PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN BRAZIL: THE WORK OF THE FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF SANTA CATARINA

Abstract

The objective of this article was to analyze the work of the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (IFs) and their adherence to the role of Professional and Technological Education (EFT) in promoting regional development. For this purpose, the Western region of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil, was used as an analytical cutout, and as a focus, the case study of the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina (IFSC), represented by the three campuses that constituted the study analysis units: Chapecó, São Miguel do Oeste and Xanxerê. To carry out the research, a predominantly qualitative approach was adopted, using bibliographic, documentary and field research (interviews, observation and questionnaires). Content Analysis was used as an analysis technique and the data were triangulated with each other and collated with the theory. The results of the research indicate that the work of the IFs distances them from the role for which they were created, reducing their contribution to the qualification of labor for the labor market, especially through the Medium Level Technical Professional Education (MTPE). It was also verified that the Brazilian educational legislation, including the Institutional Development Plan (PDI) of the IFSC, treats the TPE as an important public policy focused on regional and country development. However, the institution's internal culture, which has its roots in the historical prejudices attributed to this educational modality in Brazil, does not allow the IFSC to be consolidated as an application tool of this public policy.