Brazilian Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

University professors’ representations on an online EMI course in Paraná - Brazil

In Brazilian higher education institutions, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses and workshops play a key role in helping professors to rethink their methodology and their concepts of language, especially regarding English conceived as a lingua franca. In an attempt to bring a local perspective for EMI, this paper examines university professors’ representations on an online EMI course for professors from nine public universities in Paraná. It is grounded on the concept of representation from critical discourse analysis. The results reveal the beliefs and motivations of the participants concerning EMI in Brazil.

Entrepreneurship and innovation - Feasibility study on sustainable residential food production through Aquaponics

The complexity of today's reality drives the insertion of new ideas into the educational context, with empowering projects that impact social, economic and environmental systems, generating sustainable opportunities. Entrepreneurship in higher education institutions in Brazil requires innovative approaches, beyond isolated disciplines, to promote a sustainable entrepreneurial culture and contribute to community development. Faced with social needs, questions arise about projects that promote individual and collective training, meeting demands for interprofessional training in the social, economic and environmental spheres.

HodgeRank as a new tool to explore the structure of a social representation

Social representation theory is a branch of social psychology that aims to identify the framework of concepts, ideas, opinions, beliefs, or feelings shared by the individuals within a social group, regarding a social object. Two main problems arise in this theory. The first concerns the identification of the content of the representation, which is the set of cognitive elements shared by the group; the second concerns its structure, which is the way these elements are organized and related among themselves. It is desirable that the methods to address these problems be simple, in regards to the feasibility of the data collection, and reliable, in the sense that they should provide a clear picture of the content and the structure of the representation. No single method proposed in the literature until now fully satisfies these features at the same time. Here we propose the use of HodgeRank, a global ranking method based on the Hodge combinatorial theory, as a new tool to explore the structure of a social representation. In this proposal, the input data is the same as those required for the hierarchical word associations, which is the main method in the field of social representations. However, the HodgeRank provides richer results when compared to the usual approach to analysing this kind of data, based on the Vergés’ double-entry table. The main outcome of the HodgeRank is a graph, analogous to an electric circuit, from which some structural elements of the representation can already be identified. Moreover, the HodgeRank technique identifies the sources of inconsistencies between the global ranking and the aggregated answers within the social group. We interpret such inconsistencies in terms of the stability of the representation and use them to raise conjectures about the potential dynamics of the representation. We illustrate the application of this method in the study of a social representation of COVID-19 within a group of students and also within a group of faculty members from higher education institutions in Brazil.

THE PROS AND CONS OF ARTICLE 207 OF THE 1988 FEDERAL CONSTITUTION OF BRAZIL

Purpose: This article focuses on Article 207 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. It then discusses the pros and cons of this article, which gives full rights to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in relation to their teaching and administrative autonomy. The social problem is as follows: Do HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) violate the law or not, as they are protected by Article 207 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution? The aim of this study is to show how HEIs use Article 207 (BRAZIL, 1988) in their selection processes for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Brazil.
 Method: This investigation used the Experience Report as its method and the qualitative approach as its approach.
 Results and Discussion: The results of this study show that HEIs do violate the law. Unfortunately, there seems to be no supervision by public bodies, except when the MEC (Ministry of Education) or another recognized body visits these institutions to qualify or disqualify their courses at national level and even internationally (institutions other than the MEC). On these occasions, unfortunately, many camouflages are made by these HEIs. Reading this article, it becomes clear that the university autonomy of Article 207 of the 1988 Federal Constitution (BRAZIL, 1988) does not in fact guarantee democracy within the HEIs, especially when it comes to entering and remaining as a student, teacher and/or employee/servant, especially in public HEIs.
 Implications of the Research: This experience report explores the possibility of re-evaluating Article 207 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, to the extent that the autonomy guaranteed to Higher Education Institutions in Brazil is more effective, linked to constant inspections by public authorities without prior warning. Thus, it is understood that, although "enslaved" to a higher order represented by the Brazilian government and the legislation in force in Brazil, Brazilian universities will indeed be secular and for everyone.
 Originality/Value: This research and article, although short, raises for discussion a crucial point for guaranteeing democracy in access to higher education and postgraduate studies in Brazil, which is little debated. There is a lot of talk about autonomy within Brazilian universities today. However, there is little questioning of this autonomy and how harmful and lethal it can be to democracy within them.

