Motivos que levam os alunos à evasão em cursos de pós-graduação lato sensu em instituição pública de educação

Abstract

This article is part of an investigation that aimed to understand the reasons why students are dropping out of lato sensu graduate courses, also called specialization courses, at a public educational institution in the State of São Paulo. This topic becomes relevant due to the lack of discussion and research related to this level of education and the high dropout rates presented in the Federal Network of Professional, Scientific and Technological Education. The methodology we adopted for this research can of exploratory nature and the data collection was done by applying an online questionnaire. The analysis of the collected data showed that most students dropped out after the fourth semester of the course, many of them with difficulties in ending and delivering the final paper (TCC) or due to difficulties in reconciling study with work. For a considerable number of questionnaire respondents, personal factors contributed to their non-completion. Many of them showed interest in retaking the conclusion work to obtain the certificate. The need to decrease dropout rates in public institutions, aiming at not wasting financial resources and the lack of research related to lato sensu graduate courses was the main motivation to carry on this study that sought to contribute with subsidies for institutional management actions.