Gestão de projetos no processo de curricularização da extensão em cursos de graduação em administração

Abstract

Brazilian university extension programs are undergoing a historical transition from a purely welfare-oriented model to a dialogical perspective, requiring the construction of a two-way street between academia and society. In this scenario, the curricularization of extension programs, driven by CNE/CES Resolution No. 7/2018, has become a critical strategic and operational challenge for Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In attempting to integrate extension programs into Course Pedagogical Projects (CPPs), especially in undergraduate Business Administration programs, many HEIs suffer from a lack of structured methodologies. Pressed by institutional isomorphism, these institutions tend to respond reactively. Coercive isomorphism (marked by legal requirements), mimetic isomorphism (characterized by copying external models without proper contextualization), and normative isomorphism (induced by networks of experts) frequently result in mere bureaucratic compliance with the norm. Without generating pedagogical innovation or concrete social transformation, the policy risks being limited to a simple readjustment of workload. Given this scenario, this thesis aimed to propose a maturity model for the curricularization of extension activities based on project management, designed to support higher education institutions (HEIs) in institutional diagnosis and the structured evolution of this process. Project management is thus positioned as a mediator of the curricularization process. It acts as the central element to mediate the limitations imposed by institutional pressures, converting legal obligation into an opportunity for active strategic adaptation. To achieve this objective, the research was conducted in three integrated studies from a pragmatic perspective. Study 1 consisted of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) structured in the Scopus database, identifying that the academic literature focuses on administrative modernization and pedagogical innovation, but presents severe empirical gaps in the effective integration of project management with extension activities. Study 2 was characterized by a qualitative empirical multiple case study in the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo-Minas Gerais axis, involving 45 in-depth interviews with professors, coordinators, managers, and a national expert. The data were processed via deductive content analysis using MAXQDA® software, organized into seven structuring thematic blocks. The research results revealed a latent dichotomy in institutional responses: while public HEIs, limited by structural constraints, lack of socio-emotional support, and strong academic cultural resistance, tended towards bureaucratic conformity, private HEIs used the regulations as an opportunity for strategic adaptation geared towards the market. It was empirically demonstrated that the adoption of project management practices acts directly as a mediator in the process. It is the decisive element in differentiating mere regulatory compliance from effective pedagogical innovation, mitigating operational bottlenecks and breaking the pattern of endogenous planning that traditionally excludes students and society from the project formulation phase. Study 3 consisted of the logical development and rigorous validation by 16 experts of the Technical-Technological Product (PTT). As a managerial and applied contribution, this thesis presents the Project Management-Based Curricularization Maturity Model (MCE-GP). This artifact provides a complete governance solution structured in four integrated layers: five evaluation dimensions, a diagnostic instrument with 25 indicators traceable to empirical challenges, five progressive levels of maturity, and a roadmap for institutional evolution. In this way, the study transforms improvisation into professional management, ensuring managerial efficiency, academic quality, and real social impact, as well as aligning business administration training with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4, 9, and 17).