Gamification in the Teaching of Embryology for the Medical Curriculum: Application and Evaluation of a Game

The increasing number of studies on the use of active methodologies has promoted the application of such resources by professors in the field of morphology. Gamification has been the focus of increasing attention since the beginning of the last decade, its central idea is to take advantage of the motivational potential of games for the classroom environment. This work sought to verify the reliability of an evaluation scale for educational games and the effectiveness of a board game as an active tool for teaching embryology. The potential and limitations of the scale used were also studied. To achieve this objective, an active practical class was held with medical students from a Brazilian higher education institution. The study included 215 students, of legal age, enrolled in the first to eighth phases of the course. The content addressed during the intervention referred to the period from the first to the eighth week of embryonic development, addressed through a board game. At the end of the activity, students were invited to answer a questionnaire to evaluate educational games. After data collection, exploratory factor analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS® Statistics 22.0 software. It was observed that the assertions Relevance3, Confidence4, Satisfaction3, Immersion1, Challenge2, Skill1, Social Interaction3 and Fun5R had the most significant factorial load. The results suggest that gamification can bring important benefits when well used.

MMALA: Developing and Evaluating a Maturity Model for Adopting Learning Analytics

Learning analytics (LA) adoption is a challenging task for higher education institutions (HEIs) since it involves different aspects of the academic environment, such as information technology infrastructure, human resource management, ethics, and pedagogical issues. Therefore, it is necessary to provide institutions with supporting instruments to deal with these challenges. Although there has been much research on factors that are associated with the adoption of LA in HEIs, there has been much less research on specific models that can be used to guide actual adoption. In this sense, we developed MMALA, a Maturity Model for Adopting Learning Analytics. It is a guide that describes the necessary practices for taking the first steps in this area and enables institutions to reach higher levels of maturity in LA use, culminating in an organized and systematic adoption. In this paper, we describe the development process of MMALA, focusing on the model evaluation, which used both the questionnaire and the expert opinion method. MMALA can also give institutions an overview of their current situation regarding LA adoption. In this sense, we present the results of the maturity evaluation of three Brazilian HEIs using MMALA.

Multilevel Ordinal Logit Models: A Proportional Odds Application Using Data from Brazilian Higher Education Institutions

This tutorial delves into the application of proportional odds-type ordinal logistic regression to assess the impact of incorporating both fixed and random effects when predicting the rankings of Brazilian universities in a well-established international academic assessment utilizing authentic data. In addition to offering valuable insights into the estimation of ordinal logistic models, this study underscores the significance of integrating random effects into the analysis and addresses the potential pitfalls associated with the inappropriate treatment of phenomena exhibiting categorical ordinal characteristics. Furthermore, we have made the R language code and dataset available as supplementary resources for the replication.

ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS DURING COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to adopt social distancing measures, which have had a significant impact on the teaching-learning model. To ensure effective use of technology in the teaching-learning process, it is crucial to understand the contexts in which these technologies are applied and how they are perceived by teachers and students. This study aims to analyze the perception of students and teachers from federal and private Brazilian HEIs regarding the usefulness and ease of use of the main Information System used in remote teaching/learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach with hypothetic-deductive logic was adopted, and 806 valid responses were collected. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, clustering, correlation, analysis of variance, and regression. The study found that the attitude toward IS use during the pandemic period was influenced by Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, but the influence was different for students and teachers. The modality of teaching before the pandemic did not impact the perception of usefulness or ease of use of the IS, regardless of whether the HEI was public or private. However, this observation varied for students.

Value generation from academic activities in a public higher education: A lean perspective

AbstractThe concept of value, in a context of higher education institutions (HEIs), simply refers to meeting or exceeding customer requirements and expectations. HEIs have a fundamental role in the dissemination of knowledge, in addition to developing new skills and awareness for future professionals, in relation to local, regional and national issues. The aim of this research is to analyse the academic activities and outcomes influence on value generation perception in a public university students' perspective. A survey, built from a structured questionnaire, was carried out in a Brazilian HEI, the Federal University of Santa Maria, with students who are in their course final stage. Data collection came out with a valid sample of 389 respondents. It was analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor and regression analyses. The findings suggest that among the services and resources that the university may offer to its students, the ones that present the most impact refer to cognitive and social abilities emerging from specific teaching practices and strategies from the professors. This research presents useful insights and applicable elements from which public managers can utilize to enhance engagement, create value and build a more rigorous and relevant practice.

Chemical residues that originate from a higher education institution in Brazil

In 2018, a research study was conducted at a Public University in Brazil to investigate the quantity of chemical residues produced during laboratory activities in undergraduate engineering courses. Data was collected from control documents maintained by the institution responsible for recording waste quantities. The results showed that 383.2 liters of solutions were generated with varying compositions. Inorganic solutions without heavy metals produced the highest volume of waste, while halogenated organic solutions produced the smallest. The study highlights the need for better waste segregation and disposal methods to reduce laboratory waste. To minimize the environmental impact of laboratory activities, implementing measures such as proper waste storage, waste exchange, recycling, reverse logistics, and life cycle assessment is essential. Educational institutions need to develop better waste management practices to reduce the amount of waste in landfills.

