU Grupo de Estudos sobre
Universidade (Group of Studies about University) Network, in 2008, held a
panel on quality in research.
At events held by international associations, the tendency is to spell out
the criteria for submitting articles to evaluation. The assumption is that different
objectives, scientifc disciplines and types of work require different criteria.
Thus, the guidelines for reviewers, would depend on the objectives sought and on
their inherent limitations and restrictions. Different editorial objectives, different
disciplines would probably originate different guidelines. (KGCM, 2010). The
orientation of the group mentioned is that one way of dealing with the inherent
diversity in a multi-disciplinary context is to ask the reviewers to give feedback
and to rate the paper according to different criteria.
The periodicals and news bulletins of organisms and associations that
provide information available are also sources of indicators. The news bulletins
of some international associations/organisms are directed to obtaining and
supplying data and/or evaluation indicators.
9
This is the case of AIR which offers
webinars focusing on survey design and other research techniques.
Academic Impressions is a free weekly update publication, directed at
bringing resources and actionable insights into key issues facing colleges and
universities today. It is an organization that serves HE professionals, aiming
at providing a variety of educational products and services that help tackle key,
strategic challenges. We are not a policy organization. Rather than focus the
discussion on what ifs, we choose to focus on what can be done today and
tomorrow (Available at http://www.academicimpressions. com/ about.php.
Access: 13 Oct. 2010). The news bulletin has shown the portfolios as sources
that are increasingly being used in higher education by the faculty and student
body as well as at the institutional level some of then are for Developing and
Evaluating Teaching Portfolios, others on Best Practices for Using Student,
Teacher, and Institutional Portfolios. The role of the reports has also been shown
9
1) InfoBrief-Science Resources Statistics is from the National Science Foundation and it defnes itself as
Directorate for Social , Behavioral and Economic Sciences. Information and data from the Division of Science
Resouces Statistics are available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics. Accessed: Sept 8,2010;
2) Education at a Glance, edited by the Education Superintendency of the OECD, which publishes quantitative
analyses of comparable international indicators, with a view to providing educational policies and technical
works (Available at www.oecd.org/edu/eag2009: Accessed Sept 8, 2010).
3) Centro de Estudos Sociais Associated Laboratory, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade de Coimbra
systematically announces publications, conferences, workshops on qualitative research methods, besides
launching books, courses, information ( Available at www.ces.uc.pt .Accessed October 2010).
113
as an assessment and research tool. Sometimes a weak report may cause a good
project to have a negative impact on funding or accreditation
The themes on international recruitment of students are worth mentioning.
This is a strong category of quality on a worldwide basis. International students play
an increasingly important role in strategic enrollment goals and campus diversity.
SLAUGHTER and RHOADES(2004) analyses of academic capitalism
show that international recruitment is a market issue. Together with the
international rankings, it feeds the institutional market, academic productivity
and its consequences on publishing, funding and resources.
3.3 Groups and Research networks as sources of categories and
indications of quality
Currently, many different academic productions and groups and networks
are studying HE and university. Their strong point is quality in its multiple
derivatives, especially management.
10

The intention, in this space, is to confgure types of academic production by
groups and/or research networks whose categories emerge from analytic processes,
the objects of study being the results of previously developed works. Some of the
works use content analysis, but all can be considered states of knowledge, just as
defned during the present work. The qualifcation that joins them together is their
potential to identify categories and indications of quality in management.
In an academic approach, with a meta-theoretical note, Tight (2003)
contributes a broader but specialized view of research productions in the
feld of HE. The methodological line chosen by the author took some time
to analyze books and research published in 17 academic journals, in 2000,
in the English language. The author classifed 406 articles according to key
topics, methods and organizational level of action. Some of them directly
substantiate the theme of categories and indications of quality: the quality-
evaluation of courses and systems of national standards; the political context,
10
Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU - STEP) from Oslo. Bjorn
Stensaker, Researcher at the University of Oslo, studies the impacts on HE and the new forms of competition in
dealing with external rankings and systems of indicators. He also studies Global Perspectives, Trust and Power
Diversity in Higher Educations as well as the new Landscape. <http://www.uv.uio.no/pf/english/ people/ aca/
bjorste/index.html>; Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS). Don Westerheijden is a researcher.
He graduated from the University of Twente (Holland). His work focuses on policies of quality assurance for
IHE, also working with national governments and international agencies. (http://www.utwente.nl/mb/cheps/
The20CHEPS20Team/Staff/Academic20StaffWesterheijdenCV09.pdf). Centro de Investigao de Polticas
de Ensino Superior (CIPES) at Universidade de Aveiro. Maria Joo Pires da Rosa is a researcher and works
with quality management, looking at strategic and excellency bases for Higher Education in Portugal. http://
www2.egi.ua.pt/cursos/docentes.asp?docente=104). Universidade de Lisboa. Luisa Cerdeira works with issues
of economics of education and with issues related to quality management, especially in the feld of fnances and
administration. (http://www.fes2009.ul.pt/docs/bios/biogr_luisa_cerdeira.pdf).
national policies, comparative studies of policies, historical studies of
policies and funding; institutional management from practices to institutional
structure; academic work and knowledge, covering the nature of research,
disciplines, forms of knowledge and nature of the university. Tight indicates
the importance of research on topics such as the practice of management,
leadership and institutional governance; institutional development and
history; institutional structure; economy of scale and institutional mergers
and relations between higher education, industry and community, as major
sources. Actually, the author supplies a prodigious source of categories,
criteria and indications of quality of university and its management. Another
weighty contribution is to show the complementarity between quantitative
and qualitative studies for a better understanding of the objects of studies
marked by complexity.
Two networks provide examples of the systems of construction of
knowledge regarding quality: the GEU network (Grupo de Estudos sobre
Universidade) and RIES. These networks were chosen as a results of their logics
and this does not obliterate the major role of Universitas BR.
11

The GEU was created in 1988 and, in successive offshoots over the
years, the network was established, involving other universities. Its history is
marked by the effort to form a new generation of researchers, the articulation
of new groups as the doctoral students returned to the places from which they
had come, elaborating and obtaining resources for integrated projects, the latter
serving as maxims to bring together not only themes, but also shared actions
through projects and/or seminars and/or exhibitions and/or joint participations
in national and international events. A point to be recorded are the principles
that have ruled GEU action since the initial projects: the results of a stage/thesis/
dissertation are the entry to subsequent projects/stages. The methodologies of
GEU-Ipesq portray the initial conditioning factor which is the very objective of
the study in the case of evaluation the feld of work that involves the areas of
knowledge that have a presence in the dialogues, the empirical material in which
the theoretical and methodological presuppositions selected are disposed (which
involves researchers and researched) (FRANCO, 1997).
11
Rede UNIVERSITAS, is connected to GT11-Anped- Policies of Higher Education and develops integrated
projects, supported by CNPq since 1993. It brings together researchers and scholarship students from 19
outstanding Brazilian universities. The Virtual Library includes 7,500 documents concerning national periodicals
(1968 to 2002), and foresees including another 3,000 on dissertations/theses and books on higher education in
Brazil (1995-2002). Its actions promote the formation of new generations and it is recognized for the consolidation
and development of groups of research on Higher Education. This contributes to overcome regional differences.
Universitas is registered at DGP-CNPq. Through its participants it develops different research projects always
seekign to maintain a common axis for articulation. (http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/universitas
115
The experience illustrated with the GEU trajectory has points that are
similar to the story of other research groups (KNORR-CETINA 1981). This
assumption leads to highlighting some mediations and issues that are at the heart
of the transposition from the status of an isolated research group to a group
participating in a network; 1) the research projects, with their agglutinating
and anticipatory force (BOUTINET, 2002) have the strength to mediate in
constituting groups and/or a researchers network, in addition to the fact that
the aggregating potential of groups and their consolidation are strengthened by
projects; 2) The groups tend to divide, forming new nuclei due to the following
aspects: the informative, evaluative and merit requirements of the university
and of the system; broader and deeper information on the theme, together with
the delimitation of felds of knowledge; presence/emergence of more than
one leader to whom participants converge through thematic and/or epistemic
and/or ideological compatibility, through visibility and prestige, through
possibilities of social aggregation and professional interaction, and also through
the development of specifc cultures and practices that strengthen the sense of
belonging connected to one of the leaders. The relationship of advisors and
doctoral students in Graduate programs is at the root of group formation, of
their coming apart, and of the formation of research networks (FRANCO, 2009;
FRANCO E MOROSINI, 2001).
The work done by GEU to meet their commitment to the RIES Education
Observatory 2007-2011 deserves attention. It was guided by general and
methodological principles. The general ones refer to localized and contextualized
knowledge that goes beyond the traditional epistemic values to become
impregnated by the context and history of the objects of science and to the
collective construction that refects the division and compatibilization of senses,
in a coming and going between rejection and the attempt at comprehension.
The methodological principles refer to measuring quality in the
management of the university institution and focus on: the social commitment of
university as an institution; the responsibility as a social organization that provides
services; the integration between research, teaching and extension; the autonomy
and academic freedom with differentiated looks at quality and management;
self-evaluation as a liberating movement of institutional identity; democratic
management as a mobilizing force; institutional contextualization from the
perspective of its historicity and temporal-spatial location; internationalization as
one of the integrating forces in the globalized world; institutional sustainability
as a social responsibility and continued education.
The following procedures were adopted: choice and prior construction of
a document on dimensions,
12
indicators and quality in university management;
workshop using the White paper technique (variant of focus group), aiming at picking
up the researchers concepts of quality; re-construction of documents based on what
was elaborated previously; re-organization of discussion groups (constituted by 4-6
members), during two days, focusing on each previously constructed dimension;
organization of a synthesis of ideas, by a rapporteur chosen by the group, who
presented them in the circle of collective knowledge; review of original documents
based on the syntheses received; fnal drafting the text assimilating points from the
collective contribution (FRANCO, AFONSO e LONGHI, 2010).
The RIES- Rede Sulbrasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior
(South Brazilian Network of Investigators in Higher Education) was created in
1998, by teacher-investigators from IHE in Rio Grande do Sul, who study Higher
Education. Its purpose is to confgure and advance higher education as a feld for
production and research in Rio Grande do Sul. Its signature is to hold events
on themes of Higher Education, research productions and publications. The
initial events are to congregate people around the theme. From 2005 onwards
the events were connected to interinstitutional research projects. The meetings
led to books- -Consolidao da Rede e Observatrio CAPES-, especially
Enciclopdia de Pedagogia Universitria, v. 2 Glossary, published by INEP/
MEC in 2006, and the books of the Pedagogia Universitria. In 2005, the RIES
was chosen as a Center of Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation of
CNPq/FAPERGS, the only group in Education. In 2007, RIES was chosen as an
Education Observatory Quality Indicators for Brazilian Higher Education
CAPES/INEP (http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/ries).
4. METHODOLOGICAL NOTES
Outstanding in the discussion about methodological notes, is the guiding
principle that confers its identity: the shared character. It is present in the studies of
RIES, GEU-Ipesq (FRANCO, et al. 2009; 2010), in theses connected to the group,
as in the case of Rubins main results (2011). This is the case of the possibility of
non-neutral dialogue among investigators and subjects (BOGDAN e BIKLEN,
1994) and of the subject who, under given conditions, manages to portray and
refract reality, not only as a subjected subject, crushed and reproducing structures
and relations that produce him and in which he produces (MINAYO, 2000,
p. 252), in understanding that the qualitative methodologies are not ideologies
12
Dimension of evaluation, understood as what delimits and characterizes the object to be evaluated; these are
the large lines or characteristics referring to institutional aspects (LEITE, 2005).
117
but components of theoretical lines. These assertions lead to choosing notes
characterized and/or interpreted basically, on the qualitative aspect.
Selecting methodological notes, besides meeting the markers and principles
spelled out previously, rests on alternatives that are not much used in the process
of evaluating HE. However, they have a potential for applicability in the actions
of thinking to construct, analyze and validate categories, criteria and quality
indicators that are adequate and relevant to the system, and for the institutions
that comprise it, and even prior to quantitative studies, which moves them beyond
the criterion of validity and faithfulness; that of relevance. Articulating micro and
macro is another of the orientations. Notes were selected on analysis of content,
network of meanings (RedSig), states of knowledge and white paper.
4.1 Content Analysis: beyond characterizations
Bardin (1977) and Grawitz (1967) made an undeniable contribution to
the dissemination of content analysis as a deductive-inferential approach which
seeks to evidence/spell out what is latent, what is potentially new (not said),
retained in any message, therefore aiming at what is beyond the surface. This
process assumes interpretation to overcome the concealment of the content,. The
conditions of text production and the facts that determine this characteristic are
strategic. For Bardin (1977) content analysis is seen as
[...] a set of techniques to analyze communications, that uses
systematic and objective procedures to describe the content
of the messages, indicators (quantitative or not) that allow
inferring knowledge related to conditions of production/
reception (variables inferred from these messages).
(BARDIN, 1977, p.38).
The use of thematic techniques or items of signifcance may be
accompanied or not by descriptive statistics. The techniques focus on natural
documents that already exist or are brought up by the study. The object of analysis
is the word or statement to pick up the meaning, a current aspect that seeks the
meaning and not the language that would stop to look at the signifcance which
is done by lexical analysis..
Content analysis involves pre-analysis, an exploration of the material
and a treatment of the results founded on inferences and interpretations. Pre-
analysis helps systematize and create a scheme of initial ideas that will guide the
successive operations and assumes fuctuating reading or contact with documents
to delimit the corpus of the study.
The stage during which the material is explored, i.e., the systematic
administration of decisions made in pre-analysis if these are conveniently
concluded, is a phase in which the coding, discount or enumeration operations
are applied. The process of categorization, characteristic of this stage, classifes
constitutive elements of a set, by differentiation and regrouping.
In works on quality and evaluation, and in research done by GEU-Ipesq,
categorization was constructed based on thematic convergences that take into
account approximations and differentiations in groupings. The classifcatory-
semantic base is organizational, and generally even after the technique allows a
priori established categorial elements, they tend to be a product/result of successive
and progressive regroupings. These are the aforementioned referent categories
Franco and Witmann (1998), seen as delimiting and confguring the analytic
corpus, useful in grand tour readings. Some of the criteria indicated to establish
categories, such as relevance, objectivity, and faithfulness, productivity, as well as
homogeneity are commonly covered in studies on quality and evaluation of higher
education. The mutual exclusion criterion, however, fundamental in classical
science is often neglected by the multiple, if not ambiguous concepts of quality, in
a same enunciation, which highlights the opposite conditions of the phenomenon.
For the authors, the concepts shed light on the organization of information, inserting
the results into an interpretive whole. The substantive ones are those constructed
during the process of analyzing the selected documents.
Thus, the stage of treatment and interpretation of results takes into
account the previous orientations, so that the results will be signifcant and valid,
and may be submitted to statistical tests and validation tests if appropriate, and/
or inferences and interpretations under the reference of the objectives foreseen
and /or signaling possibilities.
Distinguishing between analysis of content, of discourse and of documents
provides information. Analysis of discourse works with linguistic units greater
than the phrase, and its objective is linguistic, i.e., to describe the enunciations
and their distribution (BARDIN, 1977, p.44). Documental analysis suppresses the
function of inference and limits itself to categorial or thematic analysis (Ibid, p.45).
Content analysis seeks the meanings, the inferential interpretation. It is from this
perspective that it becomes important to elucidate the methodology of RedSig.
4.2 Network of Meanings
The fundamentals of the network of meanings are in Vigotsky s (1991) and
J.M.Wallons (WEREBE and NADEL BRULFERT, 1986) concepts of human
119
development). They focus on the social-historical view of human development.
Their potential is signifcant in the study of higher education and in the construction,
analysis and validation of categories, criteria and quality indicators..
Rosseti-Ferreira (2004), in the introduction to her work, makes it clear
that it is infuenced by the systemic approach that converges to recognizing
interdependence among people and reciprocity and synergy established among
them. The more ecological view is interdependence and the mutual and continuous
transformation-constitution of a person and their environment. Nevertheless, the
systems and institutions are formed by people who are continuously modifed and
transformed. The social-historical matrix, in the opinion of Amorin and Rosseti-
Ferreira (2004), shows the possibility that RedSig will integrate micro and macro
dynamically. RedSig allows working with identities and with the constitution
of senses and meanings considering many factors, without being restricted to a
single feld of knowledge:
RedSig is a theoretical methodological perspective, a way
of looking; a lens that the researcher assumes in his
investigation, so as not to lose the notion of the complexity
of social processes, in order not to fall into reductionist
or generalizing analyses . (...) it does not consider itself
a model, but a perspective; it aims at apprehending the
processes of change in a situated and relational manner,
confguring networks of meanings. (GENTIL, 2005, p.18).
Gentil (2005), referencing Rossetti-Ferreira, Amorin, Silva and Carvalho
(2004) furthers the concept of Socio Historical Matrix (SHM), with the theoretical
construct that is concrete in the contexts, in the interactive felds, in the personal
components and which covers concrete living conditions (social, economic, political
and cultural), as well as discursive practices (utterances, representations, symbols
and other forms of language.). In the SHM, the discourses of the subjects and their
aspects related to objectives, to the feld of work and of knowledge and of the contexts
in which the discourses meet are appropriated. In short, all the empirical material
used for analysis, not forgetting the theoretical assumptions that rule it.
Amorins idea (2004) that SHM helps grasp relevant aspects at given
moments, but that may be modifed depending on the multiple networks of
meaning, resonates in the ideas of Adam Schaff, with Hegelian roots, regarding
the objective and subjective face of history, which leads to the interpretation
that , in history, later comes before. In other words, today interferes in the look
at yesterday,, resulting from the moment, the values and ways of understanding
reality, and here from the networks of meaning.
The context and articulations that confgure a network circumscribe its
processes and subjects it to continuous updating. SHM is used to interpret these
processes and it must be remembered that the actions and relations are visible
in the social practices. In the investigative processes, the changes of course
occur even if there is a foreseen point, since the investigator participates in the
results, weakening the separation of subject and object of research, and the idea
of neutrality of science (GENTIL, 2005, 31).
Oliveira, Guanaes and Costa (2004), analyzing the Network of Meanings
believe that SHM is composed by circumscribers of the surroundings. In RedSig
the way in which categories, criteria and indicators are circumscribed is linked
to meanings and their variability is linked to the interaction of people in specifc
contexts. This circumscription is understood, however, , (...) as continuously
changing, because of time and events, composing new confgurations and
possible routes (ROSSETI-FERREIRA, AMORIN E SILVA, 2004 p. 23). In
this way the categories acquire special meanings according to the context and
time in which they are situated.
4.3 States of Knowledge
These are academic productions that synthetize a given number of
studies, selected according to a previously established criterion (or criteria), on
a specifc theme or section. The raw material for such studies can be abstract
databases, productions for a conference, reviews of a topic in scientifc journals,
and other examples.
States of knowledge imply a meta-theoretical look, in this case
on Higher Education, picked up from works that systematize scientifc-
academic productions which include thematic axes constructed in the process
of organizing events, based on papers selected for a broader axis. Some of
them are supported in databases on various productions, others are specifc
to research and/or documents such as articles and critiques. In common they
have a delimitation by means of inclusive criteria, be they geographic or
thematic. The meta-theoretical look which underlies the states of knowledge
can be obtained from different sources such as shown in the study by Franco
(2009). This is the case of databases, thematic axes that are previously
established for an event, papers ordered in advance from speakers and panel
participants (FRANCO e AFONSO,2010) .
States of Knowledge have constituted major sources of academic
production. The methodology used by Morosini (2009) is the construction of a
121
state of knowledge about quality in higher education, based on the international
perspectives that infuence the national ones through the globalization process.
The main contributions of the work are the identifcation of concepts of
isomorphic quality, of specifcity and equity, and an analysis of the trajectory
of the concept of university quality and its propositive organisms. The position
of UNESCO and its ramifcations, such as IESALC (International Institute
of UNESCO for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean) and
GUNI (Global University Network for Innovation) is outstanding in building the
concept of quality of higher education for sustainable development.
In Brazil, one of the characteristics that have revealed themselves in states
of knowledge is the predominance of studies that are systematized and produced
by research groups. Some of these works are states of knowledge because they
analyzed the productions in information bases and/or obtained them structuring
them according to the previously established objectives and criteria, extracting
their categories. Universitas, the research group, has participated decisively
through its database on academic periodicals, available in a virtual library.
13
The
technical procedures for studies in a database were analyzed at an event promoted
by the Universitas-Br group and by GEU-Ipesq/UFRGS, which discussed the
possibilities of using the Universitas-PR base to build states of knowledge.
The outstanding point as regards methodological possibilities to study
quality in higher education is that knowledge banks are essential to identify and
construct categories, especially by means of content analyses. They are important
sources to confgure and develop categorial tendencies, to pick up theoretical-
methodological tendencies, to identify problems and gaps connected to the topic
and they help glimpse the way to go. The contours of the States of Knowledge
nd their meta-theoretical strength are anchored in a systematized and available
scientifc-academic production. (FRANCO, 2009).
4.4 White Paper
The purpose of the White Paper is to produce new analyses about a given
theme/problem, or else to pick up achievements and tendencies of science from a
given scientifc and/or disciplinary feld. This is justifed by the fact that today,
scientifc research is as big a challenge and the content of investigation is so complex
and specialized, that knowledge and personal experiences are no longer suffcient
13
Rede UNIVERSITAS is connected to GT11-Anped- Policies of Higher Education. It has developed
integrated projects supported by CNPq since 1996. It has researchers and scholarship students from 19
outstanding Brazilian universities. The Virtual Library includes 7,500 documents from national periodicals
(1968 to 2002), and foresees including another 3,000 on dissertations/theses and books on higher education
in Brazil (1995-2002) UNIVERSITAS (http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/universitas).....
instruments to understand tendencies or make decisions (PENDLEBURY, 2009).
This assertion emphasizes the importance of being selective in indicating promising
areas of investigation and management of investments.
The white paper has been used in a quantitative-bibliometric approach
and in a variation of a focus group. The bibliometric approach is based on indexes
of citations and the focus group derived approach uses successive discussions
and syntheses among specialists regarding a given theme/problem, a direction
used at the AIR Forum 2010. A bibliometric approach has been used to evaluate
research, i.e., the quantitative evaluation of publications and citations (citation
index) based on the presupposition that the paper cited is related to the substantive
part of the work, which might indicate studies of potentials, tendencies, structure
and development of science.
The second modality of use, a variation of the focus group, begins with an
agglutinating axis discussed by specialists in successive processes of discussion,
syntheses, new discussions to produce new analyses and concepts, from different
points of view, about a given theme and/or problems. The intention of using the
white paper is to produce new analyses and concepts, beginning from different
points of view about quality in University management, in a discussion of the
topic among researchers. It assumes that the ideas of the participants fnd space
to fnish, even when adjusted by means of provisional consensuses.
The refections presented have in common the importance of alterity
in constructing knowledge and the possibilities that arise in the face of
interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, interinstitutional and international dialogues.
5 CONCLUSIVE DIRECTIONS
The theoretical-methodological assumptions selected for this work
determine the directions and choices ranging from the sources to the investigative
routes. Besides ruling analysis, they act to circumscribe refections, fndings
and conclusions. They also lead to the fnding that there are no universally
accepted indicators, among other reasons because the research market in HE
is variable, multidisciplinary and competitive for spaces and resources.
A frst outstanding point is that it is essential to construct categories
and indications to produce knowledge and it is circumscribed by spelling out
conceptually the meanings attributed to the terms and expressions, accompanied
by a relevant conceptualization of category and confguration of sources. It is
clear that the issue of sources is not complete, but signals tendencies, including
growing interest of the academy in methodological issues, introducing innovative
123
elements. What it does show is tension between restriction and possibility, since
each document selected limits the possibilities of broader understandings, but
also enables greater comprehension. The choice of documents in this line is
fundamental, not neutral.
From a broad perspective, the identifcation of indicatives anchored in
multiple sources, and the review of conceptualizations, increases the possibility
that they and the delimiting categories will be compatible with the contextual
complexity. This thought is a potential mode of defense of what Hedges (2009)
calls the fve appearances forged in the massive diffusion of images and
patterns, brands of the globalized world: the appearance of culture, of love, of
knowledge, of happiness and of nation.
Also about indications of quality in management, they make more sense
if they are adequately referenced. This means to use concrete components as
a reference, taking into account their interactive felds, personal components
of those involved considering their social, economic, political and cultural
concreteness, as well as their discursive practices (Rosseti-Ferreira et al. (2004)
and Gentil (2005).
The projective/anticipatory character of research on quality of
management at university, maybe more markedly than in other activities that
constitute the civilizatory stages, shows the idea of project as a refex of society.
This idea presents itself even when the projective traits are tenuous, but well
observed by Boutinet (2002) in his anthropological analysis of projects. It is not
uncommon, however, that in human and social sciences, the projective character
acts as a directional pole and the anticipated steps adapt to the circumstances,
which does not exclude a strong, agglutinating investigative problem.
Among the outstanding conclusive directions are the importance of
overcoming the qualitative-quantitative dichotomy in constructing knowledge on
quality, enhancement of interdisciplinary dialogue and the search for provisional
consensuses, considering quality as a university policy. .
Along this line, a contribution of this paper is the certainty that it is necessary
to open to innovation in investigative methodologies on quality management,
due to the complexity of the problems currently faced by university. This fnding
makes one think about the use of new/adapted methodologies, with a new role that
presents to the higher education researcher. And in this construction, the qualitative-
quantitative dichotomy fnds no space, but its articulation opens up possibilities. In
order to advance frontiers of knowledge in this feld, it will be necessary to overcome
diffculties that the quantitative methodologies alone do not manage to accomplish.
The necessary interfaces between the different methodological procedures
ultimately generate new ways of becoming acquainted with reality and make the
desired results occur, in search of levels of excellence (LONGHI, 2010).
Another contribution of this paper is to show that the interdisciplinary
dialogue and even the multicultural one have a presence in the four
methodological notes selected because they involve perspectives of more
than one discipline, more than one participating group and many possibilities,
each of them providing an additional contribution to knowledge about quality
in university management. It is important to have different perspectives in
analysis of quality, because this allows looking at the same object differently,
certainly from different angles and with specifc results.
The importance of methodologies such as RedSig lies in the possibility of
looking at the problems with many magnifying glasses and based on the elements
surrounding them. It is an attempt to overcome the appearances mentioned
above, which reveal themselves in the illusion of wisdom, an expression that
impregnated the work of BERMEJO BARRERA (2011), because they create the
impression of describing reality when they eliminate the possibility of a real debate.
The work of Franco Afonso and Longhi (2010) is exemplary in this sense
because, besides providing innovative elements about collective and cooperative
text construction, it emphasizes participatory management, the commitments
of the university and the idea of indicatives. Since the latter are not normative
they approach benchmarking not as prescriptions, but as seedbeds of ideas of
indicatives founded on the logic of continued education.
This understanding stresses the importance of overcoming the qualitative-
quantitative dichotomy in construction of knowledge, of expanding and consolidating
the space of the interdiciplinary dialogue and organizing the decisions in the logic of
consensuses, even if provisional. Entry into the portal of possibilities in constructing
knowledge about quality in higher education comes from a greater aspiration: quality
as a university policy.
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CONSTRUO DE CONHECIMENTO ACERCA DA
QUALIDADE NA GESTO DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR
1
INTRODUO
A
cincia contempornea reconhece a complexidade dos problemas,
a avalanche de sua disponibilizao e a velocidade com que as
informaes e pesquisas adentram redes acadmicas e profssionais nestas dcadas
iniciais do sculo XXI. Em decorrncia, ela tem buscado o dilogo alm de um campo
disciplinar, o que est levando a uma abertura sem precedentes para as possibilidades
de capturar a realidade circundante na produo do conhecimento. Tal assertiva se
aplica aos distintos campos disciplinares, em que pese o fato de que alguns deles, por
renitncia ou o apego aos prprios padres, coloquem na pesquisa clssica a nica
modalidade aceitvel de construo de conhecimentos cientfcos.
Sob tal perspectiva este trabalho objetiva confgurar possibilidades no
processo de produo do conhecimento sobre qualidade na gesto da universidade,
buscando captar traos do contexto de alta complexidade no qual se insere a
educao superior (ES) e a cincia. Sinaliza questes, presentes hoje, na construo
categorial, na circunscrio de fontes de indicadores de qualidade na gesto da
ES, destacando a universidade como um de seus formatos institucionais mais
complexos, e apresenta apontamentos metodolgicos mediadores de possibilidades
construtivas do conhecimento sobre a temtica.
A linha metodolgica assenta-se em resultados de estudos prvios, na
sistemtica adotada por grupos e redes de pesquisa sobre ES, para obteno de
informaes e na anlise de contedo de documentos selecionados sob os critrios
de adequao temtica, pertinncia investigativa e relevncia social. Na anlise
foi adotado o princpio de similaridade para a incluso categorial. Em que pesem
sinalizaes de abordagens metodolgicas e flosfcas que subjazem as polticas
institucionais, o que se prope a confgurao de possibilidades no quadro contextual
que afora e afeta os conhecimentos imputados pela universidade sociedade. Assim
posto, cabe explicitar os balizamentos que circunscrevem o trabalho.
1
Agradecimentos aos integrantes da rede GEU, cujas discusses iluminaram o trabalho, especialmente
Professora Dra. Solange Maria Longhi ( GEU-Ipesq/UFRGS e GEU/UPF), doutoranda Cristina Zanettini-
Ribeiro e aos bolsistas PIBIC-CNPq Gustavo Schutz e Carol Baranzeli pelas pesquisas e leituras crticas.
131
O primeiro balizamento refere-se ao reconhecimento da complexidade
que envolve a qualidade na gesto da ES, como condio para uma produo
datada, situada no local e inserida no global. Assim, a qualidade e a avaliao,
bsicos neste trabalho, fazem parte de um campo por natureza complexo
devido aos seus objetos, metodologias, vises de cincia e valores subjacentes,
tornando-os no unvocos. O olhar sobre a gesto da universidade constata que
sua complexidade deriva, em parte, da natureza multidisciplinar e do trabalho
com especialistas de distintas reas o que refora a importncia do dilogo.
O segundo balizamento parte do suposto de que a construo de
categorias e indicativos de qualidade na gesto da Educao Superior fazem
parte de um processo investigativo e construtivo de possibilidades inovadoras
no enfrentamento de questes que hoje se impem. Assim, algumas questes
so trazidas devido concepo de universidade e de suas fnalidades que a
elas subjaz. (FRANCO e MOROSINI, 2006).
O terceiro suposto refere-se a continua tenso entre permanente
e provisrio na ES. Quando predomina o permanente pode ocorrer um
engessamento institucional e quando predomina o provisrio o que se antev
o aligeiramento . Discernir entre a permanncia que no oblitere inovaes
e a provisoriedade que no dilua a identidade institucional supe lidar com a
inovao e a complexidade, antecipando-se possveis usos do conhecimento.
Os pontos mencionados encetam quatro ordens discursivas, a saber:
traos da complexidade da qualidade na gesto da Universidade, questes
acerca da qualidade e seus indicativos, a construo categorial e as fontes e
apontamentos metodolgicas.
1. TRAOS DA COMPLEXIDADE DA QUALIDADE NA GESTO
DA UNIVERSIDADE
O tratamento da qualidade na gesto da universidade, forma institucional
mais complexa da ES, circunscrito, em seus conceitos e prticas, pela
complexidade. Junto complexidade da qualidade e da avaliao, est a de
gesto e a da natureza da universidade inserida em suas mltiplas relaes
disciplinares, poltico-sociais e econmicas. Alguns destes traos so captados a
seguir, pois eles contextualizam a construo do conhecimento sobre indicativos
de qualidade na gesto.
A gesto da universidade o objeto de marcante produo acadmica,
o que contribui para a delimitao do campo de conhecimento da ES enquanto
rea de estudo. o que se depreende na produo da academia e de associaes
internacionais e nacionais de grande porte, divulgada em eventos, em peridicos e
em livros.
1
O carter e as sinalizaes meta-tericas tm presena em trabalhos como
de Benno Sander (2007), Malcolm Tight (2003), Burton Clark (2004), Morosini et
alii (2006), Roberto Moscati e M. Vaira (2008), os quais reiteram a complexidade da
qualidade na gesto da universidade. Isto deriva da natureza e do conceito atribudo
esta instituio, cuja natureza complexa tem subjacente premissas sobre pesquisa,
ensino, extenso e princpios organizativos expressivos de processos decisrios e de
relaes em mbito local, regional, nacional e internacional.
Ao adentrar na aferio da qualidade na gesto da universidade constata-
se que ela , por natureza, complexa pois abarca distintas faces do contexto, da
instituio e do processo avaliativo. A complexidade se mostra em sua pujana
na assertiva de que,
A avaliao , pois, irrecusvel e joga um papel poltico de
grande importncia. um campo em disputa e sua bandeira
a qualidade. De um lado, as foras poderosas do mercado
tentando marcar a ferro e fogo e por toda a parte a semntica
da qualidade, com os critrios de efcincia, produtividade,
rentabilidade, menor custo e tambm competitividade,
ajuste ao mercado e mensurabilidade. Por outro lado,
a comunidade cientfca, certamente a vrias vozes e a
despeito de suas divises internas, deve procurar socializar
conceitos de qualidade educativa, radicalmente, distintos do
sentido corrente da qualidade em termos mercadolgicos.
(SOBRINHO, 1999, p. 165).
As tenses perpassadas revelam a complexidade da universidade, hoje
e em seu devir. Enquanto instituio de conhecimento, multidisciplinar, seus
saberes so fliados diversos estatutos epistemolgicos o que a distancia de uma
instituio de consenso. O contraponto, com nota Habermasiana, o de que a
instituio exige consensos, mesmo que provisrios, para concretizar objetivos.
As tenses que subjazem foram captadas com maestria atemporal por Baldridge:
O cientista trabalhando dentro de um dado arcabouo
adota um consistente weltanschauung que defne seu
problema, seus instrumentais, seu esquema conceitual e
suas proposies tericas. Cientistas trabalhando dentro
1
Publicaes de Associaes e centros de pesquisa tais como: AIR - Association of Institutional Research,;
EAIR- European Association of Higher Education; ANPAE -Associao Nacional de Poltica e Administrao
da Educao; ANPED Associao Nacional de Ps-graduao em Educao- GT Polticas de Educao
Superior e do Grupo Universitas-Br; RIES Rede Sul Brasileira de investigadores de Educao Superior;.
Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU-STEP); CHEPS- Center for Higher
Education Policy Studies ; CIPES Centro de Investigao de Polticas de Ensino Superior
133
de uma dada viso de mundo tm mais do que lealdade
(allegiance) cientfca; os seus prprios estilos de vida e
comprometimentos emocionais so ligados a esta particular
interpretao do mundo. (BALDRIDGE, 1971, p.8).
Na mesma direo Lenoir (2004), focando a instituio de cincia,
revisita um tpico dos clssicos (Robert K. Merton and Joseph Ben-David): os
processos por meio dos quais as instituies que constituem e suportam a cincia
so formados. Prosseguindo o autor afrma que as instituies coordenam a
pesquisa cientfca e incorporam muitas possibilidades, dirigem todos aspectos
da vida e nos campos cientfcos, a vida profssional ocorre dentro de um contexto
de sobreposio, por vezes de instituies em confito.
O estudo de Lenoir tem carter meta-terico por analisar o dilogo entre
cincia, flosofa e contexto, isto , opes que circundam a cincia, da lngua
aos produtos tecnolgicos. Em virtude do crescente desdobramento da cincia na
vida dos homens, no surpreende que o autor defenda a idia de dilogo entre
descobertas cientfcas e flosofa.
Autores que precederam Lenoir, como Latour (1994), com a noo da
conexo entre seres novos (hbridos) e conseqente interface das cincias, e
Thomas Kuhn (1987), com a discusso sobre cincia normal e suas revolues,
tm contribudo para descerrar a complexidade da cincia hodierna e seus
campos disciplinares. Mas outras possibilidades aparecem com os novos
agrupamentos e processos de institucionalizao e, qui, com alternativas que
transcendem o terceiro excludo e protagonizam a refexo crtica .
inegvel que, no contexto acima descrito, prprio da produo de
conhecimento cientfco na contemporaneidade, surjam diferentes formas
de organizao acadmica e o crescimento de grupos de pesquisa, ultrapasse
fronteiras de laboratrios e universidades, de pases e continentes. Essa realidade
no parece ser somente uma tendncia, mas, como alguns autores (PRIGOGINE,
1996; STENGERS, 2002; POMBO, 2004, entre outros) tm sublinhado, uma
exigncia que se impe diante dos problemas, cada vez mais complexos.
Rubin (2011) aponta o contexto de questionamentos e mudanas
nas formas de pensar e fazer cincia. As Propostas (de Ps-graduao
interdisciplinares) so compreendidas como parte do movimento crescente da
cincia que busca repensar a fragmentao e a dualidade, inclusive na direo de
legitimar outros espaos de poder e prestgio e rever a organizao de reas do
conhecimento historicamente constitudas (RUBIN, 2011, p.150). Dessa forma
os estudos da autora mostram que,
A possibilidade de produo de conhecimento
interdisciplinar encontra terreno frtil em concepes que
tenham como premissa: a abertura ao dilogo de saberes,
a postura de considerar diferentes possibilidades (terico-
metodolgicas) na produo de conhecimento, a construo
coletiva (mesmo que manifesta em produtos individuais),
o reconhecimento da cincia como uma das formas da
produo humana social e historicamente situada, e o
reconhecimento de que mudanas concretas de pensamento
necessitam de condies tambm concretas de produo.
(RUBIN, 2011, p.156).
Tais achados se apiam na perspectiva trazidas por Leff (2003) sobre
dilogo de saberes, ou seja, dilogo marcado pela heteronomia do ser e do saber,
pela alteridade que no absorvida pela condio humana, mas se manifesta
no encontro de diferentes seres culturais. Os seres feitos de conhecimentos no
podem ser reduzidos conhecimentos objetivos e verdades ontolgicas, mas se
referem justia que transpe o campo unitrio dos direitos humanos, ao atingir
o direito a ter direitos diferentes. O dilogo de saberes somente possvel no
contexto de uma poltica da diferena, que no colocada pela confrontao
seno pela paz justa desde um princpio de pluralidade (LEFF, 2003, p.23).
uma concepo compatvel com a de Sousa Santos (2006), ao mostrar a ecologia
de saberes como um conjunto de epistemologias que partem da possibilidade da
diversidade e da globalizao contra-hegemnica.
Franco e Rubin (2009) ao discutirem caminhos entre conhecimentos e
saberes na direo que transcende a interface temtica, adentrando ao dilogo,
deixam clara a vasta produo acadmica de debates que se estabelecem no
entorno da cincia e de seus mtodos os quais revelam a fragilidade de conceitos
e de teorias tidas como absolutas, devido fragmentao que as limita. As autoras
destacam a transio paradigmtica (SOUSA SANTOS, 2006) que se revela em
busca de vises mais compreensivas e a perspectiva da complexidade (MORIN,
2002) indicativa de possibilidades de soluo. este, tambm, o caminho de
teorias sistmicas ressignifcadas. Isso pode levar a veredas sem sada, mas,
tambm, a novas possibilidades perante a complexidade dos problemas hodiernos.
A presena da complexidade nas relaes institucionais reconhecida
nos esforos tericos de diversos campos disciplinares que estudam as polticas,
a gesto e as prticas da universidade. O conhecimento, no entanto vai alm do
conceitual, expressando um contexto, um momento histrico, uma disposio de
olhares, valores, ideologias e interesses. No surpreende que as tenses oriundas
135
da institucionalizao encontrem espao nos cursos e programas de Ps-
graduao e nos departamentos acadmicos, ambos orientados para pesquisa e
que congregam sub reas distintas. Alm de serem delimitados por ordenamentos
poltico-legais mais amplos e, por ordenamentos especfcos da instituio a
que pertencem, so infuenciados pelas teorias assumidas pelos grupos e pelas
interlocues que ocorrem.
2. QUESTES ACERCA DA QUALIDADE E SEUS INDICATIVOS
Algumas questes, devido s implicaes epistemolgicas, ontolgicas,
valorativas, polticas e at mesmo prticas so incisivas devido aos desdobramentos
na construo do conhecimento sobre qualidade da ES e sua aferio, bem como,
aos impactos por eles gerados. Antes de adentr-las, no entanto, urge defrontar-
se com uma opo exigida para avanar o do conhecimento sobre qualidade na
gesto da educao. a escolha entre enunciados que expressam indicadores e
aqueles que so indicativos de qualidade.
A opo recai sobre indicativos de qualidade, pela gama de
possibilidades que abre. A noo de indicativos ultrapassa a idia de uma rota
pr-estabelecida, com detalhes rgidos de percurso que precisam ser atendidos
de forma minuciosa, para se chegar ao destino fnal. Ela se apia na idia de
indcios orientadores do que ainda no est pronto e, como tal, permite que
se construa com a inteno de sempre avanar mais, para alm do institudo,
com vistas a uma melhora constante que permita alcanar um novo patamar
institucional de qualidade (FRANCO et al., 2010). Aos indicativos subjazem
reinvenes pois,
(...) nada completamente novo; extensas listas de
indicadores j defnidos podem dar suporte ao que ainda
est por defnir-se. Os princpios so os que realmente
aliceram novas direes. Em outras palavras: quando uma
instituio aplica-se ao processo de auto-avaliao e faz
dele seu exerccio de aperfeioamento ela j no mais a
mesma que era antes; agora se projeta num novo patamar.
Este, pode sim, ultrapassar o que j estava defnido, como
esperado e redefnir novos indcios de qualidade. (FRANCO,
AFONSO E LONGHI, 2010, p 8 ).
Duas questes so escolhidas pela marca que imprimem ES de hoje
e por sua pertinncia temtica: a questo de Estado indutor e regulador de
polticas de pesquisa e a questo social do fazer cientfco com suas formas
organizativas, relaes compartilhadas e gesto democrtica . Ambas so
perpassadas processos dialgicos multi- interdisciplinar.
A questo do Estado indutor e a regulao por meio de polticas pblicas
tem presena na educao brasileira. inegvel o seu papel no desenvolvimento
da ES e da qualidade na gesto da universidade, o que observado nas polticas e
prticas avaliativas, no espao de categorias e at mesmo em olhares metatericos
de estudos. Entretanto, sobre o Estado como o indutor de polticas avaliativas e de
avaliao do sistema e de IES, reconhecidamente papis sob sua responsabilidade,
imprescindvel que haja uma vigilncia crtica. Ela tambm imprescindvel
no mbito das IES, pois, salvaguardar espaos de autonomia no se subentende
como anomia. Assim, uma cultura de permanente critica no modo como o Estado
estabelece suas polticas e nas formas como as instituies as transpem e utilizam
os seus espaos de autonomia, signifca fornecer alguma garantia para atingir
qualidade sem arbitrariedade, o que salvaguarda a democracia. (FRANCO, 2009).
Cabe lembrar que a teoria da regulao vincula a base econmica e
suas formas institucionais com o objetivo de detectar a extenso das mudanas
na forma das relaes sociais que ocorrem em escala secular e os parmetros
de distintos regimes de acumulao. A questo central da teoria da regulao
esclarecer quais os mecanismos capazes de garantir sua coerncia e sua
viabilidade ao longo do tempo. (BOYER, 2009, p. 47). Nesse paradigma,
a compatibilidade de comportamentos econmicos associados s formas
institucionais basilar e ao desequilibrar-se, ocorre a redefnio de regras que
codifcam as formas institucionais, por meio da mobilizao da esfera poltica.
So distintas as caracterizaes de regulao e suas origens mercadolgicas
adentram contemporaneidade com instrumentos importados da economia, no
movimento de globalizao.
Faz sentido, no entanto, ressignifcar idias do autor que potencialmente
afetam a ES. A primeira a de que detectar desequilbrios remete para processos
avaliativos ancorados em indicadores e critrios. A esta idia acrescenta-se
a mobilizao da esfera poltica para recodifcar as formas institucionais o que
implica regulamentaes, e tambm o controle de sua observncia e de seus desvios.
Nesta linha de refexo, as regulamentaes caminham pari passu com as polticas
de qualidade, avaliao, pesquisa e de C&T. Especialmente, na ltima dcada,
observa-se um movimento do patamar da norma em direo ao esclarecimento
da norma-referenciada em padres. o espao da regulao, que vai alm da
regulamentao, pois suas diretivas aliceram dois elementos: a referncia em
critrios e padres e os apontamentos para a aferio dos padres de referncia.
137
Ressignifcar as regulao estatais no mbito institucional exige redobrada
vigilncia crtica para no relaxar a responsabilidade social da instituio e seu
compromisso com o conhecimento socialmente relevante para o bem comum.
A perspectiva mencionada encontra respaldo na noo de Barroso
(2006) quando afrma que a diferenciao conceitual da regulao depende do
nvel em que aparece: transnacional, nacional, micro-regulao local, alm de
uma meta-regulao. A regulao transnacional a que se origina nos pases
centrais em direo aos pases perifricos e semi-perifricos, em geral oriunda
de organismos como OCDE, UNESCO, Banco Mundial. Seus documentos tm a
fora da infuncia. A regulao nacional tem sentido institucional do Estado e sua
administrao, envolvendo coordenao, controle e infuncia sobre o sistema de
ensino no contexto de ao de diferentes atores sociais o que combina formas
institucionalizadas de interveno do Estado. (BARROSO, 2006 p. 50). A micro-
regulao local o processo de coordenao da ao dos atores no terreno
que resulta do confronto, interao, negociao ou compromisso de diferentes
interesses e lgicas, racionalidades, estratgias.... (BARROSO, 2006, p.57).
Os ltimos quinze anos, no Brasil foram prdigos em marcos
regulatrios que introduziram novos formatos institucionais (Lei de Diretrizes
e Bases da Educao Nacional em 1966, o Plano Nacional de Educao em
2001), confguraram o Sistema Nacional de Avaliao - SINAES, em 2004,
incrementaram a educao pblica por meio do Programa de Apoio a Planos
de Reestruturao e Expanso das Universidades Federais-REUNI (2007),
estimulando novas formas organizativas de pesquisa. O que se observa no
sistema nacional de avaliao, a visvel tentativa de acompanhar o processo,
auscultando o que dele decorre e o que lhe escapa. Continuando, Longhi
afrma que o principal objetivo a garantia de qualidade, a tentativa de aes
preventivas fortes e indispensveis para impedir, numa analogia com a sade, a
doena e dispensar a necessidade de tratamento. Informar sobre a crucialidade
de seguir certos indicativos e parmetros pode garantir boa sade institucional,
contribuir para melhor qualidade de vida em geral e dos indivduos em particular,
que constituem as diferentes instituies da sociedade. (LONGHI, 2010).
A segunda questo diz respeito ao social do fazer cientfco e abrange
formas organizativas da pesquisa, como a participao em grupos e redes, tendo
em vista relaes compartilhadas na construo de uma gesto democrtica na
investigao sobre qualidade. Nesta direo encontram-se processos de pesquisa
exemplares pelo compartilhar decisrio na identifcao de categorias e critrios
avaliativos sobre qualidade e sua aferio.
A avaliao e a expanso da Ps-graduao no Brasil tornou-se mais
incisiva a partir do fnal da dcada de 1970, consolidando-se na dcada de 1980.
Alguns marcos impulsionam a busca de novas formas associativas (grupos, redes,
parcerias) para a pesquisa. o caso dos Planos Nacionais de Ps-graduao,
at os mais recentes (2005-2010), os Planos Bsicos de Desenvolvimento
Cientfco e Tecnolgico, o modelo avaliativo dos Programas de Ps-graduao,
a introduo do Currculo Lattes em 1999, o Diretrio de Grupos de Pesquisa
no Brasil do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfco e Tecnolgico
DGP/CNPq
2
, a Lei de Inovao Tecnolgica (Lei n 10.973 de 02/12/2004).
O ltimo documento incentivou a inovao e a pesquisa cientfca e tecnolgica,
a capacitao, a formao de parcerias pblico-privado, o estabelecimento
de cursos multi e interdisciplinares de graduao e de Ps-graduao, e
os movimentos de internacionalizao. Acrescenta-se o Plano de Ao de
Cincia, Tecnologia e Inovao para o Desenvolvimento Nacional 2007-2010,
(PAC,T&I) e a Lei de Incentivo a Pesquisa de 2007
3
. As crticas que incidem
sobre as polticas no obliteram o apoio pesquisa cientfca e tecnolgica,
aos grupos de pesquisa e Ps-graduao. Nesta direo, registra-se o papel
do CNPQ Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfco e Tecnolgico
e da CAPES - Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior,
responsveis pela avaliao da produo cientfca no Brasil, ambos utilizando
critrios ligados internacionalizao. O primeiro responsvel pela avaliao
da produtividade do pesquisador e o segundo pela avaliao da excelncia dos
programa de ps- graduao stricto sensu.
A face social do conhecimento, no que tange a organizaes para produo,
tem presena, tambm, em programas como os Observatrios Capes. A natureza
do Observatrio agregadora de distintas vises, ao estabelecer como condio
o desenvolvimento de projetos de programas de Ps-graduao de diferentes
universidades e/ou de uma mesma universidade. Abre portas para formas
colaborativas no desenvolvimento de pesquisas, favorecendo a orientao social
no nvel organizativo mas, tambm, a democratizao de resultados: congrega
programas de PG, favorece a participao de professores do ensino fundamental e/
ou mdio, bolsistas de IC, de Mestrandos e de Doutorandos. uma tendncia que
2
Criado em 1992, a primeira verso do DGP-CNPq refere-se ao ano de 1993, com a produo cientfca e
tecnolgica 1990-1992. As verses subseqentes foram de 1995, 1997, 2001 e 2002. Nas primeiras verses
as informaes foram colhidas atravs de questionrio entregue aos lderes de grupo pelos responsveis
institucionais. Os grupos inventariados esto localizados em universidades, instituies isoladas, institutos de
pesquisa e tecnolgicos, laboratrios e organizaes no-governamentais. A partir 2003 a inscries de novos
grupos e atualizao dos existentes so realizadas on line.
3
O Plano de Ao de C,T&I ligado ao Plano de Acelerao do Crescimento-PAC e defne aes e programas
para C,T&I e desenvolvimento sustentvel do pas. A Lei de Incentivo a Pesquisa prev renuncia fscal (85% de
impostos, e propriedade intelectual para as empresas que fnanciam projetos cientfco-tecnolgicos.
139
j vinha ocorrendo no plano institucional com a instalao do DGP Brasil - CNPq
por estimular a introduo de redes de conhecimento .
Tais polticas nacionais caminham pari passu com a perspectiva
internacional que favorece o trabalho em redes. o caso de aportes do
ENLACES (Espao Latino Americano e Caribenho de Educao Superior)
pinados por Didrickson (2005) tais como incrementar o trabalho em redes com
projetos conjuntos, aumentar recursos dos organismos multilaterais, promover
novas formas de cooperao, intensifcar a solidariedade internacional e o mtuo
reconhecimento - equivalncias de qualidade, promover a capacitao de experts
e tcnicos na gesto e administrao de recursos multilaterais e na cooperao.
Observa-se na constituio e modus operandi de grupos, formas inovadoras
de fazer pesquisa A busca de novas metodologias passa a ser papel do pesquisador,
o que mostra a inovao indo alm das idias novas e das metodologias, adentrando
o processo social investigativo, em seu uso e impactos nas prticas. Vai alm de
um novo produto, processo ou servios, cujo lastro so novas ou j conhecidas
tecnologias e mtodos. Adentra a captura de conexes, sejam elas ecolgicas,
sociais, biolgicas e/ou fsicas que interferem nos processos, buscando identifcar
tendncias antes que elas aconteam. Vai alm do presente, procura interferir no
futuro. Colocaes como estas, em alguma medida, tm presena at em eventos
direcionados para o mercado, mostrando que eles esto atentos aos circunscritores
levantados, pois sublinham a questo da identifcao e construo de novos usos
do conhecimento, como critrio de avaliao dos mais variados, inclusive de
artigos cientfcos. A tendncia a de entender inovao como um novo tipo de
possveis usurios e os novos usos de um produto ou servio. (KGCM, 2010)
Assim, pode-se afrmar que a inovao da tcnica ligada
racionalidade instrumental ao passo que a tcnica da inovao que incide
sobre a ao e a associao humana abre possibilidades substantivas e at
mesmo equitativas, conduzindo para um novo patamar: enquanto a primeira est
ligada aos mercados competidores, a segunda - a tcnica da inovao, implica
busca de novos usos e assim sendo, na complexidade do hoje, sinaliza para um
mercado colaborador. (FRANCO e MOROSINI, 2006).
O estabelecimento de relaes compartilhadas na construo do
conhecimento, envolve processos dialgicos e neles se inclui a busca do
dilogo multi e interdisciplinar. Na alteridade encontram-se caminhos para
consensos mesmo que provisrios, orientados para aes especfcas. A idia
do compartilhado traz consigo a negociao, a coordenao, a troca de papis
e posies, enfm a gesto que protagoniza espaos interativos propcios a
experincias dialgicas na construo avaliativa e multidisciplinar.
Se o valor central a competitividade e no a solidariedade,
se o objetivo a hegemonia e no a cooperao, se o que
mais vale sempre vencer e no o bem estar humano,
ento a universidade ser cobrada pelo poderio funcional-
transferencial de seu ensino e pelo xito nas aprendizagens
das habilidades e tcnicas bsicas. Nessa lgica a avaliao
est estreitamente vinculada consignao de recursos.
(SOBRINHO, 1999, p. 164).
Est implcito na assertiva acima a tica da reciprocidade ancorada na
regra de ouro de que o tratar os outros como gostaria de ser tratado basilar
para os conceitos hodiernos de direitos humanos e de qualidade, inserindo-se nas
possibilidades que se abrem para a sociedade e a universidade nos dias vindouros
(KGCM, 2010)
4
. A questo em pauta ultrapassa o sentido inicial, no entanto est
ancorada no respeito diversidade com suas prprias noes, valores e culturas
os quais implicam tratar os outros levando em conta suas aspiraes. Em outras
palavras, sem lhes retirar a identidade.
Na tessitura retratada subjaz a idia de que inovao supe lidar com a
complexidade, com o dilogo interdisciplinar e compartilhado e especialmente
com as questes e com os marcos regulatrias que incidem sobre a ES, e sua
gesto na busca de qualidade.
3. A CONSTRUO CATEGORIAL E DE INDICATIVOS
A construo categorial e de indicativos circunscrita pelos eixos da
explicitao conceitual dos signifcados de categoria e pela confgurao de
fontes para a identifcao de indicativos que sejam pertinentes e adequados
complexidade do contexto de hoje.
No que diz tange ao signifcado de categoria a questo complexa
por natureza e difcilmente ser respondida em todos os seus meandros. No
entanto, traz consigo alguns supostos. Um deles o de que categoria no se
refere a uma dada metodologia ou a uma dada teoria, mas a um corpo terico-
metodolgico, assumindo, portanto, ligao entre a teoria que ilumina e fornece
as lentes para uma investigao e a prtica metodolgica. Longhi (1995), ao
analisar categorias percebe que o uso de categorias, constitui-se num horizonte
de sentidos, sobre o qual se destaca o que a pesquisa vai revelar. A ponderao
conduz para a constatao de que em certas teorias o entrelaamento to forte
que a noo terica, a metodolgica e o uso de categorias se (con)fundem.
4
O critrio da tica adotado em conferncias para a avaliao de artigos cientfcos como a Knowledge
Generation and Communication Management que indica a declarao acima como uma regra bsilar .
141
As separaes que seguem so elucidativas e destinam-se a chamar a ateno
sobre pontos no processo de investigao.
As noes tericas que iluminam um trabalho certamente se inserem
numa dada vertente paradigmtica que postula um dado tipo de relao entre
o sujeito cognoscente, o objeto de conhecimento (realidade), relao essa que
pode transcender polarizao objetivo-subjetivo, assim como, pode assumir
a mediao lingstica na construo intersubjetiva do objeto de estudo entre
dois ou mais sujeitos. Com isso se est dizendo que a teoria em questo fornece
categorias que disponibilizam a lente para trabalhos.
A abordagem usada por Franco et al. (1998) distingue trs tipos de
categorias que marcam terica e metodologicamente um trabalho: referentes,
conceituais e substantivas.
As categorias referentes delimitam os contornos de abrangncia do
objeto de estudo, caracterizando-o em um recorte especfco, sendo previamente
determinadas. As categoriais conceituais so aquelas que iluminam a organizao e
a compreenso das informaes, inserindo os resultados em um todo interpretativo.
Marcam terica e metodologicamente o trabalho, do o fundamento e direcionam
o olhar. Assim como as referentes, as categorias conceituais so previamente
estabelecidas a partir de estudos prvios e escolhas tericas.
As categoriais substantivas so aquelas construdas no processo de
analise dos documentos selecionados. Existem diversos tipos de anlises que
desvelam categorias substantivas. A vertente que tem sido usada na pesquisa
sobre indicativos da qualidade na gesto da ES, j mencionada, caracteriza-se
pela busca de convergncias temticas, em processo analtico, subsidiado por
autores como Grawitz (1986) e Bardin (1997) .
No que diz respeito s fontes para a identifcao de indicativos de se
mencionar as diretivas presentes em documentos de organismos internacionais
que evidenciam fora de polticas. A elas se aliam as refexes acadmicas e
discusses em eventos, bem como o uso de peridicos e informativos e produes
de redes como o GEU e a RIES, tomadas como exemplos, por suas construes
de indicativos de qualidade na gesto.
3.1 Organismos Internacionais e indicativos
Alguns organismos internacionais se destacam por veicularem
documentos com fora de poltica para a educao superior, mesmo quando
so alvo de crticas contundentes referidas na prevalncia de orientaes para
o mercado e no isomorfsmo de critrios. reconhecido a fonte referencial das
publicaes de organismos tais quais a UNESCO, CRES/ IESALC/ (2008),
Banco Mundial e OECD.
5
A UNESCO dissemina documentos de seus eventos internacionais
e regionais e protagoniza estudos e publicaes indicativas de qualidade da
educao (UNESCO, 2009; YONEZAWA & KAISER, 2003). Em 2009, a
ttulo de exemplo, Paris sediou a Conferncia Mundial de Educao Superior
que teve como objetivo apresentar As Novas Dinmicas do Ensino Superior e
Pesquisas para a Mudana e o Desenvolvimento Social.
A OECD (2009) em documentos reconhece a fora da equidade e da
incluso, respectivamente para garantir que circunstncias pessoais e sociais no
obstaculizem a consecuo do potencial educacional e para garantir um padro
mnimo de educao para todos. Tal assertiva lembra as mudanas mencionadas
por Boyer (2009) nos modos de regulao contemporneos e seus movimentos
na busca de equilbrio.
Os grandes rankings internacionais, com sua carga isomrfca imputam
desafos sem precedentes para as universidades, especialmente aquelas dos
pases do hemisfrio sul. Os resultados obtidos em tais avaliaes tornam-
se estratgias competitivas para adentrar fruns, movimentos regionais e
fnanciamentos Dentre os exemplos, elegeu-se a Universidade de referncia
Mundial- World Class University e a Research Intensive Universities (RIUs).
A Universidade de referncia mundial - World Class University ,
(WCU-3, 2009) veio para fcar, pelo menos nas prximas dcadas do sculo
XXI. Seus critrios de excelncia, fortemente articulados pesquisa e
disseminao do conhecimento, foram desenvolvidos por meio do The Center
for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University que desde
2005 organiza conferncias internacionais e desenvolve critrios de excelncia
vinculados a pesquisa e disseminao do conhecimento. Altbach (2010) aponta
os critrios de excelncia na pesquisa, condies de trabalho, a qualifcao
de professores, segurana, bons salrios e benefcios, instalaes e recursos
adequadas, liberdade acadmica, atmosfera de estmulo intelectual e auto-
gesto dos professores.
6
5
OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; UNESCO; IESALC - Instituto
Internacional da UNESCO para a Educao Superior na Amrica Latina e no Caribe; CRES, Conferncia
Regional de Educao Superior na Amrica Latina e Caribe- ENLACES - Espao de Encontro Latino-
Americano e Caribenho de Educao Superior ; NSF-National Science Foundation.
6
Alguns critrios e indicadores da Shanghai Jiao Tong University : Qualidade da educao (antigos alunos
com prmios Nobel e em campos de conhecimento); Qualidade do corpo docente (prmios Nobel e em campos
de conhecimento); citaes em 21 categorias; impacto de pesquisa; artigos publicados e indexados no Index
de citaes cientfcas e Index de Citaes e Desempenho per capita (Disponvel em http://www.arwu.org/
rank2008 /ARWU2008Methodology %28 EN% 29.htm. Acesso set.2009).
143
A linha adotada por Litwin (2009) compatvel com critrios
internacionais da WCU e consistentes com os fltros de escolha das 39 RIUs
relatadas nos surveys anuais da National Science Foundation .
7
As RIUs criam
o circulo virtuoso onde a pesquisa a chave para a reputao, junto com a
habilidade para gerar receitas de fonte diversifcadas. Neste empreendimento,
sucesso depende do desempenho em pesquisa. (LITWIN, 2009).
O autor reconhece que um dos indicadores estratgicos de desempenho
o no mercado de pesquisa na educao superior. Benchmarking o mtodo
amplamente usado pelas RIUs para medir sucesso estratgico por meio doe
processo de seleo de um grupo de instituies que so comparveis entre si,
em um dado propsito, e s ento checadas por um peer group.(LITWIN, 2009).
inegvel que os organismos tais quais os mencionados pela fora de seus
documentos, no podem ser relegados. (FRANCO e ZANETTINNI RIBEIRO,
2010). So fontes referenciais de valor inestimvel, para captar indicativos, seja
para adot-los, critic-los e at redirecion-los.
3.2 As produes acadmicas e socializao de conhecimento e
informaes
As produes acadmicas, em eventos cientfcos sobre o conhecimento,
seu processo de pesquisa e outras questes metodolgicos ganharam fora nos
ltimos anos.
A AIR- Association for Institutional Research na reunio anual de 2011,
escolheu seis temas aglutinadores dos trabalhos, um deles envolvendo a questo
metodolgica. O tema tecnologia, por exemplo, encetou o uso tecnolgico na
consecuo de objetivos e informaes gerenciais. O tema analise e mtodos
de pesquisa focalizou designs experimentais, surveys, metodos qualitativos e
quantitativos que favorecem analises profundas para subsidiar decises. Incluiu
tambm, bases de dados de consrcios.
A EAIR - European Higher Education Society , no seu Forum anual
de 2011, em Varsvia, tambm reafrmou o tema da pesquisa institucional e do
trabalho com a comunidade acadmica como um dos tnus do momento. A ele
se aliam os eixos de conhecimento econmico global, qualidade gerencial ou
gerencia da qualidade, mensurao de desempenho e resultados, eixos tomados
como categorias de qualidade.
7
A Research Intensive Universities (RIUs) was a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU)
from 1988 to 2002 inclusive, which was classifed by the NSF as one of the top 100 recipients of federal
research funding from 1988 to 2002 inclusive, and which was categorized by the Carnegie Foundation as a
Research University in its 1987 and 1994 surveys and as a Doctoral/Research University- Extensive in its 2000
survey. (LITWIN, 2009).
pertinente mencionar o Seminrio Internacional Razes de
Internacionalizao da Educao Superior promovido pelo Grupo Coimbra de
Universidades Brasileiras (GCUB). O objetivo foi discutir a interao entre as
universidades e a internacionalizao da ES. As discusses convergiram para
polticas de internacionalizao da ES, inovao e processo de integrao/
cooperao Unio Europia com a Amrica Latina e o Brasil.
8
No contexto do Universitas-BR- grupo interinstitucional vinculado
Associao Nacional de Ps-graduao em Educao ANPED que tem como foco
analtico a ES, em evento de 2006 teve um eixo temticos sobre o refnamento
terico- metodolgico da pesquisa. A RIES-Rede Sul Brasileira de Investigadores
de Educao Superior em evento realizado com a Rede GEU Grupo de Estudos
sobre Universidade, em 2008, teve um painel sobre a qualidade na pesquisa .
Nos eventos de associaes internacionais a tendncia explicitar os
critrios para a submisso de avaliao de artigos. O suposto o de que diferentes
objetivos, disciplinas cientfcas e tipos de trabalho comportam distintos critrios.
Assim, as orientaes para revisores e comits cientfcos dependeria dos objetivos
visados e de suas limitaes e restries inerentes. Objetivos distintos de editoriais
e de disciplinas provavelmente originam diferentes orientaes.(KGCM, 2010).
Segundo o grupo,um modo de lidar com a diversidade inerente num contexto
multidisciplinar solicitar aos revisores/avaliadores feedback e atribuio de graus
sob referncia de distintos critrios.
Os peridicos e informativos de organismos e associaes que
disponibilizam informaes so tambm fontes de indicadores. Os informativos de
algumas associaes /organismo internacionais so direcionadas para a obteno
e o fornecimento de dados e/ou a indicadores de avaliao.
9
. o caso da AIR que
oferece webinars focusing on survey design e outras tcnicas de pesquisa.
O Academic Impressions, uma publicao semanal gratuita que traz
informaes pontuais sobre questes e tenses enfrentadas pelas universidades
hoje. uma organizao que serve aos profssionais da ES direcionados para
prover produtos e servios educacionais que contribuam no enfrentamento de
8
O seminrio de Grupo Coimbra de Universidades Brasileiras (GCUB) foi sediado pela UFRGS- Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, em 25 de novembro de 2010 e participaram cientistas, gestores e reitores de
universidades 15 instituies. (Disponvel http://www.ufrgs.br/ufrgs/ Acesso em: 25/11/2010)
9
1) InfoBrief-Science Resouces Statistis da National Science Foundation se defne como um Directorate
for Social , Behavioral and Economic Sciences. Information and data from the Division of Science Resouces
Statistics are available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics. Acesso: 08 de set 2010;
2) Education at a Glance, editado pela Diretoria de Educao da OECD, que publica analises quantitativas de
indicadores internacionais comparveis, com vistas a subsidiar que polticas educacionais e trabalhos tcnicos.
(Disponvel www.oecd.org/edu/eag2009: Acesso, 08 de set 2010).
3) Centro de Estudos Sociais Laboratrio Associado , Faculdade de Economia, Universidade de Coimbra
sistematicamente anuncia publicaes, conferencias, workshops sobre mtodos de pesquisa qualitativos alm
de lanamento de livros, cursos, informaes ( Disponvel www.ces.uc.pt .Acesso: outubro 2010).
145
desafos estratgicos o foco no o que se (what ifs), mas o que pode ser feito
hoje e amanh (Disponvel em http://www.academicicpressions.com/about.
php. Acesso em:13 out. 2010, s/p). O informativo tem, tambm , mostrado o
crescimento no uso de portflios na ES no nvel docente, discente e institucional.
Alguns deles so para o desenvolvimento de avaliao do ensino, enquanto outros
visam as Boas Praticas, tambm para uso docente, discente e institucional . Os
relatrios tambm tm se mostrado como instrumentos para aferio e pesquisa
sobre qualidade, sob o suposto de que um relatrio fraco pode fazer com que um
bom projeto tenha um impacto negativo no fnaciamento e na acreditao.
Chama a ateno a temtica de recrutamento internacional de estudantes,
forte categoria de qualidade com fora em mbito mundial. Os estudantes
internacionais tm importante e estratgico papel na confgurao da diversidade
da universidade.
As analises de SLAUGHTER e RHOADES (2004) sobre capitalismo
acadmico, levam a constatar que o recrutamento internacional denota uma
questo de mercado. Junto com os rankings internacionais, ele alimenta o mercado
institucional, da produtividade acadmica e seus desdobramentos editoriais, de
fnanciamentos e de recursos.
3.3 Grupos e Redes de pesquisa como fontes de categorias e de
indicativos de qualidade
So muitas e diversifcadas as produes acadmicas e os grupos e redes
que hoje desenvolvem estudos sobre a ES e a universidade, tendo a tnica da
qualidade em seus mltiplos derivativos, em destaque a gesto.
10

A inteno, neste espao, confgurar tipos de produes acadmicas de
grupos e/ou redes de pesquisa cujas categorias emergem de processos analticos
cujos objetos de estudo so os resultados de trabalhos previamente desenvolvidos.
Alguns dos trabalhos fazem uso de anlise de contedo, mas todos podem ser
considerados estados de conhecimento tais quais conceituados no transcurso
10
Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU - STEP) de Oslo. Bjorn Stensaker,
Pesquisador da Universidade de Oslo estuda os impactos na ES e novas formas de competio no enfrentamento
de rankings externos e sistemas de indicadores. Estuda tambm Global Perspectives, Trust and Power Diversity
in Higher Educations as well as, and the new Landscape. http://www.uv.uio.no/pf/english/ people/ aca/bjorste/
index.html; Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS). Don Westerheijden pesquisador r
formado na Universidade de Twente (Holanda). Focaliza o trabalho em polticas de garantia de qualidade para
IES, trabalhando tambm com governos nacionais e agncias internacionais.(http://www.utwente.nl/mb/cheps/
The%20CHEPS%20Team/Staff/Academic 20StaffWesterheijdenCV09.pdf). Centro de Investigao de Polticas
de Ensino Superior (CIPES) na Universidade de Aveiro. Maria Joo Pires da Rosa pesquisadora e trabalha
com a gesto da qualidade, preocupando-se com bases estratgicas e de excelncia para o Ensino Superior em
Portugal. (http://www2.egi.ua.pt/cursos/docentes.asp?docente=104). Universidade de Lisboa. Luisa Cerdeira
trabalha com questes de economia da educao e com questes ligadas gesto de qualidade, especialmente na
rea fnanceira e administrativa.(http://www.fes2009.ul.pt/docs/bios/biogr_luisa_cerdeira.pdf).
deste trabalho. O qualifcativo que os une o seu potencial para a identifcao
de categorias e indicativos de qualidade na gesto.
Numa abordagem acadmica, com nota meta-terica, Tight (2003)
contribui com uma viso abrangente mas, especializada, das produes de pesquisa
no campo da ES. A linha metodolgica elegida pelo autor se deteve na analise
de livros e pesquisas publicados em 17 jornais acadmicos, no ano de 2000, em
lngua inglesa. O autor classifcou 406 artigos em temas-chave, mtodos e nvel
organizacional da ao, alguns dos quais substanciam diretamente a temtica
de categorias e indicativos de qualidade: a qualidade- avaliao de cursos, e
sistemas de padres nacionais; o contexto poltico, polticas nacionais, estudos
comparativos de polticas, estudos histricos de polticas e fnanciamentos; o
gerenciamento institucional, das prticas estrutura institucional; o trabalho
acadmico e o conhecimento, abarcando a natureza da pesquisa, disciplinas,
formas de conhecimento e natureza da universidade. Tight que indica a
importncia de pesquisas em temas tais quais, a prtica da gesto, a liderana
e governana institucional; o desenvolvimento institucional e histria; a
estrutura institucional ; economia de escala e fuses institucionais e relaes
entre educao superior, indstria e comunidade, como fontes importantes . Na
verdade o autor fornece uma portentosa fonte de categorias, critrios e indicativos
de qualidade da universidade e sua gesto. Outra contribuio de peso a de
mostrar a complementaridade entre estudos quantitativos e qualitativos para o
entendimento maior do de objetos de estudos marcados pela complexidade.
Duas redes exemplifcam as sistemticas na construo do conhecimento
sobre qualidade: a rede GEU Grupo de Estudos sobre Universidade e a RIES.
A escolha dessas redes decorre de suas lgicas e no oblitera o marcante papel do
Universitas BR
11

