International academic mobility within technical education: The perspective of teachers and managers of public intitutions [Mobilidade acadêmica internacional no ensino técnico: A perspectiva de docentes e gestores de instituições públicas]

Abstract

This paper addresses international academic mobility within technical education, analyzing the perspectives of teachers and managers of the institutions surveyed. The survey was carried out with a documentary study and field research, with exploratory objective and qualitative approach, in two technical education public institutions in the metropolitan region of the Paraiba Valley and the North Coast, in the towns of Lorena and Cachoeira Paulista. Interviews were conducted with teachers and administrators. The sample was composed of 10 participants, being seven teachers and three managers. The data were analyzed through qualitative techniques by means of the content analysis method, with the aid of the IRaMuTeQ software (Interface de R pour les Analyses do Multimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaries). Teachers and administrators see the exchange program as a way to obtain cultural enrichment and broaden the student’s view of the world, in addition to believing that it generates a positive institutional image and highlighting the importance of the program to assist in the control of truancy. It can be concluded that the exchanging experience provided by the institutions must be improved, because the student mobility contributes to their overall development and, consequently, to regional development, as it collaborates to build a society that is more critical and participant in the decisions taken in their surroundings. © 2018, Universidade de Taubate. All rights reserved.