THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY SKILLS FOR THE INCLUSION OF STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT

A CASE STUDY AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF PERNAMBUCO

Abstract

Professional education promoted by universities is called upon to face new challenges, taking responsibility for developing skills that prepare future professionals for the different challenges of the job market. Therefore, it is important to offer and encourage opportunities for skills enhancement, since the university becomes a bridge to professional success for everyone when guided by inclusive education. This research aimed to identify which key competences students have difficulty developing, so that cognitive and methodological tools that favor their training process can be created. This quali-quantitative study was conducted at the University of Pernambuco (Campus Mata Norte). Data was collected by the General Research Coordination of the University through an institutional e-mail send out to the undergraduate students. Out of the students with active enrollment in 2020, 336 were involved, who answered a questionnaire with 51 self-assessment questions. The questions were self-descriptive that offered a point scale with verbal descriptions that ranged from “agree totally” to “completely disagree.” The answers were evaluated with the Likert scale, and the analysis was performed using the BioEstat 5.0 program. The results point to a significant deficit in the development of the competence "Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership", as well as a tendency to limit the performance of competences in the variables, course, income, and age. Our results provide important data that allows the University management to promote improvements in the training offered to students, allowing greater inclusion in the university context and employability.