O GEU foi criado em 1988 eem desdobramentos sucessivos, ao longo
dos anos a rede foi estabelecida, envolvendo outras universidades. A marca de
sua trajetria o esforo para a formao de nova gerao de pesquisadores, a
articulao de novos grupos a partir do retorno origem de alunos de doutorado,
a elaborao e obteno de recursos para projetos integrados, estes servindo
como motes aglutinadores no s de temticas mas de aes compartilhadas por
meio de projetos e/ou seminrios e/ou exposies e/ou participaes conjuntas
11
Rede UNIVERSITAS , vinculada ao GT11-Anped- Polticas de Educao Superior e desenvolve projetos
integrado, apoiados pelo CNPq desde 1993. Rene pesquisadores e bolsistas de 19 destacadas universidades
brasileiras. A Biblioteca Virtual inclui 7.500 documentos relativos a peridicos nacionais (1968 a 2002), e prev
a incluso de mais 3.000 relativos a dissertaes/teses e livros sobre educao superior no Brasil (1995-2002).
Suas aes promovem a formao de novas geraes, sendo reconhecido pela consolidao e desenvolvimento
de grupos de pesquisa sobre Educao Superior, o qoe contribui para a superao das disparidades regionais. O
Universitas est cadastrado no DGP-CNPq e desenvolve, por meio de seus participantes, distintos projetos de
pesquisa,procurando sempre manter um eixo articulador comum. (http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/universitas
147
em eventos nacionais e internacionais. Um ponto a registrar so princpios que
regem a ao do GEU desde os primeiros projetos: os resultados de uma etapa/
tese/dissertao a entrada para projetos/etapas subseqentes. As metodologias
do GEU-Ipesq retratam o condicionante primeiro que o prprio objetivo
do estudo - no caso da avaliao- o campo do trabalho que envolve as reas
de conhecimento que tem presena nos dilogos, o material emprico que se
dispe os pressupostos tericos e metodolgicos selecionados (o que envolve os
pesquisadores e pesquisados).(FRANCO, 1997)
A experincia ilustrada com a trajetria do GEU, certamente tem pontos
semelhantes com a histria de outros grupos de pesquisa (KNORR-CETINA
1981). Tal suposto leva a ressaltar algumas mediaes e questes que esto
no cerne da transposio do status de grupo de pesquisa isolado para grupo
partcipe de ume rede: 1) os projetos de pesquisa, pela sua fora aglutinadora e
antecipativa (BOUTINET, 2002) tm fora mediadora na constituio de grupos
e/ou de rede de pesquisadores acrescido do fato de que o potencial agregador de
grupos e sua consolidao so fortalecidos por projetos; 2) Os grupos tendem
a se desmembrar formando novos ncleos devido aos seguintes aspectos:
exigncias informacionais, avaliativas e meritrias da universidade e do sistema;
alargamento e aprofundamento temtico, aliado a delimitao de campos do saber;
presena/emergncia de mais de um lder para o qual convergem os partcipes
por compatibilidade temtica e/ou epistmica e/ou ideolgica, por visibilidade e
prestgio, pelas possibilidades scio-agregadoras e de convvio profssionalidade
e, ainda pelo desenvolvimento de culturas e prticas especfcas que fortalecem
o sentido de pertena ligado a um entre os lderes; a relao de orientadores e
doutorandos de programas de Ps-graduao est na raiz da formao de grupos,
de seus desmembramentos e da formao de redes de pesquisa. (FRANCO,
2009; FRANCO E MOROSINI, 2001).
Merece meno o trabalho desenvolvido pelo GEU para atender ao
compromisso assumido junto ao Observatrio Educao RIES 2007-2011
que se norteou por princpios gerais e metodolgicos. Os gerais referem-se ao
conhecimento localizado e contextualizado que vai alm de valores epistmicos
tradicionais para se impregnar pelo contexto e histria dos objetos da cincia e
construo coletiva que refete a partilha e a compatibilizao de sentidos, num
ir e vir entre rejeio e busca de entendimentos.
Os princpios metodolgicos referem-se aferio de qualidade na gesto
da instituio universitria e focalizam: o compromisso social da universidade
como instituio; a responsabilidade como organizao social que disponibiliza
servios; a integrao pesquisa, ensino e extenso; a autonomia e a liberdade
acadmica com olhares diferenciados sobre qualidade e gesto; a auto-avaliao
como movimento libertador de identidade institucional; a gesto democrtica
como fora mobilizadora; a contextualizao institucional na perspectiva de sua
historicidade e localizao temporal-espacial; a internacionalizao como uma
das foras integradoras no mundo globalizado; a sustentabilidade institucional,
como responsabilidade social e a educao continuada.
Os seguintes procedimentos foram adotados: escolha e construo
prvia de documento sobre dimenses,
12
indicadores e qualidade na gesto da
universidade; workshop com a tcnica white paper (variante de grupo focal),
objetivando captar concepes dos pesquisadores acerca da qualidade; re-
construo de documento(s) sobre o elaborado previamente; re-organizao
de grupos de discusso (constitudos por 4 - 6 membros), durante dois dias,
focalizando cada dimenso previamente construda; organizao de sntese
de idias, por relator escolhido pelo grupo, que as apresentou no crculo de
conhecimento coletivo; reviso dos documentos originais a partir das snteses
recebidas; redao fnal de texto que assimila pontos da contribuio coletiva.
(FRANCO, AFONSO e LONGHI, 2010)
A RIES- Rede Sulbrasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior foi
criada em 1998, por professores-investigadores de IES do Rio Grande do Sul
que estudam a Educao Superior, objetiva confgurar e fomentar a educao
superior como campo de produo e pesquisa no RS. Sua marca a realizaes
de eventos nas temticas da Educao Superior, produes de pesquisas e
publicaes. Os eventos iniciais tm carter congregador na temtica. A partir
de 2005 os eventos so vinculados a projetos de pesquisa interinstitucionais. Os
encontros geraram livros -Consolidao da Rede e Observatrio CAPES-, em
destaque a Enciclopdia de Pedagogia Universitria, v. 2 Glossrio, publicada
pelo INEP/MEC no ano de 2006, e os livros da srie Pedagogia Universitria.
Entre os impactos. Em 2005 a RIES foi escolhida como Ncleo de Excelncia
em Cincia, Tecnologia e Inovao do CNPq/FAPERGS, o nico grupo em
educao. Em 2007, a RIES foi selecionada como Observatrio de Educao -
Indicadores de Qualidade para a Educao Superior Brasileira CAPES/INEP
(http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/ries).
4. APONTAMENTOS METODOLGICOS
Na discusso de apontamentos metodolgicos ressalta-se o princpio
orientador que lhe confere a identidade: o carter compartilhado. Ele tem
12
Dimenso da avaliao entendidas como o que delimita e caracteriza o objeto a ser avaliado; so grandes
traos ou caractersticas referentes a aspectos institucionais (LEITE, 2005).
149
presena nos estudos da RIES, do GEU-Ipesq (FRANCO, et al. 2009; 2010),
em teses vinculadas ao grupo, a exemplo dos principais resultados de Rubin
(2011). o caso da possibilidade de dilogo no neutro entre investigadores
e sujeitos (BOGDAN e BIKLEN, 1994) e do sujeito que sob dadas condies
consegue retratar e refratar a realidade, no apenas como um sujeito
sujeitado, esmagado e reprodutor de estruturas e relaes que o produzem e
nas quais ele produz (MINAYO, 2000, p. 252), ao entender as metodologias
qualitativas no se constituem ideologias, mas componentes de linhas
tericas. Tais assertivas levam a optar por apontamentos caracterizados e/ou
interpretados primordialmente na face qualitativa.
A seleo de apontamentos metodolgicos, alm de atender balizamentos
e princpios anteriormente explicitados, repousa em alternativas pouco usadas no
processo de avaliao da ES. Eles tm, no entanto, potencial de aplicabilidade nas
aes de pensar para construir, analisar e validar categorias, critrios e indicadores
de qualidade adequados e pertinentes para o sistema e para as instituies que o
compem, e mesmo antecendendo estudos quantitativos o que os reporta para alm
do critrio de validade e fdedignidade: o da relevncia. Articular o micro e o macro
outra das orientaes. Foram selecionados apontamentos sobre anlise de contedo,
rede de signifcaes (RedSig), estados de conhecimento e white paper.
4.1 Anlise de Contedo: alm de caracterizaes
inegvel a contribuio de Bardin (1977) e de Grawitz (1967) na
disseminao da anlise de contedo como abordagem dedutivo-inferencial, que
busca evidenciar/ explicitar o latente, o potencial indito (o no dito), retido em
qualquer mensagem, tendo em mira, portanto o que est alm da superfcie. Tal
processo assume a interpretao para sobrepujar a ocultao do contedo, sendo
estratgicas as condies de produo do texto e os fatos que determinam estas
caractersticas. Para Bardin (1977), a anlise de contedo entendida como
[...] um conjunto de tcnicas de anlise das comunicaes, que
utiliza procedimentos sistemticos e objetivos de descrio
do contedo das mensagens, indicadores (quantitativos ou
no) que permitem a inferncia de conhecimentos relativos
s condies de produo/recepo (variveis inferidas
dessas mensagens). (BARDIN,1977, p.38).
O uso de tcnicas temticas ou itens de signifcao podem vir
acompanhados ou no de estatsticas descritivas. As tcnicas focalizam
documentos naturais, j existentes ou suscitados pelo estudo. O objeto de anlise
a palavra ou a afrmao para captar o signifcado, aspecto atual que busca o
sentido e no a lngua que se deteria no signifcante, prprio da anlise lxica.
A anlise de contedo envolve uma pr-anlise, uma explorao
do material e um tratamento dos resultados assentado em inferncias e a
interpretaes. A pr-anlise auxilia na sistematizao e esquematizao de
idias iniciais que orientem as operaes sucessivas e supe leitura futuante
ou contato com documentos para delimitao do corpus de estudo.
A etapa da explorao do material, ou seja, a administrao sistemtica
das decises tomadas na pr-anlise se estas foram convenientemente
concludas fase em que operaes de codifcao, desconto ou enumerao
so aplicadas. O processo de categorizao, caracterstico desta etapa, classifca
elementos constitutivos de um conjunto, por diferenciao e por reagrupamento.
Em trabalhos sobre qualidade e avaliao e nas pesquisas do GEU-
Ipesq a categorizao tem sido construda a partir de convergncias temticas
que levam em conta aproximaes e diferenciaes em agrupamentos. A base
classifcatrio-semntica organizativa, e, em geral, mesmo que a tcnica permita
elementos categoriais estabelecidos priori, os mesmos tendem a ser produto/
resultado de reagrupamentos sucessivos e progressivos. So as mencionadas
categorias referentes Franco e Witmann (1998) entendidas como delimitadoras
e confguradoras do corpus analtico, de valia nas leituras gran tour. Alguns dos
critrios apontados para o estabelecimento de categorias, tais como a pertinncia,
a objetividade e a fdelidade, a produtividade, assim como a homogeneidade so
comumente atendidos em estudos sobre qualidade e avaliao da educao
superior. O critrio de excluso mtua, entretanto, basilar na cincia clssica
muitas vezes deixado de lado pelos conceitos mltiplos, seno ambguos de
qualidade, num mesmo enunciado, que ressalta condies opostas do fenmeno.
Para os autores, as conceituais iluminam a organizao das informaes,
inserindo os resultados em um todo interpretativo. As substantivas so aquelas
construdas no processo de analise dos documentos selecionados.
Assim, a etapa de tratamento e interpretao de resultados, leva em
conta as orientaes anteriores de modo que os resultados sejam signifcativos
e vlidos, podendo ser submetidos a provas estatsticas e a testes de validao,
se for o caso e/ou inferncias e interpretaes sob a referncia dos objetivos
previstos e/ou sinalizadores de possibilidades.
A distino entre anlise de contedo, de discurso e documental
esclarecedora. A anlise de discurso trabalha com unidades lingusticas
superiores frase e seu objetivo lingustico, isto , descrever os enunciados e a
sua distribuio (BARDIN, 1977, p.44). A anlise documental suprime a funo
151
de inferncia e limita-se a anlise categorial ou temtica. (Ibid, p.45). A anlise
de contedo tem presente a busca de sentidos, a interpretao inferencial. nesta
perspectiva que se torna importante esclarecer a metodologia da RedSig.
4.2 Rede de Signifcaes
Os fundamentos da rede de signifcaes esto nas concepes de
desenvolvimento humano de Vygotsky (1991) e de J. M. Wallon (WEREBE
E NADELBRULFERT, 1986) que focalizam a viso scio-histrica do
desenvolvimento humano. O seu potencial signifcativo no estudo da
educao superior e na construo, anlise e validao de categorias, critrios
e indicadores de qualidade.
Rosseti-Ferreira (2004), na introduo de sua obra, deixa claro a infuncia
da abordagem sistmica que converge para o reconhecimento da interdependncia
entre pessoas e a reciprocidade e sinergismo que se estabelece entre elas. A
viso mais ecolgica a interdependncia e a mtua e contnua transformao-
constituio da pessoa e do seu ambiente. Ora, os sistemas e instituies so
formados por pessoas em contnua construo e transformao. A matriz scio-
histrica no ver de Amorin e Rosseti-Ferreira (2004), mostra a possibilidade de a
RedSig integrar de forma dinmica o micro e o macro. A RedSig permite trabalhar
com identidades e com a constituio de sentidos e signifcados considerando
inmeros fatores, sem restries a um nico campo do saber:
A RedSig uma perspectiva terico metodolgica, uma
forma de olhar; uma lente que o pesquisador assume em sua
investigao de modo a no perder a noo da complexidade
dos processos sociais, para no cair em anlises reducionistas
ou generalizantes. (...) no se considera um modelo, mas uma
perspectiva; visa apreender os processos de transformao
de maneira situada e relacional, confgurando redes de
signifcaes. (GENTIL, 2005, p.18).
Gentil (2005), sob a referncia de Rossetti-Ferreira, Amorin, Silva
e Carvalho (2004) aprofunda o conceito de Matriz Scio-Histrica (MSH)
com o construto terico, que tem concretude nos contextos, nos campos
interativos, nos componentes pessoais e que abarca condies de vida concretas
(sociais, econmicas, polticas e culturais), assim como prticas discursivas
(falas, representaes, smbolos e outras formas de linguagem). Na MSH so
apropriados os discursos dos sujeitos e seus aspectos relacionados aos objetivos,
ao campo do trabalho e do conhecimento e aos contextos nos quais os discursos
se cruzam. Enfm, todo o material emprico usado para a anlise sem esquecer os
pressupostos tericos que a regem.
A idia de Amorin (2004) de que a MSH ajuda a apreender aspectos
relevantes em determinados momentos, mas que podem modifcar-se em
dependencia das mltiplas redes de signifcao tem ressonncia nas idias
de Adam Schaff, com razes hegelianas, sobre a face objetiva e subjetiva da
histria, o que o leva interpretao de que em histria o depois vem antes.
Ou seja, o hoje interfere no olhar sobre o ontem, decorrendo do momento, dos
valores e modos de entender a realidade e aqui, das redes de signifcao.
O contexto e as articulaes que confguram uma rede circunscrevem
os seus processos e a tornam sujeita a uma contnua atualizao. A MSH
utilizada para interpretar esses processos tendo presente que as aes e relaes
so visveis nas prticas sociais. Nos processos investigativos as mudanas de
rumo ocorrem mesmo havendo um ponto previsto, pois h uma participao
do investigador nos resultados, enfraquecendo a separao sujeito e objeto de
pesquisa,e a idia de neutralidade da cincia. (GENTIL, 2005, 31).
Oliveira, Guanaes e Costa (2004) ao analisarem a Rede de Signifcaes
entendem que a MSH composta por circunscritores do entorno. Na RedSig
o modo como as categorias, critrios e indicadores so circunscritos, est
ligado aos signifcados e sua variabilidade vinculada interao de pessoas
em contextos especfcos. Essa circunscrio compreendida, no entanto, (...)
como se alterando continuamente, em funo do tempo e dos eventos, compondo
novas confguraes e novos percursos possveis. (ROSSETI-FERREIRA,
AMORIN E SILVA, 2004 p. 23). Desse modo as categorias adquirem signifcados
especfcos segundo o contexto e o tempo em que se situam.
4.3 Estados de Conhecimento
So produes acadmicas que sintetizam um dado nmero de estudos,
selecionados sob critrio(s) previamente estabelecido(s), sobre uma temtica
ou um recorte especfco. A matria-prima para tais estudos pode ser bancos
de resumos, produes para uma conferncia, revises de uma temtica em
peridicos cientfcos, entre outros exemplos.
Subentende-se nos estados de conhecimento um olhar meta-terico, no
presente caso, sobre Educao Superior, captado de trabalhos que sistematizam
produes cientfco-acadmicas, inclusive em eixos temticos construdos no
processo de organizao de eventos, a partir dos trabalhos selecionados para um
eixo mais amplo. Alguns deles apoiados em Bancos de Dados sobre produes
153
diversas, outros especfcos de pesquisas e/ou de documentos como artigos e
crticas, tendo em comum uma delimitao por meio de critrios inclusivos,
sejam geogrfcos ou temticos. O olhar meta-terico que subjaz aos estados
de conhecimento, pode ser obtido em fontes diversas como mostra o estudo
de Franco (2009). o caso de bancos de dados, eixos temticos previamente
estabelecidos para um evento, trabalhos antecipadamente encomendados de
conferencistas e painelistas (FRANCO e AFONSO,2010).
Estados do Conhecimento tm se constitudo em importantes fontes de
produo acadmica. A metodologia usada por Morosini (2009) de construo
de um estado de conhecimento sobre qualidade na educao superior, com base
nas perspectivas internacionais que infuenciam as nacionais pelo processo
de globalizao. A identifcao de concepes de qualidade isomrfca, da
especifcidade e da equidade e uma anlise da trajetria do conceito de qualidade
universitria e seus organismos propositivos, so as principais contribuies do
trabalho. Destaca-se a posio da UNESCO e suas ramifcaes, como a IESALC
(Instituto Internacional da UNESCO para a Educao Superior na Amrica Latina
e Caribe) e a GUNI (Global University Network for Innovation), na construo do
conceito de qualidade da educao superior para o desenvolvimento sustentvel.
No Brasil, uma das caractersticas que tem se revelado em estados de
conhecimento a predominncia de estudos sistematizados e produzidos por
grupos de pesquisa. Alguns destes trabalhos se confguram como estados de
conhecimento por terem analisado as produes em bancos de informaes e/
ou obtido as mesmas estruturando-as de acordo com os objetivos e critrios
previamente estabelecidos, extraindo delas categorias. O grupo de pesquisa
Universitas tem participao decisiva por meio de seu banco de dados sobre
peridicos acadmicos, disponibilizados numa biblioteca virtual.
13
Os
procedimentos tcnicos para estudos assentados em Banco de Dados foram
analisados num evento promovido pelo grupo Universitas-Br e pelo GEU-Ipesq/
UFRGS que abordou as possibilidades de uso do BancoUuniversitas-BR para a
construo de estados de conhecimento.
O ponto que se destaca em relao s possibilidades metodolgicas para o
estudo da qualidade na educao superior o de que os bancos de conhecimento
so essenciais para identifcao e construo de categorias, especialmente
por meio de anlises de contedo. So fontes importantes na confgurao
13
Rede UNIVERSITAS, vinculada ao GT11-Anped- Polticas de Educao Superior e desenvolve projetos
integrado, apoiados pelo CNPq desde 1996. Rene pesquisadores e bolsistas de 19 destacadas universidades
brasileiras. A Biblioteca Virtual inclui 7.500 documentos relativos a peridicos nacionais (1968 a 2002), e
prev a incluso de mais 3.000 relativos a dissertaes/teses e livros sobre educao superior no Brasil (1995-
2002) UNIVERSITAS (http://www.pucrs.br/faced/pos/universitas).
e desenvolvimento de descritores categoriais, na captao de tendncias
terico-metodolgicas, na identifcao de problemas e lacunas ligados
temtica e auxiliam para vislumbre dos caminhos. Os contornos dos Estados
do Conhecimento e de sua fora meta-terica tem ancoragem numa produo
cientfco-acadmica sistematizada e disponibilizada. (FRANCO, 2009).
4.4 White Paper
O White Paper visa produzir novas anlises sobre uma dada temtica/
problema ou ainda captar conquistas e tendncias da cincia, de um dado campo
cientfco e/ou disciplinar. Justifca-se no fato de que hoje, a pesquisa cientfca
um desafo to grande e o contedo da investigao to complexo e especializado,
que o conhecimento e as experincias pessoais j no so instrumentos sufcientes
para a compreenso de tendncias ou para tomar decises. (PENDLEBURY,
2009). Tal assertiva ressalta a importncia da seletividade na indicao de reas
de investigao promissoras e da gerncia de investimentos.
O white paper tem sido usado numa abordagem quantitativa-bibliomtrica
e numa variao de grupo focal. A abordagem bibliomtrica, assenta-se em ndices
de citaes e a abordagem derivada de grupo focal, utiliza discusses e snteses
sucessivas entre especialistas sobre uma dada temtica/problema, direo usada
no AIR Frum 2010. Na avaliao de pesquisas tem sido usada uma abordagem
bibliomtrica, isto avaliao quantitativa de publicaes e de citaes (ndice de
citao), partindo do pressuposto de que o trabalho citado est relacionado com a
parte substantiva da obra o que poderia indicar estudos de potenciais, tendncias,
estrutura e desenvolvimento da cincia.
A segunda modalidade de uso, uma variao do grupo focal, se efetiva a
partir de um eixo aglutinador discutido por especialistas em processos sucessivos
de discusso, snteses, novas discusses que visam produzir novas anlises e
concepes, a partir de distintos pontos de vista acerca de uma dada temtica
e/ou problemas. A aplicao do white paper visa a produzir novas anlises e
concepes, partindo de distintos pontos de vista acerca da qualidade na gesto
da Universidade, numa discusso entre pesquisadores do tema. Supe que as
idias dos partcipes tenham espao, mesmo que ajustadas por meio de consensos
provisrios, para chegar ao termo.
As ponderaes apresentadas tm em comum a importncia da alteridade no
processo construtivo de conhecimento e as possibilidades que se abrem em face aos
dilogos interdisciplinares, interdepartamentais, interinstitucionais e internacionais.
155
5. ENCAMINHAMENTOS CONCLUSIVOS
Os pressupostos terico-metodolgicos selecionados para esse trabalho
so determinantes nos direcionamentos e escolhas desde as fontes aos caminhos
investigativos. Alm de regerem a anlise, eles atuam como circunscritores
das refexes, constataes e das concluses. Eles, tambm conduzem para a
constatao de que no existem indicadores universalmente aceitos, at porque
o mercado de pesquisa em ES varivel, multidisciplinar e competitivo por
espaos e recursos.
Um primeiro ponto a destacar o de que a construo categorial e
de indicativos basilar no processo de produo do conhecimento, sendo
circunscrita pela explicitao conceitual dos signifcados atribudos aos termos
e expresses, acompanhada de uma conceituao pertinente de categoria e
pela confgurao de fontes. Fica claro que a questo das fontes no se esgota,
mas sinaliza tendncias, incluindo nelas o crescente interesse da academia
com questes metodolgicas, introduzindo elementos inovadores. Ela mostra,
isto sim, uma tenso entre restrio e possibilidade, pois cada documento
selecionado restringe as possibilidades de entendimentos mais abrangentes,
mas, tambm, possibilita maior compreenso. A escolha de documentos, nessa
linha, basilar, e no neutra.
Numa viso ampla, a identifcao de indicativos ancorados em
mltiplas fontes e a reviso de conceituaes, aumenta a possibilidade de
que eles e as categorias delimitadoras sejam compatveis a complexidade
contextual. Essa ponderao um modo de defesa potencial do que Hedges
(2009), atenta como as cinco aparncias, forjadas na difuso massiva de
imagens e padres, marcas do mundo globalizado: a aparncia de cultura, de
amor, de saber, de felicidade e de nao.
Ainda sobre indicativos de qualidade na gesto, eles tm maior
sentido se adequadamente referenciados. Isso signifca tomar como referncia
componentes concretos, levando em conta seus campos interativos, componentes
pessoais dos envolvidos considerando suas concretudes sociais, econmicas,
polticas e culturais, bem como, as suas prticas discursivas. (Rosseti-Ferreira
et al. (2004) e Gentil (2005).
O carter projetivo/antecipativo das pesquisas sobre qualidade na gesto
da universidade, talvez de modo mais acentuado que em outras atividades que
compem os estgios civilizatrios, traz a idia de projeto como um refexo
da sociedade. Essa idia se coloca at mesmo quando os traos projetivos so
tnues, mas bem captados por Boutinet (2002) na sua anlise antropolgica
de projetos. No incomum, no entanto que nas cincias humanas e sociais, o
carter projetivo atue como plo direcional e os passos antecipados se adaptem
s circunstncias, o que no exclui um problema investigativo forte e aglutinador.
Entre os encaminhamentos conclusivos que se destaca esto a importncia
de superar a dicotomia qualitativa - quantitativa na construo do conhecimento
sobre qualidade, a valorizao do dilogo interdisciplinar e a busca de consensos
provisrios, tendo em vista a qualidade como poltica da universidade.
Nesta linha, uma contribuio desse trabalho a certeza de que a abertura
para a inovao nas metodologias investigativas sobre gesto da qualidade
uma exigncia em face da complexidade dos problemas com que a universidade
hoje se defronta. Tal constatao faz refetir sobre o uso de novas/ adaptadas
metodologias com um novo papel que se apresenta para o pesquisador de
educao superior. E nesta construo a dicotomia qualitativo-quantitativo no
tem espao, mas sua articulao abre possibilidades. Para avanar fronteiras no
conhecimento da rea ser necessrio superar difculdades que as metodologias
quantitativas sozinhas no conseguem dar conta.
As necessrias interfaces entre os diferentes procedimentos
metodolgicos acabam por gerar novas formas de se conhecer a realidade e
fazer com que os resultados almejados, em busca de patamares de excelncia,
aconteam. (LONGHI, 2010).
Outra contribuio desse trabalho sinalizar que o dilogo interdisciplinar
e at mesmo multicultural tem presena nos quatro apontamentos metodolgicos
selecionados por envolver perspectivas de mais de uma disciplina, mais de um
grupo partcipe, e muitas possibilidades, cada uma das quais trazendo uma
contribuio adicional para o conhecimento sobre qualidade na gesto da
universidade. Muito importa ter distintas perspectivas na anlise de qualidade,
o que possibilita diferentes olhares sobre o mesmo objeto certamente de ngulos
diferenciados e de resultados especfcos.
A importancia de metodologias como a RedSig reside na possibilidade
de olhar os problemas com muitas lupas e a partir dos elementos que esto
no entorno . uma tentativa de superar as aparncias acima mencionadas,
que se revelam na iluso de sabedoria, expresso que impregnou o trabalho
de BERMEJO BARRERA (2011), por darem a impresso de descreverem a
realidade, quando apagam a possibilidade de um debate real.
O trabalho de Franco Afonso e Longhi (2010) neste sentido exemplar
pois alm de trazer elementos inovadores sobre a construo textual coletiva
157
e cooperada ressalta a gesto participativa, os compromissos da universidade
e a idia de indicativos . Estes, por no serem normativos aproximam-se do
benchmarking no como receiturios, mas como sementeiras de idias de
indicativos assentada na lgica da educao continuada.
Sob esse entendimento ressalta-se a importncia de superar a dicotomia
qualitativa-quantitativa na construo do conhecimento, de ampliar e consolidar
o espao do dilogo interdisciplinar e de pautar as decises na lgica de
consensos, mesmo que provisrios. o ingresso para o portal das possibilidades
na construo do conhecimento sobre qualidade na educao superior, parte de
uma aspirao maior: a qualidade como poltica da universidade.
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PART II / PARTE II
____________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF QUALITY IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
PERSPECTIVAS INTERNACIONAIS DA QUALIDADE DA
EDUCAO SUPERIOR
____________________________________________________
QUALITY WITH DIVERSITY: THE TEXAS TOP TEN
PERCENT PLAN
Patricia Somers
Miriam Pan
D
espite its vexed history of race relations, the United States embraced
affrmative action in higher education in the 1960s. Due to a number
of concerns, affrmative action policy has been changed in the last decade. In
response to legal challenges, affrmative action is permitted, but the justifcation
is more complex. Second, in response to political opposition, the outcomes of
affrmative action have been studied. This chapter describes affrmative action in
undergraduate admissions and, in particular, the history and success of the Texas
Top Ten Percent Plan at the University of Texas at Austin.
BACKGROUND
In the United States, the earliest attempts at affrmative action in
employment began during World War II and applied to the armed forces. As
Anderson noted, [it was contradictory] to be against park benches marked
Jude in Berlin, but to be for park benches marked Colored in Tallahassee
(2004, p. 21). During this time in the Southern part of the United States, escolhas
basicas, primeras e medias; and colleges and universities were segregated by
race by law de jure segregation. Further, segregated housing patterns in other
parts of the country led to de facto racial segregation of many neighborhood
schools segregation in practice because of the segregated nature of U.S. cities.
The law of the land in the United States at that time was Plessy v. Ferguson
(1896), which allowed separate but equal treatment of minorities (primarily
Blacks and Latinos, but other racial and ethnic groups as well) in education. But
in truth, separate can never be equal.
After World War II, the Civil Rights Movement built a solid foundation
with court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education (1955), which decreed,
segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race. . .deprives
the children of the minority group equal educational opportunities (p. 691).
Brown mandated elementary and secondary school desegregation but did not
165
specify methods, goals and timetables. Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of
Regents (350 U.S. 413 1956) applied Brown to colleges and universities.
The integration of college and universities was a longer process. Early
cases (for example, Pearson v. Murray, 168 Md. 478, 182 A.590, 1936; Missouri
ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 377, 1938 and Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629,
1950) all ordered admission of single Black applicants to all-white institutions. The
Sweatt case, involving the University of Texas, noted, ..the University of Texas
Law School possesses to a far greater degree those qualities which are incapable of
objective measurement but which make for greatness in a law school, indicating
that a separate Black law school would never be equal with the white University of
Texas School of Law. However, the progress was very slow in integrating colleges
until the decision in Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Regents (350 U.S. 413
1956) which applied Brown to colleges and universities and the passage of the
Higher Education Act of 1964. Section IV of that Act mandated non-discrimination
in all school programs. This effectively opened all schools and colleges to minority
applicants. However, it wasnt until Adams v. Richardson (356 F. Supp 92, D.D.C.,
1973) that discrimination in systems of higher education, particularly in the
segregated South, was addressed comprehensively.
With Adams also came pressure from the federal government and civil
rights groups to use affrmative action in admissions. For this, the government
used as a model the affrmative action in employment plan mandated by President
John Kennedy in the 1960s. These programs were developed as a positive force to
improve the employment opportunities of African Americans and other minority
group members. Kennedy issued Executive Order (EO) 10925, which mandated
affrmative action at companies and universities with federal contracts. The EO
indicated that employers could not discriminate based on race, color, creed or
nationality in hiring or promotion (Jost, 1995, p. 375). Later, President Lyndon
Johnson modifed the EO to include non-discrimination and affrmative action
for the employment of women.
Thus, as universities were pressured by Adams and public opinion to
admit more African American students, the institutions turned to the existing
system of affrmative action, using it to mandate admission of students and
hiring of faculty of color. It is important to note that in America, the courts have
been very frm that affrmative action refers to goals and timetables, not quotas.
Goals and timetables review the availability of minority high school graduates or
minority candidates for faculty positions and then lay out a plan to recruit/admit
students or hire/promote talented minorities. However, by defnition, affrmative
action does not require the admitting or hiring of unqualifed individuals.
Organized opposition to affrmative action in admission and employment
began to appear in the 1970s. One of the frst was Regents of the University
of California v. Bakke (1976), a case involving a white applicant who claimed
that less qualifed African American applicants were admitted to medical school
while he was rejected. Bakke was admitted to the medical school while his court
case was pending; by the time the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, Bakke
had already graduated. The court declared the case moot, the opinion written by
Justice William Powell established diversity in higher education as a compelling
state interest, but indicated that race should be a plus factor in admissions, not
the sole factor.
In the 1990s, several cases challenging affrmative action in university
admission were launched. First among these cases was Hopwood v. University
of Texas (1995) in which Cheryl Hopwood claimed that she was better qualifed
than minority applicants admitted to the University of Texas Law School using
the Texas index, which ranked minority and majority candidates separately. The
Fifth Circuit Court agreed and declared this arrangement unconstitutional.
At the same time, a case from the University of Michigan (Grutter
v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 2003) was making its way to the Supreme Court.
Opponents of affrmative action thought that this case provided a better challenge
than Hopwood, and thus focused their efforts on Grutter. Moreover, proponents of
affrmative action, including civil rights groups, corporate America, and academics
mounted formidable research that demonstrated that students learn better and are
better prepared to work in the global economy in classrooms that have a diverse
student population. The Bakke decision was cited extensively in Grutter. Key to the
Grutter case was a quotation by Justice Sandra Day OConnor, We expect that 25
years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further
the [government] interest approved today. So, after ffty years of affrmative
action, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that equity in admissions had yet to be
achieved and that the process may take another one-quarter of a decade.
MERIT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
The equation between justice and merit in the United States has been
presented as a complex example of the democratization of access to higher education
which is diffcult to resolve. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964
1
, which prohibited
any kind of discrimination based on race, color, religion, nationality and gender in
1
The Act applied to private educational institutions in 1964, while public institutions were added to the Act
in 1972.
167
educational institutions, the possibility of providing compensation for those who
suffered discrimination opened up, as well as the incentive for educational institutions
to use affrmative action to avoid future discriminatory practices.
Considering the historical background of admissions to highly competitive
American universities, Bowen and Bok (1998) observe that the selection process
had obviously taken place in favor of those candidates prepared by means of a
variety of instructional measures. This competitiveness, however, was not applied
to minority student groups who did not have this luxury. To solve these problems,
American universities used the foundations of Turners theory of contest mobility,
according to which elite status is a prize to be won, in a context in which many
are eliminated by the fnish line. For those who cannot compete with the more
competitive elite, a program has been developed for setting aside a percentage of
seats, which enables minority candidates who, though capable, do not have the
academic background and other experiences to compete with the elite candidates.
This program is known as set-asides (1960, p. 855).
This type of program has generated a number of questions for American
courts, especially with respect to setting aside seats for ethnic groups. According
to Tierney (1997, p. 170), the extensive appeal to compensatory norms can be
problematic in other ways. For example, for many African American students,
their university admission can be denied because they attended schools with
fewer resources and are not well-prepared to compete in the sophisticated game
of higher education access. However, critics can argue that not all African
American students come from poor schools and the use of admissions by merit
in the university is an important individual right for candidates who had no role
in discrimination. Tierney claims: In effect, we have two competing claims,
both of which are just: a group that has been excluded from equal opportunity in
the past deserves redress, and a group that fears exclusion based on an affrmative
action policy in the present also deserves consideration (p. 176).
The AA programs underwent intense discussions in the court system,
for example, in Hopwood v. Texas (1996), their use in the form of compensatory
justice for access became more and more uncertain, which led universities
to pursue other student selection methods. Tierney concludes that the intent
of legal rulings over time has been relatively consistent. Affrmative action
policies that have sought to diversify the institution have usually been deemed
acceptable. The premise of compensation has been rejected by the [United
States] courts (p. 176).
The last and most recent approach is the emphasis on diversity, which
refers to future actions for increasing the number of students and professors from
underrepresented groups. Using diversity, a university examines areas in which
there are injustices, such as admissions, and then makes some changes which
produce diversifcation; that is, the entrance of a more diversifed class. However,
many organizational processes are discriminatory, but invisible. Simmons (1982, p.
2) suggests that institutional racism is the covert, inconsistent acts of individuals
to restrict the rights of others. Therefore, the pursuit of diversity as a prevention
of future discrimination demands research, planning and commitment on the part
of the university. Based on this, American universities begin to diversify their
admissions criteria, including percentage plans, which defne a percentage of seats
to be set aside for all high school students admissible to public universities.
A percent plan on its own does not guarantee success. Minority students
need to be informed of these plans. In Texas, for example, there was a letter from
the state governor about the plan in every school. Apart from this, the University
of Texas developed a widespread dissemination plan to work with students from
schools that send a low number of students to the University.
The debate on merit in admissions will continue in the United States, as
they do in Brazil, since, according to Alon and Tienda (2006, p. 489), there is no
consensus in America on what constitutes merit, or how it should be evaluated.
With diffculties to defne and measure merit for all candidates and the limited
options for admissions models, universities will have to continue to pursue
alternative means for the diversity of their student body.
THE TEXAS TOP TEN PERCENT PLAN
After the decision in the Hopwood (1995) case, which outlawed race-
sensitive practices in admission at public colleges in the region served by the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals, administrators at the University of Texas sought a race-
neutral alternative. The result was the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan, which guarantees
admission to Texas students who graduate from ensino medio and are in the top ten
percent in terms of grades. These students, provided they and their schools have met
certain criteria, are automatically admissible to Texas public colleges, including the
two major universities, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University.
THE OUTCOMES OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
In the current political environment in the United States, higher education
institutions are expected to reformar, transformer, adptar e melhorar para ser
competitiva no economia global. In addition, universities are expected to admit
169
a diverse group of students who excel academically and graduate the two main
measures of quality in the U.S. Moreover, public colleges and universities are
expected to be responsive to legislators, governors, state and federal government
offcials, citizens with many different opinions about higher education, students
and their parents. All of these groups have conficting expectations and demands
of public higher education.
Why is it important to maintain the diversity of the student body? The
respected American Council of Education explains in its statement, Diversity
enriches the educational experience. We learn from those whose experiences,
beliefs, and perspectives are different from our own, and these lessons can be
taught best in a richly diverse intellectual and social environment. [Diversity]
promotes personal growth--and a healthy society. Diversity challenges stereotyped
preconceptions; it encourages critical thinking; and it helps students learn to
communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds. It strengthens
communities and the workplace. Education within a diverse setting prepares
students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society;
it fosters mutual respect and teamwork; and it helps build communities whose
members are judged by the quality of their character and their contributions. It
enhances Americas economic competitiveness (ACE, 1998-2001).
Many critics of the Top Ten Percent Plan speculated the University
of Texas at Austins quality of education would be compromised by the
program. TTTPP students offered admission graduate from high schools
with varied levels of academic resources and rigor. Was it realistic to
believe all schools and school preparation was considered equal?
On the other hand, many advocates celebrated the access to
higher education provided to all students without regard to high school
resources. The pressure of where a parents son or daughter could attend
college was lessened. A student who graduated in the Top Ten Percent
and met all relevant criteria, was guaranteed admission to the states
fagship institution. With admission came a variety of support services
and resources, available to all students, which promote academic and
social success at college.
According to the Offce of Admissions Research at the University
of Texas at Austin, white students continue as the highest number of Top
10% students enrolling. The number of enrolling Caucasian students is
followed by the number of Asian students, Hispanic students and the
smallest number of Top 10% enrollees are African American.
Some critics suggested that TTP students were generally ill
prepared based on their high school preparation and would thereby
not persist at the same rate of their non-Top 10% counter parts. Tables
1, 2, and 3 provide data three key indicators. Table 1 indicates that the
admission test (vestibular) scores are nearly the same. However, TTP
students have higher grades after the frst year (Table 2). At the end of
four years, more TTP students have graduated or are continuing than their
NTTP counterparts. One interesting observation is that NTTP students
seem to have improved their performance; perhaps the better performance
of the TTP students has made all students more competitive academically.
Table 1 - Test (Vestibular) Scores
1996 2000 2004 2006
TTP 1253 1226 1221 1220
NTTP 1197 1205 1258 1257
TTP= Top ten percent students NTTP = Non-top ten percent students
Table 2 - First-year Grade Point Average
1996 2000 2004 2006
TTP 3.21/4.0 3.26 3.21 -
NTTP 2.65/4.0 2.86 3.00 -
Table 3 - Continuing and Graduation Rates (measured at fourth year)
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
TTP 83.5% 85.4% 84.1% 83.4% 84.3% 83.9% 83.9%
NTTP 74.0% 76.3% 74.8% 78.5% 81.2% 80.4% 79.7%
CONCLUSION
In the United States, the debate over affrmative action continues. One of
the main arguments against the continuation of the policy is that the election of
President Obama proves that affrmative action has been effective and is no longer
needed. This argument ignores the systemic nature of discrimination and the
systemic remedies necessary to eradicate it (Freeman, 1989). Millions of African
Americans, women, Latinos, and Native Americans live in poverty and have little
hope of access to higher education and a better life without affrmative action.
171
There are many compelling reasons to make college accessible to a wider
group of individuals impact on the individual, the family, and society. The TTTPP
demonstrates that with support, poor and minority students can attend and graduate
from elite colleges. However, using the universal principle of justice (Kohlberg,
1981; St. John, 2009), affrmative action is the right thing to do. We would argue
that this moral outcome is the most compelling of all.
REFERENCES
ADAMS, J. T. The epic of America. New York: Simon Publishing, 1931/2001.
ADAMS v. BENNETT. 675 F. Supp 667 (D.D.C., 1987).
ALON, S.; TIENDA, M. Diversity, opportunity, and the shifting meritocracy in
higher education. American Sociological Review, v. 72, p. 487-511, 2007.
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION. On the importance of diversity in
higher education. Available at http://www.ace.org
Anderson, T.H. (2004). The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affrmative
Action. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
BOWEN, W.G.; BOK, D. The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of
considering race in college and university admissions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1988.
JOST, K. Rethinking affrmative action. Congressional Quarterly, v. 23, n. 04,
p. 396, 1995.
KOHLBERG, L. The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the
idea of justice. New York: Harper and Row, 1981.
St. John, E.P. College organizations and integrating moral reasoning and
refective practice. New York: Routledge, 2009.
SIMMONS, K. Affrmative action: A worldwide disaster. Commentary, v. 88,
n. 6, p. 21-41, 1982.
TIERNEY, W. G. The parameters of affrmative action: Equity and excellence in
the Academy. Review of Educational Research, v. 67, n. 2, p. 165-196, 1997.
TURNER, R. H. Sponsored and contest mobility and the school system.
American Sociological Review, v. 25, n. 6, p. 855-867, 1960.
University of Texas. Implementation and results of the Texas Automatic
Admission Law, report 12, part 2, January 11, 2010. Available at http://www.
utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/HB588-Report12-part2.pdf
QUALIDADE COM DIVERSIDADE: O PLANO DOS DEZ POR
CENTO MELHORES DO TEXAS
Patricia Somers
Miriam Pan
Apesar de sua histria controversa das relaes raciais, os Estados
Unidos abraaram as aes afrmativas no ensino superior nos anos 60. Devido a
uma srie de preocupaes, a poltica de aes afrmativas foi alterada na ltima
dcada. Em resposta aos desafos legais, as aes afrmativas so permitidas,
mas a justifcativa mais complexa. Segundo, em resposta oposio poltica,
os resultados das aes afrmativas tm sido estudados. Este captulo descreve
as aes afrmativas para a admisso na graduao e, em particular, a histria e
o sucesso do Plano dos Dez Por Cento Melhores do Texas na Universidade de
Texas em Austin.
HISTRIA
Nos Estados Unidos, as primeiras tentativas das aes afrmativas no
trabalho comearam durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial e foram aplicadas s
foras armadas. Como observou Anderson, [era contraditrio] ser contra os
bancos marcados Judeu nos parques em Berlim, mas em favor de bancos
marcados Negros em Tallahassee (2004, p. 21). Durante este tempo, na regio
sul dos Estados Unidos, escolas bsicas, primrias e secundrias; e faculdades e
universidades eram segregadas por raa pela lei segregao de jure. Alm disso,
os padres de habitao segregada em outras partes do pas levaram segregao
racial de fato em muitas escolas nos bairros que a segregao na prtica
por causa da natureza segregada das cidades estadunidenses. A lei suprema
nos Estados Unidos na poca era Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), que permitia o
tratamento separado, mas igual das minorias (principalmente negros e latinos,
mas outros grupos raciais e tnicos tambm) na educao. Mas, a verdade que
separado nunca pode ser igual.
Depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial, o Movimento dos Direitos Civis
construiu uma base slida com processos judiciais como Brown v. Board of
Education (1955), que decretou, a segregao de crianas em escolas pblicas
173
com base exclusivamente na raa...priva as crianas do grupo minoritrio de
oportunidades educacionais iguais (p. 691). Brown autorizou a dessegregao
das escolas primrias e secundrias, mas no especifcou os mtodos, metas e
cronogramas. Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Regents (350 U.S. 413 1956)
aplicou Brown a faculdades e universidades.
A integrao das faculdades e universidades era um processo maior.
Nos primeiros casos (por exemplo, Pearson v. Murray, 168 Md. 478, 182
A.590, 1936; Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 377, 1938 e Sweatt v.
Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 1950), todos ordenaram a admisso de candidatos negros
individuais em instituies com apenas brancos. O caso Sweatt, que envolveu
a Universidade de Texas, observou, ...a Universidade de Texas, Faculdade de
Direito possui, em maior grau, as qualidades que so incapazes de medidas
objetivas mas que sinal de grandeza em uma escola de direito, indicando que
uma faculdade de direito de negros nunca seria igual Faculdade de Direito na
Universidade de Texas de brancos. No entanto, o progresso foi muito lento na
integrao das faculdades at a deciso em Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of
Regents (350 U.S. 413 1956) que aplicou Brown a faculdades e universidades e
passagem do Ato de Ensino Superior de 1964. A Seo IV deste Ato ordenou
a no-discriminao em todos os programas escolares. Isso efetivamente abriu
todas as escolas e faculdades a candidatos de minorias tnicas. Entretanto, no
foi at Adams v. Richardson (356 F. Supp 92, D.D.C., 1973) que a discriminao
em sistemas de ensino superior, particularmente no segregado sul, foi abordada
de forma abrangente.
Com Adams tambm veio a presso do governo federal e grupos de direitos
civis para utilizarem as aes afrmativas nas admisses. Para tanto, o governo
utilizou como modelo as aes afrmativas no plano de emprego autorizado por
Presidente John Kennedy nos anos 60. Esses programas foram desenvolvidos como
uma fora positiva para melhorar as oportunidades de emprego dos afro-americanos
e membros de outros grupos minoritrios. Kennedy decretou a Ordem Executiva
(OE) 10925, que ordenou as aes afrmativas em empresas e universidades com
contratos federais. A OE indicou que os empregadores no podiam discriminar
com base na raa, cor, crena ou nacionalidade na contratao ou promoo (Jost,
1995, p. 375). Depois, Presidente Lyndon Johnson modifcou a OE para incluir a
no-discriminao e as aes afrmativas para o emprego das mulheres.
Portanto, enquanto as universidades foram pressionadas por Adams
e pela opinio pblica a aceitar mais alunos afro-americanos, as instituies
voltaram ao sistema existente de aes afrmativas, utilizando-o para autorizar a
admisso de alunos e a contratao de docentes de minorias tnicas. importante
salientar que nos Estados Unidos, os tribunais tm sido muito frmes de que as
aes afrmativas se referem a metas e cronogramas, no cotas. As metas e os
cronogramas examinam a disponibilidade de minoritrios egressos de colgios ou
candidatos minoritrios para vagas de docentes e ento desenham um plano para
recrutar/aceitar os alunos ou contratar/promover minorias talentosas. Entretanto,
por defnio, as aes afrmativas no requerem o aceite ou a contratao de
indivduos no-qualifcados.
A oposio organizada contra as aes afrmativas na admisso e na
contratao comeou a surgir nos anos 70. Uma das primeiras aes foi Regents
of the University of California v. Bakke (1976), o caso de um candidato branco
alegando que candidatos afro-americanos menos qualifcados foram aceitos para
a faculdade de medicina enquanto o branco foi rejeitado. Bakke foi aceito para
a faculdade de medicina enquanto o processo estava tramitando; at o momento
em que o processo chegou Corte Suprema dos EUA, Bakke j tinha se formado.
A corte declarou o caso discutvel, a deciso escrita por Juiz William Powell
estabeleceu a diversidade no ensino superior como um interesse convincente
para o estado, mas indicou que a raa deve ser um fator a mais nas admisses,
no o fator nico.
Nos anos 90, vrios casos desafando as aes afrmativas nas admisses
universitrias foram lanados. O primeiro desses casos foi Hopwood v. University
of Texas (1995) em que Cheryl Hopwood alegou que era mais bem qualifcada
que os candidatos de minorias tnicas admitidos Faculdade de Direito na
Universidade de Texas usando o ndice de Texas, que classifcava os candidatos
minoritrios e majoritrios separadamente. A Corte do Quinto Circuito concordou
e declarou essa situao inconstitucional.
Ao mesmo tempo, um caso da Universidade de Michigan (Grutter v.
Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 2003) estava chegando Corte Suprema. Os oponentes
s aes afrmativas pensaram que este caso fornecia um desafo melhor do que
Hopwood, e, portanto concentraram os seus esforos em Grutter. Alm disso,
os proponentes das aes afrmativas, inclusive os grupos de direitos civis,
empresariais americanos, e acadmicos montaram uma pesquisa formidvel que
demonstrou que os alunos aprendem melhor e so mais bem preparados para
trabalhar na economia global nas salas de aula que possuem uma populao
diversifcada de alunos. A deciso de Bakke foi citada extensivamente em Grutter.
Crucial no caso de Grutter foi a citao por Justice Sandra Day OConnor,
Esperamos que daqui 25 anos, o uso de preferncias raciais deixaro de ser
necessrios para avanar o interesse [do governo] aprovado hoje. Ento, depois
175
de cinquenta anos de aes afrmativas, a Corte Suprema dos EUA determinou
que a equidade nas admisses ainda no foi alcanada e que o processo pode
levar mais um quarto de dcada.
MRITO E JUSTIA SOCIAL
A equao entre justia e mrito nos Estados Unidos tem se apresentado
como um complexo exemplo de difcil soluo da democratizao do acesso ao
ensino superior. Aps a Lei dos Direitos Civis de 1964
1
, a qual proibiu qualquer
forma de discriminao por raa, cor, religio, nacionalidade e gnero nas
instituies educacionais, abriu-se a possibilidade da aplicao de recompensas
para indivduos que sofressem discriminao, bem como o incentivo s
instituies educacionais a utilizar de aes afrmativas para evitar futuras
prticas de discriminao.
Considerando-se o quadro histrico de admisses s universidades
americanas altamente competitivas, Bowen e Bok (1998) observam que a
seleo se dava obviamente para os candidatos que se preparavam por meio de
uma variedade de medidas de instruo. Esta competitividade, no entanto, no
se aplicava aos grupos minoritrios de estudantes que no podiam se dar a esse
luxo. Para solucionar estes problemas, as universidades americanas utilizaram-
se dos fundamentos da teoria de Turner (theory of contest mobility) segundo a
qual o status da elite um prmio a ser atingido, em uma concorrncia em que
se visa eliminao de muitos at a chegada. Aos que no podem concorrer com
a elite mais competitiva, pode ser desenvolvido um programa de reserva de um
percentual de vagas que disponibilize aos candidatos pertencentes aos grupos
minoritrios que, embora capazes, no possuem formao escolar e outras
experincias para concorrer com candidatos de elite. Este programa conhecido
como set-asides (1960, p. 855).
Esse tipo de programa gerou uma srie questionamentos junto aos
tribunais americanos, em especial com relao reserva de vagas para grupos
tnicos. De acordo com Tierney (1997, p. 170), o amplo recurso disponvel
atravs de normas compensatrias pode ser problemtico de outras maneiras. Por
exemplo, para muitos estudantes afro-americanos pode ser negada a admisso
universidade porque frequentaram escolas com menos recursos e no esto bem
preparados para competir no sofsticado jogo de acesso ao ensino superior. No
entanto, os crticos podem argumentar que nem todos os alunos afro-americanos
1
A lei aplicou s institucoes educacionais privadas em 1964, mas as instituies pblicas foram adicionadas lei
em 1972.
vm de escolas pobres e o uso da admisso pelo mrito na universidade
um importante direito individual para os candidatos que no tiveram papel
na discriminao. Tierney afrma: Na verdade temos duas reclamaes
concorrentes, tanto dos que justamente fazem parte de um grupo que tenha sido
excludo da igualdade de oportunidades no passado e merece reparao, e um
grupo que teme excluso baseada na poltica de aes afrmativas no presente,
tambm merece considerao (p. 176).
Os programas de AA fcaram sob intensas discusses nos tribunais, por
exemplo, Hopwood v. Texas (1996), seu uso em forma de justia compensatria no
mbito do acesso tornou-se cada vez mais incerto, o que levou as universidades a
buscar outros mtodos de seleo de seus alunos. Tierney resume que a inteno
legal de resultados ao longo do tempo tem sido relativamente consistente. As
polticas de aes afrmativas tm procurado a diversidade da instituio e
tm sido, geralmente, consideradas aceitveis. A premissa de compensao,
entretanto, foi rejeitada pelos tribunais dos Estados Unidos (p. 176).
A ltima e mais recente abordagem a nfase na diversidade, que incide
sobre as futuras aes para aumentar o nmero de alunos e professores de grupos
sub-representados. Usando a diversidade, uma universidade examina reas em
que existem injustias, como nas admisses e, em seguida, faz um grupo de
alteraes que produzem diversifcao, isto , a entrada de uma classe mais
diversifcada. No entanto, muitos processos organizacionais so discriminatrios,
mas invisveis. Simmons (1982, p. 2) sugere que o racismo institucional faz
parte de atos encobertos e inconscientes de indivduos para restringir os direitos
dos outros. Assim, buscando a diversidade como uma preveno de futuras
discriminaes exige-se pesquisa, planejamento e compromisso por parte da
universidade. Com isso, as universidades americanas passaram a diversifcar
seus critrios de admisso, incluindo, dentre eles os planos percentuais, que
defnem um percentual de reserva de vagas para todos os estudantes do ensino
mdio, admissveis nas universidades pblicas.
Um plano por cento por si s no garante o sucesso. Estudantes de grupos
minoritrios precisam ser informados sobre o plano. No Texas, por exemplo,
havia uma carta colocada em cada escola do governador do Estado sobre o plano.
Alm disso, a Universidade do Texas desenvolveu um plano de divulgao ampla
para trabalhar com alunos de escolas que enviaram um nmero baixo de alunos
para a Universidade.
O debate sobre o mrito nas admisses continuar nos Estados Unidos,
da mesma forma que no Brasil, pois segundo Alon e Tienda (2006, 489) no
177
existe um consenso na America sobre o que constitui mrito, tampouco como
deveria ser avaliado. Com difculdades para defnir e mensurar mrito para todos
os candidatos e as limitadas opes de modelos de admisses, as universidades
tero de continuar a procurar meios alternativos para a diversidade de seu
corpo estudantil.
O PLANO DOS DEZ POR CENTO MELHORES DO TEXAS
Depois da deciso no caso de Hopwood (1995), que baniu as prticas
sensveis a raa nas admisses a faculdades pblicas na regio atendida pelo
Quinto Tribunal de Recursos, gestores na Universidade de Texas buscaram
uma alternativa neutra em relao raa. O resultado foi o Plano dos Dez Por
Cento Melhores do Texas, que garante a admisso para os alunos de Texas
que se formam do ensino mdio e esto entre os dez por cento melhores
em termos de notas. Esses alunos, desde que eles e suas escolas cumpram
certos critrios, so automaticamente admissveis s universidades pblicas
no Texas, inclusive duas universidades grandes, a Universidade de Texas em
Austin e Texas A&M Universidade.
OS RESULTADOS DAS AES AFIRMATIVAS
No atual ambiente poltico nos Estados Unidos, se espera que as instituies
de ensino superior se reformem, se transformem, se adaptem e se melhorem
para ser competitivas na economia global. Alm disso, as universidades devem
aceitar um grupo diversifcado de alunos que se sobressaem academicamente
e se formam as duas medidas principais de qualidade nos EUA. Alm disso,
as faculdades e universidades pblicas devem ser receptivas aos legisladores,
aos governadores, aos ofciais do governo estadual e federal, aos cidados com
muitas opinies diferentes sobre o ensino superior, aos alunos e aos seus pais.
Todos esses grupos possuem expectativas e demandas confitantes sobre o ensino
superior pblico.
Por que importante manter a diversidade de um corpo discente? O
respeitado Conselho Americano de Educao explica na sua declarao, A
diversidade enriquece a experincia educacional. Aprendemos daqueles cujas
experincias, crenas, e perspectivas diferem das nossas, e essas lies podem ser
ensinadas melhor em um ambiente intelectual e social ricamente diversifcado.
[A diversidade] promove crescimento pessoal e uma sociedade saudvel. A
diversidade desafa preconceitos estereotipados; fomenta pensamento crtico; e
ajuda os alunos a aprender a comunicar efetivamente com pessoas de origens
variadas. Fortalece as comunidades e o lugar de trabalho. A educao dentro de
um ambiente diversifcado prepara os alunos para se tornarem bons cidados em
uma sociedade cada vez mais complexa e pluralista; fomenta respeito mtuo e
trabalho em equipe; e ajuda a construir comunidades cujos membros so julgados
pela qualidade de seu carter e suas contribuies. Melhora a competitividade
econmica dos Estados Unidos (ACE, 1998-2001).
Muitos crticos do Plano dos Dez Por Cento Melhores especularam que a
qualidade de educao na Universidade de Texas em Austin fcaria comprometida
pelo programa. Os alunos do PDPCM que ingressam se formam de colgios com
nveis variados de recursos e rigor acadmico. realista acreditar que todas as
escolas e todo o preparo acadmico foram considerados iguais?
Por outro lado, muitos defensores comemoraram o acesso ao ensino
superior proporcionado a todos os alunos sem considerao dos recursos
dos colgios. Foi diminuda a presso sobre onde os flhos de um pai podem
atender faculdade. Um aluno que se formou entre os Dez Por Cento Melhores
e cumpriu todos os critrios relevantes, foi garantido admisso instituio
principal do estado. Com a admisso veio diversos servios e recursos de apoio,
disponveis para todos os alunos, que promovem o sucesso acadmico e social
na universidade.
De acordo com a Assessoria para Pesquisas sobre Admisses na
Universidade de Texas em Austin, alunos brancos continuam com o nmero
mais alto dos 10% melhores dos alunos que se matriculam. O nmero de alunos
caucasianos que se matriculam seguido pelo nmero de alunos asiticos,
alunos hispnicos e o menor nmero de matriculados nos 10% melhores so
afro-americanos.
Alguns crticos sugeriram que os alunos do DPM, em geral, eram mal
preparados baseados no seu preparo acadmico no colgio e, portanto no
persistiriam no mesmo ritmo que suas contrapartes fora dos 10% melhores.
As tabelas 1, 2 e 3 fornecem os dados dos trs indicadores chaves. A tabela 1
indica que os resultados do vestibular so quase iguais. Entretanto, os alunos
do DPM possuem notas mais altas depois do primeiro ano (Tabela 2). No
fnal dos quatro anos, mais alunos do DPM se formaram ou esto continuando
do que as suas contrapartes NDPM. Uma observao interessante que os
alunos do NDPM parecem ter melhorado o seu desempenho; talvez o melhor
desempenho dos alunos do DPM fez com que todos os alunos se tornassem
mais competitivos academicamente.
179
Tabela 1 - Resultados do Vestibular
1996 2000 2004 2006
DPM 1253 1226 1221 1220
NDPM 1197 1205 1258 1257
DPM= alunos dos Dez Por Cento Melhores NDPM = alunos no dos Dez Por Cento Melhores
Tabela 2 - Coefciente de Rendimento Acadmico do Primeiro Ano (mximo 4.0)
1996 2000 2004 2006
DPM 3.21/4.0 3.26 3.21 -
NDPM 2.65/4.0 2.86 3.00 -
Tabela 3 - ndices de Continuao e de Formao (medidos no quarto ano)
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
DPM 83.5% 85.4% 84.1% 83.4% 84.3% 83.9% 83.9%
NDPM 74.0% 76.3% 74.8% 78.5% 81.2% 80.4% 79.7%
CONCLUSO
Nos Estados Unidos, o debate sobre as aes afrmativas continua. Um
dos principais argumentos contra a continuao da poltica que a eleio do
Presidente Obama comprova que as aes afrmativas foram to efcazes que
no so mais necessrias. Este argumento ignora a natureza sistemtica da
discriminao e as reparaes sistemticas necessrias para erradic-la (Freeman,
1989). Milhes de afro-americanos, mulheres, latinos e indgenas americanas
vivem em pobreza e possuem pouca esperana de acessar o ensino superior e
uma vida melhor sem as aes afrmativas.
Existem muitas razes convincentes para fazer a universidade acessvel
a um grupo mais amplo de indivduos o impacto no indivduo, a famlia, e a
sociedade. O PDPMT demonstra que, com apoio, os alunos pobres e minoritrios
podem frequentar e se formar de universidades elites. Entretanto, usando
o princpio universal de justia (Kohlberg, 1981; St. John, 2009), as aes
afrmativas a coisa certa a fazer. Argumenta-se que este resultado moral o
mais convincente de todos.
REFERNCIAS
ADAMS, J. T. The epic of America. New York: Simon Publishing, 1931/2001.
ADAMS v. BENNETT. 675 F. Supp 667 (D.D.C., 1987).
ALON, S.; TIENDA, M. Diversity, opportunity, and the shifting meritocracy in
higher education. American Sociological Review, v. 72, p. 487-511, 2007.
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION. On the importance of diversity in
higher education. Available at http://www.ace.org
Anderson, T.H. (2004). The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affrmative
Action. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
BOWEN, W.G.; BOK, D. The shape of the river: Long-term consequences
of considering race in college and university admissions. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1988.
JOST, K. Rethinking affrmative action. Congressional Quarterly, v. 23, n.
04, p. 396, 1995.
KOHLBERG, L. The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the
idea of justice. New York: Harper and Row, 1981.
St. John, E.P. College organizations and integrating moral reasoning and
refective practice. New York: Routledge, 2009.
SIMMONS, K. Affrmative action: A worldwide disaster. Commentary, v.
88, n. 6, p. 21-41, 1982.
TIERNEY, W. G. The parameters of affrmative action: Equity and excellence in
the Academy. Review of Educational Research, v. 67, n. 2, p. 165-196, 1997.
TURNER, R. H. Sponsored and contest mobility and the school system.
American Sociological Review, v. 25, n. 6, p. 855-867, 1960.
University of Texas. Implementation and results of the Texas Automatic
Admission Law, report 12, part 2, January 11, 2010. Available at http://www.
utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/HB588-Report12-part2.pdf
THE RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF COMPETENCE:
COMPETENCE AS SYNONYM FOR ORGANIZATIONAL,
PROFESSIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUCCESS
INTRODUCTION
I
n the preface of the work Parque Cientfco e Tecnolgico da PUCRS
(Science and Technology Park of PUCRS), authored by Roberto
Spolidoro and Jorge Audy, (2008, Porto Alegre), which received support from FINEP,
Funding Agency for Studies and Projects, Ministry of Science and Technology of
Brazil, in a passage authored by Prof. Dr. Br. Joaquim Clotet, President of the
Pontifcal Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, I quote: (...) this evolution
of the university, in little more than half a century, would not have been possible
without the persevering and passionate work of the higher administration of
PUCRS and all of those who participate in the institution. These protagonists knew
how to cultivate solid principles regarding the accelerated changes that surround
us and develop innovative answers to the challenges brought by the realities that
surpass all predictions ()
1
end quote. These words by Prof. Dr. Br. Joaquim
Clotet refer us to something undeniable. Progress, innovation, interculturality, the
uniqueness of the university enterprise is related to the increased commitment by
people facing the growing and complex challenges that lead a university such as
PUCRS to broaden its contribution to socially responsible development which
for the author (idem, ibidem, 2008) is a suffciently broad concept and which, in
his opinion, includes from the culture of solidarity to competitive involvement in
the international scene. And these words lead us to contemplate to what extent Prof.
Dr. Br. Joaquim Clotet is not leading us to refect on a new reconceptualization of
competence, understood as a synonym for success?
In fact, the idea that we are living in a time that is increasingly
demanding is undeniable, characterized by innumerous and vertiginous
changes, in the various socio-economic-political spheres, provoked not only
by globalization and its consequences, but also by the constant challenges,
contrasts and questions launched by the knowledge society, since the
1
Original quote: (...) esta evoluo da universidade, em pouco mais de meio sculo, no teria sido possvel
sem o trabalho perseverante e apaixonado da administrao superior da PUCRS e de todos os que
participam da instituio. Esses protagonistas souberam cultivar princpios slidos quanto s aceleradas
mutaes que nos cercam e estruturar respostas inovadoras aos desafos trazidos por realidades que
superam quaisquer previses (...)
challenges associated to the current moment that we live in do not impress
lightly upon people, or on the various Higher Education (HE) institutions.
Thus, there are various organizations and institutional circles from
the most diverse parts of the world having meetings on a problematic reality,
establishing various and concerted objectives, such that all can respond
actively, critically and conscientiously in their various felds of intervention.
Moreover, one can see the importance that is to be attributed to systems such
as the educational, professional and economic systems.
ON THE CONSTRUCTION/DECONSTRUCTION OF COMPETENCE
According to Roldo (2005), the visibility added to the concept of
competence in education, from the last few decades of the 20
th
century on,
corresponds to the conceptualization of the need for a profound alteration of the
logic of the educational fabric, relative to another typology of societies, very distant
from the historical standard on which it was built in the past. In fact, the emergence
of the concept of competence in international political discussions at the level of
education and training triggers apparently new questions, due to the enormous
implications that such a construct presents to the level of dominant professional,
organizational and institutional cultures. Especially since today we face a highly
differentiated population, with a rapid growth of the available knowledge and with
the inadequacy of encyclopedic and largely inert curricula vitae, the school and the
professionals of the work of teaching (Perrenoud, 1995) are confronted with the
need to redefne themselves in more effective terms and adapt to the performance
of their social mission (Roldo, 2005).
It is in this global social framework, and in light of the contributions of
educational investigation, which aim to contemplate and discuss the concept of
competence as an indicator of success in Higher Education.
Analyzing the concept of competence as an instrument of construction or
reconstruction in the socio-economic-cultural framework in which it emerges, and
situating the concept of competence as a referential organizer of quality, a synonym
of success in organizational, professional and institutional terms, the approach
developed is guided in the sense of considering competence as a powerful conceptual
reorganizer of the current paradigm of education, taking as theoretical references
authors such as Perrenoud; 1996;1997; Lerbert (1986, 1998, 2004); Roldo, 2001;
2003; 2003, 2005, among others.
How does one justify a communication such as this one:
reconceptualization of competence?, if contrary to what it appears to assume,
183
in an interpretation that is current in the common sense of the teaching class,
the concept of competence is not about a verbal addition or a style effect. The
reasons for which competence has been asserted in the educational theoretical
framework in the past few decades of the 20
th
century are linked to the loss of
characteristics or sterilization of the school, and of the knowledge produced by it
in the face of a highly technological society, based on assumptions of knowledge
and effectiveness, and sustained by devices that create, use and communicate
information, potential generators of knowledge (Roldo, 2005).
Education, teaching and learning present themselves as something that
emerges from an economic, political and social need to build, transmit and
promote, through education, the knowledge made socially necessary to broader
and broader layers of the population, which ended up originating an impoverished
culture. But then, how do we understand competence?
THE CONCEPT OF COMPETENCE
With various defnitions and meanings of competence, the defnitions
contain various dimensions, which at times, assume different theoretical
perspectives. One of these defnitions and the one that most approximates the
studies carried out by us at the University of Algarve, is through the DeSeCo
project (2002), which is developed in the OECD framework and whose general
objective is to provide a theoretical and conceptual basis for the selection and
defnition of competences key to a perspective of constant training and for
the evaluation of these very competences. This conception is linked to an
understanding of competence as a capacity to respond to individual and/or
social demands or carrying out a task successfully, including the cognitive and
metacognitive dimensions. It is about a defnition eminently transdisciplinary
and which approximates the complex thinking of Lerbert (1986, 1998, 2004)
and other theoreticians of the emerging paradigm of complexity.
According to Lerbert, the construction of knowledge, in the broad sense,
occurs at the interface between knowledge and information. We are talking about
a systemic opening that grants a functional nature to the relation with the area
and which constitutes, in itself, the condition of ones own survival.
We are talking about an important epistemological tool to access the
world of complexity in which this tool provides us access to information about
the knowledge-interface, because the entire cognitive process of construction
and transferability of knowledge implies the interdependence between the self-
referential (with its self-organizing, constructive and self-dependent characteristics)
and hetero-referential process (and whose main function is to connect the subject
to the area), both presenting different characteristics and functionalities.
This epistemological tool is all the more important as it enables us to
access the study of complex objects. And a question that one could ask is the
following: And how does this tool work? This question is effectively important
since it is linked to the way in which one builds the knowledge-interface.
According to Leito (2009, p.78), in the construction of knowledge, which
is presented as a complex process, the self-referential and hetero-referential
cognitive constructs, linked to those of interaction and interface are presented as
conceptual devices with great explanatory power about the means of cognitive
functioning underlying this constructive process. Effectively, this cognitive
process of knowledge construction assumes the interdependence between the
self-referential and hetero-referential process
2
(Idem, ibidem, 2009).
In light of this theoretical reference, the meaning of the concept of
competence proposed by the DeSeCo project (2002) is thus better understood
and assumed by us in this communication. It is about a competence defned
in terms of requesting outside of the subject (hetero-referential process). Its
acquisition and development is substantiated in the interaction with the self-
referential processes, or, to speak of competences presupposes speaking of its
internal structure in terms of knowledge, cognitive skills, attitudes, emotions,
values and ethics. And because it occurs through action and in the interaction
with various educational contexts.
In the scope of the DeSeCo project (2002), in the set of competences
that human beings acquire and develop over the course of their lives, the key
competences are those that enable the individual to participate effectively in
multiple contexts or social domains. They contribute to their personal success and
for the good functioning of society, based on three categories of competences,
namely: Act autonomously (the capacity to defend and assert their rights, interests,
responsibilities, limits and needs; to conceive and accomplish life projects and
personal projects, the capacity to act together with the situation/context), use
tools interactively (the capacity to use language, symbols, and texts interactively,
the capacity to use knowledge and information interactively, the capacity to use
new technologies interactively) and work in socially heterogeneous groups (the
capacity to establish good relationships with others, the capacity to cooperate
and the capacity to manage and solve conficts).
2
Original quote: na construo do conhecimento, que se apresenta como um processo complexo, os constructos
cognitivos auto-referencial e hetero-referencial, articulados aos de interaco e interface apresentam-se como
dispositivos conceptuais com grande poder explicativo sobre o modo de funcionamento cognitivo subjacente a
esse processo construtivo. Efectivamente este processo cognitivo de construo de conhecimento pressupe a
interdependncia entre o processo auto referencial e o hetero-referencial.
185
We speak of three categories of key competences that respect all citizens
and their appropriation by all actors can be decisive in the construction of a more
just, solidary, equal and inclusive society.
THE CONCEPT OF COMPETENCE IN THE PORTUGUESE
INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT
In the understanding of the Ministry of Education of Portugal, the term
competence includes knowledge, skills and attitudes and can be understood as
knowledge in action or in use. It is about promoting the integrated development
of skills and attitudes that enable the use of knowledge in various situations,
more or less familiar to the student (Ministry of Education, 2001, p.9).
It is linked to the function of teaching, characterizing the professionals
that we are, or that we want to be, (Roldo, 2004) and which consists, differently,
of ensuring that others acquire knowledge, learn and take control of something.
What contributes to emphasizing the relevance of the educational feld, in
which the professor is presented as someone with an indispensable profession, and
maybe increasingly indispensable? Because it is not enough to put the available
information for others to learn, it is necessary for there to be someone who leads the
organization and development of a set of actions that lead the others to learn. That
is, according to Roldo (2004) what defnes teaching, what marks the difference of
this activity, its specifcity and social necessity its distinction (Reis Monteiro,
2000, cit in Roldo, 2004).
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Thus, it appears that we are before a new era, in which positive answers
in educational terms are required for social problems which are increasingly
characterized by complexity, unpredictability and diversity, in which education
and training face an enormous challenge which is linked to the construction and
transferability of knowledge, or, in which Education has to stand out, in terms
of quality indicators and educational excellence, in making an effort to make
someone learn that which he will need, personally, institutionally and socially,
for a good, or at least acceptable social integration (Roldo, 2003a; 2004)
concretely, our student of initial education and advanced education, whether in
Portugal or Brazil.
And this, because it is in the fracture zone generated by the antagonistic
understandings of teaching in one sense read as presenting knowledge, in
another read as making one understand and possess knowledge through others
which lies in the discussion of the concept of competence that we considered
over the course of this work. Moreover, we focus on the importance of the
mobilization of knowledge, which, according to Roldo (2005) constitutes, in
the analysis of Le Boterf (1994, p. 16-18) the very essence of competence. It is
the very process of mobilization, that is, the skill of convocation in the face of a
situation, of necessary knowledge, and its articulation and adequate use, which,
in his perspective, indicates competence. The author expresses it as follows:
Competence is not reduced to knowledge or know-how.
() Every day experience shows that people who have
knowledge or skills do not know now to mobilize them in a
pertinent manner or at an opportune moment.
() Competence does not reside in the resources to mobilize
(knowledge, skills) but in the very mobilization of these
resources. Competence is of the order of knowing how to
mobilize. () It should be noted, incidentally, the particular
nature of this mobilization. It is not about simple application,
but about construction. The diagnosis of a doctor is not the
simple application of biological theories. The engineering of
an educational action is not reduced to the application of the
theories of learning or of cognitive psychology.
3
In the cognitive set that mobilization implies, we can distinguish various
conceptual formalizations associated to the idea of competence: by mobilizing,
knowledge and previous situations are necessarily included, producing an
interpretation of them and adapting this set of elements mobilized and integrated
to the specifcity of the context.
Still according to this author, (Idem, ibidem, 2005), teaching to
develop competences (and to evaluate competences) is not assimilated like an
accumulative collage of concepts or terminology to the habitual practices in the
current educational culture.
Above all, it constitutes an educational turning point, returning to the
Socratic idea of building and transferring knowledge, converting teaching into
3
Original text: A competncia no se reduz nem a um saber nem a um saber-fazer. () Todos os dias a
experincia mostra que pessoas em posse de conhecimentos ou capacidades no as sabem mobilizar de forma
pertinente e no momento oportuno.
() A competncia no reside nos recursos a mobilizar (conhecimentos, capacidades) mas na prpria mobi-
lizao desses recursos. A competncia da ordem do saber mobilizar. (...) Note-se, a propsito, o carcter
particular desta mobilizao. Ela no da ordem da simples aplicao, mas da ordem da construo. O diag-
nstico dum mdico no a simples aplicao de teorias biolgicas. A engenharia de uma aco de formao
no se reduz aplicao das teorias da aprendizagem ou da psicologia cognitiva.
187
giving meaning to what is to be learned, conceiving the learning process in a
dedicated but stimulating path of thought and action, in which the mobilization
of knowledge is presented as something indispensable to this production and
transferability of knowledge.
REFERENCES
LEITO, A. S. P. (2009). Construo da profssionalidade na Formao Inicial
de Professores do 1 CEB. O caso de um grupo de professores estagirios da
ESEC. Dissertao de Doutoramento. Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro.
LERBERT, G. (1986). De la Structure au Systme Essai sur lvolution des
Sciences Humaines. Paris : NUMFREO, Ed. Universitaires.
LERBERT, G. (1998). LUnivers psychique et la pense complexe. Bulletin
Interactif du Centre International de Recherches et tudes Transdisciplinaires n 13.
LERBERT, G. (2004). Le Sens de Chacun Intelligence de lAutorference en
Action. Paris: LHarmattan.
MINISTRIO DA EDUCAO (PORTUGAL) (2001). Currculo Nacional
do Ensino Bsico: Competncias Essenciais. Lisboa: Departamento de
Educao Bsica.
PERRENOUD, Ph. (1996). Enseigner: Agir dans lUrgence, Dcider dans
lIncertitude. Savoirs et competences dans un mtier complexe, Paris: ESF diteur.
PERRENOUD, Ph.(1997). Construire des Comptences ds lcole. Paris: ESC
PERRENOUD, Ph..(1995). Ofcio de Aluno e Sentido do Trabalho Escolar.
Porto: Porto Editora.
REIS MONTEIRO, A. (2000). Ser professor. Inovao, vol.3, n 2-3, 11-37.
ROLDO, M.C (2005). Para um currculo do pensar e do agir: as competncias
enquanto referencial de ensino e aprendizagem. Suplemento de En Direct de
lAPPF, Fev 2005, 9-20
ROLDO, M.C. (2001). A mudana anunciada da escola ou um paradigma
de escola em ruptura?. In Isabel Alarco (org.) Escola Refexiva e Nova
Racionalidade (2001), pp115-134. So Paulo: Artmed.
ROLDO, M.C. (2003). Diferenciao Curricular Revisitada Conceito,
Discurso e Praxis. (2003). Porto: Porto Editora.
ROLDO, M.C. (2004) . Competncias na cultura de escolas do 1 ciclo. In
CNE, Estudos e Relatrios, Saberes Bsicos de Todos os Cidados no sc. XXI
(2004), pp.177-197.
RECONCEPTUALIZAO DA COMPETNCIA COMO SUCESSO
ORGANIZACIONAL, PROFISSIONAL E INSTITUCIONAL
INTRODUO
N
o prefcio da obra Parque Cientfco e Tecnolgico da PUCRS,
da autoria de Roberto Spolidoro e Jorge Audy, (2008, Porto Alegre),
obra esta que contou com o apoio da FINEP Financiadora de Estudos e Projectos,
Ministrio da Cincia e Tecnologia do Brasil, pode ler-se, da autoria do Prof. Dr.
Ir. Joaquim Clotet, Reitor da Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do
Sul, passo a citar: () esta evoluo da universidade, em pouco mais de meio
sculo, no teria sido possvel sem o trabalho perseverante e apaixonado da
administrao superior da PUCRS e de todos os que participam da instituio.
Esses protagonistas souberam cultivar princpios slidos quanto s aceleradas
mutaes que nos cercam e estruturar respostas inovadoras aos desafos trazidos
por realidades que superam quaisquer previses () fm de citao. Estas palavras
do Prof. Dr. Ir. Joaquim Clotet remetem-nos para algo incontestvel. O progresso,
a inovao, a interculturalidade, a singularidade do empreendimento universitrio
em tudo se prende com o elevado empenhamento das pessoas em enfrentarem
os crescentes e complexos desafos que levam uma universidade como a PUCRS
a ampliar o seu aporte ao desenvolvimento socialmente responsvel - que para
o autor ( idem, ibidem, 2008) - um conceito sufcientemente amplo e que, na
sua opinio, inclui desde a cultura da solidariedade at a insero competitiva
no cenrio internacional. E estas palavras levam-nos a equacionar at que ponto
o Prof. Dr. Ir. Joaquim Clotet no estar a levar-nos a refectir sobre uma nova
reconceptualizao da competncia, entendida como sinnimo de sucesso?
De facto, incontestvel a ideia de que estamos a viver numa poca cada
vez mais exigente, caracterizada por inmeras e vertiginosas mudanas, nas
vrias esferas scio-econmico-polticas, provocadas no s pela globalizao
e suas consequncias, como tambm pelos constantes desafos, contrastes e
questes lanadas pela sociedade do conhecimento, pois os desafos associados
ao momento actual que vivemos no passam nem margem das pessoas, nem
margem de variadas instituies da Educao Superior (ES).
Assim, assiste-se a vrios rgos e crculos institucionais das mais
variadas partes do mundo a reunirem-se em torno de uma realidade problemtica,
189
fxando objectivos diversos e concertados, para que todos lhe possam responder
activa, crtica e conscientemente nos vrios campos da sua interveno.
Inclusivamente, percebe-se a importncia que se atribuir a sistemas como o
educativo, o profssional e o econmico.
EM TORNO DA CONSTRUO/DESCONSTRUO
DE COMPETNCIA
Segundo Roldo (2005) a visibilidade acrescida do conceito de
competncia em educao, a partir das ltimas dcadas do sculo XX, corresponde
conceptualizao da necessidade de uma alterao de fundo nas lgicas do tecido
educacional, relativamente a uma outra tipologia de sociedades, bem distante do
padro histrico em que a mesma se estruturou no passado. De facto, a emergncia
do conceito de competncia na discusso poltica internacional - no plano da
educao e formao - desencadeia questes aparentemente novas, devido s
enormes implicaes que tal constructo apresenta ao nvel das culturas profssionais,
organizacionais e institucionais dominantes. At porque hoje enfrentamos
uma populao elevadamente diferenciada, com um crescimento em fecha do
conhecimento disponvel e com a inadequao de currculos enciclopdicos e
largamente inertes, a escola e os profssionais do trabalho de ensinar (Perrenoud,
1995) confrontam-se com a necessidade de redefnir-se em termos mais efcazes e
adequados ao desempenho da sua misso social (Roldo, 2005).
neste quadro social global, e luz dos contributos da investigao
educacional, que se procuram equacionar e discutir o conceito de competncia
enquanto indicador de sucesso no Ensino Superior.
Analisando o conceito de competncia enquanto instrumento de construo
ou reconstruo no quadro scio econmico - cultural em que emerge, e
situando o conceito de competncia como organizador referencial de qualidade,
sinnimo de sucesso em termos organizacionais, profssionais e institucionais,
a abordagem desenvolvida orienta-se no sentido de considerar a competncia
como um reorganizador conceptual poderoso do paradigma actual em educao,
tomando como referenciais tericos autores como Perrenoud; 1996; 1997; Lerbert
(1986, 1998, 2004); Roldo, 2001; 2003; 2003, 2005, entre outros.
Como justifcar uma comunicao como esta: reconceptualizao da
competncia? , se ao contrrio do que parece supor-se, numa leitura tornada
corrente no senso comum da classe docente, o conceito de competncia no
diz respeito a um acrescento verbal ou a um efeito de estilo. As razes pelas
quais a competncia se afrmou no quadro terico educacional nas ltimas
dcadas do sculo XX prendem-se com a descaracterizao ou esterilizao
da escola, e do saber por ela produzido, face a uma sociedade altamente
tecnolgica, assente em pressupostos de conhecimento e efccia, e sustentada
por dispositivos que criam, usam e comunicam informao, potencialmente
geradora de conhecimento (Roldo, 2005).
A educao, o ensino e a aprendizagem apresentam-se como algo que
emerge de uma necessidade econmica, poltica e social de construir, transmitir
e divulgar, atravs da educao, o conhecimento tornado socialmente necessrio
a camadas cada vez mais amplas da populao, o que acabou por originar uma
cultura empobrecida. Mas ento o que entender por competncia?
O CONCEITO DE COMPETNCIA
Sendo vrias as defnies e os sentidos de competncia, as defnies
contm variadas dimenses, as quais, por vezes, subentendem perspectivas
tericas diferentes. Uma dessas defnies e a que mais se aproxima dos estudos
por ns realizados na Universidade do Algarve, veiculada pelo projecto DeSeCo
(2002), que se desenvolve no quadro da OCDE e cujo objectivo geral fornecer
uma base terica e conceptual para a seleco e defnio de competncias - chave
numa perspectiva de formao permanente e para a avaliao dessas mesmas
competncias. Prende-se esta concepo com um entendimento de competncia
como a capacidade de responder s exigncias individuais e/ou sociais ou
de efectuar uma tarefa com sucesso, comportando as dimenses cognitivas e
metacognitivas. Trata-se de uma defnio eminentemente transdisciplinar e que
se aproxima do pensamento complexo de Lerbert (1986, 1998, 2004) e de outros
tericos do emergente paradigma da complexidade.
Segundo Lerbert a construo do saber, em sentido lato, ocorre na
interface entre o conhecimento e a informao. Estamos a falar de uma abertura
sistmica que concede um carcter funcional relao com o meio e que constitui,
de per si, a condio da sua prpria sobrevivncia.
Estamos a falar de uma ferramenta epistemolgica importante para aceder
ao mundo da complexidade, em que esta ferramenta nos proporciona acesso
informao sobre o saber -interface, at porque todo o processo cognitivo de
construo e transferabiliade de conhecimento implica a interdependncia entre
o processo auto referencial (com as suas caractersticas auto-organizativas,
construtivas e auto-dependentes) e hetero referencial (e cuja principal
funo ligar o sujeito ao meio), ambos apresentando-se com caractersticas e
funcionalidades diferentes.
191
Esta ferramenta epistemolgica tanto mais importante quanto nos
possibilita aceder ao estudo de objectos complexos. E uma pergunta que se
poderia colocar a seguinte: E como funciona esta ferramenta? Esta questo
efectivamente importante pois prende-se com a forma como se constri o saber-
interface. No entender de Leito (2009, p.78), na construo do conhecimento,
que se apresenta como um processo complexo, os constructos cognitivos auto-
referencial e hetero-referencial, articulados aos de interaco e interface apresentam-
se como dispositivos conceptuais com grande poder explicativo sobre o modo de
funcionamento cognitivo subjacente a esse processo construtivo. Efectivamente este
processo cognitivo de construo de conhecimento pressupe a interdependncia
entre o processo auto referencial e o hetero-referencial (Idem, ibidem, 2009).
luz deste referencial terico, entende-se, ento melhor o sentido do
conceito de competncia proposto pelo projecto DeSeCo (2002) e por ns tomado
nesta comunicao. Trata-se de uma competncia defnida em termos de solicitao
exterior ao sujeito (processo hetero referencial), a sua aquisio e desenvolvimento
consubstancializa-se na interaco com processos auto - referenciais, ou seja, falar de
competncias pressupe falar da sua estrutura interna em termos de conhecimentos,
capacidades cognitivas, atitudes, emoes, valores e tica. E porque ocorre atravs
da aco e na interaco com contextos educativos diversos.
No mbito do projecto DeSeCo (2002), no conjunto de competncias
que os seres humanos adquirem e desenvolvem ao longo das suas vidas, as
competncias chave so aquelas que possibilitam ao indivduo participar
efcazmente em mltiplos contextos ou domnios sociais e que contribuem para
o seu sucesso pessoal e para o bom funcionamento da sociedade, assentando em
trs categorias de competncias, designadamente: Agir de maneira autnoma
(capacidade de defender e afrmar os seus direitos, interesses, responsabilidades,
limites e necessidades; conceber e realizar projectos de vida e projectos pessoais,
capacidade de agir no com junto da situao/contexto), utilizar ferramentas de
forma interactiva (capacidade de utilizar a linguagem, os smbolos, e os textos
de forma interactiva, capacidade de utilizar o conhecimento e a informao
de forma interactiva, capacidade de utilizar as novas tecnologias de maneira
interactiva) e funcionar em grupos socialmente heterogneos (capacidade de
estabelecer boas relaes com os outros, capacidade de cooperar e capacidade
de gerir e de resolver confitos).
Falamos de trs categorias de competncias chave que respeitam todos
os cidados e a sua apropriao por todos os actores pode ser determinante na
construo de uma sociedade mais justa, solidria equitativa e inclusiva.
O CONCEITO DE COMPETNCIA NO CONTEXTO
INSTITUCIONAL PORTUGUS
No entender do Ministrio da Educao de Portugal o termo competncia
integra conhecimentos, capacidades e atitudes e pode ser entendida como saber
em aco ou em uso. Trata-se de promover o desenvolvimento integrado de
capacidades e atitudes que viabilizam a utilizao dos conhecimentos em situaes
diversas, mais familiares ou menos familiares ao aluno (Ministrio da Educao,
2001, p.9). Prende-se com a funo de ensinar, caracterizadora do profssional
que somos, ou quereramos ser, (Roldo, 2004) e que consiste, diferentemente,
em fazer com que outros adquiram saber, aprendam e se apropriem de alguma
coisa. O que contribui para enfatizar a relevncia do campo educacional, em que
o professor se apresenta como algum com uma profsso indispensvel, e talvez
cada vez mais indispensvel, porque no basta pr a informao disponvel para
que o outro aprenda, preciso que haja algum que proceda organizao e
estruturao de um conjunto de aces que leve o outro a aprender. Isso , no
entender de Roldo (2004) o que defne ensinar, o que marca a diferena desta
actividade, a sua especifcidade e necessidade social a sua distino (Reis
Monteiro, 2000, cit in Roldo, 2004).
CONSIDERAES FINAIS
Indicia-se, assim, que estamos perante uma nova era, em que se exige em
termos educacionais respostas positivas aos problemas sociais que se apresentam
cada vez mais caracterizados pela complexidade, imprevisibilidade e diversidade,
em que a educao e a formao enfrentam um enorme desafo e que se prende
com a construo e transferabilidade do conhecimento, ou seja em que a Educao
tem que pontuar , em termos de indicador de qualidade e excelncia educativa,
em esforar-se por fazer com que algum aprenda aquilo de que se vai precisar,
pessoal, institucional e socialmente, para uma boa, ou pelo menos aceitvel.,
integrao social, (Roldo, 2003a; 2004) concretamente, o nosso estudante de
formao inicial e de formao avanada, seja em Portugal ou seja no Brasil.
E isto, por que na zona de fractura gerada pelos entendimentos
antagnicos de ensinar num sentido lido como apresentar saberes, noutro lido
como fazer aprender e apropriar saberes por outros que se joga a discusso do
conceito de competncia que aqui equacionmos ao longo desta comunicao.
Enfocmos, ainda, a importncia da mobilizao do conhecimento, que, no
entender de Roldo( 2005) constitui, na anlise de Le Boterf (1994: 16-18) a
193
essncia mesma da competncia. o prprio processo de mobilizao, isto a
capacidade de convocao, face a uma situao, dos conhecimentos necessrios, e
a sua articulao e uso adequados, que, na sua perspectiva, indicia a competncia.
Exprime-o o autor desta forma:
A competncia no se reduz nem a um saber nem a um saber-
fazer. () Todos os dias a experincia mostra que pessoas
em posse de conhecimentos ou capacidades no as sabem
mobilizar de forma pertinente e no momento oportuno.
()A competncia no reside nos recursos a mobilizar
(conhecimentos, capacidades) mas na prpria mobilizao
desses recursos. A competncia da ordem do saber
mobilizar. (...) Note-se, a propsito, o carcter particular
desta mobilizao. Ela no da ordem da simples aplicao,
mas da ordem da construo. O diagnstico dum mdico no
a simples aplicao de teorias biolgicas. A engenharia de
uma aco de formao no se reduz aplicao das teorias
da aprendizagem ou da psicologia cognitiva.
No jogo cognitivo que a mobilizao implica, podemos distinguir
ainda vrias formalizaes conceptuais associadas ideia de competncia: ao
mobilizar necessariamente se integram conhecimentos e situaes anteriores,
produzindo sobre as mesmas interpretao e adequando esse conjunto de
elementos mobilizados e integrados especifcidade do contexto.
Ainda segundo esta autora, (Idem, ibidem, 2005), ensinar para
desenvolver competncias (e avaliar competncias) no se assimila assim a uma
colagem aditiva de conceitos ou de terminologia s prticas habituais na cultura
educacional actual.
Constitui sobretudo uma viragem educacional, retornada socrtica
ideia de construir e transferir conhecimento, convertendo o ensinar em dar
sentido ao que se quer que seja aprendido, concebendo o processo de aprender
como um caminho esforado mas estimulante de pensamento e aco, em que
a mobilizao do conhecimento se apresenta como algo imprescindvel a essa
produo e transferabilidade do conhecimento.
REFERNCIAS
LEITO, A. S. P. (2009). Construo da profssionalidade na Formao Inicial
de Professores do 1 CEB. O caso de um grupo de professores estagirios da
ESEC. Dissertao de Doutoramento. Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro.
LERBERT, G. (1986). De la Structure au Systme Essai sur lvolution des
Sciences Humaines. Paris : NUMFREO, Ed. Universitaires.
LERBERT, G. (1998). LUnivers psychique et la pense complexe. Bulletin
Interactif du Centre International de Recherches et tudes Transdisciplinaires n 13.
LERBERT, G. (2004). Le Sens de Chacun Intelligence de lAutorference en
Action. Paris: LHarmattan.
MINISTRIO DA EDUCAO (PORTUGAL) (2001). Currculo Nacional
do Ensino Bsico: Competncias Essenciais. Lisboa: Departamento de
Educao Bsica.
PERRENOUD, Ph. (1996). Enseigner: Agir dans lUrgence, Dcider dans
lIncertitude. Savoirs et competences dans un mtier complexe, Paris: ESF diteur.
PERRENOUD, Ph.(1997). Construire des Comptences ds lcole. Paris: ESC
PERRENOUD, Ph..(1995). Ofcio de Aluno e Sentido do Trabalho Escolar.
Porto: Porto Editora.
REIS MONTEIRO, A. (2000). Ser professor. Inovao, vol.3, n 2-3, 11-37.
ROLDO, M.C (2005). Para um currculo do pensar e do agir: as competncias
enquanto referencial de ensino e aprendizagem. Suplemento de En Direct de
lAPPF, Fev 2005, 9-20
ROLDO, M.C. (2001). A mudana anunciada da escola ou um paradigma
de escola em ruptura?. In Isabel Alarco (org.) Escola Refexiva e Nova
Racionalidade (2001), pp115-134. So Paulo: Artmed.
ROLDO, M.C. (2003). Diferenciao Curricular Revisitada Conceito,
Discurso e Praxis. (2003). Porto: Porto Editora.
ROLDO, M.C. (2004). Competncias na cultura de escolas do 1 ciclo. In
CNE, Estudos e Relatrios, Saberes Bsicos de Todos os Cidados no sc. XXI
(2004), pp.177-197.
QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND
INFORMATIONAL COMPETENCE
1

