Brazilian Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

The Perceived Effect of Intellectual Capital on the Performance of a Higher Education Institution: A Case Study

During an increasingly competitive environment, where digital technologies play a crucial role, organisations began to seek competitive advantages in their intangible resources to survive. Therefore, organisations’ intellectual capital (IC) is considered an essential source of competitive advantages. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have also recognised the relevance of this phenomenon since these organisations use their IC to produce knowledge. In response to the call to analyse IC in practice, which includes emerging countries, this paper’s goal is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to assess the perceptions of a Brazilian HEI’s internal stakeholders regarding the relative importance of each IC dimension. On the other hand, it intends to understand how IC influences the performance of these organisations. Additionally, it intends to comprehend how internal stakeholders perceive and might measure performance. A case study was conducted at the Brazilian Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Mato Grosso. The findings suggest that the three traditional IC dimensions are equally important to create competitive advantages, although there is no unanimity regarding which is the most important. They also show that IC influences, through several means, the performance of the HEI, although there was a focus on individual performance and also on negative issues, something which may, potentially, be caused by some lack of knowledge regarding the IC concept. Another finding is the lack of awareness regarding the importance of digital technologies in improving IC. Finally, an overlap between IC and performance indicators has been noticed. This study contributes to developing awareness about the relevance of intellectual capital in HEIs pertaining to emerging countries and its importance in improving their performance.

Implementation of photovoltaic energy, sustainability, economic and social development in a Higher Education Institution in Brazil

Energy is a crucial element for human needs today. Traditional systems of energy generation have represented a problem in terms of their costs, their impact on the environment, and their impact on community life. Therefore, the search for clean and renewable energy sources that meet the needs of contemporary society becomes increasingly essential in the search for alternatives related to energy sources. The photovoltaic energy generation system explores the solar irradiation, making it possible to generate and store energy. This system finds good conditions for implementation in Brazil in terms of climatic characteristics, but investments and public policies that encourage and favor this process are still needed. This study aimed to identify how the deployment of photovoltaic mini-generation power plant in a federal university, the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), can contribute to the university community in relation to cost reduction and environmental preservation. The methodology used was descriptive-exploratory, qualitative, through which an open questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were carried out, guided by the theme. After analyzing the data, the conclusion was that the system can bring benefits in the long term and that most of the interviewees consider Brazil's great potential in expanding the exploration of other sources of energy, besides hydroelectric, which, besides being costly, brings fewer advantages related to the environmental and social contexts.

Women in leadership positions in universities: are they really queen bees?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the adherence to the traits of the queen bee phenomenon (QBP) for women who hold leadership positions in Brazilian higher education institutions (HEIs) and to compare their responses with those of women without leadership positions and of men on the same dimensions.Design/methodology/approachA total of 703 academics from 88 HEIs participated in this study. The data were analyzed using a statistical package to calculate descriptive and inferential statistics. For these, 2 × 2 analysis of variance tests were performed to compare leader women vs nonleader women and leader women vs leader men.FindingsThe results indicate that leader women do not fit to all dimensions of the QBP. They report high averages to commitment, agency traits and personal sacrifices to career (Male self-description) and to meritocratic discourse. However, leader women assess their junior counterparts with higher averages to commitment and agency traits than women without leadership positions and leader men assess their junior counterparts. Women in leadership positions report superior identification with same gender colleagues and declare to be more supportive with affirmative policies for women's professional development than nonleader women and leader men.Practical implicationsThis study reinforces that same gender conflict in the work environment is not a female characteristic and also promotes reflections on the influence of organizational culture, men hostility toward quotas and gender stereotypes for female progression in the academic context.Originality/valueThis study provides an empirical analysis of the QBP to academic women in Brazilian HEIs and compares its dimensions to nonleader women and leader men. The analysis of a sexist culture enabled original results, as nondistancing of the self-group, even if leader women presented some QB traits.

