Graduate Study in Education and University: reflections about solidarity and social commitment. An analysis of an experience involving UFPel and UNISINOS (Casadinhos Project)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present and reflect on an experience of collaborative work involving two Brazilian universities; the Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel) and the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), through their graduate programs in education. The activity here analyzed has been developed in the context of the “Projeto Casadinhos” financed through the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)/Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), with the aim of promoting a more systematic relationship between a “consolidated Program” (UNISINOS) and a “Program in process of consolidation” (UFPel). Besides describing aspects of the project, pointing out some basic activities carried out, and presenting the results, the authors intend to reflect on the role of graduate studies and its relation to the nature of the task of the University. The text suggests that there are sufficient reasons that justify the dedication of a significant number of graduate study faculty members that, in a solidary working relationship, attempt to bring the results of their work to society. Special attention is given to the social insertion of the two graduate programs and, consequently, to their relation to the production of research and knowledge.