INTRODUCTION
T
he pursuit of the competitive placement of Latin American in a
globalized world puts the focus on educational systems and how they
can contribute to economic growth and sustainable social development. While
economic development and the possibilities of competitiveness of the nations of
the 21
st
century are a function of complex interrelated factors, one in particular
will be emphasized corresponding to the quality of their educational systems
expressed in the development of fundamental competences in citizens for
learning over the course of ones life. It is increasingly required, as a condition to
account for the quality of education, the development of competences considered
fundamental to broaden the skills of youths to be incorporated into the job market.
Concerns in this sense are precisely those that have led the European
Commission (2004) to call on its country members to accept the guidelines of the
Council of Barcelona in 2002 on the key competences which in the context of the
information society have to be developed for the new generations for personal
realization, social inclusion, the exercise of citizenship and employment.
Among the key competences identifed in the information society, one
fnds digital competences, which include a set of sub-competences related to
managing information, critical thinking, the use of new technologies, and the
development of communicative skills (European Commission, 2004). Digital
competences thus encompass competences among which one fnds so-called
informational competence, related to abilities, motivations and skills to access,
evaluate and make use of information.
In this context, informational competence is confgured as the
defning focus of those related to critical thinking, the use of technologies and
communication, while the use of technologies as instruments to access, evaluate
and make use of the information is an updating of critical reasoning, which is
expressed in the productions communicated by the epistemic subject.
1
Full professor of the Department of Psychology/School of Psychology, Pontifcal Javeriana University, Bogota,
Colombia. Psychologist, Pontifcal Javeriana University. Master in Education and Psychology, Pontifcal Javeriana
University. Doctor in Education, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. gloria.marciales@javeriana.edu.co.
In this chapter, we look at informational competence, considered a basic
category of analysis among the quality criteria for higher education, which the
universities should account for as an expression of their social commitment to
the development of human capital to contribute to social development.
THE SITUATION
Questions on the real opportunities in the world today that people have
in order to access the information that circulates on the internet have lead to
different social sectors concerned about the distance that has been opening up
between those who are connected to the internet and those who are increasingly
deprived of it; this distance has been called the digital divide.
While the expression digital divide is often linked to the lack of
technological instruments to access and effectively use information and
communication technology (ICT), it equally refers to the capacity of a country
and thus its population, to produce information, enrich its repertory of knowledge
and incorporate it to economic and social activity to strengthen development
processes. Moreover, it is linked to other divides such as those of an economic,
social, ethnic, linguistic and infrastructural nature, which especially affect the
countries on the periphery. Two factors linked to one another explain in part the
emergence of this divide: the low purchasing power of the population and the low
levels of education of the population and its poor quality, with the consequent
poor development of fundamental competences for accessing and remaining in
the formal educational system and being incorporated into the job market.
Such divides limit the technological and economic development of
a country as well as the opportunities of the population to access information
and communication technologies and to participate actively and proactively in
the information society. The limitations of access to the internet therefore have
different types of impacts, not only of the economic type, but also and especially
for achieving goals of a social nature. While it is not possible to establish a
relation of cause and effect between the incorporation of ICTs and economic
growth, the absence of competences for their effective use as well as the absence
of investment in education for their development, generate delays in this area
given that it affects the qualifcation of human capital (Ferro Bayona, et al. 1998).
The above is especially critical for Latin America given that, not responding
to the new demands that the information society presents today can be constituted
as a factor that exacerbates social exclusion, not only of those groups classifed
as poor due to their economic incomes, but also and especially, those that do
197
not have the necessary conditions and competences to face new challenges. The
latter is due in part to the lack of cognitive and conceptual frameworks suffcient
for the appropriation of such technologies, and in part to the defcit of cultural
capital incorporated to make the effective use of information in a society that is
fundamentally based on it (Ferro Bayona, Amar Amar, and Abello Llanos, 1998).
On the other hand, given that information today more than ever constitutes
a fundamental primary good to participate in the information society (van Dijk,
2005) and in decision-making processes on different levels, the limitations that
affect the population can lead to new rights that emerge in the information society
related to participating in knowledge, access to information and its balanced
fow. These rights are affected, thus shifting the nature of information as a public
good (Martn Barbero, 2005).
This situation can lead to the polarization of irreconcilable forces: on the
one hand, that which corresponds to the elite of those who control technologies
and production forces, and on the other, a group permanently detached from
the job market with few perspectives of being incorporated and increasingly
irrelevant from the point of view of dominant logics, focused on productivity
and consumption (Ferro Bayona et al. 1998).
While on the global level efforts have been made to overcome the digital
divide, the fact of having defned it in terms of technological infrastructure and
lack of instruments for internet access, delayed the decisive actions that question
the conditions of the quality of education. The World Bank is precisely one
of the international organizations that defned the divide from an instrumental
perspective focused on technological resources, leaving aside fundamental
questions. For the Bank, the lagging economy in Latin America is explained
by weaknesses, one of which is the divide in the instrumental skills of the
population for using technological tools (Gill, Guasch, Perry and Schady, 2005).
Such defnitions and positions in the face of the problem have led to efforts
being guided towards the acquisition of technologies and technical-instrumental
learning for managing them, with few actions aimed at the development of
competences for using information refectively and critically, to broaden peoples
skills to make them active participants in the information society.
The absence of an educational dimension in the defnition of the digital divide
has also affected the nature of the investigation that has progressed and how the
competences that the youths need to answer the new demands have been accounted for,
in particular those of the informational type. There is therefore an investigative debt in
this sense that recognizes the complexity of the problem and its systematic nature, and
which contributes criteria to designing intervention processes with social relevance.
WHAT IS INFORMATIONAL COMPETENCE
Defning informational competence is a complex task due to the polysemic
nature of the concept, the multiplicity of variables that are linked to its defnition
and the shortage of conceptual support given to such associations in the existing
literature. Additionally, the epistemological and theoretical developments that
have exercised an infuence on the forms of understanding information users and
the nature of information sources have been marked by the historical and cultural
contexts that have surrounded the printed text and now the digital text.
The review of the theoretical and research contributions in the study
of informational competence evidences the emphasis placed on the traditional
conception of the American College and Research Library (ACRL, 2000) and
the American Library Association (ALA, 1989). From this perspective, to be
an informationally competent subject means to be capable of recognizing when
information is needed and to have the ability to locate it, evaluate it and use
it effectively. In these approaches, it is recognized that being informationally
competent means learning how to learn, that is, to know how information is
organized, how to fnd it and use this information in a way that others can
learn from it. Two aspects stand out in this defnition: frst, the emphasis
that is put on the acquisition, development and demonstration of individual
abilities. Secondly, the identifcation of practices of searching, evaluating
and using information with informational competence. These two aspects are
axes of divergence between the traditional defnitions of competence and its
reconceptualization from a closer approximation to perspectives of a social
nature (Marciales, Gonzlez, Castaeda-Pea, and Barbosa, 2008).
Reconceptualization takes into account the historical evolution that in
the science of information is the concept of informational competence, which
is marked by three clearly distinguished moments. In the frst, an objectivist
perspective predominated and its evaluation was focused on knowledge measured
through objective exams (Montiel-Overall, 2007). In the second moment, value
was given to information processing, such that in the third moment, there was an
important displacement as a result of the infuence of Vygotsky on psychology,
pedagogy and the science of information around the 1990s, with an impact upon
which they began to incorporate questions related to cultural and social factors.
The reconceptualization of informational competence that is proposed here
takes into account precisely the contributions from a Vygotskian perspective, which
introduces variables, linked to the development of competences in information not
contemplated in the previous defnitions, not even in many of the existing ones today.
199
Namely: (a) culture, as inseparable from the way in which subjects think and learn;
(b) human activity, as situated in a context of social and cultural interaction; (c)
interaction with others, as a mediator of knowledge construction, and (d) cultural
and contextual differences, for the confguration of ideas and daily practices.
Three principles are derived from this perspective, in the face of
reconceptualizing informational competence. First, the conception of culture as
a mediator of the way in what the subject means based on information, since
culture is inseparable from thinking and acting. Second, the understanding of
informational competence as a concept that evolves in time through sociocultural
infuences. And, thirdly, the conception of competence development as fexible
and defned by cultural experiences and activities (Montiel-Overall, 2007).
From a sociocultural perspective of competence as it is proposed
here, the authority of individuals and communities is recognized to create,
use and evaluate information, and not only the authority of sources validated
by scientifc communities. Even so, it is understood that all information
has inherent biases; therefore, to be an informationally competent person
presupposes relying on the capacity to identify such biases.
Information seen from these approaches does not exist as an objective reality
(Owusu Ansach, 2003); it is built by individuals within a social and cultural context,
continuously transforming this reality (Freire and Macedo 1995), while being
transformed by it. It is thus an instrument for building knowledge, infuenced by
related cultural factors, among others, by the way in which the information is created
in families and communities, how it is transmitted (oral, written, visual traditions),
its origins (the government, grandparents, others) and the context in which it is used.
Competence seen as a practice with a social and cultural dimension points
out the convergence between the development of informational competence and the
education of a social subject, capable of assuming, with critical and ethical awareness,
the diversity and complexity of cultural factors that mediate access to information.
Taking into account the above, an element that is incorporated in the defnition
of competence and which results from vital relevance, corresponds to the historical
dimension of competence, given that information use is a dynamic and changing
subject. From this perspective, the history of the subject constitutes a source of
remembering and forgetting, and establishes continuities and discontinuities, in this
case associated to the way of accessing, making use of and appropriating information.
Social interactions are the medium for building meanings that are appropriated by
those who integrate the communities, which are expressed in the habitual ways of
accessing and using information in specifc contexts, which performs a fundamental
role in the development of social competences as well as capital.
In light of the previous approaches, a defnition of informational competence is
proposed which assumes a turning point in the defnition that has marked the history
of its conceptualization, as was previously pointed out. It is understood therefore as:
The network of relations woven between the adherence and
beliefs, the motivations and skills of the epistemic subject,
constructed over time in situated contexts of formal and
informal learning. Such a network of relations acts as a
reference matrix of the forms of appropriating information,
which have a place through accessing, evaluating and
making use of it, and which express the cultural contexts in
which they were built. (Marciales et al, 2008: 651).
As defned, informational competence is assumed as a construct in
which the conditions and assumptions that associate the four modalities that
constitute it are interwoven, strengthening, virtualizing, updating and achieving
2
.
These dimensions are derived from contributions by Greimas (1989) as well as
Serrano (2003), and Alvarado (2007). For Greimas, competence is confgured
as the being from doing (p. 83), which is to say, a kind of potential state in
which the act is not something else, as he said himself, a hypotactic structure
that brings together competence and execution (ibid). This way, a hierarchical
relation between competence and execution is established, where the former
is conceived as higher order, and refers to the existence of an instance of a
presupposed nature that produces the doing.
The contributions by Alvarado (2007) and Greimas (1989) enable the
identifcation of the levels or prior modes of existence of do-be, which are
exposed in Table 1.
Table 1: Dimensions of competence according to Alvarado (2007, p. 5)
EXISTENCE
MODES
LOGICAL RELATION
STRENGTHENED
MODE
VIRTUALIZED
MODE
UPDATED
MODE
ACHIEVED MODE
Beliefs Motivations Skills Executions
Subject/Object Believe Want Know
Be
Do
Subject/Subject Adhere Should Can
The use of information sources is mediated by different conditions: if it
is for a know-how, it indicates that there is cognitive competence; or if it is for a
can-do, it accounts for a skill; when it is for a want-do, that means that one has
2
The terms are coined in the works by Serrano (2003), Alvarado (2007) and Rosales (2008).
201
the will to act; and when it is for a should-do, that indicates the existence of a
prescription. Finally, when it is the beliefs that mediate the doing, that means that
the subject assumed the determiners of his culture as well as his social group of
reference to guide his action. It is precisely these elements which integrate and
relate in the reconceptualization of the aforementioned competence and which
outlines the characterization of information user profles. Schematically, such a
reconceptualization is represented in Figure 1. An extension of the theoretical
aspects that sustain the previous approaches are found in Marciales, Gonzlez,
Castaeda-Pea and Barbosa (2008).
Figure 1: Concept of Informational Competence
As can be seen in Figure 1, informational competence is understood as
a construct in which the conditions and assumptions that include strengthening,
virtualizing, updating and achieving dimensions are interwoven. Each is briefy
explained as follows.
- Strengthening Modality corresponds to the worldviews that the active
subject has, which are manifested upon defending a position in the face of a
problem, a need or a topic that challenges it.
- Virtualizing Modality includes the desires and duties of the active subject;
that which moves him to carry out an action, that is, his motivations.
- Updating Modality corresponds to the knowledge that the active subject has
about what to do and how to carry out an action. It assumes knowledge of the
context of the task and recognition of the factors involved in its solution.
- Achieving Modality, in turn, is understood as the execution that the subject
carries out in making use of the information sources, which is expressed
in the way in which they are appropriated and how their elaboration is
communicated, based on these information sources.
Up to this point, a resulting question that is pertinent to solve is what
research has to say about informational competence and its development, taking
into account the challenges of the information society.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF RESEARCH WITH YOUNG
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Research with youths related to this feld of problems is based on their
defnition as digital natives, in which the focus is on the skills they rely on to
make use of information technologies and sources. The studies are concerned
mainly with carrying out descriptions of the type of technology to which students
have access, the frequency with which they use it, and the purposes of their use
(Cabra and Marciales, 2009). The most relevant studies in university contexts
are found in Australia and the United States. The results obtained make explicit
the insuffcient empirical evidence currently available to characterize the
youths as skillful users in the employment of various technologies. While they
have preferences for some and skillfully manage some of them, this condition
is insuffcient for identifying them as experts in handling these instruments.
Among the studies, it is worth noting those of Kvavik, Caruso and
Morgan (2004), Caruso and Kvavik (2006), for the size of the population of the
youths that participated in the investigation as well as for the critical view that
they provide in the results. In particular, the authors conclude that it is necessary
203
to carry out larger investigations given that many of the assertions that have
been made about youths as digital natives cannot be sustained. In many, the
heterogeneity of the skills and knowledge that youths have are often overlooked
even in the same generation, and the skills of those found not to be so involved
with new technologies are even less refected.
The data analysis contributed by the investigations indicates that it is
not possible to conclude that using technologies in the teaching and learning
processes has successful results nor that youths wish to incorporate them in their
daily lives as learning instruments, for the simple fact that they use them in their
daily lives (Rowlands, Williams and Huntington, 2008). It is also not clear that
emerging technologies and skills that youths have in their daily lives can be
translated to beneft learning processes based on technology (Kvavik, et al. 2004;
Rowlands et al. 2008).
Finally, the results indicate that the various digital skills of students entering
universities today characterizing them as digital natives is an overgeneralization
that hides the fact that while some have appropriated the technologies, this is
not a common experience for all students. This is corroborated by the studies
advanced by Synovate (2007), according to whom only 27% of the population
of youths investigated had suffcient ease with respect to the use of technologies.
This result is especially signifcant if one takes into account that Great Britain
is one of the three countries in which the greatest percentage of internet users is
concentrated, together with the United States and Sweden.
Meanwhile, if in Latin America there were suffcient studies in this
same sense, the characterization of digital natives would probably be limited
to an elite that would in no way be representative of the vast majority of Latin
American youths. Moreover, countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico
and Peru, have a percentage of internet users that is much lower than Great
Britain (International Union of Telecommunications, IUT, 2003).
According to the above, the concern expressed by Rowlands et al.
(2008), with respect to whether the impact of technologies on youths is being
overestimated is relevant, and their effect is being underestimated. Given the data
from Latin America, one would have to point out the lack of knowledge about
the different realities in Europe and in North America, which underlies the use of
the term digital natives, given that in these countries the use of technologies is a
privilege of the more fortunate segments of the population.
Regarding the investigation itself on informational competence, it
is relevant to show that this feld of research is still in the process of being
consolidated, given the low percentage of pertinent investigations as well as the
emphasis on the intervention processes derived from the standards established
by the Association of College and Research Library ACRL (2000).
Given the relevance of this line of work, some universities in the world
are assuming the responsibility for training their students in informational
competences. This interest is due not only to recognizing that in the information
society these competences are fundamental, but also that the governmental
organizations responsible for the accreditation processes of the university
programs are including these competences within the criteria that academic
programs of undergraduate education should fulfll (Grafstein, 2002).
Some of the few investigations that have been put forth in this line are
presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Investigations on informational competence
AUTHORS MAIN RESULTS
Rowlands. I, Nicholas, D., Williams,
and Huntington, P. (2008)
a. Informational competences have not improved with the increase
of access to technology.
b. Little time is used by children and youths to evaluate information
taking into account criteria of relevance, exactitude or authority.
c. Young people have a poor understanding of their needs for
information and fnd it diffcult to develop effective strategies to
search for information.
Merchant and Hepworth, (2002)
a. Children and youths carry out few attempts to check the veracity
of the information obtained.
a. Students that rely on more developed informational competences
have been exposed to basic skills at an early age.
Marciales, Gonzlez, Castaeda-
Pea, Barbosa and Barbosa (2008)
There are various profles that refer to informational competences in
university students.
Eagleton and Guinee (2002)
Students of secondary vocational education often make precipitated
choices about the information they fnd on the internet.
Biggs (2003)
The way in which students are approximated to learning depends on
their perception of the demands of the task and their previous success
with certain forms of approximation with information sources.
Eagleton, Guinee and Langlais (2003)
The search for information on the internet is a diffcult task, especially
for secondary education students.
As you can see in the table above, the results of the investigations indicate
that while one can expect that digital natives relied on necessary competences
to access, evaluate and use information, according to the data, it seemed that
they did not develop the skills in parallel for using technology. Still, the concern
of the universities in training incoming students in informational competences
accounts for how far from generalized they are and the importance of carrying
out actions deliberately in this sense.
One of the studies that points this out precisely is that of Castaeda-Pea et
al. (2010) whose investigation on profles of informational competence characterizes
205
competences on which incoming university students rely. The concept of a profle
is defned as habitual practices or preferred use of information sources, in which the
concept of practice not only refers to doing something, but to doing something in a
historical and cultural context which gives it meaning, which means that competence
is of a situated nature. The three profles are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: General characteristics of the profles (composed by the author)
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
o
r

p
r
o
f
l
e
Characterized by the lack of informal or academic experiences guiding the use of information
sources, the way in which students derive actions based on trial and error. They tend to maintain
those practices with successful academic results, where success is measured fundamentally by a
grade assigned by the professor.
This profle is characterized by the belief that the truth exists somewhere and that this place can be
the internet, because there you can fnd everything. Moreover, it is easy and quick. Taking into
account that the criterion guiding these practices is the search for the truth, one tends to collect a lot
of information and it becomes important to have information in quantity. The motivations emerge
fundamentally from should, that is, from that which is assumed to be expected by an authority
fgure, in terms of individual performance.
Regarding the practices of access, evaluation and use of information sources, Google and Wikipedia
are observed to be used as the main search tools, as well as the use of evident key words in the
assigned task to initiate the search. There is an evident absence of planning the search, and the
information located tends to be copied textually, based on the selected sources.
C
h
e
c
k
i
n
g

p
r
o
f
l
e
Characterized by the existence of informal or academic experiences guiding the practices of using
information sources, in a way that students in this sense are derived from the accompaniment
received. Such experiences tend to begin, especially, upon completing basic secondary education.
Knowledge and the means of arriving at the knowledge are understood and related to the point of
view in which it is sustained. For this reason, it is worth having different points of view on a problem
and present as a condition which information sources come from safe pages, validated by academic
or scientifc criteria (for example, scientifc journals, or websites from institutions specialized in the
topic of investigation, or including research results).
Google is a tool for building a map of the territory, which one will explore, and books are a useful
source when one has general knowledge on a topic. The motivations for accomplishing a task
are fundamentally guided by the possibility of learning something of value for accomplishing
educational goals.
The searches for information sources are carried out in pages with trustworthy data, with databases, a
library, fles derived from research. They fundamentally choose sources of information with different
points of view on the same topic, which are verifed by analyzing the relation between the texts found
on the internet and the texts available in the library, in any format. The use of Google fundamentally
follows time limitations.
R
e
f
e
c
t
i
v
e

p
r
o
f
l
e
Characterized by the existence of informal or academic experiences guiding the practices of using
information sources, such that learning from home is continued and strengthened by academic
experiences.
With respect to beliefs about knowledge and the means of arriving at knowledge, in this profle the
more pertinent information is that which comes from pages with academic recognition, and books
are considered sources of information that broaden understanding.
Using or not using internet to access information sources depends on the time limits of the task.
With respect to the motivation for carrying out academic tasks, while they take into account factors
related to academic demands, in terms of expected results as well as the contribution of education,
the contribution is projected to represent a task of this nature taking into account life projects, as well
as the richness that represents all new knowledge.
The search for information sources tends to be fundamentally based on formulating individual
questions and search planning based on these questions. The information sources of the academically
recognized pages are selected and validated with other recognized sources and from the individual
point of view. The analysis and valuing of information takes place due to the individual questions,
formulated at the beginning of the search.
As can be seen, in the collector profle, students tend to believe that the
truth exists in some external source of information, hence that the internet is used
to collect a lot of information. Due to informal or academic experiences of using
information sources being scarce, learning about the access, evaluation and use
of these are derived fundamentally by trial and error, tending to perpetuate in
time those actions with successful academic results, in which the criterion of
success is understood as a numeric qualifcation. According to the investigation
carried out, this profle is predominant in incoming university students compared
to the other profles.
The checker profle, in turn, is characterized by believing that knowledge
is relative, contextual due to the perspective from which it is approached. The
academic or scientifc criteria to evaluate the pages and information that is consulted
on the internet are especially relevant. In this profle, the motivation for using the
sources is sustained fundamentally in the possibility of learning something new that
contributes to education itself. In the refective profle, two characteristics stand
out: the tendency to formulate individual questions prior to carrying out searches
for information sources, as well as planning such searches (Barbosa Chacn et
al., 2010). The students are assumed to be active information builders, such that
their academic activity is sustained by their own interests and their capacity to
assume critical positions in the face of every source of information, independently
of its authority. What is important here, more than the academic task itself, is the
contribution that it represents for personal life projects. This profle is represented
in a lower proportion in incoming university students.
As can be seen, with the purpose of providing an answer to the challenges
of the information society, the development of the refective profle is confgured
as a horizon for a quality education that contributes to the development of
critical thinking for the qualifcation of communicative processes and for the
pertinent and ethical use of new technologies. If one takes into account that this
profle tends to be rare in incoming university students, and that its development
depends on the implementation of deliberate actions in this sense, higher
education institutions are called upon to take another step further in defning
education profles. They almost always refer to an ideal student with some of
highly developed competences, but do not account for the characteristics of the
real students that enter university classrooms or the possibilities they rely on to
answer academic demands. The question that is then formulated is how to make
it possible for quality higher education if they do not know the conditions in
which the youths come and thus do not anticipate mechanisms to strengthen their
development over the course of their professional training.
207
CHALLENGES OF THE UNIVERSITIES IN THE
INFORMATION SOCIETY
As can be observed over the course of this chapter, the information society
demands todays youths to develop competences according to the new challenges
that it presents. These new challenges are related especially to the displacement
and overload of information as well as the emergence of hypertext. Information
displacement is presented as a challenge to revaluing the concept of authorship of
sources. This is contrary to the irrelevance that this tends to have in a digitalized world
in which the publication year and author would seem to be easily substitutable by
the date in which a source is recovered and the web page in which it is available.
Hypertext, on the other hand, breaks with the ideas of hierarchy and centrality and
the demand to develop competences in lateral reading (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004) and
thus, to build relation maps between sources whose connections are built from the
reader perspective who is converted into an author upon navigating between the
links, in other words, who is confgured as a prosumer. In turn, information overload
increasingly demands the development of pertinent criteria to flter information
whose quality is not possible to determine easily.
The previous challenges did not tend to be problematic if the thesis about
their condition as digital natives is refected upon (Prensky, 2001). However,
given that the investigation has contributed evidence contrary to this thesis,
serious questions are generated about the real competences on which the youths
rely to face such challenges. We must not forget that according to some of the
studies, the characterization of the competence profles suggest that the profle
collector dominates the other profles in incoming university youths, in which it
is necessary to carry out intentional actions beginning with university education
to develop complex skills related to the access, evaluation and use of information.
Other studies aimed at investigating instrumental, investigative and
strategic skills that youths possess have also evidenced a high development of
the frst over the other two, which require systematically guided actions towards
their development and do not derive simply from the experiences of using
information sources in any of their formats (van Deursen and van Dijk, 2008).
Given the contributions that research has made to this feld of issues, universities
are questioned with respect to the education that they provide and the role that they
need to fulfll as educators of information users in order to help youths in this transition
from an industrial society with some particular demands in which they already have
experience, to an information society in which not being informationally competent has
implications not only of an academic nature but also especially of a social, economic
and political nature. Not being informationally competent presupposes running the
risk of becoming irrelevant for a society that generates new exclusions.
THE QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE FACE OF THE
NEW CHALLENGES
Latin American countries have been making efforts to overcome the
lag in terms of technology and connectivity, and have been pursuing the
association of various organisms in the use of technological tools. While
advances have been made with respect to connectivity and internet access in
education, some analysts manifest their concern in terms of the emphasis that
is made on providing and using computers, as well as the development of skills
for technical uses of these instruments. This emphasis ignores a thoughtful
analysis of existing needs in terms of the development of competences and
the role of culture in the appropriation of such technologies. Some refer in this
sense to new literacies, which the information society demands. The interest
that has emerged in this sense follows the concern over how this situation
affects the conditions of citizens exercising their legitimate right to participate
in and monitor public management in decisions that are their responsibility,
such as the investment that is carried out in social programs.
Taking into account the above, deep challenges to higher education
institutions are presented to account for a quality education and to contribute to
the equal and sustainable development of informational competences, based on
the principles of human development and social inclusion.
To answer such challenges, three important changes must be made:
1. Epistemological change: in the form of defning the digital divide, which
assumes to distance itself from those conceptions focused on purely
instrumental and technical aspects, to recognize the social and educational
dimensions of the digital divide and its relation to factors such as gender,
social class, race and age group.
2. Change in public policy: assuming the approaches made by the International
Association of Universities (2008) according to which the emphasis on
access without real opportunities for success during higher education,
are empty promises. The universities should promote investigations to
identify potential competences that youths need who access them in order
to infuence their development.
3. Change in the conception of quality in higher education: in which emphasis
is put on the social agenda to which the higher education institutions are
209
committed, which assumes among other things, to account for the way
in which the cultural capital of the new generations that arrive will be
strengthened, on their path through university classes.
CONCLUSIONS
The quest for informational competences is relevant to the challenges that
youths are required to face in the context of the information society. Research still
needs to go further in informational competence within the framework presented;
the approaches proposed here are only a pretext for continuing the dialogue.
A frst approach that becomes relevant to take up is that which
is understood as equal access to higher education. While universities are
increasingly searching for alternatives to make the incorporation of previously
underrepresented populations to the university possible, this becomes insuffcient
for the institutionality that intends to make access with equity possible. It is
necessary therefore to carry out actions aimed at eliminating academic and social
barriers that sooner or later will end with the departure of those from the system
who do not have the necessary competences to remain in the system.
Taking into account the fact that graduating students of secondary education
have a poor development of informational competence, it would be important to
consider the dialogue with other educational contexts (primary and secondary).
Thus, scenarios could be built which make the continuum between basic education
and higher education possible, to generate the necessary support according to the
moment and level of education, as well as differences in cultural capital.
Research must contribute greater input towards the formulation of public
policies on education, which are more informed about informational competence.
Additionally, the contexts investigated can be broadened to the sectors of goods
production and various service providers.
It would be equally pertinent to attend to the guidelines of the International
Association of Universities (2008), according to which it is required to put forth a
robust action that commits educational institutions of all levels to integrate efforts
to favor learning over the course of ones life based on investigating and monitoring
the conditions that youths have to answer the demands of their education.
These approaches promote the pursuit of synergies between the different
educational levels for their confguration as learning communities, from the
perspective of a new humanism that includes and broadens know yourself to
we learn to know each other to think together (p. 21).
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LA CALIDAD DE LA EDUCACIN SUPERIOR Y LA
COMPETNCIA INFORMACIONAL
INTRODUCCIN
L
a bsqueda de la insercin de Amrica Latina de manera competitiva en
un mundo globalizado devuelve la mirada sobre los sistemas educativos
y cmo stos pueden contribuir al crecimiento econmico y al desarrollo social
sostenible. Si bien el desarrollo econmico y las posibilidades de competitividad
de las naciones de cara al siglo XXI se encuentra es funcin de complejos factores
interrelacionados, es de desatacar uno en particular correspondiente a la calidad de
sus sistemas educativos expresada en el desarrollo de competencias fundamentales
en los ciudadanos para al aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida. Cada vez ms se
demanda como condicin para dar cuenta de la calidad de la educacin el desarrollo
de competencias consideradas fundamentales para ampliar las capacidades con
que cuentan los jvenes para incorporarse al mundo del trabajo.
Preocupaciones en este sentido son precisamente las que han llevado
a la Comisin Europea (2004) a convocar a los pases miembros a acoger las
orientaciones del Consejo de Barcelona de 2002 sobre las competencias clave
que en el contexto de la sociedad de la informacin han de ser desarrolladas
por las nuevas generaciones para la realizacin personal, la inclusin social, el
ejercicio de la ciudadana y el empleo.
Entre las competencias clave que en la sociedad de la informacin se
identifcan, se encuentran las competencias digitales las cuales abarcan un
conjunto de sub-competencias relacionadas con manejo de la informacin, el
pensamiento crtico, el uso de nuevas tecnologas, y el desarrollo de destrezas
comunicativas (Comisin Europea, 2004). Las competencias digitales engloban
por tanto competencias entre las cuales se encuentra la denominada competencia
informacional, relacionada con habilidades, motivaciones y aptitudes para
acceder, evaluar y hacer uso de la informacin.
En este contexto, la competencia informacional se confgura como eje
articulador de aquellas relacionadas con el pensamiento crtico, el uso de tecnologas y
la comunicacin en cuanto el uso de las tecnologas como instrumentos para acceder,
evaluar y hacer uso de la informacin es la actualizacin del razonar crticamente,
el cual se expresa en las producciones del sujeto epistmico que son comunicadas.
En este captulo se hace una mirada sobre la competencia informacional
considerada como categora de anlisis bsica dentro de los criterios de calidad
de la educacin superior, de la cual deben dar cuenta las universidades como
expresin de su compromiso social con la formacin de capital humano para
aportar al desarrollo social.
LA SITUACIN
Preguntas en torno a las oportunidades reales que en el mundo de hoy
tienen las personas para acceder a la informacin que circula por la red han
conducido a que desde diferentes sectores sociales se advierta con preocupacin
sobre la distancia que se va abriendo entre quienes se encuentran conectados a la
red y aquellos cada vez ms marginados de ella; esta distancia se ha denominado
brecha digital.
Si bien la expresin brecha digital se vincula con frecuencia a la carencia
de instrumentos tecnolgicos para el acceso y uso efectivo de las tecnologas de la
informacin y la comunicacin (TIC), hace igualmente referencia a la capacidad
de un pas y por lo tanto de su poblacin, para producir informacin y enriquecer
su acervo de conocimiento e incorporarlo a la actividad econmica y social para
potenciar procesos de desarrollo; adems, se vincula con otras brechas como
aquellas de orden econmico, social, tnico, lingstico y de infraestructura, que
aquejan especialmente a los pases de la periferia. Dos factores vinculados entre
s explican en parte la emergencia de esta brecha: el bajo poder adquisitivo de la
poblacin y los bajos niveles de educacin de la poblacin y la pobre calidad de
la misma, con el consecuente pobre desarrollo de competencias fundamentales
para acceder y permanecer en el sistema educativo formal y para incorporarse al
mundo del trabajo.
Tales brechas limitan el desarrollo tecnolgico y econmico de un pas
as como las oportunidades de la poblacin para acceder a las tecnologas de la
informacin y la comunicacin y para participar de manera activa y propositiva
en la sociedad de la informacin. Las limitaciones de acceso a la red tienen
por tanto impactos de diferentes rdenes, no solamente de tipo econmico, sino
tambin y especialmente en el logro de metas de orden social. Si bien no es
posible establecer una relacin causa efecto entre la incorporacin de las TIC y
el crecimiento econmico, la ausencia de competencias para su uso efectivo as
como la ausencia de inversin en educacin para su desarrollo, generan rezagos
en este rengln dado que afecta la cualifcacin del capital humano (Ferro
Bayona, et al. 1998).
215
Lo anterior es especialmente crtico para Amrica Latina dado que, no
responder a las nuevas demandas que plantea hoy la sociedad de la informacin
puede constituirse en un factor que agudice la exclusin social, no solamente
de aquellos colectivos clasifcados como pobres en razn de sus ingresos
econmicos, sino tambin y especialmente, de aquellos que no cuentan con
las condiciones y competencias necesarias para afrontar los nuevos desafos.
Esto ltimo obedece en parte a la carencia de marcos cognitivos y conceptuales
sufcientes para la apropiacin de tales tecnologas, y en parte a un dfcit en el
capital cultural incorporado para hacer un uso efectivo de la informacin en una
sociedad que est basada fundamentalmente en sta (Ferro Bayona, Amar Amar,
y Abello Llanos, 1998).
Por otra parte, dado que la informacin hoy ms que nunca, constituye
en un bien primario fundamental para participar en la sociedad de la informacin
(van Dijk, 2005) y en procesos de toma de decisiones a diferentes niveles, las
limitaciones que afectan a la poblacin pueden conducir a que los nuevos derechos
que emergen en la sociedad de la informacin relacionados con la participacin
en el conocimiento, el acceso a la informacin y el fujo equilibrado de sta, se
vean afectados, desdibujndose de esta manera el carcter de la informacin
como bien pblico (Martn Barbero, 2005).
Esta situacin puede conducir a la polarizacin de dos fuerzas irreconciliables:
por un lado, aquella que correspondera a la lite de quienes controlan las tecnologas
y las fuerzas de produccin, y por otro lado un grupo permanentemente desvinculado
del mundo del trabajo con pocas perspectivas de incorporacin a este y cada vez
ms irrelevante desde el punto de vista de lgicas dominantes, centradas en la
productividad y el consumo (Ferro Bayona, et al., 1998).
Si bien a nivel global se han llevado a cabo esfuerzos para superar
la brecha digital, el hecho de haberla defnido en trminos infraestructura
tecnolgica y carencia de instrumentos para el acceso a la red, ha retrasado la
puesta en marcha de acciones contundentes que interpelen las condiciones de
calidad de la educacin. El Banco Mundial es precisamente uno de los organismos
internacionales desde los cuales se ha defnido la brecha desde una perspectiva
instrumental centrada en los recursos tecnolgicos, dejando de lado preguntas
fundamentales. Para el Banco, el rezago econmico de Amrica Latina se
explica a partir de dos debilidades, una de las cuales es la brecha en las destrezas
instrumentales de la poblacin para el uso de herramientas tecnolgicas (Gill,
Guasch, Perry, y Schady, 2005). Tales defniciones y posturas frente al problema
han conducido a que los esfuerzos se orienten hacia la adquisicin de tecnologas
y al aprendizaje tcnico-instrumental para el manejo de las mismas, resultando
escasas las acciones orientadas hacia el desarrollo de competencias para el uso
de manera refexiva y crtica de la informacin, para ampliar las capacidades de
las personas para hacerse participantes activos en la sociedad de la informacin.
La ausencia de una dimensin educativa en la defnicin de la brecha
digital ha incidido tambin en la naturaleza de la investigacin que se ha
adelantado y cmo desde all se ha dado cuenta de las competencias con que
cuentan los jvenes para responder a las nuevas demandas, en particular aquellas
de tipo informacional. Existe por tanto una deuda investigativa en este sentido,
que reconozca la complejidad del problema y su carcter sistmico, y que aporte
criterios para disear procesos de intervencin con relevancia social.
QUE ES LA COMPETENCIA INFORMACIONAL
Defnir la competencia informacional es una tarea compleja por la
naturaleza polismica del concepto, la multiplicidad de variables que se vinculan
a su defnicin y la escasez de respaldo conceptual dada a tales vinculaciones en
la literatura existente. Adicionalmente, los desarrollos epistemolgicos y tericos
que han ejercido infuencia sobre las formas de entender a los usuarios de la
informacin y la naturaleza de las fuentes de informacin han estado marcados
por los contextos histricos y culturales que han rodeado al texto impreso, y
ahora al texto digital.
La revisin de los aportes tericos e investigativos en el estudio de
la competencia informacional evidencia el relieve puesto en la concepcin
tradicional de la American College and Research Library (ACRL, 2000) y de la
American Library Association (ALA, 1989). Desde esta perspectiva, ser un sujeto
competente informacionalmente signifca ser capaz de reconocer cundo se necesita
informacin y tener la habilidad para localizarla, evaluarla y usarla efectivamente.
En estos planteamientos se reconoce que ser competente informacionalmente
signifca aprender a aprender, es decir, saber cmo est organizada la informacin,
cmo encontrarla y cmo usar dicha informacin de manera que otros puedan
aprender de ello. Se desatacan dos aspectos en esta defnicin: en primer lugar,
el nfasis que se hace en la adquisicin, desarrollo y demostracin de habilidades
individuales. En segundo lugar, la identifcacin que se hace de las prcticas de
bsqueda, evaluacin y uso de la informacin con la competencia informacional.
Estos dos aspectos se confguran como ejes de la divergencia entre las defniciones
tradicionales de la competencia y la reconceptualizacin que se ha hecho de la
misma desde una aproximacin ms cercana a perspectivas de orden socio cultural
(Marciales, Gonzlez, Castaeda-Pea, y Barbosa, 2008).
217
La reconceptualizacin toma en cuenta la evolucin histrica que en la
ciencia de la informacin ha tenido el concepto de competencia informacional,
el cual ha trasegado por tres momentos claramente diferenciados. En el
primero predomin una perspectiva objetivista y su evaluacin se centr en los
conocimientos medidos a travs de pruebas objetivas (Montiel-Overall, 2007).
En un segundo momento se concedi valor al procesamiento de informacin, en
tanto que en el tercer momento se hizo un desplazamiento importante como fruto
de la infuencia de Vygotsky en la psicologa, la pedagoga y en la ciencia de la
informacin a mediados de los noventa, lo que incide para que se comiencen a
incorporar preguntas en relacin con factores de orden cultural y social.
La reconceptualizacin de la competencia informacional que aqu se
propone toma en cuenta precisamente los aportes de la perspectiva vygotskiana la
cual introduce variables vinculadas al desarrollo de competencias en informacin
no contempladas en las defniciones previas, ni an en varias de las existentes
hoy en da, esto es: (a) la cultura, como inseparable de la forma como los sujetos
piensan y aprenden; (b) la actividad humana, como situada en un contexto de
interaccin social y cultural; (c) la interaccin con otros, como mediadora de la
construccin de conocimiento, y (d) las diferencias culturales y contextuales,
para la confguracin de ideas y prcticas cotidianas.
Tres principios se derivan de esta perspectiva, de cara a la
reconceptualizacin de la competencia informacional. En primer lugar, la
concepcin de la cultura como mediadora de la forma como el sujeto signifca
a partir de la informacin, pues la cultura es inseparable del pensar y del actuar.
En segundo lugar, la comprensin de la competencia informacional como un
concepto que evoluciona en el tiempo a travs de infuencias socioculturales.
Y, en tercer lugar, la concepcin del desarrollo de la competencia como fexible
y delineado por experiencias y actividades culturales (Montiel-Overall, 2007).
Desde una perspectiva sociocultural de la competencia como la que aqu
se propone, se reconoce la autoridad de los individuos y de las comunidades
en el crear, usar y evaluar informacin, y no solamente la autoridad de las
fuentes validadas por comunidades cientfcas. As mismo, se entiende que toda
informacin tiene sesgos inherentes; por lo tanto, ser una persona competente
informacionalmente supone contar con la capacidad para identifcar tales sesgos.
La informacin vista desde estos planteamientos, no existe como una realidad
objetiva (Owusu Ansach, 2003); es construida por los individuos dentro de un contexto
social y cultural y es continuamente transforma dicha realidad (Freire y Macedo,
1995), a la vez que va siendo transformada por sta. Es por tanto un instrumento para
construir conocimiento, infuido por factores culturales relacionados, entre otros, por
la forma en que la informacin es creada en las familias y las comunidades, cmo se
transmite (tradiciones orales, escritas, visuales), de quin procede (el gobierno, los
abuelos, otros) y el contexto donde se usa.
La competencia vista como prctica con dimensin social y cultural,
apunta a la convergencia entre el desarrollo de la competencia informacional y
la formacin de un sujeto social, capaz de asumir, con conciencia tanto crtica
como tica, la diversidad y complejidad de factores culturales que median el
acceso a la informacin.
Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, un elemento que se incorpora a
la defnicin de la competencia y que resulta de vital relevancia, es el
correspondiente a la dimensin histrica de la competencia, dado que el
usuario de la informacin es un sujeto dinmico y cambiante. Desde esta
perspectiva, la historia del sujeto se constituye en fuente de recuerdo y de
olvido, y establece continuidades y discontinuidades, en este caso asociadas
a la forma de acceder, hacer uso y apropiarse de la informacin. Las
interacciones sociales son el medio para la construccin de signifcados que
son apropiados por quienes integran las comunidades, los cuales se expresan
en las formas habituales de acceder y usar la informacin en contextos
especfcos, lo que desempea un papel fundamental en el desarrollo tanto de
competencias como de capital social.
A la luz de los anteriores planteamientos, se propone una defnicin de
la competencia informacional la cual supone un giro en la defnicin que ha
marcado la historia de conceptualizacin de la misma, como se ha sealado
previamente; se entiende entonces como:
El entramado de relaciones tejidas entre las adhesiones
y creencias, las motivaciones y las aptitudes del sujeto
epistmico, construidas a lo largo de su historia en
contextos situados de aprendizaje, formales y no
formales. Tal entramado de relaciones acta como
matriz de referencia de las formas de apropiacin de
la informacin, que tienen lugar a travs del acceder,
evaluar, y hacer uso de esta, y que expresan los
contextos culturales en los cuales fueron construidas.
(Marciales et al, 2008: 651).
As defnida, la competencia informacional se asume como un
constructo en el cual se entretejen las condiciones y presupuestos que articulan
las cuatro modalidades que la constituyen, potencializante, virtualizante,
219
actualizante y realizante
1
Estas dimensiones son derivadas de los aportes
de Greimas (1989) as como de Serrano, (2003), y Alvarado (2007). Para
Greimas la competencia se confgura como el ser del hacer (p. 83), es
decir, una especie de estado potencial en donde el acto no es otra cosa, como
lo dice l mismo, que una estructura hipotctica que rene la competencia
y la ejecucin (ibid). Se establece de esta manera una relacin de jerarqua
entre la competencia y la ejecucin, donde la primera es concebida de orden
superior, y remite a la existencia de una instancia de carcter presupuesto que
produce el hacer.
Los aportes de Alvarado (2007) y Greimas (1989), permiten identifcar los
niveles o modos de existencia previos del hacer-ser, los cuales se exponen en la Tabla 1.
Tabla 1 Dimensiones de la competencia segn Alvarado (2007, pp. 5)
MODOS
DE
EXISTENCIA
RELACION
LOGICA
MODO
POTENCIALIZADO
MODO
VIRTUALIZADO
MODO
ACTUALIZADO
MODO
REALIZADO
Creencias Motivaciones Aptitudes Ejecuciones
Sujeto/Objeto Creer Querer Saber
Ser
Hacer
Sujeto/Sujeto Adherir Deber Poder
El uso de fuentes de informacin es mediada por diferentes
condiciones: si es por un saber hacer, indica que se dispone de competencia
cognitiva; o si es por un poder hacer, se da cuenta de una capacidad; cuando
es por un querer hacer, signifca que se tiene voluntad para actuar; y cuando
es por un deber hacer se indica la existencia de una prescripcin. Finalmente,
cuando son las creencias las que median el hacer, signifca que el sujeto ha
asumido los determinantes, tanto de su cultura como de su grupo social de
referencia, para orientar su accin. Son precisamente estos elementos los
que se integran y articulan en la reconceptualizacin de la competencia ya
expuesta y que enmarca la caracterizacin de los perfles de usuarios de la
informacin. De manera esquemtica se representa tal reconceptualizacin
en la Figura 1. Una ampliacin de los aspectos tericos que sustentan los
planteamientos anteriores se encuentra en Marciales, Gonzlez, Castaeda-
Pea y Barbosa (2008).
1
Los trminos se acuan en los trabajos de Serrano (2003), Alvarado (2007) y Rosales (2008).
Figura 1: Concepto de Competencia Informacional
Como se aprecia en la Figura 1, la competencia informacional es entendida
como constructo en el cual se entretejen las condiciones y presupuestos que
incluyen las dimensiones potencializante, virtualizante, actualizante y realizante.
Se explica brevemente cada una a continuacin.
Modalidad Potencializante corresponde a las visiones de mundo que
posee el sujeto actante, las cuales se manifestan al defender una posicin frente
a un problema, una necesidad o un tema que lo reta.
Modalidad Virtualizante comprende los deseos y deberes del sujeto
actante; aquello que lo mueve a realizar la accin, esto es, sus motivaciones.
221
Modalidad Actualizante corresponde al conocimiento que el sujeto
actante tiene sobre qu hacer y cmo realizar una accin. Supone conocimiento
del contexto de la tarea y reconocimiento de los factores involucrados en la
solucin de la misma.
Modalidad Realizante, por su parte, es entendida como la ejecucin
que lleva a cabo el sujeto al hacer uso de las fuentes de informacin, la cual se
expresa en la forma como se apropia de stas y como comunica la elaboracin
que hace, a partir de dichas fuentes de informacin.
Llegados a este punto, una pregunta que resulta pertinente resolver es
qu ha dicho la investigacin sobre la competencia informacional y su desarrollo
teniendo en cuenta los desafos de la sociedad de la informacin.
EL APORTE DE LA INVESTIGACIN CON
JVENES UNIVERSITARIOS
La investigacin con jvenes relacionada con este campo de
problemas ha partido de su defnicin como nativos digitales, con lo cual
se focaliza desde all la mirada sobre las habilidades con que cuentan para
hacer uso de las tecnologas y de las fuentes de informacin. Los estudios
se han preocupado principalmente en llevar a cabo descripciones sobre el
tipo de tecnologa a la cual acceden los estudiantes, la frecuencia con la
cual la usan, y los propsitos de dicho uso (Cabra y Marciales, 2009); los
estudios ms relevantes en contextos universitarios se encuentran en Australia
y Estados Unidos. Los resultados obtenidos hacen explcita la insufciente
evidencia emprica con la cual se cuenta en la actualidad para caracterizar a los
jvenes como usuarios hbiles en el empleo de diversas tecnologas. Si bien
tienen preferencias por algunas y manejan hbilmente algunas de stas, esta
condicin resulta insufciente para identifcarlos como expertos en el manejo de
tales instrumentos.
Entre los estudios cabe destacar los de Kvavik, Caruso, & Morgan (2004),
Caruso y Kvavik (2006), tanto por lo amplitud de la poblacin de jvenes que
particip en la investigacin, como por la mirada crtica que hacen de los resultados.
En particular concluyen los autores que es necesario llevar a cabo mayores
investigaciones dado que muchas de las afrmaciones que se han hecho sobre los
jvenes como nativos digitales tienen poca sustentacin. En muchas se pasan por
alto la heterogeneidad de las habilidades y conocimientos que tienen los jvenes an
de la misma generacin, y menos an se refejan las habilidades de aquellos que no
se encuentran tan involucrados con las nuevas tecnologas.
El anlisis de los datos aportados por las investigaciones indica que no
es posible concluir que el uso de las tecnologas en procesos de enseanza y de
aprendizaje resulte exitoso as como tampoco que los jvenes deseen incorporarlas
en su vida cotidiana como instrumentos para el aprendizaje, por el simple hecho de
que las utilizan en su vida cotidiana (Rowlands, Williams, & Huntington, 2008).
Tampoco es claro que las tecnologas emergentes y las habilidades que los jvenes
despliegan en su vida diaria, puedan ser trasladadas para benefciar procesos de
aprendizaje basados en tecnologa (Kvavik, et al., 2004; Rowlands et. al, 2008).
Finalmente, los resultados indican que son tan diversas las habilidades
digitales de los estudiantes que ingresan hoy a las universidades que caracterizarlos
como nativos digitales es una sobregeneralizacin que oculta el hecho de que si
bien algunos se han apropiado de las tecnologas, esto no se constituye en una
experiencia comn a todos los estudiantes. Lo anterior es corroborado por los
estudios adelantados por SYNOVATE (2007), de acuerdo con los cuales solamente
un 27% de la poblacin de jvenes investigada contaba con la facilidad sufciente
para el uso de tecnologas. Esto resulta especialmente signifcativo si se tiene en
cuenta que Gran Bretaa es uno de los tres pases en los cuales se ha concentrado
el mayor porcentaje de usuarios de Internet, junto con Estados Unidos y Suecia.
Ahora bien, si en Amrica Latina existieran estudios sufcientes en este
mismo sentido, probablemente la caracterizacin de nativos digitales se limitara
a una lite que en modo alguno sera representativa de la gran mayora de jvenes
latinoamericanos. Adems, pases como Colombia, Venezuela, Mxico y Per,
tienen un porcentaje de usuarios de Internet que est muy por debajo de Gran
Bretaa (Unin Internacional de Telecomunicaciones, UIT, 2003).
De acuerdo con lo anterior, cobra relevancia la preocupacin expresada
por Rowlands et. al (2008), respecto a que se est sobreestimando el impacto de
las tecnologas en los jvenes, y se est subestimando su efecto. Dados los datos
de Amrica Latina, habra que sealar el desconocimiento de realidades diferentes
a las europeas y norteamericanas que subyace al empleo de la denominacin
nativos digitales, dado que en estos pases el uso de tecnologas es privilegio de
las capas ms favorecidas de la poblacin.
Respecto a la investigacin propiamente dicha sobre la competencia
informacional, es pertiente evidenciar que como campo de indagacin
se encuentra an en proceso de consolidacin dado el bajo porcentaje de
investigaciones pertinentes as como el nfasis en procesos de intervencin
derivados de los estndares establecidos por la Association of College and
Research Library ACRL (2000).
223
Dada la relevancia que reviste esta lnea de trabajo, algunas universidades
del mundo estn asumiendo la responsabilidad de formar a sus estudiantes en
competencias informacionales, inters que obedece no solamente al reconocimiento
de que en la sociedad de la informacin estas competencias resultan fundamentales,
sino tambin a que los organismos gubernamentales encargados de los procesos
de acreditacin de programas universitarios estn incluyendo estas competencias
dentro de los criterios que deben cumplir los programas acadmicos de formacin
de pregrado (Grafstein, 2002).
Algunas de las pocas investigaciones que se han adelantado en esta lnea
se presentan en la Tabla 2.
Tabla 2: Investigaciones sobre la competencia informacional
AUTORES PRINCIPALES RESULTADOS
Rowlands. I, Nicholas, D., Williams,
& Huntington, P. (2008)
d. Las competencias informacionales no han mejorado con la
ampliacin del acceso a la tecnologa
e. Poco tiempo es empleado por nios y jvenes para evaluar
informacin teniendo en cuenta criterios de relevancia, exactitud
o autoridad
f. La gente joven tiene una pobre comprensin de sus
necesidades de informacin y encuentran difcil desarrollar
estrategias efectivas de bsqueda de informacin.
Merchant & Hepworth, (2002)
b. Los nios y jvenes llevan a cabo pocos intentos para verifcar la
veracidad de la informacin obtenida.
b. Los estudiantes que cuentan con competencias informacionales
ms desarrolladas han sido expuestos a habilidades bsicas a
temprana edad.
Marciales, Gonzlez, Castaeda-
Pea, Barbosa y Barbosa (2008)
Existen perfles diversos en lo que se refere a competencias
informacionales en jvenes universitarios.
Eagleton & Guinee (2002)
Los estudiantes de media vocacional con frecuencia hacen elecciones
precipitadas sobre la informacin que encuentran en Internet.
Biggs (2003)
La forma como los aprendices se aproximan al aprendizaje depende
de su percepcin de las demandas de la tarea y su xito previo con
ciertas formas de aproximacin a las fuentes de informacin.
Eagleton, Guinee & Langlais (2003)
La bsqueda de informacin en Internet es una tarea difcil,
especialmente para estudiantes de educacin media.
Como se puede apreciar en la anterior tabla, los resultados de las
investigaciones indican que si bien podra esperarse que los nativos digitales
contaran con las competencias necesarias para acceder, evaluar y usar informacin,
segn los datos parecera que estas no se desarrollan paralelamente a las
habilidades para usar tecnologa. Ms an, la preocupacin de las universidades
por formar a los estudiantes que ingresan en competencias informacionales da
cuenta de lo poco generalizadas que se encuentran y la importancia de llevar a
cabo acciones en este sentido de manera intencionada.
Uno de los estudios que apunta precisamente en este sentido es el de de
Castaeda-Pea et al. (2010) cuya investigacin sobre los perfles de la competencia
informacional caracteriza las competencias con que cuentan los jvenes al ingreso
a la universidad. El concepto de perfl se defne como las prcticas habituales o
preferidas de uso de las fuentes de informacin, en donde el concepto de prctica
no solamente se refere a hacer algo, sino a hacer algo en un contexto histrico y
cultural que le da sentido, lo cual signifca que la competencia tiene un carcter
situado. Los tres perfles se presentan en la Tabla 3.
Tabla 3: Caractersticas generales de los perfles (Construccin propia)
P
e
r
f
l

r
e
c
o
l
e
c
t
o
r
Se caracteriza por la carencia de experiencias familiares o escolares orientadoras de las prcticas de
uso de las fuentes de informacin, de manera que los aprendizajes se derivan de acciones centradas en
el ensayo y el error. Tienden a mantenerse aquellas prcticas con resultados acadmicos exitosos,
donde el xito es medido fundamentalmente por la nota asignada por el docente.
Este perfl se caracteriza por la creencia de que la verdad existe en algn lugar y que este lugar
puede ser internet, porque all se encuentra todo; adems, es fcil y rpido. Teniendo en cuenta
que el criterio que orienta las prcticas es la bsqueda de la verdad, se tiende a recolectar mucha
informacin y se torna importante poseer informacin en cantidad. Las motivaciones emergen
fundamentalmente del deber, es decir, de lo que se supone que es esperado por una fgura de
autoridad, en trminos del desempeo individual.
En cuanto a las prcticas de acceso, evaluacin y uso de las fuentes de informacin, se observa que
Google y Wikipedia son empleadas como herramientas principales de la bsqueda, as como el
uso de palabras clave evidentes en la tarea asignada, para iniciar la bsqueda. Existe una ausencia
evidente de planifcacin de la bsqueda, y la informacin localizada tiende a copiarse textualmente,
a partir de las fuentes seleccionadas.
P
e
r
f
l

v
e
r
i
f
c
a
d
o
r
Se caracteriza por la existencia de experiencias familiares o escolares orientadoras de las prcticas de uso de
las fuentes de informacin, de manera que los aprendizajes en este sentido se derivan del acompaamiento
recibido. Tales experiencias tienden a iniciar, en especial, al terminar la bsica secundaria.
El conocimiento y la forma de llegar a conocer se entienden como relativos y relacionados con el
punto de vista en el cual se sustenta. Por tal razn, se valora tener diferentes puntos de vista sobre un
problema y se plantea como condicin el que las fuentes de informacin provengan de pginas seguras,
validadas por criterios acadmicos o cientfcos (por ejemplo, revistas cientfcas, o pginas de internet
de instituciones especializadas en el tema de investigacin, o incluso resultados de investigacin).
Google es una herramienta para construir un mapa del territorio que se va a explorar y los libros
son una fuente til cuando se tiene un conocimiento general del tema. Las motivaciones hacia la
realizacin de una tarea estn fundamentalmente orientadas por la posibilidad de aprender algo de
valor para el logro de metas de formacin.
Las bsquedas de fuentes de informacin se realizan en pginas con datos confables, como bases
de datos, biblioteca, archivos derivados de investigaciones. Se eligen fundamentalmente fuentes de
informacin con puntos de vista diferentes sobre el mismo tema, las cuales se verifcan a travs del
anlisis de la relacin entre los textos encontrados en Internet y los textos disponibles en la biblioteca,
en cualquier formato. El uso de Google obedece fundamentalmente a limitaciones de tiempo.
P
e
r
f
l