Classical paradigms versus complexity thinking in engineering education: an essential discussion in the education for sustainable development

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss how the theory of complex thinking can be considered an interesting element in engineering education, especially in the context in which challenges toward sustainable development are multidisciplinary.Design/methodology/approachThis viewpoint synthesizes the main reflections and discussions generated during a process of debate, research and creation of a proposal for an undergraduate engineering course at a higher education institution in Brazil. The literature on engineering education, sustainability and complexity was considered in an integrated way. Debates were conducted considering the authors’ knowledge and experience as professors of engineering courses and researchers in the field of sustainability. A qualitative and reflexive approach was used to organize the main discussions.FindingsThe prevailing classical engineering paradigm trains professionals to think from a Cartesian, reductionist perspective, appropriate for solving well-structured problems with known solution paths and convergent answers. However, addressing sustainability challenges requires a different kind of thinking capable of dealing with situations characterized by uncertainty, emergence and incompleteness of knowledge. Complexity thinking can be useful for this purpose as it provides a broad system approach to deal with ill-defined, ill-structured and unpredictable problems. This study can be understood as a call to researchers and professionals to consider the value and importance of complexity thinking to advance engineering education for sustainability.Originality/valueThe need to overcome the limits of the classical engineering paradigm is emphasized in the context of sustainability. Complex thinking is considered as a path toward a paradigm shift in engineering education for sustainability. It can contribute to the training of professionals to face pressing challenges now and in the future. This viewpoint provides some insights to enhance debates on education engineering.

Sustainability from the perspective of a Brazilian university: Discourse and relations with the Sustainable Development Goals

This article reports a study of the sustainability discourse manifested by a Brazilian Higher Education Institution, the Federal University of Paraiba. We based the research on comparing documents and institutional media and their influence on discursive formation. We employed Sociological Discourse Analysis as a research method to capture silences amid the speeches and to reveal ideologies that form actions and omissions. This way, we compared the discourse and the Sustainable Development Goals. Discursive positions, narrative configurations, and semantic spaces, considered with the Sustainable Development Goals as a parameter, revealed an organization that seeks to follow sustainability but with efforts on the social field, leaving other aspects linked to the theme in the background. The temporary closure of several organization sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic muddled the observations and interviews. This fact may have limited our perception, impacting inferences and results. The research focused on the discourse of Higher-Level Institutions are not ordinary. Comparisons between organizational discourse and the Sustainable Development Goals can potentially reveal institutional commitments to the theme, as well as ideas that influence, positively or negatively, contexts and shared ideologies.

"The hysteria of a little flue": effects of COVID-19 on HEIs in Brazil.

This essay will look at the key challenges public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) faced in Brazil during the COVID-19 lockdown. The pandemic led universities to close their campuses and adopt an online interface for academic activities. However, many of these institutions do not have the technological infrastructure for such, nor did the staff and students who suffered further social exclusions. The president of Brazil referred to the pandemic as a “little flu” and later on responded to measures adopting the lockdown as a “hysteric” act that “will lead to an economic crash”. Considering the lack of support from the government and the process of dismantling resources for public HE since the beginning of the new presidency elected in 2018, the COVID-19 lockdown quickly revealed the institutional racism, elitism and ableism evident in this administration’s agenda. The consequence of the agenda is the cuts on research funds and lack of infrastructure to provide online classes, as examples of the severe policies that promote the erasure of marginalised groups. Such policies follow Sylvia Wynter’s “Argument”, revealing a code of symbolic life and death of how human order organises itself through the coloniality of power/being. In order to show how such symbolic code is engraved in the Brazilian educational system, this study explores narratives of staff and students from three universities per region of Brazil to identify how the colonial legacies are correlated with postulates of power in the Brazilian HEIs setting during the pandemic. The paper discusses the challenges experienced while keeping the HE sector active during a pandemic that the government has belittled. The conclusions advocate for organised strategies at the union and social movements level to dismantle the colonial occupation put in place in the foundation of the HEIs and reinforced by the current necropolitical administration.

Developing competencies in higher education: Insights from a Brazilian higher education institution

This paper examines the connections and influences of the job market in a Brazilian higher education setting. Adopting a qualitative approach and a technical case study procedure, open and semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through the discursive textual analysis technique. From the words of the Dean and the Chair of a business management program in a Brazilian higher education institution and the employers of some of its graduates, the authors note that the education delivered is directly influenced and fueled by actual problems and settings in the labor market. Nonetheless, the same market that welcomes these new professionals does not realize its influence and still requires certain behavioral and interpersonal skills from them.