Digital transformation, state Hei performance and the moderating role of leadership

ABSTRACT Considering the importance of Digital Transformation (DT) for better performance in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and the role played by leadership in the DT process, this study has a twin aim. The first is to analyse how DT can influence different performance dimensions of State HEIs. The second is to analyse the possible moderating effect of leadership styles on the relation between DT and these HEIs’ performance. To do so, a composite index of DT was elaborated and applied to websites of Brazilian and Iberian State HEIs. Through application of the PLS-SEM method, it was identified that three dimensions of DT are found to have a positive and significant influence on performance in research, transfer, internationalization and sustainability in Brazilian HEIs. In turn, three dimensions of DT influence performance in research and transfer in Iberian HEIs. Despite not confirming the moderating effect of leadership, this study revealed that the interaction between cybernetic and shared leadership styles and DT has a positive and significant influence on research performance in Brazilian HEIs. The empirical evidence presented here can support grounded, prioritized decision-making by managers and governors, in order to ensure improved DT and performance in the HEIs studied.

Aiming Higher? Implications for Higher Education of Students’ Views on Education for Climate Justice

In 2023, a high number of climate disasters were recorded globally, highlighting the urgent dangers inherent in climate change and the inequities that result from its uneven impacts. Higher education institutions (HEIs) potentially play a crucial role in furthering climate justice through their research, teaching, community engagement and public awareness. Many students enter HEIs with high expectations concerning their education regarding climate change and more broadly of their institution’s contribution to climate action. In this article, we explore these expectations alongside the perceptions of students regarding how HEIs are delivering on them, i.e., the extent to which students are satisfied with their HEIs’ policies and practice on climate change. We employ data from a large-scale survey of more than 4000 students conducted by the Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) project collected in nine HEIs in three countries (Brazil, Fiji and Kenya) during 2021–22. Results indicate that satisfaction among students in the sampled HEIs is often low, while expectations are typically high. There is some evidence that students in contexts already more directly exposed to the impacts of climate change were somewhat more active and more satisfied. Overall, students frequently expected to learn more about climate change than they were in fact learning and expressed high levels of environmental concern as well as some dissatisfaction with HEIs’ wider activities to limit the impact of climate change and to promote understanding of the issues. We discuss the findings in relation to the gaps between what students expect from their HEIs and what HEIs are currently doing in the three countries. Furthermore, we consider how HEIs in Brazil, Fiji and Kenya may improve their engagement with issues of climate change and respond to students’ views and expectations, including the promotion of preparedness for and resilience to the climate crisis and its effects.

Linear algebra in engineering: a study of specialized knowledge of Chilean and Brazilian teachers

Abstract The objective of this paper is to establish comparisons between the Linear Algebra (LA) approach practiced in Engineering courses offered by Chilean and Brazilian Higher Education Institutions and, for that, teachers from both countries were interviewed. From a methodological point of view, the research consists of two case studies. For the analysis of the interviews, we used the precepts of Content Analysis. The data were qualitatively analyzed considering the MTSK theoretical model. In this analysis, we sought to identify what specialized knowledge these teachers have regarding AL and about its teaching and learning. The results have shown that, in relation to the Mathematical Knowledge (MK) domain, which refers to content knowledge, the Knowledge of Topics subdomain (KoT), linked to the way that teachers know the topics they teach, is the most present among interviewees. In the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) domain, covering specific pedagogical knowledge linked to Mathematics, the Knowledge of Mathematics Teaching (KMT), regarding strategies, teaching theories, resources and materials, and Knowledge of Mathematics Learning Standards (KMLS) subdomains, concerning the curricular specifications and the moments in which the student must or can learn certain content and with what level of depth prevail.

Comparative Analysis of Teaching Methodologies Adopted by Accounting Teachers at a Higher Education Institution in Brazil and Angola

Comparative Analysis of Teaching Methodologies Adopted by Accounting Teachers at a Higher Education Institution in Brazil and Angola

The Internationalization of brazilian postgraduate programs : a strategic approach

This paper looks at the reasons behind internationalization in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and different mechanisms that can be used by the institutions themselves, financing agencies, as well as individual researchers to improve the international impact of their research and the production of quality alumni to solve problems posed by society. We question why institutions and researchers should consider the internationalization of research and teaching, and an operational approach is proposed. The need for strategic priorities and partnerships is highlighted as well as methods for monitoring and evaluating these methods. We also show that institutions should question how initiatives fit within the institution’s mission and overall strategy, and how they can go about framing and deciding upon various forms of internationalization.