r
e
f
e
x
i
v
o
Se caracteriza por la existencia de experiencias familiares o escolares orientadoras de las prcticas
de uso de las fuentes de informacin, de manera que los aprendizajes del hogar son continuados y
fortalecidos por las experiencias acadmicas.
En lo que respecta a las creencias sobre el conocimiento y la forma de llegar a conocer, en este perfl se
considera que la informacin ms pertinente es aquella que proviene de pginas con reconocimiento
acadmico, y los libros son considerados fuentes de informacin que amplan la comprensin.
El uso o no de internet para acceder a fuentes de informacin depende de los lmites de tiempo de la
tarea. En relacin con la motivacin para la realizacin de tareas acadmicas, si bien se toman en cuenta
factores relacionados con las demandas acadmicas, tanto en trminos de resultados esperados como de
aporte a la formacin, se proyecta el aporte que puede representar una tarea de esta naturaleza teniendo
en cuenta el propio proyecto de vida, as como la riqueza que representa todo conocimiento nuevo.
La bsqueda de fuentes de informacin tiende a iniciarse fundamentalmente a partir de la
formulacin de preguntas propias y de la planifcacin de la bsqueda en funcin de estas. Las
fuentes de informacin de pginas reconocidas acadmicamente son seleccionadas y se validan con
otras fuentes reconocidas y con el propio punto de vista. El anlisis y la valoracin de la informacin
se dan en funcin de las preguntas propias, formuladas al comienzo de la bsqueda.
225
Como se puede apreciar, en el perfl recolector los estudiantes tienden
a creer que la verdad existe en alguna fuente de informacin externa, de all
que Internet sea empleado para recolectar mucha informacin. En razn a que
las experiencias familiares o escolares de uso de fuentes de informacin son
escasas, los aprendizajes sobre el acceso, la evaluacin y el uso de las mismas
se derivan fundamentalmente del ensayo y el error, tendiendo a perpetuarse en
el tiempo aquellas acciones con resultados acadmicos exitosos, en donde
criterio de xito es entendido como la califcacin numrica. De acuerdo con la
investigacin realizada, este perfl resulta predominante en los estudiantes que
ingresan a la universidad comparativamente con los otros dos perfles.
El perfl verifcador por su parte, se caracteriza por creer que el
conocimiento es relativo, contextual en funcin de la perspectiva desde la cual
se aborde. Cobran especial relevancia los criterios acadmicos o cientfcos para
valorar las pginas y la informacin que se consulta en internet. En este perfl,
la motivacin hacia el uso de las fuentes est sustentada fundamentalmente
en la posibilidad de aprender algo nuevo que aporte a la propia formacin. En
el perfl refexivo se destacan dos caractersticas: la tendencia a formularse
preguntas propias previamente a la realizacin de bsquedas de fuentes de
informacin, as como la planifcacin de tales bsquedas (Barbosa Chacn
et al., 2010). Los estudiantes se asumen como constructores activos de
informacin, de manera que su actividad acadmica se sustenta en sus propios
intereses y en su capacidad para asumir posiciones crticas frente a toda fuente
de informacin, con independencia de la autoridad de la misma. Lo importante
aqu, ms que la tarea acadmica por s misma, es el aporte que representa para
el proyecto de vida personal. Este perfl se presenta en menor proporcin en los
estudiantes que ingresan a la universidad.
Como puede apreciarse, de cara dar respuesta a los desafos de la sociedad
de la informacin el desarrollo de un perfl refexivo se confgura como horizonte
para una formacin de calidad que aporte al desarrollo de un pensamiento crtico
para la cualifcacin de procesos comunicativos y para el uso pertinente y tico
de las nuevas tecnologas. Si se tiene en cuenta que este perfl tiende a ser escaso
en los estudiantes que llegan a las universidades, y que su desarrollo depende de
la implementacin de acciones intencionadas en este sentido, las instituciones
de educacin superior estn llamadas a ir un paso ms all en la defnicin de
los perfles de formacin. Estos casi siempre remiten a un estudiante ideal con
unas competencias con alto desarrollo, pero no dan cuenta de las caractersticas
de los estudiantes reales que ingresan a las aulas de clase universitarias ni de sus
posibilidades con que stos cuentan para responder a las demandas acadmicas.
La pregunta que se formula entonces es cmo hacer posible una educacin
superior de calidad si no se conocen las condiciones en que ingresan los jvenes
y por tanto no se anticipan mecanismos para potenciar su desarrollo a lo largo de
la formacin profesional.
RETOS DE LAS UNIVERSIDADES EN LA SOCIEDAD DE
LA INFORMACIN
Como se ha podido observar a lo largo de este captulo, la sociedad de la
informacin demanda a los jvenes de hoy el desarrollo de competencias acordes
con los nuevos retos que esta les plantea. Estos nuevos desafos de encuentran
relacionados especialmente con el desarraigo y la sobrecarga de informacin
as como con la emergencia del hipertexto. El desarraigo de la informacin
plantea como reto la revalorizacin del concepto de autora de las fuentes,
movimiento que se contrapone a la irrelevancia que sta tiende a tener en un
mundo digitalizado en el cual el ao de publicacin y el autor pareceran ser
fcilmente sustituibles por la fecha en la cual se recupera una fuente y la pgina
web en la cual se encuentra a disposicin. El hipertexto por su parte, rompe
con ideas de jerarqua y centralidad y demanda el desarrollo de competencias
para leer lateralmente (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004) y por tanto, para construir mapas
de relaciones entre fuentes cuyos nexos son construidos desde la perspectiva
de un lector que se convierte en autor al navegar entre vnculos, es decir, que se
confgura como prosumidor. Por su parte, la sobrecarga de informacin demanda
cada vez ms el desarrollo de criterios pertinentes para fltrar informacin cuya
calidad no es posible determinar con facilidad.
Loa anteriores retos no tendran que ser problemticos si se hace eco de
la tesis sobre su condicin como nativos digitales (Prensky, 2001), pero dado
que la investigacin ha aportado evidencias contrarias a dicha tesis, se generan
serios interrogantes sobre las competencias reales con que cuentan los jvenes
para afrontar tales retos. No hay que olvidar que de acuerdo con algunos de los
estudios, la caracterizacin de los perfles de la competencia sugiere que el perfl
recolector domina sobre los otros dos perfles en los jvenes que ingresan a la
universidad, con lo cual se hace necesario llevar a cabo acciones intencionadas
desde la formacin universitaria para el desarrollo de habilidades complejas
relacionadas con el acceso, evaluacin y uso de informacin.
Otros estudios dirigidos a indagar sobre las habilidades de orden
instrumental, investigativo y estratgico con que cuentan los jvenes han
evidenciado tambin un alto desarrollo de las primeras por encima de las
227
otras dos, las cuales requieren acciones sistemticamente orientadas hacia su
desarrollo y no se derivan simplemente de las experiencias de uso de fuentes
de informacin en cualquiera de sus formatos (van Deursen y van Djk, 2008).
Dados los aportes que desde la investigacin se estn haciendo a este
campo de problemas, las universidades se ven interpeladas en relacin con la
formacin que imparten y el papel que habrn de cumplir como formadores de
los usuarios de la informacin para poder ayudar a los jvenes en ese trnsito de
una sociedad industrial con unas demandas particulares en las cuales ya tienen
experiencia, hacia una sociedad de la informacin en la cual no ser competente
informacionalmente tiene implicaciones no solamente de tipo acadmico sino
tambin especialmente de tipo social, econmico y poltico. No ser competente
informacionalmente supone correr el riesgo de resultar irrelevante para una
sociedad que genera nuevas exclusiones.
LA CALIDAD DE LA EDUCACIN SUPERIOR FRENTE A LOS
NUEVOS DESAFOS
Los pases de Amrica latina han hecho esfuerzos para superar el rezago
en materia de tecnologa y de conectividad, y se ha buscado la vinculacin
de diversos organismos en el uso de herramientas tecnolgicas. Si bien se
han hecho avances en relacin con la conectividad y el acceso a Internet en
educacin, algunos analistas manifestan su preocupacin en trminos del
nfasis que se ha hecho en la dotacin y uso de computadores, as como
en el desarrollo de habilidades para usos tcnicos de estos instrumentos,
nfasis que desconoce anlisis juiciosos en torno a necesidades existentes
en trminos de desarrollo de competencias y el papel de la cultura en la
apropiacin de tales tecnologas; algunos hacen referencia en este sentido a
las nuevas alfabetizaciones que demanda la sociedad de la informacin. El
inters que ha surgido en este sentido obedece a la preocupacin por cmo
esta situacin afecta las condiciones de los ciudadanos de ejercer su derecho
legtimo a la participacin y para llevar a cabo una veedura de la gestin
pblica en decisiones que le competen, como la inversin que se lleva a cabo
en programas sociales.
Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, se plantean profundos desafos a las
instituciones de educacin superior para dar cuenta de una educacin de
calidad y para contribuir al desarrollo equitativo y sostenible de competencias
informacionales, basado en principios de desarrollo humano y de inclusin social.
Para dar respuesta a tales desafos, se han de agenciar tres cambios importantes:
1. Cambio epistemolgico: en la forma de defnir la brecha digital, lo cual
supone distanciarse de aquellas concepciones centradas en aspectos
puramente instrumentales y tcnicos, para reconocer las dimensiones social
y educativa de la brecha digital y su relacin con factores como el gnero, la
clase social, la raza, y el perfl etareo.
2. Cambio en las polticas pblicas: acogiendo los planteamientos hechos
por la International Association of Universities (2008) segn los cuales el
nfasis en el acceso sin oportunidades reales para el xito en el paso por la
educacin superior, son promesas vacas. Las universidades deben adelantar
investigaciones para identifcar las competencias potenciales con que cuentan
los jvenes que acceden a stas a fn de incidir en su desarrollo.
3. Cambio en la concepcin de calidad de la educacin superior: en la cual se
haga nfasis en la agenda social con la cual se comprometen las instituciones
de educacin superior, la cual suponga entre otras cosas, dar cuenta de la
forma como se potenciar el capital cultural de las nuevas generaciones que
ingresan, en su trnsito por las aulas universitarias.
CONCLUSIONES
La pregunta por las competencias informacionales cobra relevancia de
cara a los retos que los jvenes se ven precisados a afrontar en el contexto de
la sociedad de la informacin. An se debe ahondar en la investigacin sobre la
competencia informacional dentro del marco expuesto; los planteamientos aqu
propuestos son solamente un pretexto para continuar el dilogo.
Un primer planteamiento que resulta relevante retomar es lo que se entiende
por acceso equitativo a la educacin superior. Si bien las universidades cada vez
ms estn buscando alternativas para hacer posible la incorporacin a la universidad
de poblaciones sub-representadas anteriormente, esto resulta insufciente para una
institucionalidad que pretende hacer posible un acceso con equidad. Se requiere
por tanto llevar a cabo acciones dirigidas a la eliminacin de barreras acadmicas
y sociales que tarde o temprano terminarn con la salida del sistema de quienes no
cuenten con las competencias necesarias para permanecer en el sistema.
Teniendo en cuenta que los estudiantes egresan de la educacin media con
un pobre desarrollo de la competencia informacional, sera importante considerar
el dilogo con otros contextos educativos (primaria y secundaria), para construir
escenarios que hagan posible el continuo entre la educacin bsica y la educacin
superior, para generar los apoyos necesarios segn momento y niveles de formacin,
as como diferencias en capital cultural.
229
La investigacin debe aportar mayores insumos para la formulacin
de polticas pblicas educativas ms informadas en torno a la competencia
informacional. Adicionalmente, los contextos investigados se pueden ampliar a
los sectores de la produccin de bienes y de la prestacin de diversos servicios.
Sera igualmente pertinente atender a las orientaciones de la International
Association of Universities (2008), segn las cuales se requiere adelantar una
accin robusta que comprometa a las instituciones educativas de todos los
niveles a integrar esfuerzos para favorecer el aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la
vida basados en investigacin y en el monitoreo de las condiciones con que
cuentan los jvenes para responder a las demandas de su formacin.
Se invoca con estos planteamientos a buscar sinergias entre los diferentes
niveles educativos para su confguracin como comunidades de aprendizaje,
desde la perspectiva de un nuevo humanismo que incluye y ensancha el
concete a ti mismo en aprendamos a conocernos para pensar juntos (p. 21).
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PART III / PARTE III
____________________________________________________
NACIONAL PERSPECTIVES OF QUALITY IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
PERSPECTIVAS NACIONAIS DA QUALIDADE DA
EDUCAO SUPERIOR
____________________________________________________
RESEARCH INDICATORS IN EDUCATION
Elizabeth Macedo
INTRODUCTION
I
nitially, we fnd it necessary to make clear the strange position from
which we begin. Our familiarity with the topic is to the extent to which
we are participants in a graduate studies and research system in their multiple
areas, and not researchers of the topic. At this time, this participation involves the
position of representatives of the feld with the Coordination for the Improvement
of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and, therefore, the task of conducting
the evaluation process of the programs in the 2007-2009 triennial. If even the
possibility of representation is debatable since the act of representing involves
the incorporation of the represented to the political sphere with an identity
created by the representative questioning those that he represents (Laclau, 1993)
, its exercise in a presentation such as this one is even more unusual. In the
scope of our practical action, we can aim to act as representatives, certain of the
incompleteness of the act of representing, which is its simultaneous condition of
possibility and impossibility.
In a theoretical space such as this one, we are on shifting terrain. Due to its
academic nature, our exposition cannot forgo an analysis, which cannot be done
of this place of representatives. At the same time, it would be nave to believe that
we can do it from somewhere else, as long as we make this separation explicit.
Therefore, it is in this ambiguous space that we build this text in which we intend
to discuss aspects of graduate studies policies (in education), understanding it as
directly related to research policies. In areas such as education, practically all
research is developed in graduate programs or by people trained for research in
these programs.
Having said this, we assume our rejection of the idea that there is an ideal
policy model for graduate studies, a position which, in our perspective, enables
nostalgic views.
Authors such as Cameron and Gatewood (1994) have treated nostalgia
like a psychological adaptation to the frenetic changes that we experience in the
feld of culture, such that it can be felt even by those among us who have not
235
lived that which we remember. It is about something that is processed in the
individual as well as the collective scope, refecting what one wants to remember,
but also that which one aims to forget. If nostalgia can be refective (Boym,
2001), enabling one to think about history and the passage of time, it can also
assume a corrective nature, celebrating romantically a past lived only as present
fantasy. The danger of corrective nostalgia is it masks nostalgia itself, presented
as an attempt to recover something taken to be an absolute truth.
Our position is far from corrective nostalgia. We understand that
graduate study and research in the area of education, over the past thirty years,
has experienced an intense consolidation, which can be perceived, among other
factors, by the increase of the demands for funding in different agencies. It is
about a trajectory common to other areas of social sciences and the humanities
which, as Velho (1997) highlights, sometimes makes it appear to be a breakdown,
which is a scientifc healthy vitality of the community in the competition for
resources that were not increased to the same extent to which the demands
increased. According to this author (idem, p. 5), the greater institutionalization
of the system provoked some discomfort by the greater competitiveness for
resources, but was absolutely crucial for research itself to take a leap forward
and for the areas to become consolidated.
At the same time in which we recognize the enormous advances of
graduate studies in general and of the area of education in particular, we
corroborate some criticisms of graduate studies policy, which has been presented
in different analyses (Horta, 2002; Horta & Moraes, 2005; Kuenzer & Moraes,
2005; Sguissardi, 2006; Fvero, 2009). We consider, however, that the majority
of them operate with a policy model in which the main actions are located in the
scope of the State, treating the non-governmental spheres merely as reactive.
Thus, the actions of the State are criticized and, even when the concept of State
assumes a Gramscian perspective of broadened State, the relative material
independence between political society and civil society is neglected (Lopes,
2006). Even so, we see in these works an important contribution to thinking about
graduate studies, especially due to being built based on a mosaic of experiences
by their authors in this system. Allow us, therefore, to follow more closely the
life of this discussion in the spaces-times in which we do not participate.
Alternatively, we have understood (in feld studies of the curriculum) that
the total saturation of daily spaces is impossible, it does not matter how intense
are the mechanisms of control imposed by economic globalisms and political
authoritarianism (Hall, 2003). This understanding does not imply the devaluing of
the State as a constituent of policies, assuming relativist positions, but understanding
it as an association, among various, of discourses that struggle for space (Laclau &
Mouffe, 2004). Here, we take discourse from a post-structural perspective as not
only linguistic phenomena, which are connected to institutions, economic, political
and cultural practices, but also to normative procedures that constitute the social. In
this sense, when we talk of graduate studies policy, we are referring to the different
circulating discourses that become dominant and are temporarily universalized,
restructuring our way of understanding the social (Laclau & Mouffe, 2004). The
authors of these discourses are all of us and also them in the areas in which
we produce meanings about what is quality graduate study.
Taking graduate studies policies as incessant politization, always inhabited
by undecidability, we will try to analyze some consensuses that are manifested as
a stabilization of something essentially not stable and chaotic (Mouffe, 2003, p.
147). To do so, we will analyze some texts in which these temporary consensuses
on the dominant positions are made explicit. Our belief is that it is possible, by
means of analyzing articles on policies, to understand the temporary development
of consensuses on notions such as the quality of graduate studies, understood as a
signifcant void flled by means of dominant connections.
The selection of articles with which we are going to work is marked by
our condition as participants of the graduate system who, in the past few years,
have been connected to the evaluation processes coordinated by CAPES. For the
considerations that we will weave about the graduate studies policies in education
in the country, we opt to base our position on the documents produced by the
evaluation: forms, reviews and results of the evaluation, as well as documents
from the area. We understand that they express determined positions about what
is the quality of graduate study, positions made dominant in determined moments.
Even reducing the number of documents open to analysis, we will need to
focus on only a few aspects, as a way to account for the task of speaking of research
in education based on the analysis of graduate study policies. After outlining a very
general framework of the system, we will focus on two points that are central to this
policy and which refer directly to the topic of research. The frst, of a procedural
nature, regards the organization of the programs into nuclei, which provide centrality
to the research. The second is an indicator of results that has been pointed out by many
of us as the main indicator of evaluation: bibliographic production in the programs.
THE GRADUATE SYSTEM IN EDUCATION
Initially, we select data that enable us to perceive the current state of the
graduate system in education in the country. Since the beginning of graduate
237
study in education, in 1965, the increase of the number of masters and doctorates
has been constant, with some moments of greater expansion (Graph 1).
Graph 1: Increase in the number of graduate courses per year 1965- 2008
Mestrado: Masters; Doutorado: Doctorate.
This increase has been felt more currently in state and private institutions
(Graph 2). Though this distribution has been concentrated in determined
geographical regions, we opt not to discuss this fact as we understand that, since
we cannot carry out within the limits of this article a consistent analysis comparing
different indicators, the pure and simple presentation of the distribution would
serve only to consolidate stereotypes. As has been occurring since 1965, the
production of dissertations and theses has increased over the last triennial. The
greater part of it is still in federal institutions, especially regarding doctorate
courses. As expected, due to dealing with recent courses, the production in
private institutions is concentrated at the masters level (Graphs 3 and 4).
Graph 2: Distribution of programs by institution type (2004-2006)
Total: total; federal: federal; estadual: state; privada: private.
Graph 3: Number of academic masters titles 2004-2006
Graph 4: Number of doctorate titles (2004-2006)
239
Regarding the size of the programs, the vast majority of the
system is composed of programs of up to 30 professors, with 28% of the
programs being very small with up to 15 professors (Graphs 5 and 6).
As shown in Graph 7, these programs occupy, in general, the lower strata
of the evaluation, with scores of 3 and 4. The programs that have between
16 and 30 professors mostly have scores of 4 and 5. The programs with
more than 31 professors are concentrated in the scores of 4 and 5. The
few programs with more than 50 professors occupy highest strata of the
evaluation. The programs with scores of 5 and 6 tend to be larger: in the
case of those with 6, even those offered by private institutions have more
than 16 professors. It is about numbers that indicate that the results of the
evaluation, in general, refect the consolidation of the programs.
Graph 5: Number of professors per program and institution type (2004-2006)
Total: total; federal: federal; estadual: state; privada: private
Graph 6: Number of professors per program
Graph 7: Size of the faculty per score of the program
At 15: up to 15; mais de 80: more than 80.
From the point of view of broadening the graduate system, it seems that
we are reaching a certain saturation. The capacity for creating new masters
courses has been reducing and concentrating on private universities. At the
doctorate level, there is still some space, but in general the new courses have
a reduced number of professors, which will make it diffcult for them to reach
levels of excellence. It appears we are in a moment in which it is fundamental to
project strategies for the continuity of the quantitative and qualitative increase of
the area. Thinking of associations is perhaps a way of guaranteeing the growth of
the system without losing quality, facilitating the consolidation of new programs
that come to attend to the enormous demand for stricto sensu graduate training
in the area of education.
The Brazilian graduate system, initiated in 1965 based on review n.
977/65 of the Federal Council of Education, experienced a rapid expansion as
part of a State project which considered scientifc development a precondition
for economic development (Brasil, 1983, p. 7). According to Crdova, Gusso
and Luna (1986), the disorganized manner in which the graduate system
expanded made each course value one of the functions that graduate study
is understood to have: training professors for higher education, training
technicians to operate governmental projects and producing knowledge aimed
at the economic development of the country. Paradoxically, at the same time
in which the courses had differentiated profles due to these functions, the
curricula assumed a considerable homogeneity. The courses were organized
around areas of concentration and a set of obligatory disciplines in related
domains and electives, without much value given to research, whether done
241
by professors or as an organic activity of the programs. For Fvero (1996), the
recommendations of reviews n. 977/65 and n. 77/69, though not obligatory,
were followed to the letter by the courses, to the extent to which it was based
on them that their functioning was authorized, a fundamental condition for the
validation of certifcates and to seek funding from state organizations.
Especially from the second half of the 1980s on, the system was restructured
based on a series of questions, at a moment that Fvero (2009) defned as intense
mobilization. The main consensus that would reorganize the whole system
was established on the objectives of graduate study, with value given to training
researchers in detriment to other functions until then performed by the courses.
In the face of this alteration, the areas of concentration, of a clearly professional
profle, underwent criticisms of an epistemological nature, which pointed to a
curriculum that was more integrated and related to research. Overriding the idea
of the area of concentration was, however, far from unanimous. Cunha (1985),
for example, expressed fear that the extinction or the broadening of the areas of
concentration would compromise the creation of an identity for education.
In an article dated 1996, Fvero defended research nuclei, which
emphasized the construction of problems capable of building and organizing
knowledge, in detriment to the areas of concentration, which assumed a division
of knowledge in areas whose content could be structured beforehand in order
to be transmitted. In a more recent article (Fvero, 2009), the author defnes
as keywords of this process fexibility, teaching-research integration and
interdisciplinarity. The areas of concentration appear to be totally overridden in
the organization of the graduate programs. Many of them present only education
as an area, while others defne a more restricted scope, without, however, falling
into common professional felds in the initial consolidation period of the system.
If the idea of research nuclei or axes remains only in a few courses, organization
into lines of research reaches practically all programs. Fvero (idem) criticizes
the absolute privilege of the idea of lines, understanding that they became
dominant due to the pressure of the evaluation model used by CAPES starting
in the 1996-1997 biennial, with refections in the evaluation carried out in 1998.
We agree that the demand for nucleation in lines of research, which relate to a
topic, was problematic for many courses and favored, at that moment, smaller
and more recent courses. We understand, however, that what we have today in
terms of organization is a more fexible model, which somewhat recalls ideas
of interdisciplinarity, fexibility and teaching-research integration, product of a
redefnition of the area on the meanings of the idea of lines of research.
Horta and Moraes (2005, p. 95), narrating the movements that occurred
in the Technical-Scientifc Committee of CAPES (CTC/CAPES), in the 1998-
2000 and 2001-2003 triennials, with an emphasis on discussions about levels of
excellence, point out the desirable organicity between lines of research, projects,
curricular structure, publications, theses and dissertations. They conclude that
this model, together with the emphasis on bibliographic production, defnes
graduate study as the locus of knowledge production and of researcher training
(idem, ibidem). Differently from what occurs with other aspects of the evaluation
model, this idea of organicity is not criticized by the authors. The documents
from the area of education, since 1998, as well as the instruments of evaluation,
assume the positivity of this connection for active programs as well as for new
courses. Though the document from the 1998-2000 triennial does not make it
explicit in the profles of each process indicator concept, it ensures in the form
of evaluation the importance of the consistency of the proposal and the relations
of the lines based on this proposal. In the 2001-2003 triennial, the positivity of
the lines of research became more explicit, when their comprehensiveness as a
form of facilitating the inclusion of research projects is criticized, to the extent to
which it in no way ensures the organicity of the proposal (Brasil, 2004, p. 3).
The question is considered even more serious to the extent to which the topics
of theses and, above all, dissertations, maintain little or no relation to the projects
and even to the lines (idem, ibidem). This tendency to value organicity around
lines continues in the evaluation documents of the following triennial.
The reading of the reviews sent to the programs over the course of the last
three triennials, however, enables the perception that there is a dispute surrounding
the understanding of the idea of organicity and, more so, the interference that the
evaluation can have in the forms of program curricula organization. As a general
movement, it is possible to say that the view that the evaluation must respect the
organization proposed by the program has been broadened, requiring only some
level of integration between different curricular elements. With respect to the frst
evaluation that used the idea of line of research, there is a greater fexibility, such
that it is understood that the connections are facilitated in smaller, newer programs
and in private institutions. In the last evaluation triennial, for example, the vast
majority of program evaluations account for the organicity of the proposals and the
at least good relation between research lines and projects, theses and dissertations,
mirroring a result different from that reported in the document of the area from
2001-2003. If this observation indicates that the idea of lines is consolidated, it can
also mark a fexibilization of what has been understood as organicity.
243
Accepting the premise of greater fexibility of the idea of lines
of research in relation to the understanding to which Fvero (2009) makes
reference, we consider it possible to assume that the meaning that has been
given to the line of research is that of the structuring element of the programs
around research. The initially imposed idea of the lines of research can be
redefning (or come to be redefned), based on the consensuses built by the
area in the past at least twenty years. In this sense, the organization of the
vast majority of the programs into lines would not be negative, to the extent
to which the understanding of the lines are broadened and does not imply the
model to be followed by all, but a signifcant one that can be fulflled differently
by the programs due to their histories.
Seen in this sense, the lines can be understood as an expression of the
form in which the programs are thinking of the feld of education itself, in an
exercise of associations, which involves interdisciplinarity and fexibility. Based
on the description of the lines, we did a frst exercise in understanding research
in the area (there are many other data that could enable a deeper analysis, but it
has not been possible to work this into this article). We opt for a double exercise:
homogeneities, emphasizing the more and less recurring topics, at the same time
in which we try to perceive the creativity observed in the constitution of the
lines, associating topics. Without ignoring the possibility that such an association
aims for the creation of umbrellas, we want to see it in its positive dimension as
an expression of an area that reinvents itself.
In our frst movement in search of regularities, topics such as education
policy and management (41), teacher training and work (39), history of education
(27), didactics and teaching processes (22), learning and development (21) and
curriculum (20) are the most present. In a second set, there are topics such
as teaching mathematics and science (17), social movements (13), language
(12), special education (12), education and culture (12), education/school and
society (11), education and work (10), philosophy of education (9), education
and technology (8) and environmental education (8). Some less recurring topics
are: foundations of education, evaluation, literacy, childhood, higher education,
art teaching, theory of complexity, body, agricultural education, education and
health. In general, organizations are made with the privilege of topics, in detriment
to disciplinary felds. The broad privilege of the areas of educational policy, the
history of education and didactics/curriculum/teacher training would indicate a
central triple of the studies of the feld of education, which does not prevent the
emergence of more specifc topics that are not diluted in more general areas.
Our second movement intended to perceive the diversity within these
apparently classic topics of the feld. The self-appointed studies of education
policies or management deal preferentially with management (20) and public
policies (12), though they include interfaces with topics such as practices, culture
and organization of academic institutions (11). The more explicit connection
between policy and State is carried out in only three lines. The lines of the history
of education, in which historiography and the theory of history occupy an important
position (10), are equally concentrated in the central nucleus. However, the rest of the
lines grouped around history show a broadening of the connections, which indicate
a historical approach to different phenomena: educational policy (8), philosophy
of education (3), educational institutions (3), society (3), culture (3). Also the lines
about the topic of learning and development have a central focus in the psychological
approach to these processes, but include connections with ethics, values and, mainly,
the constitution of the subject and subjectivity in the educational processes.
It is in the lines on topics such as didactics, curriculum and teacher
training that a greater intersection is perceived. In the case of didactics, there
is an emphasis on practice and the classroom, production and appropriation of
knowledge/skills, the disciplines/interdisciplinarity, educational institutions,
teacher training. In the feld of the curriculum, the reference to culture and to
daily school life is more frequent (8), but there is a set of other associations:
evaluation, policy, teacher training, knowledge.
With respect to teacher training, topics such as educational practices, identity,
university, policy and culture are joined to the discussions on professionalization
and professorship. With respect to the other lines, topics such as special education,
work and education, teaching mathematics and science and education and
language are more homogeneous with respect to approaches, while the lines that
give centrality to society and to culture tend to point to new interdisciplinary areas.
This frst outline enables the perception of the privileged areas in the
education at the masters and doctorate levels and the areas that concentrate a larger
part of research carried out in graduate study. If it does not bring great surprises
with respect to privileged topics in the area, they also indicate that there is no forced
association only as a way of attending to the requirements imposed by the evaluation.
THE PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE
The second aspect that we will highlight is the bibliographic production
of the faculty of the programs; with the information about titles and student
production, this point forms the triple of indicators of a product that is
245
increasingly valued in the evaluation. The critics of the evaluation model
sustained by this triple are numerous (Sguissardi, 2006; Horta & Moraes, 2005;
Kuenzer & Moraes, 2005) and, as we have already pointed out, we agree with a
good part of the analyses. There is no doubt that the whole evaluation cannot be
resumed to quantitative-qualitative indicators of bibliographic production, and
also that education indicators are relevant and need to continue to be used. More
than this, the need for a more consistent political action aimed at the uses of
the evaluation in graduate system funding is undeniable. It can be argued more
broadly whether the majority of the lines of funding should privilege excellence.
Such discussions, from our point of view, do not prevent us from agreeing with
Kuenzer and Moraes (2005), when they assert that the catalyst effect of the
State in the transition from centrality in teaching to research was positive for
graduate studies. In this graduate model aimed at research, we understand that
bibliographic production is important and is justifed as an evaluation indicator.
Having made our position clear, we would like, in order to deconstruct
them, to discuss two assertions that have been assumed as true in some of our
discussions. The frst is the importance of the bibliographic production indicator
in the evaluation. We express this position with a quote from Horta (2002),
who, upon analyzing the results of the evaluation from different areas for the
1998-2000 triennial, concluded that bibliographic production was the indicator
that enabled programs to reach higher strata. The second is related to what we
have been calling productivism. In the same article in which they recognize the
positivity of a graduate program centered on research, Kuenzer and Moraes
(2005, p. 1.349) claim that there is a true productivist outbreak in which what
counts is publishing, it does not matter which reheated version of a product or
various masked versions of a new product. Quantity is established as a goal.
Working with data produced by the evaluations, still little can be said
about the quality of the productions. The attempt for qualifcation has been done
by means of what, in the scope of CAPES, has become known as Qualis. With
respect to journals, the stratifcation of vehicles is more advanced, though it
is questionable that the evaluation of a journal can be transported to all of its
articles. Regarding books, the data that we have consider very indirect quality
indicators - such as circulation and editorial management , measured by a
qualifcation of publishers. Considering these limits, however, we fnd that an
analysis of the production data of programs generated for the triennial evaluation
of 2004-2006 enable the questioning of assertions such as the fact that there is
productivism in the area or that professor production has been defning the result
of the program evaluations.
The professor production averages by program scores indicate that
there is a correlation between the fnal evaluation of the graduate programs and
professor production averages (Graph 8). However, there is a lot of variation in
professor production averages in programs with the same score. With exception
of programs with a score of 6, the production average ranges of one score are
intertwined with those of higher scores. This shows that other indicators are being
considered to compose the result of the evaluation and, from our perspective,
precludes the assertion that bibliographic production is the basis of the model
that has been used for the evaluation.
Graph 8: Median of professor production averages per year per program score
(calculated with respect to chapters A)
With respect to productivism, the professor production averages per
program (equivalent to chapters A) also do not indicate an excess of production.
Only in programs with a score of 6 (Graph 12), do we observe a yearly average
of more than two products (equivalent to chapter A) per professor per year. Of
the scores 3 to 5, this average varies from 1 to 1.6 products (equivalent to chapter
A) (Graphs 9 to 11). One could argue that the number of products is much higher,
if we consider the raw values; however, the average in number of products is a
little higher than the tabulated values.
247
Graph 9: Professor production averages (equivalent to chapters A) of programs with a score of 3
With respect to the higher strata of the evaluation (A and B for books
and International and National A and B for journals), the numbers of production
averages per professor per year are still slightly inferior. With the exception of
programs with a score of 6, in the other scores, this total production is inferior
to two products per year (Graphs 13 and 14). Considering the production only
in journals, not even in programs with a score of 6 does the number reach the
average of one product per professor per year (Graph 14).
We understand that these numbers do not permit the conclusion that there is
productivism in the area triggered by the evaluation. Perhaps our perception of such
productivism has to do with the growth of the area in levels, which we still cannot
account for: the centrality in researcher training fosters the system, provoking its
rapid expansion and broadening the raw numbers of bibliographic production.
Graph 13: Median of professor production averages in higher strata by score
Produo total ano/docente: Total production year/professor
249
Graph 14: Median of professor production averages in A and B journals by score
Internacional A: International A; Internacional B: International B; Nacional A: National A;
Nacional B: Nacional B; Total estratos superiors: total higher strata
Graph 15: Median of professor production averages in books A and B by score A
Livro A: Book A; Livro B: Book B; Captulo A: Chapter A; Captulo B: Chapter B;
Total livro/captulo A B: Total book/chapter A B
We are concerned with the (corrective) nostalgia of another time, which
underlies the critical discourse of productivism. To support this nostalgia, a relation
that is not sustained between quantity and quality of production is postulated: in a
time in which production was lower, it was certainly, and because of this, better.
A hardly systematic evaluation of production in education today does not appear
to leave doubts that it is more consistent than what was produced in the 1970s
and 1980s. The recent theses and dissertations have more theoretical depth when
compared to the average of works defended in the 1970s and 1980s. Our journals,
apart from being numerous, have more quality. The plethora of books that we see
today in events is not only quantitatively greater, but mirrors a production unique
to researchers of education in Brazil as opposed to a great majority of manuals and
adaptations of foreign literature that predominated in the 1970s.
However, it is not only because we consider this nostalgia unsustainable
that we strive to deconstruct it. We do it because we fnd that, in areas such as
education, historically linked to extension and which only more recently has been
building a trajectory of consistent scientifc production, this nostalgia can contribute
to the demobilization and to a regression of this trajectory. Our concern has been
intensifed recently, to the extent to which the demands of various types on graduate
studies and on professors have increased, especially in public universities. Though
we understand and consider relevant many of the demands of social insertion that
have been launched in the programs, we understand that our main function is to do
well that which is our responsibility and for which we receive public funding: train
teachers/researchers and produce socialized knowledge. It is for the competence
with which we have carried out these functions that we are respected by academic
communities and socially, and this respect is our main capital.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
BOYM, Stevlana. The future of nostalgia. New York: Basic, 2001.
BRASIL CAPES. Documento da rea de educao. Braslia: CA-PES, 2004.
Disponvel em: <http://www.capes.gov.br/capes/portal/ conteudo/2003_038_
Doc_Area.pdf>. Acesso em: 3 jul. 2009.
BRASIL CNPq. Desenvolvimento cientfco e formao de recursos
humanos. Braslia: CNPq, 1983.
CAMERON, Catherine M.; GATEWOOD, John B. The authentic interior:
questing Gemeinschaft in post-industrial society. Human Organization, v. 53, p.
21-32, 1994.
CRDOVA, Rogrio de Andrade; GUSSO, Divonzir Arthur; LUNA, Srgio
Vasconcelos de. A ps-graduao na Amrica Latina: o caso brasileiro.
Braslia: UNESCO/CRESALC/MEC/ SESu/CAPES, 1986.
CUNHA, Luiz Antonio A. Ideias sobre avaliao. Boletim ANPEd, v. 7, n. 5, 6,
p. 10-12, 1985.
FVERO, Osmar. Situao atual e tendncias de reestruturao dos programas
de ps-graduao em educao. Revista da Facul-dade de Educao da USP,
v. 22, n. 1, p. 51-88, jan./jun. 1996.
______. Ps-graduao em educao: avaliao e perspectivas. Revista de
Educao Pblica, v. 18, n. 37, p. 311-327, maio/ago. 2009.
HALL, Stuart. Da dispora: identidades e mediaes culturais. Belo Horizonte:
Editora UFMG, 2003.
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HORTA, Jos Silvrio Baa. Prefcio. In: BIANCHETTI, Lucdio;
MACHADO, Ana Maria Netto (Org.). A bssola do escrever: desafos e
estratgias de teses e dissertaes. So Paulo: Cortez; Florianpolis: UFSC, 2002.
______; MORAES, Maria Clia Marcondes de. O sistema CAPES de avaliao
da ps-graduao: da rea de educao grande rea de cincias humanas.
Revista Brasileira de Educao, n. 30, p. 95-116, 2005.
KUENZER, Accia; MORAES, Maria Clia Marcondes de. Temas e tramas na
ps-graduao em educao. Educao e Sociedade, Campinas, v. 26, n. 93, p.
1.341-1.362, set./dez. 2005.
LACLAU, Ernesto. Power and representation. In: POSTER, Mark.
Politics, theory and contemporary culture. New York: Columbia University Press,
1993.
______; MOUFFE, Chantal. Hegemonia y estratgia socialista. Buenos Aires:
Fondo de Cultura Econmica, 2004.
LOPES, Alice Casimiro. Discursos nas polticas de currculo. Currculo sem
fronteiras, v. 6, n. 2, p. 33-52, jul./dez. 2006. MOUFFE, Chantal. La paradoxa
democrtica. Barcelona: Gedisa, 2003.
SGUISSARDI, Valdemar. A avaliao defensiva no modelo CA-PES de
avaliao. possvel conciliar avaliao educativa com processos de regulao
e controle do Estado?. Perspectiva, v. 24, n. 1, p. 49-88, jan./jun. 2006.
VELHO, Gilberto. As cincias sociais nos ltimos 20 anos: trs perspectivas.
Revista Brasileira de Cincias Sociais, v. 12, n. 35, p. 1-18, fev. 1997.
INDICADORES DE PESQUISA EM EDUCAO
Elizabeth Macedo
INTRODUO
I
nicialmente, julgamos necessrio explicitar o estranho lugar de onde
falamos. Nossa familiaridade com a temtica se d na medida em que
somos partcipes de um sistema de ps-graduao e de pesquisa em seus mltiplos
espaos, e no estudiosas do tema. Nesse momento, essa participao envolve a
posio de representantes da rea junto Coordenao de Aperfeioamento do
Pessoal de Nvel Superior (CAPES) e, portanto, a tarefa de conduzir o processo
de avaliao dos programas no trinio 2007-2009. Se discutvel a possibilidade
mesma da representao j que o ato de representar envolve a incorporao do
representado esfera poltica com uma identidade criada pela interpelao do
representante queles que ele representa (Laclau, 1993) , seu exerccio em uma
exposio como esta ainda mais inusitado. No mbito de nossa ao prtica,
podemos buscar agir como representantes, certas da incompletude do ato de
representar, que simultaneamente sua condio de possibilidade e impossibilidade.
Num espao terico como este, estamos num terreno movedio. Por
sua natureza acadmica, nossa exposio no pode prescindir de anlise, o
que no pode ser feito desse lugar de representantes. Ao mesmo tempo, seria
naive acreditar que podemos faz-lo de outro lugar, desde que explicitemos essa
desvinculao. , portanto, nesse espao ambguo que construmos este texto em
que pretendemos discutir aspectos da poltica de ps-graduao (em educao),
entendendo-a como diretamente relacionada poltica de pesquisa. Em reas
como a educao, praticamente toda pesquisa desenvolvida nos programas de
ps-graduao ou por sujeitos formados para a pesquisa nesses programas.
Dito isso, assumimos nossa rejeio ideia de que existiria um modelo
ideal de poltica para a ps-graduao, postura que, a nosso ver, viabiliza vises
nostlgicas. Autores como Cameron e Gatewood (1994) tm tratado a nostalgia
como uma adaptao psicolgica s frenticas mudanas que experimentamos
no campo da cultura, de modo que ela pode ser sentida at por aqueles entre
ns que no vivemos aquilo que recordamos. Trata-se de algo que se processa
tanto no mbito individual quanto coletivo, refetindo o que se quer lembrar,
253
mas tambm aquilo que se busca esquecer. Se a nostalgia pode ser refexiva
(Boym, 2001), permitindo o pensar sobre a histria e a passagem do tempo,
ela tambm pode assumir contornos restaurativos, celebrando romanticamente
um passado vivido apenas como fantasia presente. O perigo da nostalgia
restaurativa maquiar a prpria nostalgia, apresentada como uma tentativa de
recuperar algo tido como verdade absoluta.
Nossa postura est longe de uma nostalgia restaurativa. Entendemos que
a ps-graduao e a pesquisa na rea de educao, ao longo dos ltimos trinta
anos, viveu intensa consolidao, que pode ser percebida, entre outros fatores,
pela ampliao das demandas por fnanciamento em diferentes agncias. Trata-se
de uma trajetria comum a outras reas das cincias sociais e das humanidades
que, como ressalta Velho (1997), por vezes faz parecer desestruturao, o que
uma saudvel vitalidade da comunidade cientfca na compe-tio por
recursos que no foram ampliados na mesma medida em que aumentaram as
demandas. Segundo esse autor (idem, p. 5), a maior institucionalizao do
sistema provocou algum desconforto pela maior competitividade por recursos,
mas foi absolutamente crucial para que a pesquisa propriamente dita desse um
salto e as reas consolidassem-se.
Ao mesmo tempo em que reconhecemos enormes avanos da ps-
graduao em geral e da rea de educao em particular, corroboramos
algumas crticas poltica de ps-graduao que vm sendo apresentadas em
diferentes anlises (Horta, 2002; Horta & Moraes, 2005; Kuenzer & Moraes,
2005; Sguissardi, 2006; Fvero, 2009). Consideramos, no entanto, que a maio-
ria delas opera com um modelo de poltica em que as principais aes so
localizadas no espao do Estado,tratando as esferas no governamentais apenas
como reativas. Assim, as aes do Estado so criticadas e, mesmo quando o
conceito de Estado assume uma perspectiva gramsciana de Estado ampliado,
a independncia material relativa entre sociedade poltica e sociedade civil
negligenciada (Lopes, 2006). Ainda assim, vemos nesses trabalhos importante
contribuio para pensar a ps-graduao, especialmente em funo de serem
construdos a partir de um mosaico de vivncias de seus autores nesse sistema.
Permitem-nos, portanto, acompanhar um pouco mais de perto o cotidiano
dessa discusso em espaos-tempos de que no participamos.
Alternativamente, temos entendido (em estudos do campo do currculo)
que a saturao total dos espaos cotidianos impossvel, no importa quo
intensos sejam os mecanismos de controle impostos por globalismos econmicos e
autoritarismos polticos (Hall, 2003). Esse entendimento no implica desvalorizar
o Estado como constituinte das polticas, assumindo posturas relativistas, mas
entend-lo como uma articulao, entre vrias, de discursos que lutam por espao
(Laclau & Mouffe, 2004). Aqui tomamos discurso numa perspectiva ps-estrutural
como fenmenos no apenas lingusticos, que se articulam com instituies, prticas
econmicas, polticas e culturais, assim como com procedimentos normativos
que constituem o social. Nesse sentido, quando falamos de uma poltica de ps-
graduao, estamo-nos referindo a diferentes discursos circulantes que se tornam
hegemnicos e se universalizam provisoriamente, reestruturando nossa forma de
compreender o social (Laclau & Mouffe, 2004). Os autores desses discursos
somos todos ns e tambm eles nos espaos em que produzimos sentidos sobre
o que vem a ser a ps-graduao de qualidade.
Tomando a poltica de ps-graduao como politizao incessante,
sempre habitada pela indecidibilidade, tentaremos analisar alguns consensos
que se manifestam como a estabilizao de algo essencialmente no estvel
e catico (Mouffe, 2003, p. 147). Para tanto, tomaremos para anlise alguns
textos em que esses consensos provisrios em torno de posies hegemnicas
so explicitados. Nossa crena de que possvel, por meio da anlise dos
textos de poltica, compreender a formao provisria de consensos em torno de
noes como a qualidade da ps-graduao, entendida como signifcante vazio
preenchido por meio de articulaes hegemnicas.
O recorte dos textos com os quais vamos trabalhar marcado por nossa
condio de participantes do sistema de ps-graduao que, nos ltimos anos,
estiveram ligadas aos processos de avaliao coordenados pela CAPES. Para
as consideraes que teceremos sobre apoltica de ps-graduao em educao
no pas, optamos por nos basear nos documentos produzidos pela avaliao:
fchas, pareceres e resultados da avaliao, assim como em documentos de rea.
Entendemos que eles expressam determinadas posies sobre o que qualidade
da ps-graduao tornadas hegemnicas em determinados momentos.
Mesmo reduzindo o nmero de documentos passveis de anlise, ainda
temos necessidade de focar apenas alguns aspectos, como forma de dar conta
da tarefa de falar da pesquisa em educao a partir da anlise da poltica de
ps-graduao. Aps traar um quadro muito geral do sistema, vamo-nos
fxar em dois pontos que nos parecem centrais nessa poltica e que se referem
diretamente temtica da pesquisa. O primeiro, de natureza processual, diz
respeito organizao dos programas em ncleos que do centralidade
pesquisa. O segundo um indicador de resultados que vem sendo apontado,
por muitos de ns, como o principal indicador da avaliao: a produo
bibliogrfca dos programas.
255
O SISTEMA DE PS-GRADUAO EM EDUCAO
Inicialmente, selecionamos dados que nos permitem perceber como se
encontra o sistema de ps-graduao em educao no pas. Desde o incio da
ps-graduao em educao, em 1965, o crescimento do nmero de mestrados
e doutorados tem sido constante, com alguns momentos de maior gradiente de
expanso (Grfco 1).
Grfco 1: Crescimento do nmero de cursos de ps-graduao por ano 1965- 2008
Esse crescimento tem sido mais sentido atual-mente em instituies
estaduais e particulares (Grfco 2). Ainda que essa distribuio se
tenha concentrado em determinadas regies geogrfcas, optamos por
no discutir tal fato por entender que, como no podemos realizar nos
limites deste texto uma anlise consistente cruzando diferentes indica-
dores, a pura e simples apresentao da distribuio serviria apenas para
consolidar esteretipos. Como vem ocorrendo desde 1965, a produo
de dissertaes e teses cresceu ao longo do ltimo trinio. A maior parte
dela ainda se d em instituies federais, especialmente no que concerne
aos cursos de doutorado. Como era de esperar, em virtude de se tratar de
cursos recentes, a produo das instituies particulares concentra-se em
nvel de mestrado (Grfcos 3 e 4).
Grfco 2: Distribuio de programas por tipo de instituio (2004-2006)
Grfco 3: Nmero de titulaes em mestrado acadmico 2004-2006
Grfco 4: Nmero de titulaes em doutorado (2004-2006)
257
Quanto ao tamanho dos programas, a ampla maioria do sistema
composta por programas de at 30 docentes, sendo 28% de programas
muito pequenos de at 15 docentes (Grfcos 5 e 6). Como expresso
no Grfco 7, esses programas ocupam, em geral, os estratos mais baixos
da avaliao, com conceitos 3 e 4. Os programas que tm entre 16 e 30
docentes so maioria nos conceitos 4 e 5. Os programas com mais de 31
docentes concentram-se nos conceitos 4 e 5. Os poucos programas com
mais de 50 docentes ocupam os estratos mais elevados da avaliao. Os
programas 5 e 6 tendem a ser maiores: no caso dos 6, mesmo os oferecidos
por instituies privadas tm mais de 16 docentes. Trata-se de nmeros
que indicam que os resultados da avaliao esto, no geral, refetindo a
consolidao dos programas.
Grfco 5: Nmero de docentes por programa e tipo de instituio (2004-2006)
Grfco 6: Nmero de docentes por programa
Grfco 7: Dimenso do corpo docente por nota do programa
Do ponto de vista da ampliao do sistema de ps-graduao, parece
que estamos atingindo certa saturao. A capacidade de criao de novos cursos
de mestrado vem-se reduzindo e concentrando-se em universidades privadas.
No nvel de doutorado, ainda h algum flego, mas em geral os cursos novos
contam com reduzido nmero de docentes, o que deve difcultar-lhes atingir
nveis de excelncia. Parece estarmos num momento em que fundamental
projetar estratgias para a continuidade da ampliao quantitativa e qualitativa
da rea. Pensar em associaes talvez uma forma de garantir o crescimento do
sistema sem perda da qualidade, facilitando a consolidao de novos programas
que venham a atender a enorme demanda por formao ps-graduada stricto
sensu na rea da educao.
O sistema de ps-graduao brasileiro, iniciado em 1965 a partir do
parecer n. 977/65 do Conselho Federal de Educao, viveu rpida expanso
como parte de um projeto de Estado que considerava o desenvolvimento
cientfco pr-condio para o desenvolvimento econmico (Brasil, 1983,
p. 7). Segundo Crdova, Gusso e Luna (1986), a forma desordenada como
se expandiu o sistema de ps-graduao fez com que cada curso valorizasse
uma das funes que se entendia ter a ps-graduao: formar professores para
o ensino superior, capacitar tcnicos para operar os projetos governamentais
e produzir conhecimentos visando ao desenvolvimento econmico do pas.
Paradoxalmente, ao mesmo tempo em que os cursos tinham perfs diferenciados
devido a essas funes, os currculos assumiram grande homogeneidade. Os
cursos organizavam-se em torno de reas de concentrao e de um conjunto de
disciplinas obrigatrias de domnio conexo e eletivas, sem grande valorizao
da pesquisa, tanto docente quanto como atividade orgnica dos programas. Para
259
Fvero (1996), as recomendaes dos pareceres n. 977/65 e n. 77/69, embora
no obrigatrias, foram seguidas risca pelos cursos, na medida em que era a
partir delas que seu funcionamento era autorizado, condio fundamental para a
validao dos certifcados e para pleitear fnanciamento junto aos rgos estatais.
Especialmente a partir da segunda metade dos anos 1980, o sistema
reestruturou-se tomando por base uma srie de questionamentos, num momento
que Fvero (2009) defniu como de intensa mobilizao. O principal consenso
que reorganizaria todo o sistema estabeleceu-se em torno dos objetivos da ps-
graduao, com a valorizao da formao do pesquisador em detrimento das
demais funes at ento desempenhadas pelos cursos. Em face dessa alterao,
as reas de concentrao, de perfl nitidamente profssional, sofreram crticas
de cunho epistemolgico, que apontavam para um currculo mais integrado e
relacionado pesquisa. A superao da ideia de rea de concentrao estava, no
entanto, longe de ser unnime. Cunha (1985), por exemplo, explicitava temor
de que a extino ou o alargamento das reas de concentrao prejudicasse a
criao de uma identidade para a educao.
Em texto datado de 1996, Fvero defendia os ncleos de pesquisa, que
enfatizassem a problematizao capaz de construir e organizar o conhecimento, em
detrimento das reas de concentrao, que supunham a diviso do conhecimento
em reas cujos contedos poderiam ser previamente estruturados para serem
transmitidos. Em texto mais recente (Fvero, 2009), o autor defne como
palavras-chave desse processo a fexibilidade, a integrao ensino-pesquisa e a
interdisciplinaridade. As reas de concentrao parecem totalmente superadas na
organizao dos programas de ps-graduao. Muitos deles apresentam como rea
apenas educao, enquanto outros defnem um escopo mais restrito, sem, no entanto,
cair em campos profssionais comuns no perodo inicial de consolidao do sistema.
Se a ideia de ncleos ou eixos de pesquisa subsiste apenas em uns poucos cursos,
a organizao por linhas de pesquisa atinge praticamente todos os programas.
Fvero (idem) critica o privilgio absoluto da ideia de linhas, entendendo que elas
se hegemonizaram em funo da presso do modelo de avaliao utilizado pela
CAPES a partir do binio 1996-1997, com refexos na avaliao realizada em 1998.
Concordamos que a exigncia de nucleao em linhas de pesquisa que articulavam
uma temtica foi problemtica para muitos cursos e favoreceu, naquele momento,
cursos menores e mais recentes. Entendemos, no entanto, que o que temos hoje em
termos de organizao um modelo mais fexvel, que, de alguma forma, retoma as
ideias de interdisciplinaridade, fexibilidade e integrao ensino-pesquisa, produto
de uma redefnio da rea sobre os sentidos da ideia de linhas de pesquisa.
Horta e Moraes (2005, p. 95), narrando os movimentos ocorridos no Comit
Tcnico-Cientfco da CAPES (CTC/CAPES), nos trinios 1998-2000 e 2001-
2003, com destaque para as discusses sobre os nveis de excelncia, salientam
a desejvel organicidade entre linhas de pesquisa, projetos, estrutura curricular,
publicaes, teses e dissertaes. Concluem que esse modelo, juntamente com
a nfase na produo bibliogrfca, defne a ps-graduao como lcus da
produo do conhecimento e da formao de pesquisadores (idem, ibidem).
Diferentemente do que ocorre com outros aspectos do modelo de avaliao, essa
ideia de organicidade no criticada pelos autores. Os documentos da rea da
educao desde 1998, assim como os instrumentos de avaliao, assumem a
positividade dessa articulao tanto para os programas em funcionamento quanto
para os cursos novos. O documento do trinio 1998-2000, embora no explicite
nos perfs de cada conceito indicador de processo, assegura na fcha de avaliao
a importncia da consistncia da proposta e da articulao das linhas em torno
dessa proposta. No trinio 2001-2003, a positividade das linhas de pesquisa torna-
se mais explcita, quando a abrangncia delas como forma de facilitar a incluso
dos projetos de pesquisa criticada, na medida em que de forma alguma assegura
a organicidade da proposta (Brasil, 2004, p. 3). A questo considerada ainda
mais grave na medida em que as temticas de teses e, sobretudo, dissertaes,
guardam pouca ou nenhuma relao com os projetos e mesmo com as linhas
(idem, ibidem). Essa tendncia de valorizao da organicidade em torno de linhas
continua nos documentos de avaliao do trinio seguinte.
A leitura de pareceres encaminhados aos programas ao longo dos trs ltimos
trinios, no entanto, permite perceber que h disputa em torno do entendimento
da ideia de organicidade e, mais ainda, da interferncia que a avaliao pode ter
nas formas de organizao dos currculos dos programas. Como movimento geral,
possvel dizer que se tem ampliado a viso de que a avaliao deve respeitar a
organizao proposta pelo programa, exigindo apenas algum nvel de integrao
entre os diferentes elementos curriculares. Em relao primeira avaliao que
usava a ideia de linha de pesquisa, observa-se tambm maior fexibilidade, de modo
que se entenda que a articulao facilitada em programas menores, mais novos e
de instituies particulares. No ltimo trinio de avaliao, por exemplo, a ampla
maioria das avaliaes dos programas d conta da organicidade das propostas e
da relao no mnimo boa entre linhas e projetos de pesquisa, teses e dissertaes,
espelhando resultado diferente daquele relatado no documento de rea de 2001-
2003. Se essa observao pode indicar que a ideia de linhas se consolidou, pode
tambm marcar uma fexibilizao do que tem sido entendido por organicidade.
261
Aceitando a premissa de maior fexibilidade da ideia de linhas de pesquisa
em relao ao entendimento a que Fvero (2009) faz meno, julgamos lcito
supor que o sentido que vem sendo dado linha de pesquisa o de elemento
estruturador dos programas em torno da pesquisa. A ideia inicialmente imposta
de linhas de pesquisa pode estar-se redefnindo (ou vir a ser redefnida), tendo
por base os consensos construdos pela rea nos ltimos pelo menos vinte
anos. Nesse sentido, a organizao da ampla maioria dos programas em linhas
no seria negativa, na medida em que a compreenso das linhas seja alargada e
no implique modelo a ser seguido por todos, mas um signifcante que pode ser
diferentemente preenchido pelos programas em funo de suas histrias.
Vistas nesse sentido, as linhas podem ser entendidas como uma expresso
da forma como os programas esto pensando o prprio campo da educao, num
exerccio de articulao que tem envolvido interdisciplinaridade e fexibilidade.
A partir da descrio das linhas, fzemos um primeiro exerccio de compreender a
pesquisa na rea (h muitos outros dados que poderiam permitir uma anlise mais
aprofundada, mas no tivemos possibilidade de trabalhar para este artigo). Optamos
por um duplo exerccio: criamos homogeneidades, ressaltando as temticas mais
e menos recorrentes, ao mesmo tempo em que tentamos perceber a criatividade
observada na constituio das linhas, associando temticas. Sem desconsiderar a
possibilidade de que tal associao vise criao de guarda-chuvas, queremos v-
la em sua dimenso positiva como expresso de uma rea que se reinventa.
Em nosso primeiro movimento em busca de regularidades, temas
como poltica e gesto da educao (41), formao e trabalho docente (39),
histria da educao (27), didtica e processos de ensino (22), aprendizagem
e desenvolvimento (21) e currculo (20) so os mais presentes. Num segundo
conjunto aparecem temticas como ensino de matemtica e cincias (17),
movimentos sociais (13), linguagem (12), educao especial (12), educao
e cultura (12), educao/escola e sociedade (11), educao e trabalho(10),
flosofa da educao (9), educao e tecnologia(8) e educao ambiental (8).
Alguns temas menos recorrentes so: fundamentos da educao, avaliao,
alfabetizao, infncia, ensino superior, ensino de artes, teoria da complexidade,
corpo, educao agrcola, educao e sade. No geral, as organizaes fazem-se
com o privilgio de temticas, em detrimento de campos disciplinares. O amplo
privilgio de reas como poltica educacional, histria da educao e didtica/
currculo/formao de professores indicaria um trip central dos estudos do
campo da educao, o qual no impede o surgimento de temas mais especfcos
que no se diluem em reas mais gerais.
Nosso segundo movimento pretendeu perceber a diversidade dentro dessas
temticas aparentemente clssicas do campo. Os estudos autonomeados como
polticas ou gesto da educao lidam preferencialmente com gesto (20) e polticas
pblicas (12), embora incluam interfaces com temticas como prticas, cultura e
organizao da instituio escolar (11). A vinculao mais explcita entre poltica e
Estado realizada em apenas trs linhas. As linhas de histria da educao, em que
a historiografa e a teoria da histria ocupam posio de relevo (10), so igualmente
concentradas em torno de um ncleo central. No entanto, o restante das linhas
agrupadas em torno da histria mostra ampliao das articulaes que indicam uma
abordagem histrica de diferentes fenmenos: poltica educacional (8), flosofa
da educao (3), instituies educacionais (3), sociedade (3), cultura (3). Tambm
as linhas sobre a temtica aprendizagem e desenvolvimento tm foco central na
abordagem psicolgica desses processos, mas incluem articulaes com tica valores
e, principalmente, constituio do sujeito e da subjetividade nos processos educativos.
nas linhas sobre temticas como didtica, currculo e formao de
professores que se percebe maior interseo. No caso da didtica, tm destaque
a prtica e a sala de aula, a produo e a apropriao de conhecimento/saberes,
as disciplinas/interdisciplinaridade, as instituies educacionais, a formao
docente. No campo do currculo, a meno cultura e ao cotidiano da escola
mais freqente (8), mas h um conjunto de outras articulaes: avaliao,
poltica, formao de professores, conhecimento.
Em relao formao docente, temas como prticas educativas, identidade,
universidade, poltica e cultura juntam-se s discusses sobre profssionalizao e
trabalho docente. Em relao s demais linhas, temticas como educao especial,
trabalho e educao, ensino de matemtica e cincias e educao e linguagem so
mais homogneas em relao aos enfoques, enquanto as linhas que do centralidade
sociedade e cultura tendem a apontar novas reas temticas interdisciplinares.
Esse primeiro esboo permite perceber as reas privilegiadas na formao
em nvel de mestrado e doutorado e as reas que concentram maior parte da
pesquisa realizada na ps-graduao. Se no traz grandes surpresas em relao s
temticas privilegiadas na rea, indicam tambm que no h nenhuma articulao
forada apenas como forma de atender aos requisitos ditados pela avaliao.
A PRODUO DE CONHECIMENTO
O segundo aspecto que destacaremos a produo bibliogrfca do corpo
docente dos programas; com as informaes sobre titulao e produo discente,
esse ponto forma o trip de indicadores de produto cada vez mais valorizado
263
na avaliao. As crticas ao modelo de avaliao sustentado por esse trip so
numerosas (Sguissardi, 2006; Horta & Moraes, 2005; Kuenzer & Moraes, 2005)
e, como j destacamos, concordamos com boa parte das anlises. No h dvida
de que toda a avaliao no pode resumir-se a indicadores quanti-qualitativos de
produo bibliogrfca, assim como de que indicadores de formao so relevantes
e precisam continuar a ser utilizados. Mais do que isso, inegvel a necessidade
de uma ao poltica mais consistente voltada para os usos da avaliao no
fnanciamento do sistema de ps-graduao. H que se discutir mais amplamente
se a maioria das linhas de fnanciamento devem privilegiar a excelncia. Tais
discusses, a nosso ver, no impedem que concordemos com Kuenzer e Moraes
(2005), quando afrmam que o efeito indutor do Estado na transio da centralidade
na docncia para a pesquisa foi positivo para a ps-graduao. Nesse modelo de
ps-graduao voltada para a pesquisa, entendemos que a produo bibliogrfca
ganha importncia e se justifca como indicador de avaliao.
Tendo explicitado nossa posio, gostaramos de, para desconstru-
las, dialogar com duas afrmativas que vm sendo assumidas como verdadeiras
em algumas de nossas discusses. A primeira sobre a importncia do indicador
produo bibliogrfca na avaliao. Expressamos essa posio com uma citao
de Horta (2002), o qual, ao analisar resultados da avaliao de diferentes reas para
o trinio 1998-2000, concluiu que foi a produo bibliogrfca o indicador que
permitiu aos programas atingir os estratos mais elevados. A segunda relaciona-se
ao que temos chamado de produtivismo. No mesmo texto em que reconhecem
a positividade de uma ps-graduao centrada na pesquisa, Kuenzer e Moraes
(2005, p. 1.349) afrmam que h um verdadeiro surto produtivista em que o que
conta publicar, no importa qual verso requentada de um produto ou vrias
verses maquiadas de um produto novo. A quantidade institui-se em meta.
Trabalhando com dados produzidos pelas avaliaes, pouco ainda se pode
falar sobre a qualidade das produes. A tentativa de qualifcao vem sendo
feita por meio do que, no mbito da CAPES, fcou conhecido como Qualis. Em
relao aos peridicos, a estratifcao de veculos encontra-se mais adiantada,
ainda que seja questionvel que a avaliao de uma revista seja transportada para
todos os seus artigos. No que concerne aos livros, os dados de que dispomos
consideram ainda indicadores muito indiretos de qualidade como a circulao
e a gesto editorial , medidos por uma qualifcao de editoras. Considerando
esses limites, no entanto, julgamos que uma anlise dos dados de produo
dos programas gerados para a avaliao trienal 2004-2006 permite questionar
afrmativas como a de que existe produtivismo na rea ou de que a produo
docente tem defnido o resultado da avaliao dos programas.
As mdias de produo docente por conceito dos programas indicam que
h correlao entre a avaliao fnal dos programas de ps-graduao e a mdia
de produo docente (Grfco 8). No entanto, h grande variao das mdias
de produo docente em programas com um mesmo conceito. Com exceo
dos programas com conceito 6, as faixas de mdia de produo de um conceito
interpenetram-se com as dos conceitos superiores. Isso mostra que outros
indicadores esto sendo considerados para compor o resultado da avaliao e, a
nosso ver, desautorizam a afrmativa de que a produo bibliogrfca a base do
modelo que vem sendo utilizado para a avaliao.
Grfco 8: Mediana da mdia da produo docente por ano por conceito do programa (calculada em
relao a captulos A)
Quanto ao produtivismo, as mdias de produo docente por programa
(equivalentes a captulos A) tambm no indicam excesso de produo. Apenas
nos programas 6 (Grfco 12) observamos mdia anual de mais de dois produtos
(equivalentes a captulo A) por docente por ano. Dos conceitos 3 a 5, essa mdia varia
de 1 a 1,6 produto (equivalente a captulo A) (Grfcos 9 a 11). Poder-se-ia argumentar
que o nmero de produtos muito superior, se considerados os valores brutos; no
entanto, a mdia em nmero de produtos pouco superior aos valores tabelados.
265
Grfco 9: Mdia da produo docente (equivalentes a captulos A) dos programas 3
Em relao aos estratos mais elevados da avaliao (A e B para livros
e Internacional e Nacional A e B para peridicos), os nmeros de mdia de
produo por docente por ano so ainda ligeiramente inferiores. exceo
dos programas 6, nos demais conceitos essa produo total inferior a dois
produtos por ano (Grfcos 13 e 14). Considerada a produo apenas em
peridicos, nem nos programas 6 esse nmero atinge a mdia de um produto
por docente por ano (Grfco 14).
Entendemos que esses nmeros no permitem concluir que h
produtivismo na rea induzido pela avaliao. Talvez nossa percepo de tal
produtivismo tenha a ver com o crescimento da rea em nveis de que ainda
no nos demos conta: a centralidade na formao de pesquisadores realimenta
o sistema, provocando sua rpida expanso e ampliando os nmeros brutos da
produo bibliogrfca.
Grfco 13: Mediana da mdia da produo docente em estratos mais elevados por conceito
267
Grfco 14: Mediana da mdia da produo docente em peridicos A e B por conceito
Grfco 15: Mediana da mdia da produo docente em livros A e B por conceito
Preocupa-nos a nostalgia (restaurativa) de um tempo outro que subjaz
ao discurso crtico do produtivismo. Para apoiar essa nostalgia, postula-se uma
relao no sustentada entre quantidade e qualidade da produo: num tempo
em que a produo era menor, era certamente, e por isso, melhor. Uma avaliao
pouco sistemtica da produo em educao hoje no parece deixar dvidas de que
ela mais consistente do que o que se produzia nos anos de 1970 e 1980. As teses
e dissertaes recentes tm mais profundidade terica, se comparadas com a mdia
dos trabalhos defendidos nos anos 1970 e 1980. Nossos peridicos, alm de mais
numerosos, tm mais qualidade. A pliade de livros que vemos hoje em eventos
no apenas quantitativamente maior, mas espelha uma produo prpria dos
pesquisadores da educao no Brasil em contraposio a uma ampla maioria de
manuais e adaptaes de literatura estrangeira que predominava nos anos de 1970.
Mas no apenas porque julgamos essa nostalgia insustentvel que nos
esforamos para desconstru-la. Fazemo-lo porque julgamos que, em reas como
a educao, historicamente vinculada extenso e que apenas mais recentemente
vem construindo uma trajetria de produo cientfca consistente, essa nostalgia
pode contribuir para a desmobilizao e para um retrocesso nessa trajetria. Nossa
preocupao tem-se intensifcado recentemente, na medida em que se ampliam as
demandas de diversas naturezas sobre a ps-graduao e sobre os seus docentes,
especialmente das universidades pblicas. Ainda que compreendamos e julguemos
relevantes muitas das demandas de insero social que vm sendo lanadas aos
programas, entendemos que nossa principal funo fazer bem aquilo que nos
compete e para o que recebemos fnanciamento pblico: formar professores/
pesquisadores e produzir conhecimento socializado. pela competncia com que
temos desempenhado essas funes que somos respeitados pelas comunidades
acadmicas e socialmente, e esse respeito nosso principal capital.
REFERNCIAS
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FVERO, Osmar. Ps-graduao em educao: avaliao e perspectivas.
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dissertaes. So Paulo: Cortez; Florianpolis: UFSC, 2002.
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1.341-1.362, set./dez. 2005.
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QUALITY INDICATORS AND PERFORMANCE IN RESEARCH
AND GRADUATE STUDIES
INTRODUCTION
I
nstitutions of various sizes and areas of operation have been aiming to
improve their administrative processes in a more and more dynamic
and complex scenario. With the organizations from the area of education, it has
been no different and they have been attempting to adopt approaches which
enable monitoring and controlling their performance, based on new perceptions
of the role of education in society.
The changes that the society in which we live has experienced in the
past few decades have generated demands for changes also in the way in which
we manage and evaluate Higher Education. The basis for these changes seems
to be related to the expectation of a greater proximity of our Universities to the
problems and to the reality of the society which it belongs to.
The notions of the society of knowledge information demand a
revised concept of the University (UNESCO, 2005). In this new environment,
science and technology are pointed out as central topics in debates on ethics
and politics in the development of society.
Innovation and transfer of knowledge generated by the University society
emerge as an answer in a more and more complex, dynamic and competitive
context. The innovation and knowledge transfer process is interactive, since the
information should fow between the knowledge agents and society.
The construction of knowledge benefts from the cooperation between
participants of a knowledge network, of which academia, civil society and the
different levels of government are a part. To understand this new reality and the
need for an operation inserted in society, as part of multiple networks where
they develop and transfer knowledge, is critical for an aligned positioning of our
Institutions in the new environment.
The understanding of this environment in transformation is important for
the defnition of teaching, research and extension policies. And these elements of
analysis are central to the development of an evaluation system for the graduate
271
and research areas, adapted to the new demands of society. This new context
requires new indexes and measures of evaluation.
On the other hand, the knowledge society generates pressures in the sense
of a strong local, but also global performance, with focus on internationalization
and, more recently, on globalization. Internationalization is not something
new for higher education, but the forces and tensions related to the concept
of globalization constitute a totally new environment, which is increasingly
complex and contradictory (BRETON and LAMBERT 2003). This new
environment presents a series of new characteristics, among which the following
are highlighted:
society organized in networks, emergence of technological innovation
and of the internet as a work tool;
restructuring of the world economic system, based on knowledge as the
main factor for production and generation of wealth and power;
the increase of the mobility among people, capital and knowledge;
complex cultural aspects, involving the potential loss of local identity,
cultural homogenization, predominance of the English language.
These characteristics end up creating an environment of strong pressure
in the area of education where, among other aspects, the following stand out:
broadening of exchange programs and the pursuit of a more local
performance, allied to a more and more international view;
analysis of the impacts of innovations on society, especially
technology-based ones, whether they are incremental or disruptive characteristics
(CHRISTENSEN, 2003);
increase of the global scale demand for education, research and
qualifed personnel (students, professors, researchers);
changes in national public policies in the area of education;
broadening of programs of global academic mobility;
disorganization of the traditional University system, with the creation
of corporate universities, distance education, etc.
In this new environment, the objective of this article is to explore the
role of evaluation in the area of research and graduate studies, in the context of
the constant pursuit of quality, as the main discriminating factor of academic
excellence in the best Universities. The article highlights the need to develop an
evaluation model based on quality and performance indexes and measures, which
are based on modern organizational evaluation models (BSC and Performance
Prism), customized for the realities and demands of the university organizations,
especially in the areas of science, technology and innovation (ST&I).
QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
The perception of quality has evolved since the 1970s from a view
centered on control to a view centered on the process. In this sense, by developing
mechanisms that assure a quality process, the fnal result will be of good quality,
as a result of the implemented process. This perception involves a global cultural
change in the Institutions, in all of their dimensions. Immediate implications
resulting from this new position in the face of the perception of quality and,
consequently, of the excellence of a Higher Education Institution (HEI), in the
perspective of research and graduate studies, involve:
guiding research projects in the identifcation of the problems and
pursuit of relevant results for society;
development of mechanisms that enable the overfow of the results of
academic research for teaching activities, either at the undergraduate or graduate level;
awareness of the perception of quality in the great world Universities
is strongly associated to research and graduate studies;
development of environments favorable to the development of skills
and excellence in critical areas defned by the Institution, involving spaces
for positive conficts, creativity, attraction and retention of talents (students,
professors and researchers).
This notion of quality, to be institutionalized, should be the core of the
Institution, present in its actions and in its reference documents (mission, vision
and strategic management axes). The development and institutionalization of
a quality culture is only achieved when the explicit and tacit knowledge of the
organization converge on the actions and practices of the HEI.
New approaches of evaluation should contemplate these new elements,
based on the mission, vision and strategic management axes of the Institution. The
existence of a process of Institutional Strategic Planning is a necessary condition,
though not suffcient to guarantee that a quality culture is established. Aspects related
to the effective operationalization of the guiding principles of the mission and vision
should be present in the management, and there should also be an environment of
commitment that stimulates people to believe in the vision and to experience the
institutional mission. And, mainly, an evaluation system based on indexes and
measures that enable accompanying and systematically controlling the process.
In the pursuit of the construction of an environment marked by quality,
typical of the areas of research and graduate studies in the best Universities in
the world, evaluation emerges as one of the main instruments of management to
identify, stimulate and maintain desired levels of quality.
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EVALUATION IN RESEARCH AND GRADUATE STUDIES
The vision regarding the evaluation process in research and graduate
studies in our University is aligned to the dominant view on the national setting.
Upon analyzing this setting and the main funding agencies that operate in the
area (CAPES and CNPq), as well as the tradition of evaluation of the University
itself in the area of research and graduate studies and the international experience
in the area, we identify some basic elements of this process.
For the purpose of the organization of the presentation of the main
elements of the view referring to evaluation in the area of research and graduate
studies, we identify the following elements (Table 1).
Table 1: Basic Elements of Evaluation.
Foundation
Mission and Institutional Vision
Integrity of Research
Focus Results
Principles
Merit
Continuity
Transparency
External
One of the basic principles involve the notion of the importance of
external evaluation, an aspect with a relative tradition in the evaluation system of
CAPES, whose evaluation is conducted by peers, nominated by the community
itself from different areas of research and graduate studies. This principle of
external evaluation should not inhibit the need for rigorous internal evaluations,
especially with respect to scientifc production, understood as a result of the
research process and main sign of quality in a high level graduate program.
Another basic principle involves merit, which should conduct the actions
in the area of graduate studies and research, being a fundamental understanding
in the pursuit of excellence in any area of expertise. The Graduate Programs
and research activities that sustain them should be a space where merit is a
central element, constituting a central parameter of evaluation. The principle
of continuity is very associated to merit, in the sense that evaluation should
enable a perspective that is not only sectional (at a determined moment), but also
longitudinal (over time). In the case of research projects, the very defnition of
project already embeds the notion of temporality and not program (continuity),
and this way they should be evaluated in this perspective.
The principle of transparency indicates the need for the evaluation system to
be open, clear, with external and internal visibility of its taxonomy, indexes, measures
and consequences. This consequence plays a critical role in a truly effective evaluation
process, focusing on results. On the other hand, the selection of evaluators, their
competencies and recognition on the part of the academic community is fundamental
for the success of the evaluation process in the areas of research and graduate studies.
Finally, the focus of the evaluation process should be the result, that is, the
analysis of how much the object evaluated contributes to the achievement of the
vision and mission of the organization (at the institutional level) and how much
the object evaluated achieves the established evaluation measures, in absolute
or relative terms (depending on the evaluation process adopted). The need to
project and execute a fexible evaluation system, that is, which contemplates the
differences among the different areas of expertise is fundamental, since the result
can be different when different areas of expertise are analyzed.
Concluding these considerations regarding the evaluation process, it
is worth emphasizing that the way in which we achieve the results (the how)
is important, though not suffcient. To achieve the result in an ethically correct
way and which guarantees the integrity of the researches developed should be
the foundation of the evaluation process. In this sense, we can characterize the
perspective of the evaluation process in the pursuit of quality, as being to achieve
the result following the institutional mission and vision.
In our country, probably the best example of a continued evaluation
process with objective results of an international standard is the stricto sensu
graduate program, under the responsibility of CAPES. This evaluation process
is the most responsible for the elevated levels of quality in some Graduate
Programs in operation in Brazil, as well as for the important role of national
scientifc production on the international scientifc setting in the past few years.
However, there is still a long path ahead aiming to create a culture that is
truly rooted in the area of evaluation of research and graduate studies. Initiatives
should be reinforced regarding regular inclusion of external evaluators in all
evaluation processes of research, development of a classifcation of internal
evaluation (complementary) of Graduate Programs, defnition and stabilization
of a specifc set of quality indexes and measures and performance in the area of
research and graduate studies.
The greatest of challenges is related to the construction of an evaluation
model, with a strategic perspective, which contemplates a consistent framework
which deals with the various facets of quality and performance in the area of
Research and Graduate Studies, identifying the dimensions of evaluation, as well
as the indexes and measures associated with each dimension. Table 2 presents an
initial view of the elements that should compose an evaluation system.
275
Table 2: Basic Elements of the Evaluation System.
Areas
Research
Graduate Teaching
Dimensions
Interaction with Society
Knowledge Transfer
Teaching-Research-Extension Integration
Teaching-Learning Process
Support Structure
Results
Alignment with Strategic Institutional Planning
Indexes
Quality
Performance
Functions
Descriptive
Evaluative
Analysis
Qualitative
Quantitative
INDEX-BASED EVALUATION
Even with the signifcant increase in the investigation on organizational
performance on the part of academic institutions, efforts aimed at the connection
between operational measures and strategic objectives are still necessary. A
possibility is the use of performance models, although the available models do not
seem to be totally adequate for the academic context. Thus, there is a need for the
integration of different models, such as the Balanced Scorecard (KAPLAN and
NORTON 2004) and the Performance Prism (NEELY, ADAMS and KENNERLEY
2002). These models, when used individually, do not bear the complexity of the
variables of academic institutions.
The BSC was created in 1990 with the objective of assisting in critical
managerial processes such as:
a) Clarify and translate the vision and the strategy, establishing consensus;
b) Communicate and associate objectives and strategic measures,
educating and entailing rewards;
c) Plan, establish goals and align strategic initiatives, allocating resources
and establishing points of reference;
d) Improve feedback and strategic learning, articulating a shared view
and facilitating the strategic review.
To translate the vision and strategy into objectives and measures, the BSC
is structured in four different perspectives, which are fnancial, client, internal
processes, learning and growth. Each of these perspectives has objectives,
indexes, goals and initiatives in a related way. For example, each objective
related to the perspective of the client has its indexes and goals, and initiatives
that enable achieving these objectives.
The set of indexes should provide answers to four basic questions
(KAPLAN and NORTON 1997):
a) To be more fnancially successful, how should we be seen by our
stockholders? (fnancial perspective);
b) To achieve our vision, how should we be seen by our clients? (client
perspective);
c) To satisfy our clients and stockholders, in which business processes
should we achieve excellence? (internal process perspective);
d) To achieve our vision, how do we sustain our capacity to change and
improve? (learning and growth perspective).
The fnancial perspective describes the tangible results in traditional
monetary conditions. Even in public non-proft organizations, like some
universities, this perspective is important for the need to provide resources for
the continuous investment in educational services. In a university institution,
it would be possible to measure monetary resources received for projects
developed with governmental agencies and private companies.
The client perspective enables managers to identify the segments
of clients and markets in which the organization will compete, as well as the
measures of performance of the organization in these targetsegments.
Thus, this perspective should include specifc measures of the value
proposals that the company will offer to the clients. In the academic context,
indexes and measures can be adopted related to the national and international
position of the researchers and the performance of the students in professional
activities during and after the conclusion of their course.
To achieve the desired results in the fnancial and client perspectives, it is
necessary to select competitive priorities which have an impact on the quality of
educational services and the related physical infrastructure, that have an infuence at
the level of entrepreneurship and maintain the university student aligned to the needs
of science and the market, always aiming for social integration in the community.
The perspective of internal processes exists for the managers to identify the
critical internal processes of the organization, achieving excellence in them. The
measures of this perspective should be aimed at the internal processes that have a
greater impact on attraction, retention and satisfaction of the clients in target-sections
of the market, as well as for attending to the expectations of the stockholders. In a
university institution, it is important to measure the effectiveness of the instructive
277
and administrative aspects, like preparation of the professors, use of support
technologies, and, considering entrepreneurship, measure the level of activities that
involve research and development of new products and the establishment of new
companies. Also in an internal perspective, measures to evaluate the social impact
and the integration with the community should be adopted.
Complementarily, the perspective of learning and growth identifes the
infrastructure that the company should build in order to generate long-term growth
and improvement, which is not possible without the use of new technologies
and skills. Kaplan and Norton (1997, p.29) affrm that organizational learning
and growth come from three main sources: people, systems and organizational
procedures. With this perspective related to the competence of personnel and the
satisfaction of collaborators, it would be possible to adopt measures to evaluate
pedagogical experience, educational background, teamwork and motivation.
Although it is one of the most widely used measurement systems of
organizational performance by organizations, the BSC presents some limitations
in some organizational contexts. Various authors (SCHNEIDERMAN 1999;
NORREKLIT 2000; NEELY, ADAMS and KENNERLEY 2002) present as a
limitation the need for other perspectives to attend to all of the stakeholders.
Norreklit (2000) also addresses the small representativeness of the employees in
the defnition of objectives and strategic measures and the absence of a discerning
evaluation from the external environment.
For university institutions, the stakeholders view of the institution is
a fundamental and indispensable perspective for analysis. Stakeholders can
be understood as any group or individual that can affect or be affected by the
achievement of the companys objectives, playing a vital role in the success of
the business (FREEMAN 1984). The expression stakeholder is an extension or
generalization of the classical concept of shareholder, which means investor,
owner, business owner, translating also the expression as interested parties.
Churchill and Peter (2000) defne stakeholders as individuals and groups that
can infuence decisions and can be infuenced by them. This way, it represents
any institution, person or group of people, formal or informal, which has some
kind of interest that can affect or be affected by the functioning, operation,
commercialization, performance, present or future results of the organization
in question (COSTA, 2005).
Aiming to involve the stakeholders view in the strategic analysis, the
Performance Prism emerged, developed in the Centers of Business Performance
of the University of Cranfeld, England (NEELY, ADAMS and KENNERLEY,
2002). The idea of this model is that even though there are models with fnancial
and non-fnancial measures, like BSC, there is the need for a second generation
of models that are more appropriate for the demands of the current environment.
The Performance Prism places the stakeholders view in the foreground, which
contributes greatly to an analysis such as the one proposed in this article.
Based on the creation of a framework that integrates the perspectives
of the BSC and the Performance Prism, which are more adequate for the
academic context, we aim to obtain an instrument that enables the evaluation of
performance in the area of research and graduate studies. A framework of such a
nature becomes important to the extent that:
a) It facilitates the analysis of the context of research and graduate
studies, reducing the quantity of aspects to analyzing a valid and representative
set of indexes;
b) It makes visible how close or distant one is from attending to the strategic
objectives in terms of research and graduate studies, by means of goals associated
to indexes;
c) It enables making more qualifed decisions with respect to which initiatives
should be supported, based on the connection or not to strategic objectives.
Ultimately, it is hoped that this framework aids in the continuous pursuit
for academic quality and excellence and for alignment of the actions to the
strategic objectives.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The knowledge society demands a new University for the new times. In
this new University, attentive to the demands of the society in which it is inserted,
a role of scientifc and technological research and of high level academic training
(Masters and Doctorate), the focus of this article, emerges as the potential vector
of economic and social development.
An important challenge draws attention to the development of an
evaluation system that contemplates the demands of the new times, of this
new University, which should place its tradition and quality at the service of
necessary renewal to attend to the accomplishment of its mission. From the
point of view of strategic management, mechanisms that enable accompanying
and controlling quality and performance should be developed, based on a broad
evaluation system that incorporates the new demands that society presents to the
University, especially in the areas of graduate teaching and research.
279
According to what was presented in this article, the new visions of the
University demanded by the Knowledge Society require that it overcome the gap
that exists between the strategic objectives of the
Institution and its operational action, enabling an effective accompaniment
of its performance, especially in the areas of research and graduate teaching.
The adoption of an evaluation approach based on strategic analysis is a viable
alternative. As presented in this article, the problem is that the current business
performance evaluation systems do not contemplate the complexities and
specifcities of the academic area.
As a result of this investigation process, integration is sought for among
different models of strategic evaluation having in mind the identifcation of
indexes and specifc measures for the area of science, technology and innovation
(ST&I), using an approach that simultaneously contemplates quantitative and
qualitative analyses.
To answer to this challenge with effective actions is what PUCRS has been
aiming to do, having as a foundation the pursuit of quality with sustainability,
creating a strategic management environment which encompasses the most
modern management techniques available.
REFERENCES
BRENTON, G.; LAMBERT, M. Universities and Globalization. Paris:
UNESCO/Universit Laval/Economica, 2003.
CHISTENSEN, C. The Innovators Dilemma. New York: HarperCollins
Publishers, 2003.
CHURCHILL JR., G. A.; PETER, J. P. Marketing: criando valor para o cliente.
So Paulo: Saraiva, 2000.
COSTA, ELIEZER A. Gesto estratgica. So Paulo: Saraiva, 2005
FREEMAN, R. EDWARD. Strategic management: a stakeholder approach.
Marshfeld, Massachusetts: Pitman Publishing Inc, 1984.
KAPLAN, R. S.; NORTON, D. P. Kaplan e Norton na prtica. 3 ed. Rio de
Janeiro: Elsevier, 2004b.
KAPLAN, R. S.; NORTON, D. P., A estratgia em ao: balanced scorecard. 7.
ed. Rio de Janeiro: Campus, 1997.
NEELY, Andy. ADAMS, Chris, KENNERLEY, Mike. The Performance Prism:
the scorecard for measuring and managing business success. Prentice Hall. 2002.
NORREKLIT, Hanne. The balance on the balanced scorecard a critical
analysis of some of its assumptions. Management Accounting Research. v. 11,
n. 1, p. 65-88. Academic Press. 2000.
SCHNEIDERMAN, A. M. Why balanced scorecard fail. Journal of Strategic
Performance Measurement. Special Edition. p. 6-11. 1999.
SEGRERA, L. Escenarios Mundiales de la Educacin Superior: analices global
y estudios de casos. Buenos Aires: CLACSO Libros, 2006.
SIMO, J., SANTOS, S., COSTA, A. Ensino Superior: uma viso para a
prxima dcada. Lisboa: Gradiva, 2002.
UNESCO. Hacia las sociedades del conocimiento. Paris: Ediciones UNESCO, 2005.
QUALIDADE E DESEMPENHO NA PESQUISA E NA PS-
GRADUAO: EM BUSCA DE UM MODELO DE
AVALIAO ESTRATGICO
INTRODUO
I
nstituies de diversos portes e segmentos de atuao tm buscado
melhorar seus processos administrativos em um contexto cada vez mais
dinmico e complexo. Com as organizaes da rea de educao no tm sido
diferente e elas tm buscado adotar abordagens que permitam monitorar e controlar
seu desempenho, a partir de novas percepes do papel da educao na sociedade.
As mudanas que a sociedade em que vivemos tem experimentado nas
ltimas dcadas tm gerado demandas por mudanas tambm na forma como
gerimos e avaliamos a Educao Superior. A base destas mudanas parece estar
relacionada com uma expectativa de maior proximidade das nossas Universidades
dos problemas e da realidade da sociedade da qual faz parte.
As noes de sociedade da informao e do conhecimento demandam
um conceito revisado de Universidade (UNESCO, 2005). Neste novo ambiente,
cincia e tecnologia so apontados como temas centrais nos debates ticos e
polticos no desenvolvimento da sociedade. A inovao e a transferncia do
conhecimento gerado na Universidade para a sociedade surgem como uma
resposta em um contexto cada vez mais complexo, dinmico e competitivo. O
processo de inovao e de transferncia de conhecimento interativo, pois as
informaes devem fuir entre os agentes do conhecimento e a sociedade.
A construo do conhecimento benefcia-se da cooperao entre partcipes
de uma rede de conhecimento, da qual fazem parte a academia, a sociedade civil
e os diferentes nveis de governo. Entender esta nova realidade e a necessidade
de uma atuao inserida na sociedade, como parte de mltiplas redes onde se
desenvolvem e transitam o conhecimento, crtico para um posicionamento
alinhado de nossas Instituies no novo ambiente.
A compreenso deste ambiente em transformao importante para
a defnio de polticas de ensino, pesquisa e extenso. E estes elementos de
anlise so centrais para o desenvolvimento de um sistema de avaliao das
reas de ps-graduao e pesquisa, adequado s novas demandas da sociedade.
Este novo contexto requer novos indicadores e mtricas de avaliao.
Por outro lado, a sociedade do conhecimento gera presses no sentido de
uma forte atuao local, mas tambm global, com foco na internacionalizao
e, mais recentemente, na globalizao. A internacionalizao no novidade
na educao superior, mas as foras e tenses relacionadas ao conceito de
globalizao constituem um ambiente totalmente novo, crescentemente
complexo e contraditrio (BRETON e LAMBERT, 2003). Este novo ambiente
apresenta uma srie de novas caractersticas, entre elas destacam-se:
- sociedade organizada em redes, emergncia da inovao tecnolgica e
da internet como ferramenta de trabalho;
- reestruturao do sistema econmico mundial, tendo por base o
conhecimento como principal fator de produo e gerao de riqueza e poder;
- aumento da mobilidade das pessoas, do capital e do conhecimento;
- aspectos culturais complexos, envolvendo a perda potencial de
identidade local, homogeneizao cultural, predomnio da lngua inglesa.
Estas caractersticas terminam por criar um ambiente de forte presso na
rea de educao onde, entre outros aspectos, destacam-se:
- ampliao dos intercmbios e a busca de uma atuao cada vez mais
local, aliada a uma viso cada vez mais internacional;
- anlise dos impactos na sociedade das inovaes, em especial
de base tecnolgica, sejam de caractersticas incrementais ou disruptivas
(CHRISTENSEN, 2003);
- aumento da demanda em escala global por educao, pesquisa e pessoal
qualifcado (alunos, professores, pesquisadores);
- mudanas nas polticas pblicas nacionais na rea de educao;
- ampliao dos programas de mobilidade acadmica globais;
- desorganizao do sistema tradicional das Universidades, com a criao
das universidades corporativas, a educao a distancia, etc.
Neste novo ambiente, este artigo tem por objetivo explorar o papel da
avaliao na rea de pesquisa e ps-graduao, no contexto da busca constante
da qualidade, como principal fator discriminante da excelncia acadmica nas
melhores Universidades. O artigo aponta para a necessidade de desenvolver-se um
modelo de avaliao baseado em indicadores e mtricas de qualidade e desempenho,
que tenha por base os modernos modelos de avaliao organizacionais (BSC e
Performance Prism), customizados para as realidades e demandas das organizaes
universitrias, em especial na rea de cincia, tecnologia e inovao (C,T&I).
283
QUALIDADE E ESTRATGIA DE GESTO
A percepo da qualidade tem evoludo desde os anos 70 de uma viso
centrada no controle para uma viso centrada no processo. Neste sentido, ao
desenvolvermos mecanismos que garantam um processo de qualidade, o resultado
fnal ser de qualidade, como decorrncia do processo implementado. Esta percepo
envolve uma mudana cultural global nas Instituies, em todas as suas dimenses.
Implicaes imediatas decorrentes desta nova postura frente percepo de qualidade
e, consequentemente, de excelncia em uma Instituio de Ensino Superior (IES), na
perspectiva da rea de pesquisa e ps-graduao, envolvem:
- direcionamento dos projetos de pesquisa para a identifcao dos
problemas e busca de resultados relevantes para a sociedade;
- desenvolvimento de mecanismos que permitam o transbordamento dos
resultados da pesquisa acadmica para as atividades de ensino, seja de graduao
ou ps-graduao;
- entendimento de que a percepo de qualidade nas grandes Universidades
mundiais est fortemente associada com a pesquisa e a ps-graduao;
- desenvolvimento de ambientes propcios para a ampliao de
competncias e excelncia em reas-crticas defnidas pela Instituio,
envolvendo espaos para confitos positivos, criatividade, atrao e reteno de
talentos (alunos, professores e pesquisadores).
Esta noo de qualidade, para ser institucionalizada, deve estar no cerne da
Instituio, presente nas suas aes e nos seus documentos de referncia (misso,
viso e eixos estratgicos de gesto). O desenvolvimento e institucionalizao
de uma cultura de qualidade somente se concretiza quando os conhecimentos
explcitos e tcitos da organizao convergem com a aes e prticas da IES.
Novas abordagens de avaliao devem contemplar estes novos elementos,
tendo por base a misso, viso e eixos estratgicos de gesto da Instituio. Essas
abordagens devem envolver, alm das dimenses relacionadas gesto da sala
de aula ou de produo cientfca, dimenses relativas qualidade da gesto das
instituies de ensino.
A existncia de um processo de Planejamento Estratgico Institucional
condio necessria, porm no sufciente para garantir que uma cultura de
qualidade se estabelea. Aspectos relacionados com a efetiva operacionalizao dos
princpios norteadores da misso e viso devem estar presentes na gesto, bem como
deve existir um ambiente de compromisso que estimule as pessoas a acreditarem
na viso e viverem a misso institucional. Uma forma de operacionalizar esta
questo por meio de um sistema de avaliao baseado em indicadores e mtricas
que permita acompanhar e controlar sistematicamente o processo.
Na busca da construo de um ambiente pautado pela qualidade, tpico
das reas de pesquisa e ps-graduao nas melhores Universidades do mundo,
a avaliao emerge como sendo um dos principais instrumentos de gesto para
identifcar, estimular e manter nveis de qualidade desejados.
AVALIAO NA PESQUISA E NA PS-GRADUAO
A viso relativa ao processo de avaliao na pesquisa e na ps-graduao
em nossa Universidade alinha-se viso dominante no cenrio nacional. Ao
analisarmos este cenrio e as principais agncias de fomento que atuam na rea
(CAPES e CNPq), bem como a tradio avaliativa da prpria Universidade
na rea de pesquisa e ps-graduao e a experincia internacional na rea,
identifcamos alguns elementos basilares deste processo.
Para efeito de organizao da apresentao dos principais elementos da
viso referente avaliao na rea de pesquisa e ps-graduao, identifcamos os
seguintes elementos (Quadro 1):
Quadro 1: Elementos Bsicos da Avaliao
Fundamento
Misso e Viso Institucional
Integridade da Pesquisa
Foco Resultado
Princpios
Mrito
Continuidade
Transparncia
Externa
Esses elementos so de grande importncia na medida em que o processo
de identifcao de um determinado nvel de qualidade se d quando se compara
o que era esperado em um produto ou servio e o que se obteve de fato. De
maneira ampla, a qualidade de uma instituio representa quo prximas as suas
aes esto se sua Misso e a Viso da Universidade.
Um dos princpios bsicos envolve a noo da importncia da avaliao
externa, aspecto j com relativa tradio no sistema de avaliao da CAPES, cuja
avaliao conduzida por pares, indicados pela prpria comunidade das diferentes
reas de pesquisa e ps-graduao. Este princpio de avaliao externa no deve
inibir a necessidade de avaliaes internas rigorosas, em especial no tocante
produo cientfca, entendida como resultado do processo de pesquisa e principal
balizador da qualidade de um programa de ps-graduao de alto nvel.
285
Outro princpio bsico envolve o mrito, que deve conduzir as aes
na rea de ps-graduao e pesquisa, sendo um entendimento fundamental na
busca de excelncia em qualquer rea do conhecimento. Os Programas de Ps-
Graduao e as atividades de pesquisa que o sustentam devem ser um espao
onde o mrito elemento central, constituindo-se em parmetro central de
avaliao. O princpio de continuidade est muito associado ao de mrito, no
sentido que a avaliao deve permitir um olhar no somente seccional (em
um determinado momento), mas tambm longitudinal (ao longo do tempo),
permitindo a mobilidade e fexibilizao dos mecanismos de acesso e sada,
tanto na atuao nos Programas de Ps-Graduao, como nos prprios projetos
de pesquisa. No caso dos projetos de pesquisa, a prpria defnio de projeto j
embute a noo de temporalidade e no de programa (continuidade), e sendo
assim devem ser avaliados nesta perspectiva.
O princpio da transparncia indica a necessidade de que o sistema de
avaliao seja aberto, claro, com visibilidade externa e interna da sua sistemtica,
indicadores, mtricas e conseqncias. Esta conseqncia desempenha papel
crtico em um processo de avaliao realmente efcaz, focado em resultado. Por
outro lado, a seleo dos avaliadores, suas competncias e reconhecimento por
parte da comunidade acadmica fundamental para o sucesso de um processo de
avaliao nas reas de pesquisa e ps-graduao.
Finalmente, o foco do processo de avaliao deve ser o resultado, ou
seja, a anlise do quanto o objeto avaliado contribui para a consecuo da viso
e da misso da organizao (no nvel institucional) e o quanto o objeto avaliado
atinge as mtricas de avaliao estabelecidas, em termos absolutos ou relativos
(dependendo do processo de avaliao adotado). A necessidade de projetar e
executar um sistema de avaliao fexvel, ou seja, que contemple as diferenas
entre as diferentes reas do conhecimento fundamental, pois o resultado pode
ser muito diferente quando se analisa reas de conhecimento diferentes, ou, dito
de outra forma, os elementos que representam a qualidade so diferentes entre
reas de conhecimento distintas.
Como encerramento destas consideraes relativas ao processo de
avaliao, cabe destacar que a forma por meio da qual atingimos os resultados (o
como) importante, porm no sufciente. Atingir o resultado de uma forma
eticamente correta e que garanta a integridade das pesquisas desenvolvidas deve
ser fundamento do processo de avaliao. Neste sentido, podemos caracterizar
a viso do processo de avaliao, na busca da qualidade, como sendo atingir o
resultado seguindo a misso e a misso institucional.
Em nosso pas, provavelmente o melhor exemplo de processo avaliativo
continuado e com resultados objetivos e de padro internacional na rea de
Educao seja o da ps-graduao, sob responsabilidade da CAPES. Este processo
avaliativo o principal responsvel pelos elevados nveis de qualidade de alguns
dos Programas de Ps-Graduao em funcionamento no Brasil, bem como pelo
crescente e importante papel da produo cientfca nacional no cenrio cientfco
internacional nos ltimos anos.
Entretanto, ainda existe um longo caminho pela frente visando criar uma
cultura realmente enraizada na rea de avaliao da pesquisa e ps-graduao.
Devem ser reforadas iniciativas de incluso regular de avaliadores externos em
todos os processos de avaliao da pesquisa, desenvolvimento de uma sistemtica
de avaliao interna (complementar) dos Programas de Ps-Graduao, defnio
e estabilizao de um conjunto prprio de indicadores e mtricas de qualidade e
desempenho na rea de pesquisa e ps-graduao.
O maior dos desafos est relacionado com a construo de um modelo de
avaliao, com uma viso estratgica, que contemple um consistente framework
que aborde as diversas faces da qualidade e do desempenho na rea de Pesquisa
e Ps-Graduao, identifcando as dimenses de avaliao, bem como os
indicadores e mtricas associadas a cada dimenso. O Quadro 2 apresenta uma
viso inicial dos elementos que devem compor o sistema de avaliao.
Quadro 2 Elementos Bsicos de um Sistema de Avaliao
reas
Pesquisa
Ensino de Ps-Graduao
Dimenses
Interao com a Sociedade
Transferncia de Conhecimento
Integrao EnsinoPesquisa-Extenso
Processo de Ensino-Aprendizagem
Estrutura de Apoio
Resultado
Alinhamento com o Plano Estratgico Institucional
Indicadores
Qualidade
Desempenho
Funes
Descritiva
Avaliativa
Anlise
Qualitativa
Quantitativa
AVALIAO BASEADA EM INDICADORES
A ligao entre qualidade e o uso de indicadores est implcita na idia
de gesto empresarial. Dentro de um processo de gesto, a ao estratgica
287
estabelece o direcionamento e posicionamento de uma instituio, de maneira
que toda a organizao potencialmente tem estratgias, mesmo que esta no
seja formalizada. Esta estratgia relacionada a objetivos e aes para atingir
este objetivo. Os indicadores entram em cena para monitorar o quo prxima ou
distante uma organizao est do atendimento dos seus objetivos.
Por exemplo, uma universidade que tenha entre os seus objetivos estratgicos
a melhoria da qualidade da pesquisa por ela realizada pode defnir que a interao
com universidades do exterior internacional um dos meios para atender a esse
objetivo. Logo, precisar monitorar indicadores como a quantidade de pesquisadores
atuando em projetos de pesquisa internacionais, a quantidade de alunos fazendo
formao parcial em universidades do exterior a quantidade de pesquisadores de
outros pases que participam de atividades como visitantes. As metas associadas
a estes indicadores representam qual o desempenho desejado de cada um dos
indicadores em um determinado perodo, por exemplo, quantos pesquisadores (em
nmeros absolutos ou relativos) a universidade pretende ver atuando em parceria com
pesquisadores estrangeiros. Quanto mais prximo da meta, mais esta universidade
se aproxima da consecuo do objetivo (considerando que os indicadores defnidos
estejam adequados e sufcientes). Sem o acompanhamento desses indicadores, torna-
se muito difcil e oneroso o monitoramento do xito na consecuo do objetivo.
A avaliao baseada em indicadores se alicera em metodologias de
medio e gesto de desempenho. Porm, os modelos disponveis no se mostram
totalmente adequados ao contexto acadmico, o que geraria a necessidade
de integrao entre diferentes modelos, tais como o Balanced Scorecard
(KAPLAN e NORTON, 2004) e o Performance Prisma (NEELY, o ADAMS
e KENNERLEY, 2002). Estes modelos, quando usados individualmente, no
suportam a complexidade das variveis de instituies acadmicas. Outro aspecto
que torna a questo mais intrincada que, em algumas reas do conhecimento,
os elementos qualitativos compem a base de percepo de seus componentes,
pairando certa inquietude com sistemas que traduzem uma percepo (qualitativa)
de qualidade em elementos quantitativos. Equalizar estes diferentes aspectos se
constitui um desafo, cuja resoluo lenta e gradual, na medida em que melhora
a compreenso e confana dos envolvidos no processo.
Mesmo com o aumento signifcativo da investigao sobre performance
organizacional por parte das instituies acadmicas, ainda so necessrios
esforos visando conexo entre medidas operacionais e objetivos estratgicos.
O BSC foi criado em 1990 com o objetivo de apoiar processos gerenciais
crticos, tais como:
a) Esclarecer e traduzir a viso e a estratgia, estabelecendo o consenso;
b) Comunicar e associar objetivos e medidas estratgicas, educando e
vinculando recompensas;
c) Planejar, estabelecer metas e alinhar iniciativas estratgicas, alocando
recursos e estabelecendo marcos de referncia;
d) Melhorar o feedback e o aprendizado estratgico, articulando a viso
compartilhada e facilitando a reviso da estratgia.
Para traduzir a viso e a estratgia em objetivos e medidas, o BSC
estruturado em quatro diferentes perspectivas, quais sejam fnanceira, cliente,
processos internos, aprendizado e crescimento. Cada uma destas perspectivas
possui objetivos, indicadores, metas e iniciativas de forma relacionada. A ttulo
de exemplo, cada objetivo relacionado perspectiva do cliente tem os seus
indicadores e metas, e iniciativas que permitam atingir estes objetivos.
O conjunto de indicadores deve fornecer respostas a quatro questes
bsicas (KAPLAN e NORTON, 1997):
a) Para sermos mais bem sucedidos fnanceiramente (ou em termos
de sustentabilidade), como deveramos ser vistos pelos nossos acionistas (ou
mantenedores)? (perspectiva fnanceira);
b) Para alcanarmos nossa viso, como deveramos ser vistos pelos
nossos clientes? (perspectiva do cliente);
c) Para satisfazermos nossos clientes e acionistas (mantenedores), em
que processos de negcios devemos alcanar a excelncia? (perspectiva dos
processos internos);
d) Para alcanarmos nossa viso, como sustentaremos nossa capacidade
de mudar e melhorar? (perspectiva de aprendizado e crescimento).
A perspectiva fnanceira (ou sustentabilidade) descreve os resultados
tangveis em condies monetrias tradicionais. At mesmo em organizaes
pblicas ou sem fns lucrativos, como algumas universidades, esta perspectiva
importante pela necessidade de prover recursos para investimento contnuo
em servios educacionais. Em uma instituio universitria seria possvel
medir recursos monetrios recebido por projetos desenvolvidos com agncias
governamentais e companhias privadas.
A perspectiva do cliente permite aos gestores identifcar os segmentos de
clientes e mercados nos quais a organizao competir, bem como as medidas
de desempenho da organizao nesses segmentos-alvo. Sendo assim, esta
perspectiva deve incluir medidas especfcas das propostas de valor que a empresa
oferecer aos clientes. No contexto acadmico, podem ser adotados indicadores
289
e mtricas relacionadas posio nacional e internacional dos pesquisadores
e o desempenho de estudantes em atividades profssionais durante e depois de
concluso do seu curso.
Para alcanar os resultados desejados nas perspectivas fnanceira e de cliente,
necessrio selecionar prioridades competitivas que tm impacto em qualidade de
servios educacionais e infra-estrutura fsica relacionada, infuenciem no nvel de
empreendedorismo e mantenham o estudante universitrio alinhado s necessidades
da cincia e do mercado, sempre procurando integrao social comunidade.
A perspectiva dos processos internos existe para que os gestores
identifquem os processos internos crticos da organizao, alcanando a
excelncia nos mesmos. As medies desta perspectiva devem ser voltadas
para os processos internos que tem maior impacto na atrao, reteno e
satisfao de clientes em segmentos-alvo de mercado, bem como para o
atendimento das expectativas dos acionistas. Em uma instituio universitria
importante mensurar a efetividade de aspectos instrutivos e administrativos,
como preparao de professores, uso de tecnologias de apoio, e, considerando
o empreendedorismo, medir o nvel de atividades que envolvem pesquisa e
desenvolvimento de produtos novos e estabelecimento de novas empresas.
Tambm em uma perspectiva interna, deveriam ser adotadas mtricas para
avaliar o impacto social e a integrao com a comunidade.
De forma complementar, a perspectiva de aprendizado e crescimento
identifca a infra-estrutura que a empresa deve construir para que gere
crescimento e melhoria em longo prazo, o que no possvel sem a utilizao
de novas tecnologias e capacidades. Kaplan e Norton (1997, p. 29) afrmam que
o aprendizado e crescimento organizacionais provm de trs fontes principais:
pessoas, sistemas e procedimentos organizacionais. Sendo esta perspectiva
relacionada competncia de pessoal e satisfao dos colaboradores, seria
possvel adotar mtricas para avaliar experincia pedaggica, grau de formao,
trabalho em equipe e motivao.
Mesmo sendo um dos sistemas de medio de desempenho organizacional
mais utilizado pelas organizaes, o BSC apresenta algumas limitaes em
alguns contextos organizacionais. Vrios autores (SCHNEIDERMAN, 1999;
NORREKLIT, 2000; NEELY, ADAMS e KENNERLEY, 2002) apresentam
como limitao a necessidade de outras perspectivas para atender todos os
stakeholders. Norreklit (2000) aborda tambm a pouca representatividade dos
empregados na defnio de objetivos e medidas estratgicas e a ausncia de
avaliao criteriosa do ambiente externo.
Para instituies universitrias, a viso dos stakeholders sobre a
instituio uma perspectiva fundamental e indispensvel para anlise. Pode-
se entender stakeholders como qualquer grupo ou indivduo que pode afetar
ou ser afetado pela realizao dos objetivos da empresa, desempenhando um
papel vital no sucesso de seus negcios (FREEMAN, 1984). A expresso
stakeholder uma extenso ou generalizao do conceito clssico de
shareholder, que signifca o acionista, o proprietrio, o dono do negcio,
podendo ser entendido tambm como partes interessadas. Churchill e Peter
(2000) defnem stakeholders como indivduos e grupos que podem infuenciar
decises e ser infuenciados por elas. Desta forma, representa qualquer
instituio, pessoa ou grupo de pessoas, formal ou informal, que tenha
algum tipo de interesse que pode afetar ou ser afetado pelo funcionamento,
operao, comercializao, desempenho, resultados presentes ou futuros da
organizao em questo (COSTA, 2005).
Visando envolver a viso dos stakeholders na anlise estratgica, surgiu
o Performance Prism, desenvolvido pelo Center of Business Performance of the
University of Cranfeld, England (NEELY, ADAMS and KENNERLEY, 2002).
A idia deste modelo que mesmo existindo modelos com medidas fnanceiros
e no-fnanceiras, como o BSC, h a necessidade de uma segunda gerao de
modelos mais apropriados s demandas do ambiente atual. O Performance Prism
coloca a viso do stakeholders em primeiro plano, o que contribui sobremaneira
a uma anlise como o um que se voc prope neste artigo.
A partir da criao de um framework que integre as perspectivas do BSC
e do Performance Prism mais adequadas ao contexto acadmico, pretende-se ter
em mos um instrumento que possibilite a avaliao de performance da rea de
pesquisa e ps-graduao. Um framework de tal natureza torna-se importante
medida que:
a) facilita a anlise do contexto da pesquisa e ps-graduao, reduzindo a
quantidade de aspectos a analisar a um conjunto vlido e representativo de indicadores;
b) torna visvel o quo prximo ou distante se est do atendimento dos
objetivos estratgicos em termos de pesquisa e ps-graduao, por meio das
metas associadas aos indicadores;
c) permite uma tomada de deciso mais qualifcada em relao a quais
iniciativas devem se apoiadas, a partir da vinculao ou no aos objetivos estratgicos.
Em ltima anlise, espera-se que este framework auxilie a busca
contnua por qualidade e excelncia acadmica e por alinhamento das aes
aos objetivos estratgicos.
291
CONSIDERAES FINAIS
A sociedade do conhecimento demanda uma Universidade nova para
os novos tempos. Nesta nova Universidade, atenta s demandas da sociedade
em que est inserida, emerge o papel da pesquisa cientfca e tecnolgica e da
formao acadmica de alto nvel (mestrado e doutorado), foco deste artigo,
como potencial vetor de desenvolvimento econmico e social.
Um importante desafo aponta para o desenvolvimento de um sistema de
avaliao que contemple as demandas dos novos tempos, desta nova Universidade,
que deve colocar sua tradio e qualidade a servio da renovao necessria
para atender ao cumprimento de sua misso. Do ponto de vista de uma gesto
estratgica deve-se desenvolver mecanismos que permitam acompanhar e controlar
a qualidade de processos e servios e o desempenho, tendo por base um sistema de
avaliao abrangente que incorpore as novas demandas que a sociedade apresenta
para a Universidade, em especial nas reas de ensino de ps-graduao e pesquisa.
Conforme apresentado neste artigo, as novas vises da Universidade
demandadas pela Sociedade da Informao requerem que se supere o hiato existe
entre os objetivos estratgicos da Instituio e sua ao operacional, permitindo um
acompanhamento efetivo do seu desempenho, em especial nas reas de pesquisa
e ensino de ps-graduao. A adoo de uma abordagem de avaliao baseada na
anlise estratgica uma alternativa vivel. Como apresentado neste artigo, a questo
ainda por resolver que os sistemas atuais de avaliao de desempenho empresariais
no contemplam as complexidades e especifcidades da rea acadmica.
Como resultado deste processo de investigao, busca-se uma integrao
entre diferentes modelos de avaliao estratgica visando identifcar indicadores e
mtricas especfcas para a rea de cincia, tecnologia e inovao (C,T&I), utilizando
uma abordagem que contemple simultaneamente anlises quantitativas e qualitativas.
Responder a este desafo com aes efetivas o que a PUCRS tem procurado
fazer, tendo como fundamento a busca da qualidade com sustentabilidade, criando
um ambiente de gesto estratgica que contempla as mais modernas tcnicas de
gesto disponveis.
REFERENCIAS
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Universit Laval/Economica, Paris, 2003.
CHISTENSEN, C. The Innovators Dilemma. HarperCollins Publishers, New
York, 2003.
CHURCHILL JR., G. A.; PETER, J. P. Marketing: criando valor para o cliente.
So Paulo: Saraiva, 2000.
COSTA, ELIEZER A.; Gesto estratgica. So Paulo: Saraiva, 2005
FREEMAN, R. EDWARD. Strategic management: a stakeholder approach.
Marshfeld, Massachusetts: Pitman Publishing Inc, 1984.
KAPLAN, R. S.; NORTON, D. P. Kaplan e Norton na prtica. 3 ed. Rio de
Janeiro: Elsevier, 2004b.
KAPLAN, R. S.; NORTON, D. P., A estratgia em ao: balanced scorecard. 7.
ed. Rio de Janeiro: Campus, 1997.
NEELY, Andy. ADAMS, Chris, KENNERLEY, Mike. The Performance Prism:
the scorecard for measuring and managing business success. Prentice Hall. 2002.
NORREKLIT, Hanne. The balance on the balanced scorecard a critical
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n. 1, pp. 65-88. Academic Press. 2000.
SCHNEIDERMAN, A. M. Why balanced scorecard fail. Journal of Strategic
Performance Measurement. Special Edition. pp. 6-11. 1999.
SEGRERA, L. Escenarios Mundiales de la Educacin Superior: analices global
y estudios de casos. CLACSO Libros, Buenos Aires, 2006.
SIMO, J., SANTOS, S., COSTA, A. Ensino Superior: uma viso para a
prxima dcada. Gradiva, Lisboa, 2002.
UNESCO. Hacia las sociedades del conocimiento. Ediciones UNESCO, Paris, 2005.
INDICATORS OF PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION IN
THE UNIVERSITY
Denise Leite
1
2
INTRODUCTION
T
his article is a synthesis, a product of the consequences of different
educational publications and experiences by the authors. Without
forgetting that many voices were heard before we were able to sew together the
ideas presented here. Among the main voices are those of researchers and students
from the Research Group on Innovation and Evaluation in the University.
University, society and quality relations are seen through the flter of
pedagogical innovation. The consequences refer to an energy process which has
been in combustion for many years during our studies and research. Now, we
search for what is left of this burnt energy. What we fnd and are about to present
is a summary from which other meanings may emerge for the same subject.
Since nothing is lost and everything transforms, we reclaim the university
society relation as a self-produced social relation. That is, it is necessary for
the university to transform, to reinvent itself constantly and critically in order
to serve a civilizing project (Vieira Pinto, 1960; Buarque, 1991; Santos, 2000;
Arendt, 2010) which begins within the university, with innovation in educational
relations, and in teaching-learning-researching.
Our objective is to suggest categories of quality indicators for the topic
of pedagogical innovation in the University and Society relations, a topic that is
subjective and not totally defned or clear. That is, we consider that pedagogical
innovation can also be seen as a university quality indicator.
QUALITY INDICATORS AND UNIVERSITY SOCIETY
RELATIONS INCLUDE COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION
Quality indicators of university and society relations are diffcult to
formulate and consequently diffcult to measure mathematically. An indicator,
1
Research Professor of the Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
Member of PRONEX CNPq/FAPERGS and of the Observatory of Education CAPES/INEP. CNPq Researcher 1.
2
Research Professor of the Graduate Program in Education at the Pontifcal Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul.
Member of PRONEX CNPq/FAPERGS and of the Observatory of Education CAPES/INEP. CNPq Researcher 2.
as Schaedler (2010) explains, can be understood only as an analyzer which
enables us to see a given situation or event or fact.
On the other hand, evaluation is a qualifed organizer when seen from
the point of view of its organizing functions within the university. Thinking of
indicators that can measure the quality of a relation can appear to be an impossible
mission because we have entered a feld which involves values, a nebulous feld.
This way, we gather analyzers, referents and evidence or markers
(Shaedler, 2010) of situations of pedagogical innovation which can serve as
organizers qualifed to interpret, and only interpret, the university and society and
quality relations based on what occurs within the teaching-learning, research-
extension situations in the university.
In this case, we understand quality as a redundant complement, almost
a pleonasm of the university society relation, thus its value in the affrmation of
the social commitment of the institution.
The 21
st
century University faces the new with the new. Santos (2004)
discusses the transformations of the university with respect to learning processes,
to rationalities that guide knowledge and their social contextualization. But
considers that changes, such as those produced by the commercialization of
higher education, are here to stay and can be irreversible. Therefore, opposing
alternatives already in use can result in failure, thus facing the new with the new
and pursuing innovation by doing and being a university.
Among the transformations with which the 21
st
century University is
involved, there are internal and external evaluations. The institution that has
always been aware of its benchmark of quality, its legitimacy before society,
today needs an external reference of quality, to be accountable for its performance
and for the resources that it employs through evaluations. For Santos,
The new institutionality must include a new evaluation
system that encompasses each one of the universities and the
university system network as a whole. For both of these cases,
self-evaluation and hetero-evaluation mechanisms must
be adopted. The evaluation criteria must be congruent with
legitimization tasks and with the valuing of transformation in
knowledge production and distribution and their connection
to new educational alternatives (Santos, 2004, p. 104).
The author emphasizes the topic of participatory evaluation which,
instead of being a narcissistic mirror, must be determined by principles of self-
management, self-legislation and self-surveillance.
295
The models of participatory evaluation enable the emergence
of internal evaluation criteria suffciently robust to be measured
by external evaluation criteria. Principles of self-management,
self-legislation and self-surveillance enable evaluation
processes to also be processes of policy learning and of building
player and institutional autonomy (Santos, 2004, p.105).
The word University characterizes an institution that includes
undergraduate and graduate education, research and extension. For Santos
(2004), the University is defned based on the indications brought by its condition
as a public good, of an institution that practices internationalization, works with
university knowledge, pursues legitimization with its activities on the ecology of
knowledge, practices extension, is committed to public schools and, at the same
time, to social responsibility with the industry.
In the authors publications and refections, he certainly was not
concerned with defning quality indicators for the university. However, reading
his work enables the identifcation of possible quality indicators for the innovative
university, the 21
st
century University, as seen below.
We have assumed in this article the expression of the University as a Public
Good, with the certainty that it is almost a pleonasm, thus its importance. The
University as a Public Good is not an exclusive institution in terms of people as well
as their knowledge. It is inclusive because it responds positively to the desire for the
democratization of society, to the desires for being, having and expanding democratic
standards, for being, having and expanding democratic participation at its core.
Following are the main characteristics of the 21th century University.
The University as a public good: a University that responds positively to the
social demands for democratization and puts an end to the exclusion of social
groups and their knowledge (Santos, 2004, pp.93, 109, 110, 111).
Internationalization: a national solution with a global articulation. The
articulations must be of a cooperative nature, built outside the commercial
regime. A new alternative and solidary transnationalization supported by new
information and communication technologies for the constitution of national
and global networks where new educations, new processes for building and
disseminating scientifc knowledge among others, new social, national and
global commitments circulate (Santos, 2004, p. 56).
University knowledge: pluriversity, transdisciplinary, contextualized, interactive,
produced, distributed and consumed knowledge based on new information and
communication technologies (Santos, 2004, p.39-45).
Legitimacy of the university: includes access, extension, investigation-action,
ecology of knowledge as a post-colonial perspective (Santos, 2004, pp.66 and 67) .
Extension activities: are central to the university, their importance is in providing
a voice to those who are excluded or oppressed, incubating innovation in scientifc
and technological culture, cultural activities, arts and literature, and being a feld
of varied services for different social groups (Santos, 2004, p.74).
Commitment to public schools: Institutional collaboration mechanisms by the
university with public schools through which professional development and
educational practices can be effectively integrated () (Santos, 2004, p.83).
Social responsibility with the industry: Institutional collaboration mechanisms
by the university with businesses without which researchers would lose their
scientifc agenda and research (Santos, 2004, p. 89).
It is within this 21
st
century University that we see the obligatory
development of pedagogical innovation. A contemporary university innovates
because it establishes a mission of an internationalized nature, because
it installs technological incubators on its campus, because it establishes
partnerships with technology industries which perform within its physical
environment, it recruits innovative professors and stimulates students to
think about the new in the rhythm of globalization (Clark, 1998; Audy and
Morosini, 2008).
Many of the innovations that are appearing in contemporary universities
also refect the demands of the communities or the demands of external evaluation
or research funding agencies. In a way, such innovations are characteristic of
technological innovation and are aimed at broadening alternatives for insertion
in global educational markets. We understand that technological innovation is
relevant in market and industrial competitiveness.
We equally understand that the innovation we speak of, pedagogical
innovation, has a central characteristic. It is educational and so, it can accompany
technological innovation, but fundamentally, it is a process which responds to
the social commitment of the education of the human professor and the human
student. This is asserted in a socially entrepreneurial university. In this sense,
we reassert that the university is the place for human education which needs to
support the development of the citizen in this new context which we are living
and its contradictions and paradoxes.
The classroom, on-site or virtual, the laboratory or any space in which
intentional learning occurs, is distinguished from others for being a framework
of a pragmatic reference to the world in the university action.
297
We adopt from Milton Santos the idea that this space and context of
place includes educational spaces as well as:
(...)the irreplaceable theater of human, responsible
passions, through communicative actions, in the most
diverse manifestations of spontaneity and creativity
(Santos, 1996, p.258).
The space of intentional learning is the space of the human in the
university and it is this way because we are intentionally together in the same
place. Hanah Arendt (2010) claims that the educational action can be summed
up in humanizing the human being since making the human being more human
is not always clear.
And this is also innovation, since this principle humanizing the human
has been rejected by certain views of scientifc duty which isolated man from his
work, separated subjects from other subjects in a position of neutrality in the relations
of knowledge production and the production of the intentional learning activity.
On the other hand, by committing to the human, pedagogical innovation
has to do with the social commitment of the university. The commitment is to
quality, knowledge, and inclusive globalization in which:
The choice will be between a technical modernity, whose
effciency is independent of ethics, or an ethical modernity,
in which technical knowledge will be subordinate to ethical
values, of which one of the main ones is the maintenance of
the similarity between human beings (Buarque, 1991, p 4).
Would it be possible to evaluate the quality of university society relations
based on the processes of pedagogical innovation?
INNOVATION INDICATORS
In an attempt to answer this question and establish quality indicators of
pedagogical innovation, we present categories that signal, mark possibilities of
making the social commitment of the university visible.
Within the educator, the intentionality of relations which take place
in teaching, research, extension, in knowledge production and dissemination,
we fnd in our observation, processes that evoke the Educational Pedagogical
Memory, the Protagonism of students and professors, the development of
Territoriality, the Paradigmatic Rupture in the construction of knowledge and
the pursuit of different epistemologies and multiple rationalities, and also the
experience of Pedagogical Democracy.
These categories that can serve as quality indicators cannot be sustained
in isolation. The innovative educational process is built in knowledge webs, in
webs of relations with and through knowledge. In relations that are, human, too
human. These webs move themselves with emotion, intuition, and cognition.
From the human and epistemological dialogue emerge what we understand as
pedagogical innovation. This innovation can be the new to face the new. It can
be the new that emerge from the changes by which the university is transforming
itself as a knowledge institution.
Following, the main pedagogical innovation indicators, their analyzers,
referents and markers:
EDUCATIONAL MEMORY
Analyzer:
Web of relations that involve knowledge as a founding category in the teaching
and learning processes
Referent of Educational Memory:
Experiences brought by the subjects in teaching-learning processes
Evidences or Markers:
Pieces of experiences brought by subject narratives, which represent their
realities conceived with meanings; pieces reinterpreted in the dialectic university,
knowledge and life relation.
Paths of professors and students which are made explicit and brought to the
construction of a common territory by the mark of the difference in a web of
relations built with stories by students and the professor.
Meaningful links for students, between students and the professor, within the
experiences and knowledge itself from within and from life in openly faced conficts.
PROTAGONISM
Analyzer:
Conscious and autonomous participation of students and professors in formative
processes.
Referent:
Authorship (origin+principal) and protagonism (principal+fghter, competitor)
for the construction of intellectual autonomy as an ethical-existential purpose.
299
Evidences or markers:
Exercise of authorship in classroom decisions, in elaborating publications, in
reorganizing groups, in research, in writing articles and others.
Development of the argumentative capacity of the students.
Development of the capacity to make decisions independently and justifed.
Decisions shared in an educational process of choices, on a personal and
collective level.
Learning-teaching experiences which involve the appropriation of reality as a
process that is not ready to perform in reality.
TERRITORIALITY
Analyzer:
Circulation, occupation and appropriation of different formal and non-formal
spaces of academic life
Referent:
Confguration and reconfguration of spaces with teaching-learning purposes.
Different confgurations woven by links built in and by the work with knowledge
that students and professors do in the classroom.
The decision of the professor so that this territory is not delimited by its action
or by the walls of the University, but that is a classroom by the intentionality
of teaching and learning.
Professor and students expand frontiers of sociocultural relations with knowledge
and daily life to beyond the physical limit of the classroom.
RUPTURE
Analyzer:
Epistemological rupture with the dominant paradigm of science
Referent of paradigmatic rupture:
Pursuit of other epistemes than that of the dominant paradigm.
Different epistemes in the understanding of knowledge, science and the world.
Different rationalities beyond the cognitive-instrumental.
Overcoming knowledge as a static content corpse of information dead body
of knowledge (Freire and Shor, 1987: p.15).
Perspective of teaching and learning methods that surpass the positivist reproductive mode.
Overcoming individualism and understanding the social construction of knowledge.
HISTORICITY OF KNOWLEDGE
Analyzer:
Modes of knowledge production and their relations with the sociocultural space-
time and politics and power structures.
Referent:
Values implied in the historical production of knowledge.
Manifestation of rupture with a mythical belief of superiority of scientifc knowledge.
Manifestation of reception of different interpretations of reality, without a
generalizing or aseptic nature and always true.
Recognition of the intentionality and the interests that form the history of knowledge.
Recognition of the values implicated in the processes of knowledge production
in different times, circumstances and spaces of the social praxis.
Refective understanding of dated and situated knowledge as an individual and
collective construction of humanity.
EDUCATIONAL DEMOCRACY
Analyzer
Shared educational relation
Referent:
The relation between professors-students-students founded in a contract of
shared decisions for the development of the educational process.
A relation of trust built by attitudes of respect, reception, at the limits of
possible human relations.
Relations interspersed with affection and availability for dialogue.
A condition built by professors and students-students together, with humility,
with the belief that the possible is also an ethical construction to travel between
the personal and the social.
A condition built in teaching-learning processes which travel between the
individual and the social.
SCHEMES AND WEBS OF PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION
In the introduction of this article, we reported on the university society
relation as a self-produced social relation. We observed the importance of the
301
transformation processes of the university and the need for its reinvention in
order to serve a civilizing project in the context of the globalized world.
We affrm that the transformation begins within the institution, with
innovation in educational relations, in the education of teaching-learning-
research-extending knowledge.
Our objective was to suggest categories of evaluation indicators for
the topic of pedagogical innovation. This is because we consider pedagogical
innovation to be seen as a quality indicator of the university in its commitment
with democratic society.
The quality indicators present a side relative to individuals in the categories
of indicators that refer to the Educational Memory and to the Protagonism of
students and professors; a side of the context-place of intentional learning carried
out by the subjects of the university institution which has been denominated
Territoriality or the appropriation of spaces by the subjects; a side of knowledge
that encompasses Historicity and Paradigmatic Rupture as the understanding and
production of knowledge in different epistemologies and rationalities; a side of
the direct relation with society marked by Educational Democracy.
Such understandings are articulated in schemes and webs. To work with
thought or with practical activities that reproduce the job and career market as is
done in the university, involves building schemes and webs.
The woven schemes are sustained by strong threads which provide structure
to the fabrics and other more fragile fabrics that are interwoven to make it beautiful.
The webs suggest the work of spiders in their property of capture, uncertainty and
fragility, since, they can fall apart with the wind, though, at the same time, are stronger
than steel. The webs in their construction are also the source of welcome.
These images tell us that pedagogical innovation is built with unique and
integrative intentionalities. And the indicators only show us a way of metaphorically
reinventing the relations that specifcally take place in the reality of the 21
st
century
universities, those that are also socially entrepreneurial institutions.
REFERENCES
ARENDT, Hannah. A condio humana. 11 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Forense
Universitria, 2010.
AUDY, Jorge; MOROSINI, Marlia.(Org.). Inovao e Qualidade na
Universidade. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. 2008.
BUARQUE, Cristvam. Universidade numa encruzilhada. Conferencia no
CRUB. Campinas. 1991. Acesso em 27 de maio de 2010.
In: http:/www.scribd.com./doc/3046306/universidade-numa-encruzilhada-
Cristovam-Barque.
CLARK, Burton. Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Organizational
Pathways of Transformation, Oxford: Pergamon-Elsevier Science, 1998.
FERNANDES, Cleoni Maria Barboza. Sala de aula universitria ruptura,
memria educativa, territorialidade o desafo da construo pedaggica do
conhecimento. Porto Alegre: PPGEdu, Faced, UFRGS, 1999. Tese de Doutorado.
FREIRE, Paulo e Shor, Ira. Medo e ousadia: o cotidiano do professor. Rio de
Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1987.
LEITE, D. Inovao e rupturas paradigmticas: a centralidade do conhecimento
na pedagogia universitria. In: Encontro nacional de Didtica e Prtica de Ensino,
9. IX ENDIPE. Anais II. guas de Lindoia (SP), 1998, Vol.1/1. P. 303-315.
LEITE, D.; GENRO, M. E.; BRAGA, A.M. Inovao e pedagogia
universitria. Porto Alegre: Editora da UFRGS, 2011.
SANTOS, Boaventura. Um discurso sobre as cincias. Porto: Afrontamento,
1987.
______. Crtica da razo indolente: contra o desperdcio da experincia. So
Paulo: Cortez, 2000.
______. A Universidade no sculo 21: para uma reforma democrtica e
emancipatria da universidade. So Paulo: Cortez, 2004.
SANTOS, Milton. A natureza do espao. Tcnica e tempo. Razo e emoo.
So Paulo: HUCITEC, 1996.
SHAEDLER, Lucia Ins. Por um plano esttico da avaliao nas residencias
multiprofssionais: construindo abordagens avaliativas SUS-implicadas. Porto
Alegre: PPGEdu, Faced, UFRGS, 2010. Tese doutorado.
VIEIRA PINTO, lvaro. Conscincia e realidade nacional. 2 v.Rio de
Janeiro: Iseb, 1960.
INDICADORES DE INOVAO PEDAGGICA
NA UNIVERSIDADE
Denise Leite
INTRODUO
E
ste texto surge como uma sntese, um rescaldo, de diferentes
produes e experincias pedaggicas das autoras. Sem esquecer
que muitas vozes foram ouvidas antes que consegussemos costurar as ideias aqui
expostas. Dentre as principais vozes encontram-se aquelas dos pesquisadores e
estudantes do Grupo de Pesquisa Inovao e Avaliao na Universidade.
As relaes universidade sociedade e qualidade foram vistas pelo fltro
da inovao pedaggica. O rescaldo se reporta a um processo de energia que
esteve em combusto durante muitos anos em nossos estudos e pesquisas. Neste
momento, procuramos o que sobrou desta queima de energia. O que encontramos
e estamos a expor signifca uma sntese da qual podem ou no emergir outros
sentidos para a mesma matria.
Como nada se perde e tudo se transforma recuperamos a relao universidade
sociedade como uma relao social autoproduzida. Ou seja, necessrio que a
universidade se transforme e reinvente a si prpria de forma constante e crtica para
servir a um projeto civilizatrio (Vieira Pinto, 1960; Buarque, 1991; Santos, 2000;
Arendt, 2010) que comea por dentro da instituio, pela inovao nas relaes
pedaggicas, no ensinar-aprender-pesquisar (Leite, 1998).
Nosso objetivo sugerir categorias de indicadores de qualidade para a
temtica da inovao pedaggica nas relaes Universidade e Sociedade, uma
temtica subjetiva e no totalmente delineada ou esclarecida na literatura. Ou
seja, consideramos que a inovao pedaggica tambm pode ser vista como
indicador de qualidade da universidade.
INDICADORES DE QUALIDADE E RELAES UNIVERSIDADE
SOCIEDADE INCLUEM COMPROMISSO COM A INOVAO
Indicadores de qualidade das relaes universidade e sociedade so
difceis de formular e em consequncia difceis de medir matematicamente. Um
indicador como bem explica Schaedler (2010) pode ser entendido apenas como
um analisador que nos permite enxergar uma dada situao ou evento ou fato.
Por outro lado a avaliao um organizador qualifcado quando vista sob o
ponto de vista de suas funes organizativas dentro da universidade. Pensar indicadores
que possam medir a qualidade de uma relao pode parecer misso impossvel isto
porque adentramos um campo que envolve valores, um campo nebuloso.
Desta forma reunimos analisadores, referentes e evidncias ou
marcadores (Shaedler, 2010) de situaes de inovao pedaggica que bem
poderiam servir como organizadores qualifcados para interpretar, e apenas
interpretar, as relaes universidade e sociedade e qualidade a partir do que ocorre por
dentro das situaes de ensino-aprendizagem, pesquisa-extenso na universidade.
Neste caso entendemos a qualidade como um complemento redundante,
quase um pleonasmo da relao universidade sociedade tal o seu valor na
afrmao do compromisso social da instituio.
A universidade do sculo 21 enfrenta o novo com o novo. Santos (2004)
discute as transformaes da universidade quanto aos processos de conhecer,
s racionalidades que orientam os conhecimentos e sua contextualizao social.
Deste modo considera que as mudanas, tais como aquelas produzidas pela
mercantilizao da educao superior, esto a para fcar, podem ser irreversveis.
Portanto, contrapor alternativas j utilizadas pode resultar em fracasso, da
enfrentar o novo com o novo. Buscar a inovao ao fazer e ser universidade.
Dentre as transformaes com as quais se v envolvida a universidade
do sculo 21, encontram-se as avaliaes, internas e externas. A instituio que
sempre soube qual era o seu referencial de qualidade, sua legitimiddade perante
a sua sociedade necessita hoje da referncia externa de qualidade, prestar contas de
seus desempenhos e dos recursos que emprega atravs das avaliaes. Para Santos,
A nova institucionalidade deve incluir um novo sistema
de avaliao abrange cada uma das universidades e o
sistema da rede universitria no seu conjunto. Para ambos
os casos devem ser adoptados mecanismos de auto-
avaliao e de hetero-avaliao.Os critrios de avaliao
devem ser congruentes com as tarefas de legitimao e
com a valorizao das transformaes na produo e na
distribuio do conhecimento e suas ligaes s novas
alternativas pedaggicas (Santos, 2004, p.104).
O autor enfatiza o tema da avaliao participativa a qual antes de
ser um espelho narcisista, deve ser balisada por princpios de autogesto,
autolegislao e autovigilncia.
305
Os modelos de avaliao participativa tornam possvel a
emergncia de critrios de avaliao interna sufcientemente
robustos para se medirem pelos critrios de avaliao
externa. Os princpios de auto-gesto, auto-legislao e auto-
vigilncia tornam possvel que os processos de avaliao
sejam tambm processos de aprendizagem poltica e de
construo de autonomias dos actores e das instituies
(Santos, 2004, p.105)
A palavra Universidade caracteriza uma instituio que compreende
formao de graduao e ps-graduao, investigao e extenso. Para Santos
(2004) a Universidade se defniria a partir de indicaes trazidas por sua condio
de um Bem Pblico, de uma instituio que pratica a Internacionalizao,
trabalha com o Conhecimento Universitrio, busca Legitimao por suas aes
em torno da ecologia de saberes, pratica a Extenso, tem compromisso com a
Escola Pblica e, ao mesmo tempo, Responsabilidade Social com a Indstria.
O autor em seus escritos e refexes certamente no teve a preocupao
em defnir indicadores de qualidade para a universidade. Porm, a leitura de sua
obra permite identifcar possveis indicadores de qualidade para a univeridade
inovadora, a universidade do sculo 21, como se v a seguir.
Assumimos neste texto a expresso Universidade como Bem Pblico,
na certeza de que a mesma seria quase um pleonasmo, tal sua importncia. A
Universidade como Bem Pblico uma instituio no excludente tanto em
termos de pessoas quanto dos seus saberes. includente porque responde
positivamente aos anseios de democratizao da sociedade, aos anseios do
ser, do ter e do ampliar os cnones democrticos, do ser, do ter e do ampliar a
participao democrtica em seu seio.
A seguir, pontuamos as caractersticas da universidade Sculo 21 segundo os
autores consultados. Para esta universidade foram pensados os indicadores de inovao.
Universidade como bem pblico: Universidade que responde positivamente s
demandas sociais para a democratizao e pe fm excluso de grupos sociais
e seus saberes. (Santos, 2004, p.p.93, 109, 110, 111).
Internacionalizao: Soluo nacional com articulao global. As articulaes
devem ser de tipo cooperativo, construdas por fora do regime mercantil. Uma
nova transnacionalizao alternativa e solidria apoiada em novas tecnologias
da informao e da comunicao para constituio de redes nacionais e globais
onde circulem novas pedagogias, novos processos de construo e difuso de
conhecimentos cientfcos e outros, novos compromissos sociais, nacionais e
globais. (Santos, 2004, p.56).
Conhecimento universitrio: Conhecimento pluriversitrio, transdisciplinar,
contextualizado, interativo, produzido, distribuido e consumido com base nas
novas tecnologias da comunicao e da informao. (Santos, 2004, p.39-45).
Legitimidade da universidade: Inclui acesso, extenso, investigao-ao,
ecologia de saberes como perspectiva ps-colonial. (Santos, 2004, pp.66 e 67) .
Atividades de extenso: So centrais na universidade, seu valor est em dar voz
aos excludos e oprimidos, incubar a inovao da cultura cientfca e tecnolgica,
as atividades culturais, das artes e da literatura, ser um campo de servios variados
para grupos sociais diferenciados. (Santos, 2004, p.74).
Compromisso com a escola pblica: Mecanismos institucionais de colaborao da
universidade com a escola pblica atravs dos quais se construa uma integrao
efetiva entre formao profssional e prticas educativas. (...) (Santos, 2004, p.83).
Responsabilidade social com a indstria: Mecanismos institucionais de
colaborao da universidade com as empresas sem que os pesquisadores percam
sua agenda e pesquisa cientfca. (Santos, 2004, p. 89).
dentro desta universidade do sculo 21 que enxergamos o obrigatrio
desenvolvimento da inovao pedaggica. Uma universidade contempornea
inova porque estabelece uma misso de carter internacionalizado, porque
instala incubadoras tecnolgicas em seu campus, porque estabelece parcerias
com indstrias de tecnologias que atuam dentro de sua planta ambiental fsica,
recruta docentes inovadores e incentiva os alunos a pensarem o novo em
compasso de globalizao (Clark, 1998; Audy e Morosini, 2008).
Muitas das inovaes que esto a aparecer nas universidades
contemporneas tambm refetem demandas das comunidades ou demandas de
agncias externas de avaliao ou de fomento pesquisa. De certa forma, tais
inovaes tm carter de inovao tecnolgica e se destinam a ampliar alternativas
de insero nos mercados educativos globais. Entendemos que a inovao
tecnolgica possui relevncia de mercado e de competitividade industrial.
Compreendemos igualmente que a inovao da qual falamos, a inovao
pedaggica, tem uma caracterstica central. Ela pedaggica e, por isto, ela pode
acompanhar a inovao tecnolgica, mas, fundamentalmente ela um processo
que responde ao compromisso social de formao do humano docente e do
humano aluno (Leite, 1998; Leite, Genro e Braga, 2011). Ela se afrma em uma
universidade socialmente empreendedora.
Nesse sentido, reafrmamos que a universidade o lugar da humana
formao que precisa sustentar a formao do cidado nesse novo contexto que
estamos vivendo em suas contradies e paradoxos.
307
A sala de aula, presencial ou virtual, o laboratrio ou qualquer espao
em que ocorrem as aprendizagens intencionais, se distingue de outros por ser
quadro de uma referncia pragmtica ao mundo no fazer universidade.
Tomamos de Milton Santos a ideia de que este espao e contexto de lugar,
compreende os espaos pedaggicos tambm como: (...) o teatro insubstituvel das
paixes humanas, responsveis, atravs da ao comunicativa, pelas mais diversas
manifestaes da espontaneidade e da criatividade (Santos, 1996, p.258).
O espao das aprendizagens intencionais o espao do humano na
universidade e assim o por estarmos intencionalmente juntos no mesmo
lugar. Hanah Arendt (2010) nos diz que a ao educativa pode ser resumida
em humanizar o ser humano, pois tornar o ser humano mais humano nem
sempre est posto. E isto tambm inovao, pois, tal princpio humanizar o
humano foi recusado por determindas vises de fazer cientfco que isolaram
o homem do seu trabalho, separaram sujeitos de outros sujeitos em uma
postura de neutralidade nas relaes de produo do conhecimento e do fazer
aprendizagem intencional.
Por outro lado, ao comprometer-se com o humano, a inovao pedaggica
tem a ver com o compromisso social da universidade. O compromisso com a
qualidade, com o conhecimento, com uma globalizao includente em que:
A escolha ser entre uma modernidade tcnica, cuja
efcincia independe da tica, ou uma modernidade tica,
na qual o conhecimento tcnico estar subordinado aos
valores ticos, dos quais um dos principais a manuteno
da semelhana entre os seres humanos (Buarque, 1991, p 4).
Seria possvel avaliar a qualidade das relaes universidade sociedade a
partir dos processos de inovao pedaggica?
INDICADORES DE INOVAO
Na tentativa de responder a esta questo e estabelecer indicadores de
qualidade de inovao pedaggica apresentamos categorias que sinalizam,
marcam possibilidades de visibilizao do compromisso social da universidade.
Por dentro do pedaggico, da intencionalidade das relaes que se travam
no ensino, na pesquisa, na extenso, na produo e disseminao do conhecimento,
encontramos em nossas observaes processos que evocam a Memria Pedaggica
Educativa, o Protagonismo de alunos e docentes, a formao da Territorialidade,
a Ruptura Paradigmtica na construo do conhecimento e a busca de diferentes
epistemologias e mltiplas racionalidades, e tambm a vivncia da Democracia
Pedaggica Leite, 1998; Fernandes, 1999; Leite, Genro e Braga, 2011).
Estas categorias que podem servir como indicadores de qualidade no se
sustentam de forma isolada. O processo pedaggico inovador se arma em teias
de conhecimento, em teias de relaes com e atravs do conhecimento. Relaoes
que so humanas, demasiado humanas. Estas teias mexem com a emoo, com a
intuio, com a cognio. da trama do dilogo humano com o epistemolgico
que se gera aquilo que compreendemos como inovao pedaggica. Esta
inovao pode ser o novo para enfrentar o novo, demasiado novo das mudanas
pelas quais est a passar a universidade como instituio do conhecimento.
A seguir, os indicadores de inovao pedaggica, os analisadores,
referentes e as evidncias ou marcadores:
MEMRIA EDUCATIVA
Analisador:
Teia de relaes que envolvem o conhecimento como categoria fundante nos
processos de ensinar e aprender.
Referente da Memria educativa:
Vivncias trazidas pelos sujeitos em processos de ensinar-aprender.
Evidncias ou Marcadores:
Recortes de vivncias trazidos em narrativas pelos sujeitos, as quais so
a representao de suas realidades engravidadas de signifcados; recortes
reinterpretados na dialtica relao universidade, conhecimento e vida.
Trajetrias de professores e alunos que so explicitadas e trazidas para a
construo de um territrio comum pela marca da diferena em uma teia de
relaes construda com as histrias de alunos e professor.
Vnculos signifcativos para os alunos, entre alunos e professor, por dentro das
experincias e do prprio conhecimento que trazem de si e da vida em confitos
abertamente enfrentados.
PROTAGONISMO
Analisador:
Participao consciente e autnoma de alunos e professores nos processos formativos.
Referente:
Autoria (origem+principal) e protagonismo (principal+lutador, competidor) para
a construo da autonomia intelectual como fnalidade tico-existencial.
309
Evidncias ou marcadores:
Exerccio da autoria em decises de sala de aula, em elaborao de trabalhos, em
reorganizao de grupos, em pesquisas, em escrita de textos e outros.
Desenvolvimento da capacidade argumentativa dos alunos.
Desenvolvimento da capacidade para tomar decises de forma independente
e justifcada.
Decises partilhadas em um processo pedaggico de escolhas, no nvel pessoal
e coletivo.
Experincias de ensinar-aprender que envolvem a apropriao da realidade como
processo no-aprontado para nela atuar.
TERRITORIALIDADE
Analisador:
Circulao, ocupao, e apropriao de diferentes espaos formais e no-formais
da vida acadmica
Referente:
Confgurao e reconfgurao de espaos com vistas ao ensinar-aprender.
Diferentes confguraes tecidas por vnculos construdos no e pelo trabalho
com o conhecimento que alunos e professores fazem na sala de aula.
Deciso do professor para que este territrio no seja delimitado pela sua ao,
nem pelos muros da Universidade, mas que seja sala de aula pela intencionalidade
de ensinar e aprender.
Professor e alunos expandem fronteiras de relaes scioculturais com o
conhecimento e com a vida cotidiana para alm do limite fsico da sala de aula.
RUPTURA
Analisador:
Ruptura epistemolgica com o paradigma dominante da cincia
Referente de ruptura paradigmtica:
Busca de outras epistemes.
Diferentes epistemes na compreenso de conhecimento, cincia e mundo.
Diferentes racionalidades para alm da cognitivo-instrumental.
Superao do conhecimento como contedo esttico cadver de informao
corpo morto de conhecimento (Freire e Shor, 1987: p.15).
Perspectiva de formas de ensinar e aprender que ultrapassem o modo
reprodutivo positivista.
Superao do individualismo e compreenso da construo social do conhecimento.
HISTORICIDADE DO CONHECIMENTO
Analisador:
Modos de produo do conhecimento e de suas relaes com o espaotempo
sociocultural e poltico e estruturas de poder.
Referente:
Valores implicados na produo histrica do conhecimento.
Manifestao de rompimento com uma crena mtica de superioridade do
conhecimento cientfco.
Manifestao de acolhida a diferentes interpretaes da realidade, sem carter
generalizante ou assptico e sempre verdadeiro.
Reconhecimento da intencionalidade e dos interesses que forjam a histria
do conhecimento.
Reconhecimento dos valores implicados nos processos de produo do
conhecimento em diferentes tempos, circunstncias e espaos da prxis social.
Compreenso refexiva do conhecimento datado e situado como construo
individual e coletiva da humanidade.
DEMOCRACIA PEDAGGICA
Analisador
Relao pedaggica partilhada
Referente:
Relao entre professores-alunos-alunos fundada em um contrato de decises
partilhadas para o desenvolvimento do processo pedaggico.
Relao de confana construda por atitudes de respeito, acolhida, nos limites
das relaes humanas possveis.
Relaes entremeadas de afeto e de disponibilidade para o dilogo.
Condio construda por professores e alunos-alunos em conjunto, com humildade, com
a crena de que o possvel tambm construo tica a transitar entre o pessoal e o social.
Condio construda em processos de ensinar-aprender que transitam entre o
individual e o social.
311
TRAMAS E TEIAS DA INOVAO PEDAGGICA
Ao introduzir este texto nos reportamos relao universidade sociedade
como uma relao social autoproduzida. Registramos a importncia dos processos
de transformao da universidade e a necessidade de sua reinveno para servir a
um projeto civilizatrio no contexto do mundo globalizado.
Afrmamos que a transformao comea por dentro da instituio,
pela inovao nas relaes pedaggicas, nas pedagogias do ensinar-aprender-
pesquisar-extender conhecimentos.
Nosso objetivo foi sugerir categorias de indicadores de avaliao para
a temtica da inovao pedaggica. Isto porque consideramos que a inovao
pedaggica pode ser vista como indicador de qualidade da universidade em seu
compromisso com a sociedade democrtica.
Os indicadores de qualidade apresentam uma face relativa aos
indivduos nas categorias de indicadores que se referem Memria Educativa
e ao Protagonismo de estudantes e docentes; uma face do contexto-lugar da
aprendizagem intencionada realizada pelos sujeitos na instituio universidade que
se denominou Territorialidade ou apropriao de espaos pelos sujeitos; uma face
do conhecimento que compreende a Historicidade e a Ruptura Paradigmtica como
compreenso e produo de saberes em diferentes epistemologias e racionalidades;
uma face da relao direta com a sociedade marcada pela Democracia Pedaggica.
Tais compreenses se articulam em tramas e teias. Trabalhar com o
pensamento ou com as atividades prticas que reproduzem o mundo do trabalho
e das profsses como se faz na universidade, envolve armar tramas e teias.
As tramas em sua urdidura se sustentam por fos fortes que do estrutura
aos panos e outros mais frgeis que se entrelaam e lhe conferem a beleza. As teias
sugerem o fazer das aranhas em sua propriedade de captura, de incerteza e fragilidade,
pois, que se podem desarmar com os ventos, porm, ao mesmo tempo so mais
fortes do que o ao. As teias em sua construo tambm so fonte de acolhimento.
Estas imagens nos dizem que a inovao pedaggica se constri, se
arma com intencionalidades prprias e integradoras. E os indicadores apenas
nos mostram uma forma de reinventar de forma metafrica as relaes que em
especfco esto a se dar na realidade das universidades do sculo 21, aquelas que
so instituies socialmente empreendedoras.
REFERNCIAS
ARENDT, Hannah. A condio humana. 11 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Forense
Universitria, 2010.
AUDY, Jorge;MOROSINI, Marlia.(Org.). Inovao e Qualidade na
Universidade. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. 2008.
BUARQUE, Cristvam. Universidade numa encruzilhada. Conferencia no
CRUB. Campinas. 1991. Acesso em 27 de maio de 2010. http:/www.scribd.
com./doc/3046306/universidade-numa-encruzilhada-Cristovam-Barque.
CLARK, Burton. Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Organizational
Pathways of Transformation, Oxford: Pergamon-Elsevier Science, 1998.
FERNANDES, Cleoni Maria Barboza. Sala de aula universitria ruptura,
memria educativa, territorialidade o desafo da construo pedaggica do
conhecimento. Porto Alegre: PPGEdu, Faced, UFRGS, 1999. Tese de Doutorado.
FREIRE, Paulo e Shor, Ira. Medo e ousadia: o cotidiano do professor. Rio de
Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1987.
LEITE, D. Inovao e rupturas paradigmticas: a centralidade do conhecimento
na pedagogia universitria. In: Encontro nacional de Didtica e Prtica de Ensino,
9. IX ENDIPE. Anais II. guas de Lindoia (SP), 1998, Vol.1/1. P. 303-315.
LEITE, D.; GENRO, M. E. e BRAGA, A. M. Inovao e pedagogia
universitria. Porto Alegre: Editora da UFRGS, 2011.
SANTOS, Boaventura. Um discurso sobre as cincias. Porto: Afrontamento, 1987.
______. Crtica da razo indolente: contra o desperdcio da experincia. So
Paulo: Cortez, 2000.
______. A Universidade no sculo 21: para uma reforma democrtica e
emancipatria da universidade. So Paulo: Cortez, 2004.
SANTOS, Milton. A natureza do espao. Tcnica e tempo. Razo e emoo.
So Paulo: HUCITEC, 1996.
SHAEDLER, Lucia Ins. Por um plano esttico da avaliao nas residencias
multiprofssionais: construindo abordagens avaliativas SUS-implicadas. Porto
Alegre: PPGEdu, Faced, UFRGS, 2010. Tese doutorado.
VIEIRA PINTO, lvaro. Conscincia e realidade nacional. 2 v. Rio de Janeiro:
Iseb, 1960.
QUALITY INDICATORS AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF
TEACHING WITH RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
T
he desire to develop an understanding of how the discourse on the
inseparability of teaching, research and extension was established,
indicating the representation of quality in university education in Brazil, has
motivated the pursuit of the origins of this proposition.
Being practically universal, it has been leading a position of unanimity,
accepted without question. Ramsden and Moses (1992) argue that few beliefs in the
academic world command more passionate allegiance than the opinion that teaching
and research are harmonious and mutually benefcial activities. However, they
claim emphatically, assuming the reality of the United Kingdom, that rarely has
a postulate of this nature been the object of empirical study and research (p. 273).
In Brazil, there has been an evolution in the perspective attributed to
higher education and its quality standards. The explanation that the origin of
higher education in the country has followed the Napoleonic inspiration of
the Portuguese university is common, privileging isolated schools educating
prestigious professionals in the society of that time. The mission of these
universities was identifed according to the aspirations of the dominant class to
have their children hold bachelor degrees and, this way, legitimize a class position
already guaranteed by economic supremacy. In other words, the contribution of
these professionals to progressively establish in the country a basis of social
services necessary for the emerging bourgeoisie cannot be denied. It must also be
recognized that, even being externally dependent, these schools have contributed
to the embryo of later universities, establishing cultures and values related to the
dissemination of knowledge.
The frst initiatives to provide the country with research institutions
had already taken place in the dawn of the Republican period and, in general,
had been instituted under pressure by the social needs of the population. This
is the case of Institutes such as Osvaldo Cruz, Butant and Manguinhos and
other more regional ones, linked to the demands of public health. They were not
linked to higher education institutions and performed research in parallel to the
professional education administered by them.
When, then, did initiatives to include the relation between teaching
and research in the mission of the university take place in Brazil? And under
what circumstances did extension become part of this trilogy? How has the
inseparability of these functions become the referent of higher education quality?
This question has led to an empirical study which included a bibliographic
survey on this topic, but also listening to academics who have made valuable
contributions to the feld of higher education in Brazil.
1
Surprisingly, however, it was possible to perceive that this is a little
explored topic on the specifc point of interest here: the relation between teaching
and research and extension and their relation to quality. We interviewed seven
intellectuals who perform research on the university and we concluded that
the origin of the concept is not very clear in the academic community. Some
respondents went to the origins of the university institution and manifested
that they understand the emergence of the idea of the relation of teaching
with research in the rupture between the medieval university and the modern
university. In the former, it is about the transmission of truths co-connected and
systematized in the conceptual systems of metaphysics and theology. For the
latter, doors were opened to new ways of learning, supported by the observation
of empirical phenomenality. This transformation, fundamentally, is an offshoot
of the epistemological revolution which made science recognized as a matrix
for the transformation of culture and civilization. From this perspective, the
university came to be seen as a place of scientifc knowledge production. And
this understanding was instituted in a universalized manner for higher education.
Another interlocutor mentioned the existence of two models of higher
education which signaled the organization of the contemporary university: the
Jesuit University and the Humboldtian University
2
. A characteristic of the former
was the intention of intellection education for elite and philosophical knowledge,
while the second model sees knowledge as taking place through experimentation
connected to the social and economic development of society. He recalled,
however, that, in both cases, knowledge is power and is at the service of ideologies
and the dominance of groups over other groups.
Another idea that established itself in the investigative dialogue was
that the university was institutionalized by elitism, even though it had been
characterized on the intellectual level. Elitism took place since illuminism, in the
opinion of one of our interviewees, and with the appreciation of science due to
the experimentalism of Francis Bacon came Descartes, instituting rationalism.
Science was becoming the driving force behind progress even with the opposing
1
I would like to thank the contribution of professors: Dr. Antnio Severino, Dr. Carlos Jamil Curi, Dr. Menga
Ldke, Dr. Marilia Morosini, Dr. Selma Garrido Pimenta, Dr. Sueli Mazzili, Dr. Valdemar Sguissardi.
2
This refers to Humboldts proposal for the reorganization of the German university, in., which had a strong
infuence on the Western world.
315
ideas of Rousseau, which made the origin of inequalities and the need to
overcome them explicit.
The foundation of the scientifc paradigm in the assumptions of modern
science and its broad relation with the economic capitalism of the intellectual
revolution strongly infuenced the university. Even when it saw itself predominantly
in the mission of developing highly prestigious professions, understanding
knowledge based on instrumental reason governed not only the product to be
achieved, but also the process experienced in the forms of teaching and learning.
The understanding that a school education should convey truths
proven by science and free of subjective interpretations had been instituted. The
neutrality of science was established as a value and guided many traditional
educational practices. In this context, some repercussions were very signifcant.
One of them distanced knowledge (somewhat) from politics and social interests,
since it valued itself as an acetic commitment of science to rationality. And
the other instituted the penalization of doubt in the academic space, rewarding
certainties and unique responses already proven by science and by the offcial
version. These two conditions reinforced the perception that doing science was
a prerogative of insiders, denying the intellectual condition for the majority of
the population. The role of school education would be that of disseminating
knowledge produced and interpreted by scientists, by the hand of professors.
Even though this relation had never been totally linear, it instituted a pedagogy
that responded to these assumptions. The professor assumed the function
of transmitting knowledge, with his authority founded in learning and in the
condition of a truth depositary. It was also expected that an applied student
understood this condition as someone who memorized the content and reinforced
scientifcally proven certainties.
Paradoxically, the paradigm that was established based on experimentation
and which built a scientifc method founded on observation ended up formalizing
a rigid and exclusive structure of recognizing valid knowledge and punishing
divergences from this postulate.
One can have the hypothesis that matrix initiatives of the idea of the
relation between teaching, research and extension originated in the criticism of
the model described above, which distanced knowledge from the economic and
cultural bases of society. A certain pragmatism, in some cases, and a political
conscience, in others, started to pressure the university to relate more intensely
with the concrete world and with the desires of the population and the State. It is
what is identifed in the movement captained by Humboldt, placing the university
at the service of restructuring the German State.
In Latin America, a similar condition was observed with the important
movement experienced by the University of Crdoba, in Argentina, in 1919,
which struggled for the democratization of the academic structure and for the
approximation of the Institution with the demands of society. It proposed,
then, what became known as extension, as one of the basic functions of higher
education. For many academics, this condition is a characteristic of Latin
American universities and, certainly, answers to the desires of a society stratifed
with strong social inequalities. It demands that the university, especially that of a
public nature, has responsibilities with a balanced social development, producing
knowledge with and for the improvement of the lives of the entire population.
The insertion of extension as an academic function signals a new
epistemology that would value the contexts of practices as a starting point of
scientifc knowledge. It overturns the thesis of the neutrality of science and
assumes the relation between knowledge from various origins as legitimate and
necessary. It recognizes the political and cultural dimension of knowledge and
its forms of production.
These ideas have infuenced, in the view of our interlocutors, the
experiences of delayed creation in Brazilian universities. They were present in
the discussions that created the Free School of Sociology at USP, in 1933 and
in the proposal that originated the University of the Federal District in Rio de
Janeiro. In a way, they were taken up again in the Project of the University of
Braslia, in 1961. On this occasion, the ideas of Ansio Teixeira, lvaro Vieira
Pinto and Paulo Freire represented important infuences.
The progressive industrialization of the post-war country and the
nationalist discourses of development produced important initiatives for the
establishment of organizations favoring a research base in the country, already
recognizing the need for expanding this commitment in emerging Brazilian
universities. For some academics, the creation of the Brazilian Society for
Progress in Science (SBPC, Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Cincia)
revealed the maturation of the initiatives until then sporadic, committed to the
establishment of a research base in Higher Education Institutions. On the state
side, they mentioned the creation of the National Council for Scientifc and
Technological Development (CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Cientfco e Tecnolgico) as another initiative of fundamental importance. As
the funding for research assumes the development of qualifed human resources
for this function, the Ministry of Education established the Coordination for
the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Coordenao para
317
o Aperfeioamento do Pessoal do Ensino Superior), which came to have a
fundamental role in the funding and regulation of graduate programs in Brazil.
It is worth noting, however, that the structural organization of Brazilian
universities, until the end of the 1970s, mainly followed the model of bringing
schools together, marked by the function of professional development. It is certain
that the pioneering institutions in the large capitals had already assumed, from
their creation, the inclusion of the Basic Institutions, created with the intention
of favoring the research feeder of the countrys development project. In the
case of the University of the Federal District, there is an express commitment,
in its project, to professor education as well. Pinto claims that, diverging from
the existing model in Brazil, where the university was based on the schools of
medicine, engineering and law, the innovative project at UFD, strongly inspired
by Ansio Teixeira.
Would come to attend to the demands and make concrete
the intellectual aspirations of the 1920s, since its
structure and content differed totally from the university
proposed by the Francisco Campos Reform of 1931. The
UFD aimed to articulate teaching, research and professor
education, transforming it into a major center of production
and irradiation for scientifc, philosophical and literary
knowledge. The new University consisted of fve units: the
Institute of Education; the School of Sciences; the School of
Economics and Law; the School of Philosophy and Letters;
and the Institute of Arts (p. 75).
Highlighting the ephemeral duration of the University of the Federal
District is justifed in our study because this experience represented a change in
the traditional and content-based conception of higher education at the time. This
project was so revolutionary that it provoked angry reactions in the political feld,
especially after the upheaval and 1935. According to Fvero (2009), freedom of
thought and university autonomy, in terms defended by Ansio Teixeira, opposed
the concept of national security (p. 25) and hence the inspiration of UFD ended
and the University that had its professor and student bodies incorporated into
the also young University of Brazil was extinct, ideologically controlled by the
federal government.
To exemplify the conception of UFD, it is worth considering the words
of Ansio Teixeira. Fvero (2009) brings up one of his more explicit positions of
the ideas that should sustain a university project:
The function of the university is a unique and exclusive
function. It is not only about spreading knowledge []. It is
about maintaining an atmosphere of knowledge for knowledge
to prepare man to serve and develop. It is about preserving
knowledge alive and not dead, in books or in empiricism
of non-intellectualized practices. It is about intellectually
formulating the human experience, always renewed, so that it
can become conscious and progressive (p. 24).
For the author,
with these words, Ansio Teixeira calls attention to a
fundamental problem: one of the characteristics of the
university is to be a space for investigation and knowledge
production. And one of the demands for making this
knowledge proposal concrete is, without a doubt, the
exercise of freedom and the establishment of university
autonomy (p. 24).
Certainly, therein lies the understanding of why in Brazil, academic
creation connected to research was so belated. Without freedom of thought,
one could not project such a constitution and, as a country though Republican
experienced fragile moments of democratic freedom this condition was
manifested in the educational and national development projects.
This short and still highly signifcant experience of the University
of the Federal District showed that, even recognizing the efforts and endeavors
of so many intellectuals of the time, the consolidation of investigation in the
university was still far from being constituted effectively.
The traditional structure also impacted the curricula and not rarely was there
an accentuated division between the so-called foundations of science and the part
of knowledge application connected to professional development. The structural
division also corresponded to an epistemological sectioning and a sectioning of
academic communities, with impacts that were not always positive for student
education and knowledge production. Moreover, even with the organization of
Institutes, the knowledge paradigm still had strong roots in the positivist conception,
with effective impacts on the actions of teaching and learning.
The Law of Guidelines and Bases of 1961, which signaled an expectation
of renovation, almost made no mention of higher education. Its promulgation
took so long more than ten years processing in the National Congress that
the nebulosity of their positions in the face of a project of national education
319
revealed how much the feld was undermined with contradictory interests and
how much the country was not mature enough to take an effective step forward,
proposing an educational project of impact for the nation.
Only in 1968, did the so-called University Reform (Law 5540/68), with
the military regime in full force, intervene in the project and the format of the
Brazilian university. It substantially altered the university organization with the
implementation of the structural model of departmentalization. It is certain that
this perspective had the intention of privileging basic research, necessary for the
rulers nationalist development project. But it is also obvious that the dismantling
of the established and consolidated groups had the objective of depoliticizing the
university and diluting the traditionally organized corporations. This measure
was accompanied by the dissolution of the National Student Union and by union
demobilization at all levels, which favored, in a context of surveillance and even
violence, a silencing of critical refections, so characteristic of the university.
Paradoxically, divergent thought so necessary for research and
knowledge production was strongly contained and monitored. The technical
rationality was considered the only legitimate epistemological way. And a strong
dichotomy between the exact sciences and the nature of the social sciences was
stimulated. In fact, they were the object of a larger academic persecution, with
many of their professionals exiled or removed from university teaching.
In parallel, however, the establishment of stricto sensu graduate studies,
with the progressive education of Masters and Doctorates in the country and
abroad especially in the USA was building a research foundation in the
more traditional and consolidated universities. The departmental structure
favored this perspective, creating thematic groups of investigation and making
this the nucleus of academic activity. As a result, graduate student education
became divided, since the Program no longer constituted the basic structure
of the organization of knowledge, transferring this function to the Department
which, as the name suggests, deals with a part of professional knowledge,
without a stronger motivation for implementing horizontal relations with other
types of knowledge.
However, it must be recognized that the departmental structure ended up
being as such incorporated into academic culture which, even with the advent
of the democratic party, there were few initiatives that instituted other forms
of organization in the university. There is a generation of administrators and
professors already educated in this tradition, and who have diffculty considering
other alternatives.
The development of the graduate program began creating the bases for
valuing research in academic culture. This, however, became a defning condition
of exclusive areas, distancing itself from understanding the inseparable relation
of research and teaching. Little was done, also, with extension, seen as a service
provider in the policies of the era, which should take academic knowledge to
some segments of the population, in a linear relation between two poles: those
who know and those who do not know.
The political emergence, a result of the weakening of the economic and
social model proposed by the military, brought new winds of hope for society,
which wished for greater levels of participation and freedom. The beginning of the
1980s was marked by movements that aimed for legitimacy in the reorganization
of civil society. The NSU left the underground, and the National Association of
Higher Education Professors (ANDES, Associao Nacional dos Docentes da
Educao Superior) was founded amidst strong debates over the future of the
Brazilian University. Then followed the Association of Employees of Federal
Institutions (FASUBRA, Associao dos Servidores das Instituies Federais),
and these entities had a strong infuence on the discussions about the direction of
the university in Brazil. The unions of the private HEIs were also strengthened and
asserted the voices of demands rarely experienced in previous contexts.
The end of bipartisanship and the creation of new political parties
incorporated unique discourses about education in the country, with repercussions
in the university. Little by little, the democratic process was instituted with the
election of governors and the effort by the direct election of the President of the
Republic. The new political order demanded a complete review of the Constitution,
the highest Law in the country. A broad movement by civil society was established
around it, discussing points of tension resulting from diverging political forces.
In the feld of higher education, it was, however, the majority position defending
the university as an institution where teaching, research and extension should
be established in an inseparable manner, as well as the demand for university
autonomy. This was recognized as the only modality of a higher education with
legitimate quality. In the clash of political forces, this proposition was a winner and
constitutionally defned, meaning a victory over conservative thought.
However, in Brazil, university education was still a minority. The greater
part of higher education initiatives were represented by Isolated Schools or
groups of institutions that were strongly characterized by teaching activities.
Research initiatives were rare and their importance was not discussed in the
concept of academic quality.
321
This condition and the interests of the private higher education system
impacted the Law of Guidelines and Bases enacted in 1996, which admitted the
existence of higher education independently of research, which would only be
obligatory for universities. The Law also created the fgure of University Centers,
which assumed a hybrid condition, with more obligations than Isolated Schools,
but less in relation to universities.
In a way, the LGB regressed in the conception of the nature of higher
education, even though the Constitution had not been altered.
For universities, however, there was an impact. It was necessary to
develop the understanding of the relation between teaching, research and
extension to comply with the constitutional defnition. However, there were few
systematic efforts in this sense. Intent on asserting the Greater Law, the three
functions were institutionalized and reinforced in the organizational structure of
the HEIs. However, little was invested in discussing the term of inseparability
as a structure of this relation. Most of the time, these actions happened in
parallel without a more intrinsic connection between them. A certain conceptual
naturalization is perceived which dispenses with refective efforts that make this
phenomenon explicit with greater evidence.
In the panorama of public policies, there was, progressively, the
strengthening of the strito sensu graduate program, of great importance to the
country, which received strong incentives. CAPES defned a rigorous evaluation
system which favored the external recognition of success in its mission. The
Graduate Programs became linked to the system that works on the evaluation-
fnance relation.
From the point of the view of the State, the operation by CAPES provoked
a dichotomy of the connections between the universities and the Ministry of
Education. The undergraduate program is supervised and regulated by the
Secretary of Higher Education (SESU, Secretaria de Educao Superior),
and graduate studies by CAPES. This condition reinforced the representation
that research is a task for graduate studies, while teaching is what characterizes
undergraduate studies. The former has a value which predominates the latter,
and its projects are what impact the careers of higher education professors. Some
qualifed undergraduate students are included in research projects as Scientifc
Initiation Grant holders. This condition has been part of the discourse that
attests the association of undergraduate studies with research. Even though the
experience is of great signifcance, knowingly it reaches a very limited number
of students, with the majority far from this experience.
Until then, extension kept occupying a marginal space, with fragile
regulation and less funding. Affected by the global policies of the last few
decades, it tends, in terms of prestige, to be identifed with service providing,
which is often carried out in the sense of fundraising, substantially altering its
original mission.
By taking the reality of higher education in the country as a symbol of
concern in the defnition of quality, it is, without a doubt, important to recognize its
genesis. The university is a social institution and, as such, it is also an offshoot of
culture, of a temporal condition and is signifcantly affected by broader policies. It
makes the contradictions of its time explicit and carries traces of its history.
Therefore, to understand the scenario in which the concept of quality is
situated and developed when based on the inseparability of teaching, research
and extension, it is necessary to expand the roots of this propositional discourse
and analyze the practices that materialize this perspective or not. Upon refecting
seriously on the topic is when we can make the premise advance, investigating
the daily activities of the academic and making explicit the representations that
guide the practices which materialize the teaching and learning processes.
THE CONCEPT OF INSEPARABILITY IN QUESTION
In the continuity of the dialogue with the academics of the subject, who
were our interlocutors in the investigation, we aimed to understand how they
understood the concept of inseparability and what representations they made in
its presence in the university as a quality indicator. Once more the diversity of
arguments and the distinct logic that governed the interviews indicated that this
topic has not been the object of debate and systematic explanation.
Trying to organize the data, it was possible to perceive the choice of
the distinct dimensions to justify the relation between research, teaching and
extension. It was possible, then, to gather them in the following axes:
a) Epistemological view and academic skills;
b) Institutional view and knowledge distribution;
c) Methodological view in the forms of knowledge production;
d) Political view and social impact;
In the frst block, which we denominated the epistemological view and
its relation to academic skills, there is a centrality in the justifcations that assert
the exercise of research as being the fundamental condition for the professor and
the student, keeping in mind the development of the capacity to think. For one
of the respondents, research is indispensable in the function of any professional
323
because it helps to perceive that the construction of knowledge is an open thing,
since science is never closed, it is constantly being reformulated. This position
fnds support in the idea that research is a fundamental action in the university
because it helps professors and students to think, and this is an intrinsic condition
for the intellectual that we hope for them to be.
In general, this dimension assumes inseparability as a basic condition of
higher education, for motivating the cognitive processes to suspect of established
truths and the capacity to observe empirical reality. It constitutes a way of
thinking and proceeding in the face of knowledge. One epistemological attitude
that attributes formats to activities by professors, students and graduates; that
which is usually called the investigative attitude which is part of a world view
reinforced by the perspective of knowledge in motion, always temporary.
In this dimension, the inseparability of teaching, research and extension
would be centered on an epistemic attitude that would accompany all academic
activities, including the form of administration and distribution of knowledge. It
would strongly impact the practices of teaching and learning not by their own
methods, but by what would be considered valid knowledge.
In the second group is the more usual and traditional perspective of
inseparability, centered on the conception of the institution, which would
be the axis of this relation. We named this group the institutional view and
distribution of knowledge. This means that they do not make professors and
students responsible for exercising the three tasks, but it is believed that all
would beneft from the products of each one, with public and universal access.
It is the university that would support the concept of inseparability and, to the
extent to which it develops each one of the functions, it would comply with the
legal mechanism of the research, teaching and extension relation.
This position, though defensible in its arguments and in its logic, raises
questions regarding the meaning of inseparability, recognizing and legitimizing
a territorialization for each one of the current functions. As a result, it may not be
provoking a position in the face of knowledge and a more advanced view of learning,
which is distanced from the practices that primordially value higher learning
and pragmatism in education. However, it advances the idea of appropriation of
research results as a democratic condition, accessible to the public.
The third group we denominated the methodological view in the
forms of knowledge production. This perspective has been taking shape and
is supported especially by those who understand research as a methodological
principle. For one of our respondents, those who identify with this position can
only teach meaningfully when the experience of the knowledge constitution/
reconstitution process is on the agenda. For him, to learn well means having
experiences building knowledge objects, even under the conditions characteristic
of contexts of rediscovery, based on primary sources. He makes explicit an
interesting equation formulated as follows: Teach/learn = know; know the object
= research; research = approach the object in its primary sources. We can add
to this equation the importance of situating these sources in the context in which
the learner is situated.
Our interlocutor affrms that this perception of inseparability is still
rhetorical, also because it admits teaching without research. He also says that
in the universe of university pedagogy, even in the areas considered scientifc,
it is limited to the familiarization of the student with scientifc practices. In this
observation, it includes a criticism of overvalued graduate studies as if it were
the place for research in the university, not considering the teaching and research
relation as a general structure of higher education quality.
In this understanding of inseparability, what is on the agenda is a
conception of learning as a knowledge building process. As Severino affrms
(2009), the very practice of research must be the path for the teaching and
learning process (p. 131).
The fourth dimension was construed as the political view and social
impact. In it, there is an expectation that inseparability has as its premise the
expectation of overcoming social inequalities, since it would involve the distribution
of cultural goods, expressing the role of the university in the construction of a
more just and equal society, according to one of our respondents. She assumes,
however, that this view is utopian, far from even circulating in academic halls
and discussions. She assumes a different view of the role of the university,
which approximates the hopeful and critical defnition that has been produced by
Boaventural de Sousa Santos (2010). It would demand an epistemological and
political upturn that would give extension a role of importance and centrality in
the organization and distribution of academic knowledge.
Defending the university as a public good, Sousa Santos (2010) insists on
the importance of a national project of qualifcation and insertion in the global
society (p. 58) through resistance strategies involving alternative globalization.
The resistance has to involve the promotion of alternatives for research,
education, extension and organization that point towards the democratization
of the university public good, that is, towards the specifc contribution of the
university in the collective defnition and solution of social, national and global
problems (p. 62).
325
Sousa Santos (2010) insists on the need of the university to reclaim its
legitimacy, pointing out fve areas of action that need to be the focus of this
condition: the democratization of access; the research-action, the ecology of
knowledge, and the relation of the university to public schools (p. 66). According
to him, the
function of extension will assume, in the near future, a very
special meaning, with implications in the curricula and in
the careers of professors and understood in an alternative
manner to global capitalism, attributing to universities an
active participation in the construction of social cohesion,
in the expanding of democracy, in the struggle against social
exclusion and environmental degradation, in defense of
cultural diversity (p. 73).
A distinct position is noted among the authors about the probability of
a new confguration of the university in diverse times. For some, it is a distant
utopia and, for others, it is a necessary emergency that impacts the survival
of the legitimized public condition for the university. Certainly, there will be
various historical and political conditions that will infuence this perspective.
But what remains clear is the changing condition of the quality indicators that
are established in a multiple manner, depending on the theoretical and political
positions on the society and on the educational project that it should support. But
the dependence of the university on social webs is also clear, recognizing that their
paths are indelibly tangled in the web of opposing interests and commitments.
This condition ratifes the understanding that the defnition of academic
quality indicators in a universal or temporal manner is impossible. Even
understanding and accepting certain premises that have historically marked and
mark the university as an institution, which seems to be the contemporary case
of centering quality on the inseparability of teaching, research and extension, the
understandings of this structure are variable. Therefore, those that operationalize
each one of the alternatives will also be indicators.
How, then, do we carry out the complex activity of institutional
evaluation? How do we let go of the comfortable security of universal and
pragmatically explicit indicators?
The answers to these provocations are not simple. They are demanding
of a more intense expansion of the social role of the university and the historical-
cultural condition of this institution in a time and place that will probably distance
them from the universal metanarratives. Only through the explanation of its
contexts and projects will it be possible to defne some parameters that serve
for correlations and possibilities of more global analyses. But it is necessary to
assume diversity as a possibility that stimulates new experiences of curricular
formats and relations of teaching with research and extension. It would also be
useful to think about the functioning of networks as a principle for solidarity in
globalization, in the words of Sousa Santos (2010). It will be these experiences
that will be able to design quality indicators that distance themselves from
referents that only stimulate competitiveness, as if the weakness of some did
not have repercussions in the quality of all. It is hoped that the feld of dispute
involving the future of the university may favor its public condition and from
this condition emerge what is understood as quality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BARNETT, Ronald (Ed.) Para uma transformacin de la universidad.
Nuevas relaciones entre investigacin, saber y docncia. Barcelona. Editorial
Octaedro, 2009.
CUNHA, Maria Isabel da. Inovaes pedaggicas: o desafo da reconfgurao
de saberes na docncia universitria. In: PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA,
Maria Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So Paulo. EDUSP, 2009, pp.211-136.
FVERO, Maria de Lourdes, LOPES, Sonia de Castro. A Universidade do
Distrito Federal (1935-1939). Um projeto alm de seu tempo. Braslia.
CNPq/Lber Livro Editora. 2009.
RAMSDEN, P., MOSES, I. Associations between research and teaching in
Australian higher education. Higher Education, n. 23, pp. 273-295, 1992.
SEVERINO, Antnio Joaquim. Ensino e pesquisa na docncia universitria:
caminhos para a integrao. In: PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA, Maria
Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So Paulo. EDUSP, 2009, pp.129-146.
SOUSA SANTOS, Boaventura de. A Universidade no sculo XXI: para uma
reforma democrtica e emancipatria da Universidade. So Paulo, Cortez
Editora, 3 ed. 2010.
PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA, Maria Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So
Paulo. EDUSP, 2009. pp.129-146.
PINTO, Diana Couto. A Escola de Filosofa e Letras da UDF: Um projeto
em vir-a-ser. In: FVERO, Maria de Lourdes, LOPES, Sonia de Castro. A
Universidade do Distrito Federal (1935-1939). Um projeto alm de seu
tempo. Braslia. CNPq/Lber Livro Editora. 2009.
INDICADORES DE QUALIDADE DA RELAO DO ENSINO
COM A PESQUISA E A EXTENSO
O
desejo de aprofundar a compreenso de como o discurso da
indissociabilidade do ensino, da pesquisa e da extenso se instalou,
marcando a representao de qualidade da educao universitria no Brasil
estimulou a procura das origens dessa proposio.
Sendo praticamente universal, ela vem orientando uma posio
de unanimidade, aceita sem questionamentos. Ramsden y Moses (1992)
argumentam que h poucas crenas no mundo acadmico que suscitam defesas
to apaixonadas como a opinio de que a docncia e a investigao so atividades
complementares e que mutuamente se benefciem. Porm registram de forma
enftica, tomando a realidade do Reino Unido, que poucas vezes um postulado
dessa natureza tem sido objeto de estudos e pesquisas empricas (p. 273).
No Brasil, identifca-se uma evoluo na perspectiva atribuda
educao superior e aos seus padres de qualidade. usual a explicao de
que a origem da educao superior no pas seguiu a inspirao napolenica da
universidade portuguesa, privilegiando as faculdades isoladas de formao de
profssionais de prestgio na sociedade da poca. A misso dessas instituies
se identifcava com as aspiraes da classe dominante de ter seus flhos como
bacharis e, dessa forma, legitimar uma posio de classe j garantida pela
supremacia econmica. De outra forma, no se pode negar a contribuio desses
profssionais para, progressivamente, instalar no pas uma base de servios
sociais necessrios burguesia emergente. Tambm h de se reconhecer que,
mesmo numa condio de dependncia externa, essas faculdades contriburam
para o embrio das posteriores universidades, instalando culturas e valores
relacionados disseminao do conhecimento.
As primeiras iniciativas para dotar o pas de instituies de pesquisa j
aconteceram no alvorecer do perodo republicano e, em geral, se instituram pressionadas
pelas necessidades sociais da populao. o caso de Institutos como o Osvaldo Cruz, o
Butant e o Manguinhos e alguns outros mais regionais, ligados s demandas da sade
pblica. No estavam eles vinculados s instituies de ensino superior e atuavam na
pesquisa em paralelo com a formao profssional por elas ministrada.
Quando, ento, se localizam no Brasil iniciativas de incluir na misso da
universidade a relao do ensino com a pesquisa? E em que situao a extenso
passou a ser parte dessa trilogia? Como a indissociabilidade dessas funes se
tornaram o referente da qualidade da educao superior?
Essa questo deu margem a um estudo emprico que incluiu um
levantamento da literatura referente ao tema, mas se disps, tambm, a ouvir
estudiosos que tm dado contribuies valiosas para o campo da educao
superior no Brasil.
1
Surpreendentemente, entretanto, foi possvel perceber que esse um tema
pouco explorado na especifcidade do eixo que aqui interessa: a relao do ensino
com a pesquisa e com a extenso e sua relao com a qualidade. Entrevistamos
sete intelectuais que pesquisam sobre a universidade e conclumos que a origem
do conceito pouco clara na comunidade acadmica. Alguns respondentes
foram s origens da instituio universitria e manifestaram que compreendem
o aparecimento da ideia da relao do ensino com a pesquisa na ruptura entre
a universidade medieval e a universidade moderna. Na primeira, tratava-se da
transmisso de verdades coligadas e sistematizadas nos sistemas conceituais
da metafsica e na teologia. Para a segunda, abriam-se as portas para novas
formas do saber, sustentadas pela observao da fenomenalidade emprica. Essa
transformao, fundamentalmente, tributria de uma revoluo epistemolgica
que fez com que a cincia fosse reconhecida como a matriz para a transformao
da cultura e da civilizao. Nessa perspectiva, a universidade passou a ser vista
como um lugar de produo do conhecimento cientfco. E essa compreenso se
instituiu de forma universalizada para a educao superior.
Outro interlocutor mencionou a existncia de dois modelos de educao
superior que marcaram a organizao da universidade contempornea: a
universidade jesutica e a universidade humboltiana
2
. Como caracterstica da
primeira estava a inteno de formao intelectual das elites e do conhecimento
flosfco, enquanto que o segundo modelo afrmava que o conhecimento se
faz pela experimentao e est ligado ao desenvolvimento social e econmico
da sociedade. Lembrou, entretanto, que, em ambos os casos, o conhecimento
poder e est a servio de ideologias e do domnio de grupos sobre outros grupos.
Outra ideia que se estabeleceu no dilogo investigativo foi de que
a universidade se institucionalizou pelo elitismo, mesmo que esse tenha sido
caracterizado no plano intelectual. A elitizao vem desde o iluminismo,
na opinio de um dos nossos entrevistados, e com a valorizao da cincia
com o experimentalismo de Francis Bacon chega a Descartes, instituindo o
1
Agradeo a contribuio dos professores/as: Dr. Antnio Severino, Dr. Carlos Jamil Curi, Dra Menga
Ldke, Dra. Marilia Morosini, Dra. Selma Garrido Pimenta, Dra. Sueli Mazzili, Dr. Valdemar Sguissardi.
2
Refere-se proposta de Humbolt para a reorganizao da universidade alem, em .... , que teve forte
infuncia no mundo ocidental.
329
racionalismo. A cincia vai se tornando a mola mestra do progresso mesmo
com o contraponto das ideias de Rousseau, que explicitava a origem das
desigualdades e a necessidade de super-las.
A sustentao do paradigma cientfco nos pressupostos da cincia
moderna e sua ampla relao com o capitalismo econmico da revoluo
intelectual incidiram fortemente sobre a universidade. Mesmo quando ela se
reconhecia preponderantemente na misso da formao de profsses de alto
prestgio, a compreenso de conhecimento, baseada na razo instrumental, foi
presidindo no s o produto a ser alcanado, mas tambm o processo vivenciado
nas formas de ensinar e aprender.
Instituiu-se uma compreenso de que a educao escolarizada deveria
veicular verdades comprovadas pela cincia e livres de interpretaes
subjetivas. A neutralidade da cincia se estabeleceu como um valor e orientou
muitas prticas pedaggicas tradicionais. Nesse contexto, algumas repercusses
foram muito signifcativas. Uma delas distanciou (pseudamente) o conhecimento
da poltica e dos interesses sociais, j que se valorizava um compromisso actico
da cincia com sua racionalidade. E a outra instituiu a penalizao da dvida
no espao escolar, premiando certezas e repostas nicas - j comprovadas pela
cincia e pela verso ofcial. Essas duas condies reforaram a percepo de que
fazer cincia era uma prerrogativa de iniciados, negando a condio intelectual
para a maioria da populao. O papel da educao escolarizada seria o de
disseminar o conhecimento produzido e interpretado pelos cientistas, pela mo
dos professores. Em que pese essa relao nunca tenha sido totalmente linear,
ela instituiu uma pedagogia que respondeu a estes pressupostos. Nela o professor
assumiu a funo de transmitir conhecimentos, tendo sua autoridade alicerada
na erudio e na condio de depositrio da verdade. Esperava-se, tambm,
um aluno aplicado, entendida essa condio como algum que memorizava os
contedos e reforava as certezas cientifcamente comprovadas.
Paradoxalmente, o paradigma que se instituiu com base na experimentao
e construiu um mtodo cientfco alicerado na observao acabou formalizando
uma estrutura rgida e excludente de reconhecer o conhecimento vlido e punindo
os afastamentos desse postulado.
Pode-se ter como hiptese que as iniciativas matriciais da ideia da
relao entre ensino, pesquisa e extenso tenham origem na crtica ao modelo
acima descrito, que afastava o conhecimento das bases econmicas e culturais
da sociedade. Um certo pragmatismo, em alguns casos, e uma conscincia
poltica, em outros, comearam a pressionar a universidade a se relacionar mais
intensamente com o mundo concreto e com os anseios da populao e do Estado.
o que se identifca no movimento capitaneado por Humbolt, colocando a
universidade a servio da reestruturao do Estado alemo.
Na Amrica Latina, h registro de uma condio similar com o importante
movimento vivido pela Universidade de Crdoba, na Argentina, em 1919, que
lutou pela democratizao das estruturas acadmicas e por uma aproximao da
Instituio com as demandas da sociedade. Props, ento, o que fcou denominado
de extenso, como uma das funes bsicas da educao superior. Para muitos
estudiosos, essa condio uma caracterstica das universidades latino-americanas
e, certamente, responde aos anseios de uma sociedade estratifcada com fortes
desigualdades sociais. Exige que a universidade, em especial a de natureza pblica,
tenha responsabilidades com o desenvolvimento social equilibrado, produzindo
saberes com e para a melhoria de vida de toda a populao.
A insero da extenso como funo acadmica acena com uma nova
epistemologia que estaria valorizando os contextos de prticas como ponto de
partida do conhecimento cientfco. Derruba a tese da neutralidade da cincia
e assume a relao entre os saberes de origens diversas como legtimos e
necessrios. Reconhece a dimenso poltica e cultural do conhecimento e de
suas formas de produo.
Essas ideias infuenciaram, na viso dos nossos interlocutores, as
experincias de criao tardia das universidades brasileiras. Estavam elas presentes
nas discusses que criaram a Escola Livre de Sociologia da USP, em 1933 e na
proposta que originou a Universidade do Distrito Federal, no Rio de Janeiro. De
alguma forma, foram retomadas no Projeto da Universidade de Braslia, em 1961.
Nessa ocasio, as ideias de Ansio Teixeira, lvaro Vieira Pinto e Paulo Freire
representaram importantes infuncias.
A industrializao progressiva do pas no ps-guerra e os discursos
nacionalistas de desenvolvimento produziram iniciativas importantes para a
instalao de organismos que favorecessem uma base de pesquisa no pas, j
reconhecendo a necessidade de ampliao desse compromisso nas emergentes
universidades brasileiras. Para alguns estudiosos, a criao da Sociedade
Brasileira para o Progresso da Cincia (SBPC) revelou o amadurecimento de
iniciativas at ento pontuais, de compromisso com a instalao de uma base
de pesquisa nas Instituies de Ensino Superior. Do lado estatal, mencionaram
a criao do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfco e Tecnolgico
(CNPq) como outra iniciativa de fundamental importncia. Como o fomento da
pesquisa pressupunha a formao de recursos humanos qualifcados para essa
funo, o Ministrio da Educao instituiu a Coordenao para o Aperfeioamento
331
do Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES), que passou a ter um fundamental papel
no fomento e regulao da ps-graduao no Brasil.
Vale registrar, porm, que a organizao estrutural das universidades
brasileiras, at o fnal dos anos sessenta, seguia principalmente o modelo da reunio
de faculdades, marcadas pela funo de formao profssional. certo que as
instituies pioneiras nas grandes capitais j tinham assumido, desde a sua criao,
a incluso dos Institutos Bsicos, criados com a inteno de favorecer a pesquisa
alimentadora do projeto de desenvolvimento do pas. No caso da Universidade
do Distrito Federal, h um expresso compromisso, no seu projeto, tambm com
a formao de professores. Diz Pinto que, fugindo ao modelo existente no Brasil,
onde a universidade era baseada nas faculdades de medicina, engenharia e direito,
o inovador projeto da UDF, por forte inspirao de Ansio Teixeira.
Viria atender s demandas e concretizar as aspiraes
intelectuais da dcada de 1920, pois sua estrutura e contedo
diferiam totalmente da universidade proposta pela Reforma
Francisco Campos de 1931. A UDF buscava articular
ensino, pesquisa e formao de professores, transformando-
se em um grande centro de produo e irradiao do saber
cientfco, flosfco e literrio. A nova Universidade
constitua-se de cinco unidades: Instituto de Educao;
Escola de Cincias, Escola de Economia e Direito; Escola
de Filosofa e Letras; e Instituto de Artes (p. 75).
O destaque efmera durao da Universidade do Distrito Federal se
justifca em nosso estudo porque essa experincia representava uma mudana
na concepo tradicional e conteudista do ensino superior da poca. To
revolucionrio foi esse projeto que provocou raivosas reaes no campo poltico,
especialmente aps o levante e 1935. Segundo Fvero (2009), a liberdade
de pensamento e autonomia universitria, em termos defendidos por Ansio
Teixeira, se contrapunha ao conceito de segurana nacional (p. 25) e logo o
inspirador da UDF foi deposto e extinta a Universidade que teve seus quadros
docentes e discentes incorporados na tambm iniciante Universidade do Brasil,
ideologicamente controlada pelo governo federal.
Para exemplifcar a concepo da UDF, vale tomar as palavras de Ansio
Teixeira. Fvero (2009) recupera um de seus posicionamentos mais explicitativos
das ideias que deveriam sustentar um projeto universitrio:
A funo da universidade uma funo nica e exclusiva.
No se trata de somente difundir conhecimentos [...]. Trata-se
de manter uma atmosfera de saber pelo saber para se preparar
o homem que o serve e desenvolve. Trata-se de conservar o
saber vivo e no morto, nos livros ou no empirismo das prticas
no intelectualizadas. Trata-se de formular intelectualmente a
experincia humana, sempre renovada, para que a mesma se
torne consciente e progressiva (p. 24).
Para a autora,
com essas palavras, Ansio Teixeira chama a ateno para
um problema fundamental: uma das caractersticas da
universidade ser um espao de investigao e de produo
de conhecimento. E uma das exigncias para a concretizao
de tal proposta de conhecimento , sem dvida, o exerccio
da liberdade e a efetivao da autonomia universitria (p. 24).
Reside a, certamente, a compreenso de por que no Brasil foi to tardia a
criao acadmica ligada pesquisa. Sem liberdade de pensamento no se podia
projetar tal constituio e, como o pas mesmo republicano viveu frgeis
momentos de liberdade democrtica essa condio se manifestava nos projetos
educacionais e de desenvolvimento nacional.
Essa curta ainda que altamente signifcativa experincia da
Universidade do Distrito Federal mostrou que, mesmo reconhecendo os esforos
e empenho de tantos intelectuais da poca, a consolidao da investigao na
universidade estava longe, porm, de se constituir de forma efetiva.
A estrutura tradicional tambm impactava os currculos e no raras vezes
se encontrava uma diviso acentuada entre os chamados fundamentos da cincia
e a parte de aplicao dos conhecimentos, ligada formao profssional.
diviso estrutural tambm correspondia um seccionamento epistemolgico e de
comunidades acadmicas, com impactos nem sempre positivos para a formao
dos estudantes e para a produo do conhecimento. Alm disso, mesmo com a
organizao dos Institutos, o paradigma de conhecimento ainda tinha fortes razes
na concepo positivista, com impactos efetivos para as aes de ensinar e aprender.
A Lei de Diretrizes e Bases de 1961, que acenava com uma expectativa
de renovao, quase no fez meno ao ensino superior. Tanto a demora de sua
promulgao mais de dez anos tramitando no Congresso Nacional como
a nebulosidade de suas posies frente a um projeto de educao nacional
revelavam o quanto o campo estava minado de interesses contraditrios e o
quanto o pas no estava maduro para dar um efetivo passo frente, propondo
um projeto educacional de impacto para a nao.
333
Somente em 1968 a chamada Reforma Universitria (Lei 5540/68),
em plena ditadura militar, interveio no projeto e no formato da universidade
brasileira. Alterou substancialmente a organizao universitria com a
implantao do modelo estrutural da departamentalizao. certo que essa
perspectiva tinha a inteno de privilegiar a pesquisa bsica, necessria ao
projeto de desenvolvimento nacionalista dos governantes. Mas tambm bvio
que o desmonte dos agrupamentos institudos e consolidados tinha a fnalidade de
despolitizar a universidade e diluir as corporaes tradicionalmente organizadas.
Essa medida foi acompanhada da dissoluo da Unio Nacional dos Estudantes
e da desmobilizao sindical em todos os nveis, que favoreceu, num contexto
de vigilncia e at de violncia, um silenciamento das refexes crticas, to
prprias da universidade.
Paradoxalmente, o pensamento divergente to necessrio pesquisa e
produo do conhecimento foi fortemente contido e vigiado. A racionalidade
tcnica foi recuperada como nica forma epistemolgica legtima. E uma
forte dicotomia entre as cincias exatas e da natureza e as cincias sociais foi
estimulada. Alis, estas foram objeto da maior perseguio acadmica, com
muitos dos seus profssionais exilados ou expurgados da docncia universitria.
Paralelamente, porm, a instituio da ps-graduao stricto-sensu,
com a progressiva formao de mestres e doutores no pas e no exterior em
especial nos EEUU foi construindo uma base de pesquisa nas universidades mais
tradicionais e consolidadas. A estrutura departamental favoreceu essa perspectiva,
criando grupos temticos de investigao e centrando nessa atividade o ncleo do
fazer acadmico. Como decorrncia, fracionou-se a formao dos estudantes de
graduao, pois o Curso no mais se constitua na estrutura bsica da organizao
do conhecimento, passando essa funo para o Departamento que, como j a
denominao infere, trata de uma parte do saber profssional, sem uma motivao
mais forte para implementar relaes horizontais com os demais saberes.
Entretanto, h de se reconhecer que a estrutura departamental acabou
sendo de tal forma incorporada cultura acadmica que, mesmo com o
advento da abertura democrtica, foram poucas as iniciativas que instituram
outras formas de organizao na universidade. H uma gerao de gestores e
professores j formados nessa tradio, os quais tm difculdade de vislumbrar
outras alternativas.
O desenvolvimento da ps-graduao foi criando as bases para a valorizao
da pesquisa na cultura acadmica. Essa condio, entretanto, foi sendo defnidora
de espaos exclusivos, distanciando-se da compreenso da relao indissocivel da
pesquisa como o ensino. Pouco se articulava, tambm, com a extenso, vista pelas
polticas da poca como uma prestao de servios, que deveria levar a alguns
segmentos da populao os saberes acadmicos, numa relao linear entre dois
polos: os que sabem e os que no sabem.
A abertura poltica, decorrente da fragilizao do modelo econmico
e social proposto pelos militares, trouxe novos ventos de esperana para a
sociedade, que ansiava por maiores nveis de participao e liberdade. O incio
dos anos 80 foi marcado por movimentos que procuravam legitimidade para a
reorganizao da sociedade civil. A UNE saiu da clandestinidade, e foi fundada
a Associao Nacional dos Docentes da Educao Superior (ANDES) em
meio a fortes debates sobre o futuro da universidade brasileira. A ela se seguiu
a Associao dos Servidores das Instituies Federais (FASUBRA), e essas
entidades tiveram forte infuncia nas discusses sobre o rumo da universidade
no Brasil. Os sindicatos das IES privadas tambm se fortaleceram e faziam valer
vozes de reivindicaes pouco experimentadas em contextos anteriores.
O fm do bipartidarismo e a criao de novos partidos polticos
incorporaram discursos prprios sobre a educao no pas, com repercusses
na universidade. Aos poucos, o processo democrtico se institua com a eleio
de governadores e o empenho pela eleio direta do Presidente da Repblica.
A nova ordem poltica exigia uma reviso completa da Constituio, Lei maior
do pas. Em torno dela, um amplo movimento da sociedade civil se estabeleceu,
discutindo pontos em tenso decorrentes de foras polticas divergentes. No
campo da educao superior, foi, entretanto, majoritria a posio de defesa
da universidade como instituio onde o ensino, a pesquisa e a extenso se
estabelecessem de forma indissocivel, bem como a exigncia da autonomia
universitria. Reconhecia-se essa como modalidade nica de uma educao
superior de legitimada qualidade. No embate das foras polticas, essa proposio
foi vencedora e defnida constitucionalmente, signifcando uma vitria sobre o
pensamento conservador.
Entretanto, no Brasil, a educao universitria ainda era minoritria. A
maior parte das iniciativas de educao superior era representada por Faculdades
Isoladas ou agrupamentos de instituies que se caracterizavam fortemente pelas
atividades de ensino. As iniciativas de pesquisa eram raras e no se discutia a sua
importncia no conceito de qualidade acadmica.
Essa condio e os interesses do sistema privado de ensino superior
impactaram a Lei de Diretrizes e Bases promulgada em 1996, que admitiu
a existncia de ensino superior independente da pesquisa, que s seria
335
obrigatria para as universidades. A Lei criou, tambm, a fgura dos Centros
Universitrios, que assumiam uma condio hbrida, com mais obrigaes do
que as Faculdades Isoladas, mas menor em relao s universidades.
De alguma forma, a LDB regrediu na concepo da natureza da educao
superior, mesmo que a Constituio no tenha sido alterada.
Para as universidades, porm, criou-se um impacto. Era preciso aprofundar
a compreenso da relao entre ensino, pesquisa e extenso para cumprir com a
defnio constitucional. Entretanto poucos foram os esforos sistemticos nesse
sentido. Ciosa de fazer valer a Lei Maior, as trs funes foram institucionalizadas
e reforadas na estrutura organizacional das IES. Entretanto pouco se investiu
na discusso do termo indissociabilidade como um estruturante dessa relao.
Na maior parte das vezes, essas aes acontecem em paralelo sem uma ligao
mais intrnseca entre elas. Percebe-se certa naturalizao conceitual que dispensa
empenhos refexivos que explicitem esse fenmeno com maior evidncia.
No panorama das polticas pblicas, houve, progressivamente, o
fortalecimento da ps-graduao strito sensu, de grande importncia para o
pas, que recebeu fortes estmulos. A CAPES defniu um sistema de avaliao
rigoroso que favoreceu o reconhecimento externo do sucesso de sua misso.
Os Programas de Ps-Graduao vincularam-se ao sistema que atua na relao
avaliao-fnanciamento.
Do ponto de vista do Estado, o funcionamento da CAPES provocou
uma dicotomia de vnculos das universidades com o Ministrio da Educao. A
graduao supervisionada e regulada pela Secretaria de Educao Superior
SESU, e a ps-graduao pela CAPES. Essa condio reforou a representao
de que a pesquisa tarefa da ps-graduao, enquanto que o ensino que
caracteriza a graduao. A primeira tem valor preponderante sobre o segundo,
e seus produtos que impactam a carreira dos docentes da educao superior.
Alguns estudantes de graduao vocacionados integram projetos de pesquisa
na condio de Bolsistas de Iniciao Cientfca. Essa condio tem sido parte
do discurso que atesta a implicao da graduao com a pesquisa. Em que pese a
experincia seja de grande signifcado, sabidamente ela atinge um nmero muito
restrito de alunos, fcando a maioria distante de tal experincia.
A extenso continua at ento ocupando um espao marginal, com frgil
regulao e menor fnanciamento. Atingida pelas polticas globais das ltimas
dcadas, tende, em termos de prestgio, a ser identifcada com a prestao de
servios, muitos dos quais realizados com o sentido da captao de recursos,
alterando substancialmente sua misso original.
Ao tomar a realidade da educao superior no pas como mote de preocupao
na defnio da qualidade, , sem dvida, importante reconhecer a sua gnese. A
universidade uma instituio social e, como tal, tambm tributria de uma cultura,
de uma condio temporal e atingida signifcativamente pelas polticas mais amplas.
Ela explicita as contradies de seu tempo e traz as marcas de sua histria.
Portanto, para compreender o cenrio em que se instala e se desenvolve o
conceito de qualidade baseado na indissociabilidade do ensino, da pesquisa e da
extenso, preciso aprofundar as razes desse discurso propositivo e analisar as
prticas que materializam ou no essa perspectiva. Ao refetir seriamente sobre
o tema que poderemos fazer avanar a premissa, investigando o cotidiano
acadmico e explicitando as representaes que orientam as prticas que
materializam os processos de ensinar e aprender.
O CONCEITO DE INDISSOCIABILIDADE EM QUESTO
Na continuidade do dilogo com os estudiosos do assunto, que foram
nossos interlocutores na investigao, procuramos entender como compreendiam
o conceito de indissociabilidade e que representaes faziam de sua presena
na universidade como indicador de qualidade. Mais uma vez a diversidade de
argumentos e as distintas lgicas que presidiram as locues indicaram que esse
tema no tem sido objeto de debate e de sistemtica explicitao.
Tentando organizar os dados, foi possvel perceber a escolha de dimenses
distintas para justifcar a relao entre a pesquisa, o ensino e a extenso. Foi
possvel, ento, reuni-las nos seguintes eixos:
e) Viso epistemolgica e as capacidades acadmicas;
f) Viso institucional e distribuio do conhecimento;
g) Viso metodolgica nas formas de produo do conhecimento;
h) Viso poltica e de impacto social;
No primeiro bloco, que denominamos viso epistemolgica e sua relao
com as capacidades acadmicas, h uma centralidade nas justifcativas que
afrmam ser o exerccio da pesquisa uma condio fundamental para o professor
e o aluno, tendo em vista o desenvolvimento de sua capacidade de pensar.
Para um dos respondentes, a pesquisa imprescindvel na funo de qualquer
profssional porque ajuda a perceber que a construo do conhecimento uma
coisa aberta, pois a cincia nunca se fecha, est em constante reformulao. Essa
posio encontra guarida na ideia de que a pesquisa uma ao fundamental na
universidade porque ajuda professores e alunos a pensar, e essa uma condio
intrnseca ao intelectual que se espera que eles sejam.
337
Em geral essa dimenso assume a indissociabilidade como condio
bsica da educao superior, pelo incentivo aos processos cognitivos de suspeita
das verdades consagradas e da capacidade de observao da realidade emprica.
Constitui-se num modo de pensar e de proceder frente ao conhecimento. Uma
atitude epistemolgica que atribui formatos ao dos docentes, dos alunos
e dos egressos; aquilo que se costuma chamar de atitude investigadora que
parte de uma viso de mundo reforada pela perspectiva do conhecimento em
movimento, sempre provisrio.
Nessa dimenso, a indissociabilidade do ensino, da pesquisa e
da extenso estaria centrada numa atitude epistmica que acompanharia
todas as aes acadmicas, incluindo sua forma de gesto e distribuio do
conhecimento. Impactaria fortemente as prticas de ensinar e aprender no por
mtodos prprios, mas pelo que consideraria conhecimento vlido.
No segundo grupo est a perspectiva mais usual e tradicional da
indissociabilidade, centrando a concepo na instituio, que seria o eixo
dessa relao. A esse grupo denominamos viso institucional e distribuio
do conhecimento. Signifca que no se responsabilizam todos os professores
e estudantes pelo exerccio das trs tarefas, mas cr-se que todos devem se
benefciar dos produtos de cada uma, com acesso pblico e universal. Seria a
universidade que abrigaria o conceito de indissociabilidade e, na medida em que
ela desenvolvesse cada uma das funes estaria cumprindo com o dispositivo
legal da relao da pesquisa, do ensino e da extenso.
Essa posio, ainda que defensvel nos seus argumentos e na sua
lgica, suscita questionamentos quanto ao signifcado da indissociabilidade,
reconhecendo e legitimando uma territorializao para cada uma das funes
em pauta. Como decorrncia, pode no estar provocando uma posio frente
ao conhecimento e uma viso mais avanada de aprender, que se distancia das
prticas que valorizam primordialmente a erudio e o pragmatismo na formao.
Entretanto avana na ideia de apropriao dos resultados da pesquisa como uma
condio democrtica, de acesso pblico.
A terceira denominamos de viso metodolgica nas formas de
produo do conhecimento. Essa perspectiva vem tomando corpo e est
sustentada, especialmente, por aqueles que entendem a pesquisa como princpio
metodolgico. Para um dos nossos respondentes, o qual se identifca com essa
posio, s se pode ensinar fecundamente quando est em pauta a experincia
do processo de constituio/reconstituio do conhecimento. Para ele, aprender
bem signifca vivenciar experincias de construo dos objetos do conhecimento,
mesmo que em condies prprias de um contexto de redescoberta, a partir das
fontes primrias. Explicita uma interessante equao assim formulada: Ensinar/
aprender= conhecer; Conhecer o objeto= pesquisar; Pesquisar= abordar
o objeto em suas fontes primrias. A essa equao poderia se acrescentar a
importncia de situar essas fontes no contexto em que o aprendiz se situa.
Afrma nosso interlocutor que essa percepo da indissociabilidade
ainda retrica, inclusive porque se admite o ensino sem pesquisa. Diz tambm
que no universo da pedagogia universitria, mesmo nas reas consideradas
cientfcas, limitada a familiarizao do estudante com prticas cientfcas.
Nessa observao, inclui uma crtica supervalorizao da ps-graduao
como se fosse o lugar da pesquisa na universidade, no tomando a relao
ensino e pesquisa como estruturante geral da qualidade da educao superior.
Nessa compreenso da indissociabilidade, o que est em pauta uma
concepo de aprendizagem como processo de construo de conhecimento.
Como afrma Severino (2009), a prpria prtica de pesquisa deveria ser caminho
do processo de ensino e aprendizagem (p. 131).
A quarta dimenso foi explicitada como viso poltica e de impacto
social. Nela h uma expectativa de que a indissociabilidade tem como premissa a
esperana da superao das desigualdades sociais, pois envolveria a distribuio
de bens culturais, expressando o papel da universidade na construo de uma
sociedade mais justa e igualitria, de acordo com uma das nossas respondentes.
Assume, entretanto, que essa uma viso utpica, longe de ser sequer circulante
nos corredores e discusses acadmicas. Ela pressupe uma viso diferente do
papel da universidade, que se aproxima do delineamento esperanoso e crtico que
tem sido produzido por Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2010). Exigiria uma virada
epistemolgica e poltica que daria extenso um papel de destaque e centralidade
na organizao e distribuio do conhecimento acadmico.
Defendendo a universidade como um bem pblico, Sousa Santos (2010)
insiste na importncia de um projeto nacional de qualifcao e insero na sociedade
global (p. 58) atravs de estratgias de resistncia que envolvam a globalizao
alternativa. A resistncia tem de envolver a promoo de alternativas de pesquisa,
de formao, de extenso e de organizao que apontem para a democratizao do
bem pblico universitrio, ou seja, para o contributo especfco da universidade na
defnio e soluo coletivas dos problemas sociais, nacionais e globais (p. 62).
Sousa Santos (2010) insiste para a necessidade de a universidade retomar
a sua legitimidade, apontando cinco reas de ao que precisaro ser foco dessa
condio: a democratizao do acesso; a pesquisa-ao, a ecologia dos saberes,
e a relao da universidade com a escola pblica. (p.66). Segundo ele, a
339
funo de extenso assumir, em futuro prximo, um
signifcado muito especial, com implicaes nos currculos e
nas carreiras docentes e compreendidas de modo alternativo
ao capitalismo global, atribuindo s universidades uma
participao ativa na construo da coeso social, no
aprofundamento da democracia, na luta contra a excluso
social e a degradao ambiental, na defesa da diversidade
cultural (p. 73).
Percebe-se, ento, uma posio distinta entre os autores sobre a
probabilidade de uma nova confgurao da universidade em tempos diversos.
Para alguns, uma utopia distante e, para outros, uma emergncia necessria
que impacta a sobrevivncia da condio pblica legitimada para a universidade.
Certamente sero vrias as condies histricas e polticas que incidiro sobre
essa perspectiva. Mas o que fca claro a condio mutante dos indicadores de
qualidade que se instalam de forma mltipla, dependendo das posies tericas
e polticas sobre a sociedade e sobre o projeto educativo que ela deve sustentar.
Mas tambm fca evidente a dependncia da universidade das tramas sociais,
reconhecendo que seus rumos esto indelevelmente emaranhados na teia de
interesses e compromissos em tenso.
Essa condio ratifca a compreenso de que impossvel a defnio
de indicadores de qualidade acadmica de forma universal e atemporal. Mesmo
compreendendo e aceitando certas premissas que historicamente marcaram e
marcam a universidade como instituio, como parece ser o caso contemporneo
de centrar a qualidade na indissociabilidade no ensino, na pesquisa e na extenso,
as compreenses sobre esse estruturante so variveis. Portanto tambm o sero
os indicadores que operacionalizariam cada uma das alternativas.
Como ento encaminhar a complexa atividade de avaliao
institucional? Como abrir mo da confortvel segurana de indicadores
universais e pragmaticamente explicitados?
As respostas a estas provocaes no so simples. So elas exigentes de
um aprofundamento mais intenso sobre o papel social da universidade e a condio
histrico-cultural dessa instituio num tempo e lugar que, provavelmente, as afastar
das metanarrativas universais. Somente atravs da explicitao de seus contextos
e projetos ser possvel defnir alguns parmetros que sirvam para correlaes e
possibilidades de anlises mais globais. Mas preciso assumir a diversidade como
possibilidade que estimule novas experincias de formatos curriculares e de relaes
do ensino com a pesquisa e a extenso. til, tambm, seria pensar no funcionamento
de redes como um princpio para uma globalizao solidria, no dizer de Sousa
Santos (2010). Sero essas experincias que podero desenhar indicadores de
qualidade que se afastem dos referentes que s estimulam a competitividade, como
se a fragilidade de alguns no repercutisse na qualidade de todos. Que o campo de
disputa que envolve os destinos da universidade possam favorecer sua condio
pblica e dessa condio emergir o que se entende por qualidade.
BIBLIOGRAFIA
BARNETT, Ronald (Ed.) Para uma transformacin de la universidad.
Nuevas relaciones entre investigacin, saber y docncia. Barcelona. Editorial
Octaedro, 2009.
CUNHA, Maria Isabel da. Inovaes pedaggicas: o desafo da reconfgurao
de saberes na docncia universitria. In: PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA,
Maria Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So Paulo. EDUSP, 2009, pp.211-136.
FVERO, Maria de Lourdes, LOPES, Sonia de Castro. A Universidade do
Distrito Federal (1935-1939). Um projeto alm de seu tempo. Braslia.
CNPq/Lber Livro Editora. 2009.
RAMSDEN, P., MOSES, I. Associations between research and teaching in
Australian higher education. Higher Education, n. 23, pp. 273-295, 1992.
SEVERINO, Antnio Joaquim. Ensino e pesquisa na docncia universitria:
caminhos para a integrao. In: PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA, Maria
Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So Paulo. EDUSP, 2009, pp.129-146.
SOUSA SANTOS, Boaventura de. A Universidade no sculo XXI: para uma
reforma democrtica e emancipatria da Universidade. So Paulo, Cortez
Editora, 3 ed. 2010.
PIMENTA, Selma G. ALMEIDA, Maria Isabel. Pedagogia Universitria. So
Paulo. EDUSP, 2009. pp.129-146.
PINTO, Diana Couto. A Escola de Filosofa e Letras da UDF: Um projeto
em vir-a-ser. In: FVERO, Maria de Lourdes, LOPES, Sonia de Castro. A
Universidade do Distrito Federal (1935-1939). Um projeto alm de seu
tempo. Braslia. CNPq/Lber Livro Editora. 2009.
PROFESSIONAL TEACHING DEVELOPMENT: QUALITY
INDICATORS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
INITIAL ASSUMPTIONS
S
ince the World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21
st
Century
(UNESCO, 1998), the importance of professors and students as the
main players (art. 10), proclaimed within the missions and functions of university
teaching, has been highlighted in academic discussions. The aforementioned
document emphasizes a vigorous policy of personnel development as an essential
element for Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
Clear policies must be established regarding professors in
Higher Education, who currently must be especially engaged
in teaching their students to learn and to take initiatives,
instead of only being sources of knowledge. Adequate
measures must be taken to research, update and improve
educational skills, by means of appropriate personnel
development programs; stimulating the constant innovation
of the curricula and teaching and learning methods, which
ensure the appropriate professional and fnancial conditions
for the professional, this way guaranteeing excellence in
research and teaching (). (UNESCO/CRUB, 1999, p. 28).
This emphasis demonstrates in its discourse the quality of educational
relations and of the teaching-learning process, necessarily leading to the topic
of educational competences related to university teaching, in a world that has
transformed and directly affected the university, proposing a modifcation of
higher education and professor activities in this context. It represents a call
for discussion on an educational excellence that refects quality indicators for
professional teaching education and development, which we intend to answer, in
the discussions that guide the present article.
To this end, we opt for a conception in which indicators are understood
as signs of the process one aims to evaluate: the professional education and
development of professors working in Higher Education. Such signs acquire
meaning based on an integrative view that carries a subjective and, therefore,
a qualitative dimension upon refecting on the status of a determined ever-
changing reality (ISAIA and BOLZAN, 2009). We opt for the interpretive
expression with respect to the possible indicators with which we shall work.
The discussion begins with the conception of quality in education and Higher
Education in order to understand the quality of the formative process of
professional teaching development, elements which interpenetrate the broad
discussion on quality.
In this sense, the defning elements of the concept of quality in Higher
Education involve multiple dimensions, each one of them having different
senses and meanings, according to the logic they represent. Hence, this concept
approximates the ideas contained in the World Declaration on Higher Education
(1998), article 11, paragraph a, in which quality is defned as
(...) a multidimensional concept that must involve all of
its functions and activities: teaching, academic programs,
research and funding for science, the academic environment
in general. An internal and transparent self-evaluation
and an external review with independent specialists, if
possible with international recognition, are vital for quality
assurance. National independent organizations need to be
created and comparative norms of quality need to be defned,
recognized on the international level. With the purpose
of taking diversity into account and avoiding uniformity,
attention should be given to specifc institutional, national
and regional contexts. The protagonists must be an integral
part of the institutional evaluation process. (UNESCO/
CRUB, 1999, p. 29).
In pursuit of other input for understanding the problem of Higher
Education quality, we consider the perspective of Morosini (2001), who presents
four dimensions: evaluation, employability, equity, and respect for diversity.
However, in which parameters can these dimensions be interpreted? There is an
ambiguity implicit in each one of the dimensions which require a standpoint.
Regarding the evaluation dimension, we can focus on the emancipating
aspects of the system or understand it as a regulatory element in itself. However,
under which aspects will the professors, students and institutions be evaluated? Will
this evaluation be procedural or focused on only one product? Who is concerned or
deals with meta-evaluation? We believe that thinking of a meta-evaluation implies the
343
expansion of the evaluation process which must be seen as a complex and dynamic
whole, whose already defned parameters do not stife it, but make it dynamic.
With respect to employability, it is possible to understand it from two
points of view: the University, being responsible for the job opportunities of
its graduates, emphasizing the educating function for the market, as understood
from the neoliberal perspective. Or seen as a possibility to develop the critical
and emancipating capacity in the continued learning process of graduates in the
Higher Education system.
Currently, we cannot expect Higher Education to offer its students the
baggage that will serve them for their whole lives, since this education would end
up being obsolete. In this sense, The Annals of the World Conference on Higher
Education for the 21
st
Century (2003) recommend transforming graduating
students from job candidates to opportunity creators, opening new fronts in the
job market and stimulating these professionals to become entrepreneurs based
on their professional feld. This means providing education times and spaces
that increase the capacity for creation and innovation in their professional felds.
In this sense, Cristovam Buarque, quoted by Proulx (2005, p.197) proposed a
profound renovation of the university, based on the fundamental principle that
knowledge is not a mere accumulation of data, facts, training and competence; it
is a continuous fow and, therefore, inherently ephemeral. As with any moment,
knowledge has a short lifespan, university diplomas can no longer serve as
passports for life. Their validity demands constant a renewal of competence.
But are professors prepared for this new function?
And regarding equity, how do we understand it? In principle, this
dimension involves the possibility of equal opportunities not only for access to
Higher Education, but for micro and macro conditions that ensure access and
permanence in the system, this way mitigating dropouts.
Equity is related to the question of ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic and
gender diversity; equal learning conditions for the student body, over the course
of education; the redefnition of the professional function and the redefnition
of education management, in consonance with a world in which demands are
diversifed and there are disparities of all kinds. Despite this emphasis on equity,
as a result of diversity, the benefts of Higher Education are still distributed
unequally. The issue that is imposed is the need to ensure equity in a society
marked by gaps of all kinds and governed by a market perspective.
All cultural productions, in which Higher Education is inserted, are
valued as consumer goods, expanding the disparities even more. In this same
direction, specialized international organizations highlight the link that exists
between education and economic growth, which has been stimulating private
sectors to make large investments in education as a lucrative business, especially
with respect to this level of teaching. Based on these dimensions, it is possible
for us to understand how much quality is a concept that varies, according to the
perspectives of those that use it, and is linked to different logics that permeate
contemporary society.
With respect to the characteristics of the professors job, the
aforementioned four dimensions of Higher Education quality: evaluation,
employability, equity and diversity, acquire a new conformation and enable us
to raise new questions about professional teacher education and development. To
the extent that professors need to be prepared to face the demands resulting from
an education that transforms rapidly, at the same time cannot detach themselves
from their human nature, aimed at developing people.
We ask, then, what kind of education and what kind of professional
development do we need for our professors?
In the pursuit of possible alternatives, we emphasize the need to think
critically about the educational policies that have been implemented or are in
effect, relying on formative strategies that value the professional and pedagogical
nature of teaching, since the integration of both composes the characteristics of
the teaching profession. But, this is not the question that is asked of everyone
who works in higher education for regulatory institutions and organizations
(MEC, CNPq, CAPES, Law of Guidelines and Bases of Higher Education).
These regulatory institutions and organizations need to indicate what structural
and organizational conditions offer in order for professional education and
development to be established.
It is necessary to ensure at an international, national and regional level,
elements that support Higher Education quality. We emphasize that such elements
may directly refect the understanding of the following indicators: institutional
investment in innovative university pedagogies; interinstitutional networks of
professional teaching education and development; articulation between the
knowledge that constitutes the characteristics of higher education teaching;
innovations in the formative, scientifc and technological felds of universities.
We understand that the expansion of higher education in the past few
decades reveals the diversity of its format which, without a doubt, interferes in
the production of new knowledge, in the development of the body of researchers,
professors and professionals in various areas, highlighting sociocultural
345
macrotransformations, resulting from the globalization process (MARTINS,
2008). We believe that it is necessary to achieve better levels of academic
excellence, evidenced by the pursuit of a greater interaction of the various
levels of teaching, as well as the development of research which can account for
socioeconomic and cultural issues.
Continuing with the idea of pedagogical excellence in the pursuit of
quality indicators for this teaching level, professional teaching education and
development are considered important signs, along the lines of what Esteves
(2008, p.101) asserts: if you want to achieve a level of pedagogical excellence,
it is necessary to invest in the formal pedagogical education of university
professors. It is in this direction that we make our arguments.
PEDAGOGICAL EXCELLENCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION,
PROFESSIONAL TEACHING EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The perspective of pedagogical excellence that Esteves (2008)
presents, is contextualized in the more general domains of the objectives to be
accomplished, of the educational policies undertaken and the social demands
that are made at this level of education (p. 101).
Without running the risk of an a priori interpretation in which the terms
excellence and pedagogical constitute an ideological barrier of the refection
proposed, it is necessary to clarify what pedagogy of excellence we are refecting
on. We agree with Esteves (2008, p.102), when he asserts that pedagogy of
excellence for Higher Education is not reduced to:
(I) questioning the ends of teaching itself, before questioning
the means; (II) questioning the global, regional, national
policies of higher education and science, before questioning
the way in which learning communities are organized in
each institution, in each program and in each curricular unit;
(III) questioning society and what it expects (and does not
expect) from higher education, before evaluating if such a
request is to be satisfed or not (p. 102).
Higher Education is a complex and multidimensional space and projecting
perspectives of development includes the faculty and their professional world,
together with other axes suggested by Zabalza (2004, pp. 13-15): university
policy; curricular subjects/science and technology; students and the employability
to which they aspire in the job market. We point out the fact that the formative
decisions started to occupy the interest of Higher Education very recently. And,
according to Esteves (2008, p.107), with respect to that which pedagogical
excellence of higher education depends on in a specialized teaching education,
there is still a long way to go.
As pointed out by Nvoa (1992, p.9), it is not possible for there to be
quality teaching, or educational reform, or pedagogical innovation, without
adequate teaching education. According to Marcelo Garca (1999), this axiom
contributed to teaching education being transformed into an area of investigation
and knowledge capable of offering solutions to some of the problems which
educational systems are facing.
Studies on constructive movements in higher education teaching
1

