Extensão universitária: o panorama do Instituto Federal do Ceará

Abstract

The idea of University Extension that developed in Brazil was born of the University Reform of 1968, when the organization of higher education began to take as reference the North American Model. In this configuration, Higher Education is ruled for a teaching-research-extension triad. The first two elements are well defined and allocated within the educational structure, however the third is not equal. Thus, addressing the concept of University Extension and completeness within the scope of validity in the country, the present study aims at a global overview of the Extension Actions of the Instituto Federal do Ceará (IFCE), identifying the fields of action in the community in its surroundings, making use of Descriptive Statistics and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. The choice of the IFCE was because it is a centennial institution, although it is more relevant in terms of extension, reaching all 14 macro regions of the state. The results show that among the four types of action to be launched by the Instituto Federal do Ceará - courses, events, programs and projects - greater are the projects, being responsible for 41.67% of the 1,008 actions registered in Pro-rectory of Extension until July 2017. The events present 33.43%, while the courses are 19.54%, followed by programs that correspond to 5.36%. Already published in 9 thematic areas of action - Communication, Culture, Sport, Human Rights and Justice, Education, Environment, Health, Technology and Production - Education work are predominant, representing 40.77% of all Extension do the IFCE. The analyzes also show that, of the 29 analyzed units, the Campus of Limoeiro do Norte is champion in number of actions. The Vale do Jaguaribe one, with 166 actions, is a macroregion of Ceará with a greater number of extension actions. Next comes a macroregion Grande Fortaleza, with 119, and Sertão de Canindé with 90 actions. At the other end are Sertão dos Crateús and Sertão dos Inhamuns, with 17 and 23 actions, respectively. The research shows a strong growth of the Extension in the IFCE, since 2014, driven mainly by the number of students and employees of the Institution.