Professor ou youtuber? A crise da COVID-19, as mudanças de práticas sociais e a adoção de tecnologias para o ensino remoto

Abstract This article discusses the results of a study aiming to understand how the migration from in-person to distance learning due to social distancing practices to contain the COVID-19 pandemic occurred (or has been occurring). The theoretical framework was based on practice theory, and data were obtained through interviews with 12 professors of different Brazilian higher education institutions. The data were analyzed following the principles of French discourse analysis. One of the conclusions is that mastering a certain technology is not enough for an individual to use it in professional activities. The professors interviewed indicated the need to change a few subjective elements, more specifically, modify understandings and the chains of value and projects inherent in the practice of classroom teaching. The research findings contribute to researchers involved in the field of consumption interested in finding out what happens when a group of consumers adopts a new technology during a rupture or uncertain moment. In addition, the results shed light on why some consumers discover the advantages of certain products and technologies without adopting them in daily activities.

Stochastic vs. deterministic frontier distance output function: Evidence from Brazilian higher education institutions

Stochastic vs. deterministic frontier distance output function: Evidence from Brazilian higher education institutions

Using design science research to propose an IT governance model for higher education institutions.

The increasing use of, and dependence on, Information Technology (IT) to support operational teaching, research, and management activities in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)—mainly due to their multi-unit organizational structure—have evidenced the need of encouraging managers to focus more on IT Governance (ITG) effectiveness, which has been an issue for many of these institutions. In this sense, we aim to develop a specific ITG model for Higher Education Institutions, by following the methodological principles of Design Science Research (DSR). The model was developed based on a robust theoretical basis that took into account different approaches substantiated by both the alignment of good practices and ITG focus areas as well as addressing the current ITG context of the Brazilian higher education institutions. The validation of the ITG model was based on its presentation to members of the IT Steering Committee of a Brazilian HEI, who confirmed its usefulness and applicability.

Leadership styles and HEI performance: relationship and moderating factors

ABSTRACT The growing attention paid to the performance of state Higher Education Institutions (HEI), caused by the growing demands and changes in these institutions’ ways of acting, has contributed to valorization of leadership as an instrument guiding their line of action, able to stimulate their success and with positive impacts on HEIs’ performance. This study has the twin objective of analyzing the relation between the different leadership styles and performance in Brazilian and Iberian HEIs, and the possible moderating effects of culture and autonomy on that relation. A questionnaire was completed by rectors, vice-rectors, pro-rectors and leaders of HEIs. The data collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics and application of the PLS-SEM method. Adaptive integrative, cybernetic, knowledge-oriented, strategic and transformational leadership styles were found to have a positive and significant influence on the performance of Brazilian HEIs, but this was not the case in Iberian HEIs. In addition, staff autonomy was seen to have a positive and significant moderating effect on the relation between leadership styles and performance in Brazilian HEIs. The study also contributes by identifying the types of culture and autonomy that have a positive and significant influence on HEI performance.

CEFET/RJ's contributions to society: monitoring sustainable practices with Brazilian Sustainable Logistics Management Plan / Contribuições do CEFET/RJ à sociedade: monitoramento de práticas sustentáveis com o Plano Brasileiro de Gestão Logística Sustentável

The criteria and requirements for the elaboration of the Sustainable Logistics Management Plan (PLS) have been incorporated into three dimensions of educational process - research, teaching and extension - of Cefet/RJ, as a planning tool for new actions, within its objectives and responsibilities. actions, goals, deadlines and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, thus contributing to the establishment of sustainability practices and expenses rationalization. The objective of this project is to monitor sustainable initiatives adopted by Cefet/RJ, a Brazilian Higher Education Institution (HEI), which are aligned with PLS axes: consumption of natural resources (water), waste management and sustainable procurement based on a qualitative, applied, descriptive and documentary research. In addition to understanding how this HEI has been seeking to meet its sustainable goals. It is from the realization of current practices and follow-up, it can be concluded that Cefet/RJ follows the path towards sustainability, thus representing the desired new institutional culture model and can be analyzed as an example to other universities.