Seeing Race Like a State: Higher Education Affirmative Action Verification Commissions in Brazil

ABSTRACTA growing body of literature has focused on how different states continuously “make race” by legitimizing certain racial categories while invisibilizing others. Much less has been written on the actual processes of transforming race into a bureaucratic category when implementing antiracist public policies. This article focuses on the recent use of verification commissions to validate the racial self-identification of potential beneficiaries of racial quotas at federal higher education institutions in Brazil. We argue that through their choices, particularly through their definition of what race is, of who can see race, and of how to see race, these commissions are transforming not only understandings about affirmative action’s aims but also understandings of race. The study focuses on three potential consequences of commission practices for Brazilian racial boundaries: the disciplining of racial identifications, the decontextualization of race, and the individualization of racial injustice.

Improving the prediction of school dropout with the support of the semi-supervised learning approach

School dropout is a phenomenon characterized by being influenced by several variables. This research used Machine Learning techniques, especially in the context of the semi-supervised learning strategy, to predict the risk of dropout in undergraduate courses at a Brazilian higher education institution. Two phases of experiments were conducted, the first using Feature Selection techniques and the second applying a semi-supervised learning strategy to improve performance metrics collected from the increase in the number of instances of students labeled as Graduated. As a main result, we obtained a model capable of classifying dropout with 90% accuracy and 86% Macro-F1.

LANGUAGE OF AIRCRAFT DOCUMENTATION: USING A MULTILINGUAL CORPUS IN COLLABORATIVE WORK IN LEXICOGRAPHY AND PEDAGOGY

This paper describes collaborative work by two higher education institutions in Brazil and China that joined forces to build a corpus with a view to investigating the language of aircraft maintenance documentation for teaching and lexicography purposes. The corpus consists of three languages, including English, with Chinese and Portuguese still under construction. The paper opens with an overview of language-related studies in the aircraft maintenance field, drawing attention to this specific niche and its demands. It discusses trials already performed with the English and Chinese sub-corpora, challenges faced, and the importance of task-sharing in multidisciplinary teams. It emphasizes the need to combine linguistics and professional expertise not only to develop materials for the aviation industry but also to assist the development of trainees who can experience a professional setting during their education. The corpus will be used in (among others) preparing pedagogical material for teaching not only aircraft maintenance personnel but also pilots and air traffic controllers. The corpus will also serve as a lexicographic resource for designing a visual dictionary with collocates and constructing trilingual glossaries.

Analysis of body mass and food consumption of university students of the male sex in Brazil

This study aimed to characterize food intake, body weight and self-perception about weight among university men of a Higher Education Institution in Brazil. Cross-sectional study, conducted in 2019, with a representative sample of 375 university students, using a validated questionnaire. Regarding nutritional assessment, most of them were classified as eutrophic (61.3%). It is noteworthy that 31.5% were overweight (overweight and obesity). Although most (42.6%) of the students realized that they were at normal weight, when the other categories (below or overweight) are added, 57.4% indicated these options. Asked about attitudes towards the current weight, 33.9% answered that they were not doing something and 14.3% indicated that they were trying to maintain them. Adding to the other options, 48.2% tried to lose or win. Most of them did not diet, exercise, use of weight loss medications in the 30 days prior to the research. Regarding physical activity in the week prior to the survey, 37.1% did not practice. On food intake the previous day, most consumed fruits, vegetables or boiled vegetables at least once. On the consumption of fast food (hamburger, coxinha, snacks or french fries), 53.9% did not make consumption in the previous week. Regarding biscuits, cakes or sweets, 40.8% ate once. It was observed that the interviewees presented good eating habits, however, part of them perceived their weight as not ideal. Although a small frequency indicates that you have done something (diet, exercises, use of medications) to lose weight, attention should be paid to these situations in order to monitor possible risk behaviors, highlighting universities as important spaces for help and promotion of men's health.

To partner, or not to partner? Assessing the role higher education institutions’ partnerships play in education for sustainability

Implementing education for sustainability demands higher education institutions to overcome various challenges, such as understanding the concept of sustainability, training change agents, curricular changes, among others. In this scenario, partnerships show themselves as important facilitating elements to mitigate such challenges. Thus, this study seeks to assess, empirically, a conceptual model regarding partnerships being used as facilitating elements to overcome challenges faced by higher education institutions during education for sustainability’s implementation. To do so, a qualitative research, of a descriptive nature and that used a multicase study as a research strategy was carried out with six Brazilian higher education institutions. The results showed that partnerships are used to minimize challenges related to the identification on higher education institutions’ stakeholders’ demands, to the formalization and institutionalization of sustainability and education for sustainability and to changes in the curricula and teaching methodologies. It was also possible to observe that the challenges faced by higher education institutions can be grouped in five fronts, as recommended in the framework available in the literature and assessed in this research for its validation.