Action-research in higher education : a path to individual and social (trans)formation.

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the possibilities of transformation brought about by university students who have experienced action-research during their academic training in projects of an extensionist nature. Along with this, it seeks to understand how the action-research process influences the training of administrators. In order to carry out this research, a Federal Institution of Higher Education (FIHE) was selected, on the basis of the intense extension work carried out by its professors. Six students, undergraduates and graduates, who had participated as volunteers or scholars in extensionist projects, were chosen to take part in the research. This study fits into the model of descriptive-conclusive research using non-probabilistic sampling for convenience. The data analysis method was inspired by Speech Analysis. The research data shows that students have a broader understanding of the administrative profession after participating in extension projects that adopt the action-research methodology. The action-research proposal should go beyond the boundaries of the methodology and be transmuted into a form of social relationship between university actors in the local communities, strengthening the training of administrators and qualifying them for a more dense, broad and critical professional performance.