Curricular intersections of university extension and teaching in Physical Therapy programs

Shamyr Sulyvan De Castro,Miriam Cristina Pontello Barbosa Lima,Ana Inês Sousa

doi:10.1590/0103-5150.028.001.ao13

Abstract

Introduction University extension can be a vehicle for social change and aid in the education of university students; however, it is important to study how it is inserted in university programs so that educational actions and policies can be planned more adequately. Objectives To study the insertion of extension activities in undergraduate physical therapy curricula in Brazilian federal universities. Method Documentary research conducted by accessing files available on the Internet. Data were analyzed quantitatively in the form of numbers and percentages. We examined documents from 22 of the 29 federal universities that offered physical therapy programs. Results University extension takes the form of complementary academic activities together with other options such as participating in conferences, specific training courses and working as a teaching assistant. Undergraduate physical therapy courses have a 4,000h to 4,925h course load, of which 0.72% to 8.9% are dedicated to extension activities. Conclusion The data indicate that the insertion of extension activities in undergraduate physical therapy programs offered by Brazilian federal universities needs to be reassessed according to recommended policies and guidelines.

Highlights

University extension can be a vehicle for social change and aid in the education of university students; it is important to study how it is inserted in university programs so that educational actions and policies can be planned more adequately
This was a documentary study that analyzed the curricular structure of undergraduate physical therapy programs offered by Brazilian universities currently in activity throughout the country and whose classification is available on the Ministry of Education’s e-MEC platform, the search was conducted between March and April 2013
Of the 29 federal institutions that offered physical therapy programs and that were classified by the MEC, seven (UFES, UFMG, UFJF, UFBA, UFG, IFRJ and UFRJ) did not present documentation proving or standardizing extension activities on the Internet

Summary

Introduction

University extension can be a vehicle for social change and aid in the education of university students; it is important to study how it is inserted in university programs so that educational actions and policies can be planned more adequately. England’s pioneer experience spread throughout Europe and to the United States, which in the early 1920s added a program aimed at “meeting the specific needs of the manufacturing sector” to university extension activities. This very successful program provided technical assistance to agriculture activities [1]. The National Student Union (UNE), on the occasion of the National Seminar on University Reform, drafted the Bahia Declaration This manifesto documented the main resolutions agreed upon at the event, among which was the determination that universities would become open to the community through extension and community services [5]

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