Avaliação do Programa Ciência sem Fronteiras na perspectiva da experiência de formação dos ex-bolsistas de graduação da Universidade Federal do Ceará

Abstract

This research deals with an evaluation of the “Ciência sem Fronteiras” (CsF) Programme (Science withot Borders), realized at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), based on the experience of undergraduate students who participated in the Programme. The general objective of this study is to evaluate how the international academic experience provided by CsF contributed to the formation of those actors involved with the Programme while undergraduate. As for the specific objectives, it seeks to: evaluate how the implementation and execution of the Programme was carried out from the perspective of the beneficiary; evaluate how the students perceived the exchange experience and the connections with its education; and evaluate, from the perspective of the students, how the living experience was received and utilized at the UFC. This research highlights the search to understand the training provided by the CsF beyond technical learning and the acquisition of instrumental knowledge. In light of the reflections of Bondía (2002) and Josso (2010a, 2010b), from the notion of experience, a broader perspective of formation is adopted, related to transformation processes with potential to also affect the identity and subjectivity of the students involved. To this end, an evaluative research of a qualitative nature anchored in Lejano's (2012) experiential model and Rodrigues' (2008) in-depth evaluation approach was conducted. Bibliographic and documentary research was carried out to build an analytical description of the CsF, based on the In-depth Evaluation axes (content analysis, political context and institutional trajectory), through which the concepts and central notions of the policy were worked out, which highlight the objective of providing quality technical training to beneficiaries, developing the labor market and expanding the national economy. After applying a semi-structured questionnaire and conducting in-depth interviews with former CsF Scholars, they were captured from the experience of exchange training senses that surpass the academic and professional achievements that were also verified. In summary, it was concluded that the opportunity to live and study abroad is comprehended as a milestone in the training trajectories of CsF beneficiaries because it was capable of causing transformations in the way they saw the world and how they saw themselves in this global space. Furthermore, it was observed that former scholars regret the end of the policy, although they recognize the existence of flaws in its implementation, mainly regarding: difficulty of access for low-income students, deficiency in the follow-up of activities carried out during the exchange, in a perspective of orientation/support and control/fiscalization, and lack of integration/utilization, at the UFC, of the knowledge acquired abroad.