A indissociabilidade entre ensino, pesquisa e extensão na universidade pública: formação acadêmica e profissional na graduação em Serviço Social

Abstract

Brazilian public universities have a history marked by tensions between traditional elitism and the pursuit of a democratic social role. This study analyzes this trajectory, specifically from the 1960s to contemporary challenges, to understand how the inseparable link between teaching, research, and extension programs underpins professional education at public universities, particularly in the Social Work program at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF). The central focus is to investigate the impact of extension experiences on students’ undergraduate education, analyzing how dialogic interaction with society gives concrete form to the concept of extension. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted, grounded in the critical-dialectical method, utilizing a literature review, document analysis, observation, and semi-structured interviews with 2 faculty members from the institution, 8 current students, and 4 alumni - of whom 3 are master’s candidates - from the Social Work program at UFJF, selected using the snowball sampling technique, and the authors’ accounts of their extension work experiences. Thus, the study sought to identify the contributions of university extension to students’ academic and professional development by discussing the integration of extension into the curriculum and the Professional Ethical-Political Project; consequently, this study aims to highlight the potential of these practices in fostering critical awareness when considering the community