Autoavaliação da Pós-Graduação profissional do Campus Urutaí, IF Goiano: um olhar além da CAPES

Abstract

The Professional Master's Degree (MP) appeared in Brazil in 1995, based on the North American model, focusing on training highly qualified professionals to promote integration between academic knowledge and the productive sector. Although the desired professional approach is promising, the programs need to be adapted to this objective, obtaining a distinct identity from the academic master's. This need encompasses how teachers work and the evaluation model applied by CAPES, which in many points, maintains the most appropriate criteria for the academic model and does not value some aspects that are typical of professional education. The objective of the present dissertation was to carry out a comprehensive analysis of two MP programs. The study focused on students' profile, their administrative and pedagogical aspects, the academic productivity of teachers and alumni, and some professional impacts on their careers in the early years after completing their degrees. This case study involves the Graduate Programs in Conservation of Natural Resources of the Cerrado (PPG-CRENAC) and Plant Protection (PPGPP) of the IF Goiano - Campus Urutaí, Goiás, Brazil. To carry out this study: a profile characterization was carried out the enrollment in the selection processes of both programs between the years 2015 and 2019; aplication of questionnaires to obtain the profile and perceptions of the managers, teachers and graduates, of the programs; evaluation of academic production by teachers and alumni through curricula registered in the Lattes Platform; and analysis of the dissertations defended in the programs until the year 2019. Candidates from ten states registered in the PPGPP and 9 in the PPG-CRENAC. The most common education was in Agronomy and Biological Sciences. The main occupations were respectively in the private and public sectors. In the managers' perception, the programs fulfill fully or partially the expectations in the initial proposal (APCN), and dissertations result in contributions for the local surroundings. The new evaluation form proposed by CAPES, managers, and teachers believe that it follows the characteristics of the programs. In the graduates' perception, the administrative, pedagogical, and educational infrastructure parameters are generally satisfactory, and the most significant weakness presented was the small availability of scholarships. Low technical production and dissemination content of the courses and results of their research were observed. Most graduates who do not pursue doctorates in other institutions claim that they would participate again in the PPG-CRENAC and PPGPP programs if the doctorate level were created. Finally, an analysis of the dissertations revealed that most of the studies conducted contemplated each program's central focus and its training objectives and were developed in different environments.