(ISAIA, 2010) have been showing us that the effective entry into the teaching
career is a singular moment in the life of the professional who decides to follow this
path (ISAIA; MACIEL; BOLZAN, 2010). A path permeated with challenges for
which they were not prepared to face, problem-situations that were not in the kit
of competences, skills and attitudes that they symbolically received upon concluding
their bachelors or teaching degree (the latter is intended for Basic Education).
Teaching the profession was not in the script, in other words. But the news does not
end there: there will probably be no guide in this new professional incursion and
educational solitude
2
is a concrete possibility, signifcantly marking the professors
trajectory, involving all constructive movements of teaching. All these questions
should be present in a proposal of professor education in and for Higher Education.
For Zabalza (2004, p.105), to know how university students are and
how they learn and what the procedural role of teaching is can constitute
the more novel aspects for the majority of Higher Education professors. The
author refects that the greater part of professors have placed themselves
on the defensive, assuming that teaching (their task) is only a question
of commitment to valid scientifc knowledge in their area. So, learning
becomes a problem exclusive to the student, associated to self-determination,
motivations, skills, knowledge and competences acquired previously.
1
The constructive movements of higher education teaching include the different moments of the teaching
career, involving the experiential trajectory of professors and the way in which they relate the personal, the
professional and the institutional and, consequently, how they see themselves (trans)forming, over the course
of time (ISAIA and BOLZAN, 2007b, 2007c). Therefore, they carry the peculiarities of each professor and
how they interpret their experiences. These actions are not presented in a linear fashion, but correspond to
moments of rupture or oscillation, responsible for the appearance of new paths that can be taken by professors.
(ISAIA, 2010)
2
The feeling of helplessness that professors face in the absence of dialogue and shared pedagogical knowledge
to face the educational act. Professors enter higher education, exercising teaching supported only by natural
skills, knowledge resulting from common sense, from the educational practice and from past experiences
with higher education students. (ISAIA, 1992, 2003a). Like professors, they assume the entire teaching
responsibility from the beginning of their career, without relying on the support of more experienced professors
and institutional spaces aimed at the joint construction of the knowledge relative to being a professor. (ISAIA,
2006, p.373).
347
Corroborating Zabalza (2004), Esteves (2008) observes that the
starting point of education must be the problems with which student learning
and education in each course or program are faced and not the creation of
generic formative actions inspired by a defectological paradigm of professor
education. He also highlights the low effectiveness of standardized courses
which aim to increase the educational knowledge of professors. This same
author defends contextualized programs of intervention/education, aimed at
solving emerging educational problems in each concrete situation.
The development of teaching action/education programs,
involving professors from the same or similar courses, from
various institutions (national and occasionally, foreign), the
development of institutional and inter-institutional projects
of investigation-action, and the consolidation of graduate
programs in the feld of higher education teaching could
be important incentives for the construction of teaching
excellence in higher education. (Esteves, 2008, p.108).
From the point of view of Imbernn (2009), the teaching profession
develops based on various factors, such as salary, demand in the job market, the work
environment in educational centers where one works, career progress, the power
structures and through constant teaching education throughout life, among other
aspects. This way, this global perspective is related to professional development
seen as a set of factors that enable or prevent professors from advancing in their
professional life. According to this logic, education will help development, though
it is necessary to consider other factors such as salary, structures, decision-making
and participatory levels, work environment, career, labor legislation among others.
The qualifcation of this process will be a result of the sum of factors, in which
education is included, though not in a single, isolated manner.
In the same direction pointed out by Imbernn, we understand that the
direction of the teaching profession will be contextualized in the institution, based
on what we understand as the professor environment; that is, a set of objective
(external), subjective (intrapersonal) and intersubjective (interpersonal) forces,
whose repercussions in the professional development process can permit or
restrict giving (new) meaning to the experience over the course of ones life and
career and, consequently, the formative trajectory (MACIEL, 2009; MACIEL,
ISAIA, BOLZAN, 2009).
For Imbernn (2009, p. 33), there is a dynamic process of teaching
development, in which the dilemmas, doubts and lack of stability and
divergence come to constitute aspects of professional development. This way,
it conceptualizes professional teaching development as being any systematic
intention to improve the labor practice, professional beliefs and knowledge, with
the purpose of increasing teaching, research and management quality, including
procedural diagnostics, policy development, programs and activities to satisfy
these professional needs.
The author continues with this reasoning, affrming that professional
teaching development needs new labor systems and new learning that the
professors need to build, individually and collectively to account for their
profession and, still, those labor and learning aspects associated to the institutions
where they work. The legitimation of the formative aspects happens to the
extent to which it contributes to professional teaching development in the work
environment and the improvement of professional learning.
Imbernn (2009) presents fve major lines or axes of performance, in the
sense of the logic of professional teaching development and permanent education:
theoretical-practical refection; exchanging experiences between peers; education
allied to an institutional project of change; education as the development of
positions critical to the sectarian, individualist, exclusive and intolerant teaching
practice; the professional development of the institution through collaborative
work to transform this practice, moving towards institutional innovation.
We understand after all, that the professional capacity of the professor is
not reduced to technical education, but also includes the practice and conceptions
by which teaching is established. Constant education guiding professional
development takes place in the engagement of professors in their practice,
enabling them to examine implicit theories, the operation schemas, their attitudes,
procedural evaluation. This set of ideas reverses the axis of concepts of teaching
education based on the strict view of updating knowledge linked to teaching, for
a concept of education that will aid in discovering theory, organizing it, founding
it, reviewing it and building it based on a collaborative process.
Though the concepts of professional education and development, dealt
with here, have unique peculiarities, we understand that they are related, since
there is no way of thinking about professional teaching development without
thinking about the formative processes that put it in motion.
How can we understand the concept of professional teaching development
in the defned perspective? A possible path consists of taking into account the
processes and formative trajectories of these professionals, understanding them
in the broad and complex set of elements resulting from personal and professional
349
dimensions, constituents of this development. This way, we understand this
development as a mediated process in institutional spaces in which networks of
interactions and mediations enable professors to refect, share and rebuild their
own experiences and knowledge specifcally for Higher Education for them to
develop in the profession.
In this sense, we understand that the personal dimension of professors
includes an element of subjectivity, in which the marks of life and the profession
are interconnected, without, however, abdicating their characteristics. Over the
course of life, the ways in which professors and the world interact change and,
consequently, how teacher subjectivity develops.
We understand that the professional dimension, in turn, involves the path
of professors in one or various teaching institutions, in which they are or were
working. It is a complex process in which the knowledge and the know-how
characteristic of teaching are elaborated. At the same time, this element is also
infuenced by the events of life and the profession that, upon being intertwined,
bring a special color to each path. (ISAIA, 2001, 2006a, 2007).
This way, for us, these two dimensions, in their dynamic force are
responsible for the possibility of professors perceiving themselves as a unit in
which the person and the professional mobilize their way of being a professor.
The integration of these two dimensions becomes one of the constitutive elements
of developing and recognizing oneself as a professor.
The complexity resulting from the interrelation of these processes results
from a fabric of experience, constituted by a network composed of different
spaces, places and times which integrate a multiplicity of pedagogical generations
woven in the same historical time, possessing differentiated ways of participating,
interacting and understanding teaching activities to be carried out by professors.
The inconsistencies and crises evidenced over the course of professional
development can, in many cases, be credited to the asynchrony between these
different generations, with possible repercussions for the professor environment
3
.
Professional teaching development, characterized this way, is guided
towards the constant appropriation of knowledge, understanding and activities
characteristic to the area of expertise of each profession, woven based on
communication networks in which shared knowledge takes form.
To do so, we need to understand professional education as a process that
involves the efforts of professors and the concrete intention of the institutions
in which they work, to create conditions so that this process can take place,
3
The environment in which teaching is exercised is a confguration resulting from the impact of external work
conditions on the internal world of professors, acting as a generative or restrictive force in the transformation
process towards professional well-being and self-realization (MACIEL, ISAIA and BOLZAN, 2009).
this way enabling the building of professorship
4
and the effective knowledge
of being a professor
5
.
The discussions resulting from the interactions established between
professors is aimed at the understanding that their activities present a unique
characteristic to Higher Education, therefore requiring university pedagogies
that contemplate their epistemological and methodological statute. Along these
lines, the questions regarding the pedagogical education of professors working in
universities need to be situated and confronted by their own professors, by their
institutions and by Higher Education policies.
In this environment, the discussion regarding the pedagogical and
professional nature of teaching becomes not only pertinent, but indispensable.
The former includes knowledge as well as know-how, characteristic of a specifc
profession, regarding the way to help students, in education, to elaborate
their own strategies of appropriating this knowledge, towards their formative
autonomy (ISAIA, 2003a, 2004, 2006a). This way, the pedagogical nature
includes forms of conceiving and developing teaching, organized pedagogical
strategies that take into account the transposition of the specifc content of a
domain for its effective understanding and consequent application, on the part
of the students, in order for them to be able to transform them into instruments,
capable of mediating the construction of their formative process. It involves,
this way, the possibility and need to build professor knowledge, based on an
individual and group refective process, in which the exchange of ideas and
experiences enables the construction of shared pedagogical knowledge (ISAIA
and BOLZAN, 2007a; BOLZAN, 2008).
The professional nature, in turn, involves the appropriation of specifc
activities, based on a repertory of knowledge, competences and activities, aimed
at exercising teaching, which result from the intertwining of distinct areas,
involving specifc, pedagogical and experiential knowledge, of a professional as
well as teaching nature. This dimension takes into account: educating professors
for Basic Education, educating professionals for other areas of expertise and
generating knowledge in specifc domains, as well as favoring knowledge
construction regarding what it means to be a professor.
4
A process that implies the sensitivity of the professor as a person and professional in terms of behaviors
and values, with refection as an intrinsic component of the teaching, learning and education process and,
consequently, of designing ones own trajectory. Professorship is established over a course that encompasses
the ideas of trajectory and education in an integrated way, associated in what is usually called formative
trajectories (ISAIA and BOLZAN, 2005, 2007a, 2007b, 2009a, 2009b; BOLZAN and ISAIA, 2006).
5
A process that is established in and through teaching based on the joint refection between professors in initial
education as well as continuing education. This implies retrieving the personal and professional trajectory as a
form of continuation in building the professor. The awareness of knowledge in being a professor is the trigger
for understanding the nature of the professor. (ISAIA and BOLZAN, 2007).
351
Valuing the professional aspect of the professor implies considering
professor rights and duties in their work places. To this end, the policies and
criteria adopted for the selection, monitoring and advancement of professors
over the course of their career are relevant (ISAIA, 2006a; ISAIA and BOLZAN,
2007a; BOLZAN and ISAIA, 2006).
In this sense, the tendencies of Brazilian Higher Education, today, in
terms of expansion and access to the University make evident a set of factors
that have contributed to this phenomenon. The value attributed to technical and
scientifc knowledge, the characteristics of the professional area and aspirations
of social mobility are the mark of a new method of professional education
without, however, concretely defning institutional policies of professional
teaching development.
However, we cannot avoid considering teaching from the perspective
of the teaching profession (IMBERNN, 2001, 2009; TARDIF, 2003;
TARDIF and LESSART, 2005). In this eminently human and interactive
perspective, it involves activities with, for and about people, understood as
a job whose object is not built of inert material or symbols, but of human
relations with people capable of initiative and gifted with a certain capacity
to resist or participate in the professors activities (TARDIF and LESSARD,
2005, p 35). Such a position reiterates the idea of overlapping interactivity
in the dimension of humanity and intersubjectivity preached by the authors,
linked to the teaching work construct.
Another element inherent in professional development is teacher
learning
6
, which puts a self-refective process in progress, in order for
educational activities to be consciously executed, making it possible to think
and refect on the why, the how and what for. Hence, the characterizing
elements of this process of learning how to be a professor are a result of a
network of interpersonal and inter-refective relations linked to the way in
which educational policies are implemented in each institution and interpreted
6
It includes an interpersonal and intrapersonal process that involves the appropriation of knowledge,
competences and activities specific to higher education, which are linked to the concrete reality of
teaching in their various fields of expertise and their respective domains. Its structure involves: the
appropriation process, in its interpersonal and intrapersonal dimension; the impulse that drives it,
represented by feelings that indicate its general purpose; the establishment of specific objectives, based
on the understanding of the educational act and, finally, the conditions necessary for carrying out
the outlined objectives, involving the personal and professional trajectory of the professors, as well
as the path taken by their institutions. Teacher learning occurs in a space between ways of teaching
and learning, in which the actors of the higher educational area exchange these functions, involving
shared professional knowledge and collaborative learning. It is not possible to talk about a generalized
learning of how to be a professor, but to understand it based on the context of each professor in which
we consider their educational trajectories and the formative activity towards which they are directed
(ISAIA, 2006b, p. 377).
by the faculty that works in it, the shared pedagogical knowledge
7
and the
collaborative teacher learning
8
.
Teacher learning, therefore, is made explicit as being a process that
occurs in the space between ways of teaching and learning, in which the actors
of the educational area exchange these functions. The structure of this learning
involves the appropriation process, in its interpersonal and intrapersonal
dimension, dynamized by feelings that indicate its general purpose. Therefore,
this process is unique for each subject, being infuenced by the paths taken in the
areas of higher education teaching, according to the institutional context.
This process of learning and being a professor, by its intersubjective
nature, is built based on networks of professor relations, constituted over
exchanging ideas and knowledge between peers/colleagues. These networks
presuppose interaction and mediation processes, constituted, based on cultural
instruments, as refective intellectual discourse and activity regarding practical
teacher knowledge. Keeping in mind the need for networks of interactions
between peers for building teacher learning, we understand that the scope of this
process takes place, to the extent to which professors learn, by analyzing and
interpreting their activities, building their professional knowledge in an inter/
intrapersonal way.
The resulting critical refexivity establishes what we call refective
teacher learning. In this refective process, in and about the pedagogical
activity, professors will be working as researchers of their own teaching
practice, not following the prescriptions imposed by the institution or by pre-
established schemas in books, not depending on rules, techniques, strategy
guides and recipes resulting from proposed/imposed theory; making themselves
professional and pedagogical knowledge producers (BOLZAN, 2006).
Hence, more than understanding professional teaching development, we
need to be aware of its constitutive dynamics in networks which, due to its inter-
relational confguration, overcomes the traditionally individualist nature of the
7
A system of ideas with distinct levels of concreteness and articulation, presenting dynamic dimensions of a
procedural nature, since it implies a network of interpersonal relations. It is organized with variety and richness,
presenting four dimensions: theoretical and conceptual knowledge, practical teaching experience, refection on
teaching and transformation of the pedagogical action. The process of constituting this knowledge implies the
continuous reorganization of pedagogical, theoretical and practical knowledge, knowledge of the organization
of teaching strategies, study activities and professor work routines, where the new is elaborated based on the
old, by adjusting these systems (BOLZAN, 2002, p.151). It is a basic concept that refers to a broad knowledge
built by the professor, implying the domain of know-how, as well as theoretical and conceptual knowledge
and its relations. Its construction is not based on the accumulation of knowledge, but on the reorganization of
preexisting knowledge and current knowledge, in a way that rebuilds its original design (BOLZAN, 2006, p.).
8
The process in which the professor learns is based on analyzing and interpreting his own work and that of
others through sharing ideas, knowledge and activities. It presupposes an interdiscursive and intersubjective
process, since it is through this plural, interactive and meditational process that learning takes place, involving
a moment of building and rebuilding ideas and premises resulting from the sharing process (ISAIA, 2007;
BOLZAN and ISAIA, 2007a, 2007b).
353
initiatives of professor improvement. This way, to the extent to which networks
involve interactive groups of professors in their efforts of sharing formative
activities, they become a place favorable for professional teaching development,
provoking ruptures in the individualist manner of exercising teaching.
We believe that for the networks to be activated, teamwork and
cooperation between professors is necessary. We understand that a network of
professional education and development is a real or virtual place, constituted
by the participants, where knowledge is built, attending in a special way to the
teaching professional who learns through refective practice; considering the
pedagogical situation or space where he works and promoting interactivity and
appropriation of the means to facilitate learning. A network is organized like a
cognitive fabric, woven based on this interactivity between participants, whose
motivational links are fed by a common identity (us). It can be a viable path
for professor development and pedagogical innovation, enabling a place for
sensitive listening and for building teaching autonomy, with a special emphasis
on professors entering Higher Education (MACIEL, 2010).
In the network, different pedagogical generations will interact, reversing
the problem of the shock between generations to build a professor environment
that enables giving (new) meaning to experiences over the course of ones life
and career and, consequently, of the formative trajectory.
Based on the procedures carried out, professional teaching development
is understood as a continuous, systematic, organized and self-refective process,
involving the paths taken, as well as the construction of a set of knowledge,
competences and activities aimed at the teaching exercise, elements which are
capable of defning Higher Education quality. We believe, then, that valuing
these elements intrinsic to professional education and consequent development
will reveal themselves as quality indicators of Higher Education.
PROFESSIONAL TEACHING DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES
IN THE PURSUIT OF QUALITY
By dealing with the quality of professional teaching development, we
become aware of the challenges that permeate the feld of Higher Education and
that defne the possible indicators to be chosen.
The frst challenge is characterized by the need for professional teaching
development as opposed to the absence of systematized Institutional and State
Policies that account for the demands specifc to the continued formative process
of professors. This occurs due to the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National
Education, n 9394/96, despite manifesting the relevance of this process, does not
defne specifc parameters for this process to be carried out, despite underscoring
in Art. 66 that: the preparation for higher education teaching will be done at the
graduate level, primarily in Masters and Doctorate programs (BRASIL, 1996).
We believe that institutions need to produce spaces in which places are
promoted and planned for teacher education, taking into account the importance
of the positivity of the university environment for the consequent development of
the teaching profession. This way, the analysis of the university context will be
the starting point for the genuine production of the strategies capable of promoting
professional teaching development, dynamizing and disseminating public and
institutional policies to put this process into effect. In this sense, to think about
professional teaching development means promoting pedagogies specifc to the
reality of the Higher Education professional. The generation of innovations, in this
feld, demands systematic refection on the knowledge and activities inherent to
higher education teaching, where understanding diversity in this feld is a basic
condition for defning strategies capable of valuing the professionals that work in it.
A second challenge is characterized by the absence of education for
higher education teaching. The formative process has been promoted, but does
not make the development of the teaching profession concrete. There is no prior
and continued preparation for teaching, even though, in specifc areas, there is
a set of techniques and procedures focusing on the specifc feld of professional
activity. What we fnd is a set of ideas that are not put into practice, a fact which
is demonstrated by the research that has indicated the absence of organizational
pedagogical knowledge on the part of Higher Education professionals. The
professors demonstrate the absence of collaborative institutional work which is
essential for teaching professionalization.
The third challenge is characterized by the notion of employability
as opposed to the characteristic of education; that is, the developing subject
needs to be prepared to self-manage the job. In this sense, it is clear that, in
general, the faculty that works with educating other professionals is not and
was not prepared for this new concept. Emphasis on the view of employability
in contemporaneousness indicates the need to, once again, have as a premise
professional development to be a professor in any feld of expertise. Diversity and
equity are elements to be considered when we think of the notion of employability
beyond the characteristics of education. Both elements are more aimed at the notion
of employability of subjects in initial education than of teaching professionals in
continuing/developing professional education. This is evident when we think of
and organize curricula, to be implemented for professional education in various
355
felds, without taking into account strategy development, capable of stimulating
or encouraging professional teaching development.
The fourth challenge refers to the evaluation perspective in which the
university system is aimed primarily at quantitative parameters. The qualitative
parameters are given little value. This puts us before a lack of indicators
capable of defning the advances of professors in terms of development of
the teaching profession. Professionalization is seated in scientifc-academic
production in the various felds of education. We believe that an evaluation
process that values professional teaching development cannot be centered only
on bibliographic production as is confgured on the Lattes platform. There is a
more than conceptual complexity in teaching, interconnected with the teaching
practice in the scope of teaching, research and extension. These dimensions
pervade the intentionality of the professor who moves in a continuum of
insertion in the professional reality with which he deals, questioning it,
analyzing it, understanding it and interfering. Knowledge production moves
in this cross-circularity and its result is not expressed in only one type of
product, that of scientifc production in indexed journals and recognized by
quality standards. It is fundamental for us to broaden the perspective and
break with the productivist dimension of the researching professor in Higher
Education, with the risk of making this professional a mere subcontractor, one
who fulflls external demands, thus, it is necessary to review the evaluation
parameters instituted today, which do not consider teacher development in
Higher Education, whether it is teaching, research or extension.
ON THE PATH TO QUALITY FOR PROFESSIONAL
TEACHING DEVELOPMENT
We believe, therefore, that organizing formative actions qualifes
teaching in different felds of Higher Education. So, it is essential to defne
strategies for professional education and development in the heart of the
institutions, independently of the professional feld to be developed, as well
as the legislations of educational regulatory agencies. Based on the challenges
specifed above, we consider the following points as possible quality indicators
of professional teaching development in a qualitative dimension:
- The professor, apart from working with academic knowledge, needs
to engage in the formative process, generating pedagogical knowledge and
knowledge specifc to the formative feld, taking into account the demands of
professional areas to be attended, for which students are prepared.
- Awareness of teaching as a profession and acceptance of challenges
of new ways of teaching and being a professor in a world in constant
transformation, are indispensable for the quality of Higher Education in a
world in constant transformation.
- The institutions need to invest in building university pedagogies that
contemplate individual and group refection processes, capable of raising awareness
in and about the educational practice, promoting professional teaching development.
- Institutions need to promote formal policies and elements of
professional teaching education and development, favoring a university
environment favorable to professional well-being and realization.
- Professors in their initial and continuing education need to develop
a genuine understanding of the knowledge, expertise, skills and competences,
regarding their respective professions.
- Teaching professionals need to be permanently stimulated to develop
strategies capable of promoting the creative recombination of experiences and
knowledge necessary for an autonomous professional performance, on the part
of developing subjects, as well as on the part of professors from various areas of
Higher Education.
- Teacher learning, upon involving the appropriation of knowledge,
competences and activities specifc to higher education teaching, is effective
in two dimensions: the collaborative, because the professor learns based on the
analysis and interpretation of his own activity and those of others, by sharing ideas,
knowledge and activities; and the refective, because learning to be a professor
occurs by means of critical refection, done individually and collectively, with
implications for professor autonomy.
- Sensitivity as a person and a professional, in terms of attitudes
and values that take into account the knowledge of teaching and professional
experience, from a perspective of systematic refection, is an indispensable
condition, involving what we consider professor generativity.
- Interpersonal relations need to be ensured, understood as intrinsic
components of teaching, learning, being educated and, consequently,
developing personally and professionally.
- Teaching presupposes accomplishing personal and professional
trajectories involving spaces and times, in which refecting and rebuilding the
university educational practice demands the awareness of teaching as a profession,
assuming a permanent investment in the pursuit of teacher learning, in the relation
between specifc knowledge, shared knowledge, shared pedagogical knowledge.
357
- Personal as well as professional formative teaching trajectories
overlap and the way in which they are experienced and perceived determine
the personal/group and institutional purpose of transformation and improvement,
responsible for guiding quality in the formative process.
- The creation of interactive networks as spaces of pedagogical
communication promotes the professional development of higher education
teaching and also the creation of innovative pedagogies.
- The implementation of public policies of accessibility and permanence
for students with unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, as well as the inclusion
of ethnic groups kept at the margins of university teaching, imply a new way of
understanding and developing as a professor, to the extent to which they were
not prepared for this reality.
- The diversity of students, contexts and demands of the market need to
be incorporated in the policies of professional teaching development, in order for
professors to be able to take them into consideration in planning, in the execution
and in the evaluation of the educational activities they develop.
- Finally, it is not possible for us to think of quality indicators for the
professional education and development of Higher Education professors without
taking into account the trajectories of the education of these professionals and
their institutions, since both are constantly evolving.
We believe, therefore, that to put into effect professional development in
and for higher education teaching, it is necessary to accept the challenges of new
forms of being and working as a professor, understood as defning elements of
their education. Thus, the set of indicators will be effcient, valid and effective
if combined with an increasing process of constant action-refection-action,
involving the educational practice, the sharing and the constant rebuilding of
knowledge and activities of the teaching profession.
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p. 89-102, 2001.
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Publicaes Dom Qui xote, 1992, p. 13-33.
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Anais. UNESCO/Brasil, SESU, 2003.
ZABALZA, M. O ensino universitrio. Seu cenrio e seus protagonistas. Porto
Alegre, RS: Artmed, 2004.
INDICADORES DE QUALIDADE E DESENVOLVIMENTO
PROFISSIONAL DOCENTE
PRESSUPOSTOS INICIAIS
D
esde a Declarao Mundial sobre a Educao Superior no Sculo
XXI (UNESCO, 1998), a importncia dos professores e estudantes
como agentes principais (art.10), proclamada dentro das misses e funes do
ensino universitrio tem sido destacada na discusso acadmica. O referido
documento enfatiza uma poltica vigorosa de desenvolvimento de pessoal como
elemento essencial para as instituies de Educao Superior (IES).
Devem ser estabelecidas polticas claras relativas a docentes
de Educao Superior, que atualmente devem estar ocupados,
sobretudo em ensinar seus estudantes a aprender e a tomar
iniciativas, ao invs de serem unicamente fontes de
conhecimento. Devem ser tomadas providncias adequadas
para pesquisar, atualizar e melhorar as habilidades pedaggicas,
por meio de programas apropriados de desenvolvimento de
pessoal; estimulando a inovao constante dos currculos
e dos mtodos de ensino e aprendizagem, que assegurem
as condies profssionais e fnanceiras apropriadas ao
profssional, garantindo assim a excelncia em pesquisa e
ensino (...). (UNESCO/CRUB, 1999, p. 28).
Este destaque proclama em seu discurso a qualidade das relaes
pedaggicas e do processo ensino-aprendizagem, conduzindo necessariamente
temtica das competncias pedaggicas relacionada com a docncia universitria,
em um mundo que se transformou e afeta diretamente a universidade, propondo uma
modifcao da educao superior e das aes docentes nesse contexto. Constitui
um chamado discusso sobre a excelncia pedaggica que refita indicadores
de qualidade para a formao e o desenvolvimento profssional docente, ao qual
pretendemos responder, nas discusses que orientam o presente texto.
Para tanto, optamos por uma concepo em que os indicadores sero
compreendidos como sinalizadores do processo que se deseja avaliar: a formao
e desenvolvimento profssional dos docentes atuantes na Educao Superior.
Tais sinalizadores adquirem sentido a partir de uma viso integrativa que
carregam uma dimenso subjetiva e, portanto, qualitativa ao refetir o status de
determinada realidade em constante devir (ISAIA e BOLZAN, 2009). Optamos
pela expresso interpretativa com relao aos possveis indicadores com os
quais trabalharemos. A discusso parte da concepo de qualidade da educao
e da Educao Superior para adentrar na qualidade do processo formativo do
desenvolvimento profssional dos professores, instncias que se interpenetram
na ampla discusso sobre a qualidade.
Neste sentido, os elementos balizadores do conceito de qualidade da
Educao Superior envolvem mltiplas dimenses, tendo cada uma delas
diferentes sentidos e signifcados, conforme a lgica que refetem. Assim, este
conceito aproxima-se das ideias contidas na Declarao Mundial sobre o Ensino
Superior (1998), artigo 11, alnea a, em que a qualidade defnida como
(...) um conceito multidimensional que deve envolver todas
suas funes e atividades: ensino, programas acadmicos,
pesquisa e fomento da cincia, ambiente acadmico em
geral. Uma autoavaliao interna e transparente e uma
reviso externa com especialistas independentes, se
possvel com reconhecimento internacional, so vitais para
a assegurar a qualidade. Precisam ser criadas instncias
nacionais independentes e defnidas normas comparativas
de qualidade, reconhecidas no plano internacional. Visando
a levar em conta a diversidade e evitar a uniformidade,
deve-se dar ateno aos contextos institucionais, nacionais
e regionais especfcos. Os protagonistas devem ser
parte integrante do processo de avaliao institucional.
(UNESCO/CRUB, 1999, p. 29).
Na busca de outros aportes para a compreenso da problemtica
qualidade da Educao Superior consideramos o posicionamento de Morosini
(2001), que apresenta quatro dimenses: a avaliativa, a empregabilidade,
a equidade e o respeito diversidade. Contudo em que parmetros essas
dimenses podem ser interpretadas? Existe uma ambiguidade implcita em
cada uma das dimenses que exige uma tomada de posio.
Quanto dimenso avaliativa, podemos enfoc-la sob os aspectos
emancipatrios do sistema ou compreend-la como elemento regulador
363
considerado em si mesmo. Contudo, em quais aspectos os professores, os
estudantes e as instituies sero avaliados? Esta avaliao ser processual ou
enfocada apenas como um produto? Quem se preocupa ou se ocupa com a meta-
avaliao? Acreditamos que pensar em uma meta-avaliao implica a ampliao
do processo avaliativo que deve ser visto como um todo complexo e dinmico,
cujos parmetros j defnidos no o engessem, ao contrrio, o dinamizem.
Em relao empregabilidade, possvel entend-la, sob duas ticas:
a Universidade, como sendo responsvel pela oportunidade de emprego para
os seus egressos, salientando a funo de formar para o mercado, como
entendida na tica neoliberal. Ou vista como possibilidade de desenvolvimento
da capacidade crtica e emancipatria no processo de aprendizagem continuada
dos egressos do sistema de Educao Superior.
Na atualidade, no podemos esperar que a Educao Superior oferea
a seus estudantes uma bagagem que lhes sirva para toda a vida, pois esta seria
uma formao que acabaria tornando-se obsoleta. Neste sentido, os Anais da
Conferncia Mundial sobre a Educao Superior, para o sculo XXI (2003)
recomendam transformar os graduandos, de pretendentes a emprego em
criadores de oportunidades, abrindo novas frentes no mundo do trabalho e
incentivando esses profssionais a tornarem-se empreendedores a partir do seu
campo profssional. Isto signifca proporcionar tempos e espaos de formao
que ampliem a capacidade de criao e inovao em seus campos profssionais.
Neste sentido, Cristovam Buarque, citado por Proulx (2005, p.197) props uma
profunda renovao da universidade, baseada no princpio fundamental de que
o conhecimento no uma mera acumulao de dados, fatos, capacitao e
competncia; um fuxo contnuo e, portanto, inerentemente efmero. Como em
qualquer momento, o conhecimento tem vida curta, os diplomas universitrios
no podem mais servir como um passaporte para toda a vida. A sua validade
exige constante renovao de competncia. Mas os professores tm formao
para esta nova funo?
E quanto equidade, como compreend-la? Em princpio, essa dimenso
envolve a possibilidade de igualdade de oportunidades no s de acesso
Educao Superior, mas de condies micro e macro que viabilizem o acesso e a
permanncia no sistema, mitigando, assim, a evaso.
A equidade encontra-se relacionada questo da diversidade tnica,
cultural, socioeconmica e de gnero; das condies igualitrias de aprendizagem
para o alunado, ao longo da formao; da redefnio da funo docente e da
redefnio da gesto da educao, em consonncia com um mundo no qual as
demandas so diversifcadas e h disparidades de toda ordem. Apesar da nfase
na equidade, em decorrncia da diversidade, os benefcios da Educao Superior
ainda so distribudos de forma desigual. A questo que se impe a necessidade
de assegurar a equidade em uma sociedade marcada por desnveis de toda ordem
e regida pela tica de mercado.
Todas as produes culturais, nas quais se insere a Educao Superior
so valorizadas como bens de consumo, ampliando ainda mais as disparidades.
Nesta mesma direo, os organismos internacionais especializados destacam
o vnculo que existe entre educao e crescimento econmico, o que tem
estimulado os setores privados a realizarem grandes investimentos na educao
como um negcio lucrativo, especialmente, no que tange a este nvel de ensino.
A partir destas dimenses, possvel compreendermos o quanto a qualidade
um conceito que varia, de acordo com as perspectivas daqueles que o utilizam,
e est vinculado a diferentes lgicas que permeiam a sociedade contempornea.
Em relao s caractersticas do trabalho docente, as quatro dimenses da
qualidade da Educao Superior, j colocadas: a avaliao, a empregabilidade,
a equidade e a diversidade, adquirem nova conformao e nos possibilitam
levantar novas questes quanto formao e ao desenvolvimento profssional
docente. Na medida em que os professores precisam estar preparados para enfrentar
as demandas decorrentes de uma educao que se transforma, rapidamente, ao
mesmo tempo no podem desvincular-se de seu carter de humanidade, voltado
para o desenvolvimento de pessoas.
Perguntamos, ento, qual formao e qual desenvolvimento profssional
queremos para os nossos docentes?
Na busca de possveis alternativas, enfatizamos a necessidade de pensar
criticamente as polticas educativas implantadas ou em processo, apostando
em estratgias formativas que valorizem o carter profssional e pedaggico da
docncia, uma vez que a integrao de ambos compe a especifcidade da profsso
docente. Mas, no esta questo que se coloca a todos os que atuam no magistrio
superior pelas instituies e rgos de regulao (MEC, CNPq, CAPES, Lei de
Diretrizes e Bases da Educao Superior). Estas instituies e rgos reguladores
precisam indicar que condies estruturais e organizacionais oferecem para que a
formao e o desenvolvimento profssional possam se estabelecer.
preciso assegurar em nvel internacional, nacional e regional elementos
que dem suporte qualidade da Educao Superior. Destacamos que tais
elementos podem refetir diretamente na compreenso dos seguintes indicadores:
investimento institucional em pedagogias universitrias inovadoras; redes
365
interinstitucionais de formao e desenvolvimento profssional docente; articulao
entre os conhecimentos que constituem a especifcidade da docncia superior;
inovaes nos campos formativos, cientfcos e tecnolgicos das universidades.
Entendemos que a expanso do ensino superior nas ltimas dcadas,
revela a diversidade de seu formato o que, sem dvida, interfere na produo
de novos conhecimentos, na formao de quadros de pesquisadores, docentes e
profssionais das diversas reas, colocando em destaque as macrotransformaes
socioculturais, advindas do processo de globalizao (MARTINS, 2008).
Acreditamos que se faz necessrio conquistar melhores nveis de excelncia
acadmica, evidenciados na busca de maior interao dos diversos nveis de
ensino, bem como pelo desenvolvimento de pesquisas que possam dar conta das
questes socioeconmicas e culturais.
Retomando a ideia de excelncia pedaggica projetada na busca
dos indicadores de qualidade para esse nvel de ensino, a formao e o
desenvolvimento profssional dos professores so considerados como
sinalizadores importantes, a exemplo do que afrma Esteves (2008, p.101):
se se quiser alcanar o patamar de excelncia pedaggica, necessrio um
investimento na formao pedaggica formal dos professores universitrios.
nessa direo que teceremos a nossa argumentao.
EXCELNCIA PEDAGGICA DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR,
FORMAO E DESENVOLVIMEN TO PROFISSIONAL DOCENTE
A perspectiva de excelncia pedaggica que Esteves (2008) apresenta,
encontra-se contextualizada nos domnios mais gerais das fnalidades a atingir,
das polticas educativas empreendidas e das exigncias sociais que so feitas a
este nvel da educao (p.101).
Sem que se corra o risco de uma interpretao a priori em que os termos
excelncia e pedaggica constituam barreira ideolgica refexo proposta,
faz-se necessrio esclarecer sobre qual pedagogia de excelncia estamos
refetindo. Concordamos com Esteves (2008, p.102), ao afrmar que a pedagogia
de excelncia para a Educao Superior no se omite em:
(I)questionar os fns desse prprio ensino, antes de
questionar os meios; (II) questionar as polticas globais,
regionais, nacionais de ensino superior e cincia, antes de
questionar o modo como as comunidades de aprendizagem
se orga nizam em cada instituio, em cada curso e em cada
unidade curricular; (III) questionar a socie dade e o que ela
espera (e no espera) do ensino superior, antes de avaliar se
tal encomenda est a ser satisfeita ou no. (p.102).
A Educao Superior um espao complexo e multidimensional e
projetar perspectivas de desenvolvimento inclui o eixo dos professores e do
seu mundo profssional, a par dos outros eixos sugeridos por Zabalza (2004,
pp. 13-15): da poltica universit ria; das matrias curriculares/cincia e tec-
nologia; dos estudantes e da empregabilidade a que aspiram no mundo do
trabalho. Destacamos ainda o fato de que as decises formativas passaram
a ocupar o interesse da Educao Superior muito recentemente. E, segundo
Esteves (2008, p.107), naquilo em que a excelncia pedag gica do ensino
superior depender de uma formao especializada dos docentes, h ainda um
longo ca minho a percorrer.
Como ressaltado por Nvoa (1992, p. 9), no pos svel existir ensino
de qualidade, nem reforma edu cativa, nem inovao pedaggica, sem uma
adequada formao de professores. Segundo Marcelo Garca (1999), este
preceito contri buiu para que a formao de professores se transfor masse numa
rea de investigao e conhecimento ca paz de oferecer solues para alguns dos
problemas com que se deparam os sistemas educativos.
Os estudos sobre os movimentos construtivos da docncia superior
1

