Public evaluation policies in higher education: recontextualization and challenges of the practice at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Introduction/Objective: This article discusses the results of a research at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) that had as main goals to analyze the public policies discourse about evaluation on higher education in Brazil and to understand how they are recontextualized in the institutional practice. Methodology: Based on the historic-dialectical approach was analyzed how neoliberal reforms shapes the formulation and development of such evaluation in the practices from public universities. The Stephen Ball's concepts of recontextualization and policy- cycle allowed us to understand the gap between policy discourse and concrete practice. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with strategic instances responsible for the institutional evaluation at the university, especially in the Center for Health Sciences, including interviews with the directors of the Medicine, Dentistry, Nutrition and Nursing Faculties. Results: The data was processed based on content analysis and the results were organized into five dimensions: 1. Relationships between neoliberalism, globalization and higher education; 2. University reforms and educational policies in Brazil; 3. The diversity of multiple approaches in evaluation; 4. The National Assessment System on Higher Education; 5. Challenges for assessment practices at UFRJ. The tension between the discourse of participatory evaluation and the hierarchical reality of evaluation practices as devices for implementing regulation, control and performance technologies became evident. Conclusion: Although the importance of the work carried out by the university is undeniable that the evaluation practices are not very participatory and are not related to a process of institutional learning and development.