A reflection on university extension

from mandatoriness to society participation

Abstract

This paper presents a reflection on university extension and the process of its curricularization. The problem addressed is the way in which this institutionalization occurred at national level, its challenges and the need to improve this process. The general objective is to critically reflect on the curricularization of extension and to propose suggestions aimed at bringing the university even closer to the population. The hypothesis defended is that the flow of activities predominantly originating from the university to the society, instead of being demanded by the latter, limits the transformative potential of extension and its inseparability from teaching and research. It is argued that a reversion of the flow, with the society demanding actions from the university, would be more effective to meeting social needs and strengthening academic integration. The method used combines bibliographic research based on documents, periodicals and annals of events related to the extension practice with the analysis of the authors' empirical experience in extension projects. The results indicate that the mandatory inclusion of extension activities in the curriculum, although it lacked a causal justification for the goal of 10% of curricular credits in undergraduate programs and generated bureaucratic challenges for the university, benefited society. Empirical experience, however, demonstrates the difficulty in engaging society with proposals coming from the university, in contrast to the ease of implementation and success of projects demanded by the community itself. It is argued that the visibility of university expertise is crucial to stimulate social demand. The conclusion indicates that, while curricularization increased the prominence of extension, the imposition of 10% of curricular credits is questionable and may discourage. It is suggested that meeting social demands, reversing the flow of origin of the extension activities, would be the way to strengthen extension and academic integration, but it requires that the population knows what is done by the university, which would be possible through periodic events that expose academic activities to the society.