A implementação da curricularização da extensão na graduação da UFSCar: desafios e estratégias.

Abstract

Extension curricularization is an educational policy aimed at integrating university extension into undergraduate curricula, in accordance with the Guidelines for Extension in Brazilian Higher Education. This research aimed to understand how the extension curricularization policy has been interpreted and implemented in undergraduate programs at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), based on course coordinators’ perceptions of its issues, objectives, challenges, and strategies, in light of the theoretical framework of public policy implementation. This is a qualitative study, supported by descriptive quantitative data, of an applied nature, developed through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), document analysis, and a case study. The SLR identified challenges and strategies related to the implementation of extension curricularization in Brazilian Higher Education Institutions. The UFSCar case study involved institutional documents and an electronic questionnaire administered to undergraduate course coordinators at the São Carlos campus, with content analysis of the data. The SLR revealed a predominance of pedagogical challenges, particularly the conceptual and operational maturation of extension, the overcoming of assistentialist practices, and resistance or low engagement among faculty and students, as well as institutional challenges such as insufficient infrastructure, bureaucratic processes, and communication weaknesses. At UFSCar, significant convergence with the literature was observed, particularly regarding the conceptual maturation of extension and the need to strengthen institutional capacities. The data also revealed different understandings of the policy’s purpose, as only some respondents explicitly associated extension curricularization with student development. Among the strategies, faculty and student training and awareness-raising, active methodologies, and the creation of extension-oriented curricular components stood out, aiming to strengthen the understanding of extension as a formative dimension and promote student protagonism. The results contribute to university management and educational policies, particularly regarding pedagogical training, curricular organization, and the consolidation of extension as a constitutive dimension of academic education and the university’s social role.