(ISAIA, 2010) tm-nos mostrado a entrada efetiva na carreira docente como um
momento singular na vida do profssional quem decidiu percorrer esse caminho
(ISAIA; MACIEL; BOLZAN, 2010). Um percurso permeado de desafos aos
quais ele no foi preparado para enfrentar, situaes-problemas que no estavam
no kit de competncias, habilidades e atitudes que simbolicamente recebeu ao
concluir o seu bacharelado ou licenciatura (esta destinada Educao Bsica).
Ensinar a profsso no estava no script, em outras palavras. Mas no param
por a as novidades: provavelmente no haver um guia nessa nova incurso
profssional e a solido pedaggica
2
uma possibilidade concreta, marcando
signifcativamente a trajetria docente, envolvendo todos os movimentos
1
Os movimentos construtivos da docncia superior compreendem os diferentes momentos da carreira docente,
envolvendo trajetria vivencial dos professores e o modo como eles articulam o pessoal, o profssional e o
institucional e, consequentemente, como vo se (trans)formando, no decorrer do tempo (ISAIA e Bolzan, 2007b,
2007c). Carregam, portanto, as peculiaridades de cada docente e de como ele interpreta os acontecimentos vividos.
Os movimentos no se apresentam de forma linear, mas correspondem a momentos de ruptura ou oscilao,
responsveis pelo aparecimento de novos percursos que podem ser trilhados pelos docentes. (ISAIA, 2010)
2
Sentimento de desamparo dos professores frente ausncia de interlocuo e de conhecimentos pedaggicos
compartilhados para o enfrentamento do ato educativo. Os professores ingressam no ensino superior, passando
a exercer a docncia respaldados apenas em pendores naturais, saberes advindos do senso comum, da prtica
educativa e da experincia passada como alunos do ensino superior. ( ISAIA, 1992, 2003a). Como docentes,
assumem desde o incio da carreira inteira responsabilidade de ctedra, sem contar com o apoio de professores
mais experientes e espaos institucionais voltados para a construo conjunta dos conhecimentos relativos a
ser professor. (ISAIA, 2006, p.373).
367
construtivos da docncia. Todas estas so questes que deveriam estar presentes
em uma proposta de formao de professores na e para a Educao Superior.
Para Zabalza (2004, p. 105), saber como so e como aprendem os
estudantes universitrios e qual o papel processual do en sino pode constituir os
as pectos de maior novidade para a maioria dos docen tes da Educao Superior.
O autor refete que a maior parte dos professores tm se colocado em defensiva,
assumindo que ensinar (a sua tarefa) somente uma questo de compromisso
com o conhecimento cientfco vlido na sua rea. Ento, aprender passa a
ser problema exclusivo do estudante, associado autodeterminao, motivaes,
capacidades, conhecimentos e competncias anteriormente adquiridos.
Corroborando com Zabalza (2004), Esteves (2008) observa que o ponto
de parti da da formao deveria ser os pro blemas com que a aprendizagem e a
formao dos estudantes em cada curso ou programa se defron tam e no a criao
de aes formativas genricas inspiradas num paradigma defectolgico da
forma o dos docentes. Destaca ainda, a pouca efccia dos cursos padronizados
que visam o aumento de conhecimentos educacionais dos docentes. Este mesmo
autor defende os programas contextualizados de interveno/formao, visan do
resoluo de problemas pedaggicos emergen tes em cada situao concreta.
O desenvolvimento de programas de aco/formao
pedaggica, envolvendo docentes de cursos iguais ou
afns, de diversas instituies (nacionais e, eventualmente,
estrangeiras), o de senvolvimento de projectos institucionais
e inter-institucionais de investigao-aco, e a consoli-
dao de ps-graduaes no campo da pedagogia do
ensino superior poderiam ser estmulos impor tantes para
a construo da excelncia pedaggica do ensino superior.
(Esteves, 2008, p.108).
Do ponto de vista de Imbernn (2009), a profsso docente se desenvolve
a partir de diversos fatores, como o salrio, a demanda do mundo do trabalho,
o clima laboral nos centros educativos onde se atua, a progresso na carreira, as
estruturas de poder e pela formao permanente do professor ao longo da vida,
dentre outros aspectos. Assim, essa perspectiva global est relacionada com o
desenvolvimento profssional visto como um conjunto de fatores que possibilitam
ou impedem que os professores avancem em sua vida profssional. Nessa lgica,
a formao ajudar o desenvolvimento, entretanto necessrio considerar os
demais fatores como salrio, estruturas, nveis decisrios e participativos, clima
de trabalho, carreira, legislao trabalhista entre outros. A qualifcao deste
processo ser resultante de um somatrio de fatores, em que est includa a
formao, porm no de forma nica e isolada.
Na mesma direo apontada por Imbernn, compreendemos que o
direcionamento do profssional docente ser contextualizado na instituio,
a partir do que entendemos como ambincia docente; ou seja, um conjunto
de foras objetivas (externas), subjetivas (intrapessoais) e intersubjetivas
(interpessoais), cujas repercusses no processo de desenvolvimento profssional,
podem permitir ou restringir a [re]signifcao das experincias ao longo da
vida e da carreira e, consequentemente, da trajetria formativa (MACIEL, 2009;
MACIEL, ISAIA, BOLZAN, 2009).
Para Imbernn (2009, p. 33), existe um processo dinmico de
desenvolvimento docente, em que os dilemas, as dvidas, a falta de estabilidade e a
divergncia chegam a constituir-se em aspectos do desenvolvimento profssional.
Assim, conceitua o desenvolvimento profssional docente como sendo qualquer
inteno sistemtica de melhorar a prtica laboral, as crenas e os conhecimentos
profssionais, com o propsito de aumentar a qualidade docente, investigadora
e de gesto, incluindo o diagnstico processual o desenvolvimento de polticas,
programas e atividades para a satisfao dessas necessidades profssionais.
O autor continua nesse raciocnio, afrmando que o desenvolvimento
profssional docente necessita de novos sistemas laborais e das novas aprendizagens
que os professores precisam construir, individual e coletivamente para dar
conta de sua profsso e, ainda, daqueles aspectos laborais e de aprendizagem,
associados s instituies onde trabalham. A legitimao dos aspectos formativos
se dar na medida em que contribua para o desenvolvimento profssional docente
no mbito laboral e de melhoria das aprendizagens profssionais.
Imbernn (2009) apresenta cinco grandes linhas ou eixos de atuao,
no sentido da lgica de desenvolvimento profssional docente e formao
permanente: a refexo terico-prtica; o intercmbio de experincias entre
pares; a formao aliada a um projeto institucional de mudana; a formao
como desenvolvimento de posicionamentos crticos prtica docente sectarista,
individualista, excludente e intolerante; o desenvolvimento profssional da
instituio mediante o trabalho colaborativo para transformar essa prtica,
transitando para a inovao institucional.
Compreendemos afnal, que a capacidade profssional docente no se
resume formao tcnica, antes perpassa a prtica e as concepes pelas quais se
estabelece a ao docente. A formao permanente conduzindo o desenvolvimento
profssional se dar no engajamento dos docentes na sua prtica, permitindo-lhes
369
examinar as teorias implcitas, os esquemas de funcionamento, as suas atitudes, a
avaliao processual. Este conjunto de ideias reverte o eixo de conceitos de formao
docente baseados na restrita viso de atualizao de conhecimentos ligados
docncia, para um conceito de formao que auxiliar a descobrir a teoria, orden-
la, fundament-la, revis-la e constru-la a partir de um processo colaborativo.
Muito embora os conceitos de formao e desenvolvimento profssional,
aqui tratado, possam ter peculiaridades prprias, entendemos que ambos se
articulam, pois no h como pensar no desenvolvimento profssional docente
sem pensarmos nos processos formativos que o pem em movimento.
Como podemos compreender o conceito de desenvolvimento profssional
docente na tica delineada? Um caminho possvel consiste em levarmos em conta
os processos e as trajetrias formativas desses profssionais, compreendendo-os
no conjunto amplo e complexo de elementos decorrentes das dimenses pessoal e
profssional, constituintes deste desenvolvimento. Dessa forma compreendemos
este desenvolvimento como um processo mediado em espaos institucionais
nos quais redes de interaes e mediaes possibilitem aos professores refetir,
compartilhar e reconstruir experincias e conhecimentos prprios especifcidade
da Educao Superior para se desenvolverem na profsso.
Nesse sentido, entendemos que a dimenso pessoal dos professores
compreende uma instncia de subjetividade, na qual as marcas da vida e da profsso
se interpenetram, sem, contudo, abdicar de suas especifcidades. No decorrer da
vida, vo sendo alterados os modos como os professores e o mundo transacionam
e, consequentemente, como a subjetividade docente vai se formando.
Compreendemos que a dimenso profssional, por seu turno, envolve o
percurso dos professores em uma ou em vrias instituies de ensino, nas quais
esto ou estiveram atuando. um processo complexo no qual so elaborados o saber
e o saber-fazer prprios ao magistrio. Ao mesmo tempo, essa instncia tambm
infuenciada pelos acontecimentos da vida e da profsso que, ao entrecruzarem-se,
do um colorido especial a cada percurso. (ISAIA, 2001, 2006a, 2007).
Assim, para ns, estas duas dimenses, em sua dinmica so
responsveis pela possibilidade dos professores perceberem-se como uma
unidade na qual a pessoa e o profssional mobilizam o seu modo de ser
professor. A integrao entre estas duas dimenses torna-se um dos elementos
constitutivos do formar-se e reconhecer-se como docente.
A complexidade decorrente da inter-relao desses processos resulta de uma
trama vivencial, constituda por uma rede composta por diferentes espaos, lugares
e tempos que integram uma multiplicidade de geraes pedaggicas enlaadas no
mesmo tempo histrico, possuindo modos diferenciados de participao, interao
e compreenso das atividades docentes a serem empreendidas pelos professores.
As dissonncias e as crises evidenciadas, ao longo do desenvolvimento profssional
podem, em muitos casos, ser creditadas assincronia entre essas diferentes
geraes, com possveis repercusses para a ambincia docente.
3

O desenvolvimento profssional docente, assim caracterizado, orienta-se
para a constante apropriao de conhecimentos, saberes e fazeres prprios rea
de atuao de cada profsso, tecidos a partir de redes de interlocuo em que o
conhecimento compartilhado vai se constituindo.
Para tanto, precisamos entender a formao profssional como um
processo que envolve esforos dos professores e a inteno concreta das
instituies, nas quais trabalham, de criarem condies para que esse processo
se efetive, possibilitando, assim, a construo da professoralidade
4
e o
conhecimento efetivo de ser professor.
5