Internationalization at Home and Virtual: A Sustainable Model for Brazilian Higher Education

The objective of this article is to analyze the strategies adopted by Brazilian universities for the continuity of higher education internationalization actions during the pandemic of COVID-19. Taking as a guide the stages of development of the internationalization of higher education proposed by Brandenburg; de Wit; Jones; Leask & Drobner ( 2020 ), a new stage of development is proposed: the virtualization. The research results suggest that it will continue after the pandemic. In an empirical qualitative study, conducted with six Brazilian Higher Education Institutions well evaluated by the Times Higher Education 2020 ranking, it was identified that the Internationalization actions developed to contribute to a new sustainable model of internationalization in the country, based on virtualization of Internationalization at Home, and that meets the main objective of the internationalization of higher education: to provide opportunities for all students to develop international perspectives and intercultural competencies during their formative journey.

Lean management practices perception and their influence on organizational performance in a public Higher Education Institution

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of Lean management practices by public servants of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and its influence on the organizational performance. The underlying assumption is that Lean management practices may have perceived even without a whole dissemination of the Lean Thinking way in the institution, and they exercise a positive influence on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire of Lean management practices applicable to HEIs was developed and a survey was carried out in a public HEI in Brazil. A valid sample of 748 respondents was obtained.FindingsThe results demonstrate that some Lean management practices (leadership support and employee involvement, focus on the internal customers, long-term thinking, community services value, elimination of waste and continuous improvement) have a positive influence on the organizational performance of the studied HEI. These results extend the applicability and foster the initiation of Lean management practices in the public service scenario and HEIs.Practical implicationsThis study supports HEI leaders and managers in developing and/or promoting better management practices to improve organizational performance. In addition, it promotes the advancement of Lean initiatives in the organizational environment of the HEI, allowing for a better quality to the “beneficiaries” of the services provided.Originality/valueDespite the broad evidence of Lean in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, this study advances by exploring the perception of Lean management practices in the HEIs context and their influence on organizational performance. This paper also initiates and fosters the discussion of internal costumers and community services value as basic practices of an HEI.

Knowledge management in public universities in Brazil and Portugal

The objective of this research was to investigate which indicators facilitate or are barriers to Knowledge Management and which therefore behave as enablers or inhibitors of innovation and social effectiveness in higher education institutions in Brazil and Portugal, in the perception of managers in education. It is a quantitative study operationalized through a survey with descriptive purpose. Data were collected through questionnaires and their treatment was operated on electronic spreadsheets. The results showed that both the Brazilian and the Portuguese higher education institutions have a satisfactory performance in knowledge management, especially in the process of knowledge acquisition. However, the section that deals with knowledge assessment, and which is related to the strategic process, showed that the organizational strategy has not taken on the role of a learning process overtime, which can compromise innovation capability and social effectiveness of institutions in the future. Through this study, facilitating indexes and knowledge management barriers were identified in the public service of education in Brazil and in Portugal.

Lean management and sustainable practices in Higher Education Institutions of Brazil and Portugal: A cross country perspective

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the perception of Lean management practices and its influence on sustainability practices in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The theoretical background was supported by Lean management and sustainable practices in HEI, which were used to design the research model. The research methodology comprises a quantitative research characterized as a survey, whose data collection was carried out through a questionnaire. The study population was the academic staff of HEI in Brazil and Portugal. A valid sample of 966 valid responses was obtained. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and, structural equation modeling. The results allowed the evaluation of a significant and positive relationship between the second-order construct, called HEI Lean practices, and the environmental, economic and social practices. A moderating effect was also found as significant between the relation of Lean and social practices. These findings demonstrated the relevance of aspects such as leadership and systemic vision to support staff activities, continuous improvement and waste elimination as a daily practice, long-term thinking and the focus on the student as building blocks of the HEI success in promoting sustainability practices and thinking.

Teacher education in English Medium Instruction settings: a partial view from Brazil

Research on English Medium Instruction (EMI) has increased around the world, especially in Europe and Southeast Asia (Macaro et al., 2018). In Brazil, studies have focused on the implementation of EMI in higher education institutions and ways of improving it (Baumvol & Sarmento, 2019). This article analyzes EMI preparatory courses offered in Brazilian higher education institutions, according to publications from 2016 to 2020. To identify the courses offered by Brazilian institutions to support EMI teaching, we conducted a search on Google and Google Scholar to map publications between 2016-2020 about those courses. Through content analysis we conclude that initial efforts to prepare lecturers for EMI contexts present a great variety of purposes, duration and approaches, with many research gaps in need of further development.

