Avaliação da curricularização da extensão universitária na UFC: entre o consenso normativo e os tensionamentos da implementação

Abstract

This study consists of a counter-hegemonic evaluative research project in the field of public policy, grounded in a post-constructivist perspective, through In-Depth Evaluation (Souza, 2009; Fernandes, 2010; Guba; Lincoln, 2011; Lejano, 2012; Gussi; Oliveira, 2015; Rodrigues, 2016; Borges; Rothen, 2019). Its objective is to evaluate the University Extension Curricularization Policy, based on the tensions arising in its implementation at the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC). The research is based on the understanding that the curricularization of extension, as an educational public policy, emerges in a context of political, economic, and social transformations that directly impact higher education institutions, especially with regard to integrating extension into academic practices. The relevance of this study lies in its critical analysis of the theoretical-epistemological aspects involved in the curricularization of extension, seeking to identify the challenges and potentialities of its implementation. Methodologically, it adopts a qualitative approach, using document analysis and interviews with UFC managers and extension practitioners. Data analysis was conducted through Critical Discourse Analysis (Orlandi, 2012; Fairclough; Melo, 2012), in order to interpret the meanings and significations attributed to university extension within the curricularization policy. The theoretical framework is grounded in discussions on educational public policies focused on higher education, drawing on a review of the development and models of the university in Brazil (Ribeiro, 1986; Höfling, 2001; Chauí, 2002, 2003; Fávero, 2006; Cunha, 2007a, 2007b; Silva, 2013; Paro, 2020; Saviani, 2021). Regarding extension policies and epistemologies, the discussion is informed by Freire (2014), Rocha (1984a, 1984b), Sousa (2010), Oliveira e Goulart (2015), Gadotti (2017), Machado (2019, 2021) e Jimenez et. al. (2023). Concerning the category of curriculum – central to this debate – this study draws on Giroux (1986), Apple (2006), Silva (2009), Sacristán (2013), Arroyo (2014), Hooks (2017), Gaviria (2019), and Imperatore (2019). The results indicate that both the documents and the research collaborators’ accounts reveal particularities of the dispute between models of the university as an emancipatory institution, situated within the context of demands imposed by a managerial state. Despite the challenges, collaborators express a strong sense of belonging to the university and orient their statements toward recognition of, and investment in universtity extension, understood as an expression of the ethos of a transformative public university.