As discusses decorrentes das interaes estabelecidas entre os docentes
orientam-se para a compreenso de que suas atividades apresentam especifcidade
prpria Educao Superior, necessitando, portanto, de pedagogias universitrias
que contemplem seu estatuto epistemolgico e metodolgico. Nessa direo, as
questes da formao pedaggica dos professores que atuam nas universidades
precisam ser colocadas e enfrentadas pelos prprios docentes, por suas instituies
e pelas polticas da Educao Superior.
Nesse mbito, a discusso relativa ao carter pedaggico e profssional
da atividade docente torna-se no s pertinente, como imprescindvel. O primeiro
integra tanto o saber e o saber-fazer, prprios a uma profsso especfca, quanto
o modo de ajudar os alunos, em formao, na elaborao de suas prprias
estratgias de apropriao desses saberes, em direo a sua autonomia formativa.
(ISAIA, 2003a, 2004, 2006a). Assim, o carter pedaggico compreende formas
de conceber e desenvolver a docncia, organizando estratgias pedaggicas que
levem em conta a transposio dos contedos especfcos de um domnio para sua
efetiva compreenso e consequente aplicao, por parte dos alunos, a fm de que
3
A ambincia em que se exerce a docncia uma confgurao resultante do impacto das condies externas
de trabalho sobre o mundo interior dos docentes, agindo como fora gerativa ou restritiva no processo de
transformao em direo ao bem-estar e auto-realizao profssional (MACIEL, ISAIA e BOLZAN, 2009).
4
Processo que implica na sensibilidade do docente como pessoa e profssional em termos de atitudes e valores, tendo
a refexo como componente intrnseco ao processo de ensinar, de aprender, de formar-se e, consequentemente,
de desenhar sua prpria trajetria. A professoralidade instaura-se ao longo de um percurso que engloba de forma
integrada as ideias de trajetria e de formao, consubstanciadas no que costumamos denominar de trajetrias
formativas (ISAIA e BOLZAN, 2005, 2007a, 2007b, 2009a, 2009b; BOLZAN e ISAIA, 2006).
5
Processo que se instaura na e atravs da docncia a partir da refexo conjunta entre professores tanto em
formao inicial como continuada. Implica resgatar a trajetria pessoal e profssional como forma de retomada
para a construo de ser professor. A tomada de conscincia sobre o conhecimento de ser professor a mola
propulsora para a compreenso do ser docente. (ISAIA E BOLZAN, 2007).
371
estes possam transform-los em instrumentos, capazes de mediar a construo de
seu processo formativo. Envolve, dessa forma, a possibilidade e a necessidade de
construo do conhecimento de ser professor, a partir de um processo refexivo
individual e grupal, no qual o intercmbio de ideias e experincias possibilitem
a construo de conhecimento pedaggico compartilhado. (ISAIA e BOLZAN,
2007a; BOLZAN, 2008).
O carter profssional, por sua vez, envolve a apropriao de atividades
especfcas, a partir de um repertrio de conhecimentos, saberes e fazeres, voltados
para o exerccio da docncia e decorrentes do entrelaamento de distintas reas,
envolvendo os conhecimentos especfcos, pedaggicos e experienciais, tanto
profssionais como da docncia. Esta dimenso leva em conta: formar professores
para a Educao Bsica, formar profssionais para as demais reas de atuao
e gerar conhecimentos sobre os domnios especfcos, bem como favorecer a
construo do conhecimento do que consiste ser professor.
A valorizao do aspecto profssional da docncia implica considerar os
direitos e deveres dos professores em seus locais de trabalho. Para tanto, so
relevantes as polticas e os critrios adotados para a seleo, o acompanhamento
e a promoo dos professores ao longo da carreira. (ISAIA, 2006a; ISAIA e
BOLZAN, 2007a; BOLZAN e ISAIA, 2006).
Nesse sentido, as tendncias da Educao Superior brasileira,
na atualidade, em termos de expanso e acesso Universidade deixam
evidente um conjunto de fatores que tm contribudo para esse fenmeno. A
valorizao dos conhecimentos tcnicos e cientfcos, as especifcidades do
campo de atuao profssional e as aspiraes por mobilidade social so a
marca de um novo modo de educar profssionalmente, sem, contudo, defnir
concretamente polticas institucionais de desenvolvimento profssional para
a docncia.
Contudo no podemos deixar de considerar a docncia pelo vis do
trabalho docente (IMBERNN, 2001, 2009; TARDIF, 2003; TARDIF e
LESSART, 2005). Nessa perspectiva, eminentemente humana e interativa,
envolve a atividade com, para e sobre pessoas, entendido como um trabalho
cujo objeto no construdo de matria inerte ou de smbolos, mas de relaes
humanas com pessoas capazes de iniciativa e dotadas de certa capacidade de
resistir ou participar da ao dos professores. (TARDIF e LESSARD, 2005, p
35). Tal posicionamento reitera a ideia de interatividade imbricada na dimenso
de humanidade e de intersubjetividade apregoada pelos autores, ligada ao
constructo trabalho docente.
Outro elemento inerente ao desenvolvimento profssional a
aprendizagem da docncia,
6
que coloca em andamento um processo
autorrefexivo, a fm de que as atividades educativas sejam conscientemente
executadas, tornando possvel pensar e refetir sobre o porqu, o como e
qual a fnalidade das mesmas. Logo, os elementos caracterizadores deste
processo de aprender a ser professor so decorrentes de uma rede de relaes
interpessoais e inter-refexivas ligadas forma como as polticas educativas
so implementadas em cada instituio e interpretadas pelo corpo de
professores que nela atuam, o conhecimento pedaggico compartilhado
7
e
a aprendizagem docente colaborativa.
8
A aprendizagem docente, portanto, explicitada como sendo um processo
que ocorre no espao de articulao entre modos de ensinar e de aprender, nos
quais os atores do espao educativo intercambiam essas funes. A estrutura dessa
aprendizagem envolve o processo de apropriao, em sua dimenso interpessoal
e intrapessoal, dinamizado por sentimentos que indicam a sua fnalidade geral.
Portanto, esse processo nico para cada sujeito, sendo infuenciado pelos percursos
trilhados nos espaos de docncia superior, de acordo com o contexto institucional.
Esse processo de aprender a ser professor, por sua natureza intersubjetiva,
constri-se a partir de redes de relaes docentes, constitudas ao longo dos
intercmbios de ideias e conhecimentos entre pares/colegas. Essas redes
pressupem processos de interao e mediao, constitudos, a partir de
instrumentos culturais, como o discurso e a atividade intelectual refexiva sobre
6
Compreende um processo interpessoal e intrapessoal que envolve a apropriao de conhecimentos, saberes e
fazeres prprios ao magistrio superior, que esto vinculados realidade concreta da atividade docente em seus
diversos campos de atuao e em seus respectivos domnios. Sua estrutura envolve: o processo de apropriao,
em sua dimenso interpessoal e intrapessoal; o impulso que a direciona, representado por sentimentos que
indicam sua fnalidade geral; o estabelecimento de objetivos especfcos, a partir da compreenso do ato
educativo e, por fm, as condies necessrias para a realizao dos objetivos traados, envolvendo a trajetria
pessoal e profssional dos professores, bem como o percurso trilhado por suas instituies. A aprendizagem
docente ocorre no espao de articulao entre modos de ensinar e aprender, em que os atores do espao
educativo superior intercambiam essas funes, tendo por entorno o conhecimento profssional compartilhado
e a aprendizagem colaborativa. No possvel falar-se em um aprender generalizado de ser professor, mas
entend-lo a partir do contexto de cada docente no qual so consideradas suas trajetrias de formao e a
atividade formativa para a qual se direcionam (ISAIA, 2006b, p. 377).
7
Sistema de ideias com distintos nveis de concretude e articulao, apresentando dimenses dinmicas de carter
processual, pois implica em uma rede de relaes interpessoais. Organiza-se com variedade e riqueza, apresentando
quatro dimenses: o conhecimento terico e conceitual, a experincia prtica do professor, a refexo sobre a
ao docente e a transformao da ao pedaggica. O processo de constituio desse conhecimento implica na
reorganizao contnua dos saberes pedaggicos, tericos e prticos, da organizao das estratgias de ensino, das
atividades de estudo e das rotinas de trabalho dos docentes, onde o novo se elabora a partir do velho, mediante ajustes
desses sistemas. (BOLZAN, 2002, p.151) um conceito base que se refere a um conhecimento amplo construdo
pelo professor, implicando o domnio do saber fazer, bem como do saber terico e conceitual e suas relaes. Sua
construo no se baseia em acmulo de saberes, mas na reorganizao dos conhecimentos preexistentes e dos
conhecimentos atuais, de maneira a reconstruir seu desenho original. (BOLZAN, 2006, p.)
8
Processo no qual o professor apreende a partir da anlise e da interpretao de sua prpria atividade e dos
demais atravs do compartilhamento de ideias, saberes e fazeres. Implica atividade conjunta. Pressupe um
processo interdiscursivo e intersubjetivo, pois atravs desse processo plural, interativo e mediacional que a
aprendizagem se d, envolvendo um movimento de construo e reconstruo de ideias e premissas advindas
do processo de compartilhamento. (ISAIA, 2007; BOLZAN e ISAIA, 2007a, 2007b).
373
os saberes prticos dos professores. Tendo em vista a necessidade das redes de
interaes entre pares para a constituio da aprendizagem docente, entendemos
que o alcance desse processo se d, na medida em que os professores apreendem,
a partir da anlise e da interpretao de suas atividades construindo, de forma
inter/ intrapessoal, o seu conhecimento profssional.
A refexividade crtica da decorrente instaura o que denominamos de
aprendizagem docente refexiva. Neste processo refexivo, na e sobre a ao
pedaggica, os professores estaro atuando como pesquisador de sua prpria
prtica docente, deixando de seguir as prescries impostas pela instituio ou pelos
esquemas preestabelecidos nos livros, no dependendo de regras, tcnicas, guia de
estratgias e receitas decorrentes de uma teoria proposta/imposta; tornando-se eles
prprios produtores de conhecimento profssional e pedaggico (BOLZAN, 2006).
Logo, mais do que compreender o desenvolvimento profssional
docente, precisamos estar conscientes de sua dinmica constitutiva em redes
que, por sua confgurao interrelacional, superam o carter tradicionalmente
individualista das iniciativas de aperfeioamento docente. Assim, na medida
em que as redes envolvem um grupo interativo de professores em seus esforos
de compartilhamento de atividades formativas, passam a ser um lugar propcio
para o desenvolvimento profssional docente, provocando rupturas no modo
individualista de exercer a docncia.
Acreditamos que para as redes serem acionadas, necessrio um trabalho
de equipe e de cooperao entre os professores. Entendemos que uma rede de
formao e desenvolvimento profssional um lugar real ou virtual, constitudo
pelos participantes, onde se constri conhecimentos, atendendo de modo especial
o profssional docente que aprende na prtica refexiva; considerando a situao
ou espao pedaggico onde atua e promovendo a interatividade e a apropriao
dos meios que facilitam a sua aprendizagem. Uma rede organiza-se como uma
malha cognitiva, tecida a partir dessa interatividade entre os participantes,
cujos elos motivacionais so alimentados pela identidade comum (ns). Pode
ser um caminho vivel para o desenvolvimento docente e para a inovao
pedaggica, permitindo o lugar da escuta sensvel e da construo de autonomia
do professorado, com especial destaque aos docentes ingressantes na Educao
Superior. (MACIEL, 2010).
Na rede iro interagir diferentes geraes pedaggicas, revertendo a
problemtica do choque entre as geraes para a construo de uma ambincia
docente que permita a [re]signifcao das experincias ao longo da vida e da
carreira e, consequentemente, da trajetria formativa.
A partir dos encaminhamentos realizados, o desenvolvimento profssional
docente entendido como um processo contnuo, sistemtico, organizado e
autorrefexivo, envolvendo os percursos trilhados, bem como a construo de
um conjunto de conhecimentos, saberes e fazeres voltados para o exerccio da
docncia, elementos esses, capazes de balizar a qualidade da Educao Superior.
Acreditamos, pois, que a valorizao desses elementos intrnsecos formao
e consequente desenvolvimento profssional revelar-se-o como indicadores de
qualidade da Educao Superior.
DESENVOLVIMENTO PROFISSIONAL DOCENTE: DESAFIOS
NA BUSCA PELA QUALIDADE
Ao tratarmos da qualidade do desenvolvimento profssional docente,
damo-nos conta dos desafos que permeiam o campo da Educao Superior e
que balizam os possveis indicadores a serem elencados.
O primeiro desafo caracteriza-se pela necessidade de desenvolvimento
profssional docente em oposio ausncia de Polticas Institucionais e de Estado
sistematizadas que dem conta das demandas prprias ao processo formativo
continuado dos professores. Isto ocorre uma vez que a Lei de Diretrizes e Bases
da Educao Nacional, n 9394/96, apesar de manifestar a relevncia desse
processo, no sinaliza parmetros especfcos para que esse desenvolvimento seja
levado a cabo, apesar de sublinhar no Art. 66 que: a preparao para o exerccio
do magistrio superior far-seem nvel de ps-graduao, prioritariamente em
programas de mestrado e doutorado (BRASIL, 1996).
Acreditamos que as instituies precisam produzir espaos nos quais
sejam promovidos e planifcados lugares para a formao docente, levando em
conta a importncia da positividade da ambincia universitria para o consequente
desenvolvimento do profssional docente. Assim, a anlise do contexto universitrio
ser o ponto de partida para a produo genuna de estratgias capazes de promover
o desenvolvimento profssional docente, dinamizando e difundindo polticas
pblicas e institucionais para a efetivao desse processo. Neste sentido, pensar
o desenvolvimento profssional docente signifca promover pedagogias prprias
realidade do profssional da Educao Superior. A gerao de inovaes, neste
campo, exige a refexo sistemtica sobre os saberes e os fazeres inerentes
docncia superior, onde compreender a diversidade desse campo condio bsica
para defnir estratgias capazes de valorizar os profssionais que nela atuam.
Um segundo desafo caracteriza-se pela ausncia de formao para
a docncia superior. O processo formativo tem sido propalado, mas no
375
concretiza o desenvolvimento do profssional docente. No existe preparao
prvia e continuada para a docncia, ainda que, nas reas especfcas, exista um
conjunto de tcnicas e procedimentos, enfocando o campo especfco de atuao
profssional. O que evidenciamos um conjunto de ideias que no so colocadas
em prtica, fato este demonstrado por pesquisas que tm indicado a ausncia de
um saber organizacional pedaggico por parte dos profssionais da Educao
Superior. Os professores manifestam a ausncia de um trabalho institucional de
carter colaborativo essencial profssionalizao docente.
O terceiro desafo caracteriza-se pela noo de empregabilidade em
oposio especifcidade de formao; ou seja, o sujeito em formao precisa
ser preparado para a autogesto do emprego. Nesse sentido, fca evidente que,
em geral, o corpo docente que atua na formao de outros profssionais no est e
no foi preparado para esse novo conceito. A nfase na viso de empregabilidade
na contemporaneidade indica a necessidade de mais uma vez, termos como
premissa o desenvolvimento profssional para ser docente em qualquer campo de
atuao. A diversidade e a equidade so elementos a serem considerados, quando
pensamos a noo de empregabilidade para alm da especifcidade da formao.
Ambos os elementos esto mais voltados para a noo de empregabilidade dos
sujeitos em formao inicial do que dos profssionais docentes em formao
continuada/desenvolvimento profssional. Isto evidenciado, quando pensamos
e organizamos os currculos, a serem implementados para a formao profssional
nos diversos campos, sem levar em conta o desenvolvimento de estratgias,
capazes de estimular ou incentivar o desenvolvimento profssional docente.
O quarto desafo refere-se perspectiva avaliativa que no sistema
universitrio est voltada prioritariamente para parmetros quantitativos. Os
parmetros qualitativos pouco so valorizados. Isto nos coloca diante da falta
de indicadores capazes de balizar os avanos dos professores em termos do
desenvolvimento da profsso docente. A profssionalizao est assentada na
produo cientfco-acadmica nos diversos campos de formao. Acreditamos
que um processo avaliativo que valorize o desenvolvimento profssional
docente no pode centrar-se apenas na produo de cunho bibliogrfco
como confgurada na plataforma Lattes. Existe uma complexidade mais
do que conceitual na atividade docente, interligada prtica docente no
mbito do ensino, da pesquisa e extenso. Estas dimenses impregnam a
intencionalidade do professor que se movimenta em um continuum de insero
na realidade profssional com que lida, problematizando-a, analisando-a,
compreendendo-a e intervindo. A produo do conhecimento transita nessa
circularidade de modo transversal e seu resultado no se encontra expresso
em apenas um tipo de produto, o das publicaes cientfcas em peridicos
indexados e reconhecidos por padres de qualidade. fundamental
ampliarmos a viso e rompermos com a dimenso produtivista do docente
pesquisador da Educao Superior, sob pena de tornarmos este profssional
um mero tarefeiro, cumpridor de demandas externas; logo, necessrio rever
os parmetros de avaliao hoje institudos, os quais consideram pouco o
desenvolvimento da atividade docente na Educao Superior sejam elas de
ensino, pesquisa ou extenso.
A CAMINHO DA QUALIDADE DO DESENVOLVIMENTO
PROFISSIONAL DOCENTE
Acreditamos, portanto, que a organizao de aes formativas qualifca
a atividade docente nos diferentes campos da Educao Superior. Sendo assim,
essencial que se defnam estratgias de formao e desenvolvimento profssional
no seio das instituies, independente do campo profssional a ser desenvolvido,
bem como das legislaes das agncias reguladoras da Educao. Tendo por
base os desafos especifcados anteriormente, consideramos em uma dimenso de
cunho qualitativa, como possveis indicadores de qualidade do desenvolvimento
profssional docente, as sinalizaes a seguir pontuadas:
- O professor, alm de trabalhar com os conhecimentos acadmicos,
precisa engajar-se no processo formativo, gerando conhecimentos pedaggicos
e conhecimentos prprios ao campo formativo, levando em conta as demandas
dos espaos profssionais, a serem atendidos, para os quais forma.
- A conscientizao da docncia como profsso e a aceitao dos
desafos de novas formas de ser e de se fazer docente em um mundo em constante
transformao, so indispensveis qualidade da Educao Superior em um
mundo em constante transformao.
- As instituies precisam investir na construo de pedagogias
universitrias que contemplem os processos de refexo individual e grupal,
capazes de proporcionar uma tomada de conscincia na e sobre a prtica
educativa, promovendo o desenvolvimento profssional docente.
- As instituies necessitam promover polticas e instncias formais de
formao e desenvolvimento profssional docente, favorecendo uma ambincia
universitria favorvel ao bem-estar e realizao profssional.
- Os professores em sua formao inicial e continuada necessitam
desenvolver a compreenso genuna dos conhecimentos, saberes, destrezas e
competncias, referentes s suas respectivas profsses.
377
- Os profssionais docentes precisam ser permanentemente estimulados
a desenvolver estratgias capazes de promover a recombinao criativa de
experincias e conhecimentos necessrios a uma atuao profssional autnoma,
tanto por parte dos sujeitos em formao, quanto por parte dos professores das
diversas reas da Educao Superior.
- A aprendizagem docente ao envolver a apropriao de conhecimentos,
saberes e fazeres prprios ao magistrio superior efetiva-se em duas dimenses:
a colaborativa, porque o professor apreende a partir da anlise e da interpretao
de sua prpria atividade e dos demais, atravs do compartilhamento de ideias,
saberes e fazeres; e a refexiva, porque a aprendizagem de ser docente ocorre
por meio de refexo crtica, feita individual ou coletivamente, repercutindo em
autonomia docente.
- A sensibilidade como pessoa e profssional, em termos de atitudes e
valores que levem em conta os saberes da experincia docente e profssional, em
uma tica de refexo sistemtica, condio indispensvel, envolvendo o que
conceituamos de geratividade docente.
- As relaes interpessoais precisam ser asseguradas, entendidas
como componentes intrnsecos aos processos de ensinar, aprender, formar-se e,
consequentemente, desenvolver-se pessoal e profssionalmente.
- A professoralidade pressupe o resgate das trajetrias pessoal e
profssional, que envolvem espaos e tempos, nos quais refetir e reconstruir
a prtica educativa universitria exige a conscientizao da docncia como
profsso, pressupondo o investimento permanente na busca da aprendizagem
docente, na articulao entre o conhecimento especfco, o conhecimento
compartilhado, o conhecimento pedaggico compartilhado.
- As trajetrias formativas docentes tanto pessoal quanto profssional
esto imbricadas e o modo como so vividas e percebidas determina o propsito
pessoal/grupal e institucional de transformao e aperfeioamento, responsvel
pelo direcionamento da qualidade do processo formativo.
- A criao de redes interativas como espaos de interlocuo
pedaggica promovem o desenvolvimento profssional na docncia superior e a
tambm criao de pedagogias inovadoras.
- A implementao de polticas pblicas de acessibilidade e
permanncia de estudantes com condies socioeconmicas desfavorveis, bem
como de incluso de grupos tnicos mantidos margem do ensino universitrio,
implicam um novo modo de compreender-se e desenvolver-se como docente, na
medida em que no foram preparados para essa realidade.
- A diversidade dos alunos, dos contextos e das demandas do mercado
precisa ser incorporada s polticas de desenvolvimento profssional docente, a
fm de que os professores possam lev-la em considerao no planejamento, na
execuo e na avaliao das atividades educativas que desenvolvem.
- Por fm, no possvel pensarmos em indicadores de qualidade para
a formao e desenvolvimento profssional de docentes da Educao Superior
sem levarmos em conta as trajetrias de formao destes profssionais e de suas
instituies, uma vez que ambos esto em evoluo constante.
Acreditamos, portanto que, para a efetivao do desenvolvimento
profssional na e para a docncia superior necessrio a aceitao dos desafos
de novas formas de ser e de se fazer docente, entendidos como elementos
balizadores da sua formao. Logo, o conjunto de indicadores ser efciente,
vlido e efetivo se for agregado a um processo espiral ascendente de ao-
refexo-ao permanente, envolvendo a prtica educativa, o compartilhamento
e a reconstruo constante de saberes e fazeres da profsso docente.
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Alegre, RS: Artmed, 2004.
MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES AND INDICATORS
IN HIGHER EDUCATION
1
INTRODUCTION
M
otivation is an indispensable element for quality on the various
levels and modalities of teaching, assuming a special role in
Higher Education, mainly by the broad expansion of Brazilian university
teaching and the emerging diffculties imposed on the University. Among them
is the commitment to innovation and social responsibility, which constitutes an
even greater challenge: to maintain an academic community that is constantly
motivated, productive and also guided by the assumption of excellence. In this
context, in which being motivated represents the frst step to any successful
practice, addressing, discussing and refecting on motivation, its variables and
indicators, has also established itself as an emerging topic.
Knowledge production related to motivation has grown considerably,
especially at the international level, while in the Brazilian educational context
this tendency is still modest. The theoretical immersion surrounding this
construct demonstrates that, related to higher education, two major theories
feature in the ongoing discussions: Self-Determination Theory and Achievement
Goals Theory. It is also possible to detect an increase in production related to a
third theory: the Future Time Perspective Theory.
However, even if there is a consistent theoretical foundation and an
increase in publications in this area, one of the diffculties perceived is with
respect to the lack of publications which deal specifcally with motivational
indicators related to educational contexts. The majority of studies focus their
discussions based on a single theory or related theories, hindering a global view
of motivational indicators and variables.
In this sense, the present article presents the main motivational theories aimed
at Higher Education with an emphasis on the three approaches mentioned above, as
well as initially increasing understanding through a fourth approach: a sociocultural
theory of motivation. This intention enables the illustration of the main concepts
related to the topic so that, afterwards, we can present a refection based specifcally
on motivational indicators and variables with an emphasis on the university student.
1
This article was made with collaboration of doutoral student Denise Dalpiaz Antunes and masters student
Rafael Eduardo Schmitt, both from the graduate program, PUCRS.
383
SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was proposed by the Americans
Eduard Deci and Richard Ryan, in the mid-1970s (DECI and RYAN, 1985). It
became widely accepted and spread in various felds of knowledge, especially
in the academic context. The focus of its analysis lies in the orientation of the
motives that drive behavior, establishing different loci of causality: the internal
and the external. From this binomial, two main motivational orientations emerge
which found the theory intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic motivation corresponds to a typically self-determined behavior,
in which interest in an activity is guided by free choice, spontaneity and
curiosity. The effort dedicated to the accomplishment of an activity is not linked
to external contingencies and rewards, but to the characteristics inherent in the
activity itself (DECI; RYAN, 2000). In this context, in which tasks have purposes
in themselves, the theorists report that intrinsically motivated behavior is more
associated to feelings of satisfaction, fulfllment and pleasure (DECI; RYAN,
1985; DECI; RYAN, 2000; REEVE; DECI; RYAN, 2004).
On the other hand, in extrinsic motivation, the activity or task is subordinate
to the obtainment of a goal or result. According to the authors (DECI; RYAN, 1985,
2000), in this situation the accomplishment of activities is very much related to
rewards, evaluations, deadlines, punishments, compliments, among other aspects.
What determines the behavior is very much associated to control, managed by
external desires, in which the individual performs under pressure, in detriment to
free will and autonomy. In this controlled behavior, the subject tends to perceive
activities/tasks as instrumental to the obtainment of a determined objective.
However, the top priority is the fnal objective and not the task/activity itself.
For Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 68), self-determined behavior is governed
by satisfying three basic characteristics, which the authors defne as innate
psychological needs: the needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness.
Autonomy is understood as an exercise of free will, of choosing and
guiding behavior, without much external regulation or control. With this need,
the subject experiments with his own behavior, which is initiated and continued
based on his choices. The authors point out that subjects are autonomous when
they perceive a locus of internal causality, a high level of freedom, a low level of
external control and the possibility of choice in accomplishing activities (DECI;
RYAN, 2000; RYAN; DECI, 2000).
Competence lies in nourishing perceptions of personal effectiveness
through experiences that lead to determined objectives. For the theorist, people are
prone to getting involved in activities that are adapted to their skills and current
levels of knowledge, this way maintaining the need to perceive oneself as effective
in social interactions. According to Reeve, Deci and Ryan (2004), this refects the
natural desire to exercise their own capacities and to develop new competences.
Finally, relatedness refers to the need to establish signifcant interpersonal
relationships in specifc contexts, generating the perception of belonging to and
supporting a determined group (DECI and RYAN, 2000). Together with the
perception of autonomy and competence, the need for relatedness constitutes a
determining element of intrinsically motivated behavior.
According to Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 68), these three characteristics appear
to be essential for facilitating optimal functioning of the natural propensities for
growth and integration, as well as for constructive social development and personal
well-being. They also affrm that psychological health requires satisfaction of all
three needs, in a way that satisfying one or two are not enough (DECI; RYAN,
2000, p. 229). According to them, there is no optimal development in which some
of these needs have been neglected. They constitute interdependent and integrated
needs, in a way that the satisfaction of each one of them reinforces and strengthens
the others (DECI; RYAN 2000, p. 244).
Frequently, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are reported in the
literature as being disconnected and opposing phenomena. To deal with this
problem, the authors (DECI; RYAN, 1985, 2000; RYAN; DECI, 2000) propose
organizing them into a continuum, in which they suggest different motivational
levels. They go from amotivation (unmotivation), which represents the absence
of intentionality, going through four levels of extrinsic motivation (external
regulation; internal regulation; identifed regulation; introjected regulation)
until reaching a more elevated motivational level which coincides with intrinsic
motivation and self-determined behavior. In this sense, SDT specifes the
characteristics and processes inherent in each one of these levels, emphasizing
that they should not be understood as disconnected mechanisms (REEVE;
RYAN; DECI, 2004).
Reinforcing this understanding, Brazilian researchers present different
aspects that lead to understanding that external motives can contribute to the
internalization of intrinsic motivation (BORUCHOVITCH, 2008; SANTOS,
ANTUNES and SCHMITT, 2010; GUIMARES, 2004). According to these
authors, social demands can favor the construction of intrinsic motivational
processes, according to SDT, the most solid, lasting and balanced motivational
level when compared to the other levels that the theory distinguishes.
385
ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY
Recently, the so-called Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) has been pointed
out as one of the most important contributions of Contemporary Psychology,
aimed at educational contexts. Beginning with a major dissemination in the
1980s, it aims to analyze how adopting determined goals occasions different
motivational models in students (ANDERMAN and MAEHR, 1994). In this
perspective, goals are built by a set of thoughts, beliefs, purposes and emotions
which express student expectations, representing different ways of facing
academic tasks (AMES, 1990).
According to the theorists, AGT fundamentally distinguishes two types of
goals: learning goals and performance goals (ELLIOTT and DEWECK, 1988).
Learning goals are characterized by the desire to pursue new knowledge, skills
and competences. Upon incorporating this, the student directs more energy at
performing the activities, valuing the activity itself and the process inherent in it,
as well as using metacognitive strategies and attributing success to the effort itself.
Performance goals, also known as ego-related goals, are guided by
the desire to feel good in front of others or the desire to not feel incompetent.
In this, what prevails is the obtainment of a goal/objective, a context in which
accomplishing tasks assumes a secondary importance. The sense of accomplishing
an activity/task is conditioned by a fnal goal/objective, with this type of behavior
being very much associated to the establishment of competitive environments.
Bzuneck (1999) highlights that, though there is a contrast between the
two types of goals, students are not used to guiding themselves exclusively by
one or the other. There are frequently simultaneous orientations in learning
and performance goals, since they overlap. However, it is emphasized that
being guided predominantly by learning goals produces more positive results
on learning (BZUNECK, 1999; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008; ANDERMAN and
MAEHR, 1994; AMES, 1990).
Other research has shown that academics use different strategies for
adopting determined goals. Gonzlez Cabanach et al. (2007), in a study carried out
on the Spanish academic environment, they concluded that university students are
guided by learning goals when they need to increase their skills and are then guided
by performance goals when they wish to demonstrate them. The same authors, as
well as other researchers, emphasize that being guided by learning goals produces
more solid results in learning, persistence in studying and academic performance
(ANDERMAN and MAEHR, 1994; AMES, 1992; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008).
FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE THEORY
The emergence of the Future Time Perspective (FTP) is very much
related to the studies of the Belgian psychologist Joseph Nuttin (1909-1988). For
Nuttin (1985, p. 135), motivation is a specifc tendency towards a determined
object and its intensity is a function of the nature and relation that the subject
maintains with this object. Behavior emerges from the dynamism of a need,
through which the subject identifes desired objects, based on which projects
of action are developed. The objective and the project of action are related to
the notion of a future perspective. For the author, the psychological future is
essentially related to motivation.
Nuttin and Lens (1985) specify that the future perspective represents a
process whose purpose is an objective to be achieved in the medium or long term.
Despite establishing future goals, these constructions are intimately related to the
present moment of the individual. They affrm how important it is to have a future
perspective and, by nourishing a positive value with respect to this projection,
the subject tends to achieve the present tasks with more involvement, attributing
a higher value to the behavior that may be related to the target objective.
Lens (1993, p. 70) characterizes the Future Time Perspective as
the integration of the chronological future into the present moment of the
individual. According to him, future perspectives can be set to a longer or
shorter length of time. For the author (LENS, 1993), it is not about chronological
time, but subjective time, since different lengths of time can occasion distinct
motivational impacts.
In this sense, the author specifes three levels of Future Perspective: distant
FP, near FP and extended FP. He claims that youths who establish target-objectives
to be achieved in the distant future, have a distant FP. Those who pursue a target-
objective that should be achieved in the near future characterize a near FP. Those
who are guided by a more distant FP, who can wait for many years to accomplish
their objectives, in general, are capable of putting off their immediate satisfactions
considerably, and still remain guided by the achievement of the goal.
With respect to the characteristics of the subjects guided by different
types of target-objectives, Lens (1993, p. 80) makes four propositions: 1) the
individuals with a distant FP perceive temporal distances as shorter than those
who are guided by a near FP. The former are more likely to accept delayed
gratifcation, when compared to the latter; 2) those who possess a distant FP
better anticipate the long term consequences of their actions in the present, as
well as attributing a greater value to distant objectives and keeping themselves
387
more motivated to pursue them; 3) The satisfaction, perseverance and effort
spent in accomplishing a task are greater in subjects with a distant or extended
FP. The probability of going from planning to action is higher in these subjects;
and 4) those with a distant future perspective are more likely to transform desires
and wishes into behavioral intentions and later, actions. This path from cognition
to action must be facilitated by a FP that includes precise temporal locations.
To increase the understanding of future perspectives, De Volder and Lens
(1982) point out two aspects related to the development of the FTP: the cognitive
and the dynamic. The cognitive aspect is related to anticipation of the distant
future. It enables the subject to have a greater length of time to situate motivational
goals, plans, projects and guide actions in the present towards future objectives.
This way, actions acquire a greater value of usefulness and a greater perception
of instrumentality is developed with respect to present activities. The dynamic
aspect is linked to attributing a high value to target objects, even if they can be
achieved only in the distant future. While the cognitive aspect is related to the
anticipation of the future, planning and the degree of usefulness of present tasks,
the dynamic aspect refers to the intensity with which future goals are valued.
In the sense of associating the main contemporary motivational theories,
Vansteenkiste et al. (2009) carried out a correlational study with university
students, focusing on two motivational orientations: the future intrinsic goal
and the future extrinsic goal. The results indicate that the subjects adopt
future intrinsic goals if they have greater autonomy; they develop a sense of
instrumentality regarding present actions; they present more favorable results
and are more persistent in behaviors guided by the future.
SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
Along the lines of increasing understanding based on the motivational
theories presented, it is believed that human motivation is related to social
questions through establishing connections and their regards and, inevitably,
intertwined with endogenous aspects of each human being. This way, it is
considered that development must be understood based on phylogenetic,
ontogenetic, sociogenetic and microgenetic characteristics, aiming to understand
human development based on a holistic view.
For this reason, trying to understand the human motivational process
implies analyzing how it emerges and consequently knowing the different
theories that explain this process. Psychology presents distinct theoretical
approaches, each one highlighting some aspect related to the development of
motivation; however, it is believed that this is a complex process, which involves
different variables. In this sense, we must point out that every study and every
theorist highlights some characteristic of development that, if analyzed in a joint
manner, could encompass human development as a whole.
Huertas (2001) classifes motivation theories in three classical categories:
mechanistic, organistic and contextualistic. According to the author, the
psychological motivational process originates in the social, yet, it is not completely
regulated by an external imposition. Motivational development begins with the
socialization of the subject, though, being based on specifc characteristics of the
species, certain innate predispositions. This way, the motives that in the beginning
are based on emotionally triggered incentives, are considered natural and can be
submitted to changes by the action of culture and society. Even innate physiological
motives or needs are regulated culturally and socially.
The frst human needs are of the species, however, the pursuit of the needs
above, according to Maslow (1968) are constructed by cultural intentionalities
and determined socially. In the steps of the Maslow Hierarchy, the human being
ends up revealing his needs, only after having satisfed the previous ones in
values and importance, built socially. This maturation process can take place
during ones entire life, at any level of personal realization and development that
the person may fnd himself.
Still, in the explanatory model created by Huertas, there is a dialectic
relation between interiority and exteriority, between the psychological and the
social, which overcomes the radical dualism present in the other epistemological
approximations, contrasting with the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations defended
by various psychological theories, applied to Education.
Bruner (1991) and Rogoff (2005) make the regulatory action of culture
and society explicit, when they affrm that mans participation in culture, and the
realization of his mental potentialities, through his society, makes it possible to build
human psychology based only on the individual. Considering that Psychology is
immersed in culture, it should be organized around these processes of construction
and meaning use which connect man to culture. In virtue of subject participation in
culture, meaning is made public and shared (BRUNER, 1991).
Many of the authors studied, among them, Huertas (2001) and Vygotsky
(2002), part from the assumption that the human being is social and, therefore,
to survive he needs social interaction with other members of his species. From a
young age, the child is predisposed to recognize and explore the world of which
he is a part, using for this an instrument of symbolic mediation, language.
389
Explaining the development process, also based on the theory by
Vygotsky, it is considered that the same occurs based on the interpsychological
development for a second phase, intrapsychological. The internationalization
process, as a social and historically developed activity, is what distinguishes
animals from human beings, the basis of the qualitative leap by psychology.
Mediation is a Vygotskyan concept which ratifes the importance of the adult
and of more capable peers as agents of social learning; therefore, mediation is
inherent in the socio-emotional development and the fundamental process in the
construction of personal motives.
Paraphrasing Vygotsky, Huertas (2001) affrms that all of human
motivation appears twice, frst on the level of social, interpsychological activities,
and later on the individual or intrapsychological level. According to Santos
(2003, p. 127), the theory of Vygotsky is an intrinsically genetic discipline
[]. It is through the genetic perspective that we can go beyond the external
manifestation of a phenomenon. This way, Vygotsky highlights the importance
of understanding child development as a live process, a cultural development
that takes place over the course of the history of each persons life.
Based on the readings carried out up to this point on the psychology
of motivation, it is considered necessary, as mentioned earlier, to explain this
phenomenon based on a paradigm that considers the human triad, constituted
by the individual/society/species. Society lives for the individual, who lives for
society; society and the individual live for the species, that live for the individual
and society. (MORIN, 2002, p. 52). Being this way, there is an indissoluble
recursivity in the individual/species/society relation.
MOTIVATIONAL INDICATORS AND VARIABLES IN
HIGHER EDUCATION
Understanding motivation as a multifactorial construct, according to
Boruchovitch (2008), Santos and Anunes (2007), Santos, Antunes and Schmitt
(2010), Anderman and Maehr (1994) and Lens, Matos and Vansteenkiste (2008),
among other authors, there are multiple variables related to it. Despite this, there
is a lack of publications in the literature that deal specifcally with motivational
indicators and variables, a fact that makes it diffcult to obtain a broad view of
the main aspects that interfere with the establishment of motivational processes.
In an attempt to offer evidence of them, Boza (2010) recently carried out
an important bibliographic review, especially regarding the Spanish academic
environment, having found more than twenty variables for higher educational
motivation. The author highlights aspects related to academic performance,
emotional factors, the classroom environment and professor skills.
Gonzles Cabanach et al. (2007) proposed a classifcation of the main
factors associated to motivation. The authors present three components, as
follows: 1) the value component contemplating aspects linked to the reasons
and goals for accomplishing tasks (why am I doing this task?); 2) the expectation
component grouping factors linked to self-perception and personal beliefs (am
I capable of doing this task?); and 3) the emotional component which groups
aspects associated to emotional reactions (how do I feel about doing this task?).
Based on the theoretical explanation presented in this article and
refecting upon other studies (SANTOS, ANTUNES and SCHMITT, 2010;
SANTOS and ANTUNES, 2007), we present, purposefully, a categorization of
motivational indicators and variables in 6 categories, from the perspective of
the university student: (1) Success in the university; (2) Perceptions of oneself;
(3) Learning habits and strategies; (4) Future perspectives; (5) The role of the
professor; and (6) Institutional structure.
Success in the University refers to variables such as academic results,
class presence, persistence in studies, obtaining personal goals, among others, all
aspects related to the students performance. Theorists are consensual in pointing
out that performance and results are closely associated to motivation (AMES,
1992; ANDERMAN and MAEHR, 1994; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008).
Perceptions of oneself include aspects related to the way in which
the student perceives his own competences and skills. We can highlight the
perception of competence, perception of autonomy; perception of belonging
(DECI and RYAN, 1985, 2000), perception of effort spent, perceptions of
usefulness/instrumentality (DE VOLDER and LENS, 1982), the expectations of
success and the self-concept, among other main aspects.
With respect to Learning habits and strategies, the amount of time
dedicated, the effort spent, learning styles, cognitive, metacognitive and self-
regulatory strategies, represent important motivational variables.
Future perspectives developed by students are essential for behavior,
attitudes and actions employed during the university period (LENS, 1993; DE
VOLDER and LENS, 1982; SIMONS et al., 2004; VANSTEENKISTE et al., 2009).
In this aspect, the goals established in the short and the long term can be situated with
respect to the professional career, the value attributed to future goals themselves and
the articulation of these goals with the present moment (instrumentality).
The factors related to the Role of the professor exercise strong infuences
on student motivation (AMES, 1990; ANDERMAN and MAEHR, 1994; BOZA,
391
2010; GUIMARES, 2004; BZUNECK, 1999; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008).
Among the main aspects, it is possible to situate the methodology used by the
professor, the planning carried out, the fexibility in the progress of the course, the
values and thoughts of the professor and, especially, the classroom environment
and the emotional relations established.
And, fnally, the Institutional Structure also has a strong impact, through the
quality and functionality of the physical structure, technological resources, access to
information, institutional support, among many other aspects related to the university.
All of these aspects highlighted, which fgure among the most recurrent in
the literature, were defned from the view of the university student. According to
Morosini (2009), this has been a worldwide tendency in investigations related to
the quality of higher education, since it includes students as product/producers and
as results of the university education process. It is also understood that the aspects
raised represent a frst approximation in an attempt to propose potential motivational
indicators and their respective variables. They can be visualized in the table below.
Indicators Related variables
Success in the University
- Results
- Class presence
- Persistence
- Achieving goals
Self-perception
- Self-concept
- Perception of competence
- Perception of autonomy
- Perception of belonging
- Perception of effort used
- Perception of usefulness/
instrumentality
- Expectations of success
Learning habits and strategies
- Amount of time dedicated
- Effort spent
- Learning styles
- Cognitive strategies
- Metacognitive strategies
- Self-regulatory strategies
Future perspectives
- Short-term goals
- Long-term goals
- Career-related plans
- Value attributed to future goals
Role of the professor
- Method used
- Planning
- Personal values
- Classroom environment
- Emotional relationships
- Flexibility
Institutional structure
- Physical structure
- Technological resources
- Access to information
- Institutional support
- Spaces for social interaction
PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES
Based on these theoretical assumptions, it is perceived that there are
many elements found apart from the counterpoints highlighted among the
theories reviewed above. Though the studies are evolving, it is believed that
a theory responding to so many questions with respect to human development
itself needs much more study and investigation. However, these frst references
regarding the motivational indicators presented here, point towards the need for
constantly refecting on university students, their teaching and learning processes,
and within them, motivational processes.
However, it is asserted that motivation and its perceptions, conceptions
and triggers, become indispensable subsidies for improving the quality of higher
education in their interfaces and subjectivities, from professors to students. In this
sense, it seems fundamental that all potential indicators and their motivational
variables, highlighted above, confgure as sociocultural elements that are involved
in each motivational process.
In all of this, it has been asserted that there is a need and possibility of
funding for new studies and research that can encompass so many doubts and
certainties about the motivational processes in the development and life of each
person. In this sense, the intention is to ratify motivational references, aimed
at building instruments, whether with professors and/or students, which enable
the constant pursuit of the need for quality in higher education, through solid
research in the academic space linked to the context of social reality.
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ANDERMAN, Eric M.; MAEHR, Martin L. Motivation and schooling in the
middle grades. Review of Educational Research, v. 64, n. 02, p. 287-309, jan./
fev. 1994.
BORUCHOVITCH, Evely. A motivao para aprender de estudantes em cursos
de formao de professores. Educao, Porto Alegre, v. 31, n. 1, p.30-38, jan./
abr. 2008.
BOZA, ngel Carreo. Motivacin acadmica en la universidad. In: SANTOS,
B.; BOZA, A. (orgs) A motivao em diferentes cenrios. Porto Alegre:
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BRUNER, Jerome. Actos de signifcados. Madrid: Alianza, 1991.
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BZUNECK, Aloyseo. Uma abordagem scio-cognitivista motivao do
aluno: A teoria de metas de realizao. Psico-USF, Bragana Paulista, v.4, n.2,
p. 51-66, jul./dez. 1999.
DECI, Eduard L.; RYAN, Richard M. Intrinsic Motivation and self
determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Publishing Co, 1985.
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Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological
Inquiry, v. 11, n. 4, p. 227268, sep./dec. 2000.
DE VOLDER, M. L.; LENS, W. Academic achievement and future time
perspective as a cognitive-motivational concept. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, v. 42, n. 3, p. 566-571, jul./sep.1982.
ELLIOTT, Emily; DWECK, Carol S. Goals: An approach to motivation
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DC, v.54, n.1, p. 5-12. Jan.1988.
GONZLEZ CABANACH, Ramn et al. Programa de intervencin para
mejorar la gestin de recursos motivacionales en estudiantes universitarios.
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GUIMARES, Suely E. R. Motivao intrnseca, extrnseca e o uso d
recompensas em sala de aula. In: BORUCHOVITCH, E.; BZUNECK, J. A.
(orgs.) A motivao do aluno: contribuies da psicologia contempornea. 3.ed.
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AIQUE: 2001.
LENS, Willy. La signifcation motivationnelle de la perspective future. Revue
qubcoise de psychologie, vol. 14, n.1, p.69-83, jan./mai. 1993.
LENS, Willy.; MATTOS, Lenia; VANSTEENKISTE, Maarten. Professores
como fontes de motivao dos alunos: o qu e o porqu da aprendizagem do
aluno. Educao, Porto Alegre, v.31, n.1, p. 17-20, jan./abr. 2008.
MASLOW, Abraham Harold. Introduo Psicologia do Ser. Rio de Janeiro:
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MORIN, Edgar. Os setes saberes necessrios educao do futuro. So
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ago. 2009.
NUTTIN, Joseph. Thorie de la motivation humaine. Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1985.
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INDICADORES DE QUALIDADE E MOTIVAAO DISCENTE
1
INTRODUO
A
motivao constitui-se como um elemento imprescindvel para a
qualidade nos diversos nveis e modalidades de ensino, assumindo
um papel especial na Educao Superior, principalmente pela grande expanso do
ensino universitrio brasileiro e os emergentes desafos impostos Universidade.
Dentre eles, o compromisso da inovao e da responsabilidade social, as quais
confguram um desafo ainda maior: manter uma comunidade acadmica
permanentemente motivada, produtiva e, ainda, orientada pelo pressuposto da
excelncia. Nesse contexto em que estar motivado representa o primeiro passo
para qualquer prtica exitosa, abordar, discutir, refetir sobre a motivao, suas
variveis e indicadores, consolida-se, tambm, como um tema emergente.
A produo de conhecimento relacionada motivao tem crescido
consideravelmente, sobretudo em nvel internacional, ao passo que no contexto
educacional brasileiro essa tendncia , ainda, discreta. A imerso terica acerca
desse construto demonstra que, relacionado ao ensino superior, duas grandes
teorias protagonizam as discusses realizadas: a Teoria da Autodeterminao (Self-
Determination Theory) e a Teoria das Metas de Realizao (Achievement Goals
Theory). Tambm possvel detectar um aumento de produo relacionado a uma
terceira: a Teoria da Perspectiva de Tempo Futuro (Future Time Perspective).
Entretanto, mesmo que exista um consistente corpo terico e um
crescimento na produo desses conhecimentos, uma das difculdades percebidas
diz respeito carncia de produo que trate especifcamente dos indicadores da
motivao relacionados contextos educativos. A maioria dos estudos focaliza
suas discusses orientadas por uma nica teoria ou teorias correlatas, difcultando
uma viso global dos indicadores e variveis motivacionais.
Nesse sentido, o presente texto apresenta as principais teorias
motivacionais orientadas Educao Superior com nfase nas trs abordagens
acima mencionadas, alm de ampliar, inicialmente, o entendimento atravs de um
quarto enfoque: uma teoria scio-cultural da motivao. Essa inteno permitir
elucidar os principais conceitos relacionados ao tema para que, posteriormente,
1
Este texto foi escrito em colaborao com os acadmicos Denise Dalpiaz Antunes, doutoranda em Educao
pela PUCRS e Rafael Eduardo Schmitt Mestrando no Programa de Ps Graduao em Educao da PUCRS.
se possa apresentar uma refexo pautada especifcamente sobre os indicadores e
variveis motivacionais com nfase no aluno universitrio.
TEORIA DA AUTODETERMINAO
A Teoria da Autodeterminao (TAD) foi proposta pelos norte-
americanos Eduard Deci e Richard Ryan, j em meados da dcada de 1970
(DECI e RYAN, 1985). Tornou-se amplamente aceita e difundida em diversos
campos do conhecimento, sobretudo no contexto acadmico. Seu foco de anlise
reside na orientao dos motivos que dirigem os comportamentos, estabelecendo
para esses diferentes lcus de causalidade: o interno e o externo. Desse binmio
surgem as duas principais orientaes motivacionais que fundamentam a teoria
a motivao intrnseca e a extrnseca.
A motivao intrnseca corresponde a um comportamento tipicamente
autodeterminado, no qual o interesse por uma atividade est pautado pela livre
escolha, pela espontaneidade e pela curiosidade. O empenho dedicado para a
realizao de uma atividade no est vinculado com as contingncias externas e
com recompensas, mas sim, com as caractersticas inerentes prpria atividade
(DECI; RYAN, 2000). Nesse contexto, em que as tarefas possuem fns em si
mesmas, os tericos relatam que o comportamento intrinsecamente motivado
est mais associado com sentimentos de satisfao, realizao e prazer (DECI;
RYAN, 1985; DECI; RYAN, 2000; REEVE; DECI; RYAN, 2004).
J na motivao extrnseca, a atividade ou tarefa est subordinada
obteno de uma meta ou resultado. Segundo os autores (DECI; RYAN,
1985, 2000), nessa situao a realizao das aes est muito relacionada com
recompensas, avaliaes, prazos, punies, elogios, entre outros aspectos. O que
determina o comportamento est muito mais associado ao controle, agenciado
por vontades externas, no qual o indivduo age sob presso, em detrimento da
livre vontade e da autonomia. Nesse comportamento controlado, o sujeito tende a
perceber as atividades/tarefas como instrumentais para obteno de determinado
objetivo. Entretanto, o que fgura em primeiro plano o objetivo fnal e no a
prpria tarefa/atividade.
Para Ryan e Deci (2000, p. 68) o comportamento autodeterminado
regido pelo atendimento de trs caractersticas bsicas, que os autores defnem
como necessidades psicolgicas inatas: as necessidades de autonomia
(autonomy), competncia (competence) e pertencimento (relatedness)
2
.
2
H para esse termo (relatedness) diferentes tradues encontradas na literatura. As mais frequentes so
relacionamento, relao ou pertencimento. Nesse trabalho utiliza-se o termo pertencimento, por ser este, o
entender dos autores, a expresso que mais se aproxima ao conceito postulado pelos tericos.
397
A autonomia entendida como o exerccio da livre vontade, da eleio
e conduo dos comportamentos, sem muita regulao ou controle externo.
Com essa necessidade, o sujeito experimenta o prprio comportamento, sendo
esse iniciado e continuado partir de suas escolhas. Os autores apontam que os
sujeitos so autmomos quando percebem um lcus de causalidade interno, um
alto nvel de liberdade, um baixo nvel de controle externo e a possibilidade de
escolha na realizao das aes (DECI; RYAN, 2000; RYAN; DECI, 2000).
J a competncia reside em nutrir percepes de efccia pessoal
atravs de experincias que conduzam determinados objetivos. Para o terico,
as pessoas so propensas a se envolverem em atividades que se adaptam s
suas habilidades e a nveis atuais de conhecimento, mantendo dessa forma, a
necessidade de se perceber efcaz nas interaes sociais. Segundo Reeve, Deci e
Ryan (2004) isso refete no desejo natural de exercitar as prprias capacidades e
desenvolver novas competncias.
Por fm, o relacionamento refere-se necessidade de estabelecer relaes
interpessoais signifcativas em contextos especfcos, gerando percepo
de pertencimento e apoio a um grupo determinado (DECI e RYAN, 2000).
Juntamente com a percepo de autonomia e competncia, a necessidade de
relacionamento constitui-se como elemente determinante do comportamento
intrinsecamente motivado.
Segundo Ryan e Decy (2000, p. 68) essas trs caractersticas parecem
ser essenciais para facilitar as propenses naturais para o crescimento e
integrao, bem como para um construtivo desenvolvimento social e bem-
estar pessoal. Tambm afrmam que o desenvolvimento saudvel requer a
satisfao de todas as trs necessidades, de forma que o atendimento de uma
ou duas no so sufcientes (DECI; RYAN, 2000, p. 229). De acordo com eles,
no h desenvolvimento timo em que alguma dessas necessidades tenha sido
negligenciada. As mesmas constituem-se como necessidades interdependentes e
integradas, de forma que a satisfao de cada uma delas refora e fortalece as
demais (DECI; RYAN 2000, p. 244).
Frequentemente, a motivao intrnseca e extrnseca so relatadas
na literatura como fenmenos desconectados e antagnicos. Para equacionar
esse problema, os prprios autores (DECI; RYAN, 1985, 2000; RYAN; DECI,
2000) propem uma organizao denominada de continuum, na qual sugerem
diferentes nveis motivacionais. Esses vo desde amotivao (desmotivao),
que representaria a ausncia de intencionalidade, passando por quatro nveis
de motivao extrnseca (regulao externa; regulao interna; regulao
identifcada; regulao introjetada) at atingir o nvel motivacional mais elevado
que coincide com a motivao intrnseca e o comportamento autodeterminado.
Nesse sentido a TAD especifca as caractersticas e processos inerentes a cada
um desses nveis, salientando que os mesmos no devem ser entendidos como
mecanismos desconectados (REEVE; RYAN; DECI, 2004).
Reforando esse entendimento, pesquisadores brasileiros apresentam
diferentes aspectos que levam a compreender que os motivos externos podem
contribuir para a internalizao da motivao intrnseca (BORUCHOVITCH,
2008; SANTOS, ANTUNES e SCHMITT, 2010; GUIMARES, 2004). De
acordo com esses autores, as demandas sociais podem favorecer para a construo
de processos motivacionais intrnsecos, confgurando, segundo a TAD, o nvel
motivacional mais slido, duradouro e equilibrado quando comparados com os
demais nveis que a teoria diferencia.
TEORIA DAS METAS DE REALIZAO
Recentemente, a chamada Teoria das Metas de Realizao (TMR) tem
sido apontada como uma das mais importantes contribuies da Psicologia
Contempornea voltada aos contextos educativos. A partir de uma grande difuso
na dcada de 1980, ela busca analisar como a adoo de determinadas metas
ocasiona diferentes modelos motivacionais nos alunos (ANDERMAN e MAEHR,
1994). Nessa perspectiva, as metas se constroem por um conjunto de pensamentos,
crenas, propsitos e emoes que expressam as expectativas dos alunos,
representando diferentes modos de enfrentar as tarefas acadmicas (AMES, 1990).
De acordo com os tericos, a TMR diferencia, fundamentalmente, dois
tipos de metas: a meta aprender e a meta desempenho
3
(ELLIOTT e DEWECK,
1988). A meta aprender est caracterizada pelo desejo de buscar novos
conhecimentos, destrezas e competncias. Ao incorporar isso, o aluno direciona
mais energia para o enfrentamento das atividades, valorizando a prpria atividade
e o processo a ela inerente, alm de utilizar estratgias metacognitivas e atribuir
o sucesso ao prprio esforo.
J a meta desempenho, tambm conhecida como meta relacionada ao
ego, est pautada pelo desejo de sentir-se bem frente aos outros ou pelo desejo de
no sentir-se incapaz. Nessa, o que prevalece a obteno de uma meta/objetivo,
contexto em que a realizao das tarefas assume uma importncia secundria. O
sentido da realizao de uma atividade/tarefa est condicionada obteno de
3
A terminologia varia na literatura, de forma que, a meta aprendizagem tambm conhecida como meta
aprender, assim como a meta desempenho conhecida como meta performance.
399
uma meta/objetivo fnal, estando esse tipo de comportamento muito associado
instalao de ambientes competitivos.
Bzuneck (1999) ressalta que, embora exista um contraste entre os dois
tipos de metas, os alunos no costumam se orientar exclusivamente por uma
ou outra. Pois, frequente ocorrer orientaes simultneas nas metas aprender
e desempenho, uma vez que essas esto imbricadas. Entretanto, salienta-se
que a orientao predominante pela meta aprender produz resultados mais
positivos sobre a aprendizagem (BZUNECK, 1999; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008;
ANDERMAN e MAEHR, 1994; AMES, 1990).
Outras pesquisas tm demonstrado que os acadmicos se valem de diferentes
estratgias para a adoo de determinadas metas. Gonzlez Cabanach et al. (2007) em
um estudo realizado no entorno acadmico espanhol concluram que os estudantes
universitrios orientam-se pela meta aprender quando necessitam incrementar suas
capacidades e, seguem orientados pelas metas de desempenho quando desejam
demonstr-las. Os mesmos autores, bem como outros pesquisadores, enfatizam que
a orientao pela meta aprender produz resultados mais slidos na aprendizagem, na
persistncia aos estudos e no desempenho acadmico (ANDERMAN e MAEHR,
1994; AMES, 1992; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008).
TEORIA DA PERSPECTIVA DE TEMPO FUTURO
O surgimento da Perspectiva de Tempo Futuro (PTF) muito
relacionado aos estudos do psiclogo belga Joseph Nuttin (1909-1988). Para
Nuttin (1985, p.135), a motivao uma tendncia especfca em direo a um
determinado objeto e sua intensidade est em funo da natureza e da relao
que o sujeito mantm com esse objeto. O comportamento surge do dinamismo
de uma necessidade, atravs da qual o sujeito identifca objetos desejados,
desenvolvendo a partir desses, projetos de ao. O objetivo e o projeto de
ao se relacionam com a noo de perspectiva futura. Para o autor, o futuro
psicolgico essencialmente relacionado com a motivao.
Nuttin e Lens (1985) especifcam que a perspectiva futura representa
um processo que tem como fm um objetivo a ser alcanado a mdio ou longo
prazo. Apesar do estabelecimento de metas futuras, essas construes esto
intimamente relacionadas com o momento presente do indivduo. Afrmam o
quo importante possuir uma perspectiva futura e, ao nutrir valor positivo em
relao a essa projeo, o sujeito tende a realizar as tarefas presentes com maior
envolvimento, atribuindo valor mais elevado em relao aos comportamentos
que possam estar relacionados com o objetivo alvo.
Lens (1993, p. 70) caracteriza a Perspectiva de Tempo Futuro como a
integrao do futuro cronolgico no momento presente do indivduo. Segundo
ele, as perspectivas futuras podem ser fxadas em maior ou menor espao de tempo.
Para o autor (LENS, 1993), no se trata de um tempo cronolgico, mas subjetivo,
pois diferentes espaos de tempo podem ocasionar distintos impactos motivacionais.
Nesse sentido, o autor especifca trs nveis de Perspectiva Futura: PF
extensa, PF restrita e PF alongada. Diz que jovens que estabelecem objetivos-
alvo a serem atingidos em um futuro distante, so dotados de uma PF extensa.
Os que perseguem objetivo-alvo que devem se realizar num futuro prximo
caracteriza uma PF restrita. Aqueles que se orientam por uma PF mais distante,
podendo esperar por muitos anos para obterem seus objetivos, em geral, so
capazes de adiar consideravelmente suas satisfaes imediatas, ainda assim,
permanecerem orientados para a obteno da meta.
Com relao s caractersticas de sujeitos orientados por diferentes tipos
de objetivos-alvo, Lens (1993, p. 80) realiza quatro proposies: 1) os indivduos
dotados de PF extensa percebem as distncias temporais como mais curtas do que
aqueles que esto orientados por uma PF restrita. Os primeiros so mais aptos
a suportar gratifcaes mais tardias, quando comparados com os segundos; 2)
aqueles que possuem PF extensa antecipam melhor as conseqncias em longo
prazo de suas aes no presente, alm de atriburem maior valor aos objetivos
distantes e manterem-se mais motivados para perseguir-lhos; 3) A satisfao, a
perseverana e o esforo despendido na execuo de uma tarefa so maiores nos
sujeitos com PF extensa ou alongada. A probabilidade de passar da planifcao
ao mais elevada nesses sujeitos; e 4) os dotados de uma perspectiva
futura extensa so mais aptos a transformar desejos ou vontades em intenes
comportamentais e, posterior aes. Essa passagem da cognio ao dever
ser facilitada por uma PF que inclua localizaes temporais precisas.
Ampliando o entendimento acerca das perspectivas futuras, De Volder e
Lens (1982) salientam dois aspectos relacionados ao desenvolvimento da PTF:
o cognitivo e o dinmico. O aspecto cognitivo relaciona-se antecipao do
futuro distante. Permite ao sujeito dispor de maior intervalo de tempo para situar
metas motivacionais, planos, projetos e orientar aes no presente em direo
aos objetivos futuros. Assim, as aes adquirem um maior valor de utilidade
sendo desenvolvida uma maior percepo de instrumentalidade em relao
s atividades presentes. O aspecto dinmico est ligado atribuio de grande
valor aos objetivos-alvo, mesmo que estes possam ser alcanados somente em
um futuro distante. Enquanto o aspecto cognitivo relaciona-se antecipao do
401
futuro, ao planejamento e ao grau de utilidade das tarefas presentes, o aspecto
dinmico refere-se intensidade com que se valorizam as metas futuras.
No sentido de associar as principais teorias motivacionais contemporneas,
Vansteenkiste et al. (2009) realizaram um estudo correlacional com estudantes
universitrios, focalizando duas orientaes motivacionais: a meta futura
intrnseca (future intrinsic goal) e a meta futura extrnseca (future extrinsic
goal). Os resultados apontam que os sujeitos adotam metas futuras intrnsecas
ao possurem maior autonomia, desenvolvem senso de instrumentalidade s
aes presentes, apresentam resultados mais favorveis e persistem mais nos
comportamentos orientados ao futuro.
TEORIA SOCIOCULTURAL
Neste percurso, ampliando o entendimento a partir das teorias
motivacionais apresentadas, acredita-se que a motivao humana est relacionada
s questes sociais atravs do estabelecimento dos vnculos e seus afetos e,
inevitavelmente, entrelaada com aspectos endgenos de cada ser humano.
Sendo assim, considera-se que o desenvolvimento deve ser entendido a partir
de caractersticas flogenticas, ontogenticas, sociogenticas e microgenticas,
procurando entender o desenvolvimento humano a partir de uma viso holstica.
Por isso, tentar compreender o processo motivacional humano implica
analisar como ele surge e conseqentemente conhecer as diferentes teorias que
explicam esse processo. A psicologia apresenta distintos enfoques tericos, cada
um destacando algum aspecto ligado ao desenvolvimento da motivao, no entanto,
acredita-se que esse um processo complexo, que envolve diferentes variveis.
Nesse sentido, no podemos deixar de ressaltar, que cada estudo, cada terico
destaca alguma caracterstica do desenvolvimento que se esse fosse analisado de
forma conjunta poderia abranger o desenvolvimento humano na sua totalidade.
Huertas (2001) classifca as teorias sobre a motivao em trs categorias
clssicas: mecanicistas, organicistas e contextualistas. De acordo com o autor,
o processo psicolgico motivacional tem sua origem no social, contudo, no
completamente regulado por uma imposio externa. O desenvolvimento
motivacional se inicia com a socializao do sujeito, porm, tendo como base
as caractersticas especfcas da espcie, certas predisposies inatas. Dessa
forma, os motivos que no incio esto baseados em incentivos emocionalmente
ativadores, so considerados naturais e podem estar submetidos mudanas pela
ao da cultura e da sociedade. Mesmo os motivos ou necessidades fsiolgicas
inatas so regulados cultural e socialmente.
As primeiras necessidades humanas so da espcie, contudo, a busca
pelas necessidades acima, conforme Maslow (1968) so construdas pelas
intencionalidades da cultura e determinadas no social. Nos degraus da Hierarquia
de Maslow o ser humano acaba por revelar suas necessidades, somente aps ter
satisfeitas as anteriores em valores e importncia, assim construdos socialmente.
Esse processo de maturao pode acontecer durante toda uma vida, seja em
qualquer nvel de realizao e desenvolvimento pessoal que a pessoa se encontrar.
Ainda, no modelo explicativo criado por Huertas, existe uma relao
dialtica entre interioridade e exterioridade, entre o psicolgico e o social, que
supera o dualismo radical presente em outras aproximaes epistemolgicas,
contrapondo-se dicotomia motivao extrnseca e motivao intrnseca
defendidas por diversas teorias psicolgicas, aplicadas Educao.
Bruner (1991), Rogoff (2005) explicitam a ao reguladora da cultura
e da sociedade, quando afrmam que a participao do homem na cultura, e a
realizao de suas potencialidades mentais, atravs de sua sociedade, faz com
que seja impossvel construir a psicologia humana baseando-se somente no
indivduo. Considerando que a Psicologia est imersa na cultura, deve estar
organizada em torno desses processos de construo e utilizao do signifcado
que conectam o homem com a mesma. Em virtude da participao do sujeito na
cultura, o signifcado se faz pblico e compartilhado (BRUNER, 1991).
Vrios autores estudados, entre eles, Huertas (2001) e Vygotsky (2002)
partem do pressuposto de que o ser humano social e, portanto, para sobreviver
necessita do convvio com os demais membros de sua espcie. Desde pequena,
a criana est predisposta a reconhecer e a explorar o mundo do qual faz parte,
usando para isso um instrumento de mediao simblica, a linguagem.
Explicando o processo de desenvolvimento, tambm a partir da teoria
de Vygotsky, considera-se que o mesmo ocorre a partir do desenvolvimento
interpsicolgico para num segundo momento, intrapsicolgico. O processo de
internalizao, enquanto atividade social e historicamente desenvolvida o que
diferencia os animais dos seres humanos, base do salto qualitativo da psicologia.
A mediao um conceito vygotskyano que ratifca a importncia do adulto
e dos pares mais capazes enquanto agentes da aprendizagem social, portanto,
a mediao inerente ao desenvolvimento scio-emocional e de processo
fundamental na edifcao de motivos pessoais.
Parafraseando Vygotsky, Huertas (2001) afrma que toda a motivao
humana aparece duas vezes, primeiro no plano da atividade social, interpsicolgica,
e depois do plano individual ou intrapsicolgico. Conforme Santos (2003, p. 127),
a teoria de Vygotsky uma disciplina intrinsecamente gentica [...]. atravs
403
da perspectiva gentica que podemos ir alm das manifestaes externas de um
fenmeno. Dessa forma, Vygostsky salienta a importncia de compreender o
desenvolvimento da criana como um processo vivo, um desenvolvimento cultural
que se d ao longo da histria de vida de cada pessoa.
A partir das leituras at aqui realizadas sobre a psicologia da motivao,
considera-se que necessrio, como foi salientando anteriormente, explicar esse
fenmeno a partir de um paradigma que considere a trade humana, constituda
pelo individuo/sociedade/espcie. A sociedade vive para o indivduo que vive
para a sociedade; sociedade e indivduo vivem para a espcie que vive para o
individuo e para a sociedade. (MORIN, 2002, p. 52). Sendo assim, existe uma
recursividade indissolvel na relao indivduo/espcie/sociedade.
INDICADORES E VARIVEIS MOTIVACIONAIS NO
ENSINO SUPERIOR
Compreendendo a motivao como um construto multifatorial, conforme
salientam Boruchovitch (2008), Santos e Antunes (2007), Santos Antunes e
Schmitt (2010), Anderman e Maehr (1994) e Lens, Matos e Vansteenkiste
(2008), entre outros autores, mltiplas so as variveis a ela relacionadas. Apesar
disso, carece na literatura produes que tratem especifcamente dos indicadores
e variveis motivacionais, fato que difculta obter uma viso abrangente sobre os
principais aspectos que interferem na instaurao dos processos motivacionais.
Na tentantiva de evidnci-las, Boza (2010) realizou recentemente uma
importante reviso da bibliografa, sobretudo no entorno acadmico espanhol,
tendo encontrado mais de vinte variveis para a motivao no ensino superior.
O autor ressalta aspectos relacionados ao desempenho acadmico, aos fatores
afetivos, ao clima da aula e s competncias do docente.
Gonzles Cabanach et al. (2007) propuseram uma classifcao
dos principais fatores associados motivao. Os autores apresentam trs
componentes, conforme seguem: 1) componente de valor contemplando
aspectos ligados razes e metas de realizao das tarefas (por que realizo
essa tarefa?); 2) componente de expectativa agrupando fatores ligados auto-
percepo e crenas pessoais (sou capaz de realizar essa tarefa?); e 3) componente
afetivo, que agrupa aspectos associados s reaes emocionais (como me sinto
ao realizar essa tarefa?)
A partir da explanao terica realizada nesse artigo e realizando uma
refexo fundamentada em outros estudos (SANTOS, ANTUNES e SCHMITT,
2010; SANTOS e ANTUNES, 2007) apresenta-se, em carter propositivo, uma
categorizao dos indicadores e variveis motivacionais em 6 categorias, na
perspectiva do estudante univeristrio: (1) xito na universidade; (2) Percepes
de si; (3) Hbitos e estratgias de aprendizagem; (4) Perspectivas futuras; (5) Papel
do docente; e (6) Estrutura institucional.
O xito na Universidade refere-se s variveis tais como o rendimento
acadmico, freqncia s aulas, a persistncia aos estudos, obteno das
metas pessoais, entre outros, todos aspectos relacionados ao desempenho do
aluno. Os tericos so consensuais em apontar que o desempenho e o rendimento
esto intimamente associados com a motivao (AMES, 1992; ANDERMAN e
MAEHR, 1994; BORUCHOVITCH, 2008).
As Percepes de si compreendem aspectos relacionados maneira
como o aluno percebe suas prprias competncias e capacidades. Pode-se
destacar a percepo de competncia, a percepo de autonomia; a percepo de
pertencimento (DECI e RYAN, 1985, 2000), a percepo do esforo empregado,
as percepes de utilidade/instrumentalidade (DE VOLDER e LENS, 1982), as
expectativas de xito e o autoconceito, dentre os principais aspectos.
Com relao aos Hbitos e estratgias de aprendizagem, a quantidade
de tempo dedicado, o esforo empregado, os estilos de aprendizagem, as
estratgias cognitivas, metacognitivas e autorreguladoras, representam variveis
motivacionais importantes.
As Perspectivas futuras desenvolvidas pelos estudantes so
fundamentais para os comportamentos, atitudes e aes empregadas durante
o perodo universitrio (LENS, 1993; DE VOLDER e LENS, 1982; SIMONS
et al., 2004; VANSTEENKISTE et al., 2009). Nesse aspecto, pode-se situar as
metas estabelecidas curto e a longo prazo quanto carreira profssional, o valor
atribudo s prprias metas futuras e a articulao dessas metas com o momento
presente (instrumentalidade).
J os fatores relacionados com o Papel do docente exercem fortes
infuncias sobre a motivao do aluno (AMES, 1990; ANDERMAN e
MAEHR, 1994; BOZA, 2010; GUIMARES, 2004; BZUNECK, 1999;
BORUCHOVITCH, 2008). Dentre os principais aspectos possvel situar a
metodologia empregada pelo docente, a planifcao realizada, a fexibilidade
no andamento do curso, os valores e pensamentos do professor e, especialmente,
o clima da aula e as relaes afetivas estabelecidas.
E, por fm, a Estrutura Institucional tambm impacta fortemente, atravs da
qualidade e funcionalidade da estrutura fsica, dos recursos tecnolgicos, do acesso
informao, do apoio institucional, entre tantos outros aspectos ligados universidade.
405
Todos esses aspectos destacados, os quais fguram entre os mais
recorrentes na literatura, foram defnidos na viso do estudante universitrio.
Segundo Morosini (2009) essa tem sido uma tendncia mundial em investigaes
ligadas qualidade da educao superior, uma vez que compreende os
alunos como produto/produtores e como resultado do processo de formao
universitria. Entende-se tambm, que os aspectos levantados representam
uma primeira aproximao na tentativa de propor provveis indicadores
motivacinais e suas respectivas variveis. Essas podem ser visualizadas no
quadro abaixo.
Indicadores Variveis relacionadas
xito na universidade
- Rendimento
- Freqncia
- Persistncia
- Obteno de metas
Percepo de si
- Autoconceito
- Percepo de competncia
- Percepo de autonomia
- Percepo de pertencimento
- Percepo do esforo empregado
- Percepo de utilidade/
instrumentalidade
- Expectativas de xito
Hbitos e estratgias de Aprendizagem
- Quantidade de tempo dedicado
- Esforo empregado
- Estilos de Aprendizagem
- Estratgias cognitivas
- Estratgias metacognitivas
- Estratgias autoreguladoras
Perspectivas futuras
- Metas a curto prazo
- Metas a longo prazo
- Planos com relao carreira
- valor atribudo s metas futuras
Papel do docente
- Mtodo empregado
- Planifcao/ planejamento
- Valores pessoais
-Clima da aula
- Relaes afetivas
- Flexibilidade
Estrutura institucional
- Estrutura fsica
- Recursos tecnolgicos
- Acesso informao
- Apoio institucional
- Espaos de convivncia
PERSPECTIVAS E DESAFIOS
A partir desses pressupostos tericos percebe-se que muitos foram
os elementos encontrados alm dos contrapontos destacados entre as teorias
abordadas. Embora os estudos estejam evoluindo, acredita-se que uma teoria
que responda a tantas questes no que se refere ao prprio desenvolvimento
humano necessita de muito mais estudo e investigao. No entanto, esses
primeiros referenciais acerca dos indicadores motivacionais, aqui apresentados
apontam para a necessidade de, permanentemente, refetir sobre os estudantes
universitrios, seus processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, e nesses, seus
processos motivacionais.
Contudo, afrma-se que a motivao e seus entendimentos, concepes
e ativaes, tornam-se subsdios imprescindveis para melhorar a qualidade do
ensino superior em suas interfaces e subjetividades, de docentes discentes.
Nesse sentido, parece fundamental que todos os provveis indicadores e suas
variveis motivacionais, acima destacados, confguram-se como elementos
socioculturais que interferem em cada processo motivacional.
Nisso tudo, afrma-se a necessidade e possibilidade de fomento de
novos estudos e pesquisas que possam abarcar tantas dvidas e certezas sobre
os processos motivacionais no desenvolvimento e na vida de cada pessoa. Nesse
sentido, pretende-se ratifcar os referenciais motivacionais, visando a construo de
instrumentos, quer seja com docentes e/ou discentes, que possibilitem a constante
busca pela necessidade da qualidade no ensino superior, atravs de pesquisas
slidas no espao acadmico vinculadas ao contexto da realidade social.
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PART IV / PARTE IV
____________________________________________________
CHALLENGES OF QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
DESAFIOS DA QUALIDADE DA EDUCAO SUPERIOR
____________________________________________________
CHALLENGES FACING UNIVERSITIES IN A
GLOBALISING WORLD
Susan L. Robertson
INTRODUCTION
O
ver the past two to three decades, universities have faced with major
challenges. These have resulted in signifcant transformations in the
scope of their mission, governance, knowledge production and circulation, and
relations with wider national, regional and global economies and societies (Barnett,
2009). These transformations are part of a wider paradigmatic transition facing
all societies and universities, around the world (Santos, 2010: 1).
Whilst at present what might be the enduring features of this transition
are unknown, some of its constituent elements, and politics, are visible, and are
cause for major concern. In essence these politics are changing what it means to
talk about the university and critical knowledge production. A recent global survey
by the International Universities Association (2010) on the state of global higher
education, found that the most serious risks perceived by universities were the
commodifcation and commercialisation of education programmes, particularly as
a result of a growing number of so called degree mills and low quality providers.
This paper places these challenges on the table. I begin by identifying
and outlining the key logics at work. I then outline fve key challenges at the
heart of the contemporary university which are having an impact on quality:
these are access and higher education as a positional good; pedagogy and the
industrialisation of learning; new sectoral and institutional geographies of
universities; the rise of for-proft frms engaged in all aspects of higher education
governance; and the commercialisation of ideas, knowledge and education.
In speaking at a UK government seminar in 2009 entitled Universities in
a Global Context: How is Globalisation Affecting Higher Education (Bone, 2009)
a senior offcial remarked that the sector was now characterised by instability,
and that this instability would give rise to a range of competitive initiatives in the
policy and regulatory environment. In the UK this process has already begun. Whilst
assuring universities they have autonomy, and that this is respected by government,
the UK minister responsible for universities pointedly remindeduniversities they
have a crucial economic role to play by exploiting the intellectual property
they generate through commercialising the fruits of their endeavour whilst
411
expanding the intake of full-fee-paying international students to ensure economic
growth (Mendelson, 2009). Spin-out companies and international students, it
seems, will save universities and the British economy! The social contract between
the state, the public and the higher education sector is in free fall.
Around the world, nations, emerging regions, and rising powers, are
looking to their universities to lead the race to the top (as one of our recent reports
Sainsbury Review, 2007 was titled) by securing global talent, an increased share in
the international fee-paying student market, and to steal the edge on their competitors
as to the latest ideas, potential inventions, numbers of spin-out companies, and
potential entrepreneurs. To steer this race forward is a vast, complex, and growing
machinery (and industry) of ways of assessing universitys performancefrom
barometers of graduate satisfaction, to global university rankings, innovation and
competitiveness scorecards, knowledge economy and entrepreneurship indexes,
university investment ratings by rating agencies such Standard and Poorsthe
list goes on. Today, academics and managers, their universities, cities, regions and
nations, are measured, compared, rated, ranked, rejected, targeted for treatment, re-
measuredin an intense process of performance, scrutiny and identity making. It is
a story of fux, strategy, invention, frustration, imagination and anxiety. So how did
we get here, what are the logics through which this paradigmatic transition is being
propelled forward, what challenges are thrown up, and what are the consequences
for the creation, distribution and consumption of knowledge as a societal good?
COMPETITION IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER
This new regime of higher education, to realise a new knowledge-based
development model, is driven by three logics all anchored in what Streeck calls
capitalisms animal spirit - competition (Streeck, 2009: 242). Streeck describes
competition as;
the institutionally protected possibility for enterprising
individuals to pursue even higher proft from an innovative
manner at the expense of other producers. The reason why
competition is so effective as a mechanism of economic
change is that where it is legitimate in principle, as it must be
almost by defnition in a capitalist economy, what is needed
to mobilise the energy of innovative entrepreneurship is not
collective deliberation or a majority vote but, ideally, just
one player who, by deviating from the established way off
doing things can force all others to follow, at the ultimate
penalty of extinction (ibid: 242-3).
The recent changes in a few college and university admissions policies
in the US, Australias rapid development as a highly sophisticated, intelligence-
driven, export machinery in higher education, the emergence and expansion of
Europes Bologna Process to create a European Higher Education Area, are all
cases in point. As Sassen (2006) observes, such innovative entrepreneurship
(almost unknowingly) sets in train a new way of doing thingsor a new logic
so that it is impossible not to respond. In other words, new logics signal a change
in the rules of the game. As you know competition (wrapped in the rhetoric
of access, effciency, effectiveness and quality), has been on the agenda of the
international organisations and at the heart of governments higher education
policy since the late 1980s. Competition, however, takes numerous forms each
with their own logic. Three are central to how universities function today.
A TALE OF THREE LOGICS
The frst logic, corporatisation is anchored in the New Public
Management (Hood, 1991), and was popularised by highly infuential writers
such as Osborne and Gaebler (1991). New Public Management asks: how can
the values of business (competition, frugality, risk, choice, value for money,
entrepreneurship) be used in the re/organisation of public services so as to
enable those services to be delivered more effciently and effectively.
A second logic - comparative competitivism - arises from the infuential
work of Michael Porter (2000). Comparative competitivism was mobilised by
the developed economies as a response to the crisis of capitalism in early 1970s.
Comparative competitivism asks: what is
it that what can we produce (trade, or gain a greater market share in),
where we have an existing or potential advantage in relation to our competitors?
The answer, as we well know, is that public sectors, like higher education,
were viewed as potential service sectors by Treasury and Trade Departments of
governments; as the new revenue generators for a new services-based economy.
This view was supported by key interests in the services sector, including
fnancial services.
A third logic: competitive comparison, asks: how well does this unit
(institution/ city/ nation/ region) do in relation to another? This third logic uses
hierarchical orderings (with their implied superior/inferior registers of difference)
to generate a social identity (world class, 5*, enterprising). Comparison acts as a
moral spur, giving direction to competitivism through insistence that if we aspire
to improve (despite very different resources and positions in the global hierarchy),
413
we will make it. These three competitiveness logics give direction, form, content
and disciplinary power to neo-liberalism as a political and hegemonic project, as
it mediated through higher education.
LOGIC 1: CORPORATISATION
Corporatisation was the outcome of the New Public Management (NPM)
which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a way of describing a family of changes
in public administration (Hood, 1991; Osborne and Gaebler, 1991). These changes
were designed to slow down, or reverse, growth in government spending and
staffng. Driven by the crowding out thesis the view that removing government
from key areas of activity will enable the private sector to emerge and stimulate
growth and effciencies, this involved the privatisatisation of a range of university
activities, including catering services, cleaning, technology contracts, publishing,
recruiting international students, and so on. NPM had a major impact on the
way in which universities delivered their core mission of teaching and research
through the deployment of indicators and targets, the use of explicit standards and
measures of performance, and parsimony in the use of resources. A key cultural
shift for universities was the emulation of the core values and practices of business
both in the way the university was governed, and the way in which the university
itself governed its academic and non-academic faculty (Olssen and Peters, 2005).
NPM was to dramatically alter the vision, and mission of the university, away from
that Newmans Idea of a University which had stood as an anchor for more than a
century (Newman, 1910).
LOGIC 2: COMPARATIVE COMPETITIVISM
Whilst not exhaustive, the key forms that comparative competitivism
has taken in higher education include: (i) access; (ii) exporting education services
(recruitment of international students, branch campuses); (iii) teaching in
English; (iv) the recruitment of talented students for research and development;
(v) the recruitment of world class staff, and developing world class facilities
to attract staff and student; and (vi) innovations on curricular and governance.
These initiatives have generated a raft of monitoring tools that provide the nation,
the institution, the student, the industry and a raft of associations, with key
information about the sector. At the same time these activities are constitutive of
the sector itself. It alters what they do, and how they see, and assess, what they
do. I will make some brief remarks on several of these.
Access
In many countries the corporatisation of the university coincided with
the expansion of new places within the university as part of the drive to create
knowledge-based economies and secure a competitive advantage as a high-skill/
high-value knowledge production economy (Marginson and Considine, 2000). A
university-level education was thus regarded as a critical investment in the kind
of human capital that would stimulate a knowledge economy. Over the course of
three decades, many countries have moved from educating a small elite (4-6%), to
educating up to 50% or more of their eligible population in universities, or some
form of higher education. UNESCO fgures chart this expansion; from around
13 million in 1960 to about 100 million in 2000. Ringer (2004) notes that within
Europe, higher education systems enrolled 1% at the turn of the 20th C; at the turn
of the 21stC, the fgure was averaged at 51%. This expansion has been promoted
by the idea of a graduate premium; that is, that students undertaking university
level studies will, over their life-time, signifcantly improve their earnings
(Goastellec, 2010) and therefore a route to social mobility. For individuals, then,
their competitive comparative advantage is in a university-level education as
a positional good. When they have this qualifcation, it enables them to secure
advantages in the labour market that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Transborder student mobility
For countries like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, sectors like higher
education have been increasingly re-imagined as belonging to the services sector,
where they have a comparative competitive. Before long, these entrepreneurial
innovators aided by key international organisations (OECD, WB, WTO)
came to view higher education institutions as producers of commodities that
could be given an economic value, and then bought and sold in the international
marketplace (Kelsey, 2009). By the late 1980s, aid programmes which had enabled
scholars from low-income countries to study abroad were being replaced with
trade programmes, targetted at the aspiring middle classes in countries such as
China, Malaysia, Singapore, and more recently in Eastern Europe, India and Latin
America. A new set of frms also emerged in the higher education sector, from
to frms who test the health of the system by gathering the views of graduates
and selling the data back to universities, to professional recruiters of international
students, and university rankers who argue international students make choices
on the basis of the ranking of the university with universities perceived to operate
in a global marketplace.
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These developments were legitimated by a powerful new imaginary; that
higher education was to give birth to a knowledge-based economy. A higher
education services sector began to materialise, made up of transborder activity,
branch campuses, new forms of fnancing students, recruiting agencies, testing
agencies, and so on. The most visible form of this has been transborder activity.
The expansion in numbers of students enrolled in HE outside of their country of
citizenship since 1975 has been phenomenal.
Figure 1: Long Term Growth in the Number of Students Enrolled. Outside of their Country of Citizenship
(OECD, 2009)
The Atlas of Social Mobility (2009) reports on the distribution of international
students globally. Despite the small percentage of international students enrolled
in US universities in relation to the total population of university students (3.7%
come from overseas), the US dominates the overall share with 20%, however this
declining. This is followed by the UK with 12% (and declining fgure), France (8%),
Germany (8%), Australia (7%), China (7%) and Canada (5%). The declining share
of international students amongst the largest players (US and UK) has stimulated
these countries to review their policies, and try to diversify their markets.
Branch campuses
Many universities have also began to establish branch campuses in other
parts of the world. Branch campuses are off-shore operations where the unit is
operated by the source institution (though can be in a joint venture with a host
institution) and where the student is awarded the degree of the source institution.
In a major report for the OBHE released in September 2009, Becker notes that
since 2006, there has been a 43% increase in international branch campuses, with
more host and source countries involved. The number of host countries has also
increased since 2006, from 36 to now 51 in 2009.
Among the host countries, the Arab Emirates is the leader (Becker, 2009:
7) hosting 40 international branch campuses (though Dubai is in free fall with
2 US branch campuses in major trouble). These initiatives are part of the Arab
regions strategy; to develop a knowledge-based economy, and to be a provider
of education services within the Arab region. Second is China with 15 campuses.
A new pattern is emerging worth noting. Where higher education capability
is built through the establishment of branch campuses, in select cases, these
initiatives are then incorporated into, organised around, a new set of metaphors
which are driving these developments, such as hubs, and hotspots (cf. Singapore,
Malaysia, Hong Kong). Once established and embedded, these hubs in act as
regional suppliers of education services, generating new regional capacity in higher
education. These developments challenge existing patterns of geo-strategic interest
as the new regional players seek to gain a competitive comparative advantage in
the global distribution of education markets.
The growth in transborder mobility gives rise to all kinds of claims by
governments as the value of the higher education sector to export earnings. For
instance, recent data released by the governments of Canada, the UK and Australia
all point to similarly striking fgures. In Canada the Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade noted that international students generated 83,000 jobs,
C$291m (166m) in government revenue, and contributed C$6.5bn (3.7bn)
to the Canadian economy. The last fgure is higher than Canadas earnings for
coniferous lumber ($5bn/2.8) and coal ($6bn/3.4bn). In 2007, the British
Council estimated the value of education and training exports to the UK economy
at nearly 28bn, which is more than the automotive or fnancial services industries.
Recently NAFSA, the US-based Association of International Educators, noted that
international students and their dependants contributed approximately $17.6bn
(10.5bn) to the US economy in the 2008-09 academic year.
Whatever we might think about the veracity of these fgures (what
gets measured and how), and the capability to generate such analyses (largely
consultants), it is clear these numbers are being debated in the context of an
ideological transition one that increasingly enables views to emerge of higher
education as a driver of economic versus cultural-political change. A decade or
two ago, it would have been impossible to imagine measuring education against
scrap plastics, chemical woodpulp and coal.
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Anglaise
The English language, as a medium of instruction and a dominant form
of dissemination of research, has been a key lever for advancing a comparative
advantage. More recently, a range of countries, including continental Europe,
the Scandinavian countries, and in 2009 - Japan (where 30 universities began
some teaching in English), have responded to the challenge offered by the
innovators in this feld, by developing their higher education systems into
more attractive destinations. The US, Australia, and the USAs competitive
advantage is thus eroding as other competitor nations begin to teach in English.
For instance international students represent around 36% of graduate students
in French universities; many of these are from China. The relatively low cost
of living and tuition, and the increased use of English in France, makes it a
particularly desirable destination. Similarly the Netherlands, Denmark and
Finland also teach graduate programmes in English in order to be attractive to
international students and staff. However the low to no fees, coupled with
teaching in English, has stimulated debates in countries like France and Finland,
about student fees and public subsidies for international students. English has
also gained particular prominence as the language of the research community
because of it role in scientifc dissemination and the largest shaped language of
the research community. However, the use of English generates huge debates
about the loss of local knowledges and cultures.
Talented students R & D
The global competition for (fee-paying) international students is
nuanced by the global competition for talented students. It is this dimension,
too, which has differentiated the USAs approach to international students in
comparison to the Australian approach, but this is changing, in both directions
(US are now looking for full foreign fee-paying undergraduates and talented
graduates). After being stagnant for several years, it would seem that fgures
for international graduate students are increasing again. Like the large, research
intensive, universities in Canada, USA has a particular advantage in this area
with large R&D budgets able to attract STEM students, and suffciently fexible
immigration packages that enable very large numbers to stay on. Indeed as
Douglass and Edelstein (2009) note, these students have been instrumental in
enabled the US to build a highly skilled workforce in this area. More recently
Canada, Europe and Australia have also sought to secure a share of the talented
graduate market, with lures like immigration points and residence permits, and
organised scholarship programmes, like the Erasmus Mundus scheme in Europe,
used to make the offer more attractive. Europe is particularly nervous of its
long term capacity to secure a competitive advantage in R&D because of its
changing demographic. Whilst this is not the case in the US, there would need
to be a change in levels of participation in US higher education, particularly the
sciences, for the US to secure its future from within its nationals as opposed to
those who come from Asia.
In the short-term, the economic downturn in India, China and Korea
will test the willingness or capability of families to fund their child into
graduate programmes, particularly if scholarships and the like in the US
diminish because of the poor rates of interest in investments. However there is
a more serious problem on the horizon, and that is China and the Arab region
are themselves both positioning themselves as destinations for talent, and are
seeking to recruit talented students with the lure of generous scholarships.
Recruitment of World Class Staff/World Class Infrastructures
There is almost no country around the world that does not declare itself
as seeking to develop a globally-competitive knowledge-based economy. Not
all countries are in a position to fnancially (or culturally and politically) realise
this ambition. Several have, however, advanced imaginative metaphors for the
development of world-class infrastructures, including the Singapore Global
Schoolhouse, EduCity in Qatar, KAUST in Saudi Arabia. In other words, the
competitive comparative advantage has been to think in imaginative ways as
to how to become a world class education hub by buying in world class brands,
world class academics, creating world class architectures, and in the case of
KAUSTs US$12 billion investment, throwing what was a world class party to
launch itself in October 2009 at the cost of US$61 million. This is a highly
controversial initiative in Saudi, not least because it offers a university education
to bright students recruited from around the world under a set of conditions that
does not refect the wider culture. Co-education, for instance, has been regard by
the conservative clerics as western contamination.
Innovations in Curricular and Governance
Two brief examples here are worth noting. First the Bologna Process
which has been rolled out across Europe now includes 46 countries, more
than 16 million students. The creation of a European Higher Education area
was advanced in order to make Europe a more competitive region through the
development of a common degree architecture. This would enable greater labour
419
mobility across Europe, whilst also breaking down existing national practices
that were regarded as ineffcient (5 year degrees, for example, in Germany).
So successful and signifcant has this innovation become that other nations
and their regions have also considered developing their own regional strategy in order
to create a more competitive higher education sector. For instance here in Brasil,
three new universities have been launched to promote regional integration, and inter-
regionalism. Similarly, in Latin America, the ALBA region has been developing
based on the political project of Simon Bolivar. As yet it is unclear the form that they
are taking, except that in the Latin American cases the advantage promoted is to be
seen to be anti-West, anti-US, anti-competitive, and anti-neo-liberal.
LOGIC 3: COMPETITIVE COMPARISON
Logic 3s competitiveness works in a rather different way. In asking:
how well is one unit doing in relation to another it assumes a continuum can be
developed with labels at each end registering a location on a telos of development.
Placing units into a hierarchical ordering along this axis, so that comparison can
take place, between units, allocates social identities (world class, 5*). This move
gives rise to registers of difference, such as developed/under-developed, superior/
inferior. Those doing the assessing, or offering their services to determine our
progress, have the power to set and reset the rules of the game suffciently to ensure
a spur to action. This is a moral and status economy, whose symbolic power is the
elevation to a space close to god, or the humiliation of the shadow lands.
James Ferguson (2006) work here on how these two hierarchies, of
unfolding development (modernisation) and ranking along a continuum that
so a hierarchy could determine our position in the world order (developing,
transition, developed) is instructive for our purposes, as similar processes are
in train. As he notes
With the world understood as a collection of national
societies, global inequalities could be read as the result
of the fact that some nations were further along than
others on a track to a unitary modernity. In this way, the
narrative of development mapped history against hierarchy,
developmental time against political economic status. if
backward nations were not modern, in this picture, it was
because they were not yet modern. The effect of this
powerful narrative was to transform a spatialised global
hierarchy into a temporalised historical sequence.
We can see similar patterns at work here. Universities are to deliver
the KBE, Each are at different stages of doing that, depending on their
imagined status as economic engines (measured by R&D, patents, citations,
international students, and so on). This reinforces the development trajectory,
and inserts its disciplinary mechanisms into it, as we will see with how
assessment tools are used.
The KAM
A powerful example of the way in which indexes, generated out of a
myriad of indicators and other indexes, are used to allocate an identity as a
result of comparison, which in turn stimulates activity in the direction of an
imagined future is the KAM. The World Banks KAM (Knowledge Assessment
Methodology) is a powerful instrument developed to help realise a knowledge
based economy. The KAM is an interactive, diagnostic and benchmarking tool
that provides a preliminary assessment of countries and regions readiness for
the knowledge economy (World Bank, 2007). The World Banks programme of
indicators is based on four pillars:
- 1. An economic and institutional regime that provides incentives for
the effcient use of existing and new knowledge and the fourishing of
entrepreneurship.
- 2. An educated and skilled population that can create, share, and use
knowledge well.
- 3. An effcient innovation system of frms, research centres, universities,
think-tanks, consultants, and other organizations who can tap into the
growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it to local
needs, and create new technology.
- 4. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that can
facilitate the effective communication, dissemination, and processing of
information.
The KAM enables countries from around the world to benchmark
themselves with neighbours, competitors, or other countries they wish to learn
from on the four pillars of the knowledge economy. It is therefore a tool aimed
at promoting learning amongst both developing and developed countries about
the elements that constitute the Banks version of a knowledge economy.
The KAM currently consists of 81 structural and qualitative variables for
132 countries to measure their performance on the four Knowledge Economy (KE)
pillars: Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime, Education, Innovation,
and Information and Communications Technologies. Variables are normalized
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on a scale of zero to ten relative to other countries in the comparison group. The
KAM also derives a countrys overall Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) and
Knowledge Index (KI) based on an aggregation of the 14 key variables. At the
heart of this version of the knowledge economy is the idea that knowledge has
economic value and forms the basis of a services economy.
Education at a Glance
Education at a Glance is a statistical representation of higher education
around the globe by the OECD. First produced in 2000, the OECD has
collected more and more material on the sector, and uses these representations
and implicit comparisons to enable countries to learn about their system and
their performance in relation to other systems. The problem with this kind of
representation, however, is that as Adelman (2009) notes in his recent paper on
The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting International Data on Higher Education
Straight. Using graduation rates in the US to make his point, he shows how the
OECD report assumes that universities in the US are the only ones producing
higher education graduates. As a result, the numbers are represented as small in
comparison to other OECD countries. This of course feeds a crisis mentality in
the US. As he further notes: Indicators are the means for fulflling the challenges
of variability in any comparison of multinational inputs: out of complexity,
they seek to tell a common story. They fnd ways to reconcile vastly different
systems of accounting, cultural defnitions, traditional national reference
points, idiosyncrasies of institutions, and nuances of behavior through common
templates (Adelman, 2009: p. 36).
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance mechanisms are directed at teaching, research, and
institutional management. In relation to research, governments have become
increasingly interested in research output and the development of measures of
quality. I will use the UK as an example here because that is what I know best. The
key foci in the UKs research endeavour has been on how to count it as a share
of the world research output, and how to determine the underlying basis of what
is counted, so as to cast a favourable light on the UK and its global institutions.
The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in the UK has been copied in a range
of countries. Leaving aside the not unimportant fact that the RAE has consumed
vast quantities of staff energy and fnance, and shaped the recruitment of staff
and their academic labour in very signifcant ways, it has also privileged the idea
of international in what counts as quality research. This means that publication
outlets that cannot easily lay claim to being international, or institutional and
individual reputations that have been established locally and nationally, are not
rewarded in the same way.
In the UK the RAE has also deepened the divisions within and between
the different kinds of higher education providers around teaching and research
through the establishment of RAE-based League Tables. Here global media and
other publishing interests have become increasingly active in the development of
technologies that provide citation data which can, in turn be compared (such as
the 5 biggest splashes in 2009). The emergence of the REF in the UK will bring
in a completely new dimension to the research quality debate. While still being
trialled, the focus on the impactfulness of researchparticularly in industry and
policy circles, are regarded as crucial indicators.
World University Rankings
Since 2003 global league tables, such as the Shanghai Jiao Tong, QS, and
the recently revamped Times Higher have provided policymakers and universities
with a new language and set of tools to advance the idea of a global university.
As you are likely aware, The Shanghai Jiao Tong privileges a particular form
of knowledge and how it is circulated; this includes disciplines such as science,
mathematics and technology, Nobel Prize holders, the presence of international
students, and citations.
There is considerable concern over the use of the Shanghai Jiao Tong for
it signifcantly privileges US universities with only 2 UK universities in the top
10 (Oxford and Cambridge) in 2008. Nevertheless, governments and individual
institutions have used these ranking technologies to advance their own projects
and interests; such as leveraging funding, branding their institutions, departments
and star performers, as a means of marketing, recruiting staff and students,
disciplining staff, and so on. For instance the UK announced that in 2007-2008
it has a 12% share of scientifc citations (BIS, 2009).
CORPORATISATION, COMPARATIVE COMPETITIVISM AND
COMPETITIVE COMPARISON THREE LOGICS AT WORK
I have argued that these three logics have a mutually reinforcing role
in creating competitive economies, institutions and individuals. Its three-
pronged epistemology, of (i) creating an organisational infrastructure and
orientation that emulates the private sector, of (ii) securing an advantage through
innovatively using territorial intelligence, material capabilities and new forms
423
of institutionalisation, and (iii) using comparison as the tool for enrolling an
otherwise ignorant, or reluctant subject in the project of economic and social
progress, gives these tools power because of their reach.
Modelo de desenvolvimento de ensino superior
1

