Os Fatores que contribuem para o valor agregado de concluintes dos cursos de Engenharia Elétrica e de Pedagogia das Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior

Abstract

This study aims to identify the factors that contribute to the learning gain of students graduating from Electrical Engineering and Pedagogy courses at Federal Institutions of Higher Education, in Brazil. The approach is quantitative and the analyzes employ data from two the large-scale achievement exams: Exame Nacional de Desempenho de Estudantes (ENADE), that occurred in 2017, and Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (ENEM), considering the 2010 to 2014 editions. Both examinations are conducted in Brazil by the Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (INEP). This research used the results achieved by the students in the ENADE (in the Specific and General Knowledge tests) and the data of previous performance as measured by the ENEM tests. It also used the data from the 2017 Higher Education Census and information provided by students in the socioeconomic questionnaires of ENEM and ENADE. Theoretical support for the research was based on the concept of added value no context of education, in accordance with studies of the factors that determine academic achievement. To identify factors associated with student learning gains, the study used the statistical models of hierarchical regression that were specially conceived to deal with data that have a grouping structure inherent to educational systems (students and courses of study). The groups can be viewed as levels of a hierarchy, and at these levels multiple factors act simultaneously to influence student learning. For Pedagogy courses, the empirical evidence showed that in Specific Knowledge, there is no significant difference in learning gain between those within and outside of Brazil’s affirmative action quota system. On the other hand, for this same test, it was observed that there is a significant difference in learning gain in favor of quota students in Electrical Engineering courses. Among other results found in the investigation, the data revealed that the teachers who assist outside of class hours (or the fact that course coordinators provide students with academic guidance) increases the added value of courses in both Electrical Engineering and Pedagogy.