O meio ambiente e o desenvolvimento regional em uma instituição pública de educação profissional e tecnológica brasileira

Abstract

The research aim analyzing, from the perspective of the institutional approach, the influences of actors that interact with IFRJ in building their environmental area, in the context of the transformations undergone by the institution in order to broaden the discussion on regional action of the Federal Institutes. In this sense, this research shows that development public policies presume the need for involving different institutional actors, companies and civil society both in the preparation and in the conduction of regional development projects. The association of environmental concerns with regional development has been a challenge for public institutions like IFRJ, which has emphasized ecological issues in the training of its students. That connection is affirmed by the creation of the National Plan for Regional Development in 2007, which places IFRJ in a new position, of articulating public and private sectors for the implementation of regional development projects that emphasize sustainable development. Having recognized the urgency of this new role played by IFRJ, the researcher was confronted with the limitations of the institution’s articulations, and has set to perform a qualitative research of the descriptive and analytical kind with oral and documental sources, involving local actors that influence the institution in focus regionally, towards either pursuing or straying from its concerns from their environmental courses. The institutional approach in its sociological aspect was employed, since it enjoys wide recognition in the field of Social Sciences for its ability to offer explanations to processes that connect social relations by its concerning what is consolidated in society in terms of values, actions, standards and norms, which are constructed and legitimized with the interrelationships between the various organizational actors. This study constitutes an innovative approach to the institutional analysis of development public policies in a Federal Institute, since that has been scarcely referred to in specialized literature produced in Brazil. The research results confirm our initial assumption, showing that the influences of certain actors occur unevenly and that they hinder the achievement of that new role intended by IFRJ. This challenges the institution to build relationships with actors that may contribute effectively so that it fulfills its commitment as a public policy implementer.