A marca de origem: comparando colleges norte-americanos e faculdades brasileiras

Colleges nos Estados Unidos e faculdades no Brasil existiam antes da criação de universidades. Instituições radicalmente diferentes, têm marcado profundamente o desenvolvimento da educação superior nos dois países. O college nasceu privado, mais ligado ao seu Board of Trustees (Conselho de Curadores) do que à Coroa Inglesa, e com profunda orientação religiosa. As primeiras faculdades no Brasil, criadas por Dom João VI, seguiam o modelo das Grandes Escolas Francesas: eram instituições seculares, de formação de profissionais. Seus professores costumavam ser médicos de renome que se dedicavam tangencialmente às atividades docentes. Nos Estados Unidos, os professores moravam nos colleges com os estudantes e assumiam a responsabilidade na formação do caráter de seus alunos, estando no lugar dos pais (in loco parentis). Este trabalho traça um paralelo entre a educação superior nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil, dando ênfase à influência do modelo de origem no desenvolvimento dos dois sistemas. Procura mostrar como o exemplo das instituições fundantes se constitui em marca indelével, presente nos períodos tanto de continuidade como nos de mudança dos sistemas.

Ensino superior de curta duração: a experiência norte-americana dos community colleges

O artigo descreve inicialmente o lugar do community college no sistema de ensino superior norte-americano. Narra sua origem, crescimento, as fontes de renda, articulação com as demais instituições de ensino superior. Em seguida, registra alguns dos problemas do sistema - ao lado da ampliação do acesso, as análises têm apontado a fragilidade do sucesso, isto é, da performance dos estudantes, bem como da equidade, isto é, da forte estratificação e hierarquização do sistema educativo americano. Assim, argumenta-se que os dilemas e problemas não são estritamente localizados no sistema escolar, mas em uma formação social em que a desigualdade é particularmente aguda.

Budgeting and resource allocation in universities: a public choice approach

The calls for colleges and universities to improve their productivity are coming thick and fast in Brazil. Many studies are suggesting evaluation systems and external criteria to control the quality of teaching and research in universities. Since universities and colleges are not profit-oriented organizations (considering only the legitimate and serious research and teaching organizations, of course), the traditional microeconomics and administrative variables used to measure efficiency do not have any direct function. An alternative would be to create an "as if" market control system to evaluate performance in universities and colleges. Internal budget and resources allocation mechanism can be used as incentive instruments to improve quality and productivity. It will be the main issue of this article.

Use of licit and illicit drugs at the university of Alfenas

This paper reports the study of drug consumption carried out within the population of undergraduate students from 2 colleges of Alfenas, in the state of Minas Gerais state. Both licit and illicit drugs were studied, including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, crack, inhalants, glue, tranquilizers, stimulants, and others. METHODOLOGY: The research included a wide bibliographical search and the application of a questionnaire to approximately 23% of the students (total of 6500 students). RESULTS: A total of 1500 students participated in this investigation. The results demonstrated that there was a significant consumption of both licit and illicit drugs. The pattern of drug consumption in the research sample was similar to other investigations conducted in Brazil and in other countries. DISCUSSION: It was observed that 55% of the university students use drugs. However, the most surprising finding was that most of the students (88%) answered "yes" to the inquiry, "Have you already tried any type of drug, including alcohol and cigarettes?" The students revealed that they had taken drugs even prior to the admission to the university. The results suggest clearly that the university environment does not necessarily represent the starting point for student drug consumption.

Aspectos históricos dos cursos de licenciatura em química no Brasil nas décadas de 1930 a 1980

This article describes some historical moments in the establishment and development of chemistry teacher's training courses since 1930, with the creation of universities in Brazil, until 1980. Correlations between educational and political questions that influenced the directions taken for the formation of chemistry teachers in Brazil are discussed. From a review of the bibliographical sources available, we revisited stances of discussions on public policies related to science teacher's formation in general and in chemistry, particularly, in order to provoke a reflection on what challenges and prospects exist in the current scenario of undergraduate chemistry education in Brazilian universities and colleges.