Reflections on educational leadership for sustainability: a Brazilian case study

Large-scale socio-environmental education to foster a culture of sustainability and transform degrading situations is considered a matter of worldwide urgency. Considering this, we present and discuss results from a thesis that investigated the potentials and challenges of a participatory methodology, capillarity architecture, to educate sustainability leaders used on a socio-environmental training programme for public servants from a Brazilian Higher Education Institution. Capillarity architecture, launched by the Brazilian Federal Government in 2005, is a methodological strategy that encompasses participatory action research and collective networks of educators for training in an exponential format. The participants in the process undergo training while developing educational practices for their university peers. The overall study included 2500 individuals, who were assigned to one of 160 learning collectives in seven university campuses. The research method includes a participatory-research approach, a focus group, participant observation and discursive textual analysis of process documents. The results are discussed considering two points: (1) Impacts of capillarity architecture on the university experience and; (2) Challenges and tensions between the commitment to leadership formation on a large scale and the search for emancipation in EE. It can be concluded that even considering the permanent risk of impairing quality in exponential Environmental Education training, capillarity (in its critical principles) allows for: gains in autonomy, critical reflection, exchanging experiences and repertoires within the university, educating new leaders, in addition to the concomitant engagement of a larger audience. The results of this project also provide us with evidence that leadership formation in sustainability is influenced by the access or not of the participants and coordinators to material conditions (budget, infrastructure, personnel). The relevance of promoting concrete investments in environmental education and training towards sustainability is indicated, so that large-scale training can take place in territories that have significant social inequalities. Capillarity architecture questions the traditional format of organisational training. It provides for the exchange of experiences among its participants, elaboration and development of courses in the socio-environmental area in a collective way, based on problems and social relations of the local territory. These are fundamental aspects when we think about leadership formation on a large scale in broad policies, which involve different cultures and diverse socioeconomic conditions worldwide.

Virtual exchange contributions to the development of intercultural competence: A Brazilian higher education institutions’ perspective

This article presents the results of a study conducted in the Brazilian higher education system aiming at analyzing the contributions of virtual exchange programs to the development of intercultural competence in students. The unprecedented study assists to enrich the limited body of knowledge about virtual exchanges in Brazil. The units of analysis consisted of member institutions of the Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBAI) that were already running virtual exchange programs in 2020. The study follows an exploratory qualitative research approach based on semi-structured interviews with international office administrators of the institutions analyzed. What stands out among the study’s main findings is the fact that, Brazilian international office administrators consider virtual exchanges as an important tool for Internationalization at Home, and thus, a path toward a more inclusive internationalization model. Even with all the difficulties, such as: major technical issues, low level of language proficiency in faculty and students, lack of commitment and the disadvantages deriving from lack of a deeper and more intense cultural immersion when compared to real-life experiences, there is a consensus that virtual exchanges do contribute toward the development of intercultural competence in students. Therefore, it seems important to promote more Internationalization at Home initiatives to create more circumstances of proximity with other cultures and second-language learning opportunities.

A students’ oppinion on the importance of natural history collections and taxonomy in Brazil

Natural history collections (NHCs) contain valuable information that can be used in different fields of knowledge, and aid in the development of society, science, and technology. The role of curators and taxonomists in maintaining and improving biological collections is essential, as these are fundamental for the understanding of biodiversity. However, the role of taxonomists and the importance of NHCs to society have been undervalued in recent years. We, while attending a graduate program on collections at PUCRS, noted a gap in knowledge about scientific collections. Was this gap, which continued from our undergraduate to graduate years, a mere coincidence or widespread in biological science programs in Brazil? We queried 126 Brazilian institutions of higher education to assess the presence of courses related to natural-history collections and taxonomy. A total of 25 private and 37 public universities from 126 institutions searched, have a program of study in biological sciences in the curriculum on their websites. About 16% offer some course related to NHCs or taxonomy, and all of them are public institutions. Despite the budget cutting made by the Brazilian government that make it even more difficult to recognize NHCs and related areas, we believe that there should be more links among researchers from different areas and especially between the levels of basic and higher education, so that students are exposed to this subject early in their education. We, as Brazilian students, believe that more information on NHC-related issues and taxonomic subjects is urgently needed in biological science programs.