6. Subjects programs from the UPEL-IPB’s graduate programs as a quality tool in the acreditation process

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to report an experience of the evaluation of the programs of all the subjects in four Master programs: Orientation, Mathematics, Higher Education and Physical Education; which are still in the accreditation process at the UPEL-IPB. It is a qualitative research performed under the participative research approach by using the techniques of focal groups, participant observation, interview and discourse analysis. The model by Sevillano (2004) (initial moment) was used in the dimension of intrinsic quality of the program to determine the weaknesses of its components in relation to the theoretical and methodological perspectives related to researchers training. The findings show the importance of the evaluation in the pedagogical performance to enhance the graduate programs quality in terms of its social and academic relevance. It is concluded that the subject program is a permanent collective construction that is enhanced by its internal and external coherence, participants’ needs as well as the institution and teachers and hence it should be constantly evaluated.