Graduate Profile

Graduate Profile

To achieve the proposed objectives, the graduate profile of the PPGCAF (Postgraduate Program in Physical Activity Sciences) seeks coherence with the institution's Institutional Development Plan (PDI). Therefore, graduates of the Master's program should demonstrate basic competencies for teaching, research, and extension. Obviously, given the nature of these stricto sensu courses, particular emphasis is placed on training for the conception and development of research projects in the field of Physical Activity Sciences. Thus, in the area of teaching, it is expected that they will master relevant and pertinent content on the relationships among physical activities, health promotion, and social inclusion, applied to teaching practices at the undergraduate level (e.g., supervising student work, conducting assessments).

In the field of knowledge production, graduates should be trained in the main research techniques and be able to critically analyze articles and empirical data in the area of physical activity sciences. Finally, it is expected that they will expand their mastery of the content and techniques necessary for the development, execution, and evaluation of professional intervention projects (extension projects or pedagogical actions), as participants in teams coordinated by more experienced professionals.

 

Graduates of the Master's program in Physical Activity Sciences should be able to:

a) Apply knowledge from the area of ​​Physical Activity Sciences in their professional and pedagogical practice; b) Develop research activities within rigorous methodological guidelines and in a socially referenced manner; c) Act as a critical agent and driver of actions that promote the development of Physical Activity Sciences in general and, particularly, Physical Education.

Graduates of the Master's program in Physical Activity Sciences at UNIVERSO should be able to act critically in the professional and scientific fields related to this area of ​​knowledge. In addition to specific research techniques, graduates should master concepts and methods of investigation and report writing that can be used by other researchers and agents working in different professional spheres related to Physical Activity Sciences. Ultimately, they should be able to contribute to human resources training at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

 

The profile of a graduate of the Master's Program in Physical Activity Sciences includes, among other things, the ability to develop teaching, research, and extension activities in their field. Most professors working in Higher Education come from bachelor's degree programs and therefore have little or no pedagogical training. This is not the case in Physical Education, which historically has a large number of licensed professors. However, this has been changing as bachelor's degree programs in Physical Education have grown. Furthermore, many students in the master's program come from bachelor's programs in physiotherapy, speech therapy, nutrition, sociology, biology, law, and anthropology, among others. These courses do not require the same pedagogical training as undergraduate degrees.

The PPGCAF (Postgraduate Program in Physical Education) has, since its inception, offered the subject of "Teaching Methodology," which was transformed in 2018 into "Didactics and Methodology of Higher Education Teaching." It is a mandatory subject that develops teaching, research, and extension activities. The teaching-learning activities focus on active methodologies. In addition, students undertake a teaching internship in undergraduate courses, mainly those offered by UNIVERSO, where they conduct participant observation and work alongside the subject's professor. Evidently, due to the nature of the PPGCAF, the internships are mainly carried out in bachelor's and licentiate degree programs in physical education. The observations made comprise a research report that is constructed during the process and discussed in class with other master's program students. This has provided opportunities for interaction between professors and undergraduate students, and between professors and master's students. Some undergraduate professors who did not yet hold a master's degree became interested in the program after observing the PPGCAF students' internships in their courses.