These logics are changing higher education institutions; they are not
only a site of human capital formation but a business, best organised using the
disciplinary values and principles of competitivism and progress. Together, these
two planes, offer a limited range of social identities for institutions. Its moral
economy is punitive in that while difference becomes the basis on which social
identities are allocated, there is little scope for diversity.
Its development trajectory, of progress away from a relatively autonomous,
institution whose social relations are decommodifed, toward one where the
knowledge value is in the form of commodities within a knowledge economy,
highlights not only the narrowing of what knowledge counts to economically
valuable tradeable knowledge, but the closing down of knowledge that is produced.
In the face of global issues of sustainability, and the sustainability of
the model based on enrolling international students (not sustainable) and a
patent-driven economy, it is time that we call for a new social contract in higher
education. Education must be seen as a societal good.
1
Industrial Economy: Economia Industrial; Knowledge Based Economy: Economia Baseada no Conhecimento;
History: Histria; Position: Posio
FIVE CHALLENGES
1. Access and higher education as a positional good
Currently higher education is promoted as a form of social mobility, and
as the means for securing a return on the investment in student fees. However
it is increasingly clear that returns are beginning to decrease as more students
access higher education. The positional good nature of a higher education is thus
increasingly dependant on the kind of university, and the nature of the discipline
studied. It is thus important to ask: who is doing the accessing, and access
to what. In the UK, for instance, the gap between children from poorer homes
versus from better-off homes accessing higher education has widened rather than
decreased between 1970 and 2000. Archer (2003) reports that young people from
poorer backgrounds strongly believed that the economic rewards they would be
able to secure from higher education depended on the institution they went to, and
that they believed they would not get into a suffciently good enough one. More
than this, in a report to government, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2007) point out
that the high status occupations, such as medicine, law and dentistry (all linked
to high status institutions and accessed by the middle and upper classes), return
a very high premium that distorts the average. Working class males accessing
courses in Arts subjects are likely, for example, to earn negative values in relation
to their investment. Already we can see that higher education/participation/social
mobility arguments are losing traction amongst those social classes who have quite
rightly made a judgement that higher education is a poor economic investment
given the link between social class/status institutions/ labour market/wages. The
fip side of this coin is the increased competition for jobs amongst an oversupply of
graduates. This generates not only issues about selection, but leads to new forms of
professional closure. A key challenge here will be on how universities deal with the
growing awareness that higher education may not be a good economic investment.
My own view is that universities must promote the social, political and intellectual
aspects of higher education. That is, higher education is part of a learning trajectory
that has value in and of its own sake, and not for the economy.
2. Pedagogy and the industrialisation of learning
Universities have expanded their intakes right across the spectrum of
qualifcations (undergraduate to doctoral studies). The Bologna Process, for
example, has sought to reduce the differences between countries and institutions
425
in Europe in the degree cycle, so that there is fexibility of movement for students
across Europe, and reduced frictions in the movement of students through the
system (Robertson, 2006).
Expansion in the numbers of places in higher education have been enabled
by the increase in both local and international students, with the latter mostly
paying a high fee, and increasingly local students being expected to contribute to
their higher education. This has created a different relationship between students
and the institution; a customer-based one driven by arguments such as choice,
value for money, and so on. However, at the same time, universities have high
expectations of their academics regarding contributions to research profles
and outputs. A key challenge here for universities is on ensuring that students
experience a stimulating and high quality learning experience, not because they
are a customer but because they represent a critical opportunity to create a new,
next generation of citizens whose approaches to problems will be decisive.
3. New sectoral and institutional geographies of universities
There is considerable pressure on universities to engage in regionalising
and globalising higher education projects as solutions to problems (internal
governance issues; sustainability issues; global challenges; marketing and
branding) whilst ensuring local relevance, managing charges of imperialism, and
the valorisation of the regional and the global over the national interest. There
are a number of important challenges here for universities. One is that current
opportunities to develop branch campuses and other relationships can be quickly
withdrawn, dependent upon changes in government, new taxation regimes, the
regulation of poor practice, and so on.
There is also clear movement of students from West to East beginning to
take place that will not only generate important fnancial fallouts but also have
direct and indirect long-term affects on global academic and wider, labour market.
When the implications of the changing demography of China (in 2011
the long term effect of Chinas one child policy will result in a decline in the
overall number of 18 year olds), together with that of Europe more generally
(from 2014 there is a decline in the numbers of 18 year olds) take hold,
universities will be confronted with a potential declining student population
at the national, EU, and key source country levels. Again this will present
important long-term fnancial viability issues for HEs, particularly those
dependent on international students. Branch campuses embedded in education
hubs, like those developing in the Middle East (fve hubs), are intended to
provide an education in the region rather than students having to carry the
burden of living costs, as well as education costs. This will reduce the
fnancial returns those countries dependent on these populations.
4. The rise of for-proft frms in all aspects of higher education governance
There has been a very rapid growth in the role of the (transnational) for-
proft sector in delivering components of higher education provision. This raises
important issues of quality and accountability. In the USA, for proft frms are the
fastest growing component of higher education, with around a 10% share of the
total student population enrolled in higher education and a growth rate of 200%
per year. These for-proft frms have benefted from the expansion of access to
higher education, and the ability of students to use federal student loans pay fees.
However, currently some of the for-proft frms are under investigation because of
their high pressure selling tactics to students who are not likely to be in a position
to secure jobs suffciently well paid to pay back their loans.
The for proft frms have also begun to bi-pass the trade negotiations
established under the WTO, and sought to advance their interests through strategic
partnerships in national settings and regulatory claims to key bodies within those
national settings. In 2007, the Privy Council awarded BPP Holdings (BPP),
Europes leading provider of professional education, degree-awarding powers.
This is the frst for-proft private sector company to have been awarded such
powers. It is clear, however the regulatory frameworks in the higher education
sector is not keeping up with the rapid changes taking place, leaving many
developments to go un-noticed and unaccountable. As a result, the issues that
surround these developments are also not well enough understood or suffciently
debated. Is the growth of the for-proft sector a threat or an opportunity for
publicly-funded universities, particularly if these frms are seeking their own
degree awarding powers, or if partnerships falter as the current lucrative markets
become less competitive? Do recent government policies risk intensifying a
trend that is not well understood and well regulated?
5. Changing role of the public intellectual and the commercialisation
of ideas and knowledge
Finally, how does the commercialisation and commodifcation of
knowledge within the university change the nature of knowledge that is produced,
and the role of the public intellectual in this? Does the range of knowledges
427
being funded and disseminated become limited by what is of potential immediate
commercial value, and does this kind of trajectory tend to focus on easily
evidenced outcomes, as opposed to foundational knowledges that might require
considerable funding before any return, fnancial or not, are in evidence. Who
is valued in the university as knowledge producers, and how are the cultural,
social and political dimensions of critical knowledge production catered for in a
highly commercially-oriented approach to knowledge? For the moment there is
a great romance of the Silicon Valley, venture capital model of the relationship
between the university and the regional economy. This model has been taken up
and circulates around the globe. However it is clear that not only does this IP-led
approach rest on highly suspect evidence, but that it distorts the overall mission
of the university.
CONCLUSIONS (BY WAY OF STRONG QUESTIONS IN NEED
OF STRONG ANWERS)
Santos (2010) recently argued that what confronts the modern university,
and indeed places the modern university at a crossroads, is that it has tended to
answer strong questions with weak answers. Weak answers are technical answers.
They are anwsers that focus on the problem as if it were disconnected from wider
social and political phenomena. Answers to strong questions, such as those posed
above, must not only have a strong awareness of the context, but have a strong
theory about that context as well. Strong answers not only see the importance,
and the enormity of the task at hand, but see that it is our responsibility to map,
make sense of, and advance an agenda that seeks to change the current state of
affairs. To some extent this also means posing questions that might offer a new
ways of thinking about the role of the university in modern life. What might be
the indicators that would register a different way of operating on, and acting in,
the world. I leave you, then, with a series of questions which we might use to
advance a different agenda for the modern university. It is a challenge, but I hope
you will agree, that it is a critical one.
- Can we (how?) reconstruct the missions of our universities (in the current
environment) to include social, political and not just (narrow) economic ends?
- Is it possible to have a progressive form of competition? What might it
look like if translated into the kinds of tools we use to assess our activities?
- What can we learn from others (comparison) that enables us to reject
the narrowness of current models on offer?
REFERENCES
Archer, L. (2003) The value of higher education, in L. Archer, M. Hutchings
and A. Ross (eds) Higher Education and Social Class: Issues of Exclusion and
Inclusion, London: Routledge.
Adelman, C. (2009) The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting International Data
on Higher Education Straight, HEPI: Washington.
Atlas of Student Mobility (2009) Global Destinations for International
Students at the Post Secondary (Tertiary) Level, 2008 (http://www.atlas.
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Barnett, R. (2009) Knowledge Interests and Knowledge Policies: Rethinking
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DESAFIOS ENFRENTADOS POR UNIVERSIDADES EM
UM MUNDO EM GLOBALIZAO
Susan L. Robertson
INTRODUO
N
as ltimas duas ou trs dcadas, as universidades enfrentaram
grandes desafos. Isso resultou em transformaes signifcativas
no escopo da sua misso, na sua governana, na produo e disseminao de
conhecimento, e nas relaes com maiores economias e sociedades nacionais,
regionais e globais (Barnett 2009). Essas transformaes fazem parte de uma
transio paradigmtica mais ampla enfrentada por todas as sociedades e
universidades, no mundo todo (Santos 2010, p. 1).
Enquanto no presente momento so desconhecidas as possveis
caractersticas duradouras dessa transio, alguns de seus elementos
constitutivos, e polticos, so visveis, e causam muita preocupao. Na essncia,
essas polticas esto mudando o que signifca falar sobre a universidade e a
produo de conhecimento crtico. Uma pesquisa global recente pela Associao
de Universidades Internacionais (2010) sobre o estado do ensino superior
global, concluiu que os riscos mais srios percebidos por universidades so a
comodifcao e a comercializao dos programas de educao, particularmente
como resultado de um nmero crescente das chamadas fbricas de diplomas e
provedores de baixa qualidade.
O presente trabalho coloca esses desafos na mesa. Comeo com a
identifcao e um esboo das lgicas principais em jogo. Depois, esboo os
cinco principais desafos no corao da universidade contempornea que esto
tendo um impacto na qualidade: so o acesso e o ensino superior como um bem
posicional; a pedagogia e a industrializao da aprendizagem; novas geografas
setoriais e institucionais das universidades; o aumento de frmas com fns
lucrativos envolvidas em todos os aspectos de governana do ensino superior; e
a comercializao de ideias, conhecimento e educao.
Na palestra em um seminrio do governo do Reino Unido (RU) em 2009
intitulado Universidades em um Contexto Global: Como a Globalizao est
Afetando o Ensino Superior (Bon 2009), um ofcial superior comentou que o
setor agora se caracterizava por instabilidade, e que essa instabilidade levaria
a uma srie de iniciativas competitivas no quadro poltico e regulamentar.
431
No RU, esse processo j comeou. Enquanto garantia s universidades que
possuam autonomia, e que isso respeitado pelo governo, o ministro do
RU responsvel pelas universidades lembrou enfaticamente s universidades
que possuem um papel econmico crucial a desempenhar ao ...explorar a
propriedade intelectual que geram... atravs da ...comercializao dos frutos do
seu empreendimento enquanto amplia a admisso de estudantes internacionais
que pagam taxas integrais para garantir o crescimento econmico (Mendelson
2009). Parece que as empresas derivadas (spin out) e estudantes internacionais
vo salvar as universidades e a economia Britnica! O contrato social entre o
estado, o pblico e o setor de ensino superior est em queda livre.
No mundo, as naes, as regies emergentes, os poderes em ascenso,
esto centrando as suas atenes nas suas universidades para liderar a corrida
para o topo (como foi intitulado um dos nossos relatrios recentes Sainsbury
Review, 2007) ao adquirir talento global, uma parte maior do mercado de
alunos internacionais que pagam taxas, e para roubar a vantagem de seus
competidores em relao s ltimas idias, invenes potenciais, quantidades
de empresas derivadas, e empreendedores potenciais. Guiar essa corrida
para frente uma vasta e complexa maquinaria (e indstria) crescente de
maneiras de avaliar o desempenho de uma universidade de barmetros de
satisfao dos egressos, para rankings globais de universidades, scorecards
de inovao e de competitividade, economia do conhecimento e ndices de
empreendedorismo, classifcaes de investimento das universidades por
agncias de classifcao como Standard and Poors a lista continua. Hoje,
acadmicos e administradores, suas universidades, cidades, regies e naes,
so medidas, comparadas, classifcadas, ranqueadas, rejeitadas, alvos de
tratamento, re-medidas... em um processo intenso de desempenho, escrutnio
e de criao de identidades. uma histria de fuxo, estratgia, inveno,
frustrao, imaginao e ansiedade. Ento, como chegamos aqui, quais so
as lgicas atravs das quais essa transio paradigmtica se impulsiona para
frente, quais desafos so levantados, e quais so as consequncias para a
criao, distribuio e consumpo do conhecimento como um bem social?
COMPETIO NA NOVA ORDEM MUNDIAL
Esse novo regime de ensino superior, para realizar um novo modelo de
desenvolvimento baseado em conhecimento, se orienta por trs lgicas, todas
ancoradas naquilo que Streeck chama de o esprito animal de capitalismo-
competio (Streeck 2009, p. 242). Streeck descreve a competio como,
a possibilidade protegida por instituies de indivduos
empreendedores buscarem ainda mais lucros com uma
atitude mais inovadora custa de outros produtores. O
motivo pelo qual a competio to efcaz como mecanismo
de mudana econmica que enquanto legtimo em
princpio, como deve ser quase por defnio em uma
economia capitalista, o que necessrio para mobilizar a
energia do empreendedorismo inovador no a deliberao
coletiva ou o voto majoritrio mas, idealmente, apenas
um ator que, ao desviar da maneira estabelecida de fazer
as coisas, pode forar todos os outros a seguirem, com a
penalidade mxima sendo a extino (ibid: 242-3).
As mudanas recentes nas polticas de admisso a algumas universidades
nos EUA, o desenvolvimento rpido da Austrlia como uma mquina de
exportao altamente sofsticada e impulsionada por inteligncia no ensino
superior, a emergncia e expanso do Processo de Bolonha na Europa para criar
uma rea Europia de Ensino Superior, todos so bons exemplos. Como observa
Sassen (2006), tal empreendedorismo inovador (quase inconscientemente)
desencadeou uma nova maneira de fazer as coisas ou uma nova lgica tal que
impossvel no responder. Em outras palavras, novas lgicas sinalizam uma
mudana nas regras do jogo. Como se sabe, a competio (embrulhada na retrica
de acesso, efcincia, efccia e qualidade), est na agenda de organizaes
internacionais e no corao da poltica do ensino superior do governo desde o
fnal dos anos 80. A competio, entretanto, toma muitas formas cada uma com
sua lgica prpria. Trs so centrais em como as universidades funcionam hoje.
UM CONTO DE TRS LGICAS
A primeira lgica, a corporatizao ancorada na Nova Gesto Pblica
(Hood 1991), e foi popularizada por escritores altamente infuentes como
Osborne e Gaebler (1991). A Nova Gesto Pblica pergunta: como podem ser
usados os valores de negcios (competio, frugalidade, risco, escolha, valor
pelo dinheiro, empreendedorismo) na re/organizao de servios pblicos para
permitir que esses servios sejam entregues de forma mais efciente e mais efcaz.
Uma segunda lgica competitividade comparativa surge do
trabalho infuente de Michael Porter (2000). A competitividade comparativa foi
mobilizada por economias desenvolvidas como resposta crise do capitalismo
no incio dos anos 70. A competitividade comparativa pergunta: o que que
podemos produzir (negociar, ou ganhar uma maior parte do mercado), onde
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temos uma vantagem existente ou potencial em relao a nossos competidores?
A resposta, como bem sabemos, que os setores pblicos, como ensino superior,
eram vistos como potenciais setores de servios por Departamentos do Tesouro
e do Comrcio dos governos; como geradores de renda para uma nova economia
baseada em servios. Essa perspectiva teve o apoio de interesses importantes no
setor de servios, inclusive servios fnanceiros.
Uma terceira lgica: comparao competitiva, pergunta: o que essa
unidade (instituio / cidade / nao / regio) fez bem em relao outra?
Essa terceira lgica utiliza ordenamentos hierrquicos (com seus implicados
registros de diferena superior / inferior) para gerar uma identidade social
(classe mundial, 5*, empreendedor). A comparao age como estmulo moral,
orientando a competitividade atravs da insistncia de que se desejarmos
melhorar (apesar de recursos e posies muito diferentes na hierarquia global),
seremos bem sucedidos. Essas trs lgicas de competitividade do direo,
forma, contedo e poder disciplinar ao neoliberalismo como um projeto
poltico e hegemnico, na sua mediao no ensino superior.
LGICA 1: CORPORATIZAO
A corporatizao foi o resultado da Nova Gesto Pblica (NGP) que
emergiu nos anos 80 e 90 como uma maneira de descrever uma famlia de mudanas
na administrao pblica (Hood 1991; Osborne e Gaebler 1991). Essas mudanas
foram desenhadas para desacelerar, ou reverter, o aumento das despesas do governo
e pessoal. Impulsionada pela tese da excluso a perspectiva que a remoo do
governo de reas importantes de atividades vai permitir que o setor privado surja
e estimule o crescimento e as efcincias, envolveu a privatizao de uma srie
de atividades universitrias, inclusive servios de refeies, limpeza, contratos de
tecnologia, editoria, recrutamento de alunos internacionais, e assim por diante. A
NGP teve um impacto importante na maneira em que as universidades realizavam
a sua misso central de ensino e pesquisa atravs da utilizao de indicadores e
metas, o uso de padres explcitos e medidas de desempenho, e a parcimnia
no uso de recursos. Uma mudana cultural importante para as universidades
foi a emulao de valores e prticas centrais de negcios, na maneira em que a
universidade era administrada, assim como a maneira em que a universidade em
si administrava o seu pessoal acadmico e no-acadmico (Olssen e Peters 2005).
A NGP pretendia afastar dramaticamente a viso, e a misso da universidade da
Ideia de Newman da Universidade que permanecia como uma ncora para mais
de um sculo (Newman 1910).
LGICA 2: COMPETITIVIDADE COMPARATIVA
Embora no exaustiva, as formas importantes que a competitividade
comparativa j tomou no ensino superior incluem: (i) acesso; (ii) exportao de
servios educacionais (recrutamento de alunos internacionais, campi satlites);
(iii) ensino em ingls; (iv) recrutamento de alunos com talento para pesquisa e
desenvolvimento; (v) recrutamento de pessoal de nvel mundial, e desenvolvimento
de instalaes de nvel mundial para atrair pessoal e alunos; e (vi) inovaes nos
currculos e na governana. Essas iniciativas geraram uma srie de ferramentas de
monitoramento que proporcionam nao, instituio, ao aluno, indstria e a
uma srie de associaes, informaes importantes sobre o setor. Ao mesmo tempo,
essas atividades so constitutivas do prprio setor. Altera o que fazem, como vem, e
avaliam o que fazem. Farei alguns comentrios breves sobre vrias delas.
Acesso
Em muitos pases, a corporatizao da universidade coincidiu com a expanso
de novos lugares dentro da universidade como parte da impulso para criar economias
baseadas no conhecimento e assegurar uma vantagem competitiva como uma economia
da produo do conhecimento de alta qualifcao / de alto valor (Marginson e
Considine 2000). Uma educao de nvel universitrio era vista como um investimento
crtico no tipo de capital humano que estimularia uma economia do conhecimento.
Ao longo de trs dcadas, muitos pases passaram do ensino das elites (4-
6%), para o ensino de at 50% ou mais da populao elegvel nas universidades, ou
alguma forma de ensino superior. As fguras da UNESCO esboam esta expanso;
de em torno de 13 milhes em 1960 para em torno de 100 milhes em 2000. Ringer
(2004) observa que dentro da Europa, os sistemas de ensino superior matricularam
1% no fnal do sculo XX; no fnal do sculo XXI, a fgura teve a mdia de 51%.
Esta expanso tem sido promovida pela idia de um prmio do graduado; isto
, os alunos que iniciam estudos de nvel universitrio vo, ao longo das suas
vidas, melhorar signifcativamente os seus ganhos (Goastellec 2010) e, portanto
um caminho para a mobilidade social. Para os indivduos, ento, a sua vantagem
competitiva comparativa est na educao de nvel universitrio como um bem
posicional. Quando possuem essa qualifcao, os permite a assegurar as vantagens
no mercado de trabalho que, caso contrrio, seriam indisponveis a eles.
Mobilidade transfronteiria de alunos
Para pases como o RU, Austrlia, e Nova Zelndia, os setores como ensino
superior tm sido cada vez mais re-imaginados como pertencentes ao setor de servios,
onde tm uma competitiva comparativa. Logo, esses inovadores empreendedores,
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auxiliados por organizaes internacionais importantes (OCDE, WB, WTO) vieram
a perceber as instituies de ensino superior como produtores de comodidades a que
podem ser atribudas um valor econmico, e depois compradas e vendidas no mercado
internacional (Kelsey 2009). At o fnal dos anos 80, programas de auxlio que tinham
permitido que acadmicos de pases de baixa renda estudassem no exterior estavam
sendo substitudos por programas de comrcio, visando classes mdias aspirantes em
pases como China, Malsia, Cingapura, e mais recentemente na Europa Oriental,
ndia e Amrica Latina. Um novo conjunto de frmas tambm surgiu no setor de ensino
superior, frmas que testam a sade do sistema atravs da reunio das perspectivas dos
egressos e a venda dos dados de volta s universidades, at recrutadores profssionais
de alunos internacionais, e ranqueadores de universidades que argumentam que
alunos internacionais fazem as suas escolhas com base no ranking da universidade
com as universidades percebidas como operando no mercado global.
Esses desenvolvimentos foram legitimados por um novo imaginrio
poderoso; que o ensino superior deveria dar origem a uma economia baseada no
conhecimento. Um setor de servios do ensino superior comeou a se concretizar,
constitudo de atividades transfronteirias, campi satlites, novas formas de fnanciar
os alunos, agncias de recrutamento, agncias de testes, e assim por diante. A forma
mais visvel disso so as atividades transfronteirias. A expanso no nmero de
alunos matriculados no ES fora de seu pas de cidadania desde 1975 fenomenal.
Figura 1: Crescimento de longo prazo do nmero de alunos matriculados fora de seu pas de cidadania
1
(OCDE, 2009)
1
Texto da tabela: Aumento na internacionalizao do ensino superior; Fonte: OCDE e UNESCO Instituto para
Estatstica; Dados sobre matrculas estrangeiras no mundo todo vm da OCDE e do Instituto para Estatstica
da UNESCO (UIS). UIS forneceu os dados para todos os pases entre 1975-1995 e para a maioria dos pases
parceiros entre 2000 e 2007. Ambas as fontes utilizam defnies semelhantes, logo tornando a sua combinao
possvel. Dados em falta foram imputados com os relatrios de dados mais prximos para assegurar que
quebras nos dados no resultam em quebras na srie cronolgica.
O Atlas da Mobilidade Social (2009) relata sobre a distribuio de
alunos internacionais mundialmente. Apesar da porcentagem pequena de alunos
internacionais matriculados em universidades nos EUA em relao populao
total de alunos universitrios (3,7% vem do exterior), os EUA dominam a
participao global com 20%, embora esteja em declnio. Os EUA so seguidos
pelo RU com 12% (em declnio), Frana (8%), Alemanha (8%), Austrlia (7%),
China (7%) e Canad (5%). O declnio de alunos internacionais entre os maiores
atores (EUA e RU) estimulou esses pases a revisar as suas polticas, e tentar
diversifcar os seus mercados.
Campi Satlites
Muitas universidades tambm comearam a estabelecer campi satlites
em outras partes do mundo. Campi satlites so operaes extraterritoriais
onde a unidade operada pela instituio de origem (embora possa ser um
empreendimento conjunto com uma instituio sede) e onde o aluno recebe um
diploma da instituio de origem. Em um relatrio importante para o OBHE
lanado em setembro de 2009, Becker observa que desde 2006, houve um
aumento de 43% em campi satlites internacionais, com mais pases sedes e
pases de origem envolvidos. O nmero de pases sedes tambm cresceu desde
2006, de 36 para 51 em 2009.
Entre os pases sedes, os Emirados rabes o lder (Becker 2009, p. 7),
sediando 40 campi satlites internacionais (embora Dubai esteja em queda livre
com 2 campi satlites dos EUA com problemas srios). Essas iniciativas fazem
parte da estratgia da regio rabe; para desenvolver uma economia baseada no
conhecimento, e ser um fornecedor de servios educacionais dentro da regio
rabe. Em segundo lugar a China com 15 campi.
Vale destacar um novo padro que est surgindo. Onde a capacidade do
ensino superior se constri atravs do estabelecimento de campi satlites, em casos
especfcos, essas iniciativas ento se incorporam em, e se organizam em volta de,
um novo conjunto de metforas que esto impulsionando esses desenvolvimentos,
tais como hubs, e hotspots (cf. Cingapura, Malsia, Hong Kong). Uma vez
estabelecidos e inseridos, esses hubs agem como fornecedores regionais de
servios educacionais, gerando uma nova capacidade regional no ensino superior.
Esses desenvolvimentos desafam os padres existentes de interesse geoestratgico
enquanto os novos atores regionais buscam ganhar uma vantagem competitiva
comparativa na distribuio global de mercados educacionais.
O aumento de mobilidade transfronteiria origina todos os tipos de
afrmaes pelos governos em relao ao valor do setor de ensino superior na
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exportao de ganhos. Por exemplo, dados recentes divulgados pelos governos
do Canad, o RU e Austrlia, todos apontam para nmeros igualmente marcantes.
No Canad, o Departamento de Relaes Exteriores e Comrcio Internacional
observou que os alunos internacionais geraram 83.000 empregos, C$291m
(166m) em receitas do governo, e contriburam C$6,5b (3,7b) para a economia
canadense. O ltimo nmero mais alto do que os ganhos do Canad para madeira
confera ($5b/2,8) e carvo ($6b/3,4b). Em 2007, o Conselho Britnico
estimou o valor das exportaes de ensino e treinamento para a economia do
RU em aproximadamente 28b, que mais do que as indstrias automotivas e
de servios fnanceiros. Recentemente, a NAFSA, a Associao de Educadores
Internacionais baseada nos EUA, observou que os alunos internacionais e seus
dependentes contriburam aproximadamente $17,6b (10,5b) para a economia
estadunidense no ano letivo 2008-09.
Pense-se o que se pensar sobre a veracidade desses nmeros (o que se
mede e como), e a capacidade de gerar tais anlises (em grande parte consultores),
fca claro que esses nmeros esto sendo debatidos no contexto de uma transio
ideolgica uma que permite cada vez mais a emergncia de perspectivas do
ensino superior como um condutor de mudanas econmicas versus culturais e
polticas. H uma ou duas dcadas, teria sido impossvel imaginar a medio da
educao contra sucatas plsticas, celulose qumica, e carvo.
Anglaise
A lngua inglesa, como mdio de instruo e forma dominante de
disseminao de pesquisas, tem sido uma alavanca importante no avano
de uma vantagem comparativa. Mais recentemente, uma srie de pases,
inclusive na Europa continental, os pases escandinavos, e em 2009 Japo
(onde 30 universidades iniciaram o ensino de alguns cursos em ingls),
reagiram ao desafo oferecido pelos inovadores desse campo, ao desenvolver
os seus sistemas de ensino superior em destinos mais atrativos. Os EUA, a
Austrlia, e a vantagem competitiva dos EUA esto, portanto deteriorando,
enquanto outras naes competidoras comeam a ensinar em ingls. Por
exemplo, os alunos internacionais representam em torno de 36% dos alunos
de ps-graduao em universidades francesas; muitos que so da China. O
custo relativamente baixo de vida e de taxas acadmicas, e o uso mais amplo
da lngua inglesa na Frana, fazem com que seja um destino particularmente
desejvel. Da mesma forma, os Pases Baixos, a Dinamarca e a Finlndia
tambm oferecem programas de ps-graduao em ingls para serem mais
atrativos para alunos e pessoal internacionais. O ingls tambm ganhou
mais proeminncia particular como a lngua da comunidade de pesquisa por
causa do seu papel na disseminao cientfca e a maior lngua formada da
comunidade de pesquisa. Entretanto, o uso do ingls gera grandes debates
sobre a perda de conhecimentos e culturas locais.
Alunos talentosos P & D
A competio global por alunos internacionais (que pagam taxas)
diferenciada pela competio global por alunos talentosos. esta dimenso
tambm, que diferenciou a abordagem dos EUA em relao aos alunos
internacionais comparada com a abordagem Australiana, mas isso est
mudando, nas duas direes (os EUA esto buscando alunos internacionais de
graduao e alunos internacionais talentosos de ps-graduao que pagam taxas
integrais). Depois de fcar estagnado por alguns anos, parece que o nmero de
alunos internacionais de ps-graduao est aumentando de novo. Como as
grandes universidades intensivas em pesquisa no Canad, os EUA possuem
uma vantagem particular nessa rea com grandes oramentos de P&D capazes
de atrair alunos STEM, e pacotes sufcientemente fexveis de imigrao que
permitem a continuao de muitos grandes nmeros. Como observam Douglass
e Edelstein (2009), esses alunos tm sido cruciais na possibilidade dos EUA
construirem uma fora de trabalho altamente qualifcada nessa rea. Mais
recentemente, o Canad, e Europa e a Austrlia tambm buscaram assegurar
uma parte do mercado de alunos talentosos de ps-graduao, com recursos
como pontos de imigrao e cartas de residncia, e programas organizadas
de bolsas, como o esquema de Erasmus Mundus na Europa, usado para fazer
a oferta mais atrativa. A Europa est particularmente nervosa sobre a sua
capacidade de assegurar a longo prazo uma vantagem competitiva na P&D
por causa da sua demogrfca mutvel. Embora no seja o caso dos EUA, h a
necessidade de mudar os nveis de participao no ensino superior nos EUA,
particularmente nas cincias, para que os EUA garantam o seu futuro com os
seus prprios cidados em oposio aos que vm da sia.
No prazo curto, a recesso econmica na ndia, China e Coria vai testar
a disposio ou capacidade das famlias fnanciarem os seus flhos em programas
de ps-graduao, particularmente se as bolsas e similares nos EUA diminuem
por causa de taxas fracas de juros nos investimentos. Entretanto, h um problema
mais srio no horizonte, e que a China e a regio rabe esto se posicionando
como destinos para o talento, e esto procurando recrutar os alunos talentosos
com a vantagem de bolsas generosas.
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Recrutamento de Pessoal de Nvel Mundial/Infraestruturas de
Nvel Mundial
Praticamente no existe pas no mundo que no se declara como tendo
o objetivo de desenvolver uma economia globalmente competitiva baseada no
conhecimento. Nem todos os pases esto em uma posio para realizar esta
ambio fnanceiramente (ou culturalmente ou politicamente). Alguns, no entanto,
avanaram metforas imaginativas para o desenvolvimento de infraestruturas de
nvel mundial, inclusive a Singapore Global Schoolhouse, EduCity em Qatar,
e KAUST em Arbia Saudita. Em outras palavras, a vantagem competitiva
comparativa tem sido pensar em maneiras imaginativas de como ser um hub de
educao de nvel mundial ao comprar marcas de nvel mundial, acadmicos de
nvel mundial, criar arquiteturas de nvel mundial, e no caso do investimento de
US$12 bilhes no KAUST, promover uma festa de nvel mundial para se lanar
em outubro de 2009 ao custo de US$61 milhes. uma iniciativa altamente
controversa na Arbia Saudita, sobretudo porque oferece uma educao
universitria a alunos brilhantes recrutados do mundo inteiro sob um conjunto
de condies que no refete a cultura maior. A co-educao, por exemplo, tem
sido considerado por clrigos conservadores como uma contaminao ocidental.
Inovaes no Currculo e na Governana
Vale destacar dois breves exemplos aqui. Primeiro, o Processo de
Bolonha que se estabeleceu em toda a Europa inclui no momento 46 pases, mais
de 16 milhes de alunos. A criao de uma rea do Ensino Superior Europeu
foi avanada para tornar a Europa uma regio mais competitiva atravs do
desenvolvimento de uma arquitetura de diplomas em comum. Isso permitiria uma
mobilidade maior de empregos em toda a Europa, ao mesmo tempo derrubando
prticas nacionais existentes que eram consideradas inefcientes (diplomas de 5
anos, por exemplo, na Alemanha).
To bem sucedida e signifcativa se tornou essa inovao que outras
naes e suas regies tambm consideraram o desenvolvimento de uma estratgia
regional prpria para criar um setor de ensino superior mais competitivo. Por
exemplo, aqui no Brasil, trs novas universidades foram lanadas para promover
a integrao regional e inter-regionalismo. Do mesmo modo, na Amrica Latina, a
regio ALBA est se desenvolvendo baseada no projeto poltico de Simon Bolvar.
Ainda no est clara a forma que esto tomando, exceto nos casos da Amrica
Latina, em que a vantagem promovida ser visto como anti-Ocidental, anti-EUA,
anti-competitivo, e anti-neoliberal.
LGICA 3: COMPARAO COMPETITIVA
A competitividade da Lgica 3 funciona de maneira bem diferente. Ao
perguntar: o que fez bem essa unidade em relao outra, se assume que um contnuo
pode ser desenvolvido com rtulos em cada ponta registrando uma localizao em
um telos de desenvolvimento. Colocar unidades em um ordenamento hierrquico
nesse eixo, para poder fazer uma comparao entre unidades, aloca identidades
sociais (classe mundial, 5*). Esse ato leva a registros de diferenas, tais como
desenvolvido/subdesenvolvido, superior/inferior. Aqueles que fazem a avaliao,
ou oferecem os seus servios para determinar o nosso progresso, tm o poder de
estabelecer e re-estabelecer as regras do jogo sufcientemente para garantir um
estmulo ao. Esta uma economia moral e de status, cujo poder simblico a
elevao para um espao perto de deus, ou a humilhao das terras das sombras.
O trabalho de James Ferguson (2006) sobre como essas duas hierarquias, de
desenvolvimento desdobrado (modernizao) e com um ranking em um contnuo
para que uma hierarquia possa determinar a nossa posio na ordem mundial
(em desenvolvimento, em transio, desenvolvido) instrutivo para os nossos
propsitos, j que processos semelhantes esto em movimento. Como observa
Com o mundo entendido como uma coleo de sociedades
nacionais, desigualdades globais podem ser entendidas
como resultado do fato de que algumas naes eram
mais avanadas que outras em um caminho para uma
modernidade unitria. Dessa maneira, a narrativa do
desenvolvimento mapeou a histria contra a hierarquia,
o tempo do desenvolvimento contra o status econmico
poltico. ...se as naes atrasadas no eram modernas, nesse
quadro, era porque no eram modernas ainda... O efeito dessa
narrativa poderosa era transformar uma hierarquia global
espacializada em uma sequncia histrica temporalizada.
Podemos ver padres semelhantes em jogo aqui. As universidades
devem entregar o KBE. Cada uma est em um estgio diferente de fazer isso,
dependendo do seu status imaginado como motores econmicos (medidos por
P&D, patentes, citaes, alunos internacionais, e assim por diante). Isso refora
a trajetria de desenvolvimento, e insere os seus mecanismos disciplinares nela,
como veremos com como as ferramentas de avaliao so usadas.
A KAM
Um exemplo poderoso da maneira em que os ndices, gerados de uma
sria de indicadores e outros ndices, so usados para alocar uma identidade como
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resultado de comparao, que, por sua vez, estimula atividades na direo de um
futuro imaginado a KAM. A KAM (sigla em ingls, Metodologia de Avaliao
de Conhecimento) do Banco Mundial um instrumento poderoso desenvolvido
para realizar uma economia baseada no conhecimento. A KAM uma ferramenta
interativa, diagnstica e de aferimento que fornece uma avaliao preliminar da
prontido para uma economia do conhecimento dos pases e regies (World Bank
2007). O programa de indicadores do World Bank se baseia em quatro pilares:
- 1.Um regime econmico e institucional que fornece incentivos
para o uso efciente do conhecimento existente e novo e a prosperidade do
empreendedorismo.
- 2. Uma populao educada e qualifcada que pode criar, compartilhar,
e usar bem o conhecimento.
- 3. Um sistema de inovao efciente de frmas, centros de pesquisa,
universidades, grupos de refexo, consultores, e outras organizaes que podem
explorar a reserva crescente de conhecimento global, assimil-la e adapt-la para
necessidades locais, e criar tecnologias novas.
- 4. Tecnologias de Informao e Comunicao (TIC) que podem facilitar
a comunicao, disseminao e processamento efcaz de informaes.
A KAM permite que os pases do mundo inteiro se avaliem em relao
aos vizinhos, competidores, ou outros pases com os quais desejam aprender
referente a um dos quatro pilares da economia do conhecimento. , portanto,
uma ferramenta visando a promoo de aprendizagem entre pases em
desenvolvimento e desenvolvidos sobre os elementos que constituem a verso
do World Bank de uma economia do conhecimento.
A KAM atualmente consiste em 81 variveis estruturais e qualitativas
para que 132 pases meam o seu desempenho nos quatro pilares da Economia
do Conhecimento (EC): Incentivo Econmico e Regime Institucional, Educao,
Inovao, e Tecnologias de Informao e Comunicao. As variveis so
normalizadas em uma escala de zero a dez, relativo a outros pases no grupo
de comparao. A KAM tambm deriva o ndice Global de Economia do
Conhecimento (IEC) e o ndice do Conhecimento (IC) de um pas baseado na
agregao de 14 variveis fundamentais. No corao dessa verso da economia
do conhecimento a ideia que o conhecimento possui valor econmico e
constitui a base de uma economia de servios.
Uma Viso Geral da Educao
Uma Viso Geral da Educao uma representao estatstica do ensino
superior no mundo todo pela OCDE. Produzida pela primeira vez em 2000, a
OCDE colecionou cada vez mais materiais sobre o setor, e utiliza as representaes
e comparaes implcitas para permitir que os pases aprendam sobre o seu
sistema e seu desempenho em relao a outros sistemas. O problema com esse
tipo de representao, no entanto, que, como observa Adelman (2009) no seu
trabalho recente sobre Os Espaos Entre Nmeros: Entendendo Bem os Dados
sobre Ensino Superior (The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting International
Data on Higher Education Straight), usando as taxas de formao nos EUA
para frisar esse aspecto, ele mostra como o relatrio da OCDE pressupe que as
universidades nos EUA so as nicas que produzem egressos de ensino superior.
Consequentemente, os nmeros so representados como poucos em comparao
a outros pases da OCDE. Isso, claro, alimenta uma mentalidade de crise nos
EUA. Ele tambm observa: os indicadores so medidas para a realizao dos
desafos de variabilidade em qualquer comparao de inputs multinacionais:
da complexidade, procuram contar uma histria em comum. Eles encontram
maneiras de conciliar sistemas completamente diferentes de contabilidade,
defnies culturais, pontos de referncias tradicionais nacionais, idiossincrasias
de instituies, e diferenas de comportamento atravs de modelos comuns
(Adelman 2009, p. 36).
Garantia da Qualidade
Os mecanismos da garantia da qualidade so direcionados a ensino, pesquisa
e gesto institucional. Em relao pesquisa, os governos tm se tornado cada
vez mais interessados no output da pesquisa e o desenvolvimento de medidas de
qualidade. Usarei o RU como exemplo aqui porque o que conheo melhor. O foco
principal do empreendimento de pesquisa no RU como consider-la como uma
parte do output da pesquisa mundial, e como determinar a base subjacente daquilo
que contado, para lanar uma luz favorvel sobre o RU e as suas instituies
globais. O Exerccio da Avaliao de Pesquisa (EAP) sobre o RU j foi copiado
em vrios pases. Alm do fato no insignifcante de que o EAP consumiu grandes
quantidades de energia de pessoal e fnanas, e modelou o recrutamento de pessoal
e seu trabalho acadmico em maneiras muito signifcativas, tambm privilegiou a
ideia de internacional no que conta como pesquisa de qualidade. Isso signifca
que os portais de publicaes que no podem facilmente reivindicar o rtulo de
internacional, ou reputaes institucionais e individuais que foram estabelecidas
localmente e nacionalmente, no so premiadas da mesma forma.
No RU, o EAP tambm aprofundou as divises dentro e entre os
diferentes tipos de fornecedores de ensino superior em relao ao ensino
e pesquisa atravs do estabelecimento das Tabelas de Liga baseadas
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no EAP. Aqui a mdia global e outros interesses das editoras tm sido
cada vez mais ativos no desenvolvimento de tecnologias que fornecem
dados de citao que podem, por sua vez, ser comparados (tais como os
5 maiores destaques em 2009). A emergncia do REF no RU trar uma
dimenso completamente nova para o debate da qualidade da pesquisa.
Embora ainda esteja experimental, o foco no impacto da pesquisa
particularmente nos crculos da indstria e das polticas, so considerados
indicadores cruciais.
Rankings das Universidades no Mundo
Desde 2003, as tabelas globais de liga, tais como o Shanghai Jiao Tong,
QS, e o recentemente atualizado Times Higher, tm fornecido aos dirigentes
polticos e universidades uma nova lngua e conjunto de ferramentas para
avanar a ideia de uma universidade global. Como se sabe, o Shanghai Jiao
Tong privilegia uma forma particular de conhecimento e como divulgado;
isso inclui disciplinas como cincia, matemtica e tecnologia, os recipientes do
Prmio Nobel, a presena de alunos internacionais, e citaes.
Existe uma preocupao considervel sobre o uso do Shanghai Jio Tong
j que privilegia signifcativamente as universidades dos EUA com apenas 2
universidades do RU no top 10 (Oxford e Cambridge) em 2008. Contudo, os
governos e instituies individuais vm usando essas tecnologias de ranking
para avanar os seus prprios projetos e interesses; tais como a mobilizao de
fomento, a fbrica das marcas das suas instituies, departamentos e estrelas de
desempenho, como medidas de marketing, recrutamento de pessoal e alunos,
disciplina de pessoal, e assim por diante. Por exemplo, o RU anunciou que em
2007-2008, possui 12% das citaes cientfcas (BIS 2009).
CORPORATIZAO, COMPETITIVIDADE COMPARATIVA E
COMPARAO COMPETITIVA TRS LGICAS EM JOGO
Argumentei que essas trs lgicas se reforam mutuamente na criao
de economias, instituies e indivduos competitivos. A sua epistemologia de trs
vertentes envolve (i) a criao de uma infraestrutura e orientao organizacional que
emula o setor privado, de (ii) a garantia de uma vantagem atravs do uso inovador de
inteligncia territorial, capacidades materiais e novas formas de institucionalizao,
e (iii) a utilizao da comparao como uma ferramenta para a matrcula de um
sujeito de outro modo ignorante ou relutante no projeto de progresso econmico e
social d poder a esses ferramentas por causa do seu alcance.
Modelo de desenvolvimento de ensino superior
2
Essas lgicas esto mudando as instituies de ensino superior; no
apenas um lugar para a formao de capital humano, mas um negcio, melhor
organizado usando os valores e princpios disciplinares de competitividade e
progresso. Juntos, esses dois planos oferecem uma gama limitada de identidades
sociais para as instituies. A sua economia moral punitiva tal que, enquanto a
diferena se torna a base sob o qual as identidades sociais so alocadas, h pouco
espao para diversidade.
A sua trajetria de desenvolvimento, de progresso que se afasta de uma
instituio relativamente autnoma, cujas relaes sociais so decomodifcadas,
para uma em que o valor do conhecimento est na forma de comodidades
dentro de uma economia do conhecimento, destaca no apenas a restrio
do conhecimento que conta como conhecimento economicamente valioso e
comercivel, mas a marcao do conhecimento produzido.
Diante de questes globais de sustentabilidade, e a sustentabilidade do
modelo baseado na matrcula de alunos internacionais (no sustentveis) e uma
economia motivada por patentes, est na hora de apelar para um novo contrato
social no ensino superior. A educao deve ser vista como um bem social.
2
Industrial Economy: Economia Industrial; Knowledge Based Economy: Economia Baseada no Conhecimento;
History: Histria; Position: Posio
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CINCO DESAFIOS
1. Acesso e ensino superior como um bem posicional
Atualmente, o ensino superior promovido como uma forma de mobilidade
social, e como medida de garantir um retorno do investimento em taxas acadmicas.
Entretanto, est cada vez mais claro que os retornos esto comeando a diminuir na
medida em que mais alunos acessam o ensino superior. A natureza do bem posicional
de um ensino superior, portanto, est cada vez mais dependente do tipo de universidade,
e a natureza da disciplina estudada. , portanto importante perguntar: quem est
acessando, e acesso a que. No RU, por exemplo, a lacuna entre crianas de origens
mais pobres versus as de origens mais ricas que acessam o ensino superior aumento
ao invs de diminuir entre 1970 e 2000. Archer (2003) relata que pessoas jovens de
origens mais humildes acreditam com frmeza que as recompensas econmicas que
poderiam garantir com o ensino superior dependiam da instituio que atendia, e
acreditavam que no conseguiriam entrar em uma boa o sufciente. Mais que isso, em
um relatrio ao governo, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2007) apontam que as profsses
de status elevado, tais como medicina, direito e odontologia (todas ligadas a instituies
de status elevado e acessadas pelas classes mdias e altas), retornam um prmio muito
alto que distorce a mdia. Os homens da classe trabalhadora que acessam cursos nas
Artes, por exemplo, provavelmente vo ganhar valores negativos em relao ao seu
investimento. J podemos ver que os argumentos de ensino superior/participao/
mobilidade social esto perdendo resistncia entre as classes sociais que corretamente
fzeram o julgamento que o ensino superior um investimento economicamente fraco,
dada a ligao entre classe social/instituies de status/mercado de trabalho/salrios.
A outra face da moeda o aumento da concorrncia por empregos com um excesso
de egressos. Isso gera questes sobre a seleo, assim como leva a novas formas de
fechamento profssional. Um desafo importante aqui ser como as universidades vo
lidar com a conscientizao crescente que o ensino superior pode no ser um bom
investimento econmico. A minha prpria perspectiva que as universidades devem
promover os aspectos sociais, polticos e intelectuais do ensino superior. Isto , o
ensino superior faz parte de uma trajetria de aprendizagem que possui valor prprio,
e no apenas econmico.
2. Pedagogia e a industrializao da aprendizagem
As universidades ampliaram as suas admisses em todo o espectro de
qualifcaes (de graduao para ps-doutoral). O Processo de Bolonha, por
exemplo, procurou reduzir as diferenas entre os pases e as instituies na Europa
no ciclo de estudos, para que haja fexibilidade de movimento para alunos em toda a
Europa, e atritos reduzidos no movimento de alunos pelo sistema (Robertson 2006).
A ampliao no nmero de vagas no ensino superior foi possibilitada
pelo aumento de alunos locais e internacionais, com os segundos em grande
parte pagando uma taxa alta, e cada vez mais se espera que os alunos locais
contribuam para o seu ensino superior. Isso criou um relacionamento diferente
entre os alunos e a instituio; um baseado no cliente fundamentado por
argumentos como escolha, valor pelo dinheiro, e assim por diante. Entretanto, ao
mesmo tempo, as universidades tm grandes expectativas dos seus acadmicos
em relao a contribuies a perfs de pesquisa e outputs. Um desafo principal
aqui para as universidades garantir que os alunos vivenciem uma experincia
de aprendizagem estimuladora e de alta qualidade, no porque so clientes mas
porque representam uma oportunidade crtica para criar a nova prxima gerao
de cidados cujas solues para problemas sero decisivas.
3. Novas geografas setorais e institucionais de universidades
Existe uma presso considervel sobre as universidades para engajar
na regionalizao e globalizao de projetos do ensino superior como solues
para problemas (questes de governana interna; questes de sustentabilidade;
desafos globais; marketing e fbrica de marcas) enquanto garante relevncia
local, administra acusaes de imperialismo, e a valorizao do interesse
regional e global em vez do interesse nacional. H vrios desafos importantes
para as universidades. Um que as oportunidades atuais para desenvolver campi
satlites e outros relacionamentos podem ser rapidamente retiradas, dependendo
das mudanas do governo, novos regimes de tributao, a regulamentao de
ms prticas, e assim por diante.
Est comeando tambm um movimento claro de alunos do Ocidente para
o Oriente que vai gerar consequncias fnanceiras importantes, mas tambm vo
ter efeitos diretos e indiretos de longo prazo sobre o mercado global acadmico
e o maior mercado de trabalho.
Quando as implicaes da demografa mutvel da China (em 2011, o efeito
de longo prazo da poltica de uma criana na China vai resultar em um declnio no
nmero total de pessoas com 18 anos), junto com as da Europa de forma mais geral
(desde 2014, h um declnio no nmero de pessoas com 18 anos) se concretizam,
as universidades tero que encarar uma populao estudantil potencialmente
em declnio nos nveis nacionais, na UE, e nos nveis dos importantes pases
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de origem. De novo, isso vai representar questes importantes de viabilidade
fnanceira no longo prazo para as IES, particularmente aquelas dependentes em
alunos internacionais. Campi satlites inseridos em hubs educacionais, como
aqueles em desenvolvimento no Oriente Mdio (cinco hubs), so previstos para
fornecer uma educao na regio ao invs dos alunos tendo que assumir o peso
dos custos de vida, assim como os custos de educao. Isso vai reduzir os
retornos fnanceiros dos pases dependentes nessas populaes.
4. O aumento de frmas com fns lucrativos em todos os aspectos de
governana de ensino superior
Vem crescendo muito rapidamente o papel do setor com fns lucrativos
(transnacional) na entrega de componentes de proviso de ensino superior. Isso
levanta questes importantes sobre a qualidade e a prestao de contas. Nos
EUA, frmas com fns lucrativos so o componente de crescimento mais rpido
do ensino superior, com uma parte de aproximadamente 10% da populao total
de alunos matriculados no ensino superior e uma taxa de crescimento de 200%
por ano. Essas frmas com fns lucrativos benefciaram da expanso no acesso
ao ensino superior, e da habilidade dos alunos de usar emprstimos estudantis
federais para pagar as taxas. Entretanto, atualmente, algumas das frmas com fns
lucrativos esto sob investigao por causa das suas tticas de venda de alta
presso para alunos que provavelmente no vo estar na posio de assegurar
empregos que pagam o sufciente para quitar os seus emprstimos.
As frmas com fns lucrativos tambm comearam a evitar as negociaes
de comrcio estabelecidas sob a WTO, e buscaram avanar os seus interesses
atravs de parcerias estratgicas em ambientes nacionais e atravs de reivindicaes
regulamentares a rgos importantes dentro desses ambientes nacionais. Em 2007, o
Conselho Privy premiou BPP Holdings (BPP), o principal provedor da Europa com
poderes de outorgar diplomas de educao profssional. Esta a primeira empresa
com fns lucrativos do setor privado que recebeu tais poderes. Est claro, entretanto,
os quadros regulamentares no setor de ensino superior no esto acompanhando
as mudanas rpidas que esto acontecendo, deixando muitos desenvolvimentos
passarem despercebidos e sem responsabilizao. Como resultado, as questes
que cercam esses desenvolvimentos tambm no so muito bem entendidas ou
debatidas sufcientemente. O crescimento do setor com fns lucrativos apresenta
uma ameaa ou uma oportunidade para as universidades fnanciadas pelo setor
pblico, particularmente se essas frmas esto buscando os seus prprios poderes
de outorgar diplomas, ou se as parcerias fraquejam enquanto os atuais mercados
lucrativos se tornam menos competitivos? As polticas recentes do governo arriscam
a intensifcao de uma tendncia que no bem entendida e bem regulada?
5. Mudando o papel do intelectual pblico e a comercializao de
ideias e conhecimento
Finalmente, como que a comercializao e a comodifcao do
conhecimento dentro da universidade muda a natureza do conhecimento
produzido, e o papel do intelectual pblico nisso? A gama de conhecimentos sendo
fomentada e disseminada se torna limitada por aquilo que possui valor comercial de
potencial imediato, e esse tipo de trajetria tende a focar em resultados facilmente
evidenciados, em oposio a conhecimentos de fundamentos que podem requer
um fomento considervel antes de ter evidncias de qualquer retorno, fnanceiro
ou outro. Quem valorizado na universidade como produtor de conhecimento, e
como so satisfeitas as dimenses sociais e polticas da produo de conhecimento
crtico na abordagem do conhecimento altamente orientada para comrcio? No
momento, existe um grande romance do Silicon Valley, um modelo dos capitais de
risco do relacionamento entre a universidade e a economia regional. Esse modelo
foi assumido e circula pelo mundo. Entretanto, est claro que essa abordagem
conduzida por IPs se baseia em evidncias altamente suspeitas, mas tambm
distorce a misso global da universidade.
CONCLUSES (VIA PERGUNTAS FORTES QUE NECESSITAM
DE RESPOSTAS FORTES)
Santos (2010) recentemente argumentou que o que a universidade moderna
enfrenta, e com certeza coloca a universidade moderna em uma encruzilhada,
a sua tendncia de responder perguntas fortes com respostas fracas. Respostas
fracas so respostas tcnicas. So respostas que focam o problema como se fosse
desligado do fenmeno social e poltico maior. Respostas para perguntas fortes,
como as colocadas antes, devem possuir uma conscientizao forte do contexto,
mas tambm possuir uma teoria forte sobre aquele contexto. Respostas fortes no
apenas veem a importncia, e a enormidade da tarefa em questo, mas tambm
veem que a nossa responsabilidade mapear, fazer sentido de, e avanar uma
agenda que procura mudar o atual estado das coisas. At certo ponto, isso tambm
signifca colocar perguntas que podem oferecer novas maneiras de conceber o
papel da universidade na vida moderna. Quais poderiam ser os indicadores que
registrariam uma maneira diferente de operar sobre, e agir no mundo. Deixo com
449
vocs, portanto, uma srie de perguntas que poderamos usar para avanar uma
agenda diferente para a universidade moderna. um desafo, mas espero que
vocs concordem que crtico.
- Podemos (como?) reconstruir as misses das nossas universidades (no atual
ambiente) para incluir fns sociais, polticos e no apenas econmicos (restritos)?
- possvel ter uma forma progressiva de competio? Como seria se fosse
traduzida nos tipos de ferramentas que usamos para avaliar as nossas atividades?
- O que podemos aprender com os outros (comparao) que nos permite
rejeitar a natureza restrita dos modelos atuais em oferta?
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SOBRE OS AUTORES
C
ursou Licenciatura em Pedagogia e Especializao em Psicopedagogia
na Faculdade de Filosofa Cincias e Letras Imaculada Conceio;
Mestrado em Educao Brasileira na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria e
Doutora em Educao pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Professor
Adjunto na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, atuando no Centro de
Educao, Departamento de Fundamentos da Educao, credenciada para atuar
no Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao na Linha de Pesquisa: Formao,
Saberes e Desenvolvimento Profssional. Em sua trajetria, alm de desenvolver
a docncia, pesquisa e gesto, foi responsvel pelo design e implantao de
projetos institucionais, de cursos de graduao e ps-graduao, coordenando
a construo de redes de formao, presenciais e virtuais, com relevncia
formao de professores e Pedagogia Universitria. Lidera desde 2002, o Ksmos
- Laboratrio de multimdias Integradas e Ambientes virtuais de Formao -
CNPq e o Grupo Educao, qualidade de vida e desenvolvimento social - CNPq;
Participa do Grupo de Pesquisa Trajetrias de Formao/GTFORMA - CNPq e
do Grupo de Pesquisa Formao de Professores e Prticas Educativas: Ensino
Bsico e Superior/GPFOPE - CNPq. Em seus estudos, prioriza as seguintes
temticas: Pedagogia Universitria e inovao; ambientes virtuais de ensino-
aprendizagem livres; redes de formao; desenvolvimento profssional docente;
docncia e gesto na Educao Profssional, Tecnolgica e Superior; Ensino e
aprendizagem na Educao Profssional, Tecnolgica e Superior.
P
ossui graduao em Pedagogia pela UFRGS (1989) e doutorado
em Psicologia Evolutiva e da Educao - Universidad de Barcelona
(1996). Ps-doutorado no College of Education, The Univesity of Texas at Austin,
EUA. professora e coordenadora do Grupo de Pesquisa Processos Motivacionais
em Contextos Educativos" da FACED/PUCRS. Coordenadora do Curso
de Especializao em Psicopedagogia e Bolsista de Produtividade em Pesquisa
- PQ/CNPq. Tem experincia na rea de Psicologia Educativa, com nfase nos
processos de ensino e aprendizagem, atuando principalmente nos seguintes
temas: informtica educativa, formao de professores, processos motivacionais,
mal-estar e bem-estar docente.
453

PhD e Doutora em Educao pela Universidade do Minho, Portugal.
C. Sousa Professora Coordenadora da Universidade do Algarve,
onde desempenha as funes de Directora da Escola Superior de Educao e
Comunicao desde 21 de Dezembro de 2009, actuando como Directora - por
Portugal - do Programa Mster & Doctorado Internacional La educacin en la
Sociedad Intercultural (mestrado e doutoramento conjunto Universidade do
Algarve/Universidade de Huelva, Curso com Meno Honrosa de Alta Qualidade
- ANECA), bem como directora do Mestrado de Educao Pr - Escolar da
Universidade do Algarve, onde integra, como Docente o Departamento de Cincias
Sociais e da Educao. Endereo: Campus da Penha 8005 139, Faro, Portugal.
D
outora em Educao pela Pontifcia Universidade Catlica da So
Paulo, professora do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao
da mesma universidade e pesquisadora da Fundao Carlos Chagas, onde
coordenada o Centro Internacional de Estudos em Representaes Sociais
e Subjetividade. atualmente coordenadora da rea de educao na CAPES.
Publicaes recentes: em coautoria com VILLAS-BOAS, Lcia, Representaes
sociais sobre o trabalho docente (Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro, 2009),
Avaliao do rendimento escolar (Campinas: Papirus, 2008). Como produto
de convnio entre diferentes universidades nacionais e europeias, uma
das organizadoras de Educao e trabalho: representaes, competncias e
trajectrias (Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro, 2007). Pesquisa em andamento:
Representaes sociais de estudantes universitrios (pedagogia e licenciatura)
sobre o trabalho do professor, fnanciado pela Fundao Carlos Chagas e pela
Fondation Maison des Sciences de lHomme.
P
ossui graduao em Pedagogia pela UCPel (1973) e doutorado em
Educao pela UFRGS (1999). Atualmente professora adjunta da
Faculdade de Educao da PUCRS. Exerce atividades de docncia e pesquisa
junto ao PPGEdu /PUCRS. Coordena a Linha de Pesquisa II FORMAO,
POLTICAS E PRTICAS EM EDUCAO. Integra o Colegiado do Curso de
Ps-Graduao como representante da LPII. Professora associada em pesquisas
interinstitucionais, atualmente coordena o grupo interinstitucional da pesquisa:
A constituio do campo de saberes do professor em formao: o desafo da
articulao teoria-prtica e as tenses do campo da formao e do campo
profssional. lder do grupo interinstitucional de pesquisa Gupo de pesquisa
CNPq; Formao de Professores, licenciaturas e prticas pedaggicas- PUCRS/
UNISINOS/UFPEL/UNIPLAC/UFSM. Integra a equipe do Projeto PRONEX/
FAPERGS/CNPq/PUC/UFSM/UNISINOS/UFRGS e o Projeto Observatrio
da Educao CAPES/PUC/UFRGS/UFSM/UNISINOS coordenados pela Prof.
Dr. Marlia Costa Morosini da PUCRS. integrante do Centro de Estudos de
Educao Superior - CEES da Faculdade de Educao da PUCRS. Integrou o
Colegiado do GT 4 de Didtica da ANPED 2007-2009. Foi membro do Comit
de Educao da Latin American Studies Association (LASA) 2007-2009. Integra
a Red sobre professorado principiante de la Universidad de Sevilha, Espanha.
professora colaboradora da Asociacin Argentina de Profesores de Portugus do
Instituto de Ensenanza Superior em Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramn Fernndez na
discusso da Formao de Professores site http://portugueslv.webnode.com/
colaboradores. Coordena na PUCRS o projeto de pesquisa sobre Desenvolvimento
de Aprendizagens Complexas no Projeto INNOVA CESAL do Progama ALFA III
entre Universidades Latino-americanas e a Unio Europia. A rea de pesquisa
envolve as temticas de formao inicial e continuada de professores, ensino
superior, profssionalizao docente e pedagogia universitria. Fez estgio
ps-doutoral em Planejamento e Avaliao Educacional com Bolsa CAPES na
Universidade do Porto - Portugal sob a orientao da Prof. Dr. Carlinda Leite.
Denise Balarine Cavalheiro Leite
P
ossui mestrado em Educao e Doutorado em Cincias Humanas
pelo Programa de Ps-Graduaao em Educao da Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Concluiu estgio Ps-Doutoral no Centro de
Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra e estgios de aperfeioamento na
Universidade de Exeter e Universidade de Edinburgh, UK. Atualmente Docente
Permanente Convidada, credenciada, Professor Titular Aposentado da UFRGS
e Consultora ad hoc de agncias nacionais e internacionais de investigao.
Desenvolve atividades de avaliador internacional de cursos e programas e como
membro convidado de grupos internacionais de pesquisa. Publicou vrios artigos
em peridicos especializados, nacionais e internacionais, livros e captulos de
livros. Em suas atividades profssionais interage com muitos colaboradores em
co-autorias de trabalhos cientfcos. Atua na rea de Educao. Em seu currculo
os termos mais freqentes na contextualizao da produo cientfca, tecnolgica
e artstico-cultural so: Universidade e Educao Superior, Inovao, Avaliao
Institucional e de Sistemas, Tecnologias da Informao, Avaliao Participativa
e Pedagogia Universitria.
455
P
rofessora na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, atua no
Programa de Ps-graduao em Educao, Mestrado e Doutorado.
pesquisadora Produtividade do CNPq. Lder do Grupo de Pesquisa Formao de
professores e Prticas Educativas: educao bsica e superior-GPFOPE e vice-
lder do Grupo de Pesquisa Trajetria de Formao-GTFORMA. Membro da
Rede Sulbrasileira de Investigadores de Educao Superior-RIES
Elizabeth Macedo
D
outora em educao pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas
(UNICAMP), professora do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao
da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) e coordenadora adjunta da rea
de educao na CAPES. Publicaes recentes: em coautoria com LOPES, Alice
Casimiro. Polticas de currculo em seus mltiplos contextos (So Paulo: Cortez, 2006)
e Polticas de currculo no Brasil e em Portugal (Porto: Profedies, 2008). Como
produto de convnio CAPES/FCT, organizou Polticas curriculares e dinmicas
educativas no Brasil e em Portugal (Porto: LIVPSIC, 2008). Pesquisa em andamento:
Currculo de cincias: uma abordagem cultural, fnanciado pelo Conselho Nacional
de Desenvolvimento Cientfco e Tecnolgico (CNPq) e pela Fundao de Amparo
Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ).
P
rofessora do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Administrao da Faculdade
de Administrao, Contabilidade e Economia da Pontifcia Universidade
Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul (PPGAd/FACE/PUCRS) e Coordenadora de Gesto
da Pr-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Ps-Graduao da PUCRS. Concluiu o doutorado
em Administrao pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul em 2004 e o
Mestrado pela mesma Instituio em 2000. Foi Visitant Researcher no departamento
de Information and Decision Sciences da University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
entre janeiro e maro de 2009. Atua na rea de Administrao com foco em Gesto
de Tecnologia da Informao, e seus interesses de pesquisa envolvem Gesto de
TI, Governana de TI e Segurana da Informao. Lidera o grupo de pesquisas em
Gesto e Governana de Tecnologia da Informao.
Gloria Patricia Marciales Vivas
P
sicloga de la Facultad de Psicologa de la Pontifcia Universidad
Javeriana, Magster en Educacin de la misma universidad, y
Doctora en Filosofa y Ciencias de la Educacin, Universidad Complutense
de Madrid. Actualmente es profesora Titular de la Facultad de Psicologa de
la Universidad Javeriana. Ha participado em el desarrollo de programas de
formacin avanzada como el Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales y Humanas
de la Universidad Javeriana y la Maestra en Psicologa Social de la misma
Universidad; actualmente forma parte del Comit Curricular Del Doctorado en
Ciencias Sociales y Humanas. Lidera el Grupo de Investigacin Aprendizaje y
Sociedad de la Informacin y es Co-lder del Grupo de Investigacin MIMESIS.
Cuenta con publicaciones en libros y revistas indexadas sobre aprendizaje y
competencias informacionales em jvenes. Ha participado como ponente en
congresos internacionales sobre aprendizaje, tecnologas y educacin.
P
ossui graduao em Pedagogia pela Pontifcia Universidade
Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul (1968), mestrado em Administrao
da Educaao - Temple University (1972) e doutorado em Educao pela
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1984). Coordenadora PPGEdu
PUCRS (1972-1977). Vice-Diretora FACED/UFRGS (1981-1984). Membro
Comit Assessor Edu CNPq (1987-1988). Foi uma das fundadoras do Grupo
de Estudos sobre Universidade em 1988, hoje rede GEU. professora titular da
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, coordenadora do Grupo de Estudos
sobre Universidade Inovao e Pesquisa GEUIpesq, pesquisadora- membro da
Associao Nacional de Poltica e Administrao da Educao, consultora ad hoc
da Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, membro
do conselho editorial-ed brasileira do Conselho de Reitores das Universidades
Brasileiras,fundadora e membro do conselho editorial da Rede Sul Brasileira
de Investigadores de Educao Superior- RIES e membro de grupo de pesquisa
da Associao Nacional de Ps-Graduao e Pesquisa em Educao. Tem
experincia na rea de Educao, com nfase em Poltica e Administrao da
Educao, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: educacao superior,
administrao da educao, universidade, pesquisa e ensino superior.
P
ossui graduao em Cincias Sociais (1968) e Pedagogia (1974)
pela Universidade Catlica de Pelotas (1968), mestrado em
Educao pela Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul
(1979) e doutorado em Educao pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas
(1988). professora aposentada da Faculdade de Educao da Universidade
Federal de Pelotas (RS) onde foi Pr-Reitora de Graduao (1989-1992) e
457
Coordenadora do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao. Atuou por 15
anos como supervisora pedaggica da Escola Tcnica Federal de Pelotas.
Atualmente docente titular do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao
da Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (RS). Fez parte da Comisso de
Avaliao da rea de Educao da CAPES entre 1999 e 2005. Constituiu a
Comisso que props o SINAES e fez parte da CONAES. Atualmente integra
o CA Educao do CNPq.Tem experincia na rea de Educao, com nfase
em Educao Superior, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: formao
de professores, pedagogia universitria e avaliao institucional.
P
ossui licenciatura e bacharelado em Cincias Sociais (1970),
mestrado em Sociologia Educacional (1975) e doutorado em
Educao pela UFRGS (1990) e ps-doutorado no LILLAS/Universidade
do Texas (2002/2003). coordenadora do CEES - Centro de Estudos em
Educao Superior - PUCRS; da rede UNIVERSITAS (http://pucrs.br/faced/
pos/universitas - ligada ao GT Poltica de Educao Superior/ANPED)
e da RIES (Rede Sulbrasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior) -
Ncleo de Excelncia em C, T&I, CNPq/ FAPERGS/PRONEX; Coord. do
Observatrio de Educao Indicadores de Qualidade do Ensino Superior
(CAPES/INEP) e Coord. do programa conjunto de pesquisa CAPES/
UTEXAS; Qualidade na Educao Superior. Coord. do Comit Assessor
da Cooperao Internacional FAPERGS. Membro da EAIR (European
Association of Institutional Research). Membro do RISEU (Rede de
Investigadores da Educao Superior Mxico) Membro da AAIR (American
Association of Institutional Research). Membro representante da rea de
Cincias Humanas da CTAA/ INEP/ MEC; bolsista produtividade 1C do
CNPq. Participa de projetos nacionais INEP e internacionais IAU/UNESCO/
CAPES/UTexas; CPLP: INNOVACESAL(UE). professora aposentada da
UFRGS. Atualmente professora e diretora da Faculdade de Educao da
PUCRS e docente no Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao. Sua produo
atual est voltada a estados de conhecimento destacando-se a Enciclopdia
de Pedagogia Universitria, o Glossrio de Pedagogia Universitria (700
p.) e o projeto da Enciclopdia Internacional de Educao Superior para
os Pases de Lngua Portuguesa. Tem experincia na rea de Fundamentos
da Educao, atuando em: educao superior, ensino superior, formao de
professores, internacionalizao da Educao Superior, Mercosul e estados
de conhecimento (apoiada em banco de dados).
Miriam Aparecida Graciano de Souza Pan
P
ossui graduao em Psicologia e Fonoaudiologia pela Pontifcia
Universidade Catlica do Paran (1980, 1985) e especializao em
Educao Especial pela mesma universidade. Mestrado e Doutorado em Letras,
com rea de concentrao em estudos lingsticos, pela Universidade Federal do
Paran (1995, 2003), com pesquisa em letramento na defcincia mental (mestrado)
e prticas de letramento e a produo subjetiva da normalidade/anormalidade
nas instituies de ensino (doutorado). Atualmente professora visitante da
Universidade do Texas, onde realiza seu ps-doutorado, e professor adjunto da
Universidade Federal do Paran, onde coordena o Ncleo de Psicologia, Educao
e Trabalho - NUPET. Tem experincia na rea de Educao e Sade, atuando nos
seguintes temas: psicologia escolar e educacional; educao especial; educao
inclusiva; psicologia da sade, infncia, subjetividade, prticas de letramento e
instituies contemporneas. Orienta seus estudos a partir da flosofa da linguagem,
teorias discursivas, teoria crtica da cultura, psicologia histrico-cultural e esttica
literria. Lder do Grupo de pesquisa Psicologia, Educao e Trabalho do CNPq
e coordenadora do Mestrado em Psicologia da Universidade Federal do Paran.
Roger Dale I
P
rofessor of Education. Until 2002, he was Professor of Education at
the University of Auckland. Prior to moving to Auckland, he had been
involved in producing courses in sociology of education and education policy at
the Open University for almost 20 years.Whilst at Auckland he led (with Susan
Robertson) a major research study into the responses to globalisation of four
education systems--Alberta (Canada), New Zealand, Scotland and Singapore. One
strand of investigation was the role of regional organisations (EU, NAFTA and
APEC) in national responses to globalisation. This led to a major interest in the EU
and education policy, which is now the main focus of his work, complementing
and extending qualitatively his earlier work on the state and education policy. It led
to him becoming Academic Coordinator of the EU Erasmus Thematic Network,
GENIE (Globalisation and Europeanisation in Education) which was based in the
GES. Together with Susan Robertson he co-founded the journal Globalisation,
Societies and Education, whose frst volume was published in 2003
D
outora em Educao pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,
professora do Programa de Ps-Graduao em Educao da UFSM,
orientando dissertaes e teses. Professora do Mestrado Profssionalizante em
459
ensino de Fsica e Matemtica no Centro Universitrio Franciscano. Pesquisadora
Produtividade em Pesquisa do CNPq, lder do Grupo de Pesquisa: Trajetrias de
Formao, coordenadora da RIES e do Observatrio da Educao na UFSM.
Susan Robertson
I
nstructional Facilitator - Dripping Springs ISD - (Setor Gesto
educacional). Agosto de 2007 Janeiro de 2010 (2 anos 6 meses).
Improve curriculum and instruction and raise student achievement by coordinating
special services and programs for students; collecting and analyzing student data
to make curricular decisions and plan instruction; coordinating benchmark and
curriculum-based assessments; providing weekly research-based professional
development for K-5 teachers in all core subject areas; developing and monitoring
K-5 district curriculum. Co-Vice President of Fundraising - Austin Childrens
Shelter Guild (Setor Gesto de organizaes sem fns lucrativos) - 2006 2008
(2 anos ). Volunteer position that included overseeing all fundraising committees
and leading the planning for all ACS Guild fundraising events and activities to
raise over $30K annually for ongoing Shelter operations; educating the Austin
community about the needs of the Shelter; representing the Shelter at community
events; providing direct care for children staying at the Shelter. Teaching Assistant
/ University Facilitator - University of Texas at Austin - (Instituio acadmica;
Setor Ensino superior) - Agosto de 2005 Janeiro de 2007 (1 ano 6 meses).
Taught two Elementary Apprentice Teaching seminars; co-taught an Advanced
Secondary Social Studies Methods course; supervised elementary and secondary
interns and apprentice teachers; researched and co-authored book chapters in
social studies education. Elementary Teacher / LPAC Coordinator Lake Travis
Independent School District (Setor Gesto educacional) - Agosto de 2002 Maio
de 2005 (2 anos 10 meses). Chaired the campus Language Profciency Assessment
Committee; taught third and fourth grades at an Exemplary elementary campus;
served on the district Language Arts Curriculum Committee and the campus STAT
Team. Formao acadmica : The University of Texas at Austin PhD , Curriculum
and Instruction , 2003 2008 - University of San Francisco - MA , Elementary
Education, University of San Francisco, BA , Politics.
S
enior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of
Students. The University of Texas at Austin. She is directly responsible
for the Division of Housing and Food Service, the Texas Union, and the Offce
of the Dean of Students, which is comprised of eight program and service areas
(Student Judicial Services, Student Activities and Leadership Development,
Greek Life and Intercultural Education, New Student Services, Legal Services
for Students, Student Emergency Services, Legislative Student Organizations,
and DoS Central Administration). Prior to UT Austin, was Assistant Vice
Chancellor of Student Affairs Administration at The University of California,
Los Angeles. She earned a bachelors degree in economics from the University
of California at Irvine, a Master of Arts in education from California State
University, San Bernardino, and a doctorate in education administration from
the University of Southern California. She is active in professional associations
and is a Strategic Planning and Management Consultant, facilitating workshops
and giving presentations on higher education topics at national conferences.
Terminal Degree Ed.D., Education Administration, University of Southern
California (1999), M.A., Education, California State University, San Bernardino
(1991), B.A., Economics, University of California, Irvine (1986).
A Rede Sul-brasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior - RIES, Ncleo de
Excelncia em Cincia, Tecnologia e Inovao pelo CNPq/FAPERGS/PRONEX e Observatrio
de Educao CAPES/INEP tem como objetivo congurar a educao superior como campo
de produo de pesquisa. A RIES est publicando a Srie Qualidade da Educao Superior
composta pelos livros abaixo citados.
The South-Brazilian Network of Researchers in Higher Education (RIES - Rede
Sul-brasileira de Investigadores da Educao Superior), Nucleus of Excellence in Science,
Technology and Innovation CNPq/FAPERGS/PRONEX and Education Observatory CAPES/INEP
has as its main objective to congure higher education as a eld of research production. The
RIES is publishing a Quality of Higher Education Series composed of books mentioned below.
V. 1 - Qualidade da Educao Superior, Inovao e Universidade organizado por
Jorge Audy (PUCRS) e Marilia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V. 2 - Qualidade da Educao Superior: a Universidade como lugar de formao
(V.2) organizado por Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia (UFSM/UNIFRA).
V. 3 - Qualidade da Educao Superior: reflexes e prticas investigativas
organizado por Marilia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V.4 - Qualidade da Educao Superior: dimenses e indicadores organizados por
Maria Estela Dal Pai Franco (UFRGS) e Marilia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V. 5 - Qualidade da Educao Superior: grupos investigativos internacionais em
dilogo organizado por Maria Isabel da Cunha (UNISINOS).
V. 6 - Qualidade da Educao Superior: avaliao e implicaes para o futuro da
universidade organizado por Denise Leite (UFRGS) e Cleoni Barboza Fernandes
(PUCRS).
V. 1 - Quality of Higher Education, Innovation and University organized by Jorge
Audy (PUCRS) and Marlia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V. 2 - Quality of Higher Education: the University as a place of education
organized by Silvia Maria de Aguiar Isaia (UFSM/UNIFRA).
V. 3 - Quality of Higher Education: reflections and investigative practices
organized by Marlia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V. 4 - Quality of Higher Education: dimensions and indicators organized by Maria
Estela Dal Pai Franco (UFRGS) and Marilia Morosini (RIES/PUCRS).
V. 5 - Quality of Higher Education: international research groups in dialogue
organized by Maria Isabel da Cunha (UNISINOS).
V. 6 - Quality of Higher Education: evaluation and implications for the future of
the university organized by Denise Leite (UFRGS) and Cleoni Barboza Fernandes
